15 must-watch hitters in Spring Training 

Pitchers and catchers have already reported to Spring Training, and position players aren’t far behind: Eight teams will have their first full-squad workouts on Sunday, with the rest to follow over the next few days.

Spring Training slash lines don’t exactly matter, but that doesn’t mean the next few weeks are meaningless. Top prospects are hoping to make the Opening Day roster. International phenoms will get their first taste of the Majors. Some guys are simply looking to stay healthy, while other young hitters are hoping to establish themselves as stars.

Here are 15 hitters worth watching at Spring Training 2026, divided into four different categories.

• Each team's top storyline entering Spring Training

The top prospects

1) JJ Wetherholt, INF, Cardinals

There are several well-regarded prospects with a legitimate chance to make their big league club out of Spring Training. That includes Wetherholt, who is ranked as the No. 5 prospect in baseball entering the 2026 season. He hit .306/.421/.510 across the top two levels of the Minors last year while winning the organization’s Minor League Player of the Year award. Wetherholt’s goal is to start the year in St. Louis, and the Cardinals certainly cleared a path for him, trading All-Star infielders Brendan Donovan and Nolan Arenado in the offseason.

2) Carson Benge, OF, Mets

Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns has stressed the importance of providing young players with runway to contribute at the Major League level. By trading Brandon Nimmo, New York created an outfield spot for Benge, MLB Pipeline’s No. 16 prospect. A first-round pick in the 2024 Draft, Benge earned an invite to his first big league Spring Training, where he’ll have every chance to become the Mets’ Opening Day right fielder (amid news that Juan Soto is shifting to left field). The 23-year-old rose through three levels of the Minors in 2025, posting an .857 OPS.

3) Justin Crawford, OF, Phillies

Philadelphia is following a similar blueprint with Crawford, the organization’s third-ranked prospect (No. 53 overall) and, yes, the son of four-time All-Star Carl Crawford. It’s largely expected that the younger Crawford will break camp as the Phillies’ starting center fielder. It’s worth watching how Crawford looks in center field, where a lot will be expected of him. Crawford often uses his elite speed to make up for subpar jumps, though he’s worked this offseason to improve his routes and first step alongside three-time Gold Glove Award winner Eric Davis.

4) Colt Emerson, INF, Mariners

Emerson -- the ninth-ranked prospect in baseball -- will compete for the Mariners’ second-base job alongside Cole Young, a first-round pick in the 2022 Draft, in what figures to be one of the spring’s best position battles. Young may have the leg up, but Seattle is extremely high on the 20-year-old Emerson, a pure hitter who tore through three levels of the Minors in 2025. The Mariners have legitimate World Series aspirations, and they won’t hesitate to assemble the roster that gives them the best chance to win. Emerson can prove that he’s a part of that puzzle with a strong spring. He'll receive plenty of plate appearances in Cactus League play.

5) Kevin McGonigle, INF, Tigers

McGonigle, No. 2 on MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 list, might have a chance to play his way onto the Opening Day roster in his first Major League camp. Sure, there’s not a clear spot for the 21-year-old in the Tigers’ infield, but these situations tend to work themselves out. McGonigle continues to turn heads, most recently winning MVP honors in the Arizona Fall League. Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris has said that McGonigle will play quite a bit of shortstop this spring, after playing primarily third base in the AFL. His short-term positional fit is worth keeping an eye on.

The international arrivals

6) Munetaka Murakami, 1B, White Sox

There may not be a more intriguing hitter to watch this spring than Murakami. The 25-year-old Japanese slugger arrives stateside with a reputation for prodigious power and the ability to hit the ball exceptionally hard. Yet a propensity for swing-and-miss and high strikeout totals made his free-agent case rather polarizing. How well will Murakami handle Major League pitching? We’ll get our first glimpse shortly, and you’ll want to catch him before he leaves camp to play for Team Japan in the World Baseball Classic.

7) Kazuma Okamoto, INF, Blue Jays

Murakami isn’t the only high-profile position player making the jump from NPB to MLB. Okamoto has big shoes to fill on a pennant-winning team, as the Jays will count on the third baseman to replace some of Bo Bichette’s lost production. On paper, at least, it seems like Okamoto will fit right in. He posted a 1.014 OPS in 69 games last season for NPB’s Yomiuri Giants, touting a unique blend of power and contact similar to what Toronto used to its advantage last October.

