Like the other co-winner of the Best Pitcher honors at the 2026 New Balance Baseball Future Stars Series Main Event, Reid Traeger earned his way to Target Field through his performance during a July workout in Houston. A Rice commit, the six-foot-one, 200-pound righty delivered a mostly dazzling outing in a big-league setting, and appeared on the data leaderboards with both spin rate on the breaking ball and changeup over the course of his time on the mound.
Scouts like the the overall four-pitch mix here — fastball, curveball, slider, change — and the ability to locate all of them, but would like to see more separation in shape between the two breaking balls. They see Traeger as an innings eater with a bulldog mentality who will garner some pro interest as he continues on his development path.
About New Balance Future Stars Series
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Since 2003, he has six World Series and has worked high-profile events ranging from the MLB All-Star Game to the World Baseball Classic. In addition to his role working for the Future Stars Series that he's held since 2017, Ashmore currently serves as the beat writer of the Double-A New York Yankees affiliate, the Somerset Patriots, as well as national hockey writer and New York Jets game day beat reporter for The Trentonian.
A regular contributor to Baseball America, Ashmore has worked eight Super Bowls, 13 Stanley Cup Finals, the 4 Nations Face-Off, the NBA Playoffs, the NCAA D1 Men's Basketball Tournament, College Football Playoff National Championship Game, Frozen Four, Daytona 500, major UFC events and much more as he approaches 3,300 games covered in his career.
An avid trading card enthusiast and motorsports fan, he lives with his wife, Sarah, their son, future No. 1 overall draft pick in 2042, William, their beloved dog, Bailey, and occasionally well-behaved cat, Smokey.
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