You might have heard about how there’s a much better atmosphere around the Astros this year with Brad Mills as manager. He might be the freshest breath of air in Florida this spring, or it could just be that anyone might have been an improvement over Cecil Cooper’s negativity.
One thing Mills can’t do is play for Houston. Not many others in Kissimmee, Fla., are much help either. If LHP Wandy Rodriguez’s performance (pitching line of 366401) in a 16-4 loss to the Marlins is any indication, it will be a long year for the Astros.
Florida 2B Dan Uggla and OF prospect Michael Stanton hit home runs against Rodriguez. LF Chris Coghlan had a double against not-so-magic Wandy and a triple against RHP Gary Majewski in a 2-for-3 day with four RBI. OF Brett Carroll, having a good spring, homered against LHP Wesley Wright and added two doubles.
The bad news for the Athletics in a 9-5 loss to the White Sox was RHP Ben Sheets’ pitching line: 2 2/3 56510. The better news was 3B Eric Chavez’s two home runs, against RHP hopefuls Dan Hudson and Jeff Marquez.
The Yankees beat the Tigers 9-8 on a home run by OF Greg Golson against LHP Phil Dumatrait. The next time we see that matchup, they’ll probably be playing for Scranton and Toledo in the Triple-A International League.
Meanwhile, the Mets’ struggles continued in a 7-6, 10-inning loss to the Braves. A bright spot is OF Chris Carter, whose third home run this spring was against a legitimate major leaguer, RHP Derek Lowe. Carter drove in four runs, and power-poor New York might have no choice but to take him north for Opening Day.
A few days ago, we mentioned Blue Jays OF/3B Jose Bautista as a sleeper candidate for fifth outfielder/corner infielder. In a 4-2 loss to the Phillies, he hit his third homer, against LHP Cole Hamels. Bautista also had a double and raised his spring average to .643.
The Devil Rays defeated the Red Sox 8-6, with RHP Dale Thayer’s line of 100000 earning a save. It’s possible he could have some saves for Tampa Bay this season. He has been a minor league closer. The downside is that he might not have enough power to get needed strikeouts in tight situations. Boston CF Jacoby Ellsbury hit two home runs, but those were against two middle relievers at best, RHPs Joe Bateman and Joaquin Benoit.
In the Mariners’ 6-3 victory over the Rangers, LHP Cliff Lee was the winning pitcher. That wasn’t unexpected, so the eyebrow-raiser might have been LHP Garret Olson’s relief pitching. He entered with a three-run lead, the bases loaded and two out in the eighth inning and finished with the same lead, a save and a line of 1 1/3 10010.
For the Cardinals, RHP Brad Penny had a line of 410002 and rookie 3B/OF Allen Craig hit a two-run homer against RHP Garrett Mock in a 6-4 victory over the Nationals. Craig could be in line for a utility/pinch hitter role in the majors, possibly after succeeding for a time in Triple-A this season.
3B Pablo Sandoval’s grand slam against RHP Carlos Zambrano provided most of the offense as the Giants defeated the Cubs 5-1. Holding down Chicago was San Francisco LHP Jonathan Sanchez, with a line of 330005. Should be an interesting National League West race this year among the Giants, Rockies, Dodgers and possibly Diamondbacks.
The Orioles probably took note of RHP Matt Albers’ save (pitching line: 110000) in their 3-2 win over the Pirates. Baltimore scored all of its runs in the first inning against Pittsburgh LHP Zach Duke, who’s either wishing he was traded last season or thinking about suing for non-support.
Sample Scouting Reports:
W. Chris Carter, OF, Mets
Ht.: 6-0 Wt.: 230 B: L Age: 27
{2010} New York acquired him from the Red Sox in the Billy Wagner trade. Carter has batted .324, .300 and .294 in Triple-A the last three seasons, mostly as a left fielder and first baseman. He has a good batting eye and little speed. With the Mets, he could be a DH for just a few games a year. Still, they need any power they can find, so Carter could end up as a platoon option with a few dollars of fantasy value. He doesn’t have the upside of Athletics 1B prospect Chris Carter, but should have more value this season. Born: Sept. 16, 1982, Fremont, Calif. 2009: Red Sox, 6 AB, .000 BA, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 0 SB, 0 R.
Projection
AB: 255 BA: .255 HR: 9 RBI: 36 SB: 1 R: 30
Chris C. Carter, 1B, Athletics
Ht: 6-4 Wt: 210 B: R Age: 23
{2010} After a monster season as the Texas League MVP at Double-A Midland – 24 homers, 100 RBI, 108 runs, 13 stolen bases, .337 average, Carter hit four homers and batted .259 in 54 at-bats for Triple-A Sacramento. With Eric Chavez and Daric Barton already in Oakland, and with Carter batting just .212 in the Mexican Pacific League, there wouldn’t seem to be room for him with the parent club this season, which he’d most likely begin back in Sacramento. There he could work on reducing his strikeouts (401 over the last three years). His physique reminds me of Enos Cabell with power. Even though Carter has 92 homers the last three years in the minors, we can’t be sure how many of those were the result of playing in hitter-friendly parks. He is a prospect, but probably not until September in the majors. Born: Dec. 18, 1986, Redwood City, Calif.
Projection
AB: 148 BA: .257 HR: 7 RBI: 24 SB: 1 R: 23
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