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The San Francisco 49ers had injury issues that were out of their control this past season. They overcame those challenges to make the playoffs, but missing several key players undoubtedly capped their potential to make a deeper run.

The NFL's league year doesn't even start until March, but we already know the 49ers have another massive roadblock awaiting them.

The 49ers announced they will play in Mexico City during the 2026 NFL regular season. That's not too unusual, but it is unprecedented that they'll play two international games next season in different continents. Add on the 49ers' announced game in Australia against the Los Angeles Rams, and suddenly travel becomes a big issue.

The 49ers will travel more miles than anyone in the NFL next season and more than any team ever has. That's a hefty challenge no other team is going to be dealing with next season.

A new record for the 49ers

The 49ers will travel more than 38,000 miles. There's the trip to Melbourne, Australia, the one to Mexico City, and also trips to face the Giants and Falcons in the Eastern time zone.

If that sounds like a lot of travel for one season, it is. That mileage will break an NFL record, set by the Chargers when they traveled more than 37,000 miles last season,according to Bill Speros of Bookies.com. That's despite having only eight road games in the 17-game schedule (that Mexico City game is a designated 49ers home game).

International travel can be tough on teams, and it can take a few weeks to feel back to normal. That's why most teams take a bye week after playing an international game. And the 49ers will get two international games. They will be the first team to play two international games in non-consecutive weeks. The Jaguars have played two games in London before. Last season the Vikings played two international games in a row, but both of those were in Europe with one in England and the other in Ireland. What the 49ers are being asked to do hasn't been done before.

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The good news for the 49ers is there is a long break between the two international trips.John Ourand of Puck reportedthe game against the Rams in Australia will be in Week 1, with a specific day to be determined. The Mexico City game, with an opponent that will be determined later, willbe in December.

But, that also means the 49ers have two international trips practically bookending their season.

49ers have a big challenge

The 49ers' leadership is happy to be making that second international trip.

"We are thrilled to return to Mexico and to play in front of one of the most passionate fan bases in the league," 49ers CEO Al Guido saidin a statement. "After two unforgettable experiences in 2005 and 2022 we are excited to reunite with the Mexico faithful."

The players might not be so excited to have 38,000 miles to fly during the season.

This will happen more often with theNFL's stated desireto get to 16 international games. There will be nine during the 2026 season. All that travel will make it tougher on the players, who already have a hard time getting through the expanded 17-game season healthy.

The 49ers know all about that. They had numerous star players miss games last season, though coach Kyle Shanahan did a marvelous job to get them to a 12-5 record. They go right from that strife to having to deal with the toughest travel schedule the NFL has ever seen, at least in terms of flight miles. They have to do that while trying to navigate one of the NFL's toughest divisions, with the Super Bowl champion Seahawks and NFC runner-up Rams.

The 49ers will get to see the world during the upcoming season. There will be a hidden cost attached.

LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — The Chicago Bears have promoted pass game coordinator Press Taylor to offensive coordinator to replace the departed Declan Doyle, one of four coaching moves announced by the team on Wednesday.

Bears Offensive Coordinator Football

Taylor was Jacksonville's offensive coordinator from 2022 to 2024. His promotion comes after Doyle left to call plays in Baltimore undernew Ravens coach Jesse Minter.

Coach Ben Johnson will continue to call plays after the Bears made the playoffs in his first season. Chicago's offense ranked sixth overall, with quarterbackCaleb Williams making big stridesin his second year. The No. 1 pick in the 2024 draft, he threw for a franchise-record 3,942 yards with 27 touchdowns and seven interceptions.

The Bears were third in rushing, with D'Andre Swift and rookie Kyle Monangai leading the way. Chicago also committed a league-low 11 turnovers.

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The Bears also hired Eric Studesville as running backs coach, Will Lawing as offensive analyst and Isaiah Ford as offensive quality control coach. A 29-year NFL coaching veteran, Studesville was a Bears assistant in the late 1990s and spent the past eight seasons in Miami, working alongside Johnson for part of that time. Studesville takes over forEric Bieniemy, who left to become Kansas City's offensive coordinator.

Chicago went 11-6 and won its first NFC North title since 2018 after finishing last the previous season. The Bears advanced in the playoffs for the first time in 15 years, rallying to beat Green Bay in a wild-card thriller before losing to the Los Angeles Rams in overtime in the divisional round.

AP NFL:https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

Javier Báezhad little choice but offer a full mea culpa, even if the situation proved a little absurd.

"This is all my fault," hetold reportersin Lakeland, Florida regarding apositive test for marijuanathat will prevent him from representing Puerto Rico in next month's World Baseball Classic.

"I'm the one that failed the test. It really hurts my family, my reputation, but it's part of it. Other than that, I got a long season to go, and I got to prepare for that."

Báez, aDetroit Tigers2025 All-Star, would not have been caught up in a positive test simply under MLB's auspices. The league has not tested members of the 40-man roster for marijuana and after the 2019 season stopped suspending minor league players for positive tests for pot.

Yet the World Baseball Softball Federation, which administers the WBC, still considers it a banned substance, even in this era when other governing bodies prefer players use marijuana rather than opioids to manage pain and other maladies.

