Cactus League Notes

Mastersball veteran Perry Van Hook spends every day in March at spring training camps in the mornings and then sees one or two games each day. His (almost) daily notes will keep you completely up to date on the Rangers, Royals, and Brewers, with game comments on all fifteen major league clubs training in Arizona.

Cactus League Notes - March 19

Cactus League Notes
Written by Perry Van Hook
Tuesday, 19 March 2013 00:00
A few notes on playing time and roster decisions with just over one week left for most of spring training (most teams leave a few days early for some exhibition games at their home park or with an affiliate or other MLB team). CHICAGO WHITE SOX – Are still not sure if John Danks will be ready for the first week of play – if Danks starts the season on the DL (which appears likely to me), then either Hector Santiago or Dylan Axelrod would move into the rotation. Santiago, who was being stretched out a little for that eventually, hasn’t pitched poorly but Axelrod has been excellent this spring. Plans for the infield coming into camp were to have Gordon Beckham back at second base with newcomer Jeff Keppinger at third base. Keppinger of course comes with the fragile tag, but he can hit and play all over the infield, so to me, if Beckham continues to struggle, the options would be to have Keppinger move to 2B and play Conor Gillaspie at 3B or to have Rule V pick Angel Sanchez, who has hit very well this spring, play second while Gillaspie would be the utility infielder. Loser is Brent Morel, who will likely be sent to Triple-A Charlotte to start the season and work on his game. ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS – Had a competition for the fifth spot in their rotation between Patrick Corbin, Randall Delgado, and Tyler Skaggs. While Skaggs, a lefty, seemed to have a leg up early in camp and clearly has the most long-term upside, he was really pressing in Cactus League appearances and has been sent to Triple-A Reno to get back into a groove. At this point, the remaining two starts for Corbin and Delgado will likely determine the fifth starter, although Corbin does have more time with the club. Of course, a successful win there by Delgado would help justify the trade with Atlanta, although Kevin Towers, the Diamondbacks' General Manager, doesn’t strike me as a guy who needs that validation. Towers’ other trade acquisition, SS Didi Gregorius, who is still a week away from being able to play in the field because of off-season elbow problems, has been in the lineup and his hitting this spring - .474 batting average on 6-13 with two home runs and five RBI has turned heads and changed attitudes. Still, he is likely to start the year on the DL and be assigned to either Double-A Mobile or Triple-A Reno. SAN DIEGO PADRES – After Chase Headley’s breakout season, it looked like the chance for Jedd Gyorko, (pronounced jorko) a great hitter in his minor league at-bats, to make the team was to unseat Logan Forsythe or Alexi Amarista for the job at second base. With Headley to miss at least the first two weeks of the season, Gyorko could well start at 3B, giving the Padres time to see how he adjusts, although clearly he is the best option at 2B when Headley returns. RHP Tyson Ross, who always had a big arm when he was pitching in the Oakland organization but could never succeed at the big league level, has been excellent this spring and may well win a spot in the Opening Day rotation. Nice to have a manager who was a very successful MLB pitcher along with good coaches to get a new pitcher straightened out. By the way, Tyson’s younger brother Joe was drafted by the Padres and is one of their very good young minor league prospects (as you no doubt noted in my minor league prospect rankings). LOS ANGELES DODGERS – With all the money the Los Angeles Dodgers of Los Angeles (as worn on t-shirts by some LALAland fans) spent on their roster, we presume they have a great cadre of doctors to work on their players – and it has already been needed way too much this spring. Matt Kemp has finally started playing in the field and seems like he is starting to round into form. LF Carl Crawford has only batted so far in spring games and has a lot of work to do there to be ready for the start of the season. The surprise of camp has been IF/OF Alfredo Amezaga, who has been excellent at the plate and in the field – mostly in the outfield. Amezaga and many other good backups got Tony Gwynn Jr. assigned to minor league camp already. Zack Greinke is still not ready to get back on the mound despite a platelet injection and now is in doubt for his first start of the regular season, although talk has been that he would be moved back and take the fifth start if he is ready. Jury is still out on Chad Billingsley, although he hasn’t missed a turn this spring and at times has looked good. Still, the decision to rehab the partial tear in his ulnar collateral ligament as opposed to season-ending surgery places some risk on him for fantasy purposes. Ted Lilly, on the other hand, is nowhere close to being ready and will start the season on the DL. Chris Capuano has pitched very poorly and is still vying for the final rotation spot, although Aaron Harang, not great himself, would look like a better option for the Dodgers. The left side of the infield still looks like it will feature Hanley Ramirez at shortstop and Luis Cruz at third base, which makes it likely that Dee Gordon will start 2013 at Triple-A Albuquerque. Comments (2)
Last Updated on Wednesday, 20 March 2013 14:09

