Spring training games have now been under way for more than a week, and with that means the excitement of baseball being back on televisions during the day time, endless stats to pore over at the end of each night, and countless storylines to keep an eye on.
Some of the most interesting spring stories have to do with a handful of jobs that are still up for grabs. While most players show up to spring knowing what their role will be with their club to begin the year and are simply looking to get back into the swing of things, a handful of others show up fighting for their starting role on the team. For these players, every at-bat or inning pitch becomes magnified, as we, along with their respective club, try and figure out if they will become a valuable real-life and fantasy starter, or simply a reserve who we need not pay much attention to.
As you settle back into your stat-checking spring training routine, these are the most important position battles to be keeping an eye on in the National League.
Chicago Cubs 3B
There’s no reason to bury the lead here. Can the likes of Justin Turner, Vidal Bruján or Jon Berti be a real threat to halt the Matt Shaw hype train? There will be no sign of Shaw on the field in the coming days as he works his way back from a minor oblique issue, but the Cubs say that he has looked good as he has resumed work in the cages as well as throwing.
Much has already been written about Shaw on this site to the point where a breakdown of his game would be redundant. The main thing to watch for here is the announcement of Shaw’s participation in actual spring training games, and whether or not he then looks like he can hang with the competition.
The guess here is that the job is already Shaw’s to lose — unless he looks completely overmatched in his spring training at-bats, expect Matt Shaw to be the starting third baseman on the north side of Chicago. It’s telling that Turner’s spring reps have come at first base and designated hitter so far, and the players who have been rotating through the starting third base position all look more like temporary stopgaps than long-term threats to Shaw’s playing time.
Shaw’s well-rounded offensive talents make him worth picking up in the mid to later rounds, and it would not be shocking to see him in the top ten third basemen at the end of his rookie season.
Los Angeles Dodgers‘ Rotation
Everyone assumes that the Dodgers will employ a six-man rotation in order to ease the loads on Tyler Glasnow, Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki alike. But when will the Dodgers themselves announce it?
Tony Gonsolin, if confirmed as the fifth starter, is a good cheap target for Wins. Dustin May, if included in a six-man rotation, becomes a potential great late round option across all categories.
May has a truly elite sinker with an xMov of 10.9 inches, which ranks 10th overall in the league. The pitch averages 96.6 mph, which is nearly as good as it gets for a sinker, and opponents hit a paltry .161 against the pitch when May last took the mound in 2023.
The 27-year-old right-hander has had quite a difficult career so far. After needing Tommy John surgery in 2021 and flexor tendon surgery in ’23, he faced a truly life-threatening moment in 2024 that had nothing to do with baseball. While out to dinner with his wife and friends, May tore his esophagus in a freak incident while choking on a piece of salad. He was rushed into surgery that night and remained in the hospital for a full 11 days.
Having now returned to the mound with an inning of spring work on February 23rd, May is strictly looking forward to 2025 and hoping to leave the past behind. In terms of his stuff, the results so far are encouraging. “Everything is back to normal,” May recently said. “The velocity is where it was at. All the shapes and metrics and releases and everything are back to normal.”
A “back to normal” Dustin May could be an absolute steal in the later rounds of drafts if the Dodgers confirm a rotation spot for him.
Atlanta Braves 4/5 Starters
There definitely will be a five-man rotation in Atlanta, but who will it include? It currently looks like Grant Holmes has the fourth spot to lose, with Ian Anderson fending off youngsters AJ Smith-Shawver, Hurston Waldrep and Bryce Elder for the final spot.
Holmes is the likeliest of these names to be a long-term fantasy contributor this season. The 28-year-old former first round pick has sneaky good stuff, and should be an excellent sleeper pick across all categories as he controls the strike zone and induces both chases and whiffs at an elite rate.
With a well-rounded arsenal, Holmes especially succeeds against right-handed batters, showcasing three different pitches (four-seamer, slider and curveball) that all dominate with a 15%+ SwStr rate, 65% strike rate, and sub 40% ICR. While he doesn’t locate the fastball quite as effectively against lefties, the slider and curve are just as good, if not better, creating an avenue for a sustainable approach. Don’t hesitate to pick up Holmes well ahead of his current ADP of 421.97.
Of the three youngsters mentioned, the 22-year-old Smith-Shawver looks to be the most intriguing. It would not shock anyone to see Ian Anderson either miss out on the fifth rotation spot, or lose it early into the season if given the role, and if that happens it is likely to be Smith-Shawver who capitalizes.
