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
The Padres will likely be without Joe Musgrove to begin the year, stating that he needs to “get over that hump”. I’d hold off from drafting Musgrove, personally.
We were jazzed about Bryce Miller throwing a bullpen to quell our concerns for his oblique injury, yet he cut the bullpen short due to discomfort in the area. It sure doesn’t seem like he can be trusted to skip a trip to the IL.
Blake Snell tossed a bullpen and the hope is to return before the end of April. An important update for those hoping it would be a short IL stint to begin the year. I’m grouping him with Wheeler, Cole, Rodón, etc.
Quinn Priester has been diagnosed with a nerve issue “in the TOS Family”. It’s possible he can pitch through it, but why risk it?
Brewers fans can cheer up a little: Logan Henderson had a “good bullpen” and could possibly pitch in a spring game this weekend.
The haze around the Blue Jays’ rotation may clear with the news of José Berríos enduring elbow inflammation. He will continue throwing, though it could make demote him into a piggy-back role with either Scherzer or Yesavage early in the year.
If you were wondering where Adam Mazur went, he’ll be getting elbow surgery and will miss the entire season. As a member of the 40-man, this opens a spot, which could be used for prospect Robby Snelling, granting a faster path to the majors. Snelling could be in that rotation before the end of April and would be an auto-add.
Gunnar Hoglund has a back issue, which explains why we haven’t seen him pitch at all this spring. You can continue forgetting about him.
You can put your worries about Zac Gallen’s early volume to rest – he’s been tagged as the Opening Day starter for the Diamondbacks. Great news.
The Athletics are likely going with Luis Morales and Jacob Lopez for the final two spots of the rotation, removing Jack Perkins and J.T. Ginn from the conversation.
Zack Wheeler is nearing his first live BP session and has a chance to throw in a spring game before the end of camp. I’m still in disbelief of the Phillies’ optimism for Wheeler’s “April” timeline, and that could be dispelled by proper spring data.
Speaking of injured aces hopefully getting a spring start, Gerrit Cole is pushing to make a start before camp ends. It sure makes it seem that Cole will be back before the end of May at this rate.
Merrill Kelly will make his first spring start on Friday after missing time with a back injury. If all goes well, he could be the SP #4/#5 to start the year with the club and not miss a beat.
Expected Rotations By Team
On TV
ARI vs. LAD
ATL vs. TOR
BAL vs. HOU
CAN vs. PUR
CZE vs. JPN
ISR vs. NED
ITA vs. USA
STL vs. NYM
NYY vs. PHI
Brandon Pfaadt (ARI) – 2.2 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 2 BB, 4 K. I love that he’s trying to make his changeup and cutter work against LHB. I dig it, even if the cutter is kinda meh. Some are cool with 6″ drop at 90 mph, but I wonder if it’s enough of a shift from his 15″ vert four-seamer. The dude is trying and has an opportunity. Maybe this is the year. I’m happy to see sinker/slider against RHB, but there is room for two-strike four-seamers upstairs there, too, which we never saw, and the sweeper has far too much lift for my taste. HOWEVER, the curveball at 83 mph should get a whole lot more love than he’s giving it (nine sweepers, three curves to RHB, just two curves to LHB). At one tick slower than the sweeper and at the same sweep, it has 15″ more drop. Uhhhh, isn’t that a lot better?
JR Ritchie (ATL) – 4.0 IP, 2 ER, 1 H, 4 BB, 2 K. With Elder existing, Ritchie has become the adoration of Atlanta fans and he has a filthy changeup with crazy drop + some fun breakers above 80 mph and lovely movement. The problem? His fastballs are terrible, even at 94/95 mph. The cutter is fine at 91/92 mph (poor movement, too), and I’m not seeing an arm to get stoked about.
Logan Allen (CAN) – 3.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 0 BB, 2 K. Just 43 pitches for Team Canada and I really can’t express how much the Guardians should not have Allen in the rotation. He has an option, Cantillo doesn’t, so it’s Logan vs. Messick, and…you know. IT SHOULD BE MESSICK.
