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TAMPA, Fla. — The potential the New York Yankees see in Spencer Jones, the towering top prospect who reminds many of a certain giant outfielder, was obvious in the first and last swings he took during his time in major league camp this spring.

The first, in the Yankees’ exhibition opener on Feb. 24, produced a mammoth 470-foot home run. The last, two weeks later, was an inside-out cut on a pitch darting under his hands that the left-handed slugger deposited the other way, down the left-field line. He glided into second base for a double.

Massive raw power? Check. Elite speed? Check. Bat-to-ball skills? Improving.

“He’s such a presence and such a dynamic athlete,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said after Jones slashed that double. “And in a lot of ways he’s just kind of scratching the surface on his baseball career.”

That feeling permeates the organization, from the clubhouse to the owner’s suite. The 6-foot-6 Jones is an unusual blend of power, size and speed the team envisions clubbing home runs over the short porch at Yankee Stadium and stealing bases deep into October. The Yankees firmly believe the 22-year-old is a future star. It’s why he is still in the organization.

The Yankees could have made Jones the centerpiece in a major trade in recent months — even just this week — to improve a roster in win-now mode for the 2024 season. But team brass is so convinced of Jones’ talents that he has been deemed virtually untouchable.

In December, the Yankees acquired Juan Soto from the San Diego Padres without including Jones in the package. Last month, the Milwaukee Brewers sent former Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burnes to division rival Baltimore Orioles after the Yankees reportedly refused to include Jones in a deal.

This week, despite news that reigning American League Cy Young winner Gerrit Cole would miss at least the start of the season with an elbow injury, the Yankees refused to part with Jones in a trade for Dylan Cease. The Chicago White Sox instead shipped Cease to the Padres on Wednesday.

Starting pitching remains the Yankees’ biggest concern heading into Opening Day. Moving Jones, who isn’t expected to contribute to the big league team this season, could have helped address it. The Yankees wouldn’t budge.

“It’s cool to be held in that sense, or that regard,” Jones said. “Like my buddies from back home that are big baseball fans, they’ll send me all the stuff because I’m not seeing it.”

The Yankees re-assigned Jones to minor league camp earlier this month, and he is expected to begin the season in Double-A. He’s on the Yankees’ Spring Breakout roster for an all-prospects showcase on Saturday against the Toronto Blue Jays.

But the Yankees project him in the Bronx by 2025, stationed in center field for years to come. That would require him living up to the hype.

Jones batted .267 with 16 home runs and 43 steals in 117 games — including 101 starts in center field — between High-A and Double-A in his first full professional season. He struck out 155 times, and the 16 home runs were a bit underwhelming for someone with his power. But the performance still raised expectations.

ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel recently listed Jones as baseball’s 56th-best prospect. Last month, Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner named Jones as one of three prospects, along with pitchers Will Warren and Chase Hampton, he is “hesitant to give up.”

“Plus run and power on a tremendous frame,” one rival scout said. “But, with that big frame and strength, comes some overall stiffness. The swing is naturally on the longer side, but he does have enough bat speed to give him a chance.”

The similarities between Jones and Aaron Judge are hard to ignore. There’s the abnormal height for baseball players — Judge is 6-7, just an inch taller than Jones. Both, despite their size, can comfortably patrol center field. Both have huge power. Both were Yankees first-round picks out of college.

There are differences. For one, Jones both throws and hits left-handed. Secondly, he boasts elite speed. Judge noted that Jones was up there with shortstop Anthony Volpe as the fastest Yankees in camp.

Of course, Judge has grown into one of baseball’s most productive power hitters in recent history, while Jones is still trying to turn his tools into consistent production.

“I know this sounds hyperbolic, but Jones has louder tools than Judge,” another rival scout said. “Jones is just a freak of nature.”

Then there’s the fact that Jones, unlike Judge, is seen by the Yankees as an everyday center fielder from Day 1 as a major leaguer. That alone would be a feat, considering the thin history of exceptionally tall guys at that position.

Only 11 players 6-6 or taller have ever played the position in the major leagues. Judge, the Yankees’ center fielder this season, just so happens to be one of them.

