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Good morning! Congrats, I guess, to the 65.4 percent of you who voted for “hoop” yesterday. I stand with the 34.6 percent minority. I could write a book on this rabbit hole, but I’ll stop here for now. Unless someone wants me to write a book. Anyway, coming up: 

⚾MLB’s incredible rookie class
🫢 LeBron’s harsh words
🔀 Crooks on the move
Hi, Our Names Are: MLB’s next big things?

I have kept this story from Tyler Kepner open in a tab for a week now as a reminder to circle back. The stats in there are old; the narrative, however, is maybe even more relevant today than it was Monday. 

The MLB rookie class this year has a chance to be historic. Deep, talented and growing by the day, which is where we’ll start: 

Yesterday, the Pirates called up Konnor Griffin, baseball’s No. 1 prospect, with long-term contract talks in motion before he’ll even step onto an MLB field. Griffin is one of the most exciting prospects we’ve ever seen. He is just 19, but the 6-foot-4 wunderkind abused pitching at every level in his one full year of pro ball. He’s also shown the ability to be a plus defender at shortstop, a premium position.
His journey here is remarkable, too. A go-kart accident at 8 years old nearly derailed his entire life. Now, he might become the third player this year to sign a big contract before making his MLB debut, following Seattle’s Colt Emerson and Milwaukee’s Cooper Pratt.
And wait, why do MLB teams do this? The short answer is that teams want to reward prospects with richer contracts than the arbitration system — a complex setup that intensely regulates younger players’ salaries for the first six years of their career — would give them, and then if the player pans out, this early deal represents massive savings over what the player would demand in free agency. You can read more on the phenomenon here. 

Griffin should make his debut today. He joins an already-prospering rookie class. We’re going for a quick overview of notable rookies who have at least 15 at-bats:

Steph Chambers / Getty Images

Guardians RF Chase DeLauter
A week into the season, this is your Rookie of the Year pick. DeLauter has a 1.122 OPS and has hit four home runs, just one off the MLB lead. 

Tigers infielder Kevin McGonigle
McGonigle is right on DeLauter’s heels in that award race, hitting .364, and has looked like a veteran. Doing all that on a team that should contend this year is impressive. 

Blue Jays 3B Kazuma Okamoto*
We can put White Sox first baseman Munetaka Murakami in this bucket, too, as both are veteran-aged players — Okamoto is 29, Murakami 26 — who came over from Japan this year. They might not be as raw as the young players listed above, but this is still their first crack at MLB pitching. Okamoto is hitting .292 with two homers. Murakami already has three dingers. Watch out for both. 

Reds 1B Sal Stewart
Stewart is, uh, hitting .474 with a 1.562 OPS in six games this year. He has simply been raking, and his approach at the plate has been a marvel to Cincinnati veterans. 

Honorable mentions: Cardinals second baseman JJ Wetherholt, Rockies first baseman TJ Rumfield. 

As Andy McCullough mentioned in a mailbag on this topic, baseball is a humbling game. These guys may hit slumps in a week’s time. But for now, it’s all quite exciting. 

Let’s move on:

News to Know

Ronald Martinez / Getty Images

LeBron’s Memphis diss
LeBron James said in a YouTube video yesterday that he would’ve considered pulling “an Eli Manning” and not showing up if Memphis had won the NBA lottery in 2003 and drafted him at No. 1. James continued in the clip, indicating that few players enjoy road trips to Memphis and that the team should relocate to Nashville. Tough stuff. Read his full comments here.

Crooks to transfer
Iowa State women’s basketball star Audi Crooks announced her decision to leave the program after three years in Ames, saying she wants to “explore what it means to take root again in new ground.” Crooks averaged nearly 26 points a game this season and will be a top target in the portal.

Cousins signs in Vegas
Kirk Cousins agreed to what we’re calling a “creative” deal with the Raiders yesterday, which guarantees him $20 million but can technically extend to a five-year, $172 million deal. You should take the former number more seriously, as the team will assuredly draft Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza with the No. 1 pick and position Cousins as a talented veteran backup presence for the rookie. See our full breakdown.

More news:

Tiger Woods told police he had just called “the president” after his single-car accident. See more from the body cam footage.
Lakers star Luka Dončić injured his hamstring in a blowout loss to the Thunder last night. Bad timing. 
The Wizards apologized for that extremely mean April Fools’ Day prank, in which they seemingly convinced a fan he hit a half-court shot for $10,000. This is why I’m crabby about the day.
Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne said the SEC championship game should probably be scuttled. Hoo boy.
On a similar note, the Big 12 commissioner and a prominent Texas Tech booster are fighting. See the mess here.
Former Wisconsin tight end Jack Pugh died at 24. Read our full story.
Pistons star Cade Cunningham is out at least another week, which renders him ineligible for any end-of-season NBA awards. Boo to the 65-game rule.
Rapper J. Cole will play pro basketball in China. More here.

📰 Find more news here 24/7.

Watch Guide

đź“ş NCAAW: Final Four
7-9:30 p.m. ET on ESPN
There are other options, as listed below, but this is our headliner this evening. The battle of the Goliaths is upon us. South Carolina-UConn tips at 7 p.m., while Texas-UCLA follows. Should UConn advance, it’s time to start wondering about this team’s place in the Husky pantheon. 

đź“ş MLB: Brewers at Royals
7:40 p.m. ET on Apple TV
Every year, I (and many others) think Milwaukee’s downturn is finally upon us. And every year, the club somehow just wins a ton of games. The season is still young, but the 5-1 Brewers lead the NL Central. Watch them tonight and gaze upon my half-baked opinion.

đź“ş NWSL: Angel City at Pride
8 p.m. ET on Prime Video
Angel City has been among the NWSL’s best in the early going this year, while Orlando — league champs two years ago — have scuffled a bit. Give it a look, and you might get hooked.

Get tickets to games like these here.

Pulse Picks

If you read any story today, make it Brendan Quinn’s piece on a single moment, a single bow, that’s become a hallmark of the Masters. Read it here. So good. 

Victor Glover, the NASA astronaut en route to the moon on Artemis II, was a college football player and wrestler before he took to space. 

How do we make sense of a nonsensical NHL season? Sean McIndoe has a better way than just checking the standings. 

Mike Sando conducted necessary NFL offseason work and got unfiltered comments on all of free agency’s biggest stories, from the Maxx Crosby fiasco to the Kyler Murray signing and everything in between. Two files: 

Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: The ABS walk-off challenge. 

Most-read on the website yesterday: The Masters story linked above.

📫 That’s all for now! Say hello at thepulse@theathletic.com, and check out our other newsletters.