Roughly halfway through his Hall of Fame career, Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant adopted one of the most iconic nicknames in NBA history. Bryant started referring to himself as the “Black Mamba.” The nickname stuck, reaching a point where Bryant’s final words as a Lakers player were “Mamba out,” and the whole world knew what he meant.
But that pairing nearly never happened. Years prior to Bryant announcing himself as the “Black Mamba,” Nike had other plans, ones that would have resulted in Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan going down in history as the “Black Mamba.”
It all started with an ad campaign built around the Air Jordan 19 sneakers, per Baxter Holmes of ESPN. While working with a new sneaker material called Tech Flex, Nike executive Gentry Humphrey started thinking about snakes.
Humphrey decided to research “the most badass black snake there is,” and immediately stumbled upon the black mamba.
From there, the Nike team started building an ad campaign for the Air Jordan 19s built around that nickname and imagery. With that campaign in a pretty good spot, Nike ran into a pretty significant problem: Jordan didn’t like snakes.
After trying to sell Jordan on the idea, the Bulls legend ultimately agreed to allow one ad to run before asking that the rest be changed. An advertisement of the Air Jordan 19s — with black mamba imagery — appeared in an issue of “ESPN: The Magazine” in 2004. After that, the sneakers were advertised without black mamba imagery.
A month after the Air Jordan 19s launched, the film “Kill Bill: Vol. 2” was released. It was that film — which mentioned a black mamba — that eventually inspired Bryant to later adopt the “Black Mamba” nickname and persona.
Bryant was referred to as “Mamba” in a 2005 article on ESPN, per Holmes. And appeared on the cover of SLAM Magazine in 2006 holding a snake. The nickname stuck, and Bryant ran with it, launching products featuring the nickname and eventually naming his book, “The Mamba Mentality: How I play.”
In an alternate universe, none of that ever happened. If not for his intense fear of snakes, Jordan may have gone down as the NBA’s “Black Mamba.” Bryant almost certainly would have discovered a similarly fearsome nickname for himself years later, but it’s tough to imagine that working out the same way given how synonymous the “Black Mamba” and Bryant became during, and after, his career.
With the fantasy basketball playoffs right around the corner, your roster decisions over the next two weeks could be the difference between a championship and an early exit. Injuries are unavoidable this time of year — so how do you manage them? Here’s the breakdown of every notable injured player heading into the stretch run, along with whether I would hold or drop them.
Reports suggest that Curry will be re-evaluated on Sunday. He’s been dealing with runner’s knee and the pain and swelling hasn’t subsided yet. Curry’s been out since Feb. 3, missing the All-Star Game and the last nine games for the Dubs. Keep holding because there hasn’t been an indication that the medical staff plans to shut him down. All we can do is wait and stash him, hoping he returns to help the Warriors climb higher in the Western Conference standings.
Insurance policies: Brandin Podziemski and De’Anthony Melton
Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks | 🟢 HOLD
Giannis is recovering from his second right calf strain of the season — same leg, same injury. While there hasn’t been a definite timeline on when he’ll play, he’s progressed to 3-on-3 and 4-on-4 work at practice. Live contact is next, but it sounds like he’s still at least a couple of weeks away from coming back. I’m growing concerned, but you can’t cut Giannis at this point until he’s definitively ruled out for the season. The Bucks are only one game behind the Hornets for the final play-in spot, so getting Antetokounmpo back should be a priority.
Insurance policies: Kyle Kuzma and Bobby Portis
Devin Booker, Phoenix Suns | 🟢 HOLD
Booker has played just 13 of 23 games since Jan. 1; far from ideal for fantasy managers. He strained his right hip after recently returning from an ankle sprain, so at this point, he’s just trying to get healthy. Dillon Brooks, missing 4-6 weeks on top of Booker’s week-to-week injury, came at the wrong time for the Suns. However, they’re still in a comfortable position to make the playoffs. Now it’s about seeding and getting Booker back; that will certainly improve their chances. I have more confidence that Booker will return before many of the others on this list.
Insurance policies: Collin Gillespie and Jalen Green
James Harden, Cleveland Cavaliers | 🟢 HOLD
The Beard fractured his right thumb in Tuesday’s win over the Knicks. It sucks for all parties, but at least Harden will try to play through the injury. Per Jeff Stotts of Instreetclothes, players who have suffered a similar injury without undergoing surgery missed 17 days or approximately 6.5 games. Harden missed Wednesday’s contest, so fantasy managers will have to wait and see when Harden plans on coming back. Lord knows the Cavs need him as they’re 6-1 since he joined Cleveland. As long as he ducks surgery, he can return before the fantasy playoffs conclude.
Insurance policy: Dennis Schröder
Ja Morant, Memphis Grizzlies | 🔴 DROP
Memphis is 5.5 games outside of the 10th seed in the West and given the wave of injuries, there’s a high likelihood that Ja will not suit up again for the rest of the season. He’s dealing with a UCL injury (elbow) and, according to the Grizzlies PR team, Morant is scheduled to be re-evaluated on March 4. The results of that? Who knows, but I’m not optimistic. There are only 25 games left in the season. Memphis isn’t trying to win games, and the front office put Ja on the block and got no response. His days in Memphis seem to be numbered, leaving even less incentive to trot him out there. Drop in standard leagues. Stash until something definitive is known in High Score.
