Notes from the Grapefruit and Cactus leagues (Ides of March Edition)...
After the trade of Jean Segura there was going to be a new SS in Milwaukee. How long the new guy stays there will depend on how much progress the "SS of the future" makes.
Jonathan Villar- SS- MIL- Villar had gotten stuck behind Carlos Correa in Houston so a change of scenery to Milwaukee helps him. Villar stole 35 bases at AAA in 70 games last season. If he ends up leading off for the Brewers he can contribute in that category. The big question, though, is how soon top prospect Orlando Arcia will be ready. Villar will be the starter for now but the odds are he won't be at the end of the season. He could end up with another team.
Orlando Arcia- SS- MIL- Arcia was optioned to the Milwaukee minor league camp. This was not an unexpected turn of events for the 21-year-old. Although he is their top prospect and has 4 minor league seasons under his belt he is just 21. Arcia needs to prove himself at AAA. The odds are that he will. His bat is solid (.307 last year) as is his speed (89 SBs in 440 minor league games.) His power is expected to develop further.
Recent possible injury news about Matt Wieters have put the Orioles' catching situation in the spotlight. The signing of Pedro Alvarez also cleared up some of the OF pecking order.
Matt Wieters- C- BAL- The good news is that manager Buck Showalter said Wieters' MRI on his elbow came up negative. The bad news is that the Orioles had said he wasn't going to have an MRI. Wieters had come out of Saturday's game with a sore elbow. Baltimore had downplayed it and said the x-ray they took was going to be enough. The Orioles had been overly optimistic last spring and Wieters ended up missing most of the year. He needs to be watched closely now to make sure history doesn't repeat itself.
Caleb Joseph- C- BAL- With Wieters' health in a bit of flux attention turns to Joseph. With Wieters out most of 2015 recovering from Tommy John surgery, Joseph picked up 355 PAs. He slugged 11 homers. Joseph has managed to put up power numbers at every level he has played. If he ends up with significant playing time this year he should do that again.
Mark Trumbo- OF- BAL- When Trumbo was acquired by the Orioles in December it was thought he would take over at 1B after talks with Chris Davis had sputtered. Then Davis resigned so Trumbo was going to primarily DH. But the Orioles weren't done and signed Pedro Alvarez. Fortunately, RF was still an unsettled position so Trumbo has shifted there on the depth chart. He played a career-high 76 games there in 2015 so it's definitely not unfamiliar territory. Trumbo's average increased from .235 in 2014 to .262 last year, but that followed an increase in BABIP from .274 to .313. His ISO remained below .190. The big question is whether Trumbo is now completely recovered from a fractured foot and can take advantage of hitter-friendly Camden Yards. It would be better if he was in the DH slot, but this is a good spot for Trumbo to try a resurgence.
Texas has some nagging injuries in their camp which is slowing down the preparation of some players.
Rougned Odor- 2B- TEX- Odor has been out with an oblique strain. He did take BP on Sunday and will do so again today. Odor still has no schedule for return to game action and won't have one at least until he is reevaluated on Thursday. He is looking to build on his breakthrough season of 2015, which kicked in after a demotion to the minors. Odor came back with power (.527 SLG) and more plate discipline (1K per 6.72 PAs as opposed to 4.12 before getting sent down.) If the oblique issue isn't a nagging one Odor should be able to pick up where he left off and possibly hit 20 homers and steal 10 bases this year.
Ike Davis- 1B- TEX- Davis came to camp on a minor league deal looking to be in the 1B/DH mix with Prince Fielder and Mitch Moreland. A couple of things have become major obstacles to the former 32-homer player sticking with Texas. First. Davis has been sidelined for a week (and counting) with a sprained knee. Second is manager Jeff Banister tossing around the idea of opening the regular season with 8 relievers, leaving no room for someone in Davis' role. It looks like Davis should not be anywhere near a sleeper list.
Maikel Franco- 3B- PHI- Franco hit his 5th and 6th homers of the Spring to lead all players. That is 6 homers more than he hit in 68 ABs in his previous 2 Spring Trainings. In this early going Franco is poised to improve on his .217 ISO of 2015.
Victor Martinez- DH- DET- Martinez suffered what was termed a "mild hamstring strain" and left yesterday's game. He will be out of action for at least several days. When talking about a 37-year-old, just about no hamstring strain can be considered "minor." If the situation lingers the already slim chances of Martinez bouncing back to the level of production he showed in 2014 will get slimmer.
Jedd Gyorko- 2B- STL- Gyorko got his shot at starting at SS in the battle to take over for the injured Jhonny Peralta. Gyorko went 0-for-3 with a strikeout before giving way to fellow contender Aledmys Diaz, who singled and scored in his AB. Greg Garcia rounds out the players battling it out. The cardinals have not even given a definitive answer as to whether a final decision will be made by Opening Day so this situation may stay in flux for a while.
Blake Swihart- C- BOS- Swihart left Sunday's game after taking a foul ball square off his mask. He was diagnosed with a bruised jaw but didn't exhibit signs of a concussion. Swihart didn't play in yesterday's Grapefruit League game but isn't expected to suffer any lasting effects.
Michael Lorenzen- P- CIN- Lorenzen suffered a major setback in his attempt at securing one of Cincinnati's three open rotation spots. He has been scratched from tomorrow's scheduled Cactus League start and will be undergoing an MRI on a tender elbow. Lorenzen tried to play catch on Sunday but it didn't go well.
Chris Archer- P- TB- In surprising news Sunday, Syracuse got a 10 seed in the NCAA basketball tourney. In wholly unsurprising news yesterday, Archer was named as the Opening Day starter for the Rays. This is Archer's second Opening Day start, following his outing last year after Alex Cobb went down with injury. Archer also made the All Star team for the first time in 2015 so his pick was not controversial.
Aaron Sanchez- P- TOR- Sanchez has bounced back and forth between the bullpen and rotation in his Toronto career. In 2015 he posted a 5.21 FIP as a starter and 3.10 as a reliever. Still, the dream has not dies of putting Sanchez in the rotation on a permanent basis and he is a contender for the 5th starter slot. He made a good first outing starting yesterday, shutting out the Rays for 4 IP. This was better than any of the 6 starts he posted last spring.
Steve Cishek- RP- SEA- Cishek hasn't been in a game since March 6 but did throw a bullpen session yesterday as he works through some biceps tenderness. Cishek is still projected to be the Seattle closer come Opening Day.
David Wright- 3B- NYN- Wright saw his first game action of the spring, although it was in a minor league intrasquad scrimmage. He led off each of the first 5 innings of the game (a little bending of the rules in a game where, like "Whose Line is it Anyway?", the points don't matter.) Wright didn't report any problems, notching a single. He will take live BP today and might play in a real game that doesn't count on Thursday. There are still a lot of questions about how much production Wright can provide in 2016.
