We've got 73 names for you today. Will Thompson and Smada tag teamed MLB, Samuel Gomez is on Triple-A, Tom Gates covered Double-A, Nate Rasmussen had High-A and Rhys White finished up with Single-A.
Complex ball starts on Saturday so we'll expand our Daily Sheet coverage to include them this Sunday!
Major League Baseball
Covered by Smada & Will Thompson
A day of firsts in the big leagues yesterday. We got the debuts of AJ Blubaugh, Noah Cameron, and Chase Petty. Zach Agnos got his first big league save while Tony Gonsolin and Lucas Giolito made their first starts since 2023 and Brandon Waddell his first appearance since 2021.
🆕 AJ Blubaugh, RHP HOU (MLB)
4 IP, 5 H, 7 R (2 ER), BB, 6 K, 2 HR allowed
The MLB debut for Blubaugh went… OK. Only had 2 ER but it probably feels like he allowed all 7. The 3rd inning went single, error (1st & 3rd), sac fly, fly out, single, walk, and then he allowed a grand slam to Javier Baez. Blubaugh reached back for 97 on the FB but sat 93-94. He worked mostly fastball & sweeper to righties then mixed in the changeup and curveball to lefties. The fastball generated 8 whiffs on 20 swings but was also the pitch that ended as four of his five hits allowed, including the Colt Keith HR. With Gusto sticking it’s unlikely Blubaugh stays up with the big club this time around, but he’s definitely the first call when a spot opens up. Also, I confirmed that Blubaugh is not a contributor to The Bob Loblaw Law Blog.
🚑 Chase Dollander, RHP COL (MLB)
5.2 IP, 2 H, ER, 3 BB, 4 K allowed
The best start of Dollander’s young MLB career was cut short as he was removed with what was called a blister, but later confirmed by him as a cracked fingernail he’s been dealing with since Spring Training. A fake nail was working for him until today. Nothing serious and should be able to make his next start.
Zach Agnos, RHP COL (MLB)
IP, H, SV
Congrats to Agnos on his first career save! Our own Nate Rasmussen has been all over Agnos covering him in his Live Looks while at Triple-A and also in the recent Dynasty Closer Hierarchy. Here’s what he had to say just 3 days ago:
Lastly, it’s essential to identify these guys before or as they make their MLB debut. In multiple leagues, I was able to grab Zach Agnos this week. He is likely the future guy in Colorado and is a good streaming option for holds in a weak bullpen. While Coors will scare most people away from Agnos, daily formats will give you someone to start half the time, with the elite upside of being a full-time starter on your team. Seth Halvorsen has gotten all the hype in Colorado despite Agnos only months away from possibly unseating him and holding the closer role for years to come. Even if the Rockies are bad for the rest of the decade, Agnos will provide plenty of value in deeper leagues.
Tony Gonsolin, RHP LAD (MLB)
6 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 9 K
A very solid quality start from Gonsolin in his first game back in action since August of 2023. All four pitches were working, generating multiple whiffs and a strong CSW% with all of them. The Dodgers really needed another arm and Gonsolin slides in at the perfect time.
💣💣 Kyle Stowers, RF MIA (MLB)
4-for-4, 2 HR, 2B, 2 R, 4 RBI
Stowers doubled up his seasonal HR total with the Double Dong and is up to 148 wRC+ through 111 PA. Unfortunately it’s a BABIP driven wRC+ with an unsustainable K% given the whiffs. Now would be the time to sell if you’re holding Stowers.
Gustavo Campero, LF LAA (MLB)
1-for-3, R, BB, SB
Campero is back with the Angels after a solid 122 wRC+ in Triple-A. If Mike Trout hits the shelf for an extended period of time, Campero could work into the lineup semi-regularly. If not, he’s likely a bench OF. Regardless, this is a free SB option for those in daily leagues. Campero nabbed 3 bases across 48 PA last year and has run consistently throughout the minor leagues.
🆕 Noah Cameron, LHP KC (MLB)
6.1 IP, H, 5 BB, 3 K
Taking a no-hitter into the 7th is quite a way to make a mark in your big league debut and that’s exactly what Noah Cameron did in place of ace Cole Ragans. The lefty struggled a bit with the walks in this outing, but that’s not something he had an issue with at all in the minors so I’m not reading much into it. Cameron has a five-pitch mix and kept the Rays off balance all night before Curtis Mead broke up the no-no bid with a single down the LF line. The Royals optioned him back to Triple-A postgame and it sounds like Ragans is going to make his next scheduled start, but Cameron will be back the next time they need a spot start or a long-term fill-in.
