David Richard-Imagn Images

American League

Athletics

• Zack Gelof flattened his swing to take a step forward.

Glovework has never been a question mark. For Gelof, the increase in playing time is largely a result of rediscovering his swing. Through struggles and injuries over the previous two seasons, Gelof’s swing mechanics had gotten out of whack. This offseason, he worked on “leveling out” his swing, and the result has been a noticeable decrease in whiffs and increased ability to put the ball in play.

It used to be tough to see if a swing change happened, but bat path is available here at FanGraphs via Baseball Savant. Here are Gelof’s numbers.

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American League

Angels

Astros

• Because the team needed Kai-Wei Teng in the bullpen on Saturday, the plan to move him to the rotation hit a snag.

Teng stands out as a saving grace. He is one of perhaps three leverage relievers in a bullpen that boasts a league-worst 6.22 ERA. The team has toyed with stretching him out as a starter — and planned to deploy him as one in Sunday’s game. Using him for 23 pitches on Saturday scuttled the plan, setting this dismal two-day cycle into motion. Teng could not pitch at all on Sunday, which perhaps forced Espada to extend both Blubaugh and Abreu beyond reason.

That Teng threw 31 pitches across two scoreless innings on Monday — in a game the Astros trailed by five runs — epitomizes the excruciating position in which Espada is mired. He deployed one of his leverage relievers in a lopsided game because turning to anyone else would’ve jeopardized their health.

Doing so almost ensures Teng won’t be available to pitch on Tuesday or Wednesday, putting the Astros at a further disadvantage against a Dodgers team with an already superior roster and more pressure on a pitching staff that can’t absorb it.

The team needs to find some stability in their rotation. Their starters have a 5.35 ERA on the season, the 2nd worst in the league behind the Diamondbacks (5.42 ERA). Read the rest of this entry »

Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

American League

Orioles

• Brandon Young will get an extended look in the majors with Dean Kremer out for weeks.

Right-hander Brandon Young was called up from Triple-A in the corresponding move, and Young started Friday’s game in Kremer’s place, getting the win while allowing three runs on seven hits and a walk over 5 2/3 innings of work.

Young will probably get an extended run as Baltimore’s fifth starter since Kremer will miss “several weeks,” as O’s president of baseball operations Mike Elias told MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko and other reporters. Elias said Kremer’s injury surfaced during his between-starts prep work, and that “our plan is to try to keep his arm in as good of shape as possible because it’s not bothering him too much to throw right now, but we’ve got to let that thing heal and get his lower body condition back.”

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Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

American League

Angels

• Yusei Kikuchi went back to his old mechanics with some improved results.

After struggling in his first four starts of the season, the left-hander turned it around by striking out eight over six scoreless innings in a 4-1 loss to the Padres on Saturday night at Angel Stadium. And Kikuchi said it happened after he reverted to a similar arm angle to last year after experimenting with a higher release point through his first four starts.

“I went over my mechanics this week and I think that brought me good results,” Kikuchi said through interpreter Koki Goto. “Going into this season, I raised my arm angle to become a better pitcher, but for the first four games, it didn’t work out well, so I brought back last year’s form. I tried to recall the drills I did, and I think that brought me good results.”
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He also did it with better velocity, as his four-seamer reached as high as 98.6 mph and averaged 96.4 mph, which was 1.3 mph higher than his season average. He also threw it 45 percent of the time, which was way up from his season average of 25 percent.

As long as Kikuchi throws strikes (1 BB with his new arm slot), he can be an effective pitcher. His problem is that he’s had two, four-walk games so far this season with 9 ER in 8 IP. Read the rest of this entry »

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American League

Orioles

• Jackson Holliday was removed from his rehab assignment.

Jackson Holliday recalled from rehab assignment due to wrist soreness.Will be shut down for a few days, then sent back on new rehab assignment.

— MLB Daily News (@insidemlbnews.bsky.social) 2026-04-14T18:44:38.719Z

The actionable item here is that Jeremiah Jackson (.318/.326/.545, 3 HR) will continue to start at second base. Read the rest of this entry »

Katie Stratman-Imagn Images

American League

Orioles

• Brandon Young added a sinker.

