Ke'Bryan Hayes

With spring training set to wrap up, we review the best player on each team from the exhibition schedule.Arizona Diamondbacks, Corbin Carroll: The D-Backs see so much potential in Carroll that they signed him to an eight-year, $111-million contract on March 11 despite just 32 MLB games under his belt. He's shown why Arizona thinks so highly of him in spring camp. The 22-year-old is slashing .372/.500/.628 with eight extra-base hits, 11 walks, 13 runs scored, and five steals.Atlanta Braves, Matt Olson: There may not be a hotter hitter in spring training than Olson, who leads everyone with seven homers to go along with 16 RBIs and a 1.000 slugging percentage. The Braves should be dangerous this season with Olson following Ronald Acuna Jr. and hitting in front of Austin Riley in Atlanta's lineup.Baltimore Orioles, Adley Rutschman: The Orioles have had plenty of standouts this spring, but Rutschman graces this list thanks to a .325/.438/.625 slash line combined with a powerful and patient approach - four homers and eight walks in 40 at-bats. Baltimore should benefit immensely from a full season of the backstop, who has franchise player written all over him.Boston Red Sox, Triston Casas: The Red Sox planned to start the season with Casas at first base, but it wasn't a certainty. The 23-year-old has done everything he's needed to ensure Boston gives him the job, slashing .346/.397/.615 with eight extra-base hits and 11 runs scored in 18 spring games.Chicago Cubs, Yan Gomes: Gomes leads the Cubs in spring RBIs, is tied for the team lead in homers, and has a .324 batting average with a .703 slugging percentage. The veteran backstop's fine spring might lead to him getting the majority of the reps behind the plate this season in a tandem with Tucker Barnhart.Chicago White Sox, Hanser Alberto: Alberto entered spring training as a non-roster invite, but he worked his way onto Chicago's Opening Day roster with a strong camp. The 30-year-old posted a .450/.476/.800 slash line with nine of his 18 hits going for extra bases.Cincinnati Reds, Graham Ashcraft: Christian Encarnacion-Strand looked primed to take this spot, but the Reds optioned him to Triple-A earlier this month, leaving Ashcraft as the pseudo spring MVP. The right-hander has 25 strikeouts in 17 1/3 innings while maintaining a 0.87 WHIP and .197 opponent's batting average.Cleveland Guardians, Shane Bieber: Bieber's spring has been impressive. The 2020 Cy Young winner owns a 1.54 ERA with 13 hits allowed in 23 1/3 innings. His 0.64 WHIP is also top among qualified AL starters in spring training.Colorado Rockies, German Marquez: The Rockies have had some terrific springs from players like Mike Moustakas and Kris Bryant, but Marquez has been unreal. Colorado's ace owns a 0.53 ERA with 20 strikeouts and two walks in 17 innings, earning him the start on Opening Day.Detroit Tigers, Nick Maton: Maton has been tremendous in his first spring camp with the Tigers after they acquired him in an offseason trade. The 26-year-old leads Detroit with five homers and 12 runs scored alongside a 1.067 OPS. He's projected to start at third base to begin the season.Houston Astros, Ronel Blanco: Blanco appeared in just seven games with the Astros last season, but he's set himself apart and should be in Houston's bullpen to start the campaign. The hard-throwing righty has limited opposing hitters to a .184 batting average, allowing one earned run in 14 spring innings while striking out 17.Kansas City Royals, Franmil Reyes: The Franimal looks like a beast again as a non-roster invite for the Royals after a down year in 2022. The former Guardians slugger leads Kansas City with 12 RBIs and 16 hits. He's also sporting a .372/.438/.674 spring slash line.Los Angeles Angels, Anthony Rendon: Might this be the year signing Rendon finally pays dividends for the Angels? The third baseman, who hasn t been able to stay healthy since inking a seven-year, $245-million deal with Los Angeles, is hitting .452/.514/.774 with nearly half of his spring hits going for extra bases.Los Angeles Dodgers, James Outman: Outman's dream came true when the Dodgers announced he made the Opening Day roster, and the decision wasn't a surprising one after the 25-year-old posted a .990 OPS with 11 RBIs and 15 hits in 21 spring games while playing all of the outfield spots.Miami Marlins, Sandy Alcantara: Alcantara hasn't skipped a beat since winning the NL Cy Young last season. The Marlins ace owns a 0.68 ERA and 0.75 WHIP in 13 1/3 innings and recently struck out the first eight hitters of a game against the Astros.Milwaukee Brewers, Mike Brosseau: Brosseau has had a ridiculous spring for the Brewers and looks poised to make the Opening