The trend of mega-velocity has been described as baseball’s Faustian bargain: Throwing hard will get you drafted and could make you a star — and then, almost certainly, it will destroy you.
31 pitchers threw 100 mph last season. Aroldis Chapman and Mauricio Cabrera were the only two who averaged at least 100 mph on the season
There are 71 prospects who clocked 100 mph in the minor leagues last year according to Baseball America.
Tyler White will see time at second and third base this spring.
He’s still primarily a first baseman and can DH a little bit, but the more time we can see him at second and third, that makes him at the very least a viable bench candidate
Taijuan Walker is showing improved fastball command along with a sharper cut fastball,k but the move from Seattle to Arizona is not going to help. Watch out.
Zach Greinke’s velocity has been down both starts so far this spring and has allowed six hits in a little over two innings. A year ago in his second start of spring, Greinke was throwing his fastball 93 mph. On Wednesday it maxed out at 89.5 mph
Jedd Gyorko isn’t certain where he’ll be playing on a day to day basis in 2017, but manager Mike Matheny says Gyorko will have the opportunity to pick up plenty of at-bats
Luis Severino threw his fastball 98 mph Wednesday, but still got thumped on by a lineup in team Canada that was short on major league talent to begin with. Such trouble keeping his fastball down.
Severino remains likely to begin the season as a starter, either with the Yankees or with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre
There are five pitchers competing for two spots in the Yankees rotation, although Severino has the most upside – whatever that means. The other pitchers looking to make the rotation include:
The White Sox are looking for youth to rebuild and the Yankees have it. They won’t trade though, any of:
Gary Sanchez is not only good at the plate. He threw out Anthony Gose trying to steal second from his knees Saturday.
Man, do not run on #ElGary! Not even close. #Yankees pic.twitter.com/9RRGYkXhVM
— Sung Min Kim (@sung_minkim) February 26, 2017
Sanchez caught 13 of 32 runners (41 percent) attempting to steal last year.
The Royals’ Salvador Perez led the 13 qualified catchers in the big leagues by ousting 48 percent of runners. Sanchez didn’t qualify but caught 13 of 32 runners (41 percent)
#Angels LHP Tyler Skaggs’ next start pushed back. Strength test revealed a little weakness in shoulder. Fine now but team being cautious.
— Mike DiGiovanna (@MikeDiGiovanna) March 8, 2017
Skaggs turned in a shaky performance in his first start of the spring and first since Diagnosed With Mild Flexor Strain in September. He only lasted two outs – and walked four batters. His fastball velocity dipped from 89-92 to 86-88 over just those two outs.
After the most disappointing season of his career at age 28, batting .217, Ben Revere became a free agent one year ahead of schedule when the Nationals chose not to tender him a contract in November. He looks like his old self so far this spring, which might become a problem for Cameron Maybin owners, who is not having an acceptable spring at all.
Revere has reached base in all seven Cactus League games he’s played in, including a 3-for-3 performance Wednesday against the Reds. He believes that his strained oblique was the culprit of many of his struggles last year.
Albert Pujols is penciled in to make his spring debut in Friday’s home game against the Padres as Angels’ designated hitter. Scioscia said he would like Pujols to get two at-bats in the game. Dont strain yourself there, Pujols.
Yasiel Puig played 5 1/2 innings and got three at-bats Wednesday, he popped out twice but hit the ball hard his third at-bat. He’s 4 for 19 so far in spring training.
I’m preparing every day to have a good season and to help my team, and to help myself keep my friendships,Yasiel Puig
The Dodgers, sick and tired of his antics both on and off the field, sent Puig down to the minors as soon as they signed JOsh Reddick late last season. Now Puig is working to win back his starting job in right field
He is seeing lots of playing time so far this spring, as Andre Ethier, Andrew Toles and Trayce Thompson are off at the WBC.
He acknowledged that he was to blame for his behavior and agrees with why the Dodgers sent him to the minors. He says he has a new focus this season, but the Dodgers could ultimately decide to platoon Puig in right field anyway. Perhaps with Toles, Ethier or Franklin Gutierrez.
He seems to be fitting in fine in the clubhouse, making conversation, and joking around in English.
As far as in the clubhouse, he’s doing everything he’s supposed to do. He’s doing what everyone else is doing and working hard, preparing, As far as in-game, the defense has got to be the defense, which is plus, and for him it’s about going out there and having good at-bats.
The White Sox haven’t shared any timetable for Carlos Rodon to make his spring debut, but he will be brought back slowly after dealing with arm fatigue from 28 starts, 165 innings.
- Speed guy – rated the fastest player in the St. Louis Cardinals organization by Baseball America in 2013
- Injured a hamstring in his major league debut last August and underwent season-ending surgery. Had us worried that his greatest asset might be compromised. Fortunately, all seems well on that front.
- He reported to spring training with the inside track on a starting job before hurting his right foot, a stress reaction that has kept him out of all games since.
Jason Kipnis says he can swing the bat without any pain but it hurts when he throws. Kipnis injured this shoulder two years ago, when he spent time on the disabled list due to a sore labrum. Now it is the rotator cuff.
Miguel Sano batted only .236 last season while setting a new franchise record for striking out 178 times in 116 games. Send this man a trophy. Sano enters the spring looking to restore his power at the plate by lowering his hands on the bat
He said hands up high takes me too much time to [get in position to] swing. I Put my hands lower, and it’s just one move. Faster. If I put [my hands] lower, I have more time. I can see the ball more, I start them down, see the pitch, and boom.Miguel Sano
Joc Pederson platooned with Trayce Thompson the first half last season, limiting him to 77 plate appearances against lefties. He went 8 for 64 (.125) with 22 strikeouts and hit just one of his 25 home runs against lefties. Pederson will get more at-bats against lefties this spring
Pederson finished second on the Dodgers, only to Corey Seager, in Slugging Percentage (.512), OPS (.847) and OPS-plus (129).
Martin Perez The Good:
Lefties batted an American League lowest .176 against Martin Perez last season. He only gave up 19 home runs while inducing an MLB-best and club-record 36 ground ball double plays. He also saw his velocity go up.
Martin Perez The Bad:
4.39 ERA over 33 starts, caused in part by the fact that he walked 76 batters and struck out only 103. 1.45 WHIP
On the road he is even worse with a 5.78 ERA
Take a listen to what Theo Epstein had to say when he called in to the SiriusXM Fantasy Baseball show yesterday.
Andrea and Theo sitting in a tree, playing Fantasy Baseball. Oh wait…Lenny and Andrea sitting in a tree…
Schwarber!!! What??
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