Spring Training Recap: March 3, 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.

Weekend Exit Velocity Leaders

Weekend Whiff Leaders

March 1 & 2 Spring Training Breakdown

Casey Mize, RHP, Detroit Tigers

While Mize threw just 35 pitches on Saturday, the life on his fastball remains improved. Throwing 14 of his 35 pitches as four-seam fastballs, Mize averaged 19 inches of IVB and seven inches of horizontal movement. The IVB is a three-inch jump from what he averaged in 2024.

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.

Paul Skenes, RHP, Pittsburgh Pirates

Skenes added a cutter and it was disgusting. Like he needed another pitch to his already elite arsenal, but Skenes is looking to cement his status as the best pitcher in the world apparently.

Not much analysis is needed here, but between the cutter and his new turbo-sinker, paired with his devastating splinker, Skenes should be the odds-on favorite for NL CY Young and probably dynasty SP1.

Cade Povich, LHP, Baltimore Orioles

Povich was dominant on Saturday in his three innings of work against the Pirates. He tossed three scoreless innings with one hit and walk a piece, while striking out six batters.

Everything was working for Povich as he generated whiffs with his fastball, changeup, and sweeper. The fastball worked 92-93 mph and his changeup was devastating to hitters with a beautiful movement pattern.

Right now, Povich is viewed as the sixth starter, but it would not be surprising if he worked his way into a regular starting role with the team. One thing is certain, several of the Orioles’ starters do not have a strong track record with injuries, so opportunities could arise for Povich.

Tirso Ornelas, OF, San Diego Padres

Ornelas smoked a double on Saturday that left the bat at 114.2 mph and added another impressive batted ball at 108.3 mph. He has put together an impressive spring so far, having seven hits in 15 at-bats, including a homer and four doubles.

The 114 mph exit velocity should not come as a shock, as he did that during the 2024 regular season as well while also posting an above-average 104.5 mph 90th percentile exit velocity.

Ornelas reached Triple-A in 2022 after signing with the Padres back in 2017. It has been quite a journey, but Ornelas seemed to finally take a major step forward in 2024. Playing 128 games in Triple-A, Ornelas hit 23 home runs and added 49 extra-base hits while posting a slash of .297/.367/.497.

Despite the signings of Connor Joe and Jason Heyward, it still seems like a possibility that Ornelas could find himself on the strong side of a platoon. There could be plenty of reps and opportunities in 2025.

Shane Smith, RHP, Chicago White Sox

Smith put together an impressive two innings of work on Saturday, striking out three in his perfect outing. Generating six whiffs, three came on his 98 mph four-seam fastball. This is notable because Smith sat around 94 mph and topped at 98 last year. Saturday he hit 99.6 mph. The pitch plays up due to nearly seven feet of extension.

Smith also throws a cutter in the low-90s which is his second most used pitch. The curveball dials it all the way back to 80 mph, as the pitch has heavy sweep and good depth to it.

The 2024 first overall selection in the Rule 5 Draft could pitch out of the bullpen and grab starts. Whether Smith is a starter or reliever long term is the question. Just six of his 27 appearances in 2024 saw him pitch at least five innings, and only 11 were more than three innings. Regardless, Smith is a talented arm and has proven he can be a big-league arm in some capacity, even if it is in the bullpen.

Grant Taylor, RHP, Chicago White Sox

Taylor is accustomed to these streets at The Dynasty Dugout. He pitched just one inning on Saturday, but looked good, striking out two batters. Throwing a 101 mph four-seam fastball with 20 inches of IVB will certainly catch the eyes of many, but Taylor’s fastball has been a dominant pitch for a long time.

He gets north of 7 feet of extension, allowing the pitch to play up even more from a flat VAA making, getting tons of swing and miss. The 18-19 inches of IVB is extremely impressive, considering his 5’9” release height. The fastball is easily plus, if not better.

The slider has a hard break and sits in the upper 80s. It generates whiffs at a very high clip, sitting north of 50 percent on that pitch in 2024. It has heavy sweeping action, and Taylor is comfortable throwing it to both lefties and righties.

Taylor added a cutter in the low 90s with a short, hard break, giving him another serviceable pitch in the arsenal. The curveball shows a ton of vertical drop in the low-80s, generating some ugly swings.

Staying healthy for a full season will be key for Taylor putting it all together in 2025.

Michael Soroka, RHP, Washington Nationals

Soroka was a dominant starter in Atlanta as a 20 and 21-year-old in 2018 and 2019 before blowing out his Achilles. After surgery, Soroka re-tore it and has not been the same since. The Nationals took a chance on him and he is going to start for them. Soroka looked strong on Saturday, striking out three over three scoreless.

The fastball is sitting 1.5 mph higher than it did in 2024 and we will have to see if it sticks in longer outings. The new shape slider has more depth and 11 inches of sweeping action. Soroka’s changeup is a bit firmer now and has more carry, but still the strong 17 inches of fading action.

The Nationals signed Soroka to start. Keep a close eye on him this spring.

Jerar Encarnacion, OF, San Francisco Giants

Encarnacion is one of the buzzer names this spring and for good reason. After smoking a 113 mph home run on Saturday and adding an additional batted ball at 107.4 mph, Encarnacion drove in five runs on Sunday on two hits, including a double.

With a scorching hot spring so far, Encarnacion has his average up to .444 with a 1.277 OPS. Surface stats don’t matter, but what does is an 85 percent contact rate in the early going. After running a 72 percent contact rate in Triple-A last year, the early returns have been good.

There has never been any denying the power in Encarnacion’s profile. The 109 mph 90th percentile exit velocity he posted last year is elite. A 98 mph average exit velocity on line drives and fly balls is pretty good as well.