“I think it’s unfair for him to be compared to anybody because he’s so unique,” Judge said. “He’s such a different hitter than me. I think he’s a different athlete than me. Like he’s exceptional, man. I wish I had that speed.”

Jones focused on hitting as a star at La Costa Canyon High School outside San Diego. Then, near the end of his high school career, he became a two-way player. In six months, he said, his fastball jumped from 86 to 94 mph. A 6-6 high school southpaw throwing 94 mph? Scouts salivated.

“We’d have scout meetings my senior year of high school and they would all talk to me as if I was a pitcher,” Jones said. “And I honestly didn’t like that that much. Because I was like pitching was one thing I did, but I really liked to hit.”

Spencer’s ascent hit a snag when he fractured his elbow throwing a curveball during a game in his senior year. Major league clubs, as a result, weren’t willing to meet his bonus price. He sank all the way to the 31st round in the 2019 MLB draft, where he was selected by the Los Angeles Angels. Instead, he went to Vanderbilt.

He was given three gloves when he arrived in Nashville — one for pitching and one for the outfield, plus a first baseman’s mitt. He began as a first baseman in 2020, but he couldn’t make basic throws. He had the yips.

“I just never rehabbed [my arm] right,” Jones said. “It was a simple rehab, there was just some miscommunication.”

COVID shortened the 2020 season, which allowed Jones to properly rehab the arm. He resumed pitching that summer but tore his ulnar collateral ligament and underwent Tommy John surgery. That was it for him on the mound.

“I was always more of a thrower than I was a pitcher,” Jones said. “But it was kind of an identity crisis. I didn’t know what I was going to be better at. After the UCL, it was like, ‘All right, let’s put all our eggs in the hitting basket. We’re not going to pitch anymore.'”

After DHing his sophomore season, he asked to move to the outfield as a junior to, as he put it, “lengthen out my arm again.” Once they saw him there, he stayed — and took off.

Jones hit .370 with 12 home runs, 14 steals and a 1.103 OPS in 61 games as Vanderbilt’s everyday right fielder. It was his first full healthy season focused solely on hitting since his junior year of high school. The breakout prompted the Yankees to select him with the 25th pick in the 2022 MLB draft and pay him a $2,880,800 bonus.

Less than two years later, Jones was mashing baseballs and turning heads in big league camp.

“Impressive was the first word that comes to mind,” Yankees hitting coach James Rowson said.

It took one swing for Jones to show why the hoopla surrounding him exists. Baseballs smashed 470 feet are rare. Center fielders that tall — and fast — are rarer. The Yankees are betting this is just the beginning.

“I feel I’m still developing as a hitter,” Jones said. “There’s still a million things I can learn. I’m not set in my ways. I’m only 22 years old.”

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Isles win draft lottery for first time since ’09

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Isles win draft lottery for first time since '09

SECAUCUS, N.J. — The New York Islanders won the NHL draft lottery on Monday night, moving up 10 spots to make the league’s first live televised drawing a memorable one.

“It was dramatic,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman told ESPN after the drawing. “It worked the way it was supposed to in terms of the process. But the result was unpredictable.”

The Islanders had a 3.5% chance of securing the first pick entering the draft, the 10th-best odds out of the 16 teams in the lottery. It’s the fifth time in franchise history that the Islanders will select first, and the first time since they picked center John Tavares in 2009. Other first overall picks for New York were forward Billy Harris (1972), defenseman Denis Potvin (1973) and goalie Rick DiPietro (2000).

“The hockey gods smiled on us. I can’t tell you how thrilled I am for Islander fans, for our ownership, for the entire Islander organization,” Islanders director of pro scouting Ken Morrow said.

The Islanders’ jump from 10th to first is the biggest involving a team winning the No. 1 selection. It comes after the last-place team won the lottery to retain the first pick in four of the past five years.

Boston College forward James Hagens, a Long Island native, is one of the top prospects available in the 2025 NHL draft, scheduled for L.A. Live’s Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on June 27-28.

