toonsterwu

Looks like Loux got shelled in the first inning.

I'm actually more interested with Dae-Eun Rhee (not saying I'd rank him over Loux ... or Lendy, just interest level is higher) than those two, but maybe that's me. They kept Rhee in the rotation, and I'm curious if his stuff is showing closer to what he had in 2011.

Interesting to see francescon in the rotation.

Whoa, missed a busy day. Random thoughts: - Thankfully, it's only one day. - I think Brett Jackson's K rate needs to be in that 23-28% range to get a shot at consistent PT in the bigs. - It's just one game, so I could care less about it as it pertains to this game, but I am curious how Watkins' K rate looks at the end of the year. He dropped his K rate by roughly 3% from his Daytona year. - Found it curious that Ha got CF over Szczur, particularly since there's been some debate in the past year on how good his defense really was. Curious how that plays out over the season. - Best part of tonight, for me was not just the offensive numbers that Szczur/Alcantara put up, but the fact that they had 0 strikeouts. I keep thinking, in the back of my mind, that Szczur may force himself into AAA sooner than later, and perhaps end up surpassing Jackson in getting a call-up (of course, the addition of stopgaps like Sweeney makes that a tough thing to really bet on). - Overall, this has to be considered a fairly solid start of the year for Wells, particularly since he got hurt last year. Curious what the velocity numbers were. Doesn't seem like he was on top form, but only 1 XBH. - It seems likely that Torreyes will be given the AA slot when he's healthy. Still, if Bruno hits well enough ... I still believe Bruno has a bit more pop in that bat than he showed last year. Bruno at 2nd and Saunders at 3rd mildly catches an eye because Bruno is probably the better option at 3rd between the two, which may be an indication of how they value Bruno (or it might not ... tis just one day). - Why isn't Brian Smith in the piggyback group to start the year? He's got the velocity and 2 pitches to at least be worth seeing what he can offer as a stretched out arm? Granted, he might sneak into the rotation later in the year, but just curious.

I'm always mildly intrigued at who gets the opening day starts. Granted, they don't mean that much, but I tend to assume that the guy picked has been throwing well and is ready for whatever workload requested/expected. In this case, seeing Ben Wells get the opening day nod is an intriguing positive, IMO.

That sort of sucks that Whitenack got picked up. I'm really curious what happened, because there was enough evidence he was in the 90's last year, and this spring, almost all the reports had him mid-80's.

craig, I agree (that Baez's future did not impact AA's roster to start the year), I was just noting it because someone here speculated that they left an opening at Tennessee for Baez (which I find an unlikely decision this early ... I think AzPhil also had a similar thought). Wouldn't surprise me if Whitenack is back in XST. Sounds like his arm strength is really down this spring.

