Spring Training has arrived and as I’ve been writing daily notes for myself to recap all spring training starting pitchers for the Plus Pitch Podcast, I realized I should publish them on the site for quick access.
I’ll be livestreaming every weekday morning 10am-12pm ET at Twitch.tv/pitcherlist, as I watch all of the starts with y’all and answer all your fantasy baseball questions.
Major SP News To Know
We launched Pitcher List Stats on Tuesday! Our first launch was @PitcherListPLV, which posts all of our new Pitcher Cards from recent games. We’ll be granting free access to generate these cards in the near future. Check out the tutorial pinned to the Twitter account.
Welp, we didn’t expect the best news, but Hunter Greene is expected to miss at roughly four months (if not more) with “bone chips and loose bodies” in his elbow. At least it’s not a UCL tear, but that puts him to return around the all-star break. He’s a last-round IL stash.
Troy Melton was placed on the 60-day IL by the Tigers due to elbow soreness. This is good news for fantasy managers – it allows a Melton stash without a roster spot if you have an IL slot open – but we may not see Melton as a starter until 2027 given this delay, and his ability to pitch out of the pen. It could mean Sawyer Gipson-Long gets an earlier shot, who still hasn’t appeared in spring training, recovering from an oblique injury. Ty Madden looks like the next one up right now. Wow.
Expected Rotations By Team
On TV
MIN vs. ATL
KOR vs. AUS
BAL vs. STL
BRA vs. GBR
COL vs. PAN
CUB vs. PUR
DOM vs. ISR
LAD vs. MIL
MEX vs. USA
MIA vs. NYM
PIT vs. NYY
VEN vs. NCA
TEX vs. SDP
Carlos Carrasco (ATL) – 2.2 IP, 4 ER, 4 H, 0 BB, 3 K. He’s a possible replacement for Elder in Atlanta, but this isn’t much better. He did return 9/55 whiffs, for what it’s worth, but he’s 91 mph and…blegh.
Trey Gibson (BAL) – 4.0 IP, 2 ER, 1 H, 2 BB, 1 K. I’m just not seeing it. It’s deadzone movement at 92 mph, and the breaking pitches can be interesting, but are not SO good that I’m in, even with seven feet extension. At least he gets the sweeper over the plate effectively to RHB…?
Brayan Bello (DOM) – 5.0 IP, 1 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 7 K. That’s a gorgeous line against a suspect Israeli lineup. Despite the circumstances, Bello was over a tick down on everything and his curveball was effective against LHB, though I don’t expect him to return 3/7 whiffs on the pitch moving forward. I’m out.
Gary Gill Hill (GBR) – 2.0 IP, 1 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 2 K. He was an interesting prospect who is now awfully mid. Womp womp.
Emmet Sheehan (LAD) – 2.1 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 3 BB, 2 K. The fastball was flying too high (Careful, Icarus. Wait…), returning a horrible 42% strike rate, while the changeup went sub 50% strikes as well. He also had a few absurd changeups for balls that I’m choosing to ignore, and I still love the guy. Don’t freak out about this one.
River Ryan (LAD) – 2.2 IP, 1 ER, 1 H, 1 BB, 3 K. I’m not sure why Ryan is pitching on the same day as Sheehan (that would suggest they are battling each other for a rotation spot), but then again, Ryan only tossed 42 pitches in this one, clearly behind his competitors for a rotation spot. His slider is absurd, though, some returning the movement found in a quality 86 mph slide piece at 91 mph. Meanwhile, some of his four-seamers were flat out ridiculous at 20″ of vert, settling in around 17″ or so on average. Yes, that makes me a lot more interested in Ryan than after his last outing and whenever he does get a rotation spot, you can sign me up. That slider is elite, the cutter, change, and curve are good, and the 96+ mph fastballs don’t sink the ship.
Zebby Matthews (MIN) – 3.2 IP, 6 ER, 6 H, 2 BB, 5 K. He had an unfortunate first frame with a flare + two weak grounders scoring hits, though a poor cutter to Riley and a pair of walks did him no favors. I still see him as a HIPSTER with a slim chance of losing his job to Abel & Bradley (that can’t happen, right?!) and I’d be cautious drafting him in 12-teamers. Seeing his velocity down 1-2 ticks in a spring game is not a good sign for a young pitcher fighting for a rotation spot.
Max Fried (NYY) – 4.0 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 6 K. Aces gonna ace. He’s still down in his velocity (massively so with his cutter), but I’m not worried. This is how it goes.
Paolo Espino (PAN) – 4.1 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 1 BB, 4 K. Hello, my old friend. How are the kids? Still got that sub 70 mph curveball for 31% usage, I see.