Two drawings were held, the first to determine the No. 1 pick followed by the No. 2 selection. Only the bottom 11 teams in the standings were eligible to land the first pick due to a rule restricting teams to moving up no more than 10 spots in the draft order. Each drawing selected a four-number combination that had been assigned to a team before the draft, with balls drawn at 30-second increments. There were 1,001 possible combinations.

The San Jose Sharks entered the day with the best odds, 18.5%, to win the lottery and a 25.5% chance of landing the No. 1 choice for the second straight season, having selected center Macklin Celebrini first in 2024. Celebrini joined Montreal defenseman Lane Hutson and Calgary Flames goalie Dustin Wolf as finalists for the Calder Trophy for NHL rookie of the year, as announced on Monday.

The Sharks settled for the second pick in 2025 after the Utah Hockey Club won the second lottery draw, moving up from 14th to No. 4 overall. The Chicago Blackhawks had the second-best chances to win the lottery and will pick third. The Nashville Predators had no lottery luck — despite having the third-best odds, they drop to the fifth pick.

The drama was amplified in this season’s lottery as the NHL televised the drawing live from the NHL Network studios for the first time in the event’s 30-year history. Previously, the drawing was held in a sequestered room at the facility, with deputy commissioner Bill Daly revealing each draft position by flipping over a stack of cards on television.

“It’s basically the same thing that I do when we’d pretape it and Bill would reveal it. For me, it’s the same. It’s a little different for Bill. He doesn’t have to flip the cards over now,” Bettman said.

The NHL decided to make the drawing live because it drew more fan bases into the excitement of the first overall pick than the previous format. Before the Islanders won the lottery, seven teams still had a shot at the first overall selection: The Blackhawks, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins and the Islanders each had two balls that would win them the lottery, while the Sharks, Seattle Kraken and Buffalo Sabres each had one.

“It gave those teams and those fan bases hope going into that final. To me, that was what this was all about: To keep hope alive all the way until the end,” Steve Mayer, the NHL’s chief content officer, said.

There was plenty of drama before the final ball was drawn, too. The NHL partnered with SportsMEDIA Technology (SMT) to create real-time odds adjustments after every ball was selected. When No. 7 was selected as the first ball in the first drawing, the Sharks’ odds spiked to 20.6%, while the Calgary Flames were eliminated. When No. 11 was taken second, the Sharks went up to 24.3% while four other teams were eliminated. When No. 12 was selected third, that’s when things took a turn: The Sharks’ chances dropped to 9.1%, the Predators and New York Rangers were eliminated and suddenly both the Penguins (9th) and the Islanders (10th) had an 18.2% chance at the first overall pick.

“This was the idea from the beginning. If we’re going to do this, we have to know after the first ball what the percentages are and who’s out. We need to know after the second ball and the third. We need to know going into the last ball what every team needs,” Mayer said.

“I said, ‘Can somebody way smarter than me figure this out?’ And that’s what they end up doing.”

At last year’s draft lottery, the NHL did a very rough run-through of what a live lottery draw might look like. Mayer sent that video to Bettman and Daly before the live broadcast as a way to present the run of show, with MLB Network employees having stood in for the commissioner and deputy commissioner.

Were there any concerns? “Steve said a hundred percent guaranteed, no problem. And his track record on putting on events, outdoor games, All-Star Games and the draft is impeccable. So we rely on his assurance,” Bettman said.

The NHL was pleased with the event after its completion, both in creating a more dramatic viewing experience and in the technology working. Bettman said there would be a debriefing among the league’s staffers but anticipated the format would return next season. That’s when the drama will really get amplified, when 17-year-old phenom Gavin McKenna of Medicine Hat in the Western Hockey League is expected to be the first pick.

“All the lotteries are important, and they all get the same treatment, in terms of how seriously we treat them,” Bettman said. “We can be a little lighthearted talking about how this [live drawing] came about, but in the final analysis, we had to get comfortable that this was a process with unquestionable integrity.”

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Maple Leafs’ Stolarz injured, exits in 2nd period

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Maple Leafs' Stolarz injured, exits in 2nd period

TORONTO — Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz exited midway through the second period of Game 1 of his team’s second-round Eastern Conference series matchup against the Florida Panthers on Monday after taking an elbow to the head from forward Sam Bennett.

