Spring training is a largely meaningless set of exhibitions to some veteran players but the land of opportunity to others, particularly young prospects looking to break through to the big leagues. Cactus and Grapefruit League play, which begins Friday, gives teams a chance to let position battles play out before the records begin to matter.
Here are some position battles around the majors worth monitoring this spring.
Dodgers’ second baseman
The competitors: Hyeseong Kim, Alex Freeland
Utility Tommy Edman is still recovering from November ankle surgery and will begin the season on the 15-day injured list, opening the door for at-bats at second base and potentially in center field as well.
That’s the sound of opportunity knocking for Kim, who struggled through injury and inconsistent performance in his first year in MLB this past season, and Freeland, the Dodgers’ former No. 4 prospect who posted an .834 OPS in Triple A in 2025. Los Angeles is likely to platoon World Series hero Miguel Rojas with whoever wins this competition.
The Dodgers would likely prefer it to be won by Kim, who’s being paid $4 million this season and next, and whose contract contains a pair of $5 million club options for 2028 and ’29.
Predicted winner: Hyeseong Kim
Red Sox’ fifth starter
The competitors: Johan Oviedo, Connelly Early, Payton Tolle, Patrick Sandoval, Kutter Crawford
Boston revamped its pitching rotation this offseason, bringing in proven arms in Sonny Gray and Ranger Suárez, as well as a high-upside option in Johan Oviedo.
Command and health have been issues for Oviedo, but he—unlike Early and Tolle—possesses a full season of experience as a big-league starter, a significant leg up in this competition. Sandoval and Crawford are a pair of veteran starters coming off lost seasons due to injury. With an upper-90s fastball, a capable slider and a sneaky-good curveball, Oviedo has the goods to be a solid starter.
Predicted winner: Johan Oviedo
Mets’ right fielder
The competitors: Carson Benge, Brett Baty, Tyrone Taylor, Mike Tauchman
With Juan Soto moving to left field this season, the door has been opened for a right field competition in Queens. Benge, the Mets’ No. 2 prospect from 2025, will get every opportunity to win the job for Opening Day, but his limited experience—and struggles—at the Triple A level mean he could benefit from starting the year in the minors.
Baty hasn’t played the outfield extensively since his time in the minors. But after posting a career-best .748 OPS this past season, Baty is likely the best hitter of the bunch at this juncture, though it wouldn’t be surprising to see Benge in the majors later this year.
Predicted winner: Brett Baty
Reds’ fifth starter
The competitors: Chase Burns, Rhett Lowder, Brandon Williamson
Burns, the No. 2 pick in the 2024 draft, got his first taste of the majors last season. While the 4.57 ERA in 43 1/3 innings wasn’t the prettiest, the 35.6% strikeout rate gives one an indication of Burns’s upside.
Burns relied heavily on his nasty fastball-slider combo, but word out of Reds camp is that he’s working on getting more comfortable with his changeup. Burns likely has the upper hand but fifth-ranked prospect Lowder and lefthander Williamson, each of whom missed the entire 2025 campaigns due to injury, will both be factors.
Predicted winner: Chase Burns
Pirates’ shortstop
The competitors: Konnor Griffin, Nick Gonzales
Let’s get spicy. Griffin, 19, has yet to see a pitch above the Double A level, where he produced a .960 OPS in just 21games. MLB’s top prospect, Griffin has light tower power, elite speed and defense capable enough that he won a Minor League Gold Glove award at shortstop.
The safer prediction here would be to simply let Griffin gain more minor league experience while Gonzales, a career .257 hitter and above-average defender, holds down the fort. But sometimes, the great ones are just ready—and Griffin might just be talented enough to force the Pirates’ hand.
Predicted winner: Konnor Griffin
Padres’ fifth starter
The competitors: Germán Márquez, Walker Buehler, JP Sears, Matt Waldron, Triston McKenzie, Griffin Canning, Marco Gonzales
Four-fifths of the Padres’ rotation is set in the form of Michael King, Nick Pivetta, Joe Musgrove and Randy Vazquez. That leaves just one spot and as many as seven different arms competing to fill it.
Canning is likely to start the season on the IL as he continues recovering from an Achilles injury. Márquez and Sears are innings eaters, but each have career ERAs north of 4.50. Waldron was largely ineffective in his last stint as a starter in 2024. McKenzie, once viewed as a potential star, has struggled mightily since a breakout 2022 campaign. Gonzales last exceeded the 100-innings pitched mark in ’22.
That leaves Buehler, a two-time All-Star and former Padres nemesis. Buehler struggled mightily with the Red Sox before he was released in August and then picked up by Philadelphia, where he looked much better (albeit in just three games). If he can rediscover his All-Star form this spring, Buehler could run away with this competition.
Predicted winner: Walker Buehler
Mariners’ second baseman
The competitors: Colt Emerson, Cole Young
The Mariners entered the winter with vacancies at second and third. The club filled one of those openings by acquiring the versatile Brendan Donovan in a trade with the Cardinals earlier in February.
Whichever spot Donovan doesn’t fill will be open for competition between the Mariners’ top prospect in Colt Emerson and 2022 first-round pick Cole Young. Young, who boasts over 300 games’ worth of minor league experience and posted an .853 OPS in 54 games in Triple A last year, has the slight edge.
But Emerson, who has advanced plate discipline for a 20-year-old prospect, rose all the way up to Triple A last year as a 19-year-old. If Emerson thoroughly outperforms Young this spring, the Mariners’ may be hard-pressed to send the former back to the minors.
Predicted winner: Cole Young
More MLB on Sports Illustrated
- American League Offseason Grades: Orioles Lead, Yankees Lag
- Kris Bryant Gave a Depressing Update on His Chronic Back Injury
- MLBPA Releases Statement on Tony Clark’s Controversial Resignation
- MLBPA Leader Tony Clark Resigns Due to Inappropriate Relationship With Sister-in-Law
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Predicting the Results of Seven Spring Training Position Battles .
