Chase DeLauter got an odd start to his major league career last fall — and an inauspicious one, at that — when he became the sixth player to debut in a postseason game before playing in a regular season one. The Guardians’ rookie right fielder has fared much better in the early stages of his first regular season in the majors, going on a home run binge that made a bit of history.

Facing the Mariners in Seattle on Opening Day last Thursday, the 24-year-old DeLauter started things off by homering in his first plate appearance, launching a towering 358-foot solo shot off Logan Gilbert. It was the first Cleveland run of the season, and though at least 140 players in AL/NL history have homered in their first career at-bat, in the ninth inning he joined a much more exclusive club. With the Guardians ahead 5-4, DeLauter hammered a 422-foot solo home run off Cooper Criswell, helping to seal the victory and becoming just the sixth player to homer twice in his regular season debut:

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The Brewers and shortstop prospect Cooper Pratt are reportedly close to terms on an eight-year extension. The deal would guarantee Pratt $50.75 million over the life of the deal, and there are also two club options worth about $15 million apiece. As it’s a major league contract, Pratt must be added to Milwaukee’s 40-man roster. A corresponding move to make the terms work has not yet been announced.

While extensions for prospects who have yet to debut are becoming more common, Pratt’s is a little unusual. These tend to either be large deals to consensus top prospects, often with the carrot of a ticket to the Opening Day roster as a sort of signing bonus, or smaller sums for enticing but flawed farmhands. The eight-year, $82 million extension Milwaukee inked with Jackson Chourio prior to the 2024 season is a good example of the former (as is the eight-year, $95 million pact the Mariners reportedly just struck with Colt Emerson), while the six-year, $25 million pacts Seattle signed with Evan White and Philadelphia with Scott Kingery cover the latter. Pratt’s deal doesn’t fit cleanly in either category. It’s a pretty good chunk of change for a player who evaluators generally don’t see as a future star, and it’s also not a pay-for-play deal, as Pratt will likely remain at Triple-A after signing.

Pratt was taken in the sixth round of the 2023 draft from Magnolia Heights High School in Mississippi. Eric ranked him 25th on the Draft Board that year, but his $1.35 signing bonus was commensurate with more of a second-round talent. As you’d expect for a prospect in consideration for this kind of contract, he’s performed well in pro ball. After a successful cameo on the complex in his draft season, Pratt notched a 132 wRC+ at Low-A as a 19-year-old, with strong contact skills and a low walk rate. He spent all of 2025 at Double-A, where he played a clean shortstop and hit .238/.343/.348, good for a 107 wRC+. He also dropped his strikeout rate to 15.2%, impressive for a 20-year-old at that level. Read the rest of this entry »

Luke Stevenson was quoted earlier this month when I wrote about how Ryan Sloan and Kade Anderson profile as Seattle Aces in the Making. My spring training conversation with the 21-year-old backstop also included what he had to say about his own skill set, which in many respects it is similar to what Cal Raleigh’s was in the minors. Stevenson’s FanGraphs scouting report, which included mention of the Mariners’ All-Star slugger, described him as “a power-hitting catcher with strong receiving skills.” Drafted 35th overall last year out of the University of North Carolina, he currently ranks as the eighth-best prospect in the Seattle system, with a 45 FV.

Brendan Gawlowski did the write-ups on our Mariners list, and he sees the potential for more from Stevenson. As Brendan put it, “If there is any jump in Stevenson’s throwing ability or bat-to-ball as he develops, he’ll climb into that [50] tier on subsequent lists.” The Raleigh comparison fits here, as well. Described as having a “power-and-OBP-over-hit profile,” Big Dumper ranked seventh in the system with a 45 FV when he reached the majors in July 2021 at age 24.

Stevenson didn’t shy away from the comp when I brought up their early-career similarities.

“I would love to get compared to him,” said the former Tar Heel, who debuted professionally with Low-A Modesto last summer and slashed .280/.460/.400 over 100 plate appearances “He’s unbelievable. Being able to work with him here in camp has been awesome, and super helpful. What he does… I mean, I definitely would like my game to resemble his.”

My mention of the power-over-hit element of his profile elicited a bit of pushback, but his response was largely a validation of Brendan’s report. Read the rest of this entry »

In general, the Pirates’ first series of the year could’ve gone better. What everyone’s going to remember from this past weekend is the worst start of Paul Skenes’ career — probably of his entire life. But it could’ve been worse. Winning one of three at Citi Field against the Mets is probably going to end up looking like even par for one of the tougher assignments in the National League, especially with one of those losses coming in extra innings.

