Cubs’ offseason prize Jon Lester, who missed a Cactus League start last week with the commonplace “dead-arm” syndrome, is all right. In fact, he us much better than that, writes columnist Mike Bauman.

Good news here, good news there. Young players emerging. Yeah, even some not named Kris Bryant. Veteran players reproving themselves. Did you see the home run Miguel Cabrera belted Thursday afternoon? That’s the thing about baseball’s best players and one of the best things about Spring Training. They amaze us even when the games don’t count.

Anthony DeSlanafi appeared headed to the Reds rotation after his stellar outing against the Rangers on Wednesday night.

Young Mariners right-hander Taijuan Walker hurled six more scoreless innings Wednesday, and catcher Mike Zunino hit his fourth home run of the spring as Seattle defeated the Cubs, 3-2, in a night game at Peoria Stadium.

Starlin Castro went 1-for-3 as he returned to the Cubs’ lineup Wednesday after missing five days because of tightness in his right groin, and the shortstop is eager to play 162 games this season.

It’s hard to imagine Taijuan Walker pitching much better or doing much more to impress in his battle for the Mariners’ fifth-starter position, but the 22-year-old insists there’s more in the tank even after running his scoreless streak to 18 innings this spring in Wednesday night’s 3-2 victory over the Cubs.

Royals third-base coach Mike Jirschele and his son, Justin, a White Sox Minor Leaguer, exchanged lineup cards Wednesday night and saw each other from opposing dugouts.

Every Spring Training, general managers have to deal with major dilemmas regarding top prospects: Do you bring them north because you think they give you the best chance to win now, or do you let them simmer in the Minors to work on some areas of improvement, while also keeping their service time in check?

Carlos Rodon, the club’s top prospect, struck out nine over four scoreless innings as the White Sox silenced the Royals for a 6-0 spring victory Wednesday night at Surprise Stadium. Avisail Garcia contributed a solo home run and Keon Barnum added a three-run shot.

The theme of today’s Spring Training games will be “aces,” as some of the game’s most dominant arms — including Clayton Kershaw — will take the mound in Grapefruit and Cactus League action.

Dodgers starting pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu said he wasn’t surprised doctors discovered no new damage to his left shoulder in an MRI earlier this week.

Cubs top prospect Kris Bryant will get to play the outfield on Thursday. Bryant has played third base and was the designated hitter while limited because of fatigue in his right shoulder in Cactus League games so far. He’s been doing outfield drills this week with bench coach Dave Martinez, and Cubs manager Joe Maddon said Wednesday that the plan is to have Bryant try left field.

The Dodgers have reached 3 million tickets sold for the 2015 season, the earliest date in franchise history they have reached that mark. The milestone was reached one week earlier than a year ago, which was the previous franchise record.

Edwin Jackson’s misdirection didn’t go over too well with Cubs manager Joe Maddon. Jackson went to the wrong ballpark for his start on Tuesday because he followed the directions on his Google Map app, which sent him to Phoenix Municipal Stadium. The trouble is, the game was being played at Hohokam Stadium, just 3.6 miles from where the Cubs train.

Giants manager Bruce Bochy insisted he’s not worried about his club’s rising total of defeats, which has assured San Francisco of its first sub-.500 preseason record since 2008 (9-23).

The Angels aren’t preparing for life after Josh Hamilton. Thanks to Matt Joyce, they’re feeling as good as they can while facing an uncertain situation, writes columnist Phil Rogers.

Right-hander Yordano Ventura, who had a breakout season for the Royals in 2014, will start on Opening Day on April 6 against Jeff Samardzija and the White Sox.