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 Orioles are not going six-man after all, optioning Dean Kremer to the minors.
Didier Fuentes will be on the opening day roster for Atlanta…in the bullpen. He’ll likely be in long relief and get the first opportunity to start when a spot opens.
The Padres have confirmed that Walker Buehler will be a part of the rotation. Not much of a surprise there.
Expected Rotations By Team
Friday’s Games
MIL vs. ARI
CHC vs. ATH
PIT vs. ATL
BAL vs. NYY
BOS vs. TBR
CIN vs. CHC
CWS vs. LAA
SEA vs. CLE
COL vs. SDP
DET vs. PHI
MIA vs. HOU
KCR vs. SFG
SDP vs. LAD
WSH vs. MIA
TOR vs. MIN
STL vs. NYM
SFG vs. TEX
Zac Gallen (ARI) – 4.0 IP, 6 ER, 9 H, 2 BB, 0 K. Velo is still up at 93/94 mph (sweet!) and he didn’t focus on his curveball or changeup. This was all about featuring the four-seamer, which he kept on the inner half to LHB, but down. I don’t like that, and it’s why eight of eleven balls in play off the fastball were hit hard (73%!). Don’t fret, it’s his final tuneup and chance to figure out the heater. I’m not concerned…just don’t start him against the Dodgers?
Luis Severino (ATH) – 5.0 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 2 BB, 7 K. No one should be surprised to see the velocity dip after the WBC, and I’m not jazzed about Severino entering the year with the same home park. Maybe it won’t be so bad on the road in Toronto and Atlanta to start the year? Ehhhh, no thanks.
José Suarez (ATL) – 5.1 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 2 BB, 6 K. He’s not starting and Fuentes got a roster spot in the pen. Let’s move on.
Zach Eflin (BAL) – 5.1 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 7 K. Yes, he’s still a tick up after throwing 70 pitches. I think he’s getting completely overlooked.
Jameson Taillon (CHC) – 4.0 IP, 3 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 6 K. Blegh. He came out for the fifth, allowed three baserunners, including two HRs, and that’s your ballgame. Much better command here and the changeup whiffs showed up (save for the Butler HR…). Sweeper will get there. Ignore the spring numbers, this looked like a spring of tinkering, and it may take another start or two to click. Legit value in NL-Only leagues with a mid-April/May 15-teamer pick-up on the horizon.
Matthew Boyd (CHC) – 4.2 IP, 8 ER, 9 H, 2 BB, 5 K. Oh jeeeeeez. He faced all RHB, who aren’t subject to his slider that normally gets the job done against LHB (Durran in the WBC aside), but that changeup should be a destroyer of worlds and it simply wasn’t. Terrible feel for both the change and four-seamer, leaving so many pitches over the heart of the plate, while the slider went 4/11 strikes. A really bad day at the park and I’m thankful it’s the spring. Note the K/BB being fine and 93/94 mph velo. I’m not running.
Shane Smith (CWS) – 3.1 IP, 4 ER, 2 H, 3 BB, 5 K. Meh. Not enough for me to chase, with few whiffs on the slider despite using it 52% of the time to RHB.
Brandon Williamson (CIN) – 5.1 IP, 1 ER, 6 H, 1 BB, 2 K. He’s doing a great job getting 90/91 mph cutters inside to RHB, but can you get the changeup down please? Just 1/16 whiffs is the difference between all those hits and 5/6 strikeouts. Sneaky sneaky volume play, could even be worthwhile as a Toby in 12-teamers.
Logan Allen (CLE) – 2.1 IP, 12 ER, 14 H, 2 BB, 2 K. Annnnnd Messick is the SP #5. Logan was optioned to Triple-A, and Messick is an arm I’d go for around SP 60-70, near Eflin.
Tarik Skubal (DET) – 4.0 IP, 3 ER, 6 H, 0 BB, 5 K. Aces gonna meh. Two ticks down, with 2-3 clicks down on extension = not pushing himself. Don’t worry for a second.
Hunter Brown (HOU) – 4.0 IP, 3 ER, 4 H, 3 BB, 6 K. Velo is normal at 96/07 mph (a touch extra extension, too), but he had to deal with LHB more than RHB, which forced more from his change and curve, which are not nearly as good as the four-seamer/sinker combo to RHB + the slider to RHB was laughable as it sailed up five times out of the seven he threw. What a weird one.
Ryan Bergert (KCR) – 4.0 IP, 4 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 1 K. Cool to see an uptick of velo across 60 pitches (94/95 mph), but just 1/18 whiffs on sliders + sweepers ain’t helping me get excited whenever he gets a chance to start again.
José Soriano (LAA) – 3.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 3 BB, 3 K. The velocity is certainly there at 99 mph (a tick up), and he even had an extra 1-2″ of drop on the sinker, but he couldn’t locate the dang thing, nor the slider, while the curve was rarely thrown and his four-seamer was shockingly the main offering to RHB at 50% usage (8% usage to RHB last year). To his credit, the pitch returned 7/15 whiffs to RHB and nailed the down-and-away corner. Is this really the new life for Soriano? I just can’t believe that, nor rely on the guy with his questionable control and horrific defense.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto (LAD) – 5.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 1 BB, 7 K. Aces gonna ace.
