FanGraphs Weekly Mailbag: March 21, 2026

It’s a good time to be a baseball fan. We simply completed watching an exhilarating World Baseball Traditional, which resulted in an exciting 3-2 Venezuela win over the USA, and we’re lower than every week away from Opening Day. A part of the enjoyable within the days main up the beginning of the season is enjoying catchup with all of the transactions that went down over the earlier months. Positive, everyone knows that Kyle Tucker is a Dodger and Alex Bregman is a Cub, that Cody Bellinger returned to the Yankees and Pete Alonso joined the Orioles. We additionally don’t must be instructed that Marcus Semien, Bo Bichette, and Luis Robert Jr. now play for the Mets, or that each Sonny Grey and Ranger Suarez slot in behind Garrett Crochet within the Crimson Sox rotation. However it may be laborious to have a deal with on how all these strikes form the outlook of groups throughout the league as we start the season. The excellent news is that we at FanGraphs have been conserving tabs on the whole lot all through the offseason and spring coaching, so we’ve obtained you lined with the whole lot it is advisable know concerning the coming yr in baseball.

This week alone, we kicked off our annual Positional Energy Rankings sequence, Dan Szymborski made his picks for the hitters who may growth and bust this season, and Ben Clemens regarded into the significance of stars within the postseason. Michael Baumann analyzed the current adjustments Walker Buehler has made as he appears to be like to open the season within the Padres rotation, Ryan Blake examined the traditionally younger White Sox catching tandem, and Brendan Gawlowski shared his newest notes from the Cactus League. In the meantime, James Fegan ranked the highest 30 prospects within the Astros system, and Eric Longenhagen reported on the experimental rule adjustments coming to the minor leagues this yr. And for those who haven’t learn it but, I encourage all of you to take a look at Davy Andrews’ wonderful and revealing characteristic on the context of the just lately put in Texas Ranger statue at Globe Life Subject.

We received’t be speaking about any of these subjects on this week’s mailbag. As a substitute, we’ll reply your questions on whether or not Aaron Decide would possibly end with extra profession WAR than Mike Trout, the place Juan Gonzalez’s 1996 season ranks amongst undeserving MVP wins, and which nationwide soccer workforce can be the perfect at baseball. However first, I’d prefer to remind you that this mailbag is unique to FanGraphs Members. In case you aren’t but a Member and wish to hold studying, you may join a Membership right here. It’s one of the simplest ways to each expertise the positioning and help our employees, and it comes with a bunch of different nice advantages. Additionally, for those who’d prefer to ask a query for an upcoming mailbag, ship me an e mail at mailbag@fangraphs.com.