MLB Players Excelling in Spring Training: Curtis Mead, Antonio Senzatela, Pete Crow-Armstrong, Will Warren, Rhys Hoskins and More

Several days have passed since our last look at the top spring training performers. It's time to go over the top performers again, but this time also discuss some pitchers.

I'll mention fantasy players of all statuses, but be sure to identify what the numbers could mean for a player's fantasy outlook this coming season. I'll use FanGraphs when discussing players' projected roles.

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Top Hitters

Tampa Bay's Curtis Mead leads the league with 16 hits in spring training. Mead is projected to be in a platoon, and if he keeps racking up the hits during the regular season, he could become an everyday option.

Chicago Cubs' Michael Busch, Gage Workman and Pete Crow-Armstrong, Washington's Robert Hassell III, Arizona's Josh Naylor all have 14 hits.

Busch is projected to be in a platoon at first base with Justin Turner, but if he keeps hitting this well during the regular season, the Cubs could move him around the diamond to keep his bat in the lineup.

Workman is a projected bench bat for the Cubs now. He'd need an injury or two before he'd get regular starts.

Crow-Armstrong has struggled with his average during his brief MLB career so far, so this is definitely a good sign for his fantasy outlook. He's a good dynasty/keeper league option and has deep-league appeal to kick off the season. PCA could become a standard league option if he keeps hitting when the games start counting.

Hassell is still projected to start the season in Triple-A, but he's certainly not making that decision easy. Dylan Crews and James Wood are locked into everyday roles, but maybe Hassell could steal a starting spot from Jacob Young eventually. Alex Call is also an outfield option projected to make the opening day roster.

Naylor is the new first baseman for the Diamondbacks. Having him settled in already possibly sets him up for a career season.

Boston's Trayce Thompson has a .531 on-base percentage this spring across 12 games. He's also projected to start the season in AAA. He'd need several injuries to outfielders or a change of scenery to get into a favorable fantasy situation.

Colorado's Adael Amador has a .472 OBP so far. He too is expected to open the season in Triple-A. The middle infielder is definitely blocked at the MLB level by Ezequiel Tovar, but could steal the starting job away from Thairo Estrada if he struggles during the season. The 21-year-old Amador will only be called up if a starting role is available I'd think.

Detroit's Justyn-Henry Malloy has a .469 OBP this spring. He's also expected to open the season in Triple-A. Kerry Carpenter, Riley Greene and Wenceel Perez have the starting outfield spots locked up right now, with Andy Ibanez and Zach McKinstry also being able to play the outfield. Outfielders Parker Meadows and Matt Vierling are also options when they return from injuries, so Malloy's fantasy outlook would probably only improve after several injuries or a change of scenery.

Milwaukee's Vinny Capra and Rhys Hoskins are joined by Gavin Sheets with five spring training homers.

Hoskins is a locked-in starter at first base for Milwaukee, and if he's able to keep mashing during the regular season, he has standard league fantasy appeal.

Capra has probably already earned himself a spot on the opening day roster - he's projected to platoon at third base, but could move around the diamond if he stays hot during the regular season.

Sheets is probably destined to open the season in the minor leagues, if he isn't moved to another team. Luis Arraez is San Diego's first baseman, and Jake Cronenworth is an option there too. Fernando Tatis Jr.  is the locked-in right fielder, so Sheets' chance at MLB playing time is probably in left field, where Jason Heyward and Connor Joe are currently expected to platoon.

Arizona's Eugenio Suarez is tied atop the RBI leaderboard with Thompson and Workman - each hitter has 13 RBIs. Suarez will start at third base for Arizona when he's healthy and is coming off a big season. This spring shows that he might not regress too much. 

Top Pitchers

LA Dodgers' Yoshinobu Yamamoto leads the league with 13 innings pitched this spring. He's expected to get the start in the team's Tokyo Series game against the Cubs in a week. Yamamoto has a 4.15 earned run average, along with 14 strikeouts and a 1.38 WHIP. 

Don't worry too much about ERAs and instead make sure pitchers are on track to take on a starter workload at the start of the season.

Detroit's Kenta Maeda is at 12 2/3 innings this spring. He looks like a safe bet to open the season in the team's starting rotation, and getting in innings this spring is big after his 2024 season was altered by injuries and a high ERA. He has a 5.68 ERA, but 19 punchouts already.

Cincinnati's Hunter Greene, Pittsburgh's Mitch Keller, San Francisco's Landen Roupp, Colorado's Antonio Senzatela and Baltimore's Albert Suarez all have 12 spring training innings under their belts.

Greene is Cincinnati's ace and is a good fantasy asset for 2025. He has a 6.00 ERA so far, but has struck out 16 batters.

Keller has a 3.00 ERA and just eight strikeouts so far. He's locked into the Pirates' rotation and is a solid standard league streamer, at least, to kick off the season.

Roupp is expected to begin the season in Triple-A, but could steal a rotation spot with an injury to a starter, or poor results for someone at the start of the season. Roupp has a 3.75 ERA and 14 punchouts this spring.

Senzatela has a 0.75 ERA and 11 strikeouts so far. He should be locked into the Rockies' rotation to start the season. Senzatela has worked just 20 innings over the past two seasons, so hopefully he can get in a full season - he's a deep league option, but would have standard league streaming value if he's pitching well in the regular season (and not pitching at home).

Suarez is projected to be the Orioles' long reliever this season. He could get the occasional start, and would likely replace an injured or struggling starter. Suarez has a 7.50 ERA and nine punchouts this spring.

Among qualified pitchers, Senzatela has the lowest WHIP at 0.50. New York Yankees' Will Warren is second at 0.60.

Warren is projected to make the rotation now after the injuries to Luis Gil and Gerrit Cole (who is out for the season). Warren has a 1.54 ERA and 12 punchouts across 11 2/3 innings.

Cleveland's Logan Allen has a 0.75 WHIP, as does Roupp. Allen has a 0.84 ERA and 10 punchouts across 10 2/3 innings. He's expected to open the season in Triple-A, but could slide onto the MLB roster after an injury.

San Francisco's Justin Verlander has a 1.00 WHIP this spring. He's also got a 2.45 ERA and nine punchouts over 11 innings. Verlander is locked into the starting rotation as a veteran, but it's good to see him excelling this early in the spring.

Senzatela and Warren are tied with a .103 average against them this spring, again using only qualified pitchers.

Washington's Jake Irvin has just a .154 average against him. He should be locked into the rotation, and opens the season as a deep-league option. He could have some standard league streaming value if he keeps pitching well into the regular season.

Texas' Jack Leiter has just a .200 average against him this spring. He also has a 2.53 ERA and 13 punchouts over 10 2/3 innings. Leiter is projected to make the team's starting rotation to start the season, and his performance so far this spring is helping him lock that spot up. He's another deep-league asset to kick off the season, but could also be a standard league streaming option.