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Roki Sasaki, RHP, Dodgers: Sasaki’s first outing of the spring came on the backfields in a controlled setting against White Sox prospects. On Tuesday, he took his first turn under the lights at Camelback Ranch. After four innings from Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Sasaki took the hill and showed why he immediately became baseball’s top prospect. Facing the Reds, the righthander with the otherworldly splitter spun three two-hit shutout innings with five strikeouts and one walk. Seven of Sasaki’s 18 splitters resulted in whiffs, and four of his strikeouts came on the pitch. Sasaki also brought his fastball up to 99 mph.

Will Warren, RHP, Yankees: With Luis Gil injured and Chase Hampton out for the season after having Tommy John surgery, the Yankees are going to need a rotation option if another member of their staff goes down. In the early going, Warren is making a strong case to be the next man up. The righthander was inconsistent last season, but has been resplendent during Grapefruit League play. This time, he spun three one-run innings with four strikeouts and a walk against the Phillies. Those four strikeout victims—Trea Turner, Bryce Harper, J.T. Realmuto and Kyle Schwarber—have a whole lot of hardware among them. Warren got Turner looking at a sweeper, Realmuto staring at a changeup and Schwarber and Harper swinging through fastballs.

Spencer Jones, OF, Yankees: When he connects, Jones has prodigious power. He showed as much around this time last year, when he swatted two massive home runs in his team’s Spring Breakout game against the Blue Jays. He faced better competition this time around, and showed another hint of the juice he brings to the table. Facing the Phillies, Jones went 3-for-3 and finished a triple shy of the cycle. The most impressive moment was the softest ball he hit all day, a 91.2 mph EV liner against Cy Young winner Zack Wheeler that resulted in a double. The home run—Jones’ second of the spring—came off a slider from Cody Stashak and left the bat at 104.3 mph before flying over the fence in right-center field.

Alejandro Osuna, OF, Rangers: It’s no secret that Mason Miller throws very, very hard. He stayed healthy last season and was one of the game’s premier closers. Rangers outfielder Alejandro Osuna doesn’t seem to mind. The outfielder racked up a pair of doubles in Texas’ game with Oakland. The first came off of a 92 mph heater from JT Ginn. Two innings later, he stepped up against Miller and got a 102 mph fastball on the fourth pitch of the at-bat and squeezed through a shifted infield at 109 mph off the bat. Osuna is 8-for-18 in Cactus League play.

Tyler Callihan, 1B, Reds: Most of Callihan’s career has been marred by injuries. His only year with more than 100 games was in 2023, and he missed two months of the 2024 season with hand injuries. He made up for some of that lost time with a stint in the Arizona Fall League. Nonetheless, the Reds added him to the 40-man roster to protect him from selection in the Rule 5 draft. On Tuesday, he provided onlookers with a taste of what he can do when healthy. Starting at first base against the Rockies, Callihan stung a pair of doubles before in three at-bats before exiting. Callihan’s hits left the bat at 107 and 110.5 mph, respectively.

James Triantos, 2B, Cubs: Triantos is one of the better hitters in the Cubs’ system. He split his 2024 season between the upper levels and finished the year with an average of an even .300. He struck out just 54 times in 115 games. He collected multiple hits in 40 of those games. On Tuesday, he did it again. After entering as a pinch-runner in place of Miguel Amaya, Triantos went 2-for-2 with a double and a triple. He scored two runs and drove in two more. The three-bagger came off righthander Nick Wissman, a righthander with a funky slot. The double was a line drive on a pitch on the outer part of the plate. Both hits went the opposite way to right field.

Chase DeLauter, OF, Guardians: DeLauter’s injury woes have carried into 2025, as the Guardians announced that the outfielder underwent surgery to repair a bilateral core muscle injury on Tuesday morning. DeLauter sustained the injury during defensive work prior to a game on Feb. 28, according to the team’s statement. Cleveland expects DeLauter to miss 8-to-12 weeks, putting a potential return date sometime between late May and early June. The Guardians drafted DeLauter 16th overall in 2022, but multiple foot injuries have limited him to just 96 professional games. Despite missing substantial time, DeLauter has been rather productive when on the field owning a career .317/.387/.517 line across 406 plate appearances. He was considered a potential dark horse to win a starting outfield spot out of camp. Now, an MLB debut looks likely to be postponed to the second half of 2025.

Editor’s Picks

Trending Up: Carlos Collazo identifies four college hitters rising draft boards already this spring. Read more…

Scouting Buzz: He also has intel on more than two dozen other hitters, including Jace LaViolette’s early struggles. Read more…

Baseball America Helium Pick Of The Day

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

Samy Natera Jr., LHP, Angels: Natera Jr. wasn’t the biggest name at last year’s Arizona Fall League, but he certainly did enough to raise eyebrows. The 25-year-old New Mexico State alum finished his term with Mesa with 17 strikeouts and just five hits allowed over a dozen innings. On Tuesday, he made his spring debut and struck out a pair of Guardians. He also allowed a home run to Jhonkensy Noel. Eleven of the 12 pitches Natera threw were four-seam fastballs, which ranged between 94-96 mph. Both of his strikeouts were swinging on fastballs.

Quick Hits

News and notes from around spring training…

• Jasson Dominguez hit his first spring homer on Tuesday

• Pirates infielder Tsung-Che Cheng also homered. He’s looking to bounce back after struggling in 2024

• Caden Dana was roughed up for seven earned runs in one inning of work

• Brandon Sproat, Jett Williams and Ryan Clifford were among the Mets prospects reassigned to minor league camp

• A’s SS Max Muncy hit a 114.3 mph homer off Rangers RHP Dane Dunning, which was the second-hardest hit ball of the day in games with Statcast tracking

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