Insurance policies: Ty Jerome, Scotty Pippen Jr. and Cam Spencer
Jalen Johnson, Atlanta Hawks | 🟢 HOLD
Johnson’s injury occurred in the first quarter of Tuesday’s Hawks-Wizards game, when he left the game with a left hip flexor injury. He’s been a first-round fantasy talent all year. No way I’m dropping him until I hear the steps in his recovery. Fantasy managers have no choice but to hold and monitor the situation.
Insurance policy: Jonathan Kuminga
Trae Young, Washington Wizards | 🔴 DROP
Anthony Davis was ruled out for the season and now, we await the inevitable from Trae Young. Young hasn’t played since Jan. 27 and has actually suited up in just 10 games this year. The Wizards haven’t seen him this season, and they likely won’t, which is why I would encourage fantasy managers to drop him. Washington is vying for a top pick in an excellent draft class, so theres no reason to push Trae after he’s already dealt with injuries for most of the season.
Insurance policies: Sharif Cooper, Tre Johnson
Shaedon Sharpe, Portland Trail Blazers | 🔴 DROP
What started as a calf strain became a stress reaction in the left fibula. Sharpe will be re-evaluated in 4-6 weeks, which means he can be dropped — as much as it pains me to say that. He put up career highs across a few categories and, unfortunately, fantasy managers won’t be able to utilize him down the stretch.
Insurance policy: Scoot Henderson
Deni Avdija, Portland Trail Blazers | 🟢 HOLD
Deni’s back injury keeps flaring up. Avdija originally hurt his back on Jan. 11 in the closing minutes of a loss to the Knicks. Since then, he’s missed 11 of Portland’s last 18 games with lower-back issues, then aggravated it in the opening minute of a game Sunday. While the first-time All-Star is day-to-day, it’s going to be hard to trust him over the next few weeks. This seems like an ailment that needs rest and there’s not enough time for it. I’m holding, but it’s hard.
Insurance policy: Kris Murray
Trey Murphy III, New Orleans Pelicans | 🟢 HOLD
Trey’s been out since the All-Star break with a shoulder contusion and has no return date. Dejounte Murray is back and it appears as if New Orleans is trying their best to sneak into that final spot in the play-in. They’re going to need to go on a wild end-of-season run, but keep holding Murphy. There have been no indications that we should expect a long-term absence, so the Pels should get their top scorer back within the next week or so.
Insurance policy: Herb Jones (but wouldn’t advocate for adding him)
Franz Wagner, Orlando Magic | 🔴 DROP
There’s not enough time for Franz to recover from his lingering ankle injury to help fantasy managers. He’ll be re-evaluated in three weeks as of Feb. 18. However, he’s not playing until he feels 100% healthy. I already dropped him in one league and I encourage you to do the same.
Insurance policy: Tristan da Silva
Darius Garland, Los Angeles Clippers | 🟢 HOLD
Traded to L.A. at the deadline, Garland hasn’t stepped foot (pun intended) on a court since Jan. 14. Two separate toe injuries this season have amounted to only 26 total games played. Kawhi Leonard already confirmed the Clippers aren’t contenders — so there’s really no reason to rush Garland back. There haven’t been any indications to shut him down, so until that happens, if you have space, keep him on the injured list. There’s too much fantasy potential with the Clippers for anyone to send him to waivers yet.
Insurance policy: Kris Dunn
Alex Sarr, Washington Wizards | 🟡 Approaching drop status
Again, Washington is tanking, so their lineups and injury reporting will continue to be a nuisance. Sarr’s been outstanding in his sophomore campaign, but he can’t seem to shake this hamstring strain. I’m struggling to see the value in bringing him back, given how he operated for much of the first half of the season. Now is the time for the Wizards to assess all of their other young players. Sarr fits in that category, but not really. They’ve seen enough and will likely keep him on ice going forward.
Insurance policies: Will Riley and Tristan Vukčević
Ivica Zubac, Indiana Pacers | 🟡 Approaching drop status
Getting traded to one of the worst teams in the NBA this season was a death blow to Zu’s fantasy value. Apparently, he had been playing through injuries while in L.A. and now Indy will give him the time he needs to recover. I don’t like the sound of that, and between his recovery and the load-management implications for players like Pascal Siakam and Andrew Nembhard, I don’t think we’ll see much of Zu in uniform for Indiana.
Previously, I wrote an introduction to advanced stats for fantasy baseball. We could’ve expanded on 5-10 more advanced metrics, but that would likely overwhelm readers and fantasy managers. There will be a ton more advanced stats coming from Spring Training, with Statcast data in all parks this year. If we’re drafting during Spring Training, pay attention to the injury news and other notable transactions.
We’ve already seen concerning injury updates to Corbin Carroll, Francisco Lindor, Jackson Holliday, Spencer Schwellenbach and Pablo López within the first two weeks. While injury news doesn’t qualify as advanced stats, the metrics we should monitor are those related to injured players returning, especially before the regular season begins. The tricky part is determining whether the small-sample data is noisy or legitimate.
For pitchers during Spring Training or the season, we want to monitor their velocity, arm angles, pitch-movement profiles and pitch usage. Yes, the outcomes matter, but not as much as the inputs. If we see a pitcher succeeding with lower velocity and fewer whiffs, we might guess they’re lucky. For hitters, we want to monitor bat speed, barrel rates and plate discipline (contact and swing rates). Each stat tends to stabilize at different thresholds, but we won’t get into the weeds there since we should be focusing on how the player’s inputs (advanced stats) have impacted the outcomes.
Hitter Advanced Stats to Focus On
Regardless of how good or bad a hitter might rank in their advanced stats, we want to evaluate individual players against their own career averages. If a hitter has an outlier barrel rate or bat speed in an early small sample, we might question sustainability over more batted balls. Oftentimes, the advanced metrics will regress, but sometimes there’s a new skill level for that player.