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His suspension landed at a particularly inopportune time for Puerto Rico's squad, which learned the same week that fellow All-Star shortstop Francisco Lindor will not play due to insurance concerns; Lindor eventually suffered a hamate bone injury, anyway.

Báez, 33, is expected to play a key multi-positional role again for the Tigers. He just hoped to rep his home territory in the WBC before then.

"I understand the rules," says Báez, per the Detroit Free Press, part of the USA TODAY Network. "It's not like I was taking steroids or anything to last longer or whatever. They made that decision.

"I'm fine with it – I mean, I'm not fine with it. I just keep my mouth shut."

MLB spring training 2026: Sunshine, good vibes in Arizona and Florida

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Tigers' Javy Baez takes blame for failed drug test that cost him WBC

JERUSALEM (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump'sBoard of Peaceisset to meetfor the first time on Thursday in Washington, an early test of whether one of his marquee foreign policy initiatives can gain broad support and advance the shaky ceasefire agreementin the Gaza Strip.

Board of Peace Explainer

Trump'sballooning ambitionsfor the board extend from governing and rebuilding Gaza as a futuristic metropolis to challenging the United Nations Security Council's role in solving conflicts. But they could be tempered by the realities of dealing with Gaza, where there has so far been limited progress in achievingthe narrower aimsof the ceasefire.

Palestinians, including many civilians, are still being killed innear-daily strikesthat Israel says are aimed at militants who threaten or attack its forces. Hamas hasn't disarmed, no international forces have deployed, and a Palestinian committee meant to take over from Hamas is stuck in neighboring Egypt.

"If this meeting does not result in fast, tangible improvements on the ground — and particularly on the humanitarian front — its credibility will quickly crumble," said Max Rodenbeck, Israel-Palestine Project Director at the International Crisis Group, a global think tank.

A new international body

More than two dozen nations have signed on as the board'sfounding members.

The list includes Israel and other regional heavyweights involved in ceasefire negotiations, as well as countries from outside the Middle East whose leaders support Trump or hope to gain his favor. U.S. allies like France, Norway and Swedenhave so far declined.

Israelis are suspicious of the involvement of Qatar and Turkey, which have longstanding relations with Hamas. Palestinians object because their representatives weren't invited to the board, even as it weighs the future of a territory that is home to some 2 million of them.

Trump, the self-appointed chairman of the board, said earlier this week that member countrieshad pledged $5 billiontoward rebuilding Gaza and would commit thousands of personnel to peacekeeping and policing. No financial pledges — or an agenda for this week's meeting — have been made public.

"We want to make it successful. I think it has the chance to be the most consequential board ever assembled of any kind," Trump told reporters on Monday. He reiterated his criticism of the U.N.'s record on resolving international disputes.

Ambitious plans

Trump — along with son-in-law Jared Kushner and envoy Steve Witkoff — has laid out ambitious plans for rebuilding Gaza with international investment.

In Davos last month,Kushner suggestedreconstruction could be complete in a matter of three years, even though U.N. forecasts suggest that clearing rubble and demining alone could take much longer.

Kushner's slides showed a reconstructed Gaza with a coastal tourism strip, industrial zones and data centers. He conceded that rebuilding would begin only in demilitarized areas and that security would be essential to attract investment.

The latest joint estimate by the U.N., European Union and World Bank says reconstruction will cost about $70 billion.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said there will be no reconstruction until Hamas disarms, leaving Palestinians in limbo among the widespread devastation.

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Halting progress

The ceasefire deal has halted major military operations,freed the last hostagesheld by Hamas and ramped up aid deliveries to Gaza. But a lasting resolution to the two-year war ignited byHamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attackinto Israel remains elusive.

The deal envisions Hamas handing over its weapons and Israeli forces withdrawing from Gaza as international forces deploy. Itleft some questions unanswered and set no timelineto secure buy-in and defer confrontation over those issues.

Israel and the U.S. say Hamas' disarmament is key to progress on the other fronts. Arab and Muslim members of the Board of Peace have accused Israel of undermining the ceasefire with its daily strikes and want the U.S. to rein in its close ally. They have called on Hamas to disarm but say Israel's withdrawal is just as important.

Israel defines demilitarization as extending from heavy weapons like rocket-propelled grenades all the way down to rifles. Netanyahu said Sunday that Hamas would have to give up roughly 60,000 automatic rifles.

Despite accepting the agreement, Hamas has made only vague or conditional commitments to disarm as part of a process leading to the establishment of a Palestinian state. Senior Hamas officials have saidtheir security forcesneed to retain some weapons in order to maintain law and order during the transition.

Some of the ideas under discussion include Hamas "freezing" its arms by placing them in sealed depots under outside supervision or giving up heavy weapons while keeping some handguns for policing, according to two regional officials involved in the negotiations. One official said disarmament is a complicated process that could take months. The officials requested anonymity to discuss the negotiations.

It's far from certain that Israel or the United States would agree to such ideas.

