Ladies and gentlemen, the wait is over. The offseason has (almost) come to a close, and all of our favorite players are returning to their respective teams to gear up for another season.
As is the case every season, Spring Training serves as a chance for fantasy baseball managers to examine both MLB-level players and their prospect counterparts. A strong spring training performance can fill managers with confidence that their young talent will pan out, while a slump may breed fears of holding onto a bust.
2025 is no different. There are stories coming out of every camp that could affect how the season will turn out. A former fringe-starter could add a devastating new offering. A prospect could launch himself from obscurity into a “player to watch.” It may be impossible to guess which nuggets of information will dominate the headlines, but hey, we can try.
Here are five storylines I’m following going into Spring Training this month.
Dynasty Storylines for Fantasy Managers to Follow
Where does Roki Sasaki fit in LA’s Rotation?
The Dodgers have been the #1 topic of discussion for baseball fans this offseason. Disagreements about whether or not what they’re doing is good for the game or not have dominated the news cycles for weeks. What cannot be disputed is that the Dodgers have built a super-team.
How will the Cubs Handle their Army of Prospects?
The Chicago Cubs have seven players listed in MLB’s top 100 prospects.
Six of them finished last season with the club’s AAA affiliate.
Cubs decision-maker Jed Hoyer has done an excellent job at replenishing a farm system that ranked #26 in 2020 and #22 in 2021. Now he has to find a way to integrate all of these talented players into a Major League roster that doesn’t have a ton of openings for consistent playing time.
The obvious hole in the lineup is at third base, and, until Wednesday night, this paragraph was very different. The Cubs were one of the last teams in on Alex Bregman, but ultimately the Red Sox coughed up the funds to bring him to Boston. Now, that leaves Matt Shaw (MLB #19, CHC #1) as the de-facto “lock” to start the year at the hot corner. He has the potential to be a true difference-maker in the middle of Chicago’s lineup and will get plenty of chances to assert himself with little-to-no organizational competition.
If Shaw can come close to that level of production, or even exceed it, he becomes another weapon added to the lineup alongside their new outfielder.
Speaking of, the outfield is where it gets really murky. Kyle Tucker is here now and could be here long-term if the Cubs can get an extension done. For obvious reasons, he’s not going to leave the lineup for a prospect. Ian Happ (122 wRC+) and Pete Crow Armstrong (124 wRC+ in last 40 games) likely won’t either. That leaves Owen Caissie and Kevin Alcántara without a roster spot. The latter of the two is on the 40-man, so if an injury were to occur, he is the more likely of the two to get the call. That said, I wouldn’t be surprised to see one (or both) of these names discussed in trade talks should the Cubs perform as well as they’re expected to this season.
On the pitching front: Cade Horton remains their top arm. The only question for him is his health, and whether or not it will allow him to blossom into the ace that he was (and still is by some) regarded as. The bottom half of the Cubs rotation is murky, with Colin Rea and Matthew Boyd filling the #4 and #5 spots for now. Javier Assad, Ben Brown, Caleb Kilian, and Jordan Wicks could also see time in the rotation this year. Horton’s ceiling is still higher than all of theirs, but will the Cubs give him a chance to show it?
The final two are Moises Ballesteros and James Triantos. While both were excellent offensively in 2024, they will likely spend most of 2025 in the minors. Triantos just has too much traffic in front of him, and at 22, the Cubs can afford to be patient. While the depth at catcher in the big leagues isn’t awesome, Ballesteros still has to answer questions about his defense. Both will make an impact on the Cubs roster in the future, it just may not be in 2025.
Where does Alex Bregman fit in Boston’s Lineup?…What About their Prospects?
The final free agency domino fell on Wednesday night when Alex Bregman joined the Boston Red Sox. On paper, the deal makes sense. The Red Sox needed another impact bat in the lineup, and Bregman gets to play for a possible contender. The amount of money may raise some eyebrows, but that’s the state of the free agency market right now.
The bigger concern is how this affects the promotion timeline of Boston’s two big-name infield prospects. Marcelo Mayer and Kristian Campbell are both knocking on the door of the Major League roster, and now there’s a superstar blocking their path. More so in the case of Campbell, who played second base/shortstop for most of the 2024 season. Reports (as of now) indicate that the intention is for Bregman to slot into that defensive spot in 2025, a position he hasn’t played since 2018.
