Spring Training Stock Report: Trends to Watch

Bombs, bat flips, and Buck Martinez – we’re officially swinging and driving towards baseball season.

Whether it’s prospects showing out at camp, newly signed players debuting their new colours, or a full reset on your keeper fantasy team that’s been in the gutter, there’s reason for excitement.

With the calendar flipping to March and Cactus/Grapefruit League games in full swing, let’s step back and assess whose trending up and trending down in the MLB landscape.

Elly and the Cincinnati Reds 📈

Nothing like a two-dinger spring training debut to get fans riled up.

After an up-and-down ’24 campaign, the Reds are poised to make a run at the NL Central crown for the first time since 2012.

With legendary manager Terry Francona taking the reigns at skipper, stud youngsters Matt McLain and Christian Encarnacion-Strand back from injury, and a rejuvenated starting rotation, the Reds are no longer the basement dwellers of years past.

Headed by the youthful duo of MVP candidate Elly de la Cruz and strikeout artist Hunter Greene, the time could be now for the Reds to make the leap.

Jays management 📉

Prone to media blunders, questionable trades, and mistreatment of their own players, the Big Three of Atkins, Shapiro and Rogers outdid themselves once again this offseason.

First, it was the ill-fated run at Juan Soto. Next, it was dumping resources into the Roki Sasaki pursuit. Finally, the offseason peaked with the disastrous Vladimir Guerrero Jr. saga.

Among the mayhem, the Jays reeled in Max Scherzer to bring a Hall of Fame presence to the rotation, Jeff Hoffman to shore up the back end, and Anthony Santander to address the Bluebirds’ glaring lack of power.

While those signings were prudent, Vladdy and Bo Bichette remain without contract extensions, leaving Jays fans staring down the barrel of a full-scale rebuild.

New-look Red Sox 📈

What a difference a year makes.

Boston entered 2024 in purgatory, still reeling from the Mookie Betts trade four years after the fact. It was an injury-plagued roster fraught with bad contracts.

Fast forward to 2025, and the vibes are night and day. The club put pen to paper on free agents Garrett Crochet, Walker Buehler, and Alex Bregman, bringing some much-needed firepower to the rotation and lineup in the form of one of the nastiest lefties in the league and two former all-stars.

In addition, the electric prospect trio of Roman Anthony, Kristian Campbell and Marcelo Mayer are firmly knocking on the door, portending a bright future for the team.

It took awhile, but the Sox are back.

The lethargic Cards 📉

With the Cardinals set to embark on a rebuild, the glory days of Albert Pujols, Matt Holliday and Yadier Molina are squarely in the rearview mirror.

After a dormant offseason with zero impact signings or trades, and the loss of some key regulars, the Cards trajectory are pointed downwards for the first time in recent memory.

With a disgruntled Nolan Arenado still in town, and an underwhelming lineup boasting Willson Contreras and Alec Burleson in the 3-4 hole, the wind has come out of the sails of the Redbirds.

Rays young guns 📈

As the league changes year over year and players move from team to team, one thing remains constant: the Rays continue to churn out young talent.

T-Bay features two of the buzziest players this spring in power bat Junior Caminero and speed demon Chandler Simpson.

Expected to slot into the middle of the Rays lineup in 2025, the 21-year-old Caminero has the potential to be a Vladdy-esque slugger. Just two seasons ago, the Dominican Republic native hit .324 with 31 homers and 94 RBI on the farm.

Simpson is an out-and-out menace on the basepaths, swiping over 100 bags in 2024 across two levels in the minors. To boot, he tore up A and AA pitchers to the tune of a .355 average, earning himself a chance to break camp with the big-league team.

Combined with a stable of arms featuring 20-something’s Shane McClanahan, Taj Bradley, Ryan Pepiot and Shane Baz, it’s business as usual for the up-and-coming Rays.

Robot umps 📉

With the introduction of the Automated Ball-Strike system in spring training, baseball has taken the first step towards phasing out human umpires.

For now, teams are only allowed two (incorrect) challenges of the home-plate umpire’s call per game. It’s possible that MLB could look to implement full ABS, as has been experimented with in the minors. In that scenario, the automated strike zone would be used for every pitch.

While certain umpires could use improvement, human umps are a sacred part of the game. They’ve also boosted their accuracy in recent years. Plus, who doesn’t love a good dust-up between manager and umpire?

As Max Scherzer opined, “We’re humans. Can we just be judged by humans?”