Bat Speed
The league average for bat speed sits around 72 mph, specifically 71.7 mph in 2025. That’s important context since hitters who boast a 74-75 mph or higher bat speed tend to fall in the near-elite range. If hitters have high bat speeds without the power output in home runs, we could expect favorable outcomes in the future. In Spring Training, we should be able to see a player’s bat speed with Statcast data available during all Spring Training games for the first time. Pay attention to any bat speeds that vary significantly from a player’s norm. An example of Trevor Story’s bat speed increase in 2025 can be seen below.
This is a look at Trevor Story’s bat speed distributions over the past three seasons vs. the league average.
Fast Swing Percentage
Fast swing percentage is the percentage of swings at 75 mph or higher. The league average is 23.6%, with several high-end hitters having fast swing rates around double the league norm. Think of this like hard-hit rate (percentage of batted balls at 95 mph or higher). If a hitter consistently swings the bat fast at 75 mph or faster, we would expect them to hit the ball hard.
Barrel Rate Per Plate Appearance
Barrels correlate well with home runs (0.824). When hitters barrel up the ball, they improve their chances of hitting home runs. We prefer to examine barrel rate as barrels per plate appearance (Barrel/PA), though a slightly lower correlation with home runs (0.550). The league average in barrels per plate appearance was around 5%, with the better hitters rocking a Barrel/PA at 7-8% or higher. Pay more attention to this over larger samples, especially during the season.
Contact Rate
We can use zone contact rates and the overall ones. The league average for zone contact rate typically sits around 85%, with overall contact rates at 76-77%. A reminder that we want to compare hitters to their career averages before examining how they fit against the league norm. If hitters struggle to make contact, they should destroy the ball via massive exit velocities, barrels and bat speed. There’s a rough threshold of contact rate around 70%. If hitters struggle to make contact (below 70%) it’s a risky profile unless they possess near-elite power skills. Think: Twins OF Matt Wallner. There’s probably noise in Spring Training with contact rates, so these are ones to monitor more during the season.
Luck Factors
The typical luck factors to monitor are BABIP (hit rate) and home runs per flyball rate (HR/F). When hitters have high BABIPs or boast efficient HR/FB rates, there’s a good chance their batting averages and home run rates will regress. If hitters crush the ball, especially on fly balls and line drives, they can run higher HR/F. The same goes for hit rate or BABIP, where hitters can rock higher ones, based on how often they put the ball into play, their speed and park factors. There’s probably noise in Spring Training with luck factors, so these are ones to monitor more during the season.
Pitcher Advanced Stats to Focus On
As we mentioned in the hitter’s advanced stats section, we want to compare a pitcher’s advanced stats to their own career averages before looking at the league norms. Theoretically, we want larger samples to determine whether there’s legitimacy to the advanced stats. However, we need to make swift moves for lineups, waiver wires and trades as we examine the pitchers’ advanced stats. As usual, there’s variance, and pitchers can outperform or underperform their underlying advanced metrics.
Strikeout Minus Walk Rate (K-BB%)
A common and valuable metric, with the league average at 13.8% in 2025, and around 14% throughout the past few seasons. K-BB% correlates well with Skill-Interactive Earned Run Average or SIERA (-0.838), meaning when a player’s strikeout minus walk rate increases, their SIERA drops. That makes logical sense, with data to support it.
Here’s a look at the Tigers ace’s rolling averages from the past three seasons, including ERA, xFIP, K%, BB% and Swinging Strike%.
Tarik Skubal’s rolling K%, BB%, swinging-strike rate, ERA and xFIP can be seen above, with the dotted lines signaling the league average. Strikeout minus walk rate also correlates well to Expected Fielding Independent Pitching or xFIP (-0.703), so that’s another ERA estimator to monitor. Since the pitching samples from Spring Training tend to be small, don’t overrate their strikeout minus walk rate. Pay more attention to K-BB% during the season, with a focus on velocity, new pitches or mechanical changes in Spring Training.
Swinging-Strike Rate
In the introduction to advanced stats, we highlighted why swinging strike rate might be a more valuable metric to see how often a pitcher generates whiffs. Swinging strike rate is calculated by finding the total whiffs divided by the total pitches. That’s different than whiff rate on Baseball Savant, since they calculate whiff rate as whiffs divided by swings, which tends to be a smaller sample than total pitches.
Go back to the introduction to advanced stats because we want to monitor the individual pitches and the league norm for swinging-strike rate. Besides the swinging-strike rate, if there are pitch characteristic changes (movement, spin, usage) and more swinging strikes, that’s likely significant and something actionable during the season, and less so in Spring Training.
Ball Rate
The league average for ball rate sits around 35-36%. Pitchers with strong control tend to have a ball rate around 33%, with elite ones closer to 30%. Like high contact rates, a pitcher with strong control can have a floor to potentially limit damage. However, sometimes pitchers limit balls and walks, like George Kirby, but need time to develop more strikeout upside. The cool part about ball rate is that we can often find that data for minor league pitchers to compare whether they typically had strong control or issues with throwing strikes.
Pitch Usage Against Right- and Left-Handed Hitters
Sometimes, throwing a pitcher’s best pitches more often and lowering the usage of another can be a favorable approach. That’s especially true if a pitcher struggles against certain sides of the plate. We saw this with Gavin Williams last year, when he threw more sweepers to right-handed hitters and additional curveballs to left-handed hitters while lowering the four-seam usage.
