Collin Snider is with Chicago trying to recapture what he had two seasons in the past with Seattle. Presently in camp with the Cubs, the 30-year-old right-hander was a nice shock for the Mariners in 2024, logging a 1.94 with a 27.8% strikeout price over 42 reduction outings comprising 41-and-two-thirds innings. Final yr was a unique story. Hampered by a flexor pressure and unable to get again on monitor, Snider struggled to the tune of a 5.47 ERA throughout 24 appearances within the majors, then posted an excellent uglier 8.06 ERA throughout 25 video games with Triple-A Tacoma. Lower free by Seattle in November, he subsequently inked a cope with the Cubs in December.
Regardless of the dismal outcomes, Snider wasn’t with out suitors. He had choices — each crew can use extra pitching — and within the case of the Cubs, he additionally had connections. Tyler Zombro, the NL Central membership’s Vice President of Pitching Technique, beforehand labored at Tread Athletics, the place Snider skilled in earlier offseasons. Because the erstwhile Vanderbilt Commodore put it, “That basically steered my resolution. I like the best way the pitching growth is right here.”
Requested about his poor 2025 efficiency, Snider pointed to how his harm contributed to unhealthy mechanical habits that resulted in a drop in velocity, in addition to “pitch shapes that weren’t the identical.” He knew what was occurring, however correcting it was one other matter.
“I used to be very rotational, throwing too side-to-side, whereas I should be north-south,” Snider stated. “Facet-to-side made the velo go down, as a result of I couldn’t get behind the baseball. I used to be conscious of what was occurring, however I didn’t know why I used to be doing it, or the best way to make the adjustment rapidly. It ended up being a kind of issues the place I wanted the offseason to straighten it out.”
Snider averaged 92.5 mph together with his four-seamer final season, whereas within the prior two years that quantity was 94.2 and 95.3. His sweeper was additionally impacted by his supply being out of sync.
“I used to be throwing it sideways, however I used to be top-spinning the baseball, so it wasn’t seam-shifting as a lot,” Snider defined. “When my physique and hand are in the correct spot, I get the ball spinning the best way I need. Proper now, all of my spin profiles are matching as much as the place they had been in 2024, and the place I need them to be. That’s the objective. I’m not trying to create something new, simply be again to what gave me essentially the most success.”
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Snider has made 4 appearances thus far this spring, three of them flawless one-inning stints through which he fanned 5 of 9 batters general. The opposite outing was far much less spectacular: Cincinnati’s Sal Stewart took him yard with a pair of runners on board.
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RANDOM HITTER-PITCHER MATCHUPS
Duke Snider went 24 for 58 in opposition to Johnny Sain.
Travis Snider went 7 for 9 in opposition to Sergio Mitre.
Cory Snyder went 7 for 12 in opposition to Tim Leary.
Russ Snyder went 7 for 13 in opposition to Rollie Sheldon.
Chris Snyder went 8 for 14 in opposition to Jeff Suppan.
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Ryan Johnson is among the extra fascinating prospects within the Los Angeles Angels system. His background and supply are the the explanation why. Drafted 74th general in 2024 out of Dallas Baptist College, the 23-year-old right-hander debuted with the Angels final April, having by no means pitched within the minors. The daring transfer didn’t go as hoped. Johnson was tagged for twenty-four hits and a dozen earned runs in 14-and-two-thirds frames, leading to a demotion to Excessive-A Tri-Metropolis. Northwest League hitters proved to be far much less difficult. Over 57-and-a-third innings with the Mud Devils,he logged a 1.88 ERA with 65 strikeouts and simply 41 hits allowed.
After which there may be the Dallas native’s supply. Brendan Gawlowski described it as follows when writing him up for our 2026 Angels Prime Prospect checklist:
“To say that he’s misleading with a low slot and variable timing to the plate is true, however doesn’t actually do him justice. He has an old style, hand-over-the-head supply and, like a penalty taker studying a goalie, it nearly appears like he’s eyeing the hitter to see how rapidly he ought to speed up towards the plate from there.”
How would the pitcher himself describe it?
“Pure,” replied Johnson, who’s seventh in our Angels rankings. “That’s the way it’s all the time been for me. It’s simply how my physique works. I’m positive it has an influence [on his effectiveness], however I don’t know precisely how. You simply see the outcomes from hitter suggestions and go from there. I additionally really feel that when you took away the windup and had the identical precise issues, my pitches are nonetheless going to play.”
Repertoire-wise, the righty throws a sinker, a cutter, a sweeper, and a changeup, the final of which he developed in Excessive-A. What does he take into account to be finest pitch?
“Cutter, for positive,” Johnson informed me at Angels camp. “I began utilizing it final yr and it got here naturally for me. Completely pure.”
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Patti Smith’s memoir, “Bread of Angels,” features a passage about her late husband, Fred “Sonic” Smith, that caught my consideration:
“In highschool, Fred was extraordinarily athletic… He was additionally scouted by the Detroit Tigers’ farm crew due to his throwing arm.”
