Spring Training Prospect Report - February 20, 2026

Ah, can you smell it? The smell of fresh-cut grass and the dirt of the diamond. Baseball is back, and it is a beautiful sight. Spring Training games have kicked off, and we are here to break down everything you need to know regarding the top prospect performers from the previous day’s action.

What prospects are standing out? Who is making noise? Who could break camp with teams? Let’s discuss what you need to know!

Exit Velocity Leaders(Prospects Only)

Whiff Leaders(Prospects Only)

Spring Training Prospect Watch

🚀 Standout of The Day

Sam Antonacci, 2B, Chicago White Sox

Stats: 1/3, 1 HR, 2 RBI

Notable Data: 109.5 MPH HR, 100.3 MPH Ground Out, 94.6 MPH Force Out

Spring Line: 1/3, 1 HR, 2 RBI

Why The Performance Matters:

Antonacci got off to a blazing hot start to spring, leaving the yard off big leaguer, Jameson Taillon in the second inning of Friday’s game. It was no ordinary home run, though, as it left the bat with an exit velocity of 109.5 mph and traveled 417 feet. Sure, it was a 92.5 mph fastball that Taillon left over the heart of the plate, but the significance is the exit velocity here, as Antonnaci reached a max exit velocity of 110 mph last season.

The contact skills are legit and showed again on Friday as he swung and missed just once. In addition to the home run, Antonacci had an additional ball hit over 100 mph and another that was just shy of 95 mph.

Splitting the 2025 season between High-A and Double-A, Antonnaci slashed .291/.433/.409 with five home runs and 48 stolen bases. He did have 32 extra-base hits, so if a few more of those doubles turn into home runs, as we saw, this is a top 100 prospect.

Antonnaci ended the 2025 season with an overall contact rate of around 87 percent, and the in-zone number was just shy of 90 percent. The chase rate an impressive 16 percent.

Keep a close eye on Antonacci this spring.

Fantasy Spin:

The performance should not make you think Antonacci is immediately a top 50 prospect or anything of that nature, but it does show a few things.

• Raw Power is developing

• He can handle MLB pitching

• His offensive ceiling might be a tad higher than originally thought.

Antonacci does not have much value in most dynasty leagues. If he is available, I would pick him up and see where it goes. Again, it’s early. Keep a close eye on the exit velocities the rest of spring. -CC

🔥 Impact Hitting Performances

Ryan Waldschmidt, OF, Arizona Diamondbacks

Line: 0/3, 1 K

Notable Data: 115.6 EV

Analysis:

Ryan Waldschmidt lit up Statcast when he made contact with a 95.8 MPH sinker down and in. The result of this batted ball happened to be a new personal best for Ryan Waldschmidt in the exit velocity department. Yes, before you become the no-fun police, I know the ball in play result was a groundout. A 115.6 MPH EV with a -6 degree launch angle doesn’t sound great, and everyone’s dad is going to say it doesn’t matter how hard you hit it when you hit the ball into the ground, but this established a new max EV for someone, and these are good data points to collect, even if they are slightly noisy.

Ryan Waldschmidt could very well be in the conversation to open camp with the Diamondbacks, as a pesky hamate bone injury has sidelined Corbin Carroll until either before or after Opening Day. This is the foot in the door that Waldschmidt may have needed. He was good last year, hitting 18 homers and stealing 29 bases across both High-A and Double-A. And while he has yet to see time in Triple-A, his Double-A performance may indicate that he is close to being ready. And with being named a Top 100 prospect on all three lists (Baseball America, MLB Pipeline, and ESPN), he would be eligible to take part in the Prospect Promotion Incentive program IF he broke camp with the Snakes.

File this away when there is more buzz on Waldschmidt. If he can keep the ball off the ground, that is, as his other batted ball of the day was also a ground ball, there will be a case for Waldschmidt to break camp with the Diamondbacks, thus forcing the likes of Jorge Barbosa to the bench when Carroll comes back. - RW

Walker Jenkins, OF, Minnesota Twins

Line: 1/2, 2B, 2 R, RBI, BB

Notable Data: 115.6 EV

Analysis:

Walker Jenkins hit a double off a college arm. I actually find these little exhibitions to be fascinating. What do you mean? A college arm has to go against the likes of Josh Bell, who has nine years of service time? Back to the matter at hand, Walker Jenkins took a 90.9 mph fastball to the pull side and hit it 102 MPH off the bat. He also drew a walk for good measure.

