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For veteran players, spring training represents a gentle ease into the rigors of the regular season. Some of them don’t worry all that much if their fastball velocity isn’t all the way back or their plate appearances look a little ugly.
“It’s a time for getting your reps in, slapping butts, and going to play golf,” one veteran pitcher told me many years ago.
“The veterans have earned the opportunity … to do what you need to do and get out of here,” said Trevor May on Rates & Barrels last week. “After, it’s dinner, it’s golf, in Florida it was fishing, it’s hiking, it’s hobbies, and a loooot of going out to dinner. And a lot of watching movies in your Airbnb, it’s not sexy.”
But those are the guys who aren’t all that nervous about their jobs. There’s a whole other suite of young players without options, veterans on minor-league deals trying to work their way back into prime roles and prospects trying to push their way onto rosters. Those guys aren’t thinking about their tee times.
The difficulty for them, and for the teams evaluating them, is that spring training results aren’t a great rubric for making roster decisions. Spring training stats are all small samples, often put together against uneven competition.
“If you base your team on spring training, you’re setting yourself up to make big mistakes,” Reds manager Terry Francona said.
That said, performance does count for something and roster battles during spring training are very real. In the end, it ends up being a mixture of projections, roster context and performance that determines the future for players on the bubble.
Some of these roster battles will be forgotten two weeks into the regular season, but a few could result in players making a rosters who can make significant impacts. Here are a few roster battles that could produce players of interest for their teams, with the most impactful situations listed first.
Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop
The contenders: Jared Triolo, Nick Gonzales, Konnor Griffin
Jared Triolo has received the most plate appearances while playing shortstop for the Pirates this spring. Nick Gonzales has the most hits while playing the position. But 19-year-old top prospect Konnor Griffin has the hype.
By hitting home runs and displaying a consistent demeanor so far this spring, Griffin might have answered as many questions as possible in just a couple weeks of spring training. The question of who starts at shortstop for the Pirates on Opening Day might be decided by something other than how Griffin looks on the field.
Is it instructive that when the Pirates had this decision with Paul Skenes, they decided to keep him in the minors to start the season? Perhaps, but then it’s also important to note that the team got hit with the double whammy when they brought him up later in the season: he won the Rookie of the Year award and got a full year of service time — and the team earned no extra draft pick when he won ROY.
Griffin has the talent to put the Pirates in the same corner. It seems like they might make a different decision this time and capitalize on the gathering momentum around the team.
Boston Red Sox No. 5 starter
The contenders: Johan Oviedo, Patrick Sandoval
Newly acquired right-hander Johan Oviedo came back from Tommy John surgery with a completely new fastball. As you can see by this depiction of his pitch movement from Baseball Savant, his new fastball has almost exactly league-average movement, so maybe it’s weird to say that it’s clearly a plus pitch. In reality, his arm angle is 10 degrees lower than the average arm angle, so getting average ride is good, actually. In this case.
(Courtesy of Baseball Savant)
He’s using the seams to create lift in a new way that surprises hitters, and he’s continuing to use that to great effect this spring. But his two scoreless outings so far this spring still showcased the issues that have plagued him in his young career thus far — three walks in 4 2/3 innings points to his command problems, and his underlying metrics question if he has average control on any pitch right now.
While Oviedo is in camp wowing with stuff, we’re all waiting to see veteran Patrick Sandoval pitch after his elbow surgery in 2024. Given how far behind he is on his progression right now, though, Sandoval may start the season on the injured list, opening a path for Oviedo.
Arizona Diamondbacks outfield
The contenders: Alek Thomas, Jordan Lawlar, Ryan Waldschmidt, Jorge Barrosa
Even if Corbin Carroll returns in time for Opening Day, five outfielders might make sense for Arizona. So far this spring, the top three outfielders in playing time are all young and making cases for regular roles with their production, in ways both small and big. Alek Thomas is the most proven defender in center field, as Jordan Lawlar is moving to the outfield from the infield and might find the corner outfield a softer landing spot. Ryan Waldschmidt was just drafted in 2024, but he’s already hit a ball over 115 mph this spring, and one ball like that can mean a lot about how you’d project his power. Hitting a ball that is among the top 10 in spring exit velocities after a minor-league career showing polished plate skills is certainly exciting.
