Spring Training Recap: February 24, 2025

Baseball is in full swing, Spring Training at least! Every day, we will feature the Spring Training recap, breaking down everything you need to know that happened on the field.

Spring Training brings a lot of noise, but what is legit and what isn’t? This article should help you out everyday with what the important takeaways are.

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February 23 Spring Training Recap

JJ Wetherholt, SS, St. Louis Cardinals

Wetherholt collected two hits on Sunday, with one being a big-time opposite-field home run. While it left the bat with just a 100.6 mph exit velocity, Wetherholt showed he is capable of getting to home run power. All three of his batted balls traveled at least 250 feet while he had a second-long fly out to deep left-center.

Wetherholt entered the 2024 season as a favorite to go 1.1 after an incredible sophomore year in which he slashed .449/.517/.787 with 16 home runs and 36 stolen bases. A strong Cape Cod League performance only solidified the college season. Hamstring injuries have unfortunately hampered some of his career and limited him to just 36 games in 2024. They were impressive nonetheless as Wetherholt slashed .331/.472/.589 with eight home runs. He stole less, just six times, but that is not surprising given the nature of his injury.

The athlete is there, the hit tool is plus or better, Wetherholt is a plus runner, and there is more juice than you might expect in the bat. He might be the best hitter in the minors.

Joseph Sullivan, OF, Houston Astros

Sullivan left the yard for his first career Spring Training home run after being drafted last year. It left the bat with just a 100.1 mph exit velocity, but it was hit hard enough to get out.

When I first saw Sullivan in Single-A last year after being drafted, I came into the game not knowing who he was and left very impressed. The batted ball profile was impressive in his debut as Sullivan made contact on pitches in the zone at a 92 percent clip and 86 percent overall. He rarely expands the zone and has just an eight percent chase rate in the 20-game sample.

From a power perspective, Sullivan hits the ball hard, having a 105 mph 90th percentile exit velocity with wood. The issue is launch angles. Sullivan put almost 48 percent of his batted balls on the ground. The good news is he can turn on balls and posted a pull rate north of 53 percent.

Zach Dezenzo, INF, Houston Astros

Dezenzo had just two singles on the day, but they were both smoked line drives with exit velocities of 99 and 106 mph, respectively. The athlete and profile are impressive, and Dezenzo is fighting for a roster spot with Houston. The early impression looks good.

He has massive power, posting a 106 mph 90th percentile exit velocity. Interestingly, Dezenzo saw an enormous spike in ground balls in 2024, leading to a downtick in home runs. The average exit velocity was also pretty strong, though, clocking in north of 90 mph.

Dezenzo has a discerning eye and does not often chase out of the zone, which helps his walk rates and OBP. His contact skills are still in question, though they did improve in 2024, with an overall mark of around 75 percent. The in-zone contact rate is near 81 percent.

David Festa, RHP, Minnesota Twins

Festa twirled two scoreless innings on Sunday, striking out two and allowing just one hit. While it was a small sample, Festa saw a solid leap in velocity on his entire arsenal of pitches. The changeup and slider both averaged 1.6 mph higher than last season, and his four-seam was up one tick. Festa even debuted a new sinker.

The changeup added more depth to it and more horizontal movement, three inches a piece. The four-seam also saw more horizontal, averaging seven inches to pair with 18 inches of IVB from his six-foot release height.

The sinker is interesting because it doesn’t really sink, having 16 inches of IVB, but it did come with 16 inches of arm-side run. It was a good start for him winning a rotation spot out of camp.

Dillon Dingler, C, Detroit Tigers

Dingler smoked a 111.6 mph home run with an impressive 76.5 mph bat speed. I honestly think Dingler stands a chance to get a ton of playing time as the Tigers’ catcher this year, as he has progressed behind the plate and has a strong bat.

2024 was his best season to date, earning him a promotion to the Majors. In Triple-A Toledo, Dingler posted a .308/.379/.559 slash with 17 home runs and 15 doubles across 301 plate appearances. While the MLB results were a mixed bag, the experience was still quite valuable.

Under the hood, things look solid as well, as Dingler’s average exit velocity of 91 mph ranks high by Triple-A standards, and his 105 mph 90th percentile exit velocity is a tick above MLB average. The power paired with the swing geared for the loft should play exceptionally well.

Cam Schlittler, RHP, New York Yankees

Schlittler was a name that most did not know until he got a ton of buzz on Twitter for his pitch data in his two-scoreless inning outings on Sunday. He struck out two batters and generated five whiffs.