A stabilization force

The ceasefire deal also calls for a temporary International Stabilization Force made up of soldiers from Arab and Muslim-majority countries to vet, train and support to a new Palestinian police force. Its mandate is not spelled out in detail, but would include securing aid deliveries and preventing weapons smuggling.

Countries being asked to contribute to the force insist that any deployment be framed as a peacekeeping mission. They have refused to take part in the disarmament of Hamas, a job that could put them in harm's way. Another concern is the presence ofarmed groups allied with Israel.

Indonesia has begun training a contingent ofup to 8,000 soldiersfor the force, though its foreign minister said last week that they would not take part in disarmament.

Postwar governance

Under the ceasefire agreement, Hamasis to hand over powerto a transitional committee of politically independent Palestinian administrators. The U.S. has named a 15-member committee and tapped former U.N. envoy Nickolay Mladenov to oversee them as the board's envoy to Gaza.

The committee, led by former Palestinian Authority deputy minister Ali Shaath, has not yet been granted Israeli permission to enter Gaza from Egypt. Israel hasn't commented on the matter.

Mladenov said last week that the committee will not be able to work unless Hamas hands over power and ceasefire violations stop.

"We're only embarrassing the committee and ultimately making it ineffective," he said at the Munich Security Conference. "All of this needs to move very fast."

__ Magdy reported from Cairo. Aamer Madhani in West Palm Beach, Fla. contributed reporting.

An ecological crisis of "historic proportion" is underwayin the Potomac Riverafter a massive sewer pipe collapse north of Washington, D.C., the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Tuesday.

The millions of gallons of diseased waste polluting the major waterway that winds through the nation's capital is one of the largest sewage spills in U.S. history, according to theUniversity of Maryland.

E.coli bacteria levels in the Potomac were hundreds of times higher than the level the EPA considers safe when the water was tested this week at the site of the spill, officials from utility company DC Water said Tuesday.

Some 243.5 million gallons of raw sewage have poured into the Potomac since the Jan. 19 mishap, DC Water said.

But the waters near the capital city's Georgetown neighborhood fell within the EPA's safety limits when tested on Monday and weren't a risk for gastrointestinal illness and skin infections — largely because the river has been frozen over for weeks.

DC Water has told area residents to avoid the untreated sewage. They urge anyone who comes into contact with the wastewater to leave the area immediately, wash exposed skin thoroughly with soap and clean water, and seek medical attention if symptoms occur.

Montgomery County Fire & Rescue Squad in Maryland is warning their first responders to treat any emergency calls in or near the Potomac River spill site as "Hazmat calls," NBC Washington reports. Responders should wear personal protective equipment during those calls due to the dangerous levels of E. coli and other contaminants in the water.

As for the politics around the water crisis, those continued to be toxic.

"The Potomac Interceptor overflow is a sewage crisis of historic proportion," the EPA said in their first statement on the disaster. "Never should any American family, community, or waterway ever have to experience this level of extensive environmental damage."

The EPA, it said, has "the experience and track record to fulfill President Trump's strong desire to get this mess cleaned up as fast as humanly possible."

But, the EPA says, neither officials in Maryland, where the sewage pipe burst, nor in Washington, D.C., have sought the EPA's help.

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The EPA's claim came on the same day that Trumpposted on Truth Socialthat the spill is "not at all" handled by the federal government and that if the governors of Maryland and Virginia, and the D.C. mayor — all three of whom are Democrats — want federal assistance, they will have to ask "politely" for help.

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore rejected the president's claims and said it was indeed the federal government's responsibility.

"I know this is breaking news to everyone, but the President is not telling the truth," Moore said.

Moore said it's been the job of the federal government to maintain that pipe "for the past century" and that thus far, Maryland's Department of the Environment has been fixing the pipe and cleaning-up the mess while the EPA has done nothing.

"Now that it is essentially 99% contained," Moore said, "the President of the United States is finally realizing that this was his job, and he hasn't been doing it for the past month."

The 54-mile Potomac Interceptor carries about 60 million gallons of wastewater every day from as far away as Dulles Airport in Sterling, Virginia, to the Blue Plains Advanced Wastewater Treatment Plant in Southwest D.C. for treatment.

By Jan. 24, crews from DC Water were able to complete a bypass to reroute wastewater around the collapsed section of pipe and back into the sewer system.

The remaining emergency repairs to the pipe will be complete by mid-March, according to DC Water.

The long-term fixes to ensure that this pipe remains functional in the years to come will take 9 to 10 months, they said.

"The next critical step is to install a steel bulkhead gate later this week to isolate the damaged pipe section,"DC Water said in a statement. "Once the gate is in place, crews will work to pump out any remaining wastewater at the collapse site and start excavation to remove the rock dam that has been blocking inspection and repair."

It's also safe to drink the water in the nation's capital.

"There is no impact to the drinking water supply," DC Water Spokesperson Sherri Lewis told NBC Washington. "The sewer system, the water system are completely separate."

Dozens of abortion clinics closed in the US after the Supreme Court Dobbs decision revoked the federal right to an abortion in June 2022 — mostly in states that enacted bans. But the churn has continued, leaving even states with some of the most protective abortion policies to do more with less.

