MILAN — Polish skater Kamila Sellier suffered a serious injury in the sixth quarterfinal of Friday night’s 1500m short-track speedskate and was taken from Assago Ice Skating Arena to a nearby hospital. Polish officials indicated that she was in good spirits, even raising a thumbs-up as she left the arena.
Late in the quarterfinal, Sellier appeared to lose her footing and slipped, colliding with the United States’ Kristen Santos-Griswold. In the ensuing accident, Santos-Griswold’s skate caught Sellier on the face. Sellier slid into the protective retaining wall, and medical crews raised a sheet around her to protect the scene from the audience. She was stretchered from the ice.
Konrad Niedźwiedzki, press attache for the Polish speed skating team and a 2014 Olympian, informed reporters at the arena that Sellier had suffered a cut on her cheek and eyelid that required stitches. Other reports indicated that Sellier had potentially fractured a cheekbone and suffered severe swelling.
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“We are waiting for what the hospital tests will show,” Niedźwiedzki said, via translation.
One of Sellier’s teammates, Natalia Maliszewska, appeared visibly shaken as she spoke with reporters. “My thoughts are with her,” Maliszewska said in Polish. “I can’t think of anything else.”
“These aren’t common accidents, but they do happen,” Sellier’s teammate Gabriela Topolska said in Polish. “Kamila already has one of them, from a skate on her face. Kamila has a cut in her skin, with stitches.”
Sellier has won several European speed-skating medals, most recently a silver medal in the 2000m mixed relay at the European short track speed skating championships in January.
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Santos-Griswold was disqualified from the race, potentially because of an illegal pass that led to the accident. She declined to speak to media after the race, which continued after the injury timeout.
Barring injuries, the roster is fully set, with manager Mark DeRosa opting to carry 16 pitchers and 14 position players. That’s a deviation from what DeRosa did in 2023, when Team USA featured 15 pitchers and 15 position players. Most likely, this tournament will be won or lost by its stars — the Judges, the Ohtanis, the Sotos — but DeRosa’s roster machinations will have an impact, too, as they did last time around, when Team USA fell to Japan in the final.
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With the stars and stripes assembling a comically formidable roster for the 2026 tournament, particularly on the pitching front, the pressure is very much on DeRosa to retake the title. Here are a handful of questions about Team USA’s roster.
What are the biggest differences between the 2023 and 2026 Team USA rosters?
Instead of rostering a third catcher like in 2023, Team USA will enter the 2026 WBC with an eighth bulk arm, basically swapping Kyle Higashioka (2023) for Michael Wacha (2026). That makes tons of sense, as in the previous tournament, Higashioka didn’t start and barely played. Cal Raleigh and Will Smith are more than capable of handling the catching duties, and Wacha isn’t the most exhilarating arm, but he can cover innings out of the bullpen.
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The other major adjustment DeRosa seems to have made is carrying two additional lefty-hitting bats and a switch-hitter in Raleigh. In 2023, Team USA inexplicably faced southpaw starters in six of its seven games. That’s unlikely to happen again. Even so, the greater diversity in handedness should allow DeRosa to make his lineup more reliever-proof.
How will the second- and third-base alignment play out?
In 2023, Nolan Arenado started all seven of Team USA’s games at the hot corner. Tim Anderson, of all people, started the final five at the keystone. Things won’t be so settled at second and third in the upcoming tournament. Bobby Witt Jr., who was on the 2023 club exclusively as a pinch runner, should start every game at short. That leaves two starting spots for the quartet of Gunnar Henderson, Brice Turang, Alex Bregman and Ernie Clement.
DeRosa could go about this multiple ways. He could play both lefties (Henderson at 3B and Turang at 2B) against righty starters and both righties (Bregman at 3B and Clement at 2B) against southpaws. He could prioritize offense (Bregman at 2B and Henderson at 3B) and slot Turang in late for defense. He could lean on Turang’s phenomenal glove and start him regularly at second, alternating between Bregman and Henderson at the hot corner. He could also get Witt off his feet and give Henderson the occasional start at short, the only position he has played for Baltimore since Opening Day 2024. The good news here is the Team USA manager has options, all of which are relatively reasonable.
Team USA’s lineup is led by veterans stars Alex Bregman, Aaron Judge and Kyle Schwarber, while the rotation features arguably the two best pitchers on the planet in Paul Skenes and Tarik Skubal.
(Josh Heim/Yahoo Sports)
Will having more role players lead to less lineup shuffling?
Of the 15 position players on the 2023 team, only two were used as typical substitutes: Higashioka as the rarely used third catcher and Witt as a pinch runner. Witt has since blossomed into the third-best player on Earth and will probably lead off and start at short this time. The 13 other hitters in 2023 all received multiple starts, while only four — Arenado, Mookie Betts, Mike Trout and Paul Goldschmidt — started every game.
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There will almost certainly be more lineup continuity in 2026. That’s the case for two main reasons: (1) There’s one fewer hitter after DeRosa opted against a third catcher; (2) There are more role players on this team. While he might nab a start or two, Pete Crow-Armstrong figures to feature most prominently as a pinch runner and late-inning defensive replacement for Byron Buxton in center field. Goldschmidt, who turns 39 in September, is here to crush southpaws and provide veteran leadership. Clement offers versatility and splendid vibes.
In 2023, it seemed like DeRosa was trying to keep his star-studded group happy by shuffling through a carousel of players at the bottom of the lineup. Will he change that strategy this year? Given the personnel assembled, it seems like it. Witt, Bryce Harper, Aaron Judge and Roman Anthony (in for the injured Corbin Carroll) will probably start every game. Kyle Schwarber will probably do the same at DH, unless DeRosa really wants Goldschmidt in against a lefty starter.
How will the starting pitching line up?
Team USA’s enormous upgrade of its pitching staff could prove to be the most consequential story of this entire tournament. The Americans will have reigning Cy Youngs Tarik Skubal and Paul Skenes leading a rotation that also includes Giants sinkerballing ace Logan Webb, Mets rookie phenom Nolan McLean and 2025 All-Star Joe Ryan.