With a new sinker in the arsenal, which Young threw eight times (12%) against the White Sox, the right-hander kept Chicago guessing and generated weak contact before finishing with a strong 1-2-3 frame in the fifth. Not only was the pitch effective, but it also opened up the rest of his six-pitch repertoire.

“It’s just a little something different, another heater that I can throw to both sides,” Young said of the pitch. “Puts a little wrinkle in. Two-seam, sinker, I don’t even know what it is, really, but just something different to keep them off. It’s been good to me. Started in Spring Training throwing it, so I had the encouragement to throw it tonight. I think it’s going to be a big pitch for me.”

Our STUPH models love the sinker, grading it as his best pitch (56 botOvr, 127 Pitching+). Read the rest of this entry »

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American League

Astros

• The manager thinks Cam Smith could steal 15 to 20 bases.

Manager Joe Espada believes Smith is capable of stealing “15 to 20 bases,” even though he attempted just nine steals as a rookie. A .312 on-base percentage didn’t help matters — and must increase this season if Smith hopes to harness one of his most tantalizing tools.

“Mentally, I wasn’t fully committed to it,” Smith said Sunday morning. “Now I’m like, ‘OK, I want to help these guys win. I want to do anything I can. I’ve got the tool to run, and I’m going to use it.’”

To harness this motivation, Smith must become a better student of the game. Clark is overseeing the process. He will sit in silence after Smith gets the iPad.

“I want him to see if he can pick up something different than what I have,” Clark said Sunday morning. “And he did that yesterday.”

As the blurb states, Smith hasn’t been much of a base stealer, but he could beat his projection of 8 SB. Read the rest of this entry »

David Richard-Imagn Images

As I write this, the game is a lull between tons of news on who made which roster and real results. I went through some of my thoughts on several players and situations to track over the next few days.

American League

Angels

• While he struggled this spring (.483 OPS), Christian Moore showed major signs of improvement. He posted a new max Exit Velocity by 3 mph and his contact% jumped from 60% last spring to 75% this year. A .214 BABIP kept the 23-year-old’s  overall stats down, but he’s a guy to monitor when he gets promoted later in the year. Read the rest of this entry »

Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

• A solid article by TJStats on some breakout players for each team. For example, this write-up on Denzel Clarke.

Denzel Clarke is arguably the best defender in MLB. His unprecedented stretch of elite defense propelled him up the OAA and DRS leaderboards before he exhausted prospect status. Unfortunately, a hip injury stalled Clarke’s meteoric rise to defensive stardom, and his poor offensive production made it difficult for the Athletics to grant him an everyday role. I do, however, have some faith that Clarke can improve his bat to a passable level and secure a full-time role in 2026. His whiff rates, particularly in-zone, were not as alarming as his 38.4 K% would suggest, and he has consistently shown patience throughout his MiLB career. The power-speed combination is undeniable, and if he can put more balls in play, his results should improve substantially. I am not expecting his bat to reach league-average levels, but if it becomes playable, Clarke could be in line for a potential three-win season.

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• While this blurb is directly about Seiya Suzuki, it points out that players can cut their IL stint from 10 to seven days if they don’t play in the last three Spring Training games. If a guy is not playing in a regular Spring Training game this upcoming weekend (back fields appearances don’t count), they may be headed to the IL, with a chance to be back in seven rather than 10 games.

The big question for the Cubs right now, in relation to both the WBC and the regular season, is whether Seiya Suzuki’s PCL sprain will prevent him from being available on Opening Day. The Cubs will see how Suzuki feels by the end of this weekend, and then make a decision on whether it’s an Injured List situation or not. The timing there matters, as an IL stint can be backdated by up to three days. In other words, the Cubs will want to know by this weekend whether they want to put Suzuki into the final few Cactus League games to ramp him up, or whether they need to hold him out so that they can backdate the maximum three days (and thus turn his 10-day minimum IL stint, effectively, into a 7-day minimum IL stint). Read the rest of this entry »