There was no penalty called on the play. Stolarz was replaced by backup Joseph Woll. He had made eight saves on nine shots before leaving while Toronto raced out to a 4-1 lead over its Atlantic Division rival.

On the game broadcast, during the third period, ESPN’s Emily Kaplan reported that a source said Stolarz had vomited on the bench before exiting for the locker room. The team made the official announcement that he wouldn’t return during the second intermission.

Stolarz started all six playoff games for Toronto against the Ottawa Senators in their first-round series victory, recording a 4-2 record with a .902 save percentage and a 2.21 goals-against average.

The 31-year-old veteran, who was the Panthers’ backup last season for Sergei Bobrovsky on their run to a Stanley Cup victory, was the Maple Leafs’ backbone in net throughout the regular season. He sat out some time after a midseason knee surgery but was an impressive 21-8-3 with .926 save percentage and a 2.14 GAA.

Woll took over starting duties when Stolarz was out during the regular season. He posted a 27-14-1 record with a.909 save percentage and a 2.73 GAA.

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Five-star QB Jared Curtis to Georgia: How he fits and what’s next

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Five-star QB Jared Curtis to Georgia: How he fits and what's next

Five-star quarterback Jared Curtis, the No. 5 prospect in the 2026 ESPN 300, announced his commitment to the Georgia Bulldogs over the Oregon Ducks Monday, capping the most consequential recruitment to date in the 2026 cycle.

Curtis, who decommitted from Georgia this past October, is the No. 1 overall quarterback in the 2026 class. The 6-foot-4, 225-pound passer from Nashville took trips to both Georgia and Oregon earlier this spring. Sources told ESPN that Curtis held in-home visits with offensive coordinators Mike Bobo (Georgia) and Will Stein (Oregon) last week and had conversations with both programs on Sunday afternoon prior to making his decision.

Curtis’ return to the Bulldogs’ 2026 class marks a crucial recruiting victory for coach Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs’ staff. Curtis now lands as the highest-ranked of four ESPN 300 pledges in the program’s incoming class, a collection of talent that will surely grow this summer as Georgia contends for a 10th consecutive top-three signing class. If he signs later this year, Curtis will arrive as the program’s third highest-ranked quarterback pledge in the ESPN recruiting era, trailing only Justin Fields (No. 1 overall in 2018) and Matt Stafford (No. 5 in 2006).

With his pledge, Curtis cements his place as the potential quarterback of the future in Athens behind expected starter Gunner Stockton, redshirt freshman Ryan Puglisi and 2025 signees Ryan Montgomery and Hezekiah Millender. Oregon, meanwhile, returns to the quarterback market in search of a 2026 passer after missing out on a coveted target in Curtis.

Here’s what you need to know about the most consequential commitment in 2026 cycle this spring as the busy recruiting season of late-May and June enters the horizon:

What makes Curtis so good?

Curtis has supreme arm talent, ideal measurables and a competitive temperament. He has ideal measurables and good speed given his size and is a better athlete than he gets credit for. What we like best is his natural arm power, velocity, and ability to change arm angles. He’s a flexible thrower who can make off-platform throws look easy because he can find alternative ways to get the ball out without losing power or strength. He’s a crafty runner who can extend plays and get out of trouble.

If there is a concern, it would be the level of competition he faces at Nashville Christian, a 2A private school. He has yet to be truly challenged against elite competition throughout his high school career to this point. He is always the best player on the field. That being said, he has a winning mentality, likes to compete, and has abilities that can’t be coached. — Tom Luginbill


Who does he compare to?

When looking at current college players, Curtis, while much bigger, compares most to LSU Tigers QB Garrett Nussmeier. Their skillsets are eerily similar. They are both gunslingers, have live arms and things don’t have to be perfect for them to still make a play. Both players play the game with supreme confidence and make players around them better.

In Athens, Curtis can play like Stetson Bennett did in his last two seasons in college. Like Bennett, Curtis can use his legs, acumen, resourcefulness, and accuracy to lead this team. Unlike Bennett, Curtis is bigger and has a stronger arm. — Luginbill


What does the team’s QB roster look like now?