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In 2023, four different pitchers started USA’s seven games. Adam Wainwright started the opener against Great Britain and the semifinal against Cuba. Nick Martinez kicked off a disastrous bullpen game against Mexico. Lance Lynn took the rock against Canada in pool play and against Venezuela in the quarters. D-backs kitchen-sinker Merrill Kelly faced Colombia in pool play and got the call against Japan in the finals. Three other traditional starters — Kyle Freeland, Miles Mikolas and Brady Singer — served in bulk roles out of the bullpen.
While the 2026 pitching plan has yet to be confirmed, let’s copy and paste the 2023 strategy onto this year’s group. Skenes and Skubal will almost certainly be put on schedule to start the semis and finals. That means Skenes would likely start March 9 against Mexico, and Skubal would go March 10 against Italy. Most of the top Italian hitters — Vinnie Pasquantino, Jakob Marsee, Dominic Canzone, Jac Caglianone and Miles Mastrobuoni — are left-handed, making Skubal the obvious choice there. That plan would then have Skenes start the semis on March 15 or 16 and Skubal on track for the finals on March 17. Webb and Ryan probably get the two other pool-play starts, and one of them probably starts the quarterfinals on March 13 or 14.
That leaves McLean, Wacha, Clay Holmes and Matthew Boyd available in multi-inning relief roles. In theory, DeRosa could go with McLean over Ryan for a start or give the ball to the southpaw Boyd against another lefty-heavy lineup, but the Skubal-Skenes-Webb-Ryan starting quartet makes the most sense.
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Which relievers will throw the highest-leverage innings?
This is the one area on the roster that hasn’t necessarily improved compared to 2023. To be clear, that’s more a compliment to the previous group than a criticism of this one.
During the previous WBC, DeRosa leaned on former Astros hurler Ryan Pressly to close out three games but didn’t use him in the semis or finals. David Bednar (back for 2026), Devin Williams and Jason Adam were the other “Tier A” relievers. All appeared in four of seven games. Aaron Loup was the first lefty and Adam Ottavino the No. 2 southpaw. Daniel Bard and Kendall Graveman were further down the depth chart.
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In the 2026 Team USA bullpen, Bednar and Padres flamethrower Mason Miller are the only two relievers slated to close for their MLB teams this coming season. They’ll be the top two dogs in the kennel. Brad Keller, Griffin Jax and Garret Whitlock make up the next tier. The two high-leverage southpaws will be Gabe Speier and Garrett Cleavinger. Future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw, who retired from MLB after the 2025 World Series, almost certainly won’t see the mound in anything resembling a crucial moment. He’s here to eat up pool-play innings against Brazil and Great Britain and generally have a good time.
A Knoxville judge denied Aguilar’s preliminary injunction for another year of eligibility, according to multiplereportson Friday.
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Aguilar can request an interim appeal, according to On3’s Chris Low, who also reported, however, that the appellate court doesn’t have to grant it.
Aguilar will attend next week’s NFL combine, per Low and ESPN’s Pete Thamel. Tennessee is poised to have a new starting quarterback for the fifth season in a row.
The Vols’ competition under center is expected to feature George MacIntyre, Faizon Brandon and Ryan Staub. MacIntyre played sparingly as a true freshman this past season. Staub spent the past three seasons at Colorado, where he tossed three touchdowns and four interceptions in five appearances, including one start, during the 2025 campaign. And Brandon was a five-star recruit and the No. 9 overall prospect in the 2026 class, according to the Rivals industry ranking.
Tennessee is coming off an 8-5 season and is two seasons removed from its first-ever College Football Playoff appearance.
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Aguilar has been vying for one more college season. He’s already got seven years of college football under his belt, but he’s played just three seasons in the NCAA, which traditionally permits athletes to play four seasons within a five-year span. Although junior colleges aren’t part of the NCAA, the NCAA counts seasons spent in JUCO toward that eligibility clock.
Aguilar’s case centered more around Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia’s lawsuit against the NCAA than Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss’.
Aguilar began his college career in the JUCO ranks at City College of San Francisco. He redshirted in his first season of junior college football in 2019 before the 2020 season was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. He transferred and played two seasons at nearby Diablo Valley Community College prior to making the move to Appalachian State ahead of the 2023 season.
After two seasons at App State, Aguilar transferred to UCLA to compete for the Bruins’ starting job. In a matter of months, he headed to Tennessee after Volunteers quarterback Nico Iamaleava transferred to UCLA during spring practice.
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Pavia, who recently completed his college career, had contended that his time at a junior college should not count against his NCAA eligibility clock. Pavia’s college career began a season after Aguilar’s though.
Chambliss, meanwhile, successfully argued that he should have been given a medical redshirt by the NCAA for the 2022 season. Chambliss, who was at Division II Ferris State at the time, didn’t dress for a game that season.
In his one season at Tennessee, Aguilar completed 67.3% of his passes while throwing for 3,565 yards and 24 touchdowns with 10 interceptions. Over his three-year FBS career, he accumulated 80 touchdown passes and 34 picks while averaging 8.2 yards per attempt.
The 31st Major League Soccer season will begin this weekend, and there are more storylines than ever heading into another exciting campaign.
Lionel Messi helped Inter Miami win the club’s first MLS title in 2025, recording two assists in Inter Miami’s 3-1 MLS Cup win over the Vancouver Whitecaps. Inter Miami opens the season as the +400 betting favorite at BetMGM sportsbooks, just ahead of Los Angeles FC at +600.
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LAFC has plenty of appeal as well, adding former Tottenham star Son Heung-min in the middle of last season. The franchise won its first — and only — MLS Cup back in 2022. LAFC opens its season Saturday in Los Angeles against Messi and the defending champs. LAFC is a +110 favorite on the three-way line, with Inter Miami at +210 and a draw at +270.
San Diego FC and the Vancouver Whitecaps — 2025 MLS Cup runner-ups — have the next-best odds at +900, followed by the Philadelphia Union and FC Cincinnati at 14-1.
Sporting Kansas City and original MLS franchise DC United have the longest odds of any team to win this year’s title at 80-1.
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It’s a unique season for MLS as well, with the 2026 World Cup taking place in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The league will take a break from May 25 to July 16, in the middle of the season, to accommodate players participating on their international teams.
