After an undeniably thrilling World Baseball Classic, it’s time to shift our attention back to Spring Training, with just one week to go until the real thing.
Yes, that’s right, and we double-checked our calendars. Opening Night is just one week away, with the Giants and Yankees squaring off to open the 2026 MLB season on Wednesday, March 25.
Even though it may not feel like it, the bulk of Spring Training is already in the books. A lot has happened in camps throughout Florida and Arizona over the last few weeks. We’re here to catch you up on all the storylines that you may have missed while following the WBC.
All stats listed below are through play on Tuesday.
Prospects making noise
The top two prospects in baseball, per MLB Pipeline, are still in big league camp. Shortstop Konnor Griffin leads the Pirates with four home runs, while his 12 hard-hit balls (95+ mph EV) trail only Nick Yorke. Not bad for a 19-year-old. Another shortstop, Kevin McGonigle, is making a strong bid to skip Triple-A and break camp with the Tigers. McGonigle has a .977 OPS this spring, and he’s already made an impressive adjustment after pitchers started throwing him more breaking balls.
There are plenty of other young standouts, too. Carson Benge, MLB Pipeline’s No. 16 overall prospect, has done everything that the Mets have asked of him, hitting .406 with a .972 OPS in 32 at-bats. Six-foot-seven Carlos Lagrange, the No. 79 overall prospect, has wowed with triple-digit heat; only Mason Miller has a harder average fastball velocity this spring than the Yankees prospect, whose four-seamer is sitting at 100.5 mph. And how about Didier Fuentes, Atlanta’s No. 3 prospect, whose stellar five-strikeout performance came against the team he admired growing up. For a Braves rotation that is already ravaged by injury, Fuentes and 22-year-old JR Ritchie -- No. 90 prospect -- have emerged as bright spots.
Key position battles taking shape
Several of those aforementioned prospects find themselves in the thick of spring’s most-anticipated position battles. Griffin is hoping to supplant the sure-handed Nick Gonzales as the Pirates’ starting shortstop, while Benge is jostling with Mike Tauchman for the starting right field spot in Queens. If McGonigle makes the Tigers’ Opening Day roster, he’s likely going to shake up the platoon of Javier Baez and Zach McKinstry, each an All-Star last season.
There are rotation spots up for grabs across the league. We’ll begin with the Red Sox, who have three young arms competing to open camp in one of baseball’s best rotations. Johan Oviedo, acquired in an offseason trade with the Pirates, has a 1.59 ERA through four Spring Training starts, displaying a plus fastball. Speaking of electric heaters: Left-hander Payton Tolle has one, and the No. 19 overall prospect spent the offseason working on his other pitch shapes to better protect his triple-digit four-seamer. Then there’s southpaw Connelly Early, Boston’s No. 3 prospect, who has a 2.25 ERA in four spring appearances.
The competition looks a little different in San Diego, where a slew of veterans -- not youngsters -- are competing for two spots at the back-end of the Padres rotation, following news that Joe Musgrove will begin the season on the IL. Walker Buehler, Germán Márquez, Marco Gonzales, Triston McKenzie and JP Sears are among those in the running. Padres manager Craig Stammen said the club might not make a decision until the day before Opening Day.
Injury roundup
Let’s begin with the good news, because there’s actually quite a bit of it. Francisco Lindor felt like himself following his Grapefruit League debut on Sunday, four-and-a-half weeks after undergoing surgery for a stress reaction in his left hamate bone. Similarly, a month after breaking his right hamate bone, Corbin Carroll was back in the D-backs lineup and playing in Cactus League games. Both stars seem on track for Opening Day.
Gerrit Cole won’t be in the Yankees rotation to begin the season, but the righty is making significant strides as he works his way back from Tommy John surgery. Cole scattered two hits in a scoreless inning on Wednesday against the Red Sox, his first game action since last March. Notably, his fastball topped out at 98.7 mph.
Zack Wheeler is facing hitters again, too. He threw his first live batting practice session on Saturday, another step in his recovery from thoracic outlet decompression surgery.
And Shane McClannahan is looking like himself for the Rays. The All-Star left-hander notched seven punchouts in his most recent Spring Training outing. McClannahan hasn’t pitched in a Major League game since August 2023.
For all of the good, there is some bad, too. Reds right-hander Hunter Greene recently underwent a procedure to remove bone chips in his pitching elbow and will be sidelined until at least July. Astros left-hander Josh Hader is throwing bullpen sessions, but won’t be back in time for Opening Day as he battles left biceps tendinitis.
Late additions to camp
Did you know that Andrew McCutchen is on the Rangers now? The 39-year-old signed a Minor League deal with Texas earlier in March as he looks to break camp with the big league club. So far, so good: McCutchen is 7-for-12 this spring.
The Nationals signed right-hander Zack Littell, adding a veteran presence to a young rotation. The 30-year-old threw 186 2/3 innings last season between the Rays and the Reds, even drawing the start in Game 2 of the NL Wild Card Series against the Dodgers. He’s ready to eat innings in the nation’s capital.
ABS is in full swing
The Automated Ball-Strike Challenge System, powered by T-Mobile, is one of the top storylines of the spring. That’s not because it’s new, since MLB tested the system in Spring Training last year, but rather because it’s coming to the Major Leagues. A week from today, on Opening Night, players will have the opportunity to challenge balls and strikes for the first time in baseball history.
We’ve learned plenty about ABS from 2025 Triple-A data, and we can make a few observations from the last few weeks, too. Fielders (59% success rate) have been far more successful than hitters (44%), though that has more to do with catchers than pitchers, with the latter combining to initiate just 29 challenges this spring.
Among catchers to call for at least 10 challenges, the Padres’ Freddy Fermin (86%) and the Giants’ Patrick Bailey (82%) have the highest challenge win rate.
From a team perspective, among hitters, the Cubs (58%) and Phillies (56%) have had the highest success rate, while the D-backs (25%) have had the lowest. Tigers hitters have issued the fewest challenges (12), while Guardians hitters have been the most aggressive (40).
In the field, the Yankees have issued the most challenges (40) while the Orioles have called for the fewest number of reviews (16). Using the results of the overturns vs. expected model (you can read more on that here), the Cardinals have been the most successful challengers as a fielding team (+10.7).
As a reminder, you can see a detailed rundown of all these stats on Baseball Savant's ABS dashboard.