Here’s a look at the Guardians ace’s pitch percentages against right-handed batters by month over the past three seasons.
If we have a right-handed pitcher struggling against left-handed hitters, we might want them to develop a changeup, splitter, sinker or something to attack opposite-handed hitters. That’s easier said than done, but something to examine if we see a trend of a pitcher adjusting their pitch usage to either side of the plate. If we notice a pitch usage change or a new offering over a few starts, then we can presume that’s an actionable item, especially if they’re finding success or attempting to attack hitters differently. We can overrate new pitches, but it’s something to monitor during Spring Training to see how it rolls into the regular season.
Stuff Models
Pick which Stuff model you prefer to see whether a pitcher’s “stuff” improves or declines. Without knowing all the details that go into Stuff models, we typically understand there’s a mixture of arm angles, release points, pitch movement profiles, velocity and the locations of pitches matter. A pitcher with pristine pitch command that lacks stuff probably won’t generate many whiffs, like prime Kyle Hendricks. Beyond the overall Stuff+ metrics, pay attention to Location+ and Pitching+, including the individual Stuff+ numbers by pitch. We may pull the Stuff+ data from the second half or the entire 2025 season and compare it to Spring Training. The visual below shows the pitchers that had a five-point increase in their four-seam Stuff+ and a one-point increase in their overall Stuff+.
Here’s a look at the biggest Stuff+ risers from the second half of the 2025 MLB season.
I tend to lean more on the inputs like velocity, release points, pitch movement profiles and usage before seeing the pitcher’s Stuff+. That’s mainly because I want to understand how the outcomes happened to see if we can latch onto actionable changes by the pitcher without having any team-level or coaching intel. There’s a reason many, if not all, teams have Stuff models since their Research and Development teams analyze pitchers at a deeper level. These Stuff models can stabilize over small samples, but the pitcher inning samples remain small in Spring Training. Pay more attention to the Stuff models during the season, especially if we’ve seen an actionable change (release point, movement, velocity, locations or new pitch).
It may have taken veteran pitcher Max Scherzer the entire offseason to decide on his next team, but his daughter Brooklyn knew where she wanted her dad to wind up. In December, Brooklyn wrote and mailed a letter to the Toronto Blue Jays, urging them to bring her father back in 2026.
Scherzer’s wife, Erica May, shared that letter in a post on Instagram on Thursday, a day after Scherzer reportedly agreed to a one-year, $3 million deal to return to the Blue Jays for his 19th season in MLB.
“I am so sorry that you didn’t win the World Series. I hope that you win next time. I hope my dad is back on the team. My whole family loves spending time in Toronto with our dad. We loved the aquarium, CN Tower and of course, the stadium. I am looking forward to coming back next season.
Love,
Max Scherzer’s daughter”
While it took the Blue Jays a few months to take action on Brooklyn’s request, both sides got the job done in the end.
The fact that 8-year-old Brooklyn felt compelled to write to the Blue Jays speaks to the impact Toronto had on the Scherzer family in such a short time span. Last year marked Scherzer’s first and only season with the Blue Jays. Clearly, the city had a massive effect on Brooklyn.
It probably also helps that the Blue Jays enjoyed an excellent year. Though Scherzer’s season was disrupted by injury — resulting in the veteran posting a 5.19 ERA over 85 innings — the Blue Jays reached the World Series, losing in seven games to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Though Scherzer struggled in the regular season, he was able to step up his game when the team needed him the most, posting a solid 3.77 ERA over 14 1/3 postseason innings.
Scherzer’s struggles last year were enough to put his roster spot in jeopardy in 2026. The 41-year-old will need to show he still has something left in the tank in order to make the team and potentially secure a rotation spot.
While Scherzer has battled both injury and ineffectiveness at times the last two seasons, his postseason success offers hope that he’s got one more strong run in him before he calls it quits. If that results in one more World Series title in 2026, he’ll have his daughter to thank for it.
It’s time for baseball’s international competition to move into the spotlight. That’s right: We’re less than a week away from the start of the 2026 World Baseball Classic, the sixth edition of the tournament.
This week, we’re previewing all 20 teams set to participate in the WBC. We’ve already covered Pool A and Pool B. Next up is Pool C, which features Australia, Chinese Taipei, Czechia, Japan and Korea and begins play March 5 in Tokyo.
Tournament history: The Aussies have participated in every previous iteration of the tournament, though it wasn’t until 2023 that they advanced past the first round, notching wins against all three non-Japan teams in their pool before being eliminated by Cuba in a one-run game in the quarterfinals.
First game: March 5 vs. Chinese Taipei, 12 p.m. local (10 p.m. ET March 4)
Key players: All eyes will be on Travis Bazzana, the No. 1 pick in the 2024 MLB Draft who will be making his WBC debut. Born and raised in the suburbs of Sydney, Bazzana asserted himself as one of the brightest baseballing talents in Australia at an extremely young age before coming stateside to star for three years at Oregon State. Now on the cusp of the big leagues with the Cleveland Guardians, the sweet-swinging infielder will have the chance to raise his profile on the international stage before he makes his big-league debut, likely later this year. Australia also boasts a pair of twins on the mound in left-handers Alex and Lachlan Wells; Alex pitched in the majors with Baltimore in 2021 and ‘22, while Lachlan reached Double-A in 2024 and spent last season pitching in the KBO.