You always have to be wary of a contender like Jorge Barrosa, who is out of options, as the team may decide that they don’t want to lose that asset to the waiver wires. But the state of the D-Backs’ outfield is such that Barrosa can make the team as part of a five-man crew, which gives the two more exciting options — Lawlar and Waldschmidt — plenty of opportunity to make an impression before Lourdes Gurriel Jr. returns in the second half. They’re both interesting power-and-speed combos in fantasy leagues of most sizes.
Detroit Tigers shortstop
The contenders: Javier Báez, Zach McKinstry, Kevin McGonigle
The Tigers may be forced into this decision. As exciting as Keith Law’s No. 2 prospect Kevin McGonigle has been in his minor-league career and this spring, it’s fair to wonder (as Law has) if he’ll make the team out of camp. Then you look at how McGonigle’s competition fared last year and how they are projected to do this year (by Steamer projections at FanGraphs), and it seems like it has to be the rookie at shortstop for the Tigers.
The shortstop battle in Detroit
Player25 OAA25 wRC+xwRC+xDef
6
86
79
1.6
0
114
90
-0.6
112
3.0
Javier Báez can still play defense, but he hasn’t been an average hitter in four years. Zach McKinstry seems likely to return to career form at the plate, but he’s more of a utility player defensively. McGonigle is the only one of the three who could be above-average in both facets of the game, and as McGonigle continues to play this spring, it may just make that more obvious. A full season of McGonigle should give the Tigers a shortstop with a decent average, 20 homers and double-digit steals.
Milwaukee Brewers No. 5 starter
The contenders: Chad Patrick, Logan Henderson, Kyle Harrison
There might be only one rotation spot available between Chad Patrick, Logan Henderson and Kyle Harrison when the Brewers break camp. Henderson was on my breakout list and has immense ceiling, particularly if the breaking ball is better than average. Patrick made my top 100 starting pitchers and has an even 4.00 ERA projection, so he seems solid. But Harrison debuted a new kick-change with the Brewers this week, and since they made Harrison the main return back in a trade that sent potential everyday player Caleb Durbin to Boston, there’s always the chance that Harrison makes the team first.
I’ve long been skeptical of Harrison because he’s a high-spin, high-efficiency low slot pitcher like Andrew Heaney and Sean Manaea, and those pitchers have struggled to create great secondary pitches. But this changeup might be legit.
Harrison isn’t alone featuring new offerings, however, as Henderson has two pitches that look completely new this spring.
“A curve, just to have strikes with it. I don’t know that it will be a huge swing-and-miss pitch, but it’s a different look, something to change the eye level of the hitter,” Henderson said in camp this week. “And the cutter? The goal is to get it on the glove side of zero.”
As a pronator with a great changeup, Henderson’s slider had arm-side movement on average last year. Getting glove-side movement on that or his cutter would be a big step forward, and he said that he’s seen good progress with the new grip and mechanics on the pitch this spring.
Pick your champion, they might end up being pretty good.
Cleveland Guardians outfield
The contenders: Chase DeLauter, George Valera, Nolan Jones, CJ Kayfus
This is a battle in name only. Not only because Chase DeLauter started for the Guardians in the playoffs, and offers a team with a bottom-three offense the chance to get a stud bat in center field, but because there is a whole other outfield spot that’s unsettled that can host the George Valera versus Nolan Jones versus CJ Kayfus competition.
If you’re hunting upside, it’s DeLauter, who has the tools to hit for a good average, get on base and hit at the top of the lineup, and hit for power with non-zero speed. (He just has to stay healthy, and with 138 games played combined across the past three seasons, that’s a huge if.)
New York Mets right field
The contenders: Brett Baty, Tyrone Taylor, Carson Benge, Mike Tauchman
A balky right hamstring has slowed Brett Baty so far in camp, but he’s coming back online now. He can also play the infield and is probably the backup at second and third base in a worst-case scenario, so he will most likely make the team. Tyrone Taylor is a lock to make the team as a right-handed hitting backup who has good numbers in center field.
