There are few more satisfying feelings than the newness of spring training. Every team, no matter its circumstance, has a reason to feel rejuvenated. Every fan base, no matter how beleaguered, has something to cling to.
With that in mind, we reached out to sources throughout Major League Baseball to identify one player to watch for every team this spring in Arizona and Florida -- and we came up with quite the eclectic mix.
There are superstars in new homes, difference-makers coming off injury, talented prospects looking to emerge and unheralded players you really need to know about. All of them -- with the exception of one uncomfortable situation in St. Louis, perhaps -- embody what spring training is about: Hope.
American League
Soderstrom held a .219/.307/.404 slash line through the midway point of his age-22 season last year, then missed two months because of a bone bruise in his left wrist. When he returned, he began to show glimpses of what he can do offensively, slashing .279/.340/.512 over his last 47 plate appearances. The A's drafted Soderstrom No. 26 out of high school in 2020 and saw him rise through their system quickly. They see him as a crucial part of the lineup heading into a year when they hope to compete for a playoff spot, but Soderstrom will have to pick up in spring training where he left off in September.
Baltimore Orioles: Félix Bautista
There are so many options on this team -- from up-and-comers such as Jackson Holliday and Coby Mayo to crucial frontline starters such as Zach Eflin and Grayson Rodriguez -- but let's go with the reliever known simply as "The Mountain." The last time we saw the 6-foot-8, 285-pound Bautista, he was mowing down hitters with ease at the end of games, posting a 1.48 ERA and striking out 110 of 237 batters before Tommy John surgery ended his 2023 season. The Orioles greatly missed Bautista last season; his replacement, Craig Kimbrel, put up a 5.33 ERA before his release in late September. Now Bautista is back, unrestricted. And any uncertainty the Orioles might have in their starting rotation will at least be partly made up for by a return to dominance in the ninth inning.
Bregman has gone from leading the Yankees' biggest rival of this era to joining the Yankees' biggest rival, well, ever. The two-time All-Star and perpetual late-October performer officially left the Astros and agreed to a three-year, $120 million contract -- with opt-outs and deferrals -- to join the Red Sox earlier this week. In doing so, Bregman will move from third base, where he has won a Gold Glove, to second base.
More importantly, he provides a major jolt to a Red Sox team that supplemented its rotation with Garrett Crochet and Walker Buehler this offseason and still maintained its core of young position players (Jarren Duran, Triston Casas, Wilyer Abreu, Ceddanne Rafaela, and eventually, Roman Anthony, Marcelo Mayer and Kristian Campbell). Jose Altuve wanted Bregman back in Houston so badly he publicly implored owner Jim Crane to make it happen and was willing to move to left field to accommodate it. He was that important to their culture. Now, for the first time in his career, Bregman will be playing elsewhere.
Chicago White Sox: Noah Schultz
The last time the White Sox had a young, talented, exceedingly tall left-hander with devastating stuff, he became one of the most dominant pitchers of his era. And though it would be unfair to link Schultz, in his first big league camp, with Chris Sale, the comparisons are compelling. Schultz is 6-9 -- actually three inches taller than Sale -- with a low arm slot that creates a ton of movement. He starred as a 20-year-old in Double-A last year, with a 1.48 ERA and 73 strikeouts in 61 innings. But Schultz wasn't allowed to pitch longer than four innings at a time. Those restrictions will mostly come off this year. Schultz will have to adjust to a more traditional workload, while looking to sharpen his command and repeat his delivery.
Cleveland Guardians: Chase DeLauter
The Guardians took DeLauter at No. 16 in the 2022 draft and are inviting him to spring training at a time when there might be an opening in their corner outfield. And though DeLauter is a longshot to force his way onto the Opening Day roster -- the Guardians can very easily just stick with their right-field platoon of Will Brennan and Jhonkensy Noel -- he could show enough to be promoted soon after. DeLauter, 23, has plus bat-to-ball skills and solid power, and also brings above-average defense. Most important for him at this point is staying healthy; various foot and hamstring injuries have limited him to a combined 96 games the past two years.