Guy you don’t know yet but should: Blake Townsendis a 24-year-old left-hander who signed a minor-league contract with Texas in January after spending the first six years of his professional career with Seattle and Pittsburgh. His 1.76 ERA in 92 innings was fourth-lowest among minor-league arms with at least 90 innings pitched in 2025, and he could make his MLB debut this year.
Biggest strength: Continuity. Team Australia returns 17 players from the group that competed in 2023, tied for the most holdovers of any team in the tournament. Considering the Aussies three years ago managed to advance out of the group stage in Tokyo, that experience could prove valuable.
Biggest weakness: Lack of affiliated players. Australia is tied with Brazil (and ahead of only Czechia) for the second-fewest players currently in an MLB organization, with five: Bazzana, Townsend, White Sox infielder Curtis Mead, A’s outfielder Max Durrington and Phillies right-hander Mitch Neunborn.
Tournament outlook: Advancing out of pool play will be a much taller task for Australia than it was in 2023, when there were two clearly inferior teams in China and Czechia. Australia will again be heavily favored against Czechia, but beating any of the other three teams would be considered a sizable upset.
Tournament history: One of the 13 teams to appear in all six editions of the WBC, Chinese Taipei is still looking to advance to the knockout stage for the first time. A five-way tie in Pool A played in Taichung in 2023 did not fall in the hosts’ favor, as Chinese Taipei finished last via tiebreaker, despite a couple of rollicking victories over Italy and the Netherlands.
First game: March 5 vs. Australia, 12 p.m. local (10 p.m. ET March 4)
Key players: Yu Chang might’ve stolen the show in the last WBC, but if Taiwan is to make a real run in this tournament, it’ll need more of its position players to make an impact. The good news is Chang will be joined in the lineup by two intriguing bats who were not on the 2023 team in Tigers prospect Hao-Yu Lee and Cubs prospect Jonathon Long, both of whom raked in Triple-A last season but whose big-league debut timelines are unclear due to crowded depth charts ahead of them. But for the purposes of this tournament, this duo should lengthen Taiwan’s lineup considerably.
Guy you don’t know yet but should: Jo-Hsi Hsuisn’t the most imposing mound presence, listed at 5-foot-11 and 170 pounds, but the right-hander has electric stuff, with a fastball up to 98 mph and a fantastic splitter. The 25-year-old excelled for the Wei Chuan Dragons in the Chinese Professional Baseball League last year before fielding interest from MLB and NPB teams and eventually signing with Japan’s Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks.
Biggest strength: Young talent. Remarkably, the Taiwanese roster features more players currently on MLB Pipeline’s organizational Top 30 lists than any other team in the tournament. It’s an exciting blend of hitters and pitchers, with a pair of bat-first infielders in Long and Lee, and a quartet of arms headlined by the Athletics’ Wei-En Lin joined by his teammates Chen Zhong-Ao Zhuang and Tzu-Chen Sha and D-backs left-hander Yu-Min Lin.
Biggest weakness: Lack of major-league experience. While Taiwan’s team boasts nine players currently in an MLB organization, just one — outfielder Stuart Fairchild, who signed a minor-league deal with Cleveland in December — has actually reached the majors. That’s a noticeable difference compared to not only the pool favorite in Japan but also this team’s biggest competition to finish runner-up, Korea, which has seven players with MLB time.
Tournament outlook: It’ll likely come down to Chinese Taipei and Korea for the second ticket out of Pool C behind Japan, meaning all eyes will be on the pool play matchup between those two on March 8 (12 p.m. local, 10 p.m. ET March 7). Taiwan’s team is quite young, but don’t underestimate the raw talent on this roster. If this team advances as the Pool C runner-up, a daunting quarterfinal matchup with the Pool D winner — likely Dominican Republic or Venezuela — awaits.
Japan is the clear favorite in Pool C. But will Korea or Chinese Taipei be the runner-up? And can Australia and Czechia make some noise?
Tournament history: 2023 was Czechia’s WBC debut, and it won its very first game against China before losing in blowout fashion against Japan (despite holding a 1-0 lead through two innings!), Korea and Australia.
First game: March 5 vs. Korea, 7 p.m. local (5 a.m. ET)
Key players: It might not seem like much, but Czechia added a player with major-league experience to its roster in Terrin Vavra, who replaced another former big leaguer in Eric Sogard, who competed for Czechia in 2023 but had to skip this year’s tournament due to injury. Vavra appeared in 68 games for Baltimore over the past four seasons but is currently a free agent. On the mound, Ondrej Satoria will look to replicate his memorable feat of striking out Shohei Ohtani.
Guy you don’t know yet but should: Marek Chluphasn’t played in affiliated ball but had a decorated collegiate career at Division II North Greenville (S.C.) and spent last season in the minors with NPB’s Yomiuri Giants. On a team filled with extremely average-looking dudes, the well-built, 27-year-old outfielder looks every bit the part of a pro ballplayer and has the power to change the game with one swing.
For all the D1 or bust peeps: this grown man turning on 102 is currently a senior playing D2 Baseball for @NGUBaseball his name is Marek Chlup and he’s currently hitting .550 at school. There’s dudes at every level https://t.co/hleeSBYMAp
Biggest strength: Being under the least pressure of any team in the tournament. Czechia quickly became a lovable fan favorite in 2023, and there’s no reason to expect that to change in 2026. The opportunity to compete against a baseball behemoth in Japan and advance the sport back home is special enough on its own; the results are just gravy and should make playing in these games less stressful for Czechia than it’ll be for any other team in the tournament.
Biggest weakness: Lack of pro experience. Just a handful of players on this roster have played in professional leagues outside of their home nation, making them the ultimate underdogs when facing off against squads with global superstars like Samurai Japan.