José Urquidy (PIT) – 3.2 IP, 3 ER, 4 H, 0 BB, 0 K. Yikes. Time’s running out, Urquidy. Step it up next start or one of Mlodzinski or Barco might steal your job. Can’t throw a lollipop 83 mph sliders down the pipe to Stanton, you know.
Elmer Rodríguez (PUR) – 3.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 3 BB, 3 K. This is good, but not great. It’s your prototypical Yankees prospect with a strong sinker/slider combo, but lacking the proper attack for RHB. I’m passing for now.
Randy Vásquez (SDP) – 4.0 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 2 K. He’s still at 96 mph, now up to 63 pitches. And that cutter, OH MY. 89 mph with absurd wth -9″ of sweep. As much as I want to call Vásquez a HUGE sleeper, I can’t help but point out the highly questionable command and 3 tick dip in extension across the board. Still, he has a legit 83/84 mph curve, this stupid good cutter, 96+ mph velocity, a fantastic changeup, and 95/96 mph fastballs, with all the opportunity. It feels so weird to be in, but I’m IN. They’ve worked some magic in San Diego. Always do.
Matthew Liberatore (STL) – 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 0 BB, 7 K. Liberatore returned 16 whiffs on 65 pitches and that’s gross. So was the Baltimore lineup he had to face without any of their starters save for Coby Mayo, but still. Gross. The slide piece went 8/19 as the catalyst, mostly away against LHB, but the real story? He went inside with his sinker to LHB at 94/95 mph. THANK YOU. Yes, you should have Liberatore circled as a 15-teamer play, and maybe for your 12-teamers as a decent play when he hosts the Rays across opening weekend.
Trey Supak (TEX) – 2.1 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 0 K. He’s a prospect known for commanding his arsenal and it was meh. I’m fine.
Paul Skenes (USA) – 4.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 1 BB, 7 K. Aces gonna ace. He went upstairs with his four-seamer for whiffs with absurd sinkers at 96/97 mph + changeups at 89 mph that were so hard to discern and it was glorious.
Matthew Boyd (USA) – 2.1 IP, 3 ER, 5 H, 0 BB, 3 K. He allowed a pair of solo shots to Duran (one on a heater down the pipe, another a horrible slider) and had stellar command to RHB while sitting 94/95 mph across 56 pitches. All good. In fact, I’m in. Ignore the mistakes that got punished.
Yoendrys Gómez (VEN) – 2.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 3 K. Just 28 pitches is a little unfortunate and I gotta say, I love the 17″ of vert with seven feet extension at 95 mph (up 1-2 ticks!) and a cutter with good separation at 92 mph and an 18″ horizontal sinker and a good sweeper at 83/84 mph he locates down-and-away. Wait, are you digging this? Well, pitching in relief + for your country is going to generate an uptick in velocity. If he somehow holds it whenever he gets a chance to start for the Rays (may not be for a long time), I’m absolutely in.
Keider Montero (VEN) – 3.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 2 K. Like Gómez, we saw an uptick in velocity here from Montero (+2-3 ticks across the board!) and his slider/cutter was deadly at 87 mph and 10″ of sweep. Oh, and two extra inches of ride to 17/18″ and 2+ inches of vert to 18/19″ at 96 mph. Man, if only we could believe that could hold past 40 pitches and without the heightened adrenaline.
Not on TV
SEA vs. ARI
ATH vs. CIN
PHI vs. BOS
COL vs. CWS
CLE vs. KCR
TBR vs. DET
STL vs. HOU
LAA vs. SFG
Zac Gallen (ARI) – 3.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 3 K. Yeah, he’s all good. I’m down to draft Gallen in a great situation.
Jack Perkins (ATH) – 2.2 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 3 BB, 2 K. Welp, I think the dream is dead for Perkins. For now.
Luis Medina (ATH) – 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 2 BB, 1 K. Cool to see him out there, but just 20 pitches and 1/5 slider strikes. Nope.
Garrett Crochet (BOS) – 4.2 IP, 3 ER, 5 H, 0 BB, 2 K. He was down 1.5 ticks on the heater and I’ll chalk it up to the spring. The command is all kinds of hawt.
Jedixson Paez (CWS) – 2.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 2 K. Just 33 pitches = not taken seriously to be a part of the rotation. Welp, so it goes. Also really poor stuff at 91 mph fastballs and 79 mph curves. Yikes.
Rhett Lowder (CIN) – 3.2 IP, 3 ER, 7 H, 0 BB, 4 K. 12/38 secondary whiffs between the change and slider is great, though the changeup looks better than the slide piece at 1.3″ of drop. I can’t say I love the heaters, though, and I’m not a major fan if he gets the job in Cincy.