Yahoo Sports’ 26-and-under power rankings are a remix on the traditional farm system rankings that assess the strength of MLB organizations’ talent base among rookie-eligible and MiLB players. By evaluating all players in an organization entering their age-26 seasons or younger, this project aims to paint a more complete picture of each team’s young core. Our rankings value productive young major leaguers more heavily than prospects who have yet to prove it at the highest level, and most prospects included in teams’ evaluations have already reached the upper levels of the minors.
To compile these rankings, each MLB organization was given a score in four categories:
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Young MLB hitters: scored 0-10; 26-and-under position players and rookie-eligible hitters projected to be on Opening Day rosters
Young MLB pitchers: scored 0-10; 26-and-under pitchers and rookie-eligible pitchers projected to be on Opening Day rosters
Prospect hitters: scored 0-5; prospect-eligible position players projected to reach MLB in the next 1-2 years
Prospect pitchers: scored 0-5; prospect-eligible pitchers projected to reach MLB in the next 1-2 years
We’re counting down all 30 organizations’ 26-and-under talent bases from weakest to strongest, diving into five teams at a time. In addition to the scores for each team in each category, we’ll highlight the key players who fall into each bucket and contributed most to their organization’s place in the rankings. Below, we dig into Nos. 20-16.
20. Atlanta Braves (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
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Few teams have tumbled further down our rankings over the past few seasons than the Braves, who have seen the Spencer Strider/Ronald Acuña Jr./Austin Riley core graduate from eligibility. What’s left is a much less certain future. The Braves have struggled to develop and promote minor-league reinforcements, particularly on the position-player front, which has hurt them in recent seasons.
But it’s not all bleak. DrakeBaldwin is the reigning NL Rookie of the Year, for Pete’s sake. The 24-year-old backstop was magnificent at the plate last season and offered more from a defensive perspective than some prognosticators expected. He’s probably never going to win a Gold Glove, but Baldwin absolutely rakes and should settle as one of the better catchers in baseball over the next decade. Sean Murphy’s injury and Atlanta’s decision to move on from longtime DH Marcell Ozuna should provide Baldwin ample playing time going forward.
Michael Harris II is coming off one of the weirdest campaigns in recent memory. The fleet-footed outfielder was his typically excellent self defensively but battled through an all-time awful first half in 2025. His .559 OPS at the end of June was dead last among qualified hitters. He rebounded enough in the second half (.789 OPS) to finish the year with a respectable statline. Harris’ elite defensive chops mean he has more leeway to struggle at the plate, but he’s always going to be a streaky hitter due to his swing-happy approach. As a whole, that probably makes him more of a great complementary piece than a cornerstone.
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In an earlier draft of these rankings, before the spring training injury bug came a’biting, we had the Braves slotted in a few spots higher. Then news broke that both Spencer Schwellenbach and Hurston Waldrep are to undergo surgery to remove loose bodies in their elbows. That procedure is not nearly as concerning as Tommy John, but it’s certainly not good news. And Schwellenbach’s issue comes on the heels of an elbow fracture that derailed the second half of his 2025 season. Both guys could still contribute in 2026, but we were inclined to round down based on their recent injuries.
Down on the farm, Atlanta has a handful of arms primed to climb up the ladder. J.R.Ritchie, a 2022 first-rounder, is the likeliest to make a significant impact this season. He experienced a nice velocity bump last year and now projects as a solid No. 4 starter type. DidierFuentes, still just 20 years old, was unfairly thrust into the rotation as an emergency option last season and got absolutely obliterated. More minor-league seasoning could turn him into a usable big-league starter. CamCaminiti is much further away — he hasn’t pitched above Low-A — but the long-limbed lefty might have the highest ceiling of any arm in this system. It’s a strong group.
That’s not the case on the position-player front, where the Braves’ hitting prospects were the only group in all of baseball that received a zero. Atlanta was one of three organizations, alongside Houston and Anaheim, that didn’t have a single position-player prospect on any of the major prospect sites’ top-100 lists. And unlike the Astros and Angels, the Braves didn’t even have a hitter honorably mentioned. It’s a bleak situation. Their second-rounder last year, Alex Lodise, has real juice but tons of chase. Diego Tornes, their top signing from the 2025 international class, is 17 years old. Pat Clohisy stole 99 bases last season but might not have the impact power necessary to be more than a fourth or fifth outfielder.
Some of this drought is defensible. Atlanta’s run of contention has relegated it to the back of the draft’s first round for much of the past decade. The Braves have also used six straight first-round picks (2020-2024) on pitchers. And Baldwin (a third-rounder) turning into what he has turned into almost evens the equation. Still, the team’s issues with hitting development are striking, as are its failures in Latin America. — J.M.
19. New York Yankees (total score: 15/30) | 2025 rank: 26
Young MLB hitters (5/10): OF Jasson Domínguez, C Austin Wells, SS Anthony Volpe Young MLB pitchers (5/10): RHP Cam Schlittler, LHP Ryan Weathers, RHP Cade Winquest Prospect hitters (2/5): OF Spencer Jones, SS George Lombard Jr. Prospect pitchers (3/5): RHP Ben Hess, RHP Bryce Cunningham, RHP Carlos Lagrange, LHP Elmer Rodriguez, RHP Chase Hampton
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All three of New York’s young big-league hitters had 2025 seasons to forget. JassonDomínguez failed to capitalize on a batch of early-season playing time and eventually ceded his job to an ascending Trent Grisham. He’s likely to spend much of this year in Scranton or the Yankee Stadium dugout. AustinWells regressed after a breakout 2024, finishing his campaign with a putrid .275 on-base percentage, the ninth-worst mark among players with 400 PAs. He still cranked 21 long balls and remains an elite pitch-framer/game-caller.
Then there’s AnthonyVolpe, the local kid, the prospect prince that was promised. Three years into his big-league career, the offensive impact he showcased in the minors has yet to emerge on a consistent basis. Most concerningly, Volpe’s defensive numbers backed up big-time in 2025. That’s mostly due to a batch of errors on routine plays and not necessarily a decline in his physical abilities, but it’s worrying nonetheless. Offseason surgery to repair a shoulder issue that reportedly dogged him for much of last season could help Volpe get back on track, but the gap between what he is and what he was supposed to be remains enormous. This might be his last year to prove that he’s the Yankees’ shortstop of the future.