The Tigers see Jobe as someone who can soon lock down the top of their rotation alongside Tarik Skubal for years to come -- but he'll have to prove himself this spring to win a job in the Opening Day rotation. The Jack Flaherty signing added depth to a Tigers team that famously relied on its bullpen in last year's second-half playoff push, and Jobe will have to beat out the likes of Casey Mize, Kenta Maeda, Keider Montero, Matt Manning and others for what seems like two open spots behind Skubal, Flaherty and Reese Olson.
Jobe, the best pitching prospect after Roki Sasaki on Kiley McDaniels' Top 100 list, already has a really good four-pitch mix. He spent most of the 2024 season in Double-A, turning in a 1.95 ERA in 16 starts, and got a small taste of high-stakes Major League Baseball down the stretch. The Tigers can earn an additional draft pick at the end of the first round if Jobe debuts in the majors and either wins the AL Rookie of the Year Award or finishes within the top three in Cy Young voting -- but he'll have to earn it.
There is no replacing Bregman -- not on this team, especially -- but the Astros hope Paredes at least softens the blow. He was the headliner of the deal that sent Kyle Tucker to the Cubs this offseason, and now, after thoughts of him shifting to second base in a last-minute effort to figure something out with Bregman's agent, Scott Boras, he'll man the hot corner in place of one of the most celebrated players in franchise history.
Paredes, who turns 26 on Tuesday, has produced a .776 OPS with 70 home runs and 9.4 bWAR over these past three years. He has been solid. But if the Astros are going to resume their run of dominance, younger players -- Paredes, Jeremy Peña, Yainer Diaz and, on the pitching side, Hunter Brown and Spencer Arrighetti -- need to continue taking steps forward.
Kansas City Royals: Cole Ragans
Among AL starters, only Skubal, the unanimous choice for the 2024 Cy Young Award, finished with more fWAR than Ragans did last year. Ragans finished his age-26 season with a 3.14 ERA, the sixth-highest strikeout rate in the majors and 10 innings of one-run ball in the playoffs. Ragans has always featured an excellent changeup, but last year saw him make better use of his mid-90s fastball by adding more vertical break. The thought from some evaluators is that Ragans still has another step to take. He sat out a three-year stretch from 2018 to 2020 because of two Tommy John surgeries and a canceled minor league season and didn't spend a full year in a major league rotation until last year. The 2025 season could be when Ragans truly breaks out.
Los Angeles Angels: Christian Moore
Under fifth-year general manager Perry Minasian, the Angels have built quite the reputation for promoting their position-player prospects quickly, shortstop Zach Neto (48 minor league games) and first baseman Nolan Schanuel (22) chief among them. And so it should come as no surprise to see Moore, the No. 8 pick last summer out of the University of Tennessee, debut in 2025. He needs to improve on his contact rate, but he possesses plus power, especially for a second baseman. And given Luis Rengifo's versatility -- not to mention his status as a pending free agent -- Moore can certainly force the Angels' hand.
Festa debuted in his age-24 season last year, struggled through his first two starts, then looked pretty darn good thereafter, posting a 3.81 ERA with 69 strikeouts and 22 walks in 54⅓ innings. He has the stuff and poise of a front-line starter, and the Twins believe he's due for a big step forward in 2025, which, given their situation, is fitting. The Twins navigated through a typically conservative offseason this winter. Their biggest strides will be internal. It'll come down to Carlos Correa, Byron Buxton and Royce Lewis being healthy, and their young(ish) starting pitchers emerging behind Pablo López. Festa is the one to watch here.
New York Yankees: Jasson Domínguez
The Yankees made up for the devastating loss of Juan Soto by beefing up their rotation (Max Fried), bolstering the back end of their bullpen (Devin Williams), adding better defense to their outfield (Cody Bellinger) and shoring up first base (Paul Goldschmidt). But they can also bridge the gap by watching some of their incumbent young players make strides forward, and nobody represents that better than Domínguez.
Domínguez, still just 22, is slated to be the team's everyday left fielder. But he has to earn it. Yankees representatives want to see Domínguez make better swing decisions and improve his defense, with one source noting that left field at Yankee Stadium is especially difficult. Domínguez experienced that firsthand in his 18-game stint in the majors last year, which also saw him slash just .179/.313/.304.