8) Sung-Mun Song, INF, Padres

Song may not have the same buzz as the slugging Murakami or Okamoto, but he’s an intriguing name in Padres camp. Song won KBO Player of the Year honors last season as a member of the Kiwoom Heroes, showcasing power (26 homers) and speed (25 steals). The third baseman projects as a versatile player, someone the Padres see impacting the game in multiple facets via a super-utility role. Song’s performance this spring will give us a preview of what that might look like, and where he best fits.

The healthy bounce-back candidates

9) Triston Casas, 1B/DH, Red Sox

Casas reiterated last month at Fenway Fest that he hopes to see game action in Spring Training as he works his way back from a ruptured patellar tendon that he suffered last May. He’s 26 now, and three years removed from his breakout season, a 24-homer campaign in 2023. There’s not an obvious roster fit here, either, with Willson Contreras set to receive the lion’s share of playing time at first base and a glut of outfielders spilling into the DH spot. But Boston’s re-tooled lineup still seems like it's one power bat short, and Casas has shown he can slug.

10) Garrett Mitchell, OF, Brewers

Mitchell is an above-average hitter (career 112 OPS+) and a plus defender in center field. But he only took 68 at-bats last season, and we haven’t seen him in a game setting since July, when he re-injured his shoulder while on a rehab assignment for an oblique strain. In fact, Mitchell has spent time on the 60-day IL in each of the last three seasons. This feels like a make-or-break year for the 27-year-old former first-round Draft pick, who is expected to have a normal ramp-up into Spring Training.

11) Austin Riley, 3B, Braves

Riley is the most accomplished player on this list, though he has plenty of injury baggage, too. Last spring, Riley’s goal was to stay healthy, but things didn’t quite play out that way: He required core muscle surgery in August, suffering a season-ending injury for the second consecutive year. Riley also posted his worst numbers -- including an 86 OPS+ and a .428 slugging percentage -- since the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. The raw power is still in there somewhere, and a few tape-measure shots this spring would help restore our confidence.

12) Evan Carter, OF, Rangers

Carter blurs the line between a few of these categories, but we’ll stick him in the bounce-back candidates group, mostly because he fared well enough last year when healthy, posting a 114 OPS+ in 63 games. He just hasn’t been able to stay on the field, taking four trips to the IL across the last two years. We’ve been waiting for the former postseason hero to have a legitimate breakout season. Maybe this will be it. The Rangers sure need his bat in the lineup, and he’s projected to be their everyday center fielder.

The young guys looking to prove themselves

13) Bryce Eldridge, 1B/DH, Giants

In a bit of a new-look Giants’ lineup, Eldridge is a legitimate X-factor. The 21-year-old has 70-grade power and a sweet left-handed swing. But he’s not a lock to make San Francisco’s Opening Day roster, even if there’s a spot for him as the team’s everyday DH. Eldridge was 3-for-28 in his brief MLB cameo last September, though four of his 16 batted balls were barrels. He’s also healthy heading into the spring after offseason wrist surgery as he vies to make the team in his second year at Giants camp.

14) Dylan Crews, OF, Nationals

Crews, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 Draft, figures to be a centerpiece of Washington’s latest rebuilding effort under new president of baseball operations Paul Toboni. But there’s a bit of an outfield logjam here -- the Nats have five outfielders who will be younger than 26 years old on Opening Day -- and Crews has a career 79 OPS+ in parts of two Major League seasons. His third big league Spring Training is a critical one. He could still be one of the best young players in baseball, and a strong spring would help his case.

15) Cam Smith, OF, Astros

Smith knows a thing or two about the benefits of a strong spring. Last year, the former first-round pick forced his way onto Houston’s roster, earning the nod as the starting right fielder after picking up the position earlier in camp. Fast forward a year and the 22-year-old enters his second Major League camp in a precarious spot on a roster rife with competition. He’ll see some time in center field, which bears watching, as do any adjustments he makes at the plate to handle big league pitching after slashing .236/.312/.358 last year.