The Daily Briefing — Friday, April 17
By Morgan Davis · Fri Apr 17 2026
Pedro Ramirez Maturing Rapidly Pedro Ramírez is putting together an early offensive performance that is making us reconsider the ceiling of our evaluations. The Cubs No. 7 prospect collected four hits and drove in five runs for Triple-A Iowa, capping the night with his fifth home run of the early season. He now has a 1.026 OPS across 73 plate appearances. He has 11 extra base hits including five homers. He's also shown some wheels, nabbing 7-of-8 stolen bases. The 22-year-old had a great Spring Training as well, hitting .367 and leading the Cubs with 12 RBI. Ramirez hasn't really played shortstop since 2021 and has been splitting time between third and second base, the latter of which he won a Rawling minor-league gold glove at last season. Quick Hits Ryan Ward , Dodgers No. 19: Launched a 445-foot leadoff home run for Oklahoma City, his fourth of the season. That kind of consistent exit velocity and distance typically indicates a prospect is developing genuine three-dimensional offensive capabilities. Josh Hartle , Guardians: Struck out seven batters in seven innings for Double-A Akron, blanking Binghamton 5-0 in the rain-shortened affair. He's had back-to-back quality starts, demonstrating command and efficiency. Braden Montgomery , White Sox: Braden Montgomery put together a big night, going 3-for-4 with a double and two RBIs, continuing to show advanced feel for contact and impact ability. The performance stands out not just for the production, but for the consistency he’s starting to build early in the season, suggesting a potential rise up prospect boards. JJ Bleday , Reds: Came within a triple of completing the cycle with three hits before striking out in his final at-bat. The Bats fell to Toledo 10-5 despite the individual offensive highlights. Bleday has a 1.093 OPS on the season. He's 28 at this point, but don't count out this 4th overall pick from the 2019 draft. Stat of the Day Ryan Ward's 445-foot home run represents the longest recorded blast by a Dodgers prospect so far this season, underlining the exit velocity improvements that have accompanied his four home runs through the early going.