After pounding baseballs into a parking lot in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., for a couple of weeks, Braves RF prospect Jason Heyward hit his first exhibition homer in a 12-4 victory over the Tigers. The blast came against RHP Max Scherzer, from whom Detroit is expecting big things. Tigers manager compared Heyward to a young Albert Pujols. Expect the rookie to arrive in Atlanta amid even more hype on Opening Day. And expect whoever gets him in your fantasy league to overpay for Heyward.
Speaking of hype, the legend of Reds rookie LHP Aroldis Chapman continued with two scoreless innings in his first exhibition game, or any game on U.S. soil. His fastball was clocked at 99 and 100 mph on different radar guns. That was in a 14-5 win over the Royals. Possible good news for Kansas City was that 3B Josh Fields, filling in for injured 3B/1B Alex Gordon, hit a home run against Cincinnati RHP Nick Masset.
Other home runs of note included Blue Jays C J.P. Arencibia’s third this spring. Don’t get too excited about this one; it was against marginal Astros RHP Bud Norris in Toronto’s 4-1victory. In the Brewers’ 6-2 win over the Mariners, RF Corey Hart hit his second. That could be a good sign that he won’t cut down his effort after signing a multiyear contract.
It could have been a typical high-scoring Arizona game when C Mike Napoli hit his second spring homer in the Angels’ 13-9 victory over the Rangers. Or it could be that Napoli is continuing to develop, and is a good candidate to spend the All-Star break at home in Anaheim to play in the game.
In the Twins’ 5-0 victory over the Orioles, RHP Kevin Slowey had a pitching line of 310012. You might recall that he was one of our Jarrod Washburn Award winners before last season, and won 10 games before going on the disabled list for most of the season’s second half. It’s entirely possible that we’d name him the Washburn Award winner (for an inexpensive pitcher who will rack up the wins) again this year.
The Yankees and Pirates both were in mid-season form as New York won 6-0. RHP Alfredo Aceves pitched four hitless innings. Pittsburgh’s only hit in the game was 1B/OF Steven Pearce’s single against RHP Ivan Nova, who is more likely to pitch at Triple-A Scranton than in Yankee Stadium this year. The Yanks’ closer, RHP Mariano Rivera, hasn’t even pitched yet this spring and isn’t scheduled to until March 16. He said, “When the time comes, I will be ready.” We have no reason to doubt him.
Mets OF Chris Carter, late of the Red Sox, became the second player this spring to homer twice in the same inning – New York’s eight-run ninth in an 11-2 victory over the Marlins. The game’s biggest news, however, might have been RHP prospect Jennry Mejia’s three scoreless innings. Manager Jerry Manuel compared Mejia’s moving cut fastball to Rivera’s. My own comparison to Rivera is Rangers RHP Neftali Feliz, because from the time I first saw each of them in the minors I felt they have almost impossible-to-hit stuff but not enough stamina to withstand high pitch counts as a starter. Ergo, each would be best as a reliever. I haven’t seen Mejia yet, so I’m not sure about his optimum role.
Three games ended as one-run decisions on last-inning runs. The Rays beat the Pirates 4-3 on OF Fernando Perez’s 10th-inning single. In another 10-inning game, the Giants defeated the Dodgers 3-2 with strong-armed rookie RF Roger Kieschnick preventing what would have been the tying run by throwing out 2B Ron Belliard at home plate. The Red Sox edged the Cardinals 7-6, with rookie 1B Che-Hsuan Lin driving in the winning run. Boston RHP Josh Beckett pitched three perfect innings.
Injuries:
Rangers LF Josh Hamilton (bruised left shoulder) was supposed to return to the field Sunday, but the scheduled “B” game was rained out. Instead, he came back today and went 2-for-3 against the Angels.
Mets RHP Francisco Rodriguez (pinkeye) was expected to come back to throw Tuesday or Wednesday, and to pitch in a game over the weekend. However, New York NL has shut down RHP Kelvim Escobar (weak shoulder), who is expected to begin the season on the disabled list.
Astros RHP Brandon Lyon (cyst in his shoulder) threw 30 pitches in the bullpen, and could face batters by the weekend.
Dodgers 3B Casey Blake is out because of a strained rib cage muscle. RHP Cory Wade (tender shoulder) will be out two weeks.
Cardinals SS Brendan Ryan (wrist surgery) hit soft toss, and could take batting practice for the first time Friday.
Phillies LHP J.C. Romero (elbow surgery) is scheduled to throw in the bullpen Tuesday. He expects to be ready by the home opener in Philadelphia April 12.
Dodgers RHP Ronald Belisario isn’t injured, but he hasn’t been able to pitch because he’s still home in Venezuela. He has had difficulty obtaining a visa because of a DUI arrest last summer.
The PED News:
Dr. Anthony Galea, the Canadian physician under fire for allegedly arranging to smuggle performance-enhancing drugs into the U.S., said he had provided anti-inflammatory drugs to Yankees 3B Alex Rodriguez. Mets SS Jose Reyes said Dr. Galea used with him a “blood spinning” technique that kind of sounds like the blood doping banned by the Olympics decades ago.
Sample Scouting Report:
Aroldis Chapman, LHP, Reds
Ht.: 6-4 Wt.: 180 T: L Age: 22* Inj. Risk: 10 Alt. Pos: SP
{2010} Chapman was considered such a good pitcher in Cuba that president Raul Castro forgave him for an attempt to defect in 2008, and allowed him to travel with the national team the next year. He then defected in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Chapman’s fastball reportedly has been clocked at 102 mph; he has flirted with triple figures this spring. At least some of the hype around him is justified. There is a lot of interest in Cincinnati about having him in the rotation this season. How well he does will depend on how he can control his slider and continue to develop a changeup. Without those, he’d be best in Triple-A or even Double-A this season. Born: Feb. 28, 1988, Cuba*.
Projection
IP: 81 W: 6 ERA: 4.00 WHIP: 1.33 S: 0 SO: 73 $3
No comments:
Post a Comment