NL East - Easiest division to do. I gave some thought to Phillies over Braves, but don't like their depth. 1. Nationals 2. Braves - Really wonder if this team is a bit over-hyped. 3. Phillies - I wonder what happens to this team. A slow start and it could easily be blown up a bit. 4. Mets 5. Marlins NL Central - I went with the Cardinals depth, major and minor, allowing them to make a move to eke out the division. Really wanted to push the Brewers higher, but ... just don't love the rotation enough. 1. Cardinals 2. Reds 3. Brewers 4. Pirates 5. Cubs - Wouldn't stun me if they came in 3rd or 4th ... but if they are out of it, sure feels like Theo and Jed will sell, pushing the record down. NL West - Money buys you a lot ... particularly in a weak division. I like Towers confidence for the Dbacks, and uh, their bullpen looks really good, but boy, it sure feels like that SP has to dominate to carry that offense. 1. Dodgers 2. Giants - My random hunch is that Lincecum will tear it up in the 2nd half. 3. Rockies - Don't know why, but I sort of like this squad, if they can get some decent pitching, and I think they can. 4. Diamondbacks 5. Padres Wildcards: Giants and Reds edge out the Braves. Giants over Reds. Playoffs: Giants over the Dodgers, Nationals get their revenge on the Cardinals, Nationals over Giants. AL East - Toughest division to figure. Keep Changing my mind. Could honestly see any of the teams win it. Wouldn't stun me if all five teams were above .500. 1. Blue Jays - Can't put my finger on it, but I don't really love this team. Still ... it looks really solid. 2. Yankees - This looks crazy. On paper, this team is bleh. Their system is a bit over-rated, IMO. Yet ... if they can hang around until the guys get back, I just wonder if they can make a 2nd half surge. Despite his poor start, Sabathia should lead a solid rotation again. 3. Rays - You know what, I don't love their pitching. That may sound crazy. 4. Orioles - Hurts me to put them here. A lot went right for them last year, and they really still don't have impact pitching. To expect the pen to be that good again ... 5. Red Sox - Rotation is decent-solid. Lineup is decent-solid, but needs Ortiz and probably another big bat. Defense should be good. Pen could be strong. So ... ? Not sure. At best, only things I can say to put them 5th are a) Feels like a rebuilding year b) Do they have a willingness to move the top chips needed to make a big move? Not sold. AL Central - I think 1-4 could be close. 1. Tigers 2. Royals 3. White Sox 4. Indians - Do think they will hang around for awhile. 5. Twins AL West - Something surprising is bound to happen. This isn't that shocking, but it would be a surprise. 1. Athletics - The SP could be good. The BP could be solid. The defense should be good enough. Can they hit enough? 2. Rangers 3. Angels - This may look ridiculous at year's end, but do they have enough pitching? 4. Mariners - Z's last stand? I do think some of their youngsters will improve. 5. Astros Wildcard: Yankees over Rangers. Playoffs: Tigers over Yankees. Athletics over Blue Jays. Hmm ... I'll go out on a freaking limb. Why not. A's over Tigers. World Series: Nationals over A's.

All the other arms there are pure pen guys at this stage of their careers. I guess there might've been some hope for another look for McNutt. I'm surprised Hatley is back at AA. A part of me would rather drop a AAA filler arm down to AA and give Hatley a look there. Granted, not the biggest deal - he could easily get called up from AA if the need arose.

Honestly, my guess is that they went with the Alcantara/Soto combination in Tennessee not because of Baez potentially moving up, but rather to wait for Torreyes. That seems the most logical reason as to why they would go with someone like Eliot Soto in a key role in AA to start the year. When Torreyes is ready, Mota probably goes on the DL with some phantom injury.

Him and Bruno are both intriguing. Law didn't appear to be a fan of Saunders, based on a " well, he's scrappy" type comment I saw. He's got 15-20 homer type pop, doesn't he? Don't think so. If he does, he's far more intriguing than Bruno ... and maybe even Amaya. I mean, what's the power projection for Amaya - 12-18 basically. I thought it was more 8-12 HR potential for Saunders, but I really don't recall right now.

Huh? What are we feuding about? I would probably make similar comment about a lot of other prospects besides Torreyes. If a guy can't hack it at 2nd, doesn't have a lot of plus tools, didn't have an exemplary previous season, and doesn't project for another position, I'm not exactly too giddy. Scrappy only goes so far, and it's the rare Theriot that makes a decent major league career (a lot more scrappy guys have failed to get up there ... Nate Samson comes to mind ... as a total side note, still remember a report I had on Samson many years ago that suggested he would develop some pop). Again, I qualified it on whether or not he could hack it at 2nd. Torreyes reminds of someone else ... can't think of the name. Former Rockies prospect, I think (or was it Mariners?), undersized guy, was maybe an IF once, moved to catcher, moved to OF, had good bat speed but not much else, and eventually flamed out. I want to say, Angel something or other. And what I've said about Marco for this upcoming season is that (well, I said it once ... somewhere ...) a) I think he could break out or ... (breakout) b) I think he could bomb. (bust) I guess he could fall somewhere in b/w, but honestly, I just don't see that happening. I think it's either good or bad for Marco. Either he figures out the discipline stuff (not enough data points last year to really suggest that he learned just yet) and his tools takeover, or he doesn't. So I won't be all that surprised if he bombs.