There were 753 brick-and-mortar abortion clinics in the US at the end of 2025, according toa new reportby the Guttmacher Institute — ​54 fewer than in ​2020, including a net loss of 12 abortion clinics since March 2024.

"Running a clinic in an environment like we have today is oftentimes not sustainable," said ​Brittany Fonteno, president and CEO of the National Abortion Federation. Both financial and community support play critical roles, she said.

In New York, abortion is legal and protected; voters enshrined the right to abortion in the state's constitution in 2024. But the state has eight fewer abortion clinics than it did at the start of 2024, Guttmacher data shows, one of the most significant decreases in that timeframe nationwide.

Among the clinics that closed last year was a Planned Parenthood in New York City, the nonprofit's only location in Manhattan.

The closure was "a big blow," said Chelsea Williams-Diggs, executive director of the New York Abortion Access Fund.

"All clinic closures are a travesty," she said. "But the Planned Parenthood on Bleecker Street was a powerhouse of a clinic that was able to do so much for folks."

Planned Parenthood typically accepts a wider set of insurance coverage than smaller independent clinics can, and locations in New York could often enroll eligible patients in Medicaid on the same day as their appointment. The clinic in Manhattan was also one of a small and shrinking number that provide abortions after the first trimester, which can be particularly expensive.

"That has direct impacts on abortion access and on abortion funds," Williams-Diggs said. "If more folks don't have health insurance, if more folks are strained economically, that means more folks will be calling NYAAF to help them pay for an essential health care service."

In a statement about the closure, the president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Greater New York said that "the gap between inflation and stagnant reimbursement rates has forced us to make difficult but necessary decisions."

Additionalmoves by the Trump administrationhave further strained clinics, including a block on Medicaid reimbursement to large abortion providers. Planned Parenthood closed more than 50 health centers last year, some of which provided abortion care.

Clinics are left with "unsustainable financial realities," said Angela Vasquez-Giroux, vice president of communications for the Planned Parenthood Federation of America.

"When a health center is forced to close, all patients lose access to their trusted provider, and entire communities are left unable to get high-quality reproductive health care, including abortion in many places," she said. "These are not easy decisions to make."

It's important to track changes to the number of brick-and-mortar abortion clinics in the US, said ​Rachel Jones, a principal research scientist with Guttmacher and lead author of the new report. But the overall change in the number of clinics is only one measure of abortion access that can mask a lot of nuance, she said.

"If it's a place that doesn't advertise that they provide abortion care, then it's not really accessible to a lot of people. If it's a place that only takes private health insurance or you have to be a pre-existing client, that's not necessarily going to make abortion care accessible to people," Jones said. "If you want a procedural abortion and they only offer medication abortion then you might still have to travel outside of your community or even to another state to access care."

Since the Dobbs decision, the number of people who travel out-of-state for abortion care each year has doubled — and about a quarter of those who travel go to Illinois.

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The state has become a critical access point for abortion care, welcoming tens of thousands of patients from other states each year — but there are fewer clinics to serve this surge in patients. Illinois had 31 brick-and-mortar abortion clinics at the end of 2025, two fewer than in March 2024, according to the new Guttmacher report.

However, experts say that a strong network of support from the community and policymakers make Illinois particularly resilient. So while number of clinics in the state dropped overall, there were some important additions.

Hope Clinic opened a second location in Illinois last summer, offering abortions up to 34 weeks and other reproductive health care services in the uptown neighborhood of Chicago.

Clinic co-owner Julie Burkhart said that the team started talking about where another clinic might be needed in the country soon after the Dobbs decision, but it took nearly three full years to open their doors in Chicago. About half of that time was spent on construction after purchasing a building.

"We took a look around the country to see where abortion care, specifically later in pregnancy, would be needed and essential for people in this country, and it seemed that Chicago, was the best point for us to locate a new clinic," Burkhart said. "But these projects definitely don't happen overnight."

Telehealth abortion — with medication abortion provided to patients through the mail — has become increasingly common since it first became an option in late 2021.

In the first half of 2025, more than a quarter of all abortions within the US health care system were provided via telehealth, up from less than 10% in the first half of 2023, according todata from #WeCount, a project sponsored by the Society of Family Planning.

But the vast majority of abortions still happen in person, sometimes because of individual preference and sometimes because it's necessary.

And experts say that later abortions that require in-person care are becoming more common amid post-Dobbs restrictions.

"When there are abortion bans and people can't get access to the care they need earlier in pregnancy, that doesn't necessarily stop their need for that care," Fonteno said. "So one of the outcomes of abortion bans is seeing people be pushed further into their pregnancy by the time they get the care that they need, so we are seeing more providers focus on sort of this specialty form of abortion care."

Hope Clinics in Illinois have seen patients from 28 different states, Burkhart said.

"I think that that really illustrates how critical our clinics are," she said.

There is also concern among abortion advocates that the federal government may put new limits on access to medication abortion, which could further strain clinic resources.

The Trump administration isconducting its own reviewabout the safety and efficacy of one of the drugs used in medication abortion to investigate how it can be safely dispensed, despite clinical studies and decades of use that have established the drug's safety and effectiveness.

