Youngsters have been the story of the early season, aided by the odd three-part structure of “opening day” in 2026 but mostly due to their on-field excellence.
Cardinals SS JJ Wetherholt batted leadoff and hit a 425-foot home run on opening day. You don’t see that every year.
Tigers SS Kevin McGonigle is hitting .625 with four RBI through two games. KEVIN!! Just out here in his kitchen setting traps for Paul Skenes.
Guardians OF Chase DeLauter has already tallied three home runs and one full speed collision with the right field wall. Please be careful out there, dude. Most guys, sure, hustle til you hit the wall. That is not DeLauter’s best path to a career, however. If he stays healthy, he might be a fantasy monster already.
Mets OF Carson Benge made the team look smart all spring and did so again in the opener with a big home run.
Mariners 2B Cole Young hit six homers in spring training, which is two more than he hit in 77 major league games last season. The power gains might be real, considering he’s already hit one long home run this year. Colt Emerson started the year hot in Triple-A as well and might soon be applying some pressure, but with JP Crawford on the injured list, Emerson might just join Young up the middle sooner than later.
Rockies 1B TJ Rumfield homered off Marlins RHP Eury Perez on Saturday. I hope you got him everywhere you could, Dear Reader.
Marlins 1B Deyvison De Los Santos got the nod to replace the injured Christopher Morel on the active roster. I wouldn’t expect him to slide right into the everyday lineup, but this looks like a real chance to stick if he makes enough contact. He went 2-for-4 with a homer and a walk in his minor league game this year.
With Morel and Kyle Stowers on the mend, Marlins OF Owen Caissie looks fairly locked into an everyday gig for now. Could perhaps say the same for OF Griffin Conine. They’ve both gotten on the board early with some hits and solid at bats. Caissie even stole a base on Saturday.
Marlins LHP Robby Snelling allowed one hit through 5.2 innings for the Triple-A club. Let’s hope they don’t waste too many of his pitches on minor league hitters this season.
Brewers LHP Robert Gasser recorded 11 strikeouts through 5.2 innings for the Triple-A club. We’re gonna see him for 50 innings or so, I suspect..
Nationals 3B Brady House homered on opening day. Love to see that for one of my off-season targets.
Nationals 1B Abimelec Ortiz reached base all five times he could’ve in his Triple-A debut for the team who acquired him in the MacKenzie Gore trade, drawing three walks alongside a double and a single. I won’t be at all surprised to see him hit his way into the big league gig by June.
Coming back from his espresso spring with team Italy, White Sox 2B Sam Antonacci went 2-for-4 with a walk and a home run in his Triple-A debut. He should bring a real shot of energy to the South Side sometime this summer. His teammates were good, too. SS William Bergolla went 4-for-5 and Tanner Murray hit two home runs. The pitching was on point as well, with LHPs Hagen Smith and Noah Schultz piggybacking through seven innings. Shultz did not allow a hit (one walk) in his four innings, recording five strikeouts in the kind of outing you can dream on.
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