There is a lot to like about Walker Jenkins, but the injuries have started to pile up, and that can get scary. Is this a Walker Jenkins thing? Is this a Twins thing? Can we please get Byron Buxton onto another team? Walker Jenkins has a chance to see time with the Twins this season, health permitting, because these are the list of characters that may get time in the outfield in Minnesota this year: Byron Buxton, Matt Wallner, Trevor Larnach, Kody Clemens, Ryan Kreidler, Austin Martin, James Outman, Emmanuel Rodriguez, and maybe Gabriel Gonzalez gets a chance before he begins the KBO/NPB portion of his career. Of all those guys, the only one you can definitely say has no reason not to be playing (health permitting) over Walker Jenkins when he is ready is Buxton.

The Twins are functioning as the closest thing we have seen to an expansion franchise since the Rays and D-Backs entered the league, so maybe there is more runway here for him to break camp with the team than one would think. He did get some time in Triple-A and can play center field, so there is some on-roster utility here, and he could move Buxton to a corner to reduce the wear and tear that comes with playing center field. If Walker Jenkins has a good spring, and the Twins want to have some goodwill with a fanbase that has every right not to want to tune in, at least allowing Walker Jenkins to earn a spot on the roster might give fans of the Twins some hope. - RW

Jefferson Rojas, SS, Chicago Cubs

Line: 1/2, 2B, K

Notable Data: 100.3 MPH EV

Analysis:

Rojas has some fans out there, and it stems from his good glove and ability to make contact. Rojas was able to pounce on Tyler Schweitzer’s 94 MPH fastball and get his first hit of the spring. Rojas struggled a little bit in his 172 plate appearances in Double-A, hitting 0 homers and batting .164/.343/.367.

It is hard to see a runway for Rojas with the Cubs, as he will almost assuredly not displace Dansby Swanson, who is one of the best shortstop defenders in the sport. Rojas may be able to get some playing time in 2026 with the Cubs if an injury arises. He is defensively versatile and may be able to do a job in center field if needed. But for him to fulfill any sort of fantasy upside and be a consistent player, we need to see Rojas get moved to a different team. - RW

Munetaka Murakami, 1B, Chicago Cubs

Line: 2/4, 2B, 2 RBI, K

Notable Data: 108.3 MPH EV

Analysis:

He has arrived, and played a bit more than you would think, especially with this being the spring training opener. Murakami brings a lot of power to the plate, and he showed that in this one, posting an exit velocity (EV) of 108.3 on the double and a 105.5 on the single he hit.

Murakami is obviously known for his power, and that is what everyone is going to hope he provides in the coming years. There is a chance here he just hits 25 homers from the jump, but the batting average, especially in his first year or so, could get ugly. He has issues with making contact and will run a high strikeout rate. But he should be able to hit just enough to tap into his monstrous power.

I do find the fact that the White Sox manager is saying he will get some time at third base this season interesting because that is not how I would want him deployed. But hey, maybe he gets enough time there to maintain eligibility, and that is all we are asking for around these parts. If it all clicks, he could be a .250 hitter who hits 40+ homers. - RW

Michael Arroyo, 2B, Seattle Mariners

Line: 2/2, HR, 2B, R, 2 RBI

Notable Data: 2 Hard Hit Batted Balls

Analysis:

Well hello Michael Arroyo, nice of you to start off your Spring Training on a high note. Arroyo had two hard-hit batted balls and had a homer that would have gone out in all but 2 of the ballparks in the major leagues. We won’t see him for much longer as he prepares to represent Colombia in the World Baseball Classic.

Michael Arroyo has always been more of a bat-first, and second, and maybe even third prospect, because his glove isn’t great. But if he is going to routinely barrel up batted balls and play a little bit of left field, then maybe, just maybe, it will work. The homer came off a changeup that Jagger Haynes threw; it was an objectively bad pitch, and Michael Arroyo was waiting and sat back on it and took it the other way. It was, by all accounts, a good piece of hitting.

