Quinn Mathews, LHP, Cardinals: Mathews delivered a polished outing for the Cardinals on Thursday, showing a strong mix of velocity, swing-and-miss ability and command. Mathews' four-seamer averaged 95 mph and he generated 12 whiffs across his arsenal on 50 pitches. The lefthander struck out seven while issuing no walks. For Mathews, the key in 2026 is sustaining health and stuff after he missed six weeks last year with a left shoulder injury in April and saw his average fastball velocity drop compared to 2024. If he can, there should be plenty of opportunity early in 2026 in the Cardinals' big league rotation.

Robby Snelling, LHP, Marlins: Following Sandy Alcantara is no easy assignment, but Snelling handled the role well in a strong relief showing for the Marlins on Thursday. The lefthander worked three scoreless innings, allowing just one hit while striking out six. Snelling kept hitters off balance, recording strikeouts with four different pitches and flashing the depth of his arsenal. Most notably, he struck out Jose Altuve, Yordan Alvarez and Isaac Paredes in the fourth inning. He threw 45 pitches in total, 29 of them for strikes, efficiently attacking the zone while issuing just one walk.

Jamie Arnold, LHP, Athletics: After a scoreless debut in his first Cactus League appearance, Arnold had a solid showing in his second outing for the A's. Pitching against the Angels in Tempe, Arizona, the lefthander struck out two, though he also surrendered a solo homer to Denzer Guzman in his second inning of work. The 11th overall pick in 2025 worked with two different fastballs, a sinker and a four-seamer, that each averaged nearly 94 mph, and a mid-80s sweeper that elicited both of his strikeouts. He threw just one changeup. While Arnold has yet to make his pro debut, he's one of three potentially quick-moving lefthanders in the A's system alongside Gage Jump and Wei-En Lin.

Josue Briceño, C/1B, Tigers: Briceño had surgery to repair a tendon in his right wrist on Wednesday and begin the 2026 season on the injured list, according to Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press. The 21-year-old catcher injured his wrist during a spring training game last week. There's no set timetable for Briceño's return, per Petzold. Briceño played a career-high 100 games and launched 20 home runs in 2025, splitting time between High-A West Michigan and Double-A Erie. It was a much healthier season after knee injuries kept the powerful Tigers prospect out for most of 2024. He entered 2026 as the Tigers' No. 4 prospect and as a non-roster invitee this spring and appeared in six games. He hit .167 (2-for-12) with no walks and one strikeout over 13 plate appearances.

Spring Breakout Preview

MLB released the player pools on Thursday for its annual prospect showcase. While this year’s release is a bit different—teams will finalize Spring Breakout rosters later this month—here’s everything you need to know.

• 10 players who could raise their stock

• Lower-level prospects who could impress in Spring Breakout

• 10 Spring Breakout prospects without any pro experience

• Here’s every Spring Breakout player pool

• Only 9 Top 100 Prospects are missing from player pools

• A new Spring Breakout format is coming in 2027

Baseball America Helium Pick Of The Day

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

Roldy Brito, 2B/OF, Rockies: Brito was one of the best prospects in the Arizona Complex League last summer, then bullied the competition in the Low-A California League, as well. Brito’s loudest tool is his double-plus speed, which serves him especially well on the days he mans center field. At the plate, the switch-hitter has strong plate discipline and burgeoning power, giving him the beginnings of a power-speed profile. There’s polish to be applied, but he’s one of the system’s most exciting talents and could wind up on the Top 100 at some point this summer.

Quick Hits

Prospect news and notes from around baseball…

• A’s outfielder Junior Perez ripped a 114.8 mph homer Thursday off Angels RHP Kenyon Yovan, the hardest-hit ball of the day across spring training games. After stalling out and even hitting minor league free agency prior to 2025, Perez rebounded last year and surged to No. 20 in the A’s system entering 2026. He could work his way into their big league outfield depth mix at some point this season.

• Guardians outfielder Jaison Chourio is looking forward to a renewed bill of health in 2026. He tripled and stole a base against the White Sox on Thursday and has logged at least one hit in five of his seven spring appearances.

• Jedixson Paez never pitched above High-A with the Red Sox, but he’s ticketed for a big league roster spot if the White Sox choose to hold onto their Rule 5 draft pick. Thursday was a day to forget. He gave up six runs on six hits including a homer over 1.1 innings against the Guardians.

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