If the contact skills even improve slightly, Encarnacion is suddenly a very viable power bat in the majors.

Victor Robles, OF, Seattle Mariners

Robles put up a new max exit velocity on Saturday, hitting a ball 112.5 mph on a 16 degree launch angle. You would have to go back to 2019 to find the last time Robles hit a ball north of 110 mph, but he showed signs of improvement on the top end last year, hitting a ball 109.8 mph.

Does the new found max exit velocity matter? Maybe. But you know what you are getting with Robles, stolen bases for days. The contact skills are average as Robles had an 81 percent in-zone contact and 75 percent overall mark in 2024. While he is aggressive and chases a bit too much, the aggression on pitches in the zone and over the heart of the plate are critical to his success.

The carrying fantasy tool is obviously stolen bases as Robles swiped 34 bases in 36 tries. Given the half season in the Majors, Robles could easily swipe 60 bases and I would not be shocked. The biggest question is how much power does Robles hit for, especially in Seattle, and what kind of average do we get? If you are looking for steals, Robles is a great target in hopes you can get ten home runs to pair with 50 stolen bases if all clicks right.

Ryan Weathers, LHP, Miami Marlins

Weathers was dominant on Saturday, striking out four batters over two scoreless innings of work. He walked one, but did not allow a hit.

While it was a small sample of pitches, Weather sat 98 mph on his fastball, up from the 96 he averaged last season and had 19 inches of IVB and 10 inches of arm-side run. Throwing that kind of fastball from the left side is deadly for hitters.

Weathers’ changeup sat 88 mph with 13-15 inches of arm-side fade and showed late depth. The pitch plays extremely well off the fastball. He also showed an impressive slider at 90 mph with a gyro-shape to pair with his sweeper that gets a ton of glove-side movement.

Given the improvements we have seen early on, Weathers seems like an arm that could really pop off this season.

Sebastian Walcott, SS, Texas Rangers

I am not sure it is normal for an 18-year-old to be hitting 115 mph batted balls in MLB Spring Training but here we are. No, that is not his hardest hit ball either. Walcott is a superstar in the making.

The power and athleticism are off the charts, though. Walcott’s 90th percentile exit velocity of 106 mph was top of the scale for his age, and he paired it with an impressive 116.3 mph max. Nearly 60 percent of Walcott’s batted balls were in the air, and his pull percentage of balls in the air was 90th percentile for all hitters.

The foot speed is plus. Walcott uses it on the bases and in the field. The swing is solid, and the bat speed is electric. He does wrap the bat around his head ever so slightly but creates good separation with a wide base, helping him generate torque and power.

From a pure upside standpoint, this is what a number one overall prospect looks like. Will Walcott make enough contact to make the profile work? That is still to be determined, but even if he is a 30-grade hit tool, the rest of the profile will allow him to be an everyday major leaguer.

Cristopher Sánchez, LHP, Philadelphia Phillies

Second verse, same as the first. Sánchez was dominant again in his second spring start as he struck out five batters and generated nine whiffs in 2.2 innings pitched.

The notable takeaway here is Sánchez’s fastball was sitting 97-98 mph. Sure, it was just 2.2 innings of work, but he averaged 94.5 mph last year, so the jump is notable even if it tails off as he builds up innings. He sat in a similar range last week, so it is an encouraging sign.

Sánchez’s new cutter played well, sitting 87 mph with strong traits. He missed one bat on the two swings he generated from the cutter. He also showed a new-look slider that gets more horizontal movement. He seems primed to take another step forward in 2025, which would likely be in the strikeout department.

Bo Bichette, SS, Toronto Blue Jays

Bichette continues to swing a hot bat this spring as he looks to have a resurgent 2025 during his contract year. He smoked a 109 mph home run on Sunday that traveled 420 feet. Bichette hit just one home run north of 109 mph last season, so the home run was an encouraging sign to add to what has already been a good spring.

Max Scherzer, RHP, Toronto Blue Jays

Scherzer looked like his vintage self for the second straight spring start as he struck out four batters across 3.2 innings. He allowed one hit, a home run, but otherwise limited the damage.

His velocities on each pitch were in good spots, considering it is February, and his fastball velocity was right in line with 2024, which is a huge positive, especially given Scherzer’s age. He generated three whiffs on the fastball, and on a piece on his changeup, slider, and cutter. The new look changeup has more carry and fade to it, which should play well off his new sinker.

If Scherzer can stay healthy all season, he should return good value for fantasy managers.

Davis Martin, RHP, Chicago White Sox

Martin tossed two perfect innings with three strikeouts on Sunday. He generated four whiffs and added four called strikes.

After adding a kick-changeup down the stretch last season and getting good results, it looks like Martin has another pitch in the arsenal. He debuted a new sinker last week, but only threw it once on Sunday, averaging 15 inches of horizontal movement and more depth than his four-seam.

The sinker played well during his changeup, though it lacks velocity separation. The arsenal is the biggest thing of note here. The cutter and slider are big difference makers for Martin.

If Martin finds consistency with pitches, he could be in for a big year. He is pretty much a shoo-in for a rotation spot in Chicago as things stand.

Robbie Ray, LHP, San Francisco Giants

Ray shoved on Sunday, striking out six batters over three scoreless innings. He did not issue a walk and allowed just one hit. His fastball was up to 96, which he hit several times and showed an impressive changeup which generated whiffs.

We know both Ray’s slider and curve are highly effective pitches. The four-seam is solid as well, especially if the velocity stays up. Adding a changeup could be a huge boost for Ray in 2025.