Notes From the Field: Observations From Backfields and Breakout Games

I’ve concluded my spring journey through the backfields and Breakout Games, which makes this a good time to drop a few more notes. As with last time, I’ve got a mix of updates on top prospects and some off-the-radar names who have played well. I’m again mostly limiting these notes to players and systems we’ve already covered; I have thoughts on Brody Brecht and will share all of them and more on our Rockies list, which is next up in the prospect list queue.

Ethan Holliday, SS, Rockies
Holliday enters the year as one of baseball’s most volatile prospects. Big, All-Star-caliber tools run into a long swing with a lot of moving parts, and the collision is producing hard-hit balls and tardy cuts in equal measure. He tends to be behind good velocity, or even average fastballs if they’re up in the zone. Conversely, he bruised a couple baseballs in his wheelhouse down and in, including a ringing hit on a pretty good cutter in the Breakout. Physically, he looks great, and while I still think he’ll need to make an adjustment to cut down on the length of his swing at some point, I’d give him all the time in the world to figure it out.

The pleasant surprise here is that Holliday’s glove has looked significantly better at short this week than it did in Fresno last August. His reactions off the bat are quick and accurate, he charges smartly, and he picked everything in his orbit. This wasn’t a long enough look to change course entirely on his defensive projection, as he’s already big and likely still growing, but for me his odds of staying at short went up this week.

Patrick Forbes, RHP, Diamondbacks
I tend to think that good spring performances are more meaningful than bad ones. For the latter, sometimes guys are just working on a pitch, battling through the dead arm period, trying a new stance, going through the motions, or otherwise focused more on “preparing” than “competing.” In that spirit, I’m not alarmed by Forbes’ outing in Arizona’s Breakout, though I do think it’s fair to note that he didn’t look great. Forbes was the first pick in the first compensation round of last year’s draft, and when he was in college, his velocity sat 94-97 mph and touched 99. On Saturday, though, he barely scraped 95 mph, sitting 92-94. He was scattered with both his heater and his slider, and while he missed several bats, he never got in a rhythm. He had trouble aligning his upper and lower halves, and in this outing he tended to pull the ball with him as he fell off the mound. Hopefully, this is just a blip, and he’s back to his high-octane self during the regular season.

Nate Snead, RHP, Angels
In last week’s notes, I covered how one Angels source highlighted Snead as a player who belongs on the main section of the club’s top prospects list. Good scouting on his part, as Snead looked sharp in their Breakout, where he struck out two (with two walks) in two innings of work. In the system overview, I wrote that Snead “regularly touches triple digits,” which is still part of his game. But I also wrote that “he needs a sharper breaking ball,” and on this look, it was evident that he’s got a very good one, a hard slider that flashes plus. That offering is substantially ahead of his curve, which looks fringy, but as a likely reliever, upper-90s and one plus breaker is all you really need. While he’s not the most deceptive guy in the world, I came away pleasantly surprised with his ability to hit a region and move the ball to both sides of the plate. Snead will jump toward the top of the 40 FVs or bottom of the 40+ FVs when I next update the Angels list, which should be soon.

Wellington Aracena, RHP, Diamondbacks
Speaking of pitchers who need to be added to a list. Aracena was the main return for the Diamondbacks when they shipped Blaze Alexander to the Orioles. He’s a big guy with elite velocity and two very hard secondaries. While he regularly touches triple digits, it’s his 97 mph cutter and 92-93 mph slider that are most impressive on the radar gun. He’s long thrown hard, but this is another step up from when we last covered him in June. Overall, the 21-year-old struck out three in his three innings of work, with no free passes. While not wild, there’s some effort in Aracena’s delivery, as he generates his velocity in part with big shoulder and hip torque as he drives toward the plate. He poses an interesting dilemma for Arizona: He has the length and stuff to continue developing as a starter, but he projects as a late-inning reliever in short stints and could be a shot in the arm for the thin bullpen. He also has the outwardly competitive disposition and attitude teams tend to like in that kind of role. It’s a good problem to have.

Sandro Santana, LHP, Diamondbacks
Of the thousand pitches Santana fired last year, only 15 were changeups — so few that I didn’t catch any in my several looks at him in 2025. I omitted the pitch in my report on him last December, as I assumed he’d either mothballed it or would soon. Looks like we’ll need to update that report, too. Santana didn’t just throw a few cambios, but he also missed a couple bats with them. He has a low slot and generates the kind of fade and tumble that that release tends to produce, with good arm speed to boot. I don’t know what my best accomplishment was this winter, but I’m sure it pales in comparison to finding an above-average changeup.

The rest of Santana’s game looked sharp, as well. In two innings, he didn’t allow a baserunner and struck out two. He touched 96 mph, and his slider was again above average, long with good spin, and lefties looked very uncomfortable against it, flinching or waving weakly at it several times.

Yilver De Paula, SS, Angels
De Paula stood out in this winter’s deep dive through the Angels’ DSL club, even though he only played a handful of games. I got only a quick look at him live. (Disappointingly, he didn’t appear in their Breakout even though he was on the roster.) In person, he looked athletic with clean actions at short and an arm that could be plus at maturity. At the plate, he’s quick to the ball and made hard contact a couple of times against older pitchers. He’s not the biggest guy, and there’s a chance he’s neither quick enough to be an elite defensive shortstop, nor strong enough to hit for enough power to be a lineup regular. Were I scouting for a club, though, with the caveat that I’d need to see him a little more to have adequate conviction, I’d be leaning toward a high-variance everyday grade.

Lucas Ramirez, OF, Angels
Manny’s son was a late scratch on my Angels list because I didn’t love his swing or how jumpy he looked in the box. He’s such a twitchy guy, though, and he belongs on the list in some capacity. His hands are fast and he roped a double in a backfield game 111 mph off the bat — three ticks higher than his max output a year ago. His power looks like a potential carrying tool, and while I still have reservations about his swing and approach — particularly with respect to how he identifies and attacks spin, which has eaten him alive as a pro — this is the kind of athlete to stay on even if he struggles early in his career.

Dauri Fernandez, MI, Guardians
Fernandez, while still a lean middle infielder, looks like he’s bulked up in a positive way this spring. It’s the kind of physical projection we were hoping to see, and while he’ll need to continue getting stronger, it’s fair to mentally lump him in with the tier of guys like Robert Arias, Juneiker Caceres, and Gabriel Rodriguez, young Guardos with hit tools and everyday upside.

Cam Day, RHP, Dodgers:
Day was an honorable mention on our Dodgers list this winter due to middling production and a history of wildness. His stuff is diabolical, though, and this spring he’s been sitting 97-99 mph (up from 93-97 last season). That extra velo has burnished both of his breaking balls, and the curve in particular looks like a 70. Day’s delivery is still high maintenance with some excess movement and a wobbly back leg, and he’s probably never going to be a great strike thrower. His arm speed and stroke look a tick faster and quicker this spring. Is that a meaningful change for him? Am I just seeing things, dizzy from the triple-digit heat coming from the sky and radar gun? Let’s check back soon.