Rain wiped out eight games scheduled in Florida, including LHP Andy Pettitte’s scheduled 2010 debut for the Yankees.
Teams are at the point where they don’t even make a pretense of trying to get a decision in games. The two ties both ended after nine innings: the Angels and Indians 7-7 and the Royals and Mariners 6-6. In the LA/Anaheim-Cleveland game, Angels C Mike Napoli hit his fourth homer this spring. We considered Napoli for last year’s Derrek Lee Award, and we still feel he could do some breaking out. When Kansas City and Seattle played, Royals 1B prospect Kila Ka’aihue hit his second HR.
In the Rangers’ 6-2 victory over the Padres, Texas 1B Chris Davis followed Thursday’s 4-for-4 effort with three hits. Slimmed-down LHP Matt Harrison pitched three scoreless innings. RHP prospect Tanner Scheppers – who has been the talk of the back fields in Surprise, Ariz. – didn’t allow a run in his inning for the Rangers even though he gave up three hits.
The Cubs and White Sox met on neutral ground in Las Vegas, with the Cubs winning 6-5. Danger: Will Robinson! With an umpire named Will Robinson behind the plate, each team’s pitchers walked seven batters. Looking for speed? Cubs SS Ryan Theriot stole two bases, giving him four this spring. He stole one each against rookie Cs Tyler Flowers and Donny Lucy.
Another group of White Sox defeated an Angels split squad 10-7. Chicago supported RHP Jake Peavy’s three scoreless innings of pitching by taking a 7-0 lead against LA/Anaheim LHP Joe Saunders and RHP Travis Chick. The bad news for the Sox was that RHP Bobby Jenks didn’t get through the fourth inning, giving up five runs.
The Reds defeated a Dodgers split squad 3-2. Rookie Jordan Smith saved the game by retiring SS Argenis Reyes after LA had scored two runs and had another runner on base in the bottom of the ninth. The starting pitchers, Cincinnati RHP Bronson Arroyo and Dodgers LHP Clayton Kershaw each allowed two hits in three scoreless innings. A warning sign for Cincy was 1B Joey Votto’s 0-for-5 game, leaving five runners on base, dropping his average to .067.
A team of ersatz Dodgers lost its first exhibition game in China, 5-2 to the CPBL All-Stars.
Sample Scouting Report:
Mike Napoli, C, Angels
{2010} There isn’t much doubt about Napoli’s power and overall offensive ability, which put him almost into an elite status among fantasy catchers. And that’s the rub. He’s not a very good defensive catcher, and LA/Anaheim manager Mike Scioscia was a standout backstop and is an exacting mentor. That means that Napoli loses playing time to C Jeff Mathis, a better defender. The hope for fantasy owners is that Napoli would hit well enough to stay in the lineup as the DH when he isn’t catching. Born Oct. 31, 1981, Hollywood, Fla. 2009: 382 AB, .272 BA, 20 HR, 56 RBI, 3 SB, 60 R.
Projection
AB: 367 BA: .267 HR: 22 RBI: 62 SB: 5 R: 59 Value: $8
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