Does that make Boston better defensively? Probably not, but it allows them to fit Bregman into the lineup without removing Triston Casas. Again, I may not agree with the move, but that seems to be the decision that was made. Looking at the names in the infield at Fenway (Story, Devers, Bregman), there isn’t a likely path to playing time this year.
That’s a real shame, because both of them deserve a shot. Campbell was one of the most dominant offensive forces in all of the minor leagues last year (180 wRC+), and Mayer was no slouch either (142 wRC+).
Both Campbell and Mayer are still valuable dynasty assets, and both may break into the Major League lineup later this year. That said, the Bregman signing likely deflates some of their helium going into camp, and both will likely be midseason call-ups.
All of that discourse doesn’t even account for Roman Anthony! MLB’s second-highest-rated prospect (behind Sasaki) is coming into the spring with the intention of forcing his way onto the roster in 2025. While it’s unlikely he does, his performance will generate plenty of attention this spring.
Does Signing Jack Flaherty push Jackson Jobe back to the Minors?
First, let me preface everything that follows with this: Jackson Jobe should be in the Major League rotation to start 2025. However, the signing of Jack Flaherty now pushes Jobe into the fifth spot in the rotation, and into a battle with several other names who have already started at the Major League level.
“Already started at the Major League level.” That is the key phrase I’m going to keep coming back to. There is no question that Jobe has ace-level potential and undoubtedly has a higher ceiling than anyone he will be in competition with this spring. However, he’s yet to start at the Major League level, and his competition has. If you’re the decision maker in Detroit, and your team is coming off a surprise playoff berth, doesn’t steady production sound good in the back half of the rotation?
It’s the old “devil you know vs. devil you don’t” question. You know what you’re going to get out of Casey Mize or Alex Cobb; Do you know what you’re going to get out of a first-time starter in Jobe? The easy answer is no. Am I going to sit here and say I think Jobe will struggle in his first taste of Major League action as a starter? Absolutely not. Am I willing to completely rule out that scenario? Also no. That lingering fear that a bad spell could occur and cost the Tigers games early in the season may lead to a return to Toledo.
Jobe is doing everything he can to force the issue and land a spot in the rotation. SI reported last week that Jobe has added a two-seamer and curveball to his four-pitch mix, making him even more intriguing.
The entire debate hinges on Jobe’s spring performance. If he comes out and dominates in Florida, then I doubt the Tigers will make him wait to start games for them any longer. On the flip side, if he has some shaky outings or needs improvement in an area or two, the Tigers may take the “risk-averse” route and ease him into the rotation later in the season.
Will any 2024 Draftees Accelerate their Promotion Timeline?
There seems to be a growing trend in collegiate baseball and professional baseball over the past two years. More and more college players are making their Major League debuts within their first year after being drafted, especially at the top of the draft. For the teams drafting these players, the risk seems to be paying off.
Seven first-rounders from the 2023 Draft have made their big-league debut. Only five from the 2022 Draft have achieved that feat so far. Whether or not this is due to the talent level of college baseball or the fact that these are just special players is a moot point. The fact is, they’re here and they’re performing.
2024’s #1 pick, Travis Bazzana, is undoubtedly the Guardians’ second baseman of the future now that Andrés Giménez is in Canada. A good spring performance could make Cleveland’s executives seriously consider putting him on an MLB field less than a year after signing him.
The Angels are known for fast-tracking their draftees to the Major Leagues, and Christian Moore has plenty of potential. His monster offensive performance in college, followed by an electric run in his first taste of pro ball (184 wRC+ in 25 games) has put him on the radar of fantasy managers. I wouldn’t be surprised if a good performance in Arizona is enough for him to break camp with the big leaguers.
One tier down in the “proximity” discussion is where Charlie Condon, Nick Kurtz, and JJ Wetherholt land. All three were dominant college hitters, and have handled the transition to minor league baseball well. While it’s nearly impossible for these players to start the year in the Majors, a good showing in spring could raise some eyebrows. For now, they all have good MLB players in front of them in the organizational depth chart, but who knows what could happen a couple of months down the line.