Cam Schlittler’s emergence was a major story of New York’s 2025 season, culminating in a historically dominant Game 3 shutout against Boston in the wild-card series, in which he sat 100 mph and punched out 12. His more forgettable outing against Toronto in the ALDS was a reminder that Schlittler, like many other arms, can be a bit too reliant on his high-octane fastball. When that heat is a bit frostier (95-97), Schlittler is hittable, particularly when he can’t find the zone. Whether he can maintain his velocity deeper into starts or find more consistent secondaries will determine whether he’s a midrotation piece or a frontline arm moving forward. Either way, this is a massive win for a seventh-rounder out of Northeastern.
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As is often the case with Yankees prospects, GeorgeLombard Jr. and SpencerJones have gotten a ton of press relative to their small-market counterparts. Both are immensely talented but come with unavoidable concerns. For Lombard, it’s all about his ability to hit for average. Few talent evaluators doubt the raw juice or his defensive skills at short, but he hit just .215 last year across 469 Double-A plate appearances. Even if it clicks for him, he’s going to be a Trevor Story, Willy Adames, Cubs-era Dansby Swanson type of shortstop. If it doesn’t click, he’ll look like a less extreme version of Gabriel Arias.
Speaking of extreme, let’s pivot to Jones, one of the most polarizing hitters of the decade. The 24-year-old clocked 35 homers and posted a .274 average across 116 minor-league games last season. He also struck out at a preposterous 35.4% clip. It is very, very difficult to be an impact big leaguer with that much swing-and-miss, especially if you aren’t a sensational defender. Jones isn’t a butcher in center, but he’s not Pete Crow-Armstrong. The range of outcomes here is cavernous. Jones could be a lefty Aaron Judge clone. Or he could also be in the KBO in two years. It all depends on how he fares against big-league pitching. Evaluators are almost universally skeptical, but we can’t wait to see how it goes.
As always, the Yankees have a handful of pop-up arms down on the farm. Few organizations are consistently better at minor-league pitching development than the Yanks, who frequently flip their pitching prospect depth at the deadline to supplement the big-league club. Elmer Rodriguez was drafted out of a Puerto Rican high school by Boston in the fourth round in 2021 and dealt to the Yankees for Carlos Narváez last winter. He has a nasty, bowling ball sinker that pushed him to a 54.5% ground-ball rate last year (the seventh-highest mark among minor leaguers with at least 100 innings). He probably won’t win any Cy Youngs, but Rodriguez should pitch in the bigs for a long time.
Carlos Lagrange is a different story. The 22-year-old is a mountain of a man, officially listed at 6-foot-7, 248 pounds. His fastball regularly touches triple digits, and his slider is a true bat-misser. He also doesn’t always know where the ball is going. That’s why, despite having thrown 120 innings last year, Lagrange is probably a reliever when it’s all done and dusted. If it plays out that way, he could become one of the best back-end arms in the league, in a Dellin Betances mold. His stuff is that good. There’s a non-zero chance he contributes to the Yankees’ bullpen this season. — J.M.
Can Munetaka Murakami, James Wood and Anthony Volpe take steps forward and deliver on their potential in 2026?
(Taylor Wilhelm/Yahoo Sports)
18. Chicago White Sox (total score: 15/30) | 2025 rank: 28
Young MLB hitters (6/10): SS Colson Montgomery, INF Chase Meidroth, C Kyle Teel, INF Miguel Vargas, 1B Munetaka Murakami, C Edgar Quero, UTIL Luisangel Acuña, UTIL Brooks Baldwin, INF Lenyn Sosa, OF Everson Pereira, INF Curtis Mead Young MLB pitchers (3/10): RHP Shane Smith, RHP Sean Burke, RHP Jonathan Cannon, RHP Grant Taylor, RHP Mike Vasil, RHP Wikelman González, RHP Alexander Alberto, RHP Jedixson Paez Prospect hitters (2/5): OF Braden Montgomery, 2B Sam Antonacci, INF Caleb Bonemer, INF William Bergolla Jr. Prospect pitchers (4/5): LHP Hagen Smith, LHP Noah Schultz, RHP David Sandlin, RHP Tanner McDougal, LHP Christian Oppor
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Few teams, if any, can match the White Sox in terms of the sheer quantity of 26-and-under players expected to contribute at the major-league level in 2026, a predictable product of Chicago’s rebuild. It’s rare for a team coming off 102 losses to be burgeoning with hope and anticipation for the season ahead, but Chicago has assembled several promising building blocks and is now far enough removed from the catastrophe that was 2024 that vibes on the South Side are surprisingly good. While there’s still ample work to be done (and money to be spent) before this team will be considered a viable contender, the White Sox can no longer be shrugged off as years away from relevance.
A position-player group bereft of talent not long ago has experienced an infusion of upside via all three avenues of acquisition: the draft and development of a potential homegrown star in Colson Montgomery, the hefty Garrett Crochet trade return including Kyle Teel, Chase Meidroth and Braden Montgomery, and the shocking free-agent addition of Munetaka Murakami. Let’s start with the franchise shortstop Montgomery, whose climb to the majors was a slow burn but whose arrival was well worth the wait. His power has long been his calling card, and that was immediately on display, with 21 home runs in 71 games as a rookie, but it was Montgomery’s huge strides with the glove — he rated as a plus defender at shortstop after years of talent evaluators pegging him as a soon-to-be third baseman — that amplified his star potential. The strikeouts might always be an issue, but shortstops with his kind of pop don’t grow on trees.
Teel and Edgar Quero (also acquired via trade) project as above-average bats for their position, but both catchers will need to improve as defenders for the White Sox to feel comfortable with them as the no-doubt backstop tandem of the future. Meidroth’s elite contact skills and defensive versatility make him one of several useful role players (Brooks Baldwin, Luisangel Acuña, eventually Sam Antonacci) for manager Will Venable to deploy. Miguel Vargas and Lenyn Sosa have notably more offensive upside than the aforementioned role players, but their defensive deficiencies could squeeze them off the roster soon unless they really start to rake.
