With April just around the corner, let’s look at what happened this past Wednesday.
News
- According to AJ Cassavell of mlb.com, Padres prospect C.J. Abrams has a chance to make the major league roster. Considering his 80-grade speed via FanGraphs.com, this is something that fantasy managers in deep leagues might want to keep an eye on. Last year in 42 games with Double-A San Antonio, he slashed .296/ .363/ .420 with 13 swipes in 15 attempts.
- The Minnesota Twins made a round of cuts that included Trevor Larnach and José Miranda. The latter was an interesting name early in the offseason considering his .416 wOBA across 80 games last year with Triple-A St. Paul. But, the Twins’ acquisition via trade of 3B Gio Urshela put a squeeze on his immediate path to playing time.
- Zack Greinke was named the Kansas City Royals‘ Opening Day starter. Just like old times. Framber Valdez and Max Fried will start things off for Houston and Atlanta respectively.
- Pete Fairbanks will be out of action for the first three months of the season following a partial tear of his lat muscle.
- Southpaw pitching prospect Nick Lodolo is in the mix for the final spot in the Cincinnati Reds‘ rotation as they are navigating injuries to Mike Minor and Luis Castillo. Fellow prospect Hunter Greene will open as the 4th starter.
- The Tampa Bay Rays sent down infielder Vidal Bruján to Triple-A Durham.
- Luis Severino threw a bullpen session and felt well afterward. He’s on track to make his last Spring Training start on Saturday and is hoping to throw around 40 pitches.
- According to his agent Scott Boras, Michael Conforto hurt his shoulder during a workout in January and wanted to back to full health before resuming discussions with potential teams.
- A couple of days after sustaining a hip pointer, Andrew Vaughn was back taking swings in BP yesterday.
- Mike Yastrzemski, who is dealing with a quad injury, could return this weekend along with Brandon Belt. However, Evan Longoria is going to be out until mid-May following surgery to repair a torn ligament in his thumb.
- Zack Wheeler is set to make his Grapefruit League debut this Saturday and Aaron Nola will start Opening Day for the Phillies.
Top Hitting Performances
Paul Goldschmidt (1B, St. Louis Cardinals): 4-for-4, HR, 1 RBI, 3 R
Interestingly, Paul Goldschmidt has been using a new bat this spring. As far as this game goes, yikes. Aníbal Sánchez took it on the chin and allowed 10 earned runs on 12 hits through four innings. Not to be outdone, the Nationals’ pen allowed 15 runs in the eighth. Goldy’s spring OPS sits at 1.644. I think he is ready. Paul DeJong finished the afternoon 3-for-3 with five RBI.
Seiya Suzuki (OF, Chicago Cubs): 1-for-3, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 R
Yesterday was an exciting moment for Cubs fans as Seiya Suzuki recorded his first hit of the spring, which just so happened to leave the yard. The two-run shot came in the fourth with two outs against Mariners southpaw Marco Gonzales.
Adam Duvall (OF, Atlanta Braves): 2-for-3, 3 RBI, 1 R
Duvall cracked two doubles and hit seventh yesterday for Atlanta in a lineup that did not feature Ronald Acuña Jr. or Marcell Ozuna. After leading the NL in RBI last season, it will be interesting to see where Duvall slots in their lineup regularly.
Jorge Mateo (SS, Baltimore Orioles): 2-for-3, HR, 1 RBI, 1 R
The 26-year-old former New York Yankee prospect, Jorge Mateo, hit a home run from the eighth spot in the order. He should earn plenty of playing time as he can play multiple positions and is an interesting potential source of steals late in drafts. He went 10-for-13 in stolen base attempts last year across 89 games with the Padres and Orioles.
Byron Buxton (OF, Minnesota Twins): 2-for-4, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 1 R
Buxton’s grand slam came in the fourth off Pirates lefty, Dillon Peters. The Twins’ prodigiously talented leadoff man has been hitting well this spring with a .333 average and 1.093 OPS.
Top Pitching Performances
Dylan Cease (SP, Chicago White Sox): 4 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 3 K, 1 BB
After last year’s breakout that saw his K-BB% climb from 3.9% to 22.3%, Cease has been sharp so far this and has allowed just one run through his first two outings. After the outing, he said he feels ready for the season. And after seeing him do this to Adolis García, it’s hard to argue.
More Dylan Cease Filth 😷 pic.twitter.com/oOXdiQGXIj
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) March 30, 2022
Tarik Skubal (SP, Detroit Tigers): 4 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 5 K , 1 BB
Tarik Skubal threw 66 pitches in his third appearance and had the slider working as it generated seven whiffs on 18 pitches (61% CSW). Among the highlights were two strikeouts of Bryce Harper.
Carlos Carrasco (SP, New York Mets): 4 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 3 K, 1 BB
After undergoing surgery this past offseason to remove a bone fragment in his pitching elbow, Carlos Carrasco made his Grapefruit League debut and allowed a pair of home runs, one to Michael Brantley and the other to Yordan Álvarez. Needing 46 pitches to get through four innings, his fastball averaged 93.2 while his slider registered a 42% CSW on 12 total pitches. He’s set to make his first regular-season start on April 10th against the Washington Nationals.
Zac Gallen (SP, Arizona Diamondbacks): 2.2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 2 K, 0 BB
A quick, and painless outing for Zac Gallen as he recorded eight outs on 36 pitches. His four-seamer averaged 94.4 and he didn’t register any whiffs on his secondary pitches.
Julio Urías (SP, Los Angeles Dodgers): 4 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 3 K, 0 BB
The Dodgers lefty, who showed up to camp noticeably leaner, was efficient in his outing against the Guardians and looks ready to build on last year’s career-high 185.2 IP.
Tanner Houck (SP, Boston Red Sox): 4 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 4 K, 0 BB
Tanner Houck was a little wild in his outing against Atlanta as he uncorked a wild pitch while also plunking two batters, but he got through four innings and allowed only one run. After impressing last year with a 3.52 ERA and 1.13 WHIP across 69 IP, he’ll be in the Red Sox rotation to start the season.
What to Watch for Today
What to watch from SP on TV today
Thomspon – Great Cutter/CB?
Eflin – 60 pitches?
Taillon – SL/CB whiffs?
Manoah – SL for strikes?
Manning – 95?
Bubic – 92? New breaker?
Snell – CH still in timeout? FBs for strikes?
Taijuan – Healthy? 94/95?
Ohtani – FOR REAL?!
Lauer – 92/93?— Nick Pollack (@PitcherList) March 31, 2022
Graphic by Michael Packard (@artbyMikeP on Twitter & IG)