Eury Pérez (MIA) – 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 1 BB, 5 K. I’m not seeing much of a shift from last season, though I really appreciate that Pérez has taken his practice time to keep throwing changeups, which went 6/12 strikes here. They miss bats when executed well (3/12 here!), but he’s still not quite there. The breakers are fine, though. He’s Eury – not quite polished yet, but you see the potential.
Chris Paddack (MIA) – 4.0 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 3 K. He’s not a stud, but he’s pitched decently enough this spring and gets Rockie Road to start the year. I just wish this was longer than 51 pitches (probably due to his efficiency through four?). Fun to see 95 mph on his final four-seamer, and there is an 80/81 mph slurve in there (called a sweeper, but it’s above his curve with -7″ of drop). I’m not sure I want to risk a short start of 65 pitches opening weekend (I’m probably being dumb and he’ll be at 75-80), but there’s potential here for sneaky streams.
Jacob Misiorowski (MIL) – 4.1 IP, 4 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 3 K. Velo was down (final tune up, extension was also down, don’t worry) and he couldn’t throw the four-seamer for strikes. Don’t freak out, y’all. Please.
Logan Henderson (MIL) – 2.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 3 K. I’m very happy to see him pitch, however limited. Showcases that he’s alright and still at 93/94 mph, and we’ll just have to wait until the end of April or whenever for him to return to the rotation.
Simeon Woods Richardson (MIN) – 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 9 H, 1 BB, 3 K. He’s still at 92 mph and I’m not interested at all. Unless you’re in an AL-Only league where all but the worst starters get drafted, I don’t see a reason to go for SWR.
Tobias Myers (NYM) – 2.0 IP, 1 ER, 1 H, 1 BB, 2 K. With Manaea’s poor velocity, I’m not surprised the Mets are at least having Myers start, even if he tossed fewer than 30 pitches. Manaea is expected to “piggy-back”, by the way, which will turn into Tobias in time when they eventually put Manaea on the IL.
Luis Gil (NYY) – 5.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 1 BB, 7 K. Phew. Gil probably felt like he needed to prove himself and hurled 97 mph heaters (+1.4 ticks) at a 77% strike rate, with two ticks up on the change and slider, too. The former couldn’t find strikes (39% rate), the latter did work (75% strikes) and I say all of this still worries me. Why? Because his extension is down from 6.8/6.9 to 6.4 feet. Even on a day he was clearly exerting more effort, the extension wasn’t what it was last season. That said, he does head to Seattle for his first start of the year and if you’re looking for a guy to add for a Wednesday start, Gil is a good one.
Cristopher Sánchez (PHI) – 5.0 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 4 K. He sat 95 mph with three clicks down on his extension. Taking. It. Easy. Not fun to see two inches of more vert on the aptly named sinker, though. Give me those depth gains back. Probably nothing, we move on.
Nick Pivetta (SDP) – 4.0 IP, 4 ER, 8 H, 1 BB, 3 K. Velocity is fine, don’t care about the rest. It’s my only real concern for Pivetta, and the huge variety of pitch movement is weird and he should be fine at home in San Diego.
Adrian Houser (SFG) – 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 5 K. Sadly, his velocity is back to what it was last year, but then again, his extension was down. You know the drill by now, it’s the final tune up and he’s not going all out. He’s a streamer you should consider often.
Matthew Liberatore (STL) – 5.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 1 BB, 5 K. 93/94 mph sinkers and four-seamers + 91 mph cutters is cool, but he needs to have a better feel for the changeup and slider. He needed just 54 pitches here to get through five and I see a ‘Toby” entering the year.
Shane McClanahan (TBR) – 5.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 4 K. The four-seamer is just 94 mph, but the secondaries are still getting the job done, even if the changeup was lofted a little too much. I see a Toby at worst with a Holly to AGA at absolute best here. He’s a better pitcher than Strider, meaning he’s a southpaw who is less reliant on the ole velocity. Still worth your draft pick, just not so aggressively.
Nathan Eovaldi (TEX) – 4.0 IP, 0 ER, 4 H, 1 BB, 0 K. He was just too dang efficient with four frames done in just 36 pitches. I love drafting Eovaldi as my SP #4.
Max Scherzer (TOR) – 5.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 2 BB, 3 K. It’s strange to see Scherzer move away from his slider and cutter, with lower velocity on all secondaries, yet the four-seamer is the same. Welp, still a decent play to start the year.
Foster Griffin (WSH) – 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 5 K. He has a rotation spot as a SWATCH and that changeup did a bit more work in this one with 4/15 whiffs + the cutter and sweeper held great CSW marks as the four-seamer stayed up and sinker inside. I don’t like trusting the team around him, but there could be some Toby potential here.
Who To Monitor Today
SPs on the mound today #SpringSPnotesGet morning updates to EVERY SP via my daily SP Roundup article on the Pitcher List site.Cade Cavalli – Anything more than curve/fastballs?Kevin Gausman – Be normalPaul Skenes – AGAJoe Ryan – 93/94 mph? Back okay?Chris Sale – AGAGarrett Crochet – AGA
— Nick Pollack (@nickpollack.pitcherlist.com) 2026-03-21T16:29:23.763Z
