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James Wood, OF, Nationals: Wood hit his fourth home run of the spring, continuing to add to his case for breaking camp with the big league club. Wood is now hitting .341/.491/.707 this spring, as he’s showing power that is otherwise non-existent for this Nationals club. His four home runs lead the team on a club where Lane Thomas is the only other hitter with more than two home runs. The case for giving him some more Triple-A time may revolve around who he’s doing damage against. One of Wood’s home runs did come off Cardinals’ starter Kyle Gibson, but the other three have come against pitchers who aren’t likely to make Opening Day rosters, including Denny Bentley, who he homered off of on Thursday (March 21).

Marco Luciano, SS, Giants: Luciano’s spring hasn’t allayed any concerns that he might not be ready to fully take over the Giants shortstop. He’s struggled at the plate, and had largely been punch-less in games. Luciano went 1-for-20 in his first eight games this spring, and was hitting .080 after last Sunday’s game. This week has offered some signs of hope. He’s 5-for-9 this week and on Thursday, he hit his first home run of the spring in the Giants’ 7-6 win over the Brewers. It was his second extra-base hit in 15 games this spring. Luciano is now hitting .206/.333/.324. It’s a late push, but it might not be enough to rest the shortstop job from non-roster invitee Nick Ahmed.

Colt Keith, 2B, Tigers: Keith has had a solid spring. He’s yet to make an error at second base, and he’s consistently made contact, but until Thursday, he hadn’t really showed his power this spring. Keith’s first home run this year was a convincing one, as he smoked a 110-mph blast over the right field wall. Keith is hitting .273/.333/.432. He’s striking out only 14.5% of the time.

Hagen Smith, LHP, Arkansas: Those who read our latest mock draft earlier this week saw Smith climb up the first round, and for good reason. The Arkansas lefty has been nearly unhittable this season. That continued Thursday night. Smith struck out 12 batters over six scoreless innings to help the Razorbacks eke out a 1-0 win. Smith is now up to 62 strikeouts in 29 innings as he continues to make his case as the best pitcher in the 2024 draft class.

Ryan Pepiot, RHP, Rays: A brutal outing against the Red Sox and a mediocre one against the Twins had Pepiot staring at a 9.72 ERA coming into his start Thursday (March 21). So Pepiot needed Thursday’s five solid innings of work. Pepiot gave up a solo home run to Kody Clemens in the second inning, but that was the only hit he allowed only two baserunners over the minimum while striking out six. Pepiot finished off three of his strikeouts with his changeup and three with his mid-90s fastball.

Rockies, Rays Exchange Prospects: Tampa Bay and Colorado made prospect-for-prospect swap on Thursday, with the Rays sending speedster Greg Jones to Colorado in exchange for lefthander Joe Rock. Jones, whom Tampa Bay selected in the first round of the 2019 draft out of UNC Wilmington, dealt with a litany of injuries throughout his career and had struggled to hit at the upper levels. Jones was drafted as a shortstop but had been exposed in recent years to the outfield and got the majority of his playing time in center and right field at Triple-A Durham. Jones was added to the Rays’ 40-man roster after the 2022 season.

Rock was Colorado’s supplemental second-round pick in 2021 out of Ohio and spent 2023 at the upper levels of the minor leagues. The southpaw brings an arsenal of mostly fringy pitches, including a 45-grade two-seam fastball and changeup. His slider grades as above-average and is the best pitch in his mix. He did a good job throwing strikes in 2023—save for a rough outing at Triple-A to end the season—and struck out better than 27% of hitters at both stops. He does not have to be added to the 40-man roster until this winter.

Want to get ahead? Each day we’ll surface one prospect from recent Baseball America coverage who could be on the rise.

Wes Clarke’s Power Intrigues Brewers

Wes Clarke, 1B/C, Brewers: Clarke entered the season ranked just inside the Brewers’ Top 20 and immediately captured attention by slugging four homers through nine spring training games. That’s still the fourth-most homers of any prospect ranked inside a Top 30 to start the year, which you can now see (and sort!) via our Prospect Wire. Milwaukee remains intrigued by Clarke’s ability to catch and provide thunderous power as he moves up the ladder.