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Then there’s Murakami, arriving from Japan with a legendary NPB résumé and enormous questions about how his skill set will translate against MLB arms. That skepticism surrounding Murakami makes his value within this project far different than, say, that of Yoshinobu Yamamoto, whose proven ace status significantly boosted the Dodgers’ young MLB pitchers score the past two years. That said, Murakami’s upside is unrivaled in this org outside of Montgomery, so his presence still bolstered Chicago’s case for a strong score in the young MLB hitters category.
While the bats are in a much better place compared to a year ago, progress on the mound was more uneven for Chicago in 2025. Rule 5 pick turned All-Star Shane Smith was an undeniable win for the front office and coaching staff, but he still projects more as a midrotation or back-end arm than a frontline force; the same can be said about Jonathan Cannon and Sean Burke. Grant Taylor can be an impact reliever if he can stay healthy, but that has proven to be quite a big if.
There’s enviable depth at the upper levels of Chicago’s system, but the most prominent prospect arms turned in a mixed bag of results last season. It seemed likely that at least one of Hagen Smith or Noah Schultz would debut for Chicago in 2025, but Smith’s command struggles and Schultz’s recurring injury interruptions determined otherwise. Getting those two talented southpaws back on track is pivotal for Chicago’s long-term outlook on the mound. On a more positive note, the less-heralded and later-drafted duo of Tanner McDougal (fifth round, 2021) and Christian Oppor (fifth round, 2023) turned in terrific campaigns and have put themselves on the prospect radar. — J.S.
17. Washington Nationals (total score: 15/30) | 2025 rank: 10
Young MLB hitters (7/10): OF James Wood, SS CJ Abrams, OF Daylen Lile, OF Dylan Crews, INF Luis García Jr., 3B Brady House, INF Nasim Nuñez, INF José Tena, CF Jacob Young, OF Robert Hassell III Young MLB pitchers (2/10): RHP Brad Lord, RHP Cole Henry, LHP DJ Herz, LHP Mitchell Parker Prospect hitters (3/5): C Harry Ford, 1B Yohandy Morales, SS Seaver King, OF Christian Franklin, OF Andrew Pinckney, SS Eli Willits, INF Gavin Fien, 1B Abimelec Ortiz Prospect pitchers (3/5): RHP Jarlin Susana, RHP Travis Sykora, RHP Luis Perales, LHP Alex Clemmey, LHP Jackson Kent
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It’s a time of substantial change in the nation’s capital, with a new leadership group helmed by 36-year-old president of baseball operations Paul Toboni taking the reins in October. The forward-thinking exec has already begun the long process of modernizing this organization’s processes. That bodes well for the long run, even if this turns out to be a rough year at the big-league level.
Even if the 2026 Nats have no chance to win the World Series, the club can still take meaningful steps forward. That starts and ends with this core of young hitters. James Wood earned an All-Star nod in 2025 but looked exhausted throughout a statistically poor second half. A player this tall and long-limbed is always going to run a high K rate, but his 32.1% mark from 2025 needs to tick down if he’s going to evolve into an MVP candidate.
Trade rumors have swirled around CJAbrams all winter, but he looks primed to begin the year in D.C. It’ll be interesting to see how he fares with a new, upgraded coaching staff. Abrams hasn’t quite reached his offensive ceiling and remains a very flawed defensive player. Still, there aren’t many 25-year-old shortstops who can hit at an above-average clip. DaylenLile (.845 OPS) was one of the few pleasant surprises of Washington’s abysmal 2025. His bat looks legit, but his defensive numbers were dreadful. Improvement on that front could make him a real difference-maker.
Dylan Crews, the No. 2 pick in the 2023 draft behind Paul Skenes, has had a start-and-stop first few years to his MLB career, mostly due to injuries. The talent hasn’t gone anywhere, though, and we think Crews will have a breakout 2026. The rest of this impressively deep group has more warts, as we have big questions about BradyHouse’s hit tool, RobertHassell III’s power and LuisGarcía Jr.’s glove.
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A total dearth of young MLB pitching is part of why most prognosticators have the Nats pegged for the NL East cellar. MitchellParker was the second-worst qualified starter by ERA last season. BradLord could develop into a back-end rotation piece but needs to upgrade his secondaries. ColeHenry will start the year as Washington’s closer but is probably more of a seventh- or eighth-inning arm on a contender.
This farm system has taken a big step forward over the past 12 months, thanks to a strong 2025 draft and a handful of big-leaguer-for-prospect trades. HarryFord, acquired this winter for reliever Jose Ferrer, might finish this season as Washington’s primary catcher. He’s tracking like a capable every-day option, with a patience-over-power profile. EliWillits was the No. 1 overall pick last summer, but he just turned 18 and, despite his immense promise, is years away from big-league impact. The same is true for GavinFien, a 2025 first-rounder acquired in the MacKenzie Gore deal.
Jarlin Susana might have the highest ceiling of any pitcher in the minor leagues, with a triple-digit heater and a soul-snatching slider. He’ll miss the first few months due to an injury and might end up in the bullpen. TravisSykora, also injured, is built like an oak tree. He was tracking like a potential No. 2 starter before he hit the shelf.
We believe in this new leadership group and some of the interesting player development hires the Nationals have made. There’s a chance this system, bolstered by another big draft and maybe an Abrams trade, looks even more stacked a year from now. — J.M.
