The spring training camps begin winding down. The prayers for wiser and cooler heads prevailing upon the next collective bargaining agreement after a hoped-for splendid season are said. We're on the threshold of the regular major league season. And . . .
Walk This Way Dept. — Yardbarker says these five are the players with the most important walk years about to begin:
* Kris Bubic (Royals; LHP) — Remember: every team loves left-handed starting pitchers. Bubic is the kind they really covet, says the Bark, at least without Tarik Skubal in the picture. But he needs a consistent 2026 to secure himself a powerful market. He has a solid 2025 off which to build, posting a 2.89 fielding-independent pitching rate last year.
Key: Keep the walks down. (2025: 3.0 BB/9.)
* Jazz Chisholm, Jr (Yankees; IF) — It's easy to say he should concentrate on deploying his skills more and his big trap less. (Yankee fans say it liberally.) He's coming off a 30-30 season and if he keeps all that Jazz up, he could end up the 2026 offseason's number one position player, says the Bark. They're not exactly barking up the wrong tree. Chisholm is projected to be the market's top position player. His combination of power, speed, defensive versatility, and leadership makes him highly desirable.
Key: Swell that OBP a few more points.
* Freddy Peralta (Mets; RHP) — He's been looking impressive enough that the Mets are thinking aloud and seriously about trying to extend him. Let him just approximate his final Milwaukee season and that thinking just might turn to doing — or, make Peralta one of the top two arms on the next offseason market.
Key: One less walk per nine should do the trick nicely, because he's got all his other stuff ready to roll.
* Trevor Rogers (Orioles; LHP) — Like Bubic, Rogers could be a starter drawing lots of offseason attention after a solid walk 2026. He overthrew a few hard seasons with a 1.81 ERA/2.82 FIP in Baltimore last year. The Bark says that's how you rebuild a profile.
Key: Keeping or shrinking that already-low walk per nine rate.
* Tarik Skubal (Tigers; LHP) — The defending back-to-back American League Cy Young Award laureate. The guy who won a record $32 million arbitration salary award for 2026. The 2.47 FIP and 0.91 WHIP over those two Cy seasons. The guy who could break the proverbial bank on the open market, assuming no CBA shenanigans, unless the Tigers decide they sure do have the resources to make him happy and bound up for about six years to follow.
Key: Be Tarik Skubal.
Not So Fast Dept. — Konnor Griffin won't become the first teenager since Hall of Famer Adrián Beltré to make an Opening Day major league roster after all. The Pirates reassigned their shortstop of the future back to their minor league camp over the weekend. He showed his power and his good glove, but he wasn't hitting consistently just yet.
"I think you see a young kid that was maybe pressing just a little bit and trying really hard. Konnor Griffin the person is elite. Allowing him to go and get back to basics and being Konnor Griffin out there (could help)," said Pirates manager Don Kelly.
"Griffin still can attain a full year of service and thus become [Prospect Promotion Incentive draft pick] eligible if the Pirates promote him by April 9," said The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal. "The deadline, two and a half weeks away, should motivate the Pirates to increase their $100 million-plus [extension] offer to Griffin and complete the extension."
With Six You Get Bankroll Dept. — The Phillies have made left-handed pitching ace Cristopher Sanchez secure for six years and $103 million starting in 2027. The Phillies like both his durability and his ability to thrive in the hitting haven known as their home Citizens Bank Park playpen.
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