So while Carson Benge has been playing well this spring and offers possible center-field defensive ability, it’s fair to wonder if he will make the team. He’s maybe less likely than the other young players on this list so far, but he’s also projected to produce better offensively and defensively than Mike Tauchman by every projection system. If the Mets want to add a little dynamism on the base paths and in the outfield corners, Benge is an easy solution. He might hit .250 with double-digit homers and steals if given 400-plus plate appearances this year.
Seattle Mariners second base
The contenders: Cole Young, Colt Emerson, Leo Rivas
Cole Young got a shot last year with the Mariners and appeared to struggle if judged by most of the top-line stats. But he still had above-average walk and strikeout rates. He even hit two balls over 113 mph. In fact, if you look at his Barrel, Hard-Hit and Max Exit Velocity numbers and find comparable players, you get guys like Ozzie Albies and Geraldo Perdomo, and a group with a slugging percentage 50 points higher than Young’s last year. He won’t ever be a huge slugger, but he could access more power by tweaking his approach at the plate, and that — along with improving his defense at second base — is what he spent the offseason working on. He said he’s focused on getting a better handle on how pitchers are attacking him and on his own strengths and weaknesses.
“Understanding myself better and what I don’t do well and how I’m going to use that to my advantage,” he said in camp this week.
Top prospect Colt Emerson could take that job from him, and Leo Rivas might platoon with him, but the team has been publicly supportive of Young, and if they get their own Bryson Stott (with a little less speed) for their patience with Young, they’ll have done well.
💥 Young goes yard 💥 pic.twitter.com/mlGWHj5uXt
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) March 1, 2026
Texas Rangers No. 5 starter
The contenders: Jacob Latz, Kumar Rocker
He’s pitched five innings this spring and has one strikeout to show for it, but Jacob Latz is my favorite for the fifth starter role in Texas. He has a really good fastball/slider/changeup arsenal that should be effective against either hand. That’s key because Kumar Rocker is struggling to find something that works against lefties, who slugged .522 against him last year. Here’s how his arsenal looks by Stuff+ and Location+ facing lefties:
Kumar Rocker’s arsenal, against lefties
PitchnS+L+
Cutter
156
96
99
Sinker
156
82
80
Four-Seamer
143
82
115
Slider
78
95
110
Changeup
67
75
105
Curve
50
90
84
He could get along on command, but you’d still want him to have one pitch that could shine against lefties, and he’s still looking for that. So even if Latz has a ceiling that is limited by a potentially low strikeout rate, he’s probably going to be the option here. He could have an ERA near 4.00 and be useful at home, where his home park has trended pitcher-friendly for a couple years now.
Los Angeles Dodgers second base
The contenders: Hyeseong Kim, Alex Freeland
Hyeseong Kim may have the inside shot at the job, but consider the role of the World Baseball Classic in this roster battle. The downside of playing there is that he’s away from the Dodgers, but the upside is that his team gets to see him in high-intensity, important situations as he competes for his country.
Alex Freeland is striking out less so far in camp, and if that holds, he has more power upside than Kim. If it doesn’t hold, neither profiles as an everyday starter, and they’ll probably cede their playing time to Tommy Edman when he’s healthy again.
Chicago White Sox center field
The contenders: Luisangel Acuña, Brooks Baldwin, Everson Pereira
None of the main candidates for center field in Chicago have really played all that much center field. Luisangel Acuña came over in the Luis Robert Jr. trade and is neither a switch-hitter nor even an outfielder by trade. Brooks Baldwin played nearly twice as much corner as center last year. Ditto for Everson Pereira last year in the minors. They all have the speed to handle it, so their defensive looks in spring might decide who gets the bulk of the reps out there during the regular season.
Fantasy managers should hope Baldwin wins this battle. He might still be below-average at the plate like projections say, but he could hit .240 with double-digit homers and steals and down here at the bottom of a piece like this, that might be interesting.