16. Chicago Cubs (total score: 15/30) | 2025 rank: 17
Young MLB hitters (6/10): OF Pete Crow-Armstrong, INF/OF Matt Shaw, C/DH Moisés Ballesteros Young MLB pitchers (5/10): RHP Cade Horton, RHP Daniel Palencia Prospect hitters (2/5): OF Kevin Alcántara, 1B Jonathon Long, 3B Pedro Ramirez, 2B James Triantos, INF Jefferson Rojas, OF Ethan Conrad Prospect pitchers (2/5): RHP Jaxon Wiggins, RHP Brandon Birdsell
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Fresh off one of the more hot-and-cold offensive seasons in recent memory — 27 homers and 29 steals with a .868 OPS through the end of July; just four homers and six steals with a .533 OPS over the final two months — Pete Crow-Armstrong is a difficult player to forecast. Last year was an exaggerated manifestation of his immense raw talent being undermined by his swing-at-everything approach. PCA’s game-changing defense in center field and havoc wreaked on the basepaths afford him multiple ways to make the Cubs a better ballclub no matter what he’s doing at the plate. But for the soon-to-be 24-year-old to become more valuable than volatile, he’ll need to dial in a more dependable offensive game plan.
Matt Shaw finished his rookie year strong at the plate but is transitioning to a superutility role in the wake of Alex Bregman’s arrival at the hot corner. Can manager Craig Counsell find Shaw enough at-bats for him to remain a key cog or will he ultimately become a trade chip sent to flourish elsewhere? Moisés Ballesteros’ bat is even more promising than Shaw’s, but his defensive polish as a backstop lags far behind, which could limit him to DH duty in the short term, capping his overall value. On the farm, Kevin Alcántara’s physical tools continue to tantalize, but his production has yet to demand at-bats in the majors. Conversely, all Jonathon Long has done in the minors is rake, including a full season of mashing at Triple-A in 2025, but his corner-only glove makes his path to playing time in Chicago rather narrow.
It’s hard to put too much stock into any reliever because of their inherent volatility, but Daniel Palencia finally translating his elite velocity into reliable high-leverage results was an encouraging development last season; now let’s see if he can do it again. Cade Horton’s 2.67 ERA across 118 innings earned him a narrow runner-up finish to Drake Baldwin in the NL Rookie of the Year race. The run-prevention speaks for itself, but the shape of Horton’s effectiveness, featuring a sharp decrease in strikeout rate from what he demonstrated in college and the minors, was an odd quirk of his introduction to the majors and is worth monitoring entering Year 2. Horton’s season also ended on a sour note, with a rib fracture that rendered him unavailable for October. A healthy Horton should be a fixture in Chicago’s rotation for years to come, but his ability to find more swing-and-miss could determine whether we underrated him in this exercise or properly assessed him as more of a midrotation starter than a frontline one.
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The upside of hard-throwing and near-ready right-hander Jaxon Wiggins helps Chicago avoid an especially low score in the prospect pitching category, but beyond him, there’s a severe lack of impressive arms in this system. Wiggins dominated High-A and Double-A hitters last summer before a brief taste of Triple-A in September. Chicago’s rotation looks set with veterans for now, but Wiggins could be a factor later in 2026 — if injuries don’t necessitate his arrival even sooner. — J.S.
MILAN — The best way to redeem a terrible Olympics? Win a medal on the way out the door.
Team USA’s Corinne Stoddard claimed a short track speedskating bronze medal in the women’s 1,500 meters with a time of 2:32.578 in a stellar finals performance Friday at the Milano Ice Skating Arena. The medal marked an end to what had been an extremely frustrating Olympics for Stoddard, who had struggled in her individual events and failed to come close to a medal at all in any event, individual or relay.
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South Korea’s Kim Gilli (2:32.076) and Choi Minjeong (2:32.450) took gold and silver, respectively.
Stoddard led for almost the entire race, only surrendering the lead to Kim and Choi in the race’s final laps. Stoddard managed to hold off China’s Jingru Yang and Italy’s Arianna Fontana as she came to the line to claim her first Olympic medal. The difference between a bronze medal and a finish off the podium: 0.135 seconds.
“I led more than I would have liked,” Stoddard said. “I knew I probably couldn’t win with how much I had led, but I knew I could stay on the podium, so I just tried to defend my spot and stay on the podium.”
The race was not unlike a NASCAR race or a Tour de France, where the leader is in the worst position to win late because they’ve been carving the air for the following pack. But fortunately for her medal chances, Stoddard was finally able to keep from falling back in the pack.
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“I think the pressure of the Olympics was just getting to me, and the fear of not going the way I know how to,” Stoddard said after her race. “But I knew going into this Olympics I had a chance to win multiple medals … So today was just to prove to myself that I can skate under a lot of pressure.”
A two-time Olympian, Stoddard’s best finish prior to this race was seventh place in the 1,000m in Beijing in 2022. She also owns a world championship silver medal in the 3,000m relay and world championship bronzes in 1,500m and mixed team relay.
Stoddard had struggled in the Milan Cortina Olympics prior to the 1,500m. She finished eighth in both the 3,000m relay and the mixed team relay. In her individual events, she finished 24th in the 1,000m and 31st in the 500m. She suffered multiple falls and, she said Friday, substantial online abuse as a result.
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But an Instagram post she made earlier this week gained approving comments from figures as diverse as Snoop Dogg, Team USA speedskater Brittney Bowe, and speedskating legend Apolo Ohno:
“I feel like every race before this one, I was trying way too hard, going 110% instead of 95%,” she said, “and that just inevitably makes you crash, makes you slip, makes you just not skate like yourself.”
Just in the nick of time — on the final race of the slate — she found her groove.
“That’s a great way to end such a terrible Olympics and also confidence going into four years from now,” she said. “When I get to France, I know I can do this.”
The Winter Games have begun in Italy. From the rink to the slopes, a new generation of stars has emerged to chase gold. We’ll keep you connected to all of the thrilling moments and top stories as we track the medal race each day of the Games.
For Day 14, Team USA has gold in its sights in short track and long track speed skating events, while also playing for berths in gold medal finals in men’s ice hockey and women’s curling with semifinal matches.
The U.S. received two goals from Jack Hughes, with four other players chipping in scores of their own. While Slovakia tried to rally late, the deficit proved to be too large for them to truly make it a game in the third period.
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As a result, Team USA will play in the gold-medal game for the first time since 2010. They’ll take on Canada in a rematch of that 2010 final, which Canada won.
2. U.S. women’s falls to Switzerland in semifinals
Beating Switzerland in consecutive matches proved too difficult for Team USA on Friday. A day after defeating Switzerland to advance to the semifinals, Team USA lost 7-4 to the Swiss team Friday.