Brandon Lowe hit three home runs. Even Skenes’ awful opening inning was only made possible by some horrendous defense and ridiculous batted-ball luck. And Carmen Mlodzinski struck out the side against the top of the Mets’ order on Sunday. Twice. Read the rest of this entry »

On Saturday, in the third inning of their game against the Yankees at Oracle Park, the Giants scored a run. Normally, this wouldn’t rate as particularly noteworthy, but that was one more run than they’d scored in the previous 20 innings while dropping their first two games of the 2026 season. As far as their season-opening series went, it was a one-shot deal, as they didn’t score again.

Indeed, the Giants were utterly stifled by the Yankees over those three games. On Wednesday night, when the two teams had the stage to themselves for a nationally televised game on Netflix (don’t get me started about that production), Max Fried and three relievers held the Giants to three hits, all singles, in a 7-0 loss; the Giants reached base just four other times in that one via two walks, a hit-by-pitch, and an error by shortstop Jose Caballero. On Friday afternoon, following a day off, Cam Schlittler and four relievers limited the Giants to one hit in a 3-0 defeat, a second-inning double by Heliot Ramos; in that one, the Giants additionally reached base only twice, on walks in the seventh and ninth innings.

With that, the Giants and Yankees made some history. Those double zeroes marked the first time in the Giants’ 144-year history that they were shut out in their first two games of the season. It had happened just once to any other team within the past decade, the 2023 Royals (at the hands of the Twins). For the Yankees, it was the first time since their 1903 inception that they shut out opponents over their first two games. What’s more, according to the Associated Press it was the first time that any team was shut out and held to a combined total of five hits or fewer over a season’s first two games. Read the rest of this entry »

Hollywood awards season may have come to an end, but that doesn’t mean the rest of us have to stop handing out hardware. So, excuse me while I change into a tuxedo and pin my Conan O’Brien wig in place, and then we can get on with the show. What show, you ask? Well, as we embark upon a brand new season of baseball, MLB teams have announced their promotional schedules, and a selection of the giveaways and theme nights on offer are worthy of recognition. Not because they’re good. No, no, no. Sure, objectively good promotional events exist on the calendar, but I wouldn’t dream of gathering you all together in your best formalwear to discuss bobbleheads that actually resemble the player in question or this legitimately stunning jersey the Dodgers are giving away as part of their Japanese Heritage Night. No, we’re here to shed light on the truly weird stuff teams are getting up to this season.

The nominees for the most bonkers ballpark promotion are split into seven categories: Items Honoring a Specific Player or Coach, Unconventional Items, Cats, Pop Culture, Food, Miscellaneous, and Sport Crossovers. Where available, visuals associated with each promotion are included in a collage at the top of each category.

Thus concludes my monologue. On with the show! Read the rest of this entry »

Miami Marlins bullpen coach Brandon Mann was featured here at FanGraphs last September, the subject at hand being changeups thrown by the team’s hurlers. Mentioned at the end of the piece was a southpaw whose changeup Mann called “really, really good.” I was remiss in not asking for specifics. Ryan Weathers has one that is well worth knowing about.

I’ve since had an opportunity to hear about it straight from the horse’s mouth. Weathers is now wearing pinstripes — New York acquired him via trade back in January — and with Mann’s mention in mind, I broached the topic on my visit to Yankees camp in mid-March. Not only was the 26-year-old left-hander amenable to discussing his signature offering, he did so in nuanced detail.

Here is my conversation with Weathers, who is scheduled to make his first start with his new team tonight against the Mariners in Seattle.

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David Laurila: Brandon Mann told me you have a good changeup. What is the story behind it?

Ryan Weathers: “When I got traded to the Marlins [from the San Diego Padres] in 2023, I didn’t really have a good changeup. Scott Aldred, who was the pitching coordinator at the time, showed me a grip. I kept playing with it, but it didn’t have the downward vertical break that I wanted, nor the separation from my fastball. But then, during the offseason going into the 2024 season, I had one bullpen on Trackman where — same grip — it just started bottoming out. I was like, ‘That looks like a splitter.’ Ever since that bullpen, my changeup has been around one vertical, one horizontal, more like a split-changeup than a traditional changeup. If I click one, it will go down into the negative. It kind of has a mind of its own.”

Laurila: What is the grip? Read the rest of this entry »

Last week, we got a mailbag question from James, whose glimpses of Luis Arraez during the World Baseball Classic left him looking for one weird trick to vault the three-time batting champion back up to his previous heights. I had so much fun answering the question that its word count moved it out of mailbag territory (non-Jay Jaffe division, anyway) and into regular article territory. The question was on the longer side, but here’s an abridged version:

If [Arraez] could wear a ribbon on his wrist to deter a bad hitting habit, would he be able to avoid something that drags him down?