His fastball averaged 94 mph with 17 inches of IVB. The real attraction was his 2500 rpm slider, which graded out extremely well, having 13 inches of sweeping action and very strong HAA.

In 2024, the fastball sat in the 93-96 range with good life up in the zone. He gets natural cutting action. The slider sits in the mid-80s and pairs well with a low-80s curveball with more depth than the slider. The changeup sits in the upper-80s with fade.

Casey Mize, RHP, Detroit Tigers

Another major velocity riser, Mize saw his four-seam average 97 mph yesterday. It was a 1.5 mph bump, but it was just 14 pitches. Mize’s splitter also saw a major jump, sitting 90 mph, up four mph.

Mize also debuted a sweeper that had 17 inches of horizontal movement, and he showed a slider and sinker.

While Mize has failed to live up to his billing of being the number-one pick in 2018, he is still just 27 years old and hopefully can have a fully healthy season in 2025. Can he break out? I am not sure what that looks like. But I do think there could be hope for Mize to still be a serviceable starting pitcher.

Steven Kwan, OF, Cleveland Guardians

Kwan had three balls hit north of 92 mph, including a 96 mph single and a 100 mph home run that traveled 399 feet. Having one of the best hit tools in MLB, Kwan has historically had some of the worst exit velocities and barrel rates in the game.

He did manage 14 home runs last season, a career-high, but Cleveland also played extremely well for left-handed bats with the new wind tunnel there. It is way too soon to say Kwan can hit 20 home runs, considering he has 25 career homers in three seasons, but it would not be surprising if he reached 15 again.

Kris Bubic, LHP, Kansas City Royals

Bubic looks to have an early lock on a spot in the Royals rotation in 2025. It was two innings of work, and he allowed an earned run, but Bubic did strike out two batters, and the stuff looked good.

The fastball velocity was up from last year, albeit a small number of pitches. The slider showed more depth than previous seasons and the changeup showed more depth also.

Keep a close eye on Bubic this spring.

Jack Perkins, RHP, Athletics

Perkins threw a clean two innings, striking out two batters and allowing just one walk. He did allow a walk but generated five whiffs in his two innings of work.

Perkins is armed with a big fastball that sits 94-96 in relief roles but has been more 93-95 mph as a starter. It is a high-riding pitch from a low release point, missing plenty of bats. It does play up in shorter stints, which could lead to it being a plus pitch.

The slider evolved into a sweeper in 2024, reaching the mid-80s with high spin rates. Perkins also mixes in a cutter that sits around 90 mph and a curveball in the mid-80s. The command is highly inconsistent on the secondaries at times, leading to relief questions.

Perkins is a heavy helium prospect right now, and for good reason. Over his final seven starts to end the year, Perkins posted a 1.43 ERA with 54 strikeouts to 14 walks over 44 innings.

Patrick Bailey, C, San Francisco Giants

Bailey homered on a no-doubt shot to right field on Sunday. I think he is one of the more underrated catchers in the game entering 2025.

He is going to play almost every day, given he is one of the best defensive catchers in baseball. Not only that, but he posted a 91.3 mph average exit velocity, which was 84th percentile among all hitters. He hits the ball at ideal angles and has good plate discipline. After a dreadful August at the plate, Bailey looked much stronger in September to end the year.

Alan Roden, OF, Toronto Blue Jays

Roden walked and had two doubles in Sunday’s action as he vies for a spot in the Opening Day lineup for the Blue Jays. GM Ross Atkins called out Roden to begin camp and said he was a player he believed in and wanted to see have a big spring. The early returns have been strong.

Roden is one of the more underrated hitters in the minors. A 2022 third-rounder out of Creighton University, Roden has done nothing but hit since joining the Blue Jays organization, having a career .289 average and .407 OBP.

He finished the season hotter than any hitter in baseball. From July 13 forward, Roden posted an impressive .366/.447/.591 slash with just a 13.5 percent strikeout rate while walking nearly 12 percent of the time.

Roden has always been known for his strong hit tool, posting a contact rate near 84 percent overall this year. His zone contact rate of 92 percent stands out, and he picks his spots well, chasing just 26 percent of pitches out of the zone.

Roden pairs those skills with a 90th percentile exit velocity that was just shy of the MLB average at 103 mph. While he consistently gets to the pull side, over 50 percent of those batted balls were on the ground. The overall launch angle on pulled balls was seven degrees.

Alex Bregman, 3B, Boston Red Sox

It looks like Bregman’s bat is going to be tailormade for Fenway Park. At Fenway South in Fort Myers, Bregman homered and banged a double off the green monster. He added a third hit via a single.

Look for a big year from Bregman in 2025.