The double came as Wandy Peralta tried to throw a slider on the inner third to Michael Arroyo, and he took it right-center. Arroyo is a pain in the behind to pitch to. The fantasy ceiling is pretty good; he could be a plus contact guy, who draws his fair share of walks, and also hits 20 homers in Seattle. I don’t think we see him at all in 2026, but if Cole Young continues to not provide much offensive impact, maybe, just maybe, the Mariners take the bad defense that is going to come and call up Arroyo late in the year. Also, it doesn’t change his fantasy outlook, but very few players have as nice of cleats as Arroyo does; he was wearing some really nice Jordan 11 cleats when I saw him in Single-A. - RW

🎯 Notable Pitching Standouts

Marco Raya, RHP, Minnesota Twins

Line: IP, H, 3 K

Notable Pitch Data: Threw 13 pitches, collected 6 whiffs

Analysis:

I have always been a bit of a Marco Raya fan, even as his command has evaporated and we have learned he has an objectively bad four-seamer. He isn't going to be a star by any means, but he has what it takes to be a useful pitcher for the Twins. He has a few different pitches, and he has the looks of a possible platoon-neutral reliever who can go multiple innings.

It is hard to evaluate Raya for a lot of reasons; no pitcher seems to have gotten a shorter leash than him when he was a starter, and in this game particularly, he went against college hitters. Raya threw 98.2 innings in 2025, all in Triple-A with the Twins, and in 9 of his last 10 games, Raya came into the game as a reliever. The Twins tried him as a starter, and it just didn't work well. Now, the reason I bring him up here is that he could have some viability in your deeper points leagues, especially ones where long relievers have some value because there is an innings component. Raya looks to be a future long reliever for the Twins.

His arsenal is solid; it’s a mid-90s fastball whose shape is not great and has led him to rely on his cutter as the primary offering. He also mixes in a sweeper that gets around 10 inches of horizontal break, along with a good curveball that is thrown around the mid-80s and gets around 8 inches of drop, and he will mix in a sinker and a changeup.

In this outing, against college kids, he mixed in all of his pitches and got whiffs with all of them. The curveball, sweeper, and cutter all got 2 whiffs apiece and looked to cause serious issues for the Minnesota Golden Gophers lineup.

The curveball and sweeper are his primary whiff pitches, generating a 36.3% whiff rate and a 37.3% whiff rate, respectively. And with the cutter, those three weapons are enough to get some outs at the big league level this season, and because he throws a four-seamer, a sinker, and a changeup, he can give batters something else to worry about to get them off the three good pitches. He is on the 40-man roster and spent the entire season in Triple-A; he could very well factor into the mix for the Twins. -RW

Elmer Rodriguez, RHP, New York Yankees

Line: 3 IP, 3 H, 0 BB, 1 K

Notable Pitch Data: 42 Pitches, 71% Strikes, 36% Chase

Analysis:

Rodriguez was not flashy in his 2026 spring debut, but he was efficient and limited any damage. Facing off against the Orioles’ everyday lineup, Rodriguez held them to just three hits across three scoreless innings. He was high efficent, needing just 42 pitches and landing 71 percent of those for strikes.

Sure, the bat-missing ability was not quite there as he had just five whiffs, but the 29 percent CSW was respectable. Two whiffs each came from both the changeup and sinker, which play off each other well.

Rodriguez runs his fastball up to 98 mph but routinely sits in the 95-96 mph range. Last season, the pitch shape did not stand out for a sinker, but he averaged 17 inches of arm-side run on Friday with good depth.

Rodriguez mixes in a cutter that often blends into a slider. The cutter touched 91 several times but is very similar to his slider, which sits in the upper-80s. The changeup sat at 88 mph with good depth and 13 inches of arm-side fade.

One thing of note is that Rodriguez looked to mix both a sweeper anda curve. The pitches had around five mph of spearation and while they had similar glove-side movement(12 inches), the curveball had negative nine inches of IVB versus zero on the sweeper.

Rodriguez is going to pitch for the Yankees this season and is a high-probability starter. -CC

Connor Schultz, RHP, Chicago Cubs

Line: 1.1 IP, 2H, BB, 2 K

Notable Pitch Data: 7 Swings and Misses

Analysis:

Following Jameson Taillon, we got a former Indy Ball pitcher whom the Cubs signed in 2024. Connor Schultz, in this one, collected 7 whiffs on 26 pitches thrown.