But providers are already thinking through possible contingency plans, Fonteno said.

"One of the things that is so incredible about abortion providers is that there's a lot of resilience and a lot of energy to continue to innovate and think about different ways to provide care," Fonteno said. "Brick-and-mortar clinics will always have a place in communities across the country."

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Welcome to the fourth edition of our MLB 26-and-under power rankings.

This projectbegan in 2023at FOX Sports and has continued the past two seasons here at Yahoo. It's truly a highlight of our offseason, and we're amped for this year's edition, which provides a thorough assessment of each organization's young talent entering the 2026 season.

Top prospect lists and farm system rankings are useful proxies for forecasting a big-league team's outlook, but those come with notable limitations. Our process expands the scope of evaluation beyond the minor leagues in hopes of painting a broader, more comprehensive picture that includes young hitters and young pitchers already in the majors.

Prospects are prospects for a reason; their value is rooted in projection, not MLB output. By evaluating all players aged 26 and younger, our methodology rewards teams with more proven commodities — players who have actually performed in the majors. Minor leaguers and 2026 rookies are still pivotal parts of the equation, but we believe that placing a stronger emphasis on established major leaguers allows for a more accurate portrayal of teams' young talent bases.

Of course, young talent is merely one component of what wins at the major-league level. The mega-moneyed Los Angeles Dodgers have surged to consecutive World Series titles without significant contributions from 26-and-under talent. They plan to do the same in 2026, and the Dodgers aren't alone in this regard. Having veteran star power is paramount to success. Clubs with higher payrolls also tend to have larger margins for error when building their rosters than those that rely heavily on young players.

But one of the keys to sustained success is accounting for older players' inevitable declines and backfilling those voids with steady waves of homegrown talent. If youngsters thrive upon reaching the bigs, a team can keep its competitive window propped open. As such, this project seeks to capture which clubs have a wealth of players whose best years are either in progress or still in front of them.

Our rankings are the product of a scoring system that assigns each organization a grade in four categories, with higher scores available for the major-league categories:

• Young MLB hitters: scored 0-10; 26-and-under position players and rookie-eligible hitters projected to be on Opening Day rosters

• Young MLB pitchers: scored 0-10; 26-and-under pitchers and rookie-eligible pitchers projected to be on Opening Day rosters

• Prospect hitters: scored 0-5; prospect-eligible position players projected to reach MLB in the next 1-2 years

• Prospect pitchers: scored 0-5; prospect-eligible pitchers projected to reach MLB in the next 1-2 years

Within the prospect categories, our scoring favors teams with players who can be reasonably expected to reach the majors in the near future. The vast majority of prospects included in this project have already reached Double-A, though we made occasional exceptions for elite prospects who could rocket up the ranks in a hurry. Another important note: If a prospect-eligible player is expected to be on a team's Opening Day roster — Nolan McLean, for example — we evaluated them as part of the team's young MLB group rather than with their prospect peers.

All players included as part of these rankings are entering their age-26 seasons or younger, defined by Baseball-Reference as a player's age on June 30, roughly halfway through the regular season. This line of demarcation is particularly relevant in this year's edition of our rankings because of which players "graduated" from eligibility this season — i.e., those who played their age-26 seasons in 2025. That group includes three of the best hitters (Juan Soto, Fernando Tatis Jr., Vladimir Guerrero Jr.) and three of the best pitchers (Garrett Crochet, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Hunter Brown) in the world. That's a staggering amount of impact talent to no longer be included in their respective teams' young cores, and nearly all of those teams dropped substantially in the rankings as a result.

If you want to read more about our methodology, check outlast year's rankings for a deeper explanation.

We're counting down all 30 organizations' 26-and-under talent bases from weakest to strongest, diving into five teams at a time. Below, in addition to the scores for each team in each category, we'll highlight the key players who fall into each bucket and contributed most to their organization's place in the rankings.

Let's begin at the bottom of the list.

30. Colorado Rockies (total score: 9/30) | 2025 rank: 29

Young MLB hitters (4/10):C Hunter Goodman, SS Ezequiel Tovar, OF Jordan Beck, 2B Adael Amador, INF Ryan RitterYoung MLB pitchers (3/10):RHP Chase Dollander, RHP Victor Vodnik, RHP Seth Halvorsen, RHP Juan Mejia, RHP RJ PetitProspect hitters (1/5):1B Charlie Condon, OF Cole Carrigg, OF Zac Veen, OF Jared Thomas, 2B Roc Riggio, SS Ethan HollidayProspect pitchers (1/5):LHP Carson Palmquist, RHP McCade Brown, RHP Brody Brecht, LHP Welinton Herrera, LHP Sean Sullivan

The Rockies ranked dead last in the first two editions of our 26-and-under rankings but managed to avoid the absolute basement a year ago, thanks to some modest gains among the big-league position players and what looked to be a roughly average farm system. But 119 losses later, Colorado is right back at the bottom, as some mildly encouraging progress on the mound in the majors was offset by stagnation on offense and not nearly enough growth among the top prospects. It's worth noting that Colorado accumulated the same total score as division peers San Francisco and San Diego, but it's tough to give the tiebreaker to a team coming off such an abysmal season. As a result, the Rockies are No. 30 once more.

