The BAPR is a free daily morning newsletter. Please consider help spreading the word by forwarding to your friends and helping us grow the Baseball America community!

Brock Jones, OF, Rays: The Rays’ 2022 second-round pick has shown above-average power as a professional through two full professional seasons, but has also struggled mightily with strikeouts, including a 37.1% strikeout rate in his return to High-A Bowling Green last year. Jones’ power showed up Thursday in a promising performance against the Phillies. Jones went deep in back-to-back innings in his first spring training appearance. He smoked a line-drive homer to right-center field with a 108.2 mph exit velocity to give Tampa Bay its first run of the day. He followed up the ninth inning by hitting a two-run shot to tie the game.

Jackson Ferris, LHP, Dodgers: If it wasn’t for Roki Sasaki, Ferris would be the best pitching prospect in the Dodgers system. He quickly made his presence felt Thursday against the Rangers. Ferris relieved Dustin May and struck out five batters over two innings, opening his outing by striking out Ezequiel Duran, Alejandro Osuna and Kyle Higashioka in that order. The 21-year-old ran into some trouble in his second frame when he allowed a two-run homer to veteran Nick Ahmed, but also added two more strikeouts. Most notably, Ferris’ fastball averaged 96 mph over two innings and his mid-80s slider racked up five whiffs on eight swings.

Mikey Romero, SS, Red Sox: After his first pro season was derailed by back injuries, Romero responded by hitting .271 with 16 homers and 53 RBIs across three levels in 2024. He had a good showing Thursday in Boston’s Grapefruit League game against the Blue Jays. The 21-year-old smoked the second pitch he saw off Chris Bassitt with a 102.8 mph exit velocity, and later homered to the deepest part of the yard off Nick Sandlin. Romero ranks No. 18 in the Red Sox system entering 2025 and is expected to open the season with Double-A Portland.

Jac Caglianone, 1B, Royals: Caglianone consistently displayed his jaw-dropping power at the college ranks at this time a year ago. Now, he’s inflicting damage on professional pitchers. Look no further than his home run Thursday night against the Cubs. Caglianone crushed an 0-2 breaking ball from Ethan Roberts for a two-run homer with his steep, lefthanded swing. It was his second time the Royals’ 2024 first-round pick left the yard in Cactus League play. Caglianone has some of the best power in the minor leagues. His ascension to the majors will rely on adjusting and enhancing his pitch recognition.

Craig Yoho, RHP, Brewers: Yoho has dealt with considerable adversity throughout his career. The righthander had Tommy John surgery twice and knee surgery while in college, but has made the best of his opportunities and is now closing in on the big leagues. The 25-year-old added two scoreless innings Thursday in the Cactus League against the Athletics. Yoho struck out four batters, which included punching out Max Muncy, Carlos Cortes and Henry Bolte to end his performance. Yoho has nine strikeouts and has issued just one walk and one hit in five frames this spring. He may not throw particularly hard, but his devilish changeup helped him accumulate a 42% strikeout rate a year ago.

Jack Leiter, RHP, Rangers: Leiter threw three scoreless innings Thursday against the Padres, striking out three batters while scattering two hits. Leiter’s four-seam fastball averaged 98 mph and elicited five whiffs in 11 swings. Maintaining that velocity is a major focus for Leiter this season, as big league hitters have so far handled his heater quite well when it dips down into the 96-97 mph range. Leiter also continues to mix in a new sinker. His increased velocity is encouraging, and Leiter is also utilizing a spike changeup grip more consistently in 2025, according to MLB.com.

Editor’s Picks

MLB Power Rankings: We graded every MLB team on the 20-80 scale, identified potential first-time all-stars and also key rookies to know for the 2025 season. Read more…

Spring Breakout: We ranked every roster ahead of next week’s prospect series. Read more…

Potential Risers: Josh Norris identifies 10 player who could boost their stock even more with impressive showings. Read more…

Baseball America Helium Pick Of The Day

Each day, we’ll pick a prospect that has our attention.

Bryce Meccage, RHP Brewers: The Brewers in recent years have garnered a reputation as an organization where pitchers go to blossom. Meccage is among their newest students and could do just that under their tutelage. The righthander has a diamond-studded lineage given that his father was a college pitching coach and his uncle was the Pirates’ bullpen coach for five seasons. He also has an arsenal with three pitches that project as above-average or better, including a potentially plus slider. His background and pitch mix could help him move quickly. Meccage is one of 10 notable players on Spring Breakout rosters without any professional experience.

Quick Hits

News and notes from around spring training…

• The Pirates reassigned Bubba Chandler and Hunter Barco to minor league camp

• Cam Collier may miss some time with a thumb injury, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer

• Zebby Matthews is up to 6.1 scoreless innings this spring. He has yet to walk a batter

• Guardians lefty Doug Nikhazy struck out six batters over three scoreless innings yesterday

• Jordan Lawlar and Druw Jones each picked up extra-base hits

• Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News writes that Marc Church and Emiliano Teodo have impressed Rangers brass this spring

• Astros 3B Cam Smith continues to impress

In Case You Missed It