Lance McCullers Jr. Jr. (HOU) – 3.0 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 1 BB, 4 K. Whoaaaa! He’s alive! And stretched out to 52 pitches! And sitting 93 mph (he was 91/92 mph last year). There’s less filth on his pitches (curve and sweeper each lost over two inches of sweeper and velocity) and it feels like McCullers has done some weird things across the board. His sinker and four-seamer have each gained plenty of good movement (+2.5″ of vert on the four-seamer, +4/5″ on the sinker?!), while the secondaries have declined as a result. It’s…fine? I’m struggling to make out what is going on with the Astros’ rotation and I’ll continue to pound the drum for a six-man rotation. As for McCullers, ehhhh. Deep league streamer and see what you have? Sure.
Roddery Muñoz (HOU) – 1.1 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 3 K. Okay, he’s not going to be in this rotation.
Michael Lorenzen (ITA) – 4.2 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 1 BB, 2 K. There’s a reason why every pitcher is a major leaguer. And, of course, why Lorenzen keeps getting opportunities. He always has a chance to execute his kitchen sink and get outs. But in Coors…
Tyler Glasnow (LAD) – 4.1 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 1 BB, 5 K. He only faced RHB, and look at that! 22% sinkers! At 46% strikes. Whatever, it’s a different look and I dig that. I don’t hate it at all, but I will mention his fastballs + sliders (the new one with more vert to gain…nothing? More strikes?) failed to return a whiff. And yet, he’s dope and makes us feel dope at 60 pitches. We’re cool.
Ben Casparius (LAD) – 0.2 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 K. JUST TRADE HIM ALREADY.
David Peterson (NYM) – 4.0 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 3 K. It’s Peterson, alright. The command is still unreliable, though the changeup was generally away to RHB with four-seamers up. The sinker away to RHB is something I’ll never truly understand, but he is someone to consider in deeper formats, even as a streamer in 12-teamers. He’ll get volume, just have a ton of volatility.
Christian Scott (NYM) – 3.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 4 BB, 4 K. Not the best game from Scott, but it’s great to see the cutter/slider getting more action, even if he struggled to get consistent movement out of it. Zero hard contact allowed is a good sign, right? Even if it’s against the back-half of a spring lineup…
Luis Gil (NYY) – 3.1 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 0 BB, 4 K. I’m thrilled to see 17-18″ of vert back on gil’s four-seamer. That said, he didn’t get it up a whole lot and the changeup was rouuuuugh. Not one whiff on 31 four-seamers thrown. And yet, he still induces weak contact. That’s cool.
Paul Blackburn (NYY) – 4.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 3 BB, 4 K. He’s the depth of depth pieces and things need to go terribly wrong in the next two weeks for the Yankees to hold him. I wonder if a team like Atlanta picks him up once he’s released. No, we’re not interested.
Dylan Cease (TOR) – 3.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 3 K. He’s sitting 98 mph with 18″ of vert and he’s trying to make the sinker work once again…but he threw five of his eight total to LHB?! Wat. He’s trying to make the sweeper and curve work, too, and what do you know, THERE’S NO CUTTER IN SIGHT. Cease. Buddy. Sinkers inside to RHB only. LHB can get some curves, fine, but that demands a cutter or changeup to pair with the slider. That’s it. It won’t feel right at first, just keep trying. Everything else shouldn’t work.
Nolan McLean (USA) – 3.0 IP, 3 ER, 2 H, 2 BB, 4 K. So he allowed a pair of HRs off four-seamers to LHB. Big deal. Wait, isn’t the problem you’ve had with McLean? Poor fastballs and lacking a great attack to LHB? Oh. Well, yeah, but he’ll figure that out, right? His curveball precision was filthy to them, after all, and his sweeper has gained 4-5″ of sweep. Absolutely bonkers. His two-plane curveball movement at 81/82 mph is unreal, too. We’re going to be happy with him.
