Jace LaViolette, OF, Guardians: LaViolette enters 2026 looking to shake off a rough year. In 2025, he entered his junior spring at Texas A&M as the top prospect in the class, but tumbled down the board because of inconsistent performance and injuries. Yesterday, Laviolette flashed the upside that led to his once lofty expectations. He roped a pair of hits that left the bat at 100+ mph. The first, a fifth-inning knock against Mike Soroka, left the bat at 100.4 mph. He followed it up two innings later with another single at 110.8 mph, which was the hardest-hit ball of the game. LaViolette has an opportunity to recapture his prospect stock this season with good health.

Nolan Schubart, DH, Guardians: LaViolette wasn’t the only bruising college power hitter the Guardians identified in the draft last spring. Schubart similarly was quite productive at Oklahoma State but fell to the third round because of questions about both his hit tool and defensive value. He entered Tuesday’s 10-5 win over the D-backs as a replacement for Rhys Hoskins at DH and went 2-for-2 with a home run and a double. Plenty of prospects got some run in this one for Cleveland. Jaison Chourio went 1-for-5 with a steal and Parker Messick struck out six batters over 4.2 innings.

Rhett Lowder, RHP, Reds: With injuries already ravaging the Reds rotation, both Chase Burns and Rhett Lowder showed help is on the way. Burns started Tuesday's 4-1 loss against the Brewers and threw five innings, striking out seven batters while allowing a pair of runs. His 13 whiffs tied for second-most among all spring training pitchers. Lowder followed suit with three innings in relief. He allowed two runs (one earned) on four hits, no walks and three strikeouts. Lowder will begin the season in the Reds rotation with Hunter Greene and Nick Lodolo on the injured list.

Miguel Ullola, RHP, Astros: In a final spring tuneup, the Astros played their Triple-A affiliate Sugar Land. Ullola got the start and allowed one run on five hits, two walks and two strikeouts. Ullola was added to the 40-man roster this offseason and should provide some insurance for the Astros, as he could work effectively as a reliever, long man or fill-in starter. Ullola generates tons of ride and cut on his fastball and has a quality slider. He’ll need to continue to show the ability to throw strikes consistently.

Editor’s Picks

Latest MLB Draft Rankings & Analysis: While this is a big week across professional baseball with spring training winding down and Opening Day upon us, it’s also a pivotal stretch on the amateur side. The National High School Invitational, one of the premier in-season scouting events, kicks off today, and college baseball conference play is now in full swing.

As such, we had a slew of new draft updates.

• Expanded MLB Draft big board to 300 players

• Risers, fallers & new additions to the list

• Staff draft 1.0

• Scouting Vahn Lackey, one of the spring’s big first-round risers

Baseball America Helium Pick Of The Day

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

Zach Root, LHP, Dodgers: In the midst of a Spring Breakout game that featured a combined 27 walks, Root was a breath of fresh air. The 2025 first-rounder out of Arkansas limited the White Sox to just one hit over three innings and struck out eight hitters (one of those Ks was concluded on a batter timer violation). The lone blemish on Root’s line was a dribbler that Braden Montgomery beat out for an infield single. Root brought his fastball up to 99 mph and got eight whiffs on 19 swings, including three each on his four-seamer and curveball.

Quick Hits

Prospect news and notes from around baseball…

• A pair of righthanders ended their springs on high notes after learning they’d open the year in the big leagues. Both Ryan Johnson (Angels) and Brandon Sproat (Brewers) tossed four scoreless innings yesterday, and each struck out five batters.

• Here’s our analysis on Kevin McGonigle making the Tigers roster.

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