Okay, just read AzPhil's comments on Saunders - if his speed is that good (plus), then he is intriguing.

Just noticed that AzPhil responded. Showed up a week late, regular with Tennessee, was hitting. Wonder if he was a bit out of shape (just a random thought, as AzPhil's comments on his defense are as bad as I've ever heard on him ... ).

Dave, I qualified it by saying If they really feel he can't hack it at 2nd. Short of it is, there's no other spot he can really move to where his bat would play, outside of catcher. That said, I did forget that he showed up late at ST, so that makes some sense.

AzPhil's latest update, not that it should be a surprise, still has Torreyes with Extended ST. So it's not some sort of injury. I'll be the first to say I haven't been on this Torreyes wagon ... but it still seems strange that he got demoted to XST. I mean, if it's a defensive issue (since AzPhil was so harsh on his defense) ... well, then cut him (if he really can't hack it at 2nd ... ). Very odd ... wonder if they might be trying to rework his swing a bit? On a positive note, he does have Jose Rosario throwing 3 innings. That's a fair amount of work, so it feels like Rosario should be with a full-season squad as soon as he logs enough work in.

Isn't Rohan injured?

2nd/3rd (I think) guy we picked up. Was with the Rockies last year. Basically upper level filler at this point in his career.

I'm too lazy to go find the former prospects thread (I think we had one), but found it interesting that Justin Sellers is the Dodgers starting shortstop for now. Granted, stopgap. We had him briefly as a result of the Wuertz deal, but cut him before the season (I believe he lost out to Barney for a starting gig in AA and they didn't think it made sense to push him back to A ball ... but I could be mistaken).

When you factor in that Bundy's velocity was noticeably down this spring, it is something to be really concerned with. I haven't followed all that closely, but listening to Scott Garceau of 105.7 today, Bundy was in the low-mid 90's range this spring, compared to the mid-upper 90's heat he showed last year.

Before we go dropping Rodon too far, this is the first start where his velocity has dipped the badly. He had an erratic start against UVA ... and still held a good lineup to 2 H and 2 R's (I think) a couple weekends ago. His ceiling is still that much higher than anyone else in 2014 if he comes close to showing the form he had last year. That said, there's been speculation of an injury, so it is something to watch. If he is hurt, he'd be better off just calling it a season and doing whatever is needed to get ready for 2014 (surgery now, if it's needed, would put him in line to be back by some point in 2014, barring delays).

To be clear, I don't really buy the 2nd reason either. I was just tossing out an idea. The best guess I can fathom is that they want to try stretching him out and it's easier to do that as a piggyback guy in MWL than it is to squeeze him into full-load rotation work in Daytona/Tennessee. One other possibility, which sort of goes along with the idea of stretching him out, is that they might want him to get work on his slider against weaker bats.

I'd rather see Reed get stretched out, but it would seem to be easier to do that in Kane than Daytona. Wouldn't surprise me if Del Valle or Francescon made it into the rotation instead.

It's surprising, and yet it isn't. You don't want a Rule 5 guy there obviously, but he's the raw type of arm that really should've been in A+ ball last year developing. That said, A ball is a bit odd. I wonder if they are trying to stretch him out. One other possibility is that they want Lendy in A ball instead of A+/AA so they can better keep track of him instead of going to XST. I doubt it, but something to keep in mind this year with some movement, considering the proximity of Kane County to Chicago.

My guess is that Darvill is there as a stopgap, just so they have a utility infielder. I assume they wouldn't start Darvill at short, but he can backup, in a pinch, at short. When Barney is ready, Alberto Gonzalez goes to AAA, pushing Darvill back to the A ball ranks. Although that said, they did have Eliot Soto sitting around, as Alcantara will likely get the bulk of time in AA at short. I guess this could be a sign that they value Soto more than Darvill, as Soto in AA now gets him more AB's ... potentially.