Cactus League Blog - March 13

Cactus League Notes
Written by Perry Van Hook
Wednesday, 13 March 2013 20:48
One thing that annoys me, and apparently bugs other baseball fans since they have sent me several questions about the box scores from spring training games, is that clicking “Box” from the scoreboard does not take you to the traditional box score but rather the Gameday final stats. The good news is that this is just for spring training – when you do that during the regular season you will get the normal box score. Even better is that there IS a way around this in spring training – simply click on the box score of a game in progress and in addition to the regular box score for that game, you will see a line at the top of the page that has the date > March, 13, 2013 more games Clicking on that box will give you a drop down menu for all games that day, and when you click on a particular game it will take you to the box score you want to see, even for finished games. If you looked at a box score earlier in the day you should still be able to do that, even if all games are finished, by using your previous link. With several MLB teams now getting players back from teams that did not advance in the WBC, some lineups will start to look a little more normal, but don’t forget there are a lot of major leaguers on the USA, DR, and PR teams still battling in Miami this week. And another reminder about spring training box statistics – don’t base your drafting decisions on most of them. Fortunately, by the time most of us draft our main teams, most position battles and roster decisions will become clearer. But even for players we know are going to make a major league club, there is a tendency to say that since he has half a dozen home runs, he will be a good power source. He can’t hit home runs from the bench, so be careful about drafting that home run hitter or pitcher who just happened to be in the spring training game on that day. Pitching Notes for those already in rotations: Ervin Santana, RHP, KC – had a great outing Wednesday 3/13, striking out seven in four innings. Jorge De La Rosa, LHP, COL – struck out six in four shutout innings but also gave up six hits/walks. Joe Blanton, RHP, LAA – pitched five innings giving up only two runs and three hits and a walk. Edwin Jackson, RHP, CHC – gave up one run on three hits and a walk in five innings. Erik Bedard, LHP, HOU – struck out the side in one inning of relief giving up one hit and one walk, which stands out only because all the other Astros’ pitchers were such a mess. Add new comment
Last Updated on Wednesday, 13 March 2013 20:51

Cactus League Notes - March 6

Cactus League Notes
Written by Lawr Michaels
Wednesday, 06 March 2013 17:51
We were "lazin' on a sunny afternoon" in Glendale as the L.A. Dodgers hosted Team Mexico in an exhibition showdown/prelude to the World Baseball Classic earlier today. The game indeed seemed lazy, as the Dodgers prevailed 10-2 in a contest that was never really contested. L.A. jumped all over Mexico starter Dany Rodriguez, as Dee Gordon started the bottom half of the first with a bunt single (although a replay suggested Gordon was out). The Dodger shortstop then swiped second and moved to third when second sacker Walter Ibarra could not handle the throw from catcher Jose Felix (so close to Felix Jose, no?). Gordon scored on a Matt Kemp fielder's choice (Kemp was safe at first) and Kemp came home when Andre Ethier followed up with a home run to right center accounting for three runs, The Dodgers then punched another pair across in the second and really held things in check from there on out. Dodger starter Stephen Fife went four innings, allowing three hits and a run, including a Ramiro Pena home run, and the Dodger pen held Mexico in check thereafter. Gordon outran a single into a double in the second, again stealing a base and scoring a second run on another Kemp fielder's choice. The shortstop also played solid defense, making a case for earning a roster spot, before giving way to Corey Seager in the fouth inning. For the Dodgers, Brandon League pitched a strong shutout inning as did Kenley Jansen, who was effectively wild during his inning. Aside from Pena--who had a pair of hits--Adrian Gonzalez went 0-for-2 as was fellow Dodger Luis Cruz. Perhaps the best part of the game, however, was Karim Garcia playing right field, and the names Fernando Valenzuela, Teddy Higuera, and Sid Monge gracing the coaching staff. Add new comment
Last Updated on Thursday, 07 March 2013 09:30