Brash's triple-digit fastball and wipeout slider wowed during the 2023 season, during which he posted a 3.06 ERA, struck out nearly 35% of hitters and finished fourth among relievers in fWAR. But Tommy John surgery wiped out his 2024 season. The Mariners missed Brash in their bullpen, but they expect to start getting him into games by the end of camp. Given how tight the American League West looks at the moment, Brash's return could pay huge dividends. With the dynamics of their ballpark and the relative inactivity of their offseason, it's clear the Mariners will have to pitch their way back into the playoffs.
Tampa Bay Rays: Shane McClanahan
There isn't much drama around who the biggest name to watch will be at Rays camp. "We get our ace back," a team source said. When healthy, that's precisely what McClanahan represents. Over the past two seasons, he has received two invites to the All-Star Game, starting one of them, and put up a 2.85 ERA with 315 strikeouts and 79 walks in 281⅓ innings. Now, after a second Tommy John surgery, McClanahan will lead a rotation that, at full health, could be flat-out scary, with Drew Rasmussen, Ryan Pepiot, Shane Baz, Taj Bradley and Zack Littell also in the mix. If the Rays are to make it back into the playoffs in an ultracompetitive AL East, it will start with their pitching. More precisely, it will start with McClanahan.
Is this the year we finally get a healthy deGrom again? The Rangers, who have seen him make only nine starts through the first two seasons of a five-year, $185 million contract, certainly hope so. And they have reason for optimism. DeGrom returned from a second Tommy John surgery late in the 2024 season and pitched like the best version of himself, giving up two runs and striking out 14 batters in 10⅔ innings. Just as important, from the Rangers' perspective -- he followed it with a full, normal offseason, which is crucial for someone who hasn't reached 100 innings since 2019.
Toronto Blue Jays: Alan Roden
This isn't a name that has generated a ton of buzz on prospect lists, but the Blue Jays see Roden as someone who does everything well, is steadily improving and continues to trend upward offensively. The 25-year-old took some big strides last year in particular, slashing .314/.406/.510 in 286 plate appearances at Triple-A. He'll be in camp this spring as a non-roster invite, and though the Blue Jays' corner outfield is accounted for with George Springer and Anthony Santander, Roden has a chance to force his way onto the roster as a righty masher.
National League
Arizona Diamondbacks: Jordan Lawlar
You might remember Lawlar from David Schoenfield's 2024 list. At this point last year, Lawlar was an emerging prospect looking to challenge Geraldo Perdomo for the everyday job at shortstop. He still is, ranking No. 28 in McDaniel's Top 100. But he has been beset by injuries, most recently thumb and hamstring injuries in 2024. Perdomo might have a firmer grasp on the job at this point, but Lawlar is nonetheless a supremely athletic shortstop with more upside offensively. And if he taps into his potential, the D-backs will make room for him, either at shortstop or perhaps center field. "He's a big piece to our long-term puzzle, both this year and beyond," a team source said.
Atlanta Braves: Ronald Acuña Jr.
When Acuña tore his right ACL in July 2021, he rehabbed for nearly nine months, spent most of the ensuing 2022 season struggling to recapture his old self, then won an MVP with an exhilarating 41-homer, 73-steal season in 2023. Now Acuña is navigating through a similar rehab to his left ACL, ruptured in late May 2024. The Braves aren't expecting him back until May of this year, mindful of how a little extra time might help to mitigate the discomfort.
But Acuña has been steadily ramping up his activity at the Braves' spring training complex and seems highly motivated to complete another stirring comeback. He's a little older now, but he's still just 27. At his best, he is one of the sport's most electrifying players. His return -- along with that of Spencer Strider, who could rejoin the rotation before the end of April -- could make the Braves the biggest threat to the Dodgers in the NL.
Brown runs his four-seam fastball into the upper-90s and pairs it with a knuckle-curve that was described as a "death ball" by a team official. He is seemingly on the outside looking in for a rotation spot, but the quality of his stuff could make him a fixture somewhere on the pitching staff if he's healthy. Brown, acquired from the Phillies in exchange for David Robertson in August 2022, debuted in the majors last year, posting a 3.58 ERA with 64 strikeouts and 19 walks in 55⅓ innings through the first two-plus months. He then sustained a neck injury that kept him out the rest of the season. But he's healthy now. And, as a 25-year-old with a 6-6 frame, his stuff remains tantalizing.
