Is Spring Training Useful?

Hi it’s Jack Thaler again. I hope you enjoyed last week’s edition of My Fantasy Baseball Experience and had a good Fourth of July weekend. This week I will be focusing on the question, “Is spring training useful?”

We are far enough into the season that we have a good idea of the types of seasons players are having, and we can use this information to answer an important question in the fantasy baseball world: Is spring training data useful?

This season there were some notable spring training breakouts I want to look into: Curtis Mead, Aaron Judge, Kyren Paris, Rafael Devers, and Garrett Crochet. Let me sort these names into two groups: the ones who performed really well in spring training and the ones who didn’t. The players who did well are Curtis Mead, Kyren Paris, and Garrett Crochet. The ones who didn’t perform well are Judge and Devers.

Curtis Mead only had 18 at-bats in spring training but managed to go 14-for-18 with one home run. So far in the regular season, he is batting .225 with only three home runs. Paris started out strong but has been slumping and has returned to being a below-average hitter. Crochet, however, is one of the best pitchers in baseball right now and has carried his spring training success into the regular season. The two hitters who didn’t perform well in spring training are now two of the best hitters in the game (and for Judge, that is an understatement).

What I can conclude is that spring training does not have a significant impact on a player’s regular-season performance, and you should not pay much attention to a player’s spring training stats for fantasy purposes.

With that said, here are my waiver pickups of the week.

Pitchers:

Eury Perez

Edward Cabrera

Lucas Giolito

Trevor Rogers

Eury Perez made his first start since 2023 a couple of weeks ago and got off to a rocky start, but he threw six shutout innings on July 3 and looked like his old dominant self. The only risk I see is whether he gets hurt again or is still a little rusty.

Edward Cabrera has looked dominant to start 2025 and has finally started to put it all together after years of disappointment and injuries. I would compare Edward Cabrera to one of my recommended waiver pickups from last week, Jose Soriano. They both have incredible stuff, and I have believed that they both can be aces. Both have performed that way in 2025. The only risk with Cabrera is his extensive injury history, so pick him up with caution.

Lucas Giolito has shown a lot of success in the past and has been on a really good run lately, so pay attention to him, but keep an eye on his health.

Trevor Rogers followed up a shutout performance with two more quality starts, which makes me wonder if this is finally Trevor Rogers’ year. Keep an eye on him on the waiver wire.

Hitters:

Trevor Story (SS)

Addison Barger (OF)

This week was a very pitcher-heavy waiver wire, so I only have two hitters for you.

Trevor Story had a ridiculous stretch in the mid-to-late 2010s with the Rockies, but after signing a big contract with the Red Sox he has been disappointing over the past couple of years. So far this season, Story has been pretty good, but the run he has been on over the past couple of weeks has been even better. Watch for Story on the waiver wire, but pay attention to his health and remember that he has been disappointing in recent seasons.

Addison Barger is a young outfielder for the Blue Jays who has been on a tremendous run lately. Although he was never considered a top prospect, Barger has been playing extremely well and is worth looking into on the waiver wire.

I hope these waiver adds help you, and I hope to see you next week for the fifth edition of My Fantasy Baseball Experience.