Fred went on to turn into a guitarist with the legendary Detroit-based rock band MC5. Patti, who remains to be performing brilliantly at age 79, has been known as “punk’s poet laureate.” Her 1975 album Horses is a traditional that ranks amongst my all-time favorites.
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A quiz:
Denny McLain is the final pitcher to win 30 or extra video games in a single season, the right-hander having completed so in 1968 when he went 31-6 for the Detroit Tigers. Previous to McLain, who was the final hurler to log a 30-win season? (A touch: he had 4 seasons with 20 or extra wins, however solely 150 for his profession.)
The reply will be discovered beneath.
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NEWS NOTES
Longtime Miami Marlins broadcaster Tommy Hutton introduced earlier this week that he’ll retire at finish of the forthcoming season. The 79-year-old former big-league first baseman/outfielder is getting into his twenty eighth yr within the Marlins sales space.
Kristen M. Stewart, a PhD candidate in mechanical engineering on the College of Texas, was honored with the 2026 Dr. Mike Marshall Baseball Biomechanics Award, on the recently-held SABR Analytics Convention. The announcement will be discovered right here.
The 2026 SABR Seymour Medal, which honors the perfect e-book of baseball historical past or biography printed throughout the previous calendar yr, was awarded to Harmful Danny Gardella: Baseball’s Uncared for Trailblazer for At the moment’s Millionaire Athletes, written by Robert Elias. The announcement is right here.
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The reply to the quiz is Dizzy Dean, who went 30-7 for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1934.
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JP Sears pitches for the Padres, San Diego having acquired the 30-year-old southpaw from the Athletics as a part of final summer time’s six-player deadline deal that included Mason Miller and Leo De Vries. Commerce apart, what has modified for Sears since I final spoke to him halfway by the 2024 season?
“Not a lot, though I’m all the time wanting so as to add and subtract from my combine,” Sears informed me in late February. “Proper now, I’m making an attempt to combine in a gyro slider. It’s one thing I’ve sort of labored on previously, and hopefully I can add that in to present me one thing that’s shifting down. My sweeper has somewhat little bit of elevate to it, so the one pitch I’ve that goes down is my changeup. I haven’t actually thrown a curveball in a few years, and that’s sort of what this gyro is, sort of a more durable model of that, or of my outdated slider.”
As is the case for many pitchers in spring coaching, Sears is focusing extra on fine-tuning and consistency than he’s on pitch design.
“Actually, the massive factor right here is making an attempt to tighten up all of my launch factors,” he informed me. “That and getting the groupings of my pitches constant, making an attempt to throw the identical pitches again and again, and never be too broad on the size. Generally my sweeper can get huge, generally it will probably get small, and generally the vert on my fastball shall be somewhat down. Principally simply specializing in issues like that.”
Sears made 27 begins final season and went September 11 with a 5.04 ERA and a 5.21 FIP over 135-and-two-thirds innings. Roster Useful resource initiatives him to start the yr with Triple-A El Paso, though with no left-handers at the moment penciled into the Padres rotation, that might very effectively change.
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Kevin Appier, Bret Saberhagen, and Paul Splittorff (in whichever order) are usually cited as the perfect beginning pitchers in Kansas Metropolis Royals historical past. I just lately discovered myself questioning if Dennis Leonard was higher than all of them. A right-hander who toed the rubber for the membership from 1974-1986, Leonard had a seven-season stretch (1975-1981) through which he led all American League pitchers in WAR, wins, and innings pitched. Furthermore, he was second in full video games (behind Jim Palmer) and strikeouts (Nolan Ryan). 3 times he logged 20 or extra wins.
As for the place Leonard ranks in franchise historical past, he’s second in wins, third in innings pitched, and fourth in WAR. Should you’re not a Royals fan, or are too younger to have adopted his profession, you doubtless weren’t conscious of how simply good he was.
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Spring coaching standouts:
San Francisco Giants infielder Luis Arraez is 4-for-11 with a double and a stroll. Extra notably, he’s 5-for-8 with two house runs, two doubles, and a stroll for Venezuela within the WBC.
Baltimore Orioles outfield prospect Vance Honeycutt is 5-for-5 with a stroll and 4 house runs.
Cincinnati Reds infielder Matt McLain is 11-for-20 with 4 house runs, a double, and three walks.
Arizona Diamondbacks infield prospect Tommy Troy is 12-for-24 with 4 doubles.
Houston Astros right-hander Mike Burrows has thrown eight-and-two-thirds scoreless innings, permitting three hits and 4 walks, with 10 strikeouts.
Detroit Tigers right-hander Drew Anderson — again stateside after two seasons within the KBO — has thrown eight-and-a-third scoreless innings, permitting 5 hits and one stroll, with 10 strikeouts.
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A random obscure former participant snapshot:
Rance Mulliniks is among the extra underrated gamers in Blue Jays historical past. Enjoying in Toronto from 1982-1992, the left-handed-hitting third baseman/shortstop logged a 116 wRC+ whereas primarily seeing motion in opposition to right-handed hurlers. Mulliniks was at his finest in 1988, slashing .300/.395/.475 with a dozen house runs and a 143 wRC+ over 399 plate appearances. His different noteworthy seasons included 1984, when he batted .324 with a 125 wRC+, and 1987, when he batted .310 with a 129 wRC+.