Tournament outlook: Without a comparable opponent such as China in their pool this year, the Czechs will be widely expected to go winless. If they can put up a real fight in any of their games, good on them.
Tournament history: Champions in 2006, 2009 and 2023, Samurai Japan has never finished worse than third in the WBC, which is where the team landed in 2013 and 2017. Japan has been an international baseball juggernaut at multiple levels for years and has grown only stronger as more Japanese players have become proven superstars at the MLB level.
First game: March 6 vs. Chinese Taipei, 7 p.m. local (5 a.m. ET)
Key players: Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto are back to lead their home country’s title defense just months after claiming their second consecutive World Series championship with the Dodgers. But with Ohtani not pitching this time — like he did three years ago, when he led Japan in innings pitched and famously closed out the final against Mike Trout — and without the likes of Roki Sasaki, Shota Imanaga or Yu Darvish, there will be ample pressure on Yamamoto and the rest of the pitching staff to step up. Yamamoto remains the headliner, but veterans Yusei Kikuchi and Tomoyuki Sugano are also expected to garner starts, and the best NPB arms, such as Hiromi Itoh, Hiroya Miyagi and Taisei Ota, will be leaned on heavily in Japan’s run-prevention efforts.
Guy you don’t know yet but should: A crowded outfield picture means it’s uncertain exactly how much playing time he’s going to get, but left-handed slugger Teruaki Sato is coming off a monster season with the Hanshin Tigers that earned him Central League MVP honors. Amid a dead-ball era in NPB that has seen power production practically evaporate league-wide, Sato blasted 40 home runs in 139 games, while only one other player (Franmil Reyes) hit more than 23. Sato has primarily played third base in NPB but could factor into the outfield mix in the WBC if manager Hirokazu Ibata wants to add some more juice to his lineup.
Biggest strength: The lineup. Japan’s pitching staff might be a tier below its 2023 group, but its offense is arguably better. Holdovers Ohtani, Kazuma Okamoto, Munetaka Murakami, Masataka Yoshida, Shugo Maki and Kensuke Kondoh are joined by a rising star in Sato and a proven MLB bat in Seiya Suzuki, who was unable to participate in 2023 due to injury. And consider how much Ohtani’s bat has leveled up since the tournament three years ago. He makes the top of Japan’s lineup that much more dangerous on his own, and the players who follow him have gained more experience in the years since this team’s 2023 triumph.
Biggest weakness: Outfield defense. Reports indicate that Japan is likely to play Suzuki in center field, despite his having virtually zero professional experience at the position, and he’s expected to be flanked in left field by another poor defender in Yoshida. Kondohis projected to start in right and has a solid glove, but he dealt with a back injury last season that could limit his mobility. All together, it’s a potentially troubling combination, especially when Japan faces some defensive questions in the infield as well. It’s worth noting that Japan has an excellent centerfielder on the roster in the super-speedy Ukyo Shuto, but his bat is notably weaker than those of the other outfielders, so he’ll likely be used as a late-game replacement in the field and/or on the bases.
Tournament outlook: Japan should win Pool C handily, but beyond that, the path to the championship will be tougher than it was three years ago. A quarterfinal matchup against the runner-up in Pool D — likely either the Dominican Republic or Venezuela — looks far more challenging than facing Cuba in the 2023 quarters, and another difficult showdown could be in store in the semis (not to mention, a potential finals rematch against a tougher Team USA). Still, the standard remains sky-high for Samurai Japan, and faltering before the semis would be viewed as a massive disappointment.
Tournament history: Since finishing third in the inaugural tournament in 2006 and runner-up in 2009, Korea has failed to advance past the group stage in the past three WBCs. That includes a particularly disappointing showing in 2023, when a loss to Australia in its first pool-play game immediately squandered Korea’s chances of advancing.
First game: March 5 vs. Czechia, 7 p.m. local (5 a.m. ET)
Key players: What will Korea get from 22-year-old infielder Do-yeong Kim? Kim burst on the scene in 2024 with a humungous campaign for the Kia Tigers (.347/.420/.647 with 38 home runs in 141 games) en route to KBO MVP honors and a whole lot more attention from the international scouting community. But 2025 was something of a lost season, as recurring hamstring injuries limited him to 30 games. If healthy and effective, Kim could be a difference-maker for Korea in his WBC debut.
I’m gonna need Do-Yeong Kim to be posted immediately…
Guy you don’t know yet but should: Hyun-min Ahn had a huge breakout season for the KT Wiz in the KBO last year, hitting .334/.448/.570 with more walks (75) than strikeouts (72). The 22-year-old outfielder is the kind of ascendent talent capable of stealing some attention from the more well-known commodities on the roster who have benefited from exposure at the major-league level.
Biggest strength: The outfield. Joining Ahn in the grass will be Jung Hoo Lee coming off a sophomore season with the San Francisco Giants that saw his elite contact skills shine against the best pitchers in the world. We might also see the versatile Jahmai Jones in the outfield, as the Tigers’ platoon masher adds some major-league pedigree to Team Korea’s roster.
Biggest weakness: Pitching. It’s awesome that left-hander Hyun-Jin Ryu is back to lead the charge on the mound — he last pitched for Korea in the 2009 edition of the WBC — but it’s not a good sign that the 38-year-old is considered the headliner of this staff. Adding an arm with MLB experience in Dane Dunning should help, but the pitching let Korea down in a big way in 2023, so the spotlight will be on the current crop of top KBO arms (Young-pyo Ko, Ju-young Son, Hyeong-jun So, Woo-joo Jeong) to show better this time around.
