MLB Spring Training 2025: Highlighting Most Impressive Pitchers and Hitters
Spring Training is traditionally a small sample of what fans can expect from their favorite players in the season to come and while it is not always an accurate depiction, it is usually enough to create excitement, or concern, for what lies ahead.
Spring Training 2025 has featured some strong performances from players for whom much is expected, including prized off-season free agent Mets signing, Juan Soto, and a shortstop with plenty to prove in Toronto's Bo Bichette.
Who joined them as top performers this preseason?
Find out with this recap.
Clay Holmes, SP, New York Mets
1 of 4
Clay Holmes will get the nod as the Mets' Opening Day starter despite spending his career with the across-town Yankees as a relief pitcher.
It will be just the fifth start of his Major League career.
While some fans in Queens may be hesitant to get excited about a guy who will be asked to shoulder some of the championship expectations the team has entering this season, Holmes has already flashed signs of brilliance on the mound.
The former reliever has thrown 19.1 innings and tallied a 0.93 ERA and 0.78 WHIP while striking out 23, some of which can be attributed to a wicked kick change that has thrown opposing batters off.
There are real questions to be answered about his ability to be a legitimate starter that carries his team once every five days and does so consistently, but the early evidence is promising.
On a team that touts Kodai Senga, Sean Manaea, Frankie Montas, and David Peterson, if Holmes can to match the level of play he has delivered through Spring Training, he will have a shot at being a major reason the Mets live up to lofty expectations.
Bo Bichette, SS, Toronto Blue Jays
2 of 4
After a lackluster 2024 that saw him suffer from injury and his stats suffer as a result, Bichette will look to bounce back and remind fans and analysts why he was once considered among the best young shortstops in the game.
He is off to a strong start in Spring Training, with 19 hits, four home runs, nine RBI, a batting average of .399, and an OPS of 1.120.
After a calf injury cost him eight weeks and a broken finger ended his 2024 season, Bichette hopes to get back to his previous ways, when he and first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. had Blue Jays fans thinking "World Series" amid their superb play.
If he falters or fails to build on the momentum he has gathered in Spring Training, do not be surprised if his name is bounced around trade rumors, as it was this off-season.
Cody Bellinger, CF, New York Yankees
3 of 4
Former NL MVP Cody Bellinger took his talents to the Big Apple this off-season and will look to rediscover the level of play that made him the best in his league in 2019. He got off to the right start in Spring Training, tallying 20 hits in 43 at-bats and adding three home runs and 7 RBIs.
His slugging percentage of .791 was the highest of his career in Spring Training and should have fans of the Bronx Bombers encouraged by his ability to generate extra-base hits.
For a team that will certainly miss Juan Soto and his ability to get on base, accumulate extra base hits, and drive in runs, the former Dodger and Cub will be a welcome addition if he can build on his Spring Training performance and give opposing teams a bat to respect beyond teammate Aaron Judge's.
.png?w=256)
Juan Soto, OF, New York Mets
4 of 4
Any time a player signs a monumental contract the likes of which Soto did this off-season (15 years, $765 million), there are expectations of immediate excellence.
Thus far, Mets fans have gotten a taste of what to expect from their high-priced slugger this Spring Training and they understandably like what they see.
In 33 plate appearances, Soto delivered 11 hits, nine runs, four home runs, and nine RBIs for a slash line of .333/.425/.758.
His slugging percentage through Spring Training is the second-highest of his career, behind only his 2023 with San Diego.
If the 2024 leader in runs can do for his new squad what he did in his one season with the Yankees, the fans who packed Citi Field and cheered on a resilient, tough, dynamic Mets team a year ago will have plenty more to be excited about as the prospects of their first World Series title since 1986 not quite the pipe dream it had been in years past.
.png?w=480)
