Early Spring Velo Talk, Snider, Rolison, Hodge, Assad, Braves, ABS, and Other Cubs Bullets ...Middle East

The Chicago Cubs won a Spring Training game, beating the Royals 3-2. The season is back on.

Hello, early spring velocity spikes:

Collin Snider is healthy again and his velo is back up to 95mph pic.twitter.com/EGoecUrg8Y

— Aldo Soto (@AldoSoto21) February 23, 2026 That Collin Snider bump is consistent with what he said about his offseason work with the Cubs, and it’s important to note that, in 2024, when he was throwing 95 mph and was healthy, he was a stud. Injuries and ineffectiveness in velocity loss in 2025 can’t be ignored, of course, and he had to sign a minor league deal for a reason. But this is the profile of a guy who can bounce back in a big way in a new org and fully healthy. As for Ryan Rolison, I honestly have no idea how to take those numbers. It’s a MASSIVE increase from what he was throwing last year with the Rockies, and it’s the kind of boost that can fundamentally change projections on a reliever. Guess it’s easy to see why the Cubs claimed him on waivers, though it was already easy enough to see why they were intrigued even before we knew about this bump. Rolison, 28, has a minor league option year remaining, so he’s going to be competing for a shot at being an up-down lefty this year (together with Luke Little, Riley Martin, and Jordan Wicks, possibly), but if he is sitting 96-97 mph come May with a good amount of cut on the four-seamer … well, it might be hard not to give him a real look. Also good to see that Porter Hodge had a solid appearance, already showing 96 mph, with a couple strikeouts, albeit with another walk. There’s not much this spring that’ll change any thinking on Hodge – we already know what he CAN be, and we also already know that he’s going to need to show he’s got his mechanics right before the Cubs rely on him again – but it’d obviously be nice to see him showing improved command by the end of March. Also, also: I notice that Javier Assad’s pitches were all up about 2 mph yesterday in his appearance, which could be some early-season toastiness (he showed the same thing a couple years ago in the spring, if I remember correctly), but it’s also possible the new Statcast tracking in Arizona (all the parks have it as of this year) is still calibrating. Maybe I should temper some of my velo enthusiasm just until we have more data points, but the whole story is pretty interesting, since it used to be the case that you never saw peak velocity in February or even March. Guys would build up to it. Even relievers. But nowadays, you sometimes do see peak velocity very early in the season, because these guys have unlocked something in physical training or in mechanics during the offseason. And if we did happen to see broad-based velocity spikes in the Cubs organization in a single offseason, well, that’d be mighty interesting, no? No video, but hey, it sounded like a heckuva play:

“And like Superman, Pete Crow-Armstrong flying in to make a great grab.” pic.twitter.com/udnXYvg0ry

— Aldo Soto (@AldoSoto21) February 23, 2026 Unlike the other former Bally/Diamond/FanDuel clubs, the Atlanta Braves are not turning over their broadcast operations to MLB, though they are going to allow their local streaming rights to be sold by MLB:

pic.twitter.com/eJ4cukukl4

— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) February 24, 2026 So, this is a bit of having it both ways. The Braves get their own network locally, where they’ll produce their own games and set up their own distribution, but they also make their streaming rights available via MLB (which is the piece MLB wants most, because they want to consolidate all of the streaming rights for all 30 teams, if possible). This could be a hint at how MLB’s owners might try to make this whole thing work in the new CBA with the clubs (like the Cubs) who have their own network. Other clubs with their own networks also make streaming subscriptions available via MLB, though it’s not yet quite clear to me if that’s merely a customer acquisition angle (kinda like how you can subscribe to HBO Max on Amazon), or if there’s a true, new partnership happening. Ultimately, this might all be short-term with the CBA looming anyway. Tentatively the kind of distribution you’d expect, given that called balls will have two sets of eyes watching closely, including the only potential challenger watching with the same view as the ump:

So far, overturned ABS Challenges… pic.twitter.com/iTxGRJW77N

— Tangotiger ? (@tangotiger) February 23, 2026 And just a reminder, doing a super-crouch stance is not going to help you:

This is correct. It's a percentage of your height. MLB experimented with the stance measurement in the FSL years ago and quickly moved to a the height-percentage approach. t.co/ASYwguVmbz

— JJ Cooper (@jjcoop36) February 23, 2026 Not sure how much it’ll help his game given that he already hit the crap out of the ball, but WOW did Oneil Cruz get bigger over the offseason:

Holy shit dude. Oneil Cruz put a LOT of muscle on that frame. pic.twitter.com/GwsoEMQuRc

— Nutzy (@Nutzypoo_ttv) February 23, 2026 More at ESPN on the new wave of concerns about pitch-tipping out there, and the extent to which it’s happening AND being identified AND being adjusted AND being kept secret and so on and so forth. We always knew the risk of tipping pitches (and the value of identifying it) was real, but I think we’re starting to learn just how robust the science of it has become. MORE CUBS FROM BLEACHER NATION: Go Ad Free | Subscribe to the BN Newsletter

Indiana Stadium Proposal Details, Top-50 Draft Prospects Update, Chicago’s OL Blueprint, and Other Bears Bullets t.co/jBQQSczSwD

— Bleacher Nation Bears (@BN_Bears) February 24, 2026

NHL Trade Buzz: Trocheck, DeBrusk, Kyrou, Hot RHD Market, a Blackhawks-Bruins Fit? More #blackhawks t.co/3DebyVjwGv

— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) February 24, 2026

Coby White Debut, Boozer in Chicago? Interesting Bulls Stat, and Other Bulls Bullets t.co/CFaStBCFej

— Bleacher Nation Bulls (@BN_Bulls) February 24, 2026

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Early Spring Velo Talk, Snider, Rolison, Hodge, Assad, Braves, ABS, and Other Cubs Bullets ...Middle East

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