Parker Messick (CLE) – 4.2 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 1 BB, 4 K. Whooooaaaaa, he went 66 pitches! This could mean the Guardians favor him over Allen instead of slowing him down and sticking him in the minors. Allen hasn’t looked good (pitched in relief, too!) and Messick, while not spotting his changeup well at all, still has great fastball command and would be a great SWATCH for your fantasy teams. I’m now drafting him at the end of drafts hoping he gets the spot.
Kyle Freeland (COL) – 2.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 3 BB, 2 K. He’s getting more cut on the heater and the breakers aren’t terrible Is this enough for a stream in Miami? Meh. Wait it out a little more. The command isn’t great.
Framber Valdez (DET) – 4.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 0 BB, 6 K. 73% strikes on the curveball = WE’RE COOKIN’ Y’ALL. Weird to see him 2-3″ down on his extension + an extra 2″ of horizontal on everything (including the curve…?), which has me thinking this is calibration stuff, not worse quality.
Cristian Javier (HOU) – 1.2 IP, 1 ER, 1 H, 3 BB, 3 K. Oh jeez. Velocity is still down over a tick, he’s lost 2-3″ of cut to blegh territory of iHB (still 18″ of vert) and he can’t locate the breakers at all. Not what we want to see.
Ryan Weiss (HOU) – 3.0 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 1 BB, 6 K. He’s 17″+ of vert at 94/95 mph + a good sweeper and huge kick-change. I’m telling y’all, he’s going to get innings for the Astros and while I don’t believe him to be an SP #2 or whatever, he’s exactly the kind of late pick you want in a 15-teamer. Draft post pick #400 and should be far earlier.
Ryan Bergert (KCR) – 3.0 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 1 BB, 2 K. I’m not sure if I prefer Bergert or Kolek (probably Kolek…?) but he is throwing a harder slider now without movement loss (88/89 mph) and that’s cool. What happened to the sweeper? Just one thrown here and it was lofted up and out of the zone.
José Soriano (LAA) – 5.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 4 K. I love seeing 3/10 slider whiffs to RHB! That’s a 91/92 mph pitch with not too much loft on it that we normally see from harder slide pieces. Great sinker command in to RHB as well, but why is the four-seamer getting so much attention?! IT’S NOT GOOD. Stop that Soriano.
George Klassen (LAA) – 3.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 1 BB, 2 K. Yes, he’s still throwing hard. Sadly, in relief here and limited to three innings, ending the game with 34 pitches. It’s still Empty Velocity and I don’t think I’m down in 12-teamers when he eventually starts, save for against weak lineups (read: ‘Rockie Road”). There will be some fun games, though.
Bryse Wilson (PHI) – 3.0 IP, 4 ER, 6 H, 3 BB, 3 K. Yeah, Bryse ain’t starting for the Phillies right now.
Robbie Ray (SFG) – 4.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 4 BB, 4 K. We’re back down to 41% four-seamers. PHEW. What’s hilarious is the slider and changeup both putting uup 64%+ strike rates and the fastball sputtering at a 44% clip. That’s not to say Ray had fantastic feel for the slide piece and changeup (and definitely not the curveball), and this feels like standard Ray.
Caleb Kilian (SFG) – 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 1 K. He’s a reliever and just eleven pitches, I know, I know, but hot dangg, the near 20″ separation between his 96 mph sinker and 90 mph cutter is…hot. Just saying.
Bryan Woo (SEA) – 4.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 4 K. Aces gonna ace. Good to see the sweeper snagging all the called strikes with a lower velocity and having actual delpth, but he’s still 70% fastballs. That’s what he does.
Richard Fitts (STL) – 2.2 IP, 4 ER, 6 H, 0 BB, 3 K.
Shane McClanahan (TBR) – 2.1 IP, 3 ER, 3 H, 1 BB, 3 K. So this wasn’t good. After 93 mph in his first game back and sitting at “80%” intensity, we saw just one extra tick up here with worse stuff. At least the changeup is still filthy, and the overall package isn’t bad, it’s just nothing close to the Top 5 SP stud we know and love. But hey, it’s a process and he could very well be ramping up more. Mind going a little faster?
What To Watch Today On TV
SPs on the mound today #SpringSPnotesGet morning updates to EVERY SP via my daily Plus Pitch Podcast AND SP Roundup article on the Pitcher List site.Trey Gibson – Breaking ball cmd good enough for bad FF?Matthew Liberatore – #SWATCHWATCH2026Richard Fitts – Demanding SP spot?
— Nick Pollack (@nickpollack.pitcherlist.com) 2026-03-09T15:49:07.222Z
