Spring Training Prospect Report - March 5, 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

Quinn Mathews, LHP, St. Louis Cardinals

Stats: 2 IP/2 H/1 ER/0 BB/7 K

Notable Data: 12 Whiffs

Spring Line: FB Velo back up to 95.2 mph on average, 4 whiffs on FB, CH, SL each

Why The Performance Matters:

Mathews went from a low-90s innings-eating arm out of Stanford, who went in the fourth round in 2023, to one of the top pitching prospects in baseball very fast. After sitting 91.5 mph at Stanford, Mathews averaged nearly 95 mph in 2024. During the 2025 season, he saw the fastball velocity fall back to 93 mph, and the results were also inconsistent.

After posting a 2.76 ERA across 143 innings in 2024, Mathews pitched just 99 innings in 2025. The ERA looked fine at 3.73, but the 1.55 WHIP paired with a 17 percent walk rate was a major issue. The control issues could have coincided with injury.

Mathews turned in quite the outing on Thursday, tossing 2.2 innings with seven strikeouts. He allowed just two hits and one earned run, an Alika Williams home run. The most impressive thing about the outing was his 12 whiffs, spread around between his fastball, changeup, and slider. He ran a 55 percent whiff rate and a 42 percent CSW.

The fastball velocity being back up is also important. I mentioned in 2025, it fell nearly two ticks. While we are looking at a smaller sample of 50 pitches yesterday, Mathews averaged 95.2 mph and touched 96.5 mph with 17 inches of IVB and eight inches of arm-side run.

Mathews’ changeup and slider were both dialed in, working at 83 mph and 87.5 mph, respectively. The two plane curveball in the mid-70s was sharp, and Mathews also featured a 96 mph sinker with 15 inches of arm-side run.

Fantasy Spin:

If it were not for injury and the lack of command in 2025, we would have seen Mathews in the Majors. This year seems to be the year, though, where he takes a rotation spot. Matthew Liberatore is locked in the SP1 spot, but given what we have seen in the past from Dustin May, Andre Pallante, Michael McGreevy, and Kyle Leahy, its hard to imagine Mathews not being able to take a spot and pitch significant innings in 2026. -CC

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