As the first round of cuts nears, here are a few players that may just stay on a bit longer.
Honorable Mention: Matt Dominguez
This guy has been having a great spring. 2 hrs, 10 rbis, and a .314 avg in just 19 at bats. He certainly looks like the 3B the Marlins will want in the future. His fielding is superb, and his batting seems to be finally getting there. Problem is, the Marlins organization may want this 21 year old to spend a bit more time in the minors, at least until the questions about his consistency at the plate go away. Infante will be playing second base for the Marlins, so once he's ready, there'll be a spot for this up and comer.
5th. Danny Espinosa
Espinosa was strong when he joined the club last year, and certainly looked to be the SS of the future for the Nationals. But he tapered off as the year came to a close, going from rookie phenom to maybe next year. Well, next year is just about here, and he's back at it this spring. With a .407 avg, 2 hrs and 11 rbis, expect to see this guy in the opening day line-up. It doesn't hurt that he plays for an awful team.
4th. Bartolo Colon
Colon used to be one of the best pitchers in the Major Leagues. The Yankees picked him up out of sheer desperation. No one really expected him to be good. His spring stats aren't fantastic, but they're good enough for him to make this list. Colon hasn't pitched a full season since he won the CY Young award in 2005. The Yankees desperately need him to have a comeback year or they may just be watching from home come October. With a .300 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP, Colon might just be able to fill a gaping hole in the Yankees team.
3rd. Luke Hughes
Hughes debuted strong with the Twins, but got injured not long after. With the loss of Nick Punto, Hughes is in the running to fill a spot as a utility infielder. With Twins manager electing to go with oft-troubled Alexi Casilla at second base, Hughes won't get a starting job out of camp. But his 3 hrs, .370 avg, and 10 rbis will make him a prime candidate to replace Casilla should Casilla have yet another poor showing.
2nd. Andy Dirks
Another AL Central player, Andy Dirks is having a surprising spring. He has yet to make the bigs, but with a .483 avg and .559 obp, he's making a case to stay with the Tigers for a bit longer. Unfortunately for Dirks, the Tigers already have a stellar young left fielder in Brennan Boesch. If the Tigers start to have injury problems, don't count this guy out. Dirks could end up playing with the Tigers or another MLB team before year's end.
1st. Lonnie Chisenhall
Chisenhall is batting an impressive .524 for the Indians this spring. He's also hit 2 home runs in just 21 at bats. This Indians team is downright awful, and if they're front office has any brains at all, its time for Chisenhall to see some big league time. This kid was listed among MLB.com's top 50 prospects, and at only 22 years of age, he has plenty of time to grow into the Indians 3B of the future. His biggest obstacle, Jayson Nix, has batted .105 this spring. While this is no indication of big league success (or lack thereof), Nix's career .215 big league average certainly is.
Being a homer, I would add Ryan Roberts, who's currently leading all players in batting average and seems to just get hits or on base every time he steps up to the plate. He was going to be fighting with the likes of Willie Bloomquist for Arizona's final roster spots, but I think he's all but assured of one now.
ReplyDeleteI was reading up on Matt Dominguez a week ago during class instead of studying for midterms (damn you, Fangraphs chats) and Jonah Keri was also really high on Dominguez. He actually expected him to win the job, thinking that his bat would finally come around this spring - and it has. Regardless, I think most people expected him to stay down for seasoning, and I think Matt's a good pick.
Lonnie Chisenhall also I heard great things about, but he DEFINITELY seemed like he was going back down to the minors. This spring is really surprising, and I agree with you - he deserves a shot. What's the worst that can happen - he turns into Andy Marte?
Good point on Ryan Roberts. I chose not to include most (Colon being the exception) older players. Roberts certainly has been a nice surprised for Diamondbacks players, but I'd rather see young players such as Chisenhall and Dominguez break through. Roberts deserves the job, but don't expect a 30 year old to be a long-term fix. Bloomquist is even older. The D-Backs need to unload one of them in the hopes of picking up a prospect. Marte never really panned out, but for a team like the Indians, it can't hurt to try. If the Tigers hadn't given Boesch and Jackson shots last year, they might still be rotting in the minors.
ReplyDeleteAlong that subject - any thoughts on Bryce Harper?
Bryce has been more than impressive. But no way should they send him any higher than high A ball, for a number of reasons. First of all, you never want to rush a prospect, especially one of his caliber. Spring ball is much different from the regular season, and he would probably be overmatched at higher levels at least immediately. In addition, there's also the problem of the Super Two and service time - a player's service time clock starts running when he gets called up, and if you start it too early, then that player becomes arbitration eligible (and thus expensive) pretty early in his career. Doesn't matter much for a big market team, but you know the life of a smaller market team. The Nats are going to want to time Harper's callup so that his prime years coincide with the prime of their other prospects and youngsters (Jordan Zimmerman, etc.) and Jayson Werth, so that it doesn't become a situation that by the time he's really good, the Nats can't afford him anymore.
ReplyDeleteThat's absolutely true. The biggest reason why I could see him getting called up early is the media circus around him right now. This game is a business after all, and the Nats have to consider the risk that by the time he makes the bigs, no one cares any more. I agree that he should at least spend some time in Spring Ball, but if they're either competitive or interesting this year, they would benefit financially from having him boost ticked sales. Might be best to time it so that he's up once Strasburg returns. Now that would sell tickets. If by some miracle this team competes though - this all goes out the window.
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