Cactus League Notes - March 5

Cactus League Notes
Written by Lawr Michaels
Tuesday, 05 March 2013 15:29
A matchup between the Reds and Angels proved to be more tedious than the starting lineups promised Tuesday afternoon at Tempe Diablo Stadium as Los Angeles came from behind, fueled by a Peter Bourjos triple, to win their second spring contest, 6-3. With starting lineups that boasted a pair of Hamiltons in Billy Hamilton and Josh Hamilton, Shin-Soo Choo, Jay Bruce, Joey Votto, Devin Mesoraco, Mike Trout, and the spring debut of Albert Pujols, the game was decided in the seventh after all the above were back in the locker room. Cincy starting pitcher Mike Leake allowed three hits over his three inning stint, but was helped by some sloppy baserunning that included Trout being caught going to second, and worse, Howie Kendrick being picked off second by Mesoraco after slugging a double. On the Angels side, Tommy Hanson started, allowing three hits over two innings, including a serious jack by Jay Bruce. Though that was the only run Hanson allowed, it was lucky, as his fastball had no pop with four of his recorded outs being hard hit balls to various spots on the field. Bruce also smashed a big fly off Scott Downs in the fourth, giving him his first two homers of the spring. That second shot was, in simple English, crushed. Pujols looked out of sorts, going 0-for-3 with two ground outs to short and a whiff, while Trout singled, walked, and made a fine catch crashing into the wall and robbing Choo in the third. The big hit turning the game was a lined single by Luis Rodriguez after Bourjos tripled and both Andrew Romine and Brandon Harris walked. J.B. Schuck then added a run with another single. The Reds tried to worm back into the lead with a run in the eighth and a big home run in the ninth by Yorman Rodriguez, but in the end Ryan Brasier went 1 1/3 innings and closed things out. The loss went to hapless Josh Ravin, who is now 0-3, 40.50 this spring, suggesting his chances to make the roster are indeed "nevermore." Add new comment
Last Updated on Wednesday, 06 March 2013 09:27

Cactus League Notes - March 4

Cactus League Notes
Written by Lawr Michaels
Monday, 04 March 2013 15:16
It was a bit on the blustery side Monday afternoon when the White Sox and Giants squared off at the lovely Camelback facility co-operated by the Pale Hose and the Dodgers (they sell both original Dodger dogs, and Chicago dogs, respelendent with a poppy seed bun, and that funky emerald colored relish, but sadly, no sport peppers). Sill, Ryan Vogelsong and John Danks squared off with Vogelsong turning in three solid innings. The San Francisco righty was touched for a run in his fourth inning, and left with two runners on base but was charged with the loss when Dewayne Wise put some English on a ball down the left field line, tagging Josh Osich for a three-run homer. However, over his first pair of innings, Vogelsong was deadly, whiffing three, showing good velocity and moving the ball around well. Danks did only a pair of innings, allowing a couple of hits and a run, and nothing else. Perhaps the best hitting of the day belonged to Jeff Keppinger, hitting out of the three hole, going 3-for-3 with a troika of line drive singles and a run scored. Blake Tekotte, hitting atop the White Sox lineup, contributed two more hits, including a triple off unlikely reliever Matt Cain in the fifth inning, then scoring on a double by Alexi Ramirez. Giants hopeful Gary Brown played the entire game, collecting a third inning single, but probably the most impressive performance was submitted by White Sox right hander Donnie Veal, who struck out the side in order in the fifth inning. Veal, 27, was 7-3, 2.08 in relief at Charlotte last year, striking out 61 over 52 innings. Add new comment
Last Updated on Tuesday, 05 March 2013 07:28

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