Day roster as a bench player. The 29-year-old owns a 1.532 OPS with six homers and 14 RBIs. He should get plenty of reps against left-handed pitching, although he's crushed all pitching this spring.Minnesota Twins, Jose Miranda: Skipping the World Baseball Classic might have been a blessing in disguise for Miranda, who is mashing for the Twins this spring. The third baseman owns a .778 slugging percentage, leads Minnesota with five homers, and is second on the team with 10 RBIs.New York Mets, Pete Alonso: The Polar Bear spent a good chunk of the spring at the WBC, but he's impressed for the Mets, too. Alonso has four homers and a .647 slugging percentage in 34 spring at-bats and has shown solid patience at the dish with five walks, helping him author a .400 on-base percentage.New York Yankees, Anthony Volpe: Volpe has turned so many heads in camp that he fast-tracked expectations and will begin the year as the Yankees' starting shortstop. The highly touted prospect owns a 1.064 OPS with 10 extra-base hits, eight walks, and 13 runs scored in 17 games.Oakland Athletics, Kevin Smith: Smith did not look good last season for the A's, but he's doing everything in his power to get another shot in the bigs this spring. The 26-year-old, who wasn't projected to start the year with Oakland's big-league squad, leads the team with 15 RBIs and could push someone else out of the picture.Philadelphia Phillies, Jake Cave: Cave looks like an impressive pick-up by the Phillies, who claimed the outfielder off waivers from the Orioles. The 30-year-old leads the Philles with 14 spring RBIs and a 1.301 OPS. Ten of his 22 hits have also been of the extra-base variety, including three homers and three triples.Pittsburgh Pirates, Ke'Bryan Hayes: Hayes owns the most lavish contract in Pirates history and appears ready to reward the franchise for investing in him long term. The youngster leads the club with four homers and is second with 10 RBIs alongside a .750 slugging percentage. He looks poised for a breakout campaign.San Diego Padres, Nick Martinez: The Padres decided to invest in rotation depth this offseason, and one of those signings, Martinez, has looked sharp in spring camp while also dipping his toe in the World Baseball Classic. The hurler owns a 1.93 ERA with a 1.21 WHIP and 19 strikeouts in 14 innings. He's expected to be a part of San Diego's six-man rotation.San Francisco Giants, Blake Sabol: Giants fans are quickly getting to know Sabol, who came to the club in a trade for a player to be named later. The catcher has crushed pitching to the tune of a .349/.474/.651 slash line with 10 RBIs and 11 walks. Giants exec Farhan Zaidi recently said Sabol will likely make the Opening Day roster because of his strong spring.Seattle Mariners, Robbie Ray: Ray was solid for the Mariners last season after signing a lucrative multi-year deal, but he's looked like he's rediscovered his Cy Young form this spring. The southpaw has 26 strikeouts in 17 innings while allowing only two earned runs. Opposing hitters are hitting a measly .190 against him.St. Louis Cardinals, Jordan Walker: Walker put together such a fantastic spring that he was named to the Cardinals' Opening Day roster after never playing a game above Double-A. MLB's No. 4 prospect had 18 hits in 19 games, including three homers, five doubles, nine RBIs, and a .508 slugging percentage.Tampa Bay Rays, Luke Raley: The Rays are among baseball's elite at finding talent, and it looks like they discovered another gem in Raley, who was acquired from the Dodgers in March 2022. The 28-year-old tore up minor-league pitching last season and has brought similar thunder to spring camp this year. He owns a 1.117 OPS and leads the Rays with five homers and 14 RBIs.Texas Rangers, Ezequiel Duran: Duran may have earned a big-league roster spot with an awesome spring that saw him put more RBIs on the board than slugger Nathaniel Lowe while posting a slash line almost as good as franchise shortstop Corey Seager.Toronto Blue Jays, Yusei Kikuchi: Kikuchi struggled mightily in his first year with the Blue Jays, but the club wasn't ready to give up on him. The southpaw was recently awarded a starting rotation spot after a stellar spring that included 25 strikeouts in 18 innings with just two earned runs allowed.Washington Nationals, Josiah Gray: Gray might finally be blossoming into the ace-type pitcher the Nationals hoped they traded for in the Max Scherzer deal. The 25-year-old has looked sharp in five outings, striking out 14 in 16 1/3 innings while allowing one earned run and two walks.Copyright © 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Hayes (thumb) will lead off and play third base Saturday against the Yankees.