Cody Stavenhagen

1 week ago | nytimes.com | Cody Stavenhagen

MILWAUKEE - Brewers catcher Eric Haase stood on the American Family Field dirt before Monday's game and thought back to a young Tarik Skubal. It was 2020 when Haase caught Skubal at the Detroit Tigers' alternate training site in the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Skubal was just beginning to emerge as a pitching prospect to be reckoned with. "I don't want to say I called it," Haase said. "But in 2020 ... it was (Casey) Mize and (Alex) Faedo and (Matt) Manning and all those guys.

1 week ago | nytimes.com | Cody Stavenhagen

MINNEAPOLIS - Javier Báez and Gleyber Torres played together as young bucks in the Chicago Cubs system. Báez went on to win a World Series and make the cover of a video game. Torres was traded to the New York Yankees and became a high-profile player in his own right. Like Báez, Torres knows the pressures of playing in a big market. Like Báez, Torres has experienced the full spectrum of success and failure in this game. Both players can be electric at their best, maddening to watch at their worst.

1 week ago | nytimes.com | Cody Stavenhagen

MINNEAPOLIS - Last summer, the trade deadline had passed and roster moves were flying. The Detroit Tigers were shipping players out and bringing new ones in. The Tigers acquired Zach McKinstry before the 2023 season because they believed in his left-handed bat. They valued his ability to play all over the diamond. His mere presence on the roster was integral to manager A.J. Hinch's nightly chess matches. But McKinstry's time with the Tigers was a grind. He entered August of last season hitting .177.

1 week ago | nytimes.com | Chad Jennings |Cody Stavenhagen

Two elite prospects, each the same age, playing the same position for the same team, but separated by a decade. One started the season in the minors, the other in the majors. As it turns out, that decade made all the difference. Ten years ago, Kris Bryant delivered a monster spring training for the Chicago Cubs at 23 years old. He was sent to the minor leagues anyway. The Cubs kept Bryant in Triple A for 12 days, just long enough to avoid accruing a year of major-league service time.

2 weeks ago | nytimes.com | Cody Stavenhagen

DETROIT - Dillon Dingler's preparation begins with a notebook. It's not that he doesn't trust the scouting reports or value the meetings. He just thrives on the knowledge that comes from studying each opposing hitter himself. "I have to write things down," Dingler said Wednesday morning, leaning back against his locker. "I found that out the past couple years."The more Dingler writes down his observations, the better he retains the knowledge.