Nevertheless, there are a handful of hitters and pitchers to like here.Hunter Goodmanwas Colorado's All-Star representative last summer, and deservingly so. Catchers with his level of power are rare, and his juice proved potent away from altitude as well: Goodman hit 18 of his 31 homers away from Coors Field, with a solid .801 road OPS to boot. His defense behind the plate needs some polishing, and his shaky plate discipline could yield some lean years with the bat, but he's a hitter to feel good about.Ezequiel Tovar's lack of on-base skills might always limit his offensive ceiling, but his plus glove at shortstop ensures a steady floor as an every-day player.

Even by Coors Field standards, right-handerChase Dollanderwas pummeled to an extreme degree at home as a rookie: He posted a 9.98 ERA in 46 home innings compared to a 3.46 mark in 52 road frames. But his success away from altitude is a reminder that the 24-year-old checks all the boxes from a scouting perspective in terms of what a frontline starter should look and throw like, and he's still capable of achieving his potentialwith the right tweaks. Colorado has also quietly produced a trio of quality, hard-throwing, righty relievers inSeth Halvorsen, Juan MejiaandVictor Vodnik. It's possible none of them will ever pitch in high-leverage for a good Rockies team, but they could soon be highly attractive trade chips.

There are some useful pieces lurking in the upper levels of the minors on both sides of the ball, none of them more important than Colorado's two most recent first-round draft picks,Charlie CondonandEthan Holliday. Having reached Double-A and played in the Arizona Fall League, Condon's progress is a much more pressing concern than that of the teenage Holliday, but both must answer serious questions from evaluators about whether their suspect hit tools will allow for their tremendous raw power to play in games.

No matter what these young players have or have not demonstrated thus far, there's a renewed sense of optimism about their developmentfollowing the complete (and long overdue) overhaul of Colorado's front office. That the Rockies finally sought external front office candidates after decades of insulation was refreshing, and now Paul DePodesta and Josh Byrnes are tasked with ushering the franchise into a new era of modern competence and competitiveness. The organization's wave of coaching hires at both the major- and minor-league levels earned strong reviews from around the league. The 2026 Rockies are still going to lose a whole bunch of ballgames, but there's reason to believe they could move into a much less discouraging spot in these rankings by next year.— J.S.

29. San Diego Padres (total score: 9/30) | 2025 rank: 15

Young MLB hitters (5/10):OF Jackson MerrillYoung MLB pitchers (2/10):RHP David Morgan, RHP Bradgley RodriguezProspect hitters (1/5):C Ethan Salas, OF Tirso OrnelasProspect pitchers (1/5):RHP Miguel Mendez, LHP Kash Mayfield, RHP Garrett Hawkins, RHP Tucker Musgrove, LHP Kruz Schoolcraft

With Fernando Tatis Jr. and impact relievers Jeremiah Estrada and Adrian Morejon aging out of eligibility — and another round of win-now trades last July thinning out the farm system — the Padres have unsurprisingly plummeted in the rankings and were in consideration for the bottom spot. They're saved from bringing up the rear by the presence ofJackson Merrill,who is comfortably the best position player on any of the teams in this tier, giving San Diego a tremendously valuable offensive pillar to build around.

Merrill surged to stardom in 2024while playing a brand-new position in center field and raking for the playoff-bound Padres as a 21-year-old, ultimately finishing runner-up to Paul Skenes in the NL Rookie of the Year race. Further ascension seemed in store for Merrill as a sophomore, but injuries (hamstring, ankle, concussion) waylaid his second season. He was still productive, just not quite the game-changing talent he was as a rookie. 2026 will be a big opportunity for Merrill to reassert himself as one of the brightest young stars in baseball.

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Beyond Merrill, however, this group thins out in a hurry. Like Colorado, San Diego boasts some exciting young relievers, with bothDavid MorganandBradgley Rodriguezdebuting last year in a bullpen already loaded with high-quality, high-leverage arms.Garrett HawkinsandTucker Musgrovemight not be far behind. But as far as young rotation candidates go, there's very little to be found outside ofMiguel Mendez,who has promise but finished last season with an 8.06 ERA across six starts in Double-A. It's no accident the Padres just signed German Marquez, Griffin Canning and Walker Buehler in a matter of days. The most promising mound talent in the system is found at the lower levels, headlined by the team's two most recent first-round picks, teenage left-handersKash MayfieldandKruz Schoolcraft.

Somehow still only 19 years old,Ethan Salashas been on the prospect radar for a while now. A nearly unprecedented and ultra-accelerated promotion pace pushed the catcher all the way to Double-A as a 17-year-old, but back injuries and struggles at the plate have stalled his development. His top-tier defense remains his calling card, and we should always be patient with catching prospects, but at some point, Salas will need to start hitting to still be considered a viable candidate to be a franchise backstop.— J.S.