My first idea was swinging on 3-1 counts… If he spit on 3-1 pitches habitually, until opposing pitchers caught on, what percentage of them would have landed him on first? What impact would that have on his OPS & WAR, and how would that impact his value and employability?

Could there be other commonplace opportunities that may be similarly exploited?

I realize James is asking for a more specific answer here, but I want to start with the overview, because at this point, I think people may have forgotten that once upon a time, Arraez actually had great plate discipline. From 2019 to 2022 he ran a 24% chase rate and a 9% walk rate. That walk rate was 5% higher than the league average. From 2023 to 2025, he had a 34% chase rate and a 4% walk rate. That walk rate is now a staggering 45% below the league average! Over the same period, Arraez’s swing rate on pitches inside the zone fell from 65% to 62%. He wasn’t just chasing more; he was making worse swing decisions all around. That’s a lot of shifts in the wrong direction, and even though Arraez also cut his strikeout rate nearly in half, his wRC+ dropped from 123 to 109. Read the rest of this entry »

A week ago, the Cubs roster was light on long-term commitments. Only Alex Bregman and Dansby Swanson held guaranteed contracts that extended past 2027, and only two others – Phil Maton and Shelby Miller – even had guaranteed years in 2027. But as it turns out, Chicago payroll commitments abhor a vacuum. On Tuesday, Pete Crow-Armstrong signed a six-year extension. On Thursday, Nico Hoerner followed suit with a six-year pact of his own, as Michael Cerami first reported. The deal starts in 2027 and is worth $141 million, with minor deferrals that drop the total present value to the mid-130s.

If you don’t catch many Cubs games, it’s easy to overlook Hoerner. His offensive game is most notable for its lack of extremes. He doesn’t walk much. He doesn’t strike out much. He doesn’t hit for a ton of power. He’s not excessively swing happy like so many contact hitters. He doesn’t pound the ball into the ground, but he equally doesn’t sell out to lift and pull. He’s produced low-power, solid-OBP seasons for four years running, and they’ve been almost metronomically consistent: his seasonal wRC+ marks of 108, 103, 102, and 109 work out to a 105 average.

That’s the 105th-best batting line among hitters over that span. That doesn’t sound particularly impressive. Hoerner is wedged between Jake Cronenworth and Mike Yastrzemski, solidly in nice-but-forgettable territory. He’s 57th in OBP over that span, which is a little bit more exciting, but truthfully, he is not a star at the plate.

The fun starts when you get into the rest of his game. Over that same time frame, from 2022-2025, Hoerner is the sixth-best baserunner in the majors. The guys in front of him – Corbin Carroll, Bobby Witt Jr., Trea Turner, Jarren Duran, and Elly De La Cruz – are famed for their exploits on the bases. Hoerner is the slowest of that group by a fair margin, but he makes up for it with excellent instincts and great reads. He’s fifth in the bigs in steals during that span, and his 85% success rate is better than everyone in front of him on the list. When he gets on base, he’s a threat to steal, and yet he almost never gets thrown out. Read the rest of this entry »

Tarik Skubal commanded the zone while dominating the San Diego Padres on Thursday. Making his third straight Opening Day start for the Detroit Tigers, the reigning back-to-back Cy Young Award winner threw 49 of 74 pitches for strikes, including 17 of 22 to start an at-bat. Moreover, he mixed with aplomb. Skubal garnered 14 called strikes, 10 of them on either his four-seamer or sinker, as well as 11 whiffs, nine coming on changeups. He departed after six innings having surrendered just three hits, with six strikeouts and nary a free pass.

His M.O. for attacking the strike zone? I asked the 29-year-old southpaw about that following one of his spring training outings earlier this month. As it has become increasingly common for pitchers — particularly power pitchers — to aim middle and let their stuff play from there, I wanted to know how precise he is with intended location.

“My changeup, I throw down the middle, but that’s because when I throw it down the middle, the result is down and away,” replied Skubal. “And when I throw my slider down the middle, the result is glove-side and down. So, there are pitches I throw down the middle, but that’s just visually, as opposed to what I’m actually doing.

“I feel like I do a good job of throwing strikes,” continued Skubal. “As far as really executing every pitch that I throw… I don’t know. There is probably a metric on it. I’d like to think I’m a little bit above average, but I don’t know what the numbers say.“

Measuring command is an imperfect science, so where Skubal ranks depends on your metric of choice. According to our PitchingBot model, he was among the best of the best. Last season, Skubal graded out at 64 (on a 20-80 scale) tying him with Seattle’s Bryan Woo at the top of our botCmd leaderboard. Read the rest of this entry »