Switzerland played a strong defensive game, limiting Team USA to just one point in the ends in which they scored. Switzerland also controlled the hammer, forcing multiple scoreless ends to keep the final stone.
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While the U.S. tried to make it tough in the 10th end, Switzerland executed on its hammer throw, picking up two points to seal the victory.
With the loss, Team USA will play Canada for the bronze medal Saturday.
3. Kristen Santos-Griswold chases gold in short track speed skating (2:15 p.m. ET)
In the women’s 1,500 meters, American Kristen Santos-Griswold pursues her first gold medal in her second Winter Olympics. (She finished short of the podium in heartbreaking fashion at the 2022 Beijing Games.) Her final chance at a medal in Milan Cortina comes in what is arguably her best event.
For the men’s 5,000 meters relay, home country Italy (which won bronze in Beijing) is one of the eight teams competing for a medal with Korea (silver in Beijing), the Netherlands and reigning gold medalist Canada in Final A. Final B is comprised of Belgium, Japan, China and Hungary.
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4. Brittany Bowe falls short in final event
Brittany Bowe took her final laps as an Olympic speed skater on Friday afternoon in Milan. She received an ovation from the heavily pro-Netherlands crowd at the speed-skating arena, though her head-to-head rival Antoinette Rijpma-de Jong received a louder one. Bowe sprinted off the starting line, and at the 300m mark was 0.69 seconds ahead of the leaders’ pace. That mark stayed at 0.46 seconds at 700m, and just 0.17 at 1100m. But she steadily began losing pace, and she crossed the line 0.55 seconds behind the lead time.
She would go on to finish fourth in the event, leaving her off the podium. It marked the third time Bowe has finished fourth in an event at the 2026 Games.
Olympics schedule for Friday, Feb. 20 (Day 14)
Biathlon
15 kilometer mass start
8:15 a.m.: Men’s final (USA Network; airs on NBC at 12:15 p.m.)🏅
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Bobsled
Two-woman
12 p.m.: Heats 1, 2 (Heat 1 airs live on NBC; Heats 1 and 2 air on USA Network at 4:15 p.m.)
Curling
Women’s
8:05 a.m.: Semifinals (One semifinal will air on USA Network at 9 a.m. with the other airing at 8 p.m.)
Men’s
1:05 p.m.: Bronze-medal game (airs on USA Network at 5 p.m.)🏅
Freestyle Skiing
Ski cross
4 a.m.: Women’s qualifying (USA Network)
5:55 a.m.: Women’s final (USA Network coverage begins at 6 a.m.)🏅
Halfpipe
1:30 p.m.: Men’s final (NBC)🏅
Hockey
Men’s semifinals
10:40 a.m.: Teams TBD (USA Network coverage begins at 11:50 a.m.)
3:10 p.m.: Teams TBD (NBC)
Short Track
1500 meters relay
2:15 p.m.: Men’s and women’s finals (USA Network) 🏅
Speed Skating
1500 meters
10:30 a.m.: Women’s final (airs at 11 a.m. on USA Network and 1 p.m. on NBC)🏅
LIVIGNO, Italy — As he reached his late 20s in a sport where the window does not stay open very long, Alex Ferreira had a career epiphany.
He had won a silver medal in his first Olympics, won World Cup and X Games titles, carved out a niche as a content creator as well as a reputation as one of the best halfpipe skiers ever. It wasn’t enough.
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“I think people didn’t look at me as a champion,” he said. “People kind of looked over me. That’s how I felt. Maybe they didn’t, but that’s how I felt. I was sick of people not taking me professionally, so I started treating myself way more professionally.”
After a disappointing bronze by his standards in Beijing four years ago, Ferreira stopped living like the stereotype of a freestyle skier and instead started treating himself like a stock broker. He traded late-night parties for an 8 p.m. curfew. He didn’t miss a day in the gym and began bringing his own food on the road. He reduced his life to skiing, family and close friends, all because he knew there was one thing missing from his résumé and probably only one more chance to get it.
“I feel like I’m the best every single day when I put my shoes on,” he said. “But the gold medal, the Olympic gold medal, does solidify you in the (history) books.”
Friday night, he finally got it.
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With a technical and beautiful final run down the halfpipe — a trio of 1080s, a couple 1620s and an all-you-can-eat buffet of grabs — the 31-year old Ferreira reached the bottom of the halfpipe, whipped his right pole around like a lasso and celebrated as a score of 93.75 came in to put him in first place.
It was the run Ferreira came here to do, and he nailed it. But there were still three more skiers still to go, and in this sport where it all comes down to the judges, there are never any guarantees.
“It was a living nightmare,” Ferreira said. “I hate it. I hated every second of it.”
But 19-year-old Estonian Henry Sildaru came up three quarters of a point short. American legend Nick Goepper, a three-time Olympic medalist in slopestyle, crashed on the rim of the pipe trying to land a massive final trick. And then finally, Canadian Brendan Mackay put down a terrific run that Ferreira was convinced would beat him — only to see the scoreboard flash Mackay in third place.
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Just like that, he was the Olympic champion. Finally.
“It’s way different,” he said. “There’s nothing like gold.”
As they realized he had finally done it, Ferreira’s throng of supporters at least a dozen deep began to celebrate and sob. His friends locked arms and pointed in disbelief as he stepped onto the podium with the medal around his neck. His father Marcelo Ferreira, a former professional soccer player in his home country of Argentina, danced in the snow as they sang, “Ole, Ole, Ole.” They had all been on the journey together, convinced it would one day pay off.
Alex Ferreira of Team United States celebrates winning the men’s freeski halfpipe. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
(Ian MacNicol via Getty Images)
Suddenly, here it was — and it was better than any of them thought it would be.
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“Oh my God, it’s indescribable,” Marcelo said. “Now he has the full cycle. This is the most beautiful closing of a career of a real champion.”
Ferreira draped the American flag and moved toward a monitor, where he watched the reaction of his family at the moment he won gold. That’s when the tears started flowing.
“He wanted to just f***ing go for it,” his sister, Lourdes, said. “Honestly, I think he was the least nervous he’s ever been because he knew what he was going for. He knew what he wanted.”