28. San Francisco Giants (total score: 9/30) | 2025 rank: 24

Young MLB hitters (3/10):OF Heliot Ramos, OF Drew Gilbert, 1B/DH Bryce Eldridge, OF Luis Matos, OF Grant McCray, C Daniel SusacYoung MLB pitchers (1/10):RHP Hayden Birdsong, RHP Randy RodriguezProspect hitters (2/5):OF Bo Davidson, OF Dakota Jordan, 1B/OF Parks Harber, 2B Gavin Kilen, SS Josuar Gonzalez, 2B Nate FurmanProspect pitchers (3/5):LHP Carson Whisenhunt, RHP Blade Tidwell, RHP Will Bednar, RHP Trevor McDonald, LHP Joe Whitman, LHP Jacob Bresnahan

What are the Buster Posey-run Giants good at? (Besides acquiring Rafael Devers, which, unfortunately, is not a repeatable skill.) So far, the answer is unclear, though the dearth of talent in this organization is mostly a problem that predates Posey's tenure. This will be a big year for him and the organization.

Let's start withBryce Eldridge,upon whose shoulders much of San Francisco's future rests. Built like an NBA wing, the 21-year-old first baseman debuted in September and looked overmatched in a small sample. But that burnt cup of coffee doesn't change Eldrige's projection. This guy has deafening raw power, top-of-the-charts stuff in the Joey Gallo mold and more bat-to-ball feel than your typical long-ball donkey. Still, dudes built like Eldridge — limbs for days, fresh out of the "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" stretch machine — often struggle with elevated fastballs. If he makes enough contact, Eldridge will be an All-Star. Barry Bonds' splash hit record (35) is definitely in play. But as with all first baseman, the bar is incredibly high.

Beyond that, it's an underwhelming bunch.Heliot Ramoswas an All-Star in 2024, but he has proven himself to be a dreadful defender in left and merely average with the stick. That's not a cornerstone piece on a championship team.Drew Gilbertis a maniac andgreat TikTok fodder, but a lack of juice has him on the fourth-outfielder track.Daniel Susacmight be a capable backup catcher.

Things aren't much better on the bump, as the Giants were one of just three teams to receive a measly one out of 10 for their young MLB pitchers.Randy Rodriguezwas an All-Star last season, surrendering just four earned runs across the entire first half (!!), but he blew out in August and will miss the entire 2026 season. He's also a reliever and, thus, more volatile than a meme coin.Hayden Birdsonghad a 2.31 ERA out of the 'pen last season (good) and a 6.17 ERA out of the rotation (not good), so it's doubtful he'll evolve into an impact starter.

There are, however, some encouraging signs down on the farm, mostly in the lower levels.Josuar Gonzalezis only 18 years old and has yet to play stateside baseball, but he might just be The Next Great Dominican Shortstop. A year from now, he could easily be a top-10 prospect in all of the minors.Bo Davidson,an undrafted center fielder from a North Carolina community college, is an amazing story, but he hasn't yet proved he can hit upper-minors arms. Second basemanGavin Kilenwas the 13th pick last year, and he should move relatively quickly as a high-floor, low-ceiling, Joe Panik type.

On the pitching side, not a single Giants farmhand was ranked in the top 100 by any of the major outlets, but there's some solid depth here.Carson Whisenhunt'sunicorn changeup will propel him to an impact role of some sort, but it's most likely in the bullpen.Trevor McDonald,BladeTidwellandJoe Whitmanare back-end types.WillBednaris a reliever.Jacob Bresnahanis an arrow-up starter to get excited about, but the 20-year-old hasn't yet pitched above low-A.

On the whole, it's hard to believe there's enough talent here to supplement San Francisco's current core of Devers, Willy Adames, Matt Chapman and Logan Webb. For the Giants to even think about chasing down the Dodgers in the next few years, Eldridge needs to be an absolute monster. But even that might not be enough, particularly if Posey and Co. don't uncover an impact arm or two.— J.M.

27. Houston Astros (total score: 10/30) | 2025 rank: 21

Young MLB hitters (2/10):OF Zach Cole, OF Cam Smith, OF Zach DezenzoYoung MLB pitchers (4/10):RHP Mike Burrows, RHP Spencer Arrighetti, Roddery MuñozProspect hitters (2/5):OF Brice Matthews, OF Joseph Sullivan, C Walker Janek, OF Lucas Spence, OF Ethan FreyProspect pitchers (2/5):RHP Miguel Ullola, RHP AJ Blubaugh, RHP Ethan Pecko, RHP Bryce Mayer

For the Astros, 2025 was the end of an era. For the first time since 2016, Houston spent October at home, on vacation or caring too much about the Texans. Injuries damned the team all season, but the organization's inability to fill the gaps with homegrown players was a major factor in Houston's late-season collapse.

Is the Jose Altuve-Yordan Alvarez-Carlos Correa Era truly over? That depends, a great deal, on the fortunes ofCam Smith.Acquired in the Kyle Tucker blockbuster last winter, Smith wowed his way through spring trainingand onto the Opening Day roster, despite being less than a year removed from draft day. Mauricio Dubón, with a straight face, referred to him as "a 60-homer guy." And through three months, the hulking slugger held his own, finishing June with a .776 OPS and better outfield defense than expected. Then the wheels fell off, with Smith going 38-for-202 in the second half, with just two homers. By mid-September, he was starting only a few games a week.

