Spring Training Recap: March 13, 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. From the top prospects performers to players with pitch mix changes and more, I break it down.

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.

Wednesday Exit Velocity Leaders

Wednesday Whiff Leaders

March 12 Spring Training Breakdown

Spencer Torkelson, 1B, Detroit Tigers

Torkelson put in the work this offseason and has looked the part this spring. It seems he took offense to the team moving Colt Keith to first base this offseason. Blasting his fourth home run of the spring, Torkelson’s shot traveled 400 feet, 105 mph off the bat.

The underlying metrics want to make people believe Torkelson could be legit and I might be buying in. The 105 mph 90th percentile exit velocity looks good. The contact rates look solid as well.

Maybe, just maybe was I a little early on jumping off the Torkelson bandwagon. I am still skeptical, but Torkelson looks the part.

Casey Mize, RHP, Detroit Tigers

While Mize walked three batters across 3.1 innings on Wednesday, but otherwise looked quite good despite needing 70 pitches. Mize allowed just one hit, but he struck out four batters. He also generated an impressive 12 whiffs and the arsenal looks good.

Mize averaged 18 inches of IVB and seven inches of horizontal movement on his 96 mph fastball. The IVB is a three-inch jump from what he averaged in 2024 and it continues to miss bats at a strong rate.

Mize’s splitter is also firmer and less drop, but more arm-side movement. He is also toying with a couple of slider shapes. One that sits 83-84 mph with more depth and 5-6 inches of sweep and another that sits 86-87 mph with a little more carry and 2-4 inches of sweep.

Will these changes pay off? We need to see this over a longer sample, but I think it is encouraging that Mize is working to make changes. The early results have been good. Let’s see if it sustains over longer starts.

Joey Cantillo, LHP, Cleveland Guardians

Cantillo’s line on Wednesday was quite a roller coaster as he struck out nine batters and generated a spring best 17 whiffs. On the flip side, he allowed six hits and one walk, allowing four earned runs.

The changeup is his bread and butter and that was the case on Wednesday as he generated 13 whiffs on that pitch and it had an absurd 18 percent zone-contact rate.

The curveball was absurd, having negative 17 inches of IVB and eight inches of horizontal movement. The slider had strong traits as well. The issue has always been strike throwing, but Cantillo landed 68 percent of his pitches for strikes on Wednesday, which was encouraging.

José Soriano, RHP, Los Angeles Angels

Soriano is a fascinating arm that might be a sleeper for 2025 fantasy baseball players. Quietly posting a 3.42 ERA across 113 innings in 2024, Soriano struck out just 20 percent of batters faced but showed some interesting things that could make him a solid target for deep leagues.

On Wednesday, Soriano tossed three innings with five strikeouts. He did walk three batters but the whiffs and strikeouts were notable considering the strikeouts we have seen previously.

Primarily a sinker-baller, Soriano has reworked his four-seam fastball and it is showing more ride while sitting 98 mph. The curveball and slider looked solid as well. Soriano might not be flashy, but could be a solid arm.

Bryan Woo, RHP, Seattle Mariners

Woo was electric again, striking out five batters across three innings of work. He did not walk a batter and allowed just three hits while landing 73 percent of his pitches for strikes. Woo generated just five whiffs but added 14 called strikes for a 37 percent CSW. He mixed his five pitches well and led with his sweeper.

The sweeper averaged 14 inches of glove-side movement and averaged 83 mph. The fastball was electric, averaging 95 mph with 17 inches of IVB from a low 5’4” release height. The negative 4.1 VAA is elite and while Woo did not generate any whiffs on his fastball, it still was strong.

Woo’s slider and changeup both looked strong as well. Health will be the biggest question for Woo, but if he stays healthy for the entire 2025 season, there is plenty of upside to dream on.

MacKenzie Gore, LHP, Washington Nationals

Gore may have walked three batters on Wednesday, but he was sharp over 5.1 innings of work as he struck out six and allowed just two hits. He walked three of the first ten batters, faced but then settled in nicely, needing just 72 pitches to get through the 5.1 innings.

Through his first 11 starts of 2024, Gore had a 2.91 ERA that was backed by a 2.84 FIP. In June, Gore blew up twice for six and five earned run starts while sprinkling in a dazzling seven-inning, one-run, and ten-strikeout performance.

While there were rough patches, Gore finished his season with a 1.55 ERA across his final 40.2 innings with 45 strikeouts. There seems to be a common theme to Gore’s best starts, the curveball. When the curve is working and playing well with the changeup, Gore misses bats and has strong starts.

The four-seam sits 96 with above-average IVB from the release point but does not have a stand-out trait. The changeup and slider both have strong pitch-level traits and missed bats at 51 and 34 percent marks, respectively. A 2025 breakout could be in order.

Tyler Fitzgerald, MI, San Francisco Giants

Fitzgerald seems to be coming back to health as he put up a three-hit game on Wednesday, which included a triple. It came off the bat at 102 mph and traveled 365 feet at a 19 degree launch angle. We are still looking at quite a small sample, it has been encouraging to see Fitzgerald pick things up a bit. He is set to be the Giants’ everyday second baseman in 2025.