Ferreira might dispute that last point. Because of the nerves he woke up with, he called everything that happened before the competition “the worst day of my life,” needing to down ibuprofen to get rid of a nasty headache.
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But as he stood at the top of the halfpipe before each run, you could see him repeating something, convincing himself this would finally be the day.
“I kept telling myself, ‘I am greatness, and this is my moment,’” he said. “I can feel it in my bone marrow.”
Ferreira does not deny the pressure he felt to get this done, especially now that he’s in his 30s. In 2023-24, he won all seven events on the Dew Tour. A lot of people — including Ferreira himself — wondered if he peaked too early. Even his mother Colleen would joke with him that it was too bad the Olympics weren’t coming up right away.
“It’s almost unheard of and not really what you want to have two or three years before an Olympics,” said Gus Kenworthy, a longtime competitor of Ferreira’s who represents Great Britain. “It’s the wrong time to peak. But he came out tonight and put it down. He’s got a super technical run and he executed it perfectly. I’m really, really happy for him.”
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There are a lot of ways the story could have been different Friday. Mackay was maybe one clean landing on his second run away from putting up a score that would have been impossible to beat. If Goepper had landed his final trick in his pursuit of becoming the first freeskier to medal in slopestyle and halfpipe, he probably wins the gold and Ferreira is contemplating whether to push that window open for another four years.
“[Goepper]’s got huge balls — just absolutely unbelievable,” Ferreira said. “For him to go for it in that moment took serious guts. He’s a real man.”
But maybe it all worked out exactly the way it should. After two Olympics of frustration, followed by mild depression, Ferreira put in the work to change his life and the trajectory of his career all to have one moment he couldn’t guarantee would ever come.
It’s one thing to be considered the best who’s never won the biggest prize in your sport. It’s quite another to have one chance every four years to shed that label and have everything you wanted come true.
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“It’s 100 times better than I ever thought it would be,” he said. “It’s the most beautiful moment I’ve ever experienced in my life. I’m so insanely grateful and just goes to show, never give up and always believe in yourself.”
A record number of people tuned in to watch Team USA women’s hockey rally to stun Canada and claim a gold medal on Thursday in Milan.
NBC announced that an average of 5.3 million people watched the United States’ 2-1 overtime win against Canada on both USA Network and Peacock, which made it the most-watched women’s hockey game on record. The game peaked at 7.7 million viewers in overtime.
That was part of a massive overall Olympics day for NBC, too. The network announced that it averaged about 26.7 million viewers in total on Thursday, which made it the largest Winter Games weekday audience since 2014. It was also the 14th straight day that the Olympics audience surpassed 20 million viewers.
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After rallying to force overtime with Hilary Knight’s late goal in the third period, Megan Keller waved past Canada’s Claire Thompson and snuck the puck between the legs of goaltender Ann-Renee Desbiens to officially give the United States the win.
Knight is now the all-time leading scorer in U.S. women’s Olympic hockey history with that goal, the 15th of her career.
“There was no way we were losing this game,” Knight said after the game. “That’s all. Simple as that. We had some awesome heavy hitters on the ice.
“I knew we were going to get possession, so I just had to find a place in front of the net.”
The United States men’s team will attempt to follow their lead in their gold medal match against Canada on Sunday. The men rolled past Slovakia 6-2 in the semifinals on Friday to reach the final for the first time since the 2010 Olympics.
Amid star player Darryn Peterson facing criticism for missing games or leaving them early due to injuries or illness, Kansas men’s basketball coach Bill Self says the freshman guard must take initiative to change the national conversation about him.
“There is a way to change the narrative. Play. Finish,” Self told reporters on Friday. “Now, if his body allows him to, fantastic. If it doesn’t allow him to, then they’ll say something again the next game.”
“But that’s the way to get people to quit talking,” he added. “It’s not me saying, ‘It’s not fair.’ I don’t think that really keeps anybody from having an opinion on a national level, or on this level, or any level, to be quite candid.”
Peterson, 19, has played in only 15 of the Jayhawks’ 26 games this season. But he has also left three of those games early, most recently Wednesday’s 81-69 win over Oklahoma State. Peterson has missed games due to hamstring, quad and ankle injuries and taken himself out because of flu-like symptoms and cramping.
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That limited availability has led to questions about Peterson protecting himself for the 2026 NBA Draft, which could affect his prospects of being the No. 1 overall pick.
Self says the speculation over why Peterson has missed games or finished them early is misguided, but acknowledges that such conjecture can’t be controlled.
“He hasn’t finished games. The reasons why they say he hasn’t finished games is 100% false,” Self said. “So, at least in 70 to 80% of the reasons why, with what they’ve said that I’ve heard. I can’t say 100% of everything would be false, but that’s the narrative that’s being out there.”
The Kansas coach asserted the speculation over Peterson’s mindset is “100% false,” then seemed to say, well, maybe it’s not entirely false. But that chatter will only be silenced if Peterson plays and continues to show the talent that makes many evaluators believe he will be the top player available in this summer’s NBA Draft.
In his 15 games, Peterson has averaged 20 points per game while shooting 43% on 3-pointers. Despite leaving the matchup with Oklahoma State after playing 18 minutes, he still scored 23 points and shot 6-for-10 from long range. Peterson scored a season-high 32 points in a 104-100 overtime win over TCU. That’s the kind of production that has NBA teams coveting the opportunity to draft him.
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Self supported Peterson, saying that he’s dedicated to basketball in addition to being a gifted scorer.
I don’t know that we’ve had a guy that studies the game, has prepared himself for this moreso than what Darryn Peterson has,” Self said. “He loves ball. He can’t get enough ball… Nobody’s put more time in outside of practice working on their game on an individual than what he has over a lifetime.”
With five games remaining in Kansas’ regular season, along with the Big 12 conference and NCAA tournaments approaching, Peterson has plenty of opportunity to alter whatever perceptions are being formed about him. Especially if that includes a national championship run. The Jayhawks face Cincinnati (14-12) on Saturday before big matchups versus No. 2 Houston (23-3) and No. 4 Arizona (24-2) next week.