Tournament outlook: After three straight first-round exits, Korea has to have its sights set on the knockout stage, which is an attainable goal but far from a certainty. The pool-play game against Chinese Taipei will be crucial.
Kuiper, the younger brother of longtime Giants broadcaster Duane Kuiper, will also potentially fill in on regular-season radio broadcasts for the Giants, per the Chronicle.
The incident that ended Kuiper’s time with the A’s came during a pregame show on May 5, 2023, when Kuiper happily spoke about his time visiting the Negro League Museum in Kansas City. However, he seemed to trip over the word “Negro,” and the result came out as a racial slur. He has insisted it was an accident.
Kuiper, who had worked as the play-by-play broadcaster for the A’s since 2006, was suspended indefinitely the next day and fired two weeks later. Per the Chronicle, an NBC Sports Bay Area investigation also uncovered a similar instance in August 2020 when Kuiper was discussing Negro League players while speaking with cardboard cutouts in the stands.
Kuiper has apologized multiple times for the incident, including in his response to his firing. He said in the same statement, “I will always have a hard time understanding how one mistake in a 20-year broadcasting career is cause for termination, but I know something better is in my future.”
Scherzer struck a deal to return to the Toronto Blue Jays late Wednesday night, according to the New York Post’s Jon Heyman. The one-year, $3 million deal includes up to $10 million in incentives, via SportsNet’s Shi Davidi. There was reportedly strong mutual interest in a new contract for quite some time.
That means Scherzer will return for a 19th season in Major League Baseball. The 41-year-old made his debut in 2008 with the Arizona Diamondbacks, and he picked up three Cy Young Awards, eight All-Star nods and two World Series titles, with the Washington Nationals and Texas Rangers, before he landed in Toronto last offseason.
Scherzer held a career-high 5.19 ERA last season, and he went 5-5 in 17 starts. He spent significant time on the injured list, including a thumb injury that impacted him early. Still, Scherzer helped the Blue Jays reach the World Series with a dominant playoff run, and he made the start for the franchise in Game 7 against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Blue Jays ended up losing 5-4 in 11 innings.
Scherzer marks the latest addition to a crowded rotation in Toronto. The team signed Dylan Cease and Cody Ponce and retained Shane Bieber — though Bieber is still recovering from an injury — this offseason. The Jays still have stars Kevin Gausman and José Berrios, and rookie Trey Yesavage is coming off a stellar postseason run.
The Blue Jays have the fourth-highest project payroll for the 2026 season, with about $280 million committed before Scherzer’s deal. Clearly, the franchise is committed to making a return trip to the World Series to finish the job.
While a lot of Scherzer’s impact will be dependent on his health, and he’s certainly not the pitcher he once was at this late stage of his career, the future Hall of Famer is undoubtedly a great piece to keep in the rotation as long as he wants to be there.
The Utah Jazz are holding their breath regarding another of their top players.
All-Star forward Lauri Markkanen will undergo an MRI after sustaining a potential right ankle and right hip injury in practice Wednesday, according to The Salt Lake Tribune’s Kevin Reynolds. It remains to be seen how much time he could miss.
Utah is already without a trio of big men due to season-ending injuries to Jusuf Nurkić, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Walker Kessler. Losing Markkanen, who is averaging a career-high 26.7 points per game, for any amount of time would be a significant blow.
While The Athletic’s Tony Jones initially reported Wednesday that the NBA was sending independent doctors to Utah to verify the results of Markkanen’s MRI, he walked back that report Thursday. Jones clarified that the NBA was reviewing Markkanen’s medicals, which is standard practice, but are not sending doctors to Utah to take a closer look at things. Jones apologized for the error.
The Jazz currently have the sixth-worst record in the NBA, behind the Sacramento Kings, Indiana Pacers, Brooklyn Nets, Washington Wizards and New Orleans Pelicans. Pretty much all of the above teams save the Pelicans (whose 2026 first-rounder is going to the Atlanta Hawks) have good reason to punt on the rest of this season with one of the best draft classes in NBA history arriving this summer.