Lucas Giolito, RHP BOS (MLB)
6 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 7 K, 2 HR allowed
After struggling mightily during his rehab starts, Giolito was very impressive in his first start since September of 2023. The line doesn’t reflect the start he had and the righty definitely ran out of gas in the 6th inning where all of the damage Toronto did occurred. Giolito’s fastball topped at 96 and sat 92-94 and utilized his changeup well also while getting back to attacking the strike zone the way he had before his shoulder injury. Some inconsistency should be expected after this long of a layoff, but the Red Sox could really use a steady mid-rotation arm like Giolito to perform as the starting pitching outside of Garrett Crochet has been spotty at best.
💣💣🍔🍟 Masyn Winn, SS STL (MLB)
Game 1: 2-for-3, 2 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2 BB, SB
Game 2: 2-for-5, 2B, 2 R, 2 K
It’s April 29th and your start to the season has been pretty rough so far. You’ve got a 79 wRC+ and slashing .231/.311/.308 over 74 PA. Can you turn your season around in one day? The answer is YES! Masyn Winn created a program just for you! Simply hit a Double Dong in game one and reach base in 4 of your 5 plate appearances, then in game two, add another extra base hit and another single. The result? A seasonal line through the month of April with a .260/.345/.425 slash with 117 wRC+. Congrats! Now you are well on your way to another solid season!
Victor Scott II, CF STL (MLB)
Game 1: 2-for-3, HR, R, 3 RBI, BB, K, SB
Game 2: 1-for-4, RBI, K
Through April, Scott has 2 HR and 10 SB and 109 wRC+. This is what everyone expected last season and on the surface it looks great! Under the hood, it also looks pretty decent, he’s chopped 6% of his O-Swing% off and applied it to his Z-Swing% all while getting better quality contact. While barrel and hard hits are pretty much the same, and he’s overperforming some expected metrics, that’s just not his game. Sure maybe the BA and OBP come down a good bit, but 40 SB is looking like a decent bet after the first month.
🆕 Chase Petty, RHP CIN (MLB)
2 IP, 7 H, 9 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 2 HR allowed
On the day of debuts, perhaps the most hyped debut went the worst as the Cardinals lit up Chase Petty for nine earned runs in just two innings. He was able to generate 11 whiffs in the outing, including five on the slider and three on the changeup, but his fastball was up in the strike zone far too often and got hammered. I don’t love Petty’s fastball shape (averaged 12 in. of IVB, 16 in. horizontal) and despite the high velocity, it’s not going to miss a ton of bats. That puts a lot of pressure on his nasty slider and changeup to get chases out of the zone and if they don’t, it could be a long day like this one was. The 22-year-old will head back to Triple-A, but watching how the fastball plays at that level will be something to pay close attention to.
🚑 Mike Trout, RF LAA (MLB)
1-for-2
Any Mike Trout injury is cause for concern, but it looks like he’s going to be okay this time. He was removed from the game as a precaution due to knee soreness, per Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register. Baseball fans can only hope that’s true and not the start of a lingering issue for Trout, who hasn’t had a great April but has had some extremely poor batted ball luck and if healthy I think is due to break out pretty soon.
Reid Detmers, LHP LAA (MLB)
0.0 IP, 5 H, 5 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
Moving Detmers to the bullpen was looking promising until yesterday’s outing, which was a total disaster. The peripherals still have been pretty solid in a small sample though, with a 3.08 FIP and 3.37 xFIP so I’m just chalking this one up as a bad outing. The Angels will give him plenty of time to figure it out in the bullpen anyway.
Michael King, RHP SD (MLB)
5.2 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K
Michael King continues to pitch like a borderline ace and somehow still flies under the radar. After a great season last year, the righty has been brilliant to start 2025, posting a 2.09 ERA, 2.79 FIP, and 3.33 xFIP. This Padres pitching staff with the resurgence of Nick Pivetta and a dominant bullpen is going to be a problem in the NL West.
Brooks Lee, 3B MIN (MLB)
1-for-2, HR, R, RBI, BB
It was a rough April for the Twins, but one bright spot has undoubtedly been the play of Brooks Lee since coming back from injury, hitting .267/.353/.422 with two homers and a 127 wRC+. The 24-year-old has walked more than he’s struck out and has only K’d at a 7.8% clip. It’s a small sample yes, but Lee has also cut his chase rate down 13% from last season and has a 51% hard-hit rate and a .391 xwOBA so more is on the way. I’m looking to buy big time in redraft leagues before the results start catching up to the underlying numbers.
