Spring Training Recap: March 7, 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.

Thursday Exit Velocity Leaders

Thursday Whiff Leaders

March 6 Spring Training Breakdown

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 threw three scoreless innings last week and fired off four innings of one run ball on Thursday. He struck out six batters and generated 11 whiffs on 27 swings.

The fastball is averaging 1.5 mph higher than it did in 2024 and we will have to see if it sticks in longer outings. But considering he tossed 61 pitches and four innings on Thursday, it is an encouraging sign, especially given the whiffs he is generating.

The new shape slider has more depth and 11 inches of sweeping action. It previously has around five inches of sweep and negative four inches of IVB. Now it is averaging negative nine inches of IVB. 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 and start he will. How good can he be? The early returns this spring are very positive.

Shane McClanahan, LHP, Tampa Bay Rays

McClanahan tossed 2.2 innings on Thursday and was rather dominant. He struck out four batters and generated 11 whiffs while walking one batter. The 46 percent whiff rate and 40 percent CSW against the Phillies regulars looks like vintage McClanahan.

The fastball is close to previous velocity but still slightly down as he averaged 96.2 mph and topped 98.3 mph. The shape has remained consistent on all pitches with this changeup showing a bit more depth, which is a positive thing.

Having two Tommy John surgeries used to be a death sentence. But, McClanahan looks to be fine and on the right track. The biggest question for 2025 is how many innings does he throw?

Cam Smith, 3B, Houston Astros

What can you not say about Smith at this point? He had three hits on Thursday, all singles, but all scorched line drives. He did ground out once, but his four batted ball events were: 90.6 mph/14 degree launch(single), 90 mph/15 degree launch(single), 101.4 mph/-13 degree launch(ground out), 108.2 mph/9 degree launch(single).

Smith is doing everything in his power to break camp with the Astros. He has shown a good approach so far this spring and has made very good contact on pitches in the zone. He is now up to seven hits in 15 plate appearances, including two home runs.

While Smith’s home run output in his college sophomore season was actually lower this year on a per-plate appearances basis, he made major strides with his exit velocities. His 90th percentile jumped from an already good 106.5 mph all the way up to a mark near 111. The average exit velocity made a huge jump of over seven mph, sitting north of 92 mph in 2024.

Smith put up one of the most impressive performances of any 2024 draftee in his brief debut. He made contact on 77 percent of pitches overall and 84 percent in-zone. He rarely chases and he put up an impressive 106 mph 90th percentile exit velocity with wood.

The swing path is not all that conducive to over the fence power output. But Smith is going to run into 20+ home runs and pepper the gaps with line drives. This kid is legit.

Mikey Romero, SS, Boston Red Sox

Romero made a big statement on Thursday, hitting a 412 foot home run that left the bat at 103.9 mph and even added a double at 102.8 mph that nearly left the yard. Seeing Romero quite often, I have been critical of him at times, but he did make major strides in 2024.

Romero dealt with injuries for a second straight season but was able to play a career-best 78 games in 2024. After a slow start in May upon his return from injury, Romero picked things up significantly and finished the year in Double-A. Between both levels he put up a combined .271/.312/.509 slash with 16 home runs and 44 extra base hits.

At the plate, Romero is highly aggressive, swinging at over 53 percent of pitches he saw this year. Their contact skills are above-average and steadily improved all season, as he posted a 74 percent overall contact rate. Romero does tend to expand the zone and is hyper-aggressive. He is not likely to take a walk, given how he jumps early in counts. The whiffs against breaking balls in and out of the zone are concerning.

Romero’s power is closer to average from an exit velocity standpoint. He has posted EVs north of 110 mph but runs a 90th-percentile exit velocity closer to average. Romero lifts the ball with ease and gets to the pull side often. He could be an 18-20 home run threat long term.

Joe Ryan, RHP, Minnesota Twins

Ryan tossed two scoreless innings on Thursday, allowing just one hit and a walk, while striking out four. While the velocity is not all the way back after Ryan ended 2024 with a shoulder injury, it is getting there. Ryan threw 18 fastballs and averaged 93 mph and touched 94.1. Last year he averaged 94 so he is getting close.

The splitter looked sharp and had a similar shape to previous seasons. The sweeper had more depth than previous years, which could be due to a slight down tick in velocity, but regardless, the pitch still looked good.

Ryan could be in for a big 2025 as long as he stays healthy.

Michael Conforto, OF, Los Angeles Dodgers

Could Conforto return to his vintage New York Mets days now that he is in an elite lineup in Los Angeles? Collecting three hits including a double and two singles. All three batted balls were hard-hit, including two over 105 mph.

His run between 2017 and 2019 saw him have seasons with 27, 28, and 33 home runs. Conforto’s quality of contact metrics in 2024 were actually some of the best of his career as he had a 90.2 mph average exit velocity and 107 mph 90th percentile exit velocity.

Conforto will now be in the best lineup he has ever been a part of and stands to score plenty of runs and drive in a ton. So maybe Conforto does not fit the breakout category, but I’m betting on his best season since 2019.

