Payton Tolle, LHP, Red Sox: The Red Sox rotation hopeful completed four scoreless innings, striking out five, walking none and allowing three hits in a 4-3 Boston win against the Braves in Grapefruit League play on Tuesday. The 23-year-old lefthander threw 45 strikes—including 11 whiffs—in 58 pitches.

The Red Sox drafted Tolle in the second round in 2024 out of TCU. He zoomed through three levels of the minor leagues in his 2025 pro debut, reaching Boston for 16.1 innings as a late-August callup. He has pitched well this spring—13 strikeouts, one walk, eight hits in 10.2 innings—as he battles fellow prospect Connelly Early and offseason trade addition Johan Oviedo for a rotation spot.

Zach Cole, OF, Astros: Cole finished last season in the big leagues and is making a late bid to open 2026 in Houston. He launched a 416-foot solo home run against the Pirates' Mitch Keller in Grapefruit League play on Tuesday. Cole went 1-for-3 with two walks, two strikeouts and two runs scored in the game. While Cole has gone just 6-for-32 this spring, he has performed better in his last nine games, with an .845 OPS and two homers.

Colt Emerson, SS, Mariners: Emerson has hung around big league camp as he makes his Opening Day roster case with a week to go. In Cactus League play on Tuesday, the 20-year-old shortstop hit a solo homer versus Padres big league righthander German Marquez, his second blast in his past three games.

Emerson went 2-for-3 with a homer, a double, a walk, an RBI and three runs scored.

Emerson finished last season with a week of games at Triple-A. He could return to the Pacific Coast League to open this season—or he could play his way onto Seattle's roster, especially with regular shortstop JP Crawford contending with shoulder soreness.

Nolan McLean, RHP, Mets: McLean drew the start for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic final versus Team Venezuela. The rookie allowed two runs on four hits in 4.2 innings, striking out four and walking one. Venezuela won the game 3-2 to claim its first-ever WBC championship.

McLean allowed a solo home run to Wilyer Abreu in the fifth inning and let in the first run of the game in the third, when Maikel Garcia hit a sacrifice fly to drive in Ronald Acuña Jr. Acuña had advanced to third base on wild pitch by McLean.

McLean generated eight whiffs on 63 pitches, six of them on his deadly mid-80s sweeper. His sinker touched 99 mph in the game and averaged nearly 97, up two ticks from last year.

Carson Williams & Jacob Melton, Rays: The Rays optioned shortstop Carson Williams and center fielder Jacob Melton to Triple-A Durham on Tuesday. Both players made their MLB debuts last season and were in play to break camp with Tampa Bay this season, though the Rays decided to go with Taylor Walls at short and an outfield combination including veterans Cedric Mullins and Jake Fraley and second-year Chandler Simpson.

Williams went 8-for-22 (.364) with two doubles, a walk and five strikeouts in 11 games. Melton went 4-for-28 (.143) with two homers, two walks and 12 strikeouts in 12 games.

Williams would have a path to Prospect Promotion Incentive eligibility if he were to be called up before the 20th day of the MLB season. Both Melton and Williams ranked in Baseball America’s Top 100 entering the season.

Editor’s Picks

College Baseball Standouts: Geoff Pontes highlights his standout college baseball “Data Points” to identify the most impressive analytics from week 5. Read more…

MiLB Rule Changes: MLB is set to experiment with a number of rule tweaks during the 2026 minor league season. Here’s everything to know. Read more…

Baseball America Helium Pick Of The Day

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

Henry Godbout, 2B, Red Sox: The Red Sox have done a good job of targeting underrated talents beyond the first round. Based on early spring returns, Godbout could be their next potential breakout after landing him in the second round last year. The former Virginia star showed excellent bat-to-ball skills in college with a strong approach and good angles on contact. His raw power is more fringe to average, but he could find more bat speed and impact working with Red Sox player development. Godbout has the foundational skills to succeed immediately. If he has found more power, he could break into the Top 100 by the end of the season.

Quick Hits

Prospect news and notes from around baseball…

• The Mets roughed up Robby Snelling for six hits and three runs in three innings on Tuesday. While his 7.56 spring ERA is bloated, Snelling has 13 strikeouts in 8.1 innings for the Marlins.

• Rhett Lowder made the Reds’ Opening Day roster.

• Phillies top prospect Aidan Miller (back) is not expected to be ready for the start of the minor league season, according to The Athletic.

In Case You Missed It