Not on TV
CWS vs. ATH
DET vs. BOS
CHC vs. TEX
CIN vs. COL
SFG vs. CLE
KCR vs. SEA
SDP vs. LAA
WSH vs. MIA
MIN vs. TBR
Jeffrey Springs (ATH) – 2.2 IP, 6 ER, 4 H, 3 BB, 3 K. He’s found two more inches of vert on his four-seamer and it still wasn’t Sunshine and Rainbows.
Joey Estes (ATH) – 2.2 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 1 BB, 0 K. I could hear the hitters now, the moment Springs left. Ayyy! It’s Estes for the rest of us!
Sonny Gray (BOS) – 4.0 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 1 BB, 4 K. That’s Sonny. We saw a whole lot of pitches, some with less movement, some with more, and he is who he is.
Cade Horton (CHC) – 3.2 IP, 6 ER, 6 H, 2 BB, 2 K. Cade! Noooo! It was a trio of HRs that got him, but the real culprit was the lack of precision with curves, fastballs, and changeups, while the sweeper is pretty dang lackluster at just -10″ of sweep at 84 mph. And yet, it returned four whiffs on thirteen thrown. True. I’m not letting this one stop my love for the fella, who has continued to improve his cut-four-seamer, now with -1″ of cut at 96 mph. BONKERS.
Shane Smith (CWS) – 2.2 IP, 5 ER, 5 H, 4 BB, 2 K. Noooope. Changeup ain’t commanded well, velo is 94/95 mph (I guess that’s okay…? He is at 70 pitches now.) and he failed to earn a whiff on eleven breakers. I’m not interested at all.
Hagen Smith (CWS) – 0.2 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 1 K. Fun to see Hagen sit 96 mph from the left side, but it’s Empty Velocity at the moment and that’s not fun. The two-plane slider is a fun time but I need a little more to get properly giddy at the prospect of, uh, the prospect appearing this year.
Brandon Williamson (CIN) – 3.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 3 K. There’s some competition for Williamson to sneak into this rotation, but at just 41 pitches, I think he’s on the outside, looking in at Lowder twirling…something on the mound. I hope it’s good.
Tanner Bibee (CLE) – 3.2 IP, 0 ER, 4 H, 0 BB, 6 K. You’re likely thinking this start changes things. It doesn’t. This was a horrific Giants lineup and he just chuked the cutter a ton, which was all of the place with its movement. HOWEVER, I’m giving him a ton of credit for beautiful separation of his cutter and both fastballs against RHB. So fine, the cutter is looking more consistent location-wise, but its movement was so inconsistent, ranging from a poor cutter to a poor sweeper and without a clear bucket. I don’t trust him.
Ryan Feltner (COL) – 3.0 IP, 3 ER, 6 H, 0 BB, 4 K. He’s a Colorado SP.
Tanner Gordon (COL) – 4.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 4 K. He’s also a Colorado SP.
Ty Madden (DET) – 3.2 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 3 BB, 2 K. He’s happy he’s not a Colorado SP. Not a whole lot for me to celebrate with Madden and I’m going to pass if he gets a chance for some frames this year. 93 mph with mid everything ain’t it.
Cole Ragans (KCR) – 3.1 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 0 BB, 5 K. PEW PEW PEW. No Sinkers to LHB yet, but the four-seamer is 95/96 mph and still has two-plane movement, now with an inch more vert at the cost of 3″ of horizontal. Yes, I’m totally cool with that. Changeup cooks against RHB, and 5/10 slider whiffs to LHB is glorious. It’s a tick higher at 86 mph with slightly less drop and I love that. It means fewer will get spiked down-and-away, and likely create more competitive slide pieces.
Mitch Farris (LAA) – 3.2 IP, 7 ER, 8 H, 1 BB, 6 K. Awwwww. I gotta say, he still has a fantastic changeup, and now it’s 92/93 mph (not 90 mph) with a new cutter that has good separation from the four-seamer at 90 mph. He just has to command the heater and cutter better. Man, the Angels should let him start, but before I call him a huge sleeper, I have to preach caution about the Angels’ defense. It’s just so bad.