Getting Smith back on track will be crucial to Houston's chances in 2026 and beyond. Hopefully, his aggressive assignment last spring didn't stunt his development, and he starts pulling the ball in the air more often to take advantage of his big power. It's hard to blame him too much for his rough second half, considering that 2025 was the longest season of his life by a wide margin. We still like Smith — but more as a regular than the perennial All-Star he was being billed as a year ago.

Zach Coleis a very fun, very out-of-nowhere, late bloomer who might get a chance at a regular role if the Astros don't add an outfielder before Opening Day. A 10th-round pick out of Ball State in 2022, he climbed his way up the minor-league ladder before breaking out with a massive 2025 in which he OPSed .917 and earned himself an MLB call-up. Cole has a long swing and might punch out too much to profile as an every-day dude, but there's real bat speed and real juice here.

On the mound,Mike Burrows,acquired from Pittsburgh over the winter, andSpencer Arrighetti, who missed a lot of 2025 due to injuries, kept Houston out of the cellar. Both guys project as mid-rotation arms, which is rarer than you'd expect for 26-and-unders.

This farm, unfortunately, is in very dire straits. The Astros were the only organization to not have a single prospect rank in the top 100 of any major prospect publications. That's hard to do and a chilling reminder that Houston's farm is squarely bottom-three. Trading away Jacob Melton and Anderson Brito for Burrows was a reasonable use of prospect capital, but the lack of reinforcements in the upper minors is striking. We likeBrice Matthews,but it's hard to see him getting playing time at second base, barring an Altuve injury.

It's worth noting that the upcoming draft will be absolutely crucial for the Astros. Thanks to Hunter Brown finishing top-three in Cy Young and Framber Valdez leaving in free agency, Houston has four picks in the top 93 and its largest draft bonus pool in years. That presents a rare opportunity to replenish the system, one that Houston's leadership group must take full advantage of. Otherwise, the next half-decade could be pretty bleak at Daikin Park.— J.M.

26. Philadelphia Phillies (total score: 10/30) | 2025 rank: 30

Young MLB hitters (2/10):INF/OF Otto Kemp, OF Justin Crawford, OF Johan RojasYoung MLB pitchers (2/10):RHP Orion Kerkering, RHP Andrew PainterProspect hitters (4/5):SS Aidan Miller, OF Gabriel Rincones Jr., 2B Aroon Escobar, 1B Keaton Anthony, OF Dylan CampbellProspect pitchers (2/5):RHP Moises Chace, RHP Gage Wood, RHP Jean Cabrera, RHP Alex McFarlane

The 2025 Phillies were, by many measures, the oldest team in MLB. No other club had a lineup and a pitching staff with an average age of 30 or older. This winter, president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski has received a barrage of criticism for opting to "run it back." But the 2026 Phillies, for better or worse, should be much younger than the previous model.

That's mostly due toAndrew PainterandJustin Crawford, a pair of yet-to-debut 22-year-olds projected to make the big-league club out of spring training.Painterhas long been considered one of the sport's top pitching prospects, but two seasons lost to Tommy John and a statistically underwhelming 2025 have lessened his sheen. Still, the Phillies clearly believe in him; the club didn't replace Ranger Suárez this winter, clearing the way for Painter to earn a rotation spot. They're hoping a normal offseason will help him rediscover his old arm slot — it dropped over the course of 2025 — and establish himself as a rotation stalwart.

Crawford, the son of longtime big-league outfielder Carl Crawford, is one of the game's most unique prospects. In the box, he's a groundball machine, a true danger to both bugs and blades of grass. But this is no slap hitter; Crawford's exit velocities are genuinely good. It's just … usually … the ball is earthbound after contact. If he were a no-doubt elite center fielder, his odd offensive profile would be less concerning, but Crawford, despite plus-plus speed, is closer to solid than great out in the grass. He's going to start in center on Opening Day for the Phillies and will surely take some lumps in his rookie season, but he could develop into an All-Star-level player if he learns how to lift the baseball.

The other big-league youngsters are supplementary types.Orion Kerkering,his unfortunate October yeet for the ages aside, is a dependable, controllable, back-end reliever.OttoKempwill get regular playing time against southpaws and could emerge as a legitimate weak-side platoon option.JohanRojasprobably missed his window in Philadelphia; the glovesmith got a chance to play every day for stretches of 2023, '24 and '25 but never progressed as a hitter.

The last character to focus on isAidan Miller,a consensus top-15 prospect. His power-speed combo is very rare for a shortstop, even though many evaluators have him pegged as a below-average option at the position. Despite being young for the level, the 21-year-old popped 13 homers and swiped 52 bags in Double-A last year. Miller is an advanced hitter for his age, though his pull-heavy approach — his 50.5% pull rate last year would've placed him seventh among qualified MLBers — leaves him susceptible to breaking balls away from him. Still, this is, at worst, a big-league regular who should debut at some point this season and eventually supplant Alec Bohm as the Phillies' every-day third baseman.— J.M.