The Reds have more infielders than they have spots, and all of them -- Elly De La Cruz, Jeimer Candelario, Spencer Steer, Noelvi Marte, Gavin Lux, Christian Encarnacion-Strand and McLain -- can move around. Figuring out how and where they impact the 2025 squad will be one of the most interesting components of Terry Francona's return to managing. One way or another, though, McLain will be in there.
The former first-round pick seemed primed for stardom in 2023, slashing .290/.357/.507 with 16 homers and 14 steals in 89 games as a rookie. But shoulder surgery prompted him to miss the 2024 season. McLain is full-go now, and even ventured to the Arizona Fall League to get some at-bats last year. He projects as the everyday second baseman but can also move to shortstop or perhaps even center field, depending on how it all shakes out.
Colorado Rockies: Chase Dollander
It is notoriously difficult for starting pitchers to stick in Colorado, but the Rockies have high hopes for Dollander, who came in at No. 14 in McDaniels' Top 100. He boasts one of the best fastballs in the minors, has a feel for his breaking pitches, and, at 23, he should be primed for a major league callup at some point this season. The Rockies are interested in following him this spring to gauge how close or far he might be from that. If he can build on his impressive, nine-start stint at Double-A from last summer -- 2.25 ERA with 58 strikeouts in 48 innings -- he could graduate to the Rockies' rotation down the stretch.
Los Angeles Dodgers: Roki Sasaki
Executives throughout the industry have spent years dreaming about the possibility of adding Sasaki to their rotation. His fastball has been in the triple digits since high school; his splitter has developed into what some evaluators consider the best secondary pitch in the world; and he is still only 23, with endless potential and a desire so great he left Japan early, sacrificing hundreds of millions of dollars in the process.
Now he is in major league camp with a Dodgers franchise that is among the best at developing pitchers -- though also among the worst at keeping them healthy. He'll join the sport's deepest rotation, headlined by countrymen Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. It'll be fascinating to see how major league hitters react to his devastating arsenal. But it'll also be fascinating to see how the Dodgers go about altering his repertoire to maximize the effects of his four-seam fastball, which lost a touch of velocity and can stand to be complemented by a two-seamer.
Miami Marlins: Sandy Alcántara
Alcántara faced hitters in the Marlins' first official workout Wednesday and catcher Nick Fortes told reporters he "looked like his old self." Let's hope that remains true. It was only three seasons ago that Alcántara was the best pitcher in the world, blending contemporary dominance with old-fashioned durability. He compiled 228⅔ innings in 2022 -- almost unheard of these days -- and coupled it with a 2.28 ERA while winning the NL Cy Young Award.
But he wasn't quite as dominant the following year. Tommy John surgery followed in October 2023, keeping him out all of last season. Now he's on track to start Opening Day, in the fourth year of a five-year, $56 million extension that includes a club option for 2027. If recent history is any indication, Alcántara could be a highly-sought-after trade acquisition by midsummer. If not, the Marlins will happily build around him.
Milwaukee Brewers: Christian Yelich
It seemed as if Yelich had begun to tap back into his MVP self last season. Through the better part of the first four months, he was slashing .315/.406/.504 with 11 home runs. His strikeout rate was the lowest of his career. But then Yelich underwent surgery to correct a back problem that had plagued him for years, dealing a major blow to a Brewers team that had the makings of a deep October run. What Yelich looks like coming off this is impossible to know. On one hand, he's on a good track, and the Brewers are optimistic about how he's feeling. On the other hand -- well, it's back surgery for a 33-year-old athlete, which is never ideal.
It wasn't just the $765 million, which was over $300 million more than the Mike Trout contract that had set the bar for half a decade. It wasn't just the lack of deferrals, which stood in stark contrast to the deal obtained by Shohei Ohtani. It's that he chose the Mets, despite the presence of a Yankees team that desperately wanted him back.
It is, indeed, a new era in Flushing.
Soto is one of the most gifted hitters in baseball history, and yet he is on his fourth team in four years. During his season in the Bronx, Soto mostly tried to fit in, mindful of the fact that he could be somewhere else in a matter of months. Now Soto knows he'll be a Met for a long time (15 years, to be exact). And it'll be interesting to see how he begins to shape them moving forward.
