Jung Ho Kang has been sentenced in the DUI case in which he admitted guilt. Kang received an eight-month jail sentence, deferred for two years and not at all if he stays out of trouble over the next two years. He will be back in Pittsburgh to start the season and can safely be drafted at this point.
Aaron Nola looked sharp and had decent velocity in his first outing of the spring. This may comfort some question marks as to the health of his elbow, but curb your enthusiasm. The big question for Nola, which cannot be answered in the spring, is whether his arm can stay healthy for the full season to come.
Stephen Strasburg will make his own spring debut today,
The Nationals wouldn’t part with top outfield prospect Victor Robles in order to acquire Alex Colome this winter.
Farrell offers slight update on MRI, says Price has swelling and some fluid buildup. But results were “inconclusive.”
— Jason Mastrodonato (@JMastrodonato) March 2, 2017
David Price has pitched more innings than any pitcher for the last 3 years and his average fastball velocity were both career-lows last season
Pre-2nd opinion, my understanding is that David Price is optimistic he does not have a serious injury. Red Sox being ultra-cautious
— Pete Abraham (@PeteAbe) March 2, 2017
Shelby Miller allowed one hit, walked none and struck out six in a three inning spring debut outing on Thursday. His average fastball was in the upper nineties and topped at 99 mph.
I felt like the ball had some extra life on itShelby Miller
Kevin Gausman gave up two earned runs or fewer nine times in games he did not win last season.
Kris Bryant believes Addison Russell “could easily” hit 30 homers this season.
He’s still 23, He’s still getting those man muscles, kind of like me. Kris Bryant on Addison Russell
My goodness, That doesn’t surprise anybody that that’s what he has turned out to be. As he gains more at-bats, more experience and understands counts and pitches better, the frequency of that power is going to show up more often.Joe Maddon on Addison Russell's Home Runs
I have a skill set,and I’m just trying to perfect it. Like the big guys who hit 30 home runs, they’ve got power and they work really, really hard, too. I believe that maybe one day I can be there, too. It’s just progression to me. We’re getting there.Addison Russell
Michael Brantley had no problems in his right shoulder during his batting practice session Wednesday but was limited on Thursday.
Colorado pitchers threw curves 9.8 percent of the time in 2010, which ranked 12th in the majors. In 2014, that number was down to 5 percent, dead last.
Jon Gray’s didn’t throw any curveballs in 2015, his first season in the majors. He threw his changeup 17 percent of the time instead. He threw his curveball 11 percent of the time last season, while use of his changeup dropped to 7.1 percent.
James McCann played much of last season with a bad ankle and could hit 15 bombs in 2017.
Justin Verlander threw the final four-pitch regular-season intentional walk in baseball history to Nick Markakis on Oct. 2, 2016
Nice Deed of the Week: Adam Wainwright purchased a rental car for his teammate Ryan Sherriff who was walking to camp each day.
Why a team employee needed his license was never explained until later in the day, when Sherriff’s phone rang. It was, he said, from a St. Louis area code. One of the clubbies was calling to tell him a Nissan Altima rental car had been delivered for him at the ballpark, all expenses paid.
Waino got me a rental car,I freaked out a little bit. I started crying. I called my mom, and she started crying. Really, I’ve never had that experience. No one has ever done something so nice for me before.Ryan Sherriff
Adam Wainright’s curveball:
- .170 batting average against career
- .156 batting average against 2014
- .231 batting average against 2016
Lance Lynn has had ample time to recover from Tommy John surgery and 2017 is a Contract year for him. His consistent stats in previous years are intriguing. Over the past four years he pitched Lynn averaged a 3.37 ERA and 189 innings
Matt Adams had the hardest-hit opposite-field home run on the Cardinals team in 2016.
- His peak exit velocity was 110.9 mph.
- Averaged 417 feet per homer
- Only four players in the majors with at least 15 home runs averaged more distance, and two of the four hit in Colorado, Carlos Gonzalez (427 ft) and Trevor Story (422 ft).
Glen Perkins threw 15 pitches off the mound Thursday, in his fifth bullpen session of spring. However there is still no timetable for him to face hitters. Plan on Perkins starting the season on the disabled list.
George Springer says he will be looking to steal more bases in 2017. He told Craig Mish on SiriusXM that his stolen base attempts will depend on circumstance. He was caught stealing (10) more times than he was successful (9) last season
Brandon Maurer’s performance this spring could dictate whether he starts the season as the Pirates closer. Carter Capps is looking to make a comeback from Tommy John surgery and a potential change in delivery due to new MLB rules, so Maurer is the early favorite to win the job.
Jose DeLeon has had a rough start to spring arriving to camp late because of tightness in his back and then gave up four runs on two hits while walking two and striking out one in 0.2 innings Thursday.
#Rays De Leon: “I felt normal, I just couldn’t throw the fastball for strikes.”
— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) March 2, 2017
In the first six weeks after being traded to the Mets, Jay Bruce hit .174, with four homers, 11 RBI and eight extra-base hits. In the last week of the season, Bruce went 12-for-25 with four homers and 10 RBI. He has hit 25 or more homers in six of his last seven seasons, driving in at least 90 runs four times.
Eric Thames is the third hitter from the KBO to receive a multi-year Major League contract in the past three years. The other two were the Pirates Jung Ho Kang, the Twins’ Byungho Park. Both with conflicting results. There is no way to project what Thames will do.
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