Curtis joins a QB room with highly rated prospects with limited experience on the field. Gunner Stockton was the fifth-rated dual-threat QB in the 2022 class and filled in admirably late last year for an injured Carson Beck.

In all likelihood, Stockton will be the starter in Athens over the next two seasons. However, Ryan Puglisi is uber-talented and will also push for the starting job in 2025 and UGA signed two QBs in the 2025 class. The reality is that this decision, if Curtis signs in December, will likely lead to at least one or more players entering the transfer portal. — Luginbill


What’s next for Oregon and Georgia’s recruiting classes?

Round 2 between the Bulldogs and Ducks comes May 13 when five-star offensive tackle Jackson Cantwell announces his commitment. No. 3 in the 2026 ESPN 300, Cantwell will visit both programs in the closing stages of his recruitment, and he certainly won’t be the last elite prospect the two powerhouses battle over, either.

Curtis’ commitment gives Smart and Co. a cornerstone pledge in the 2026 cycle. With the No. 1 overall passer in hand, Georgia will work to build around him. Top running back prospect Derrek Cooper (No. 7 in the 2026 ESPN) and four-star rusher Savion Hiter (No. 27) are a pair of priority targets at another position of need, as is in-state rusher Jae Lamar (No. 129). Five-star end Kaiden Prothro (No. 19 overall) could be the next piece in Georgia’s stellar tight end pipeline, and five-star offensive tackle Immanuel Iheanacho (No. 12) will be on campus for an official visit later this month.

On defense, the Bulldogs remain firmly in the mix for top linebacker Tyler Atkinson (No. 13) and No. 1 athlete Brandon Arrington (No. 14), as well as top-50 defensive backs Jireh Edwards (No. 30), Justice Fitzpatrick (No. 42) and Chauncey Kennon (No. 49).

Oregon whiffed on Curtis, but with multiple years of eligibility for third-year passers Dante Moore and Austin Novosad — paired with the arrival of four-star freshman Akili Smith Jr. — the Ducks don’t have to sign a quarterback in the 2026 class.

Oregon has been in contact with five-star Houston quarterback pledge Keisean Henderson (No. 16 overall) this spring. But the Ducks’ top non-Curtis quarterback target is four-star passer Ryder Lyons (No. 50), who intends to take a mission trip following his senior year and would not join Oregon until 2027. Given the program’s lack of an immediate need at the position, Lyons — the nation’s No. 5 quarterback prospect — could be an especially good fit in 2026.

Other top targets for the Ducks this cycle include: Iheanacho, Atkinson, Arrington, defensive end Richard Wesley (No. 18), safety Jett Washington (No. 22) and tight end Mark Bowman (No. 24). — Eli Lederman


How does this affect the QB dominoes?

As noted, Oregon doesn’t have to sign a QB in this cycle, but with Curtis off the board, the Ducks should still be a major player across the seven months between now and the early signing period.

That could hold significant ramifications for Houston if the Ducks up their efforts to flip Henderson. It could also impact USC and BYU if Oregon turns its full attention to Lyons this summer. The Ducks could look toward other quarterbacks across the country, too.

Alongside Oregon, Alabama, Auburn, Florida State, LSU, North Carolina, Ohio State, Ole Miss and South Carolina stand among the top programs still active in the quarterback market this spring.

However, as of May 5, only four of the 18 quarterbacks ranked inside the 2026 ESPN 300 remain uncommitted. With Curtis now committed, expect the recruitments of those remaining quarterbacks to pick up steam in the coming months.

Lyons is set for June officials with BYU, USC and Oregon. Ole Miss remains the front-runner for Duckworth, who also holds heavy interest from Auburn, Florida State and South Carolina. Bowe Bentley (No. 264) will get to Georgia, LSU and Oklahoma later this spring, while former Purdue pledge Oscar Rios (No. 193) will take official trips to Virginia Tech, Utah, Arizona and Colorado after an April visit to Oklahoma State. — Lederman

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