The rookie had hoped that 2024 would be his breakout season, but he was only able to log 4.1 scoreless big league innings in May versus the Cubs before straining his oblique in that game and remaining out until July. He then battled to regain his form in the minors for the rest of the regular season.
Smith-Shawver now enters 2025 looking to showcase a true five-pitch mix after working to develop a cutter this offseason. He already has a solid four-seamer (mid-90’s velocity, nearly 18 inches of iVB, and almost seven inches of arm-side run) and three effective breaking balls (slider, changeup and curveball), with the changeup returning an eye-popping whiff rate of 43%. He made his spring debut on February 26th, striking out three across two scoreless innings of work — much more encouraging results than Ian Anderson had in his spring debut, who walked three and allowed one run over 1.2 innings against Tampa Bay several days prior.
If he continues to impress in his spring outings, Smith-Shawver becomes an easy late round flyer to take a chance on with the potential upside for a season-long fantasy contributor.
St. Louis Cardinals Catcher
The team loves Iván Herrera’s bat — but they also love Pedro Pagés‘ glove behind the plate. Keep an eye out for any hint of how the two will split playing time, and if the DH spot is Herrera’s to lose on his non-catching days.
If so, Herrera becomes a huge bargain at his current ADP (239.17 overall and the 19th catcher being taken off the board). He has the potential to be a .300 hitter with decent counting stats, which is rare territory for any catcher. That average will be especially hard to do while putting more time in behind the plate, but all of the hit tools are there for the young Cardinal to put together such a season.
In 2024 across 259 plate appearances, Herrera hit .301 with five home runs, five stolen bases, 27 RBI and 37 runs scored. His xAVG of .291 ranked 13th among all qualifying hitters, and his Process+ (116) and Power+ (116) in particular remained above average throughout the year.
If you tend to wait until the later rounds to do your catcher shopping, there does not appear to be a better option available this season for a sleeper at the position than Herrera. He is certainly worth picking up and as long as the Cardinals commit to him as being in their lineup close to every day, you should not have any problem doing the same.
Arizona Diamondbacks Closer
This is the battle least likely to be settled when spring training concludes. Justin Martinez, A.J. Puk, Kevin Ginkel and Kendall Graveman could all see save opportunities for the Diamondbacks both in spring training and into the early regular season, and manager Torey Lovullo likes his options and isn’t in a rush to commit to any one in particular. “Somebody will emerge,” Lovullo has said of his closer situation. “I feel really good about the arms, and I’ll match it up the best way I can.”
Justin Martinez and A.J. Puk are both worth drafting, especially in Save+Hold leagues. They both have wicked stuff that produces strikeouts at a high rate. While the 23-year-old Martinez has a bit of a walk problem, neither pitcher gets hit very much. In fact, the similarities in most of their statistics are actually a bit eerie.
Martinez is likely the Diamondbacks closer of the future, but it remains to be seen if they are ready to fully hand over the reins to him yet. With 105 strikeouts in 82.2 innings pitched so far in his career, the potential is certainly there for a high-level fantasy contributor.
Puk, meanwhile, was dominant last season after moving to the bullpen in Miami and then being traded to Arizona mid-season. Even if Martinez nails down the closer role early in the season, Puk is worth having on your team if you have room for an elite setup man. Martinez, while electric, is no sure thing if given the role — his walk rate could get the best of him and pairing Puk as insurance for that possibility is a great idea.
Milwaukee Brewers Infield
Shifting pieces could affect position eligibility for multiple players in the Milwaukee infield. Both Joey Ortiz and Brice Turang are being discussed as options at shortstop, while the third base position remains even more open, with Oliver Dunn and Caleb Durbin in the mix if Ortiz is not moved there.
The most intriguing thing to watch for here is if Turang moves to shortstop, as that move would add an interesting new option for steals at the position. Though Turang’s hitting did tail off quite a bit at the end of last season, he remains one of the fastest players in the league and would be a threat to lead the league in steals if Elly De La Cruz did not exist.
If you are strictly looking for steals and don’t mind punting on some of the other hitting categories with this pick, Turang could be your guy. Otherwise, you might want to watch to see first how Turang’s bat looks in the spring games before drafting him, regardless of what position he’s playing.