Philadelphia Phillies: Ranger Suárez
Suárez pitched like a Cy Young contender in the first three months last season, going 10-2 with a 1.83 ERA while cracking his first All-Star team. Then hamstring, shoulder and back injuries hit, and Suárez posted a 6.54 ERA over his last 11 starts. Which version of Suárez shows up in 2025 will be an important question, both for the state of the Phillies and for his own future. Suárez, who hired Scott Boras as his agent this offseason, will be a free agent at season's end. In the meantime, the Phillies will count on him to help anchor a rotation alongside Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Cristopher Sánchez and newcomer Jesús Luzardo in hopes of winning a sure-to-be tightly contested NL East.
Pittsburgh Pirates: Bubba Chandler
The Pirates' rotation has the makings of something special. Paul Skenes, who finished third in Cy Young voting as a rookie last year, clearly leads it. But Jared Jones also has star potential, Mitch Keller has been really good for three years, Bailey Falter was solid last season and Johan Oviedo is back from Tommy John surgery. At some point soon, Chandler could join that mix.
A third-round pick out of high school in 2021, Chandler graduated to Triple-A last summer, posting a 1.83 ERA in seven International League starts, and came in at No. 11 in McDaniels' Top 100. He's in major league camp this spring, and though it's a longshot to see him crack the Opening Day roster, keep in mind we said the same thing about Jones last year.
San Diego Padres: Fernando Tatís Jr.
The Padres have continued to churn out highly talented shortstops in the wake of Tatís' emergence to the big leagues. One, Jackson Merrill, converted to center field and almost won the NL Rookie of the Year Award last year. Another, Leodalis De Vries, is beginning his first stint in major league camp this spring at just 18 years old. Time marches on -- but let's not be so quick to move past Tatís. He's still only 26. And there's a thought throughout the Padres that, despite the success he has already enjoyed, Tatís has yet to tap into his true potential. "If he can stay healthy or close to it all year," a team source said, "he could be an MVP."
San Francisco Giants: Justin Verlander
Verlander is a three-time Cy Young Award winner and a no-doubt, first-ballot Hall of Famer. But he'll celebrate his 42nd birthday next week and is coming off a 2024 season that saw his ERA balloon to 5.48. Does he have anything left to give? The Giants, who will pay him $15 million this season, certainly hope so. He will begin the season 38 wins shy of 300 career victories, a number that seems unreachable in an era when starting pitchers don't hold up the way they used to. It's a clearly stated goal -- one Verlander says he believes he can make some serious ground on now that he is past the neck and shoulder issues that plagued him last season.
St. Louis Cardinals: Nolan Arenado
We've reached Valentine's Day, and Arenado is still a Cardinal. It's awkward. The two sides clearly want to move on, but a suitor has not been found. Arenado, 33, is owed $74 million over the next three years and possesses a full no-trade clause. Earlier this offseason, his camp nixed a deal to the Astros. Weeks later, the Red Sox, one of his preferred destinations, shored up their infield by signing Alex Bregman. At this point, it's hard to see anyone acquiring Arenado, a 10-time Gold Glover and five-time Silver Slugger who is one of the most revered players in the sport.
The Cardinals begin full-squad workouts Monday, and they're expecting Arenado to be there -- for however long that might last.
"If you think back to when we started discussing the possibility of trading him, we thought all along that we could probably do something this offseason, but it just hasn't happened," Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak told local reporters earlier this week. "Ultimately I did not have a large list of teams, and it wasn't like there were 28 teams I could take him to, so I'm trying to navigate what I could work with. Obviously it hasn't moved at the pace many of us had hoped for."
Washington Nationals: Dylan Crews
The No. 2 pick out of LSU in 2023 debuted in the majors last August and was just OK down the stretch, slashing .218/.288/.353 with three home runs and 12 stolen bases in 31 games. He'll play at just 23 years old this season and is expected to spend the season in the majors, joining James Wood to form an exciting young outfield. Crews has the power-speed combo to be a perennial All-Star but needs to make adjustments, particularly lifting fastballs at the top of the strike zone. He's still at an age when one can notice sizable growth from year to year, and it'll be really interesting to see what he looks like in camp.