Eury Pérez (MIA) – 3.0 IP, 2 ER, 2 H, 2 BB, 7 K. Aces gonna ace. He’s now at 99 mph across 55 pitches with a little more vert over 18″. More importantly, he’s tightened his curve to 82/83 mph and the changeup had four whiffs! As the only strikes it earned on eleven thrown! With one thrown for a gorgeous whiff to a RHB. Truuuuue. The high strike rates on sliders, sweepers, and curves make me happy and I’m very interested. He’ll get a lot of punchouts this year, even if he’s a little more hittable than we’d like due to his suspect command.
Joe Ryan (MIN) – 3.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 2 BB, 0 K. As we expected, Ryan was down in velocity in his first start after getting shut down with a back issue. Great to see 48 pitches and the similar command of four-seamers upstairs. Only four pitches to RHB, too, which made things a little harder, too. I consider this a Win, solely based on being near 50 pitches and at 92 mph, instead of 90 mph.
Walker Buehler (SDP) – 3.2 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 1 BB, 2 K. It’s clear the Padres said to Buehler, “Yo. No. More. Four-seamers.” Sadly, the breaking pitches aren’t anything special, which makes the whole project a massive grind. He’ll likely be in the rotation with Márquez now that Musgrove is delayed (or maybe Gillaspie over one of them…?) and I have no interest.
Carson Seymour (SFG) – 4.0 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 1 BB, 3 K. He throws 96 mph with a 93 mph cutter that flashes elite and other times has 9/10″ of vert. There’s also a curveball with crazy good movement for 85 mph (we saw -12/-12″, that’s ELITE), and I wonder if we’ll start seeing more than nine thrown. He really should go cutter/curve a lot more often, and seeing ten pitches against RHB without a hook doesn’t feel right. I’m more interested now with the slightly harder curve with a bit more sweep.
Hayden Birdsong (SFG) – 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 1 K. The Giants have so many more options than Birdsong, I wouldn’t hold onto hope for this to work out as an SP anytime soon.
Cooper Criswell (SEA) – 3.1 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 5 K. If Bryce is out, I legit believe the Mariners should go with Criswell. His command is still there. You may find a hilarious AL-Only stream here. But he’d get the Yankees in Seattle first. Awwww.
Steven Matz (TBR) – 4.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 1 BB, 3 K. He’s sitting 93/94 mph across 57 pitches, which is down a tick from last year…as a reliever. I’ll take this all day. He’s embracing the SWATCH Lyfe too, using it 38% of the time to RHB for some whiffs and plenty of weak contact. I don’t understand why the sinker isn’t going inside to LHB, but he has great command for a smart organization and I’m super tempted to chase this early in 15-teamers.
Joe Rock (TBR) – 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 2 K. He’s kinda cool but he’s too far behind the others to get any attention for a long time.
Jacob deGrom (TEX) – 3.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 1 BB, 5 K. His slider command was godly at 92/93 mph and he worked in the changeup to both LHB and RHB with 3/8 whiffs. He’s so dang good.
Kumar Rocker (TEX) – 4.0 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 5 K. Oh cool. It’s 17% cutter usage. I DON’T UNDERSTAND YOU. At the vert least, he’s added two inches of drop on the slider and increased its velocity 1-2″ ticks, but that’s just a slightly better 86 mph gyro slider. And his fastballs do not move. At all. No thanks.
Foster Griffin (WSH) – 3.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 4 K. He’s a part of #SWATCHWATCH2026 and this is absolutely not for me. The Nationals are terrible defensively and the stuff is far too blegh without the tight command you want vs. LHB. At least it’s cutters in + fading 83 mph changeups away to RHB.
Jake Eder (WSH) – 2.2 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 3 BB, 2 K. The former highly regarded southpaw prospect cannot command his changeup. I have zero interest here.
Who To Monitor Today
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.Kyle Bradish – Whiffs on breakers?Dustin May – SI/Sweeper and….? Cutter to LHB?Cade Cavalli – OPENING DAY SP! More than a feeling on his CB?
— Nick Pollack (@nickpollack.pitcherlist.com) 2026-03-11T17:47:44.965Z