Jackson Ferris, LHP, Los Angeles Dodgers

Sure, Ferris allowed two earned runs on three hits across two innings of work, which included a home run allowed to Nick Ahmed. But Ferris was impressive, striking out five batters and generating seven whiffs on 16 swings. A 44 percent whiff rate is notable and Ferris added eight more called strikes for a 43 percent CSW.

From an arsenal standpoint, Ferris features a tough arm slot to pick up from his 6’4” frame, and his 93-95 mph fastball plays up due to the deception in the delivery. In the two innings stint on Thursday, Ferris averaged 96.2 mph and topped at 97. Ferris’s hammer curve sits in the mid-70s, changing hitters' eye level significantly and getting plenty of ugly swings.

Ferris added a new slider in 2024, which he led with on Thursday, sitting 86 mph. It generates good depth and up to eight inches of sweep, making it a distinct pitch from the curve.

The biggest thing to watch with Ferris is strike-throwing, which sat around minor league average at 62 percent in 2024. The improvements were notable this year though, and Ferris landed a ton of called strikes as he posted a CSW north of 30 percent. His swinging strike rate was lower than you might think at 11.8 percent, and the number actually trended downward over the course of the season. The results on Thursday give us a huge arrow up indicator on Ferris in 2025.

Cameron Cauley, 2B, Texas Rangers

Cauley homered and added a single on Thursday, with both batted balls being hard-hit. Having just five plate appearances in big league camp, it is hard to take much away, but Cauley’s performance was impressive.

Spending the 2024 season in High-A, Cauley hit 12 home runs and was successful on 27 of 29 stolen base attempts while slashing .235/.297/.411 in 404 plate appearances. Cauley did strike out nearly 30 percent of the time in 2024, and it came with an overall contact rate of 70 percent. He shows a respectable feel for the zone, though, with chase rates near 26 percent.

Considering his smaller frame, Cauley hits the ball decently hard, posting a max exit velocity north of 113 mph. He hits the ball consistently hard as well, having an average exit velocity near 89 mph.

Given the defense, athleticism, and speed, Cauley should continue to progress through the system and give him a high floor to succeed. The improvements with the hit tool were notable, but there is still a ways to go, especially as he moves up and faces better pitching in Double-A.

Bryan Woo, RHP, Seattle Mariners

Woo was electric on Thursday, striking out six batters across 2.1 innings of one-hit ball. He walked one batter and landed 27 of his 37 pitches for strikes. Woo generated 10 whiffs for a 59 percent whiff rate and had a 54 percent CSW. He mixed his five pitches well and led with his sweeper.

The sweeper averaged 13 inches of glove-side movement and averaged 83 mph. The fastball was electric, averaging 94.5 mph with 17 inches of IVB from a low 5’4” release height. The negative 4.1 VAA is elite and Woo generated six whiffs on eight swings on the fastball.

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.

Jacob Misiorowski, RHP, Milwaukee Brewers

Throwing three innings was the first thing that stood out to me about Misiorowski’s start on Thursday. But it was not just three innings, it was three perfect innings with three strikeouts. He was grooving on Thursday and threw a slider up to 94 mph with an electric fastball.

Misiorowski pumps a fastball that consistently reaches triple digits but plays up even more due to his release point and extension. The fastball averaged over 98 mph this season with 16 inches of IVB from a 5’4” release height. Given the release point, the fastball characteristics are pretty insane, and Misiorowski gets over ten inches of arm-side movement as well.

Misiorowski's biggest swing-and-miss pitch is a curveball that sits in the mid-80s with negative 11 inches of IVB but consistently gets good sweeping action. The curve gives hitters nightmares when trying to prepare for both the fastball and the curveball, which misses a tremendous amount of bats.

Misiorowski also throws a slider/cutter that sits in the low 90s but gets up to 96 on occasion. The pitch has some carry and an inch or two of horizontal movement. He will flash a changeup on occasion, sitting in the lower 90s, but it is not often used. 

After it seemed like the Brewers were going to put him in the bullpen, they might just be stretching him out.

Craig Yoho, RHP, Milwaukee Brewers

Yoho threw two, yes two perfect innings on Thursday night and struck out four batters. Why is it notable? Yoho threw more than one inning just seven times last year. I am not reading much into it yet, though I am trying to get intel if this was just one a one-time thing or if Yoho is being considered to be stretched out.

Between three levels last year, Yoho pitched 57.2 innings with a 0.94 ERA and 101 strikeouts to 23 walks.

The fastball ranges from 91-95 mph with absurd horizontal movement. We are looking at 20 inches of run consistently. The changeup plays extremely well off it with a similar movement profile, and Yoho sells it well with similar arm speed. The pitch has up to 15 mph of separation from the fastball with very late tumble and fading action. It averages between 18 and 20 inches of horizontal movement and is legitimately one of the best changeups in baseball.

Yoho also mixes a mid-70s curve with… you guessed it: wicked east-to-west movement and nice depth. Averaging north of 20 inches of sweep, it also shows nice depth and misses many bats. The upper-80s cutter is a nice bridge pitch, but the changeup and curve are the elite offerings here.