Schultz was mostly throwing the changeup in this outing, especially to left-handed batters; of the fifteen pitches he threw to left-handed batters, 9 of them were the changeup. The changeup is a solid weapon against opposite-sided hitters; it gets around 12 miles per hour separation off the four-seamer and sinker. The changeup generates about 13 inches of horizontal break and tunnels well with his two fastballs.

Schultz has bounced between being a starter and being a reliever during his time in the Cubs organization. The upside with a changeup-first reliever whose fastball tops out around 94 mph is a low-leverage relief type. But if you get that from an Indy Ball signee, that’s a win. There isn't much fantasy upside unless you play in a league where holds are valued the same as a save, because he doesn't have the stuff to be a closer. - RW

Trey Gibson, RHP, Baltimore Orioles

Line: 3 IP, 2H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K

Notable Pitch Data:

Analysis:

Gibson pitched the final three innings of the game for the Orioles against the Yankees, and while it was against mostly prospects and org depth type players, Gibson was strong. He pitched three scoreless innings with three strikeouts. He did not allow a run or a walk, which was also encouraging.

Needing just 35 pitches, Gibson landed 69 percent of those for strikes and had a 28 percent whiff rate and a 31 percent CSW. While the fastball sat just 92 mph, there’s little reason to worry at this point since it is still February.

Having a five-pitch mix, Gibson leads with a fastball that he throws around 40 percent of the time. It grades out at a plus offering, sitting 94 mph last season, it plays with good depth, and over 16 inches of arm-side run. The extension being north of seven feet allows it to play up.

Gibson threw three breaking balls, an 86-87 mph slider with good depth, an 83-84 mph sweeper with 12 inches of glove-side movement. The 80 mph curveball had negative 13 inches of IVB on average with seven inches of sweep.

Gibson did not feature his changeup, which was a seldom-used pitch in 2025, and not throwing a four-seamer was interesting. He did mix in the cutter in the upper-80s with high carry and four inches of cut, resembling another slider.

The arsenal and arm-talent is there for Gibson to spend plenty of time in an Orioles uniform in 2026. -CC

👀 Under-The-Radar Prospect Performer

Romeo Sanabria, 1B, San Diego Padres

Sanabria took over for Nick Castellanos, who started at first base for the Padres. He made his presence known quickly, blasting a 106.4 mph home run that traveled 416 feet off of Troy Taylor.

Drafted as a catcher in the 18th round of the 2022 MLB Draft out of Indian River State College. Given his large 6’3”/200 lb frame, it did not take long for him to transition to first base in the Padres organization. In 2025, Sanabria blasted 12 home runs in 499 Double-A plate appearances, slashing .257/.309/.376.

After the 2024 season and AFL, it looked like Sanabria might be a legit prospect. The 2025 season was disappointing, but there is power in the bat as we saw on Friday. -CC

🚨 Daily Overreaction

At this point, it is easy to overreact to anything. We have baseball back, people are excited, and there is a ton of stuff thrown at you on social media. Remember what matters most. Right now, the most important things to react to are not batting practice videos, pitch data from small side sessions, or even one game samples.

What you should be watching for is things, as we saw from Ryan Waldschmidt and Sam Antonacci, which were some shiny exit velocity data that matters when looking at past performances. Also, pitchers like Elmer Rodriguez and Trey Gibson tossing three innings on day one were encouraging, especially scoreless. Michael Arroyo’s bat was also fun to watch. -CC

📊 Quick Hitters

• Ryan Waldschmidt, ARI - 115.6 mph ground out (New Max EV)

• Pedro Ramirez, CHC - 111.8 mph ground out (New Max EV)

• BJ Murray, CHC - 112.3 and 110.2 mph exit velocities

• Munetaka Murakami, CHW - 105.5 mph 2B, 108.3 mph 1B

• Elmer Rodriguez, NYY - 3 scoreless IP

• Trey Gibson, BAL - 3 scoreless IP

• Marco Raya, MIN - 3 K over a scoreless IP

• Michael Arroyo, SEA - 2/2, 2B, HR