Baseball Chatter 03/01

 

Cheslor Cuthbert, Whit Merrifield, Christian Colon and Raul Mondesi are competing for playing time at second base in Kansas City.

Manager Ned Yost made it clear that the opening Day second baseman probably will not be the everyday second baseman. Cuthbert is out of minor league options though, and Mike Moustakas is nursing an injury back to health, so expect to see Cuthbert filling in at third base early in the season.

The Rangers are keeping a close eye on closer Sam Dyson after he fell down and sprained his wrist., though it doesn’t seem as if it’s a major issue.

Robbie Ray struck out over 200 hitters in 174.1 innings last season, but he walked too many and suffered a combination of bad luck and bad defense behind him. Result – 4.90 ERA

Ray’s Changeup

Michael Lorenzen and Raisel Iglesias could each pitch up to 100 innings in the Reds bullpen. Iglesias hasn’t been promised the lone closer role.

How Carter Capps Executes his Four-Seam Fastball

If Keon Broxton has a decent spring, he will join Jonathan Villar at the top of the order for the Brewers.

There are three candidates for the two spots available in the Red Sox rotation.

  • Steven Wright – recovering from bursitis and shoulder soreness
  • Drew Pomeranz – Had PRP injection in left elbow in October – claims to be fully healthy
  • Eduardo Rodriguez – Hurt his knee playing Winter ball – Claims to be fully healthy

 

Daniel Norris put up a 2.73 ERA over five September starts last year, but didn’t make it through two innings in his spring debut against the Yankees Tuesday. There were no red flags according to manager Brad Ausmus, only adrenaline and jitters.

With a young guy like that, he’s going to have to learn how to do it Because that’s going to be the difference between being able to go four innings and six innings. He’s gotta be able to command his pitchers. He’s got the stuff to get outs but his pitch count is going to get up and he’s going to be out of the game a lot earlier than he’d like, but when he has the command and the stuff, then now you’re looking at a guy that you can keep in the game on a regular basis. There were no red flags or anything like that. In your first spring start, you don’t expect to have great command Brad Ausmus

Brett Anderson may also have found a key in his mechanics since joining pitching coach Chris Bosio’s staff.

Brett Anderson, Eddie Butler, Casey Kelly and Alec Mills are working with pitching coach Chris Bosio, and they could have a big impact for the Cubbies this season.

  • Half of the top 10 have had Tommy John surgery
  • 19 of the 33 top-ranked pitching prospects from 2010 have had Tommy John surgery, that’s 58%

Theo Epstein signed Casey Kelly originally, and Hoyer, who traded for him in San Diego, signed Kelly in January as a minor league free agent.

The one thing we’d like to do with him is create some deceptionTheo Epstein
  • Kelly throws from the first-base side of the rubber with a high three-quarters release point and a front side that opens up early.
  • He releases the ball close to the middle of the rubber
  • He creates almost no angle on his pitches and shows the ball early to the hitter.
  • He might be better served pitching from the third-base side of the rubber and staying closed longer.
  • Kelly throws four-seamers twice as often as he does two-seamers, which isn’t a good thing because:
    • Kelly has a low spin rate on his four-seam fastball, which has a below average velocity of 91 mph
    • He throws the four-seam fastball twice as often as his two-seam fastball.
    • Perceived velocity of the pitch (88.9 mph) is even further below average because of his short stride and low spin, the
    • A short stride, in which a pitcher throws over a firmer front leg, and a low spin rate are actually preferential for a sinkerball pitcher.

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