Young MLB hitters (4/10): C Hunter Goodman, SS Ezequiel Tovar, OF Jordan Beck, 2B Adael Amador, INF Ryan Ritter Young MLB pitchers (3/10): RHP Chase Dollander, RHP Victor Vodnik, RHP Seth Halvorsen, RHP Juan Mejia, RHP RJ Petit Prospect hitters (1/5): 1B Charlie Condon, OF Cole Carrigg, OF Zac Veen, OF Jared Thomas, 2B Roc Riggio, SS Ethan Holliday Prospect pitchers (1/5): LHP Carson Palmquist, RHP McCade Brown, RHP Brody Brecht, LHP Welinton Herrera, LHP Sean Sullivan
29. (total score: 12/30) | 2025 rank: 23
Young MLB hitters (5/10): SS Zach Neto, 1B Nolan Schanuel, C Logan O’Hoppe, INF Vaughn Grissom, OF Wade Meckler, INF Christian Moore, INF Oswald Peraza, INF Matthew Lugo, INF/OF Kyren Paris Young MLB pitchers (3/10): LHP Reid Detmers, RHP Grayson Rodriguez, RHP José Fermin, RHP Chase Silseth, RHP Ben Joyce, RHP Jack Kochanowicz, RHP Caden Dana Prospect hitters (1/5): OF Nelson Rada, SS Denzer Guzman, INF David Mershon Prospect pitchers (3/5): RHP Tyler Bremner, LHP Sam Aldegheri, RHP George Klassen, RHP Ryan Johnson, RHP Chris Cortez, RHP Chase Shores, RHP Walbert Urena
24. (total score: 14/30) | 2025 rank: 7
Young MLB hitters (6/10): C Drake Baldwin, OF Michael Harris II Young MLB pitchers (5/10): RHP Spencer Schwellenbach, RHP Hurston Waldrep, RHP AJ Smith-Shawver Prospect hitters (0/5): 1B/3B David McCabe, SS John Gil, SS Alex Lodise, OF Pat Clohisy Prospect pitchers (3/5): RHP Didier Fuentes, RHP J.R. Ritchie, RHP Owen Murphy, LHP Cam Caminiti, RHP Lucas Braun, RHP Ian Mejia
19. (total score: 16/30) | 2025 rank: 16
Young MLB hitters (5/10): DH Iván Herrera, SS Masyn Winn, OF Jordan Walker, CF Victor Scott II, 3B Nolan Gorman, INF Thomas Saggese Young MLB pitchers (3/10): LHP Matthew Liberatore, RHP Michael McGreevy, RHP Gordon Graceffo, RHP Richard Fitts, RHP Hunter Dobbins Prospect hitters (4/5): SS JJ Wetherholt, C Leonardo Bernal, C Jimmy Crooks, 1B Blaze Jordan, OF Nathan Church, OF Chase Davis, OF Joshua Baez, C Rainiel Rodriguez Prospect pitchers (4/5): LHP Liam Doyle, SHP Jurrangelo Cijntje, LHP Quinn Mathews, RHP Tekoah Roby, RHP Tink Hence, LHP Ixan Henderson, LHP Brandon Clarke, RHP Chen-Wei Lin, RHP Tanner Franklin
14. (total score: 16/30) | 2025 rank: 14
Young MLB hitters (6/10): OF Riley Greene, 3B Colt Keith, 1B Spencer Torkelson, OF Wenceel Pérez, OF Parker Meadows, SS Trey Sweeney, INF Jace Jung Young MLB pitchers (4/10): RHP Reese Olson, RHP Jackson Jobe, RHP Keider Montero, RHP Troy Melton, RHP Ty Madden Prospect hitters (5/5): SS Kevin McGonigle, OF Max Clark, C/1B Josue Briceno, INF Max Anderson, INF Hao-Yu Lee, C/1B Thayron Liranzo, SS Bryce Rainer Prospect pitchers (1/5): RHP Jaden Hamm, LHP Jake Miller, LHP Andrew Sears, RHP Dylan Smith
Young MLB hitters (10/10): SS Bobby Witt Jr., 3B Maikel Garcia, OF Jac Caglianone, C Carter Jensen Young MLB pitchers (3/10): LHP Noah Cameron, RHP Ryan Bergert Prospect hitters (1/5): C Blake Mitchell, OF Carson Roccaforte, 2B Peyton Wilson, OF Gavin Cross, 2B Javi Vaz, 2B Sam Kulasingam Prospect pitchers (2/5): RHP Luinder Avila, RHP Ben Kudrna, RHP Mason Black, RHP Steven Zobac, RHP Kendry Chourio
Young MLB hitters (10/10): OF Corbin Carroll, SS Geraldo Perdomo, C Gabriel Moreno, OF Alek Thomas, OF Jorge Barrosa, OF Jordan Lawlar, C Adrian Del Castillo, 1B Tyler Locklear Young MLB pitchers (2/10): RHP Justin Martinez, LHP Brandyn Garcia, LHP Blake Walston, RHP Cristian Mena, RHP Juan Burgos, RHP Grant Holman Prospect hitters (3/5): OF Ryan Waldschmidt, INF Tommy Troy, SS Cristofer Torin, 3B LuJames Groover, INF Demetrio Crisantes, OF Kristian Robinson, OF AJ Vukovich Prospect pitchers (1/5): RHP Yilber Diaz, LHP Kohl Drake, RHP David Hagaman, LHP Mitch Bratt, RHP Dylan Ray, LHP Yu-Min Lin, RHP Daniel Eagen, RHP Patrick Forbes
Young MLB hitters (9/10): SS Gunnar Henderson, C Samuel Basallo, 2B Jackson Holliday, OF Dylan Beavers, OF Colton Cowser, 3B Coby Mayo, INF/OF Jeremiah Jackson Young MLB pitchers (1/10): LHP Cade Povich Prospect hitters (2/5): OF Enrique Bradfield Jr., OF Nate George, 2B Aron Estrada, C/1B Creed Willems, INF/OF Peyton Eeles Prospect pitchers (4/5): RHP Trey Gibson, LHP Luis De Leon, RHP Nestor German, RHP Levi Wells, RHP Juaron Watts-Brown, RHP Braxton Bragg, RHP Anthony Nuñez, RHP Tyson Neighbors
6. New York Mets (total score: 18/30) | 2025 rank: 13
Young MLB hitters (5/10): INF/OF Brett Baty, C Francisco Alvarez, INF Ronny Mauricio, INF Mark Vientos Young MLB pitchers (6/10): RHP Nolan McLean Prospect hitters (4/5): OF Carson Benge, 1B Ryan Clifford, C Chris Suero, 3B Jacob Reimer, INF/OF AJ Ewing, OF Nick Morabito Prospect pitchers (3/5): RHP Jonah Tong, RHP Will Watson, RHP Jack Wenninger, LHP Jonathan Santucci, RHP Ryan Lambert, RHP Dylan Ross
