No pulled fly balls? No problem for this unique slugger
James Wood has all the traits of a prototypical power hitter. He’s big (6-foot-7!), he’s strong and his bat speed is electric.
The Nationals outfielder has the numbers to match, too, with six homers, three doubles and an .870 OPS over his first 19 games this season, making good on...
James Wood
3 reasons to get hyped for Strider's season debut
All eyes should be on Spencer Strider on Wednesday. Baseball's No. 1 strikeout artist is back.
Just over a year after internal brace elbow surgery ended his 2024 season, Strider will make his 2025 debut for the Braves. His start against the Blue Jays in Toronto will be MLB.TV's Free...
Spencer Strider
Meet the 90 mph pitch that can move like a knuckleball
Here’s where we are with the state of pitching in 2025: Let’s bring up a pitcher who throws two different fastballs that both have 100 mph velocity but with slightly different movement patterns. But we're mostly going to ignore those heaters, because neither is the pitch that makes him stand...
Justin Martinez
The young Angel doing a peak Mike Trout impression
There’s an Angel at the top of the Wins Above Replacement leaderboard, but it might not be the player you expect.
Doing his best Mike Trout impression -- or is it actually an Aaron Judge impression? More on that below -- Kyren Paris has taken baseball by storm, hitting an...
Kyren Paris
Why Carroll's early season power surge looks legit
With his 5-foot-10, 165-pound frame, nobody is ever going to confuse Corbin Carroll for Aaron Judge or Shohei Ohtani. But so far this season, the D-backs speedster is slugging like one of the big boys.
Through Friday, Carroll had homered five times in 14 games to start 2025. And it’s...
Corbin Carroll
Got two strikes on Juan Soto? The battle is just beginning
In 2016, the year Juan Soto arrived in professional baseball, the Nationals were striking out too much. Not the big league team. The entire organization.
So Minor League hitting coordinator Troy Gingrich instituted a new rule throughout the Nats' system: Every hitter must have a two-strike approach.
A 17-year-old Soto...
Juan Soto
Why you don't need to look like Judge or Ohtani to slug HRs
As Mookie Betts came to bat in the fourth inning on March 28 -- his second game back from the illness that cost him 20 pounds and forced him to miss the Tokyo Series -- the Dodgers television broadcast relayed an interesting nugget.
"He's measuring 'getting better' \[by\] more than...
Mookie Betts
José Ramírez
Jose Altuve
Alex Bregman
Francisco Lindor
7 pitches? 8? Explaining Skenes' expanding arsenal
Less than a year into his Major League career, Paul Skenes might already be the best pitcher in baseball.
That's not hyperbole. He’s one of 79 pitchers to throw at least 140 innings since his May 11, 2024, debut, and among them he’s first in ERA, second in strikeout rate,...
Paul Skenes
How this All-Star pitcher is leveling up ... again
Mariners starter Logan Gilbert seems poised to continue his rise in 2025, with the help of a pitch built to drop.
No pitcher who faced at least 400 batters last season was tougher to reach base against than Gilbert (.235 OBP), a fact made even more impressive when you consider...
Logan Gilbert
The new-look swing behind Rice's hot start
Aaron Boone is right: Ben Rice rakes....
Ben Rice
