Early-spring performances can be the biggest mirage in baseball, a function of games that feature mismatches between major leaguers and minor leaguers. Still, with spring training now in full swing, pitchers beginning to stretch out and hitters finding their swings, there can be signal amid the noise.
Three dozen general managers, scouts, analysts and evaluators surveyed by ESPN tried to separate real from fake and offer insight into players they expect to take a step forward this season. Here are 10 creating a buzz in camps around Arizona and Florida.
It's easy to forget that McLain had a better rookie season in 2023 than his keystone partner, Elly De La Cruz. While De La Cruz developed into a star in 2024, McLain missed the entire season with shoulder and rib injuries. The 25-year-old is healthy now, and one evaluator this week said that by the end of the 2025 season, McLain and De La Cruz will be the best second base/shortstop combination in baseball.
At 5-foot-8 and 180 pounds, McLain doesn't look like a power hitter. But he consistently barrels the ball, plays with a high baseball IQ and makes Cincinnati a sneaky dangerous team in a wide-open National League Central.
He's back. After missing all of 2024 following Tommy John surgery, the 2022 NL Cy Young winner looks like his old self, dotting sinkers at 98 to 100 mph and mixing in one of the best changeups in baseball and a slider that sits at 90 mph.
Coming back from reconstructive elbow surgery with the same quality of stuff is never a sure thing, but Alcántara, 29, is suffering no such concerns. Teams are already wondering whether Alcántara will be available at the trade deadline, with the Marlins far from contending and his contract running through 2026 with a
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