Aaron Judge, RF NYY (MLB)
3-for-3, HR, R, 3 RBI, BB
I remember when people asked the question “so what happens if Aaron Judge cuts down his K rate?” Well we now have our answer, utter dominance. Judge is striking out 20% of the time this season, the lowest mark of his career by 4%. Hitting .427 over a month is just insane and he’s the clear frontrunner to win yet another AL MVP award. Until Ohtani gets back on the mound and establishes himself there, Judge is the clear best player in the game to me at the moment.
Fernando Cruz, RHP NYY (MLB)
1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K
The Yankees know a thing or two about trading for under the radar relievers and Fernando Cruz has been a massive weapon in the back end of the bullpen. He dominated again last night and has struck out 27 batters in 16.2 IP, a similar rate to last season with the Reds but this year Cruz is allowing just a 30% hard-hit rate compared to 44% in 2024. The righty’s splitter is devastating and will continue to get high leverage spots in the Bronx as the bridge to Luke Weaver or Devin Williams if he figures it out.
Brandon Waddell, LHP NYM (MLB)
4.1 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K
Waddell made his first big league appearance since 2021 yesterday as the bulk reliever to opener Huascar Brazoban and he was terrific. The 30-year-old has a fun story, spending the last two seasons in the KBO with the Doosan Bears and in Taiwan as well. He started in Triple-A this season and has been excellent, posting a 1.54 ERA in his first five starts there. Nothing looks that different data wise since his last big league appearances, but hey Chris Flexen revitalized his career after a successful stint with the Doosan Bears as well so maybe Waddell can do the same. At the very least, the lefty has earned himself some more opportunities at the big league level in the short term while the Mets wait for Frankie Montas and Sean Manaea to get healthy.
Lawrence Butler, RF SAC (MLB)
2-for-5, HR, R, 4 RBI, 2 K
Butler launched a grand slam in the 9th to put this one away and get the upstart A’s to a winning record. Butler is a solid player and has cut down on his chase rate, but still a little too much swing and miss and not enough walks for me to fully buy into. I love this A’s lineup though, they’re going to be a fun team that sticks together for the foreseeable future. Imagine how good the lineup will be when they open their new ballpark in Las Vegas.
Triple-A Baseball
Covered by Samuel Gomez
Ezequiel Duran, SS TEX (Triple-A)
3-for-4, 2B, R, BB, SB
Duran failed to record a hit in his first 14 at-bats of the season for the Rangers and was subsequently sent down to Round Rock. Two weeks prior to that, the Rangers signed Nick Ahmed and opted to bring him up rather than Duran when Seager went down with a hamstring strain. He’s hit well at the Triple-A level so far, but his 110 wRC+ in 2023 is looking more and more like a distant memory that won’t be replicated again. I still like his versatility and think that a new organization could get something out of him at the major league level.
💣💣 Moises Ballesteros, C CHC (Triple-A)
2-for-5, 2 HR, 2 R, 3 RBI
Jonathon Long, 1B CHC (Triple-A)
4-for-5, HR, R, 3 RBI
I covered Anders Tolhurst on the daily sheet a week ago today and mentioned his “good pitchability,” but sometimes guys like Ballesteros don’t seem to get the memo. He crushed two homers off of him and continues to look too good offensively for the Triple-A level. Long has also raked this season and had his third multi-hit game in his last four. He’s yet to maximize his power as he hits a lot of balls to the opposite field and on the ground, but the hit tool is proving to be above-average.
‼️ Sean Boyle, RHP NYY (Triple-A)
5.1 IP, H, 3 BB, 9 K
For a second I thought I was looking at a line from Joe Boyle, but Sean put up those numbers and did it in a much different manner than Joe would have. He topped out at 91.7 mph and 70% of the pitches he threw came from the changeup and sweeper. He filled up the zone and his changeup got a ton of whiffs.
‼️ Seth Shuman, RHP WSH (Triple-A)
5 IP, H, 2 BB, 5 K
Like Boyle, Shuman doesn’t blow you away with stuff. He’s a soft-tossing righty with a good cutter/slider hybrid pitch. He threw his low-90s fastball over half the time and looks like he could serve as a swingman at the big league level if needed.
Bob Seymour, 1B TBR (Triple-A)
2-for-3, HR, 3 R, 3 RBI, BB
Even for Seymour, 463 feet at 117.9 mph is quite something. He’s a fun watch at the Triple-A level, but unfortunately, he probably won’t be much more than that.
💣💣 Coby Mayo, 3B BAL (Triple-A)
3-for-4, 2 HR, 2B, 2 R, 3 RBI, BB