Initially with the California Angels, Mulliniks moved on to Kansas Metropolis earlier than in the end being acquired by the Blue Jays in March 1982. It was a steal of a deal for Toronto. In trade for Mulliniks, Kansas Metropolis acquired right-hander Phil Huffman, who was subsequently launched and went to look in simply two extra big-league video games, each with the Baltimore Orioles. Huffman had gone 6-18 with a 5.77 ERA in his days with the Jays.
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LINKS YOU’LL LIKE
Ernest Hemingway grew up taking part in and following baseball in Northern Michigan and Chicago. Sharon Hamilton wrote about it for The Hemingway Society.
Sportsnet Canada’s Shi Davidi informed us about Petr Strbicky, a coach within the Toronto Blue Jays group who’s serving because the third base coach for Czechia within the WBC.
Federal Baseball’s Sam Sallick feels that Cade Cavalli needs to be the Washington Nationals’ Opening Day starter.
The Athletic’s Brittany Ghiroli believes that the issue with MLB’s drug coverage isn’t the testing, however relatively the contracts.
Former New York Yankees and Texas Rangers slugger Mark Teixeira received a GOP major in Texas and is probably going heading to Congress, the place he shall be trying to “finish radical woke indoctrination.” Gabe Lacques has the story at USA At the moment.
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RANDOM FACTS AND STATS
José Ramírez wants two doubles to turn into the third participant in Cleveland Guardians franchise historical past to succeed in 400 for his profession. Tris Speaker, whose 792 are essentially the most in MLB historical past, had 486 two-baggers with Cleveland. Nap Lajoie, who ranks eighth all-time with 657, had 424 with Cleveland.
Andrew McCutchen has gone 25-for-62 in opposition to the Chicago White Sox, and 10-for-74 in opposition to the Kansas Metropolis Royals. He has one house run and 7 RBIs versus every crew.
Juan Soto has 725 runs scored, 1,086 hits, a .282 BA, and a 158 wRC+.
Charlie Keller had 725 runs scored, 1,085 hits, a .285 BA, and a 151wRC+.
Ichiro Suzuki performed in 2,653 video games and had 57.6 WAR.
Dwight Evans performed in 2,606 video games and had 65.1 WAR.
The Crimson Sox signed Kevin Mitchell as a free agent on immediately’s date in 1996. An often-troubled outfielder who’d earned NL MVP honors in 1989 when he slugged 47 house runs for the San Francisco Giants, Mitchell noticed motion in simply 27 video games with Boston earlier than being dealt to the Cincinnati Reds for a pair of inconsequential gamers. A beast when at his finest, Mitchell had a 140 wRC+ over 4,696 profession plate appearances.
The Boston Braves signed Stuffy McInnis as a free agent on immediately’s date in 1923. A primary baseman who went on to complete his profession with 2,405 hits, the Gloucester, Massachusetts native performed two seasons with the Nationwide League membership, batting .303 over 300 video games. He was part of 4 World Collection-winning groups: the 1911 and 1913 Philadelphia A’s, the 1918 Boston Crimson Sox, and 1925 Pittsburgh Pirates.
Gamers born on immediately’s date embrace Craig Stansberry, a second baseman whose MLB profession comprised 24 video games and 29 plate appearances for the San Diego Padres throughout the 2007-2009 seasons. A local of Dammam, Saudi Arabia who performed his highschool ball in Plano, Texas, the erstwhile Rice College Owl had eight hits and a .333/.407.375 slash line.
Additionally born on immediately’s date was Phil Bedgood, a right-hander who went 1-2 with a 4.48 ERA whereas showing in 10 video games for the Cleveland Indians throughout the 1922-1923 seasons. A local of Harrison, Georgia who went on to promote Studebakers after his taking part in days, Bedgood was simply 29 years outdated when he died of a ruptured appendix in 1927.
MLB historical past contains 11 gamers who had been born within the Netherlands, with Bert Blyleven being by far essentially the most distinguished. Largely unknown is Rynie Wolters, who holds the excellence of being the primary from his homeland to swimsuit up within the majors. A pitcher/outfielder from Dangerous Nieuweschans, Wolters performed for 3 Nationwide Affiliation golf equipment throughout the 1871-1873 seasons: the Cleveland Forest Cities, the Elizabeth Resolutes, and the New York Mutuals.
Rance Pless had a short MLB profession, showing in 48 video games and swatting 23 hits in 85 at-bats for the Lou Boudreau-managed, 102-loss Kansas Metropolis A’s in 1956. Considered one of two gamers named Rance in MLB historical past, Pless performed quite a few seasons down on the farm, suiting up for golf equipment such because the Jacksonville Tars, St. Cloud Rox, Sioux Metropolis Soos, and Vicksburg Hill Billies.