Spring Training Notes
February 20th, 2013 | by Ray Flowers |
Major league baseball is rocking and rolling with Spring Training underway, so now is a good time to take a little trip around the league to hit on a few of the stories making the rounds.
Mike Carp has been dealt from the Mariners to the Red Sox for a Player to be Named Later or cashola. He’ll likely serve as depth behind Mike Napoli at first base in case big Mike’s hip issue flares up. As for Carp, he’s gone deep 18 times with 71 RBIs in 545 big league at-bats spread over four seasons. He’s got decent pop though he doesn’t hit too many fly balls (33 percent) so that will cap his potential upside there even if he’s given a lot of work. A solid depth add for the Red Sox and a strong late round addition in AL-only leagues.
A follower pointed out today that Matt Holliday had a career worst strikeout total of 132 last year, and he wondered if that was a significant issue that needed to be addressed? My answer? Not really. It’s a concern that he posted a career worst total, but it’s also the only time he’s gone over 105 since 2007. In addition, his K-rate last season was 19.2 percent, a career worst, but only 1.2 percent above his 2011 mark (he appeared in 124 games in ’11 to keep his overall K total a bit muted). As players age they sometimes see an uptick in strikeouts, but Holiday’s overall skill set is very stable and I see little reason to think that he can’t repeat his totals from last season (.295-27-102-95).
Phil Hughes has a bulging disk in his back and he will be shut down for two weeks to let the area heal. There is still time for him to be available in the first week of the season, but as his Player Profile points out, you shouldn’t really care about his health as much as you might think.
Just how overlooked has Juan Marichal been when the discussion roles around to great pitchers of the past fifty years?
Shelby Miller, one day, will likely be a top of the rotation ace. Everyone believes that. Will that happen in ’13? Probably not. In fact, he may not even make the rotation out of camp. That won’t stop some from over drafting him this year though. Perhaps this note will. Miller is dealing with some soreness and tightness in his shoulder. The team believes it’s not a serious situation, but a little hiccup like this could lead to him falling out of contention for the 5th rotation spot, though it’s likely his spot to lose if he performs well.
Ever heard the urban legend of alligator’s in the sewer? Turns out it’s real…
Brett Wallace is going to play first base for the Astros, this according to Bo Porter the manager of the club. Wallace has 709 at-bats as a big leaguer, but he’s never attained the levels of success that were predicted for him when he was drafted. Wallace has hit .250 with a poor .699 OPS while going deep 16 times. He’s been a replacement level bat, simple as that. If he can’t make it happen this season he’ll likely settle in to a depth player for big league clubs for the rest of his career. With Wallace at first, that means Carlos Pena will likely be the DH most days. This seems like an odd choice to me since I don’t know of many baseball people who think that Wallace profiles as a better defensive player than Pena. By the way, Carlos will be looking to return to the 28 homer, 80 RBI level that he flashed each year from 2007-11 before dipping to 19 and 61 last year. Be careful with Pena as we all know he’s gonna kill your batting average (the last time he hit .230 was 2008). Chris Carter is likely to play left field on a regular bases with that power bat of his. He’s gone deep 19 times in just 332 at-bats, but he’s also struck out a whopping 124 times.
Did you know that Jered Weaver led AL hurlers last season with a .214 batting average against? The NL leader was Gio Gonzalez at .206. The #2 man in baseball was Clayton Kershaw at .210.
- Don’t forget to get your copy of the 2013 BaseballGuys Fantasy Baseball Draft Guide which is now available. Nearly 150 pages of insight to help you dominate the competition in 2013.
By Ray Flowers
Tags: :Phil Huhges, Brett Wallace, Carlos Pena, Chris Carter, Clayton Kershaw, Gio Gonzalez, Jered Weaver, Juan Marichal, Matt Holliday, Mike Carp, Mike Napoli, Shelby Miller
By Jimbo on Feb 20, 2013
Would it be wrong to go McCutchen then hamilton or Justin Upton?
Not sure what your take is on going two OF positions but i am not totally against it. I would really like to target 2nd, 3b, SS in the second round but every mock drops a stud OF in my lap.
By Ray Flowers on Feb 20, 2013
Jimbo – It’s never wrong to go with back to back 20/20 guys with even more upside. I would pass on Hamilton and go McC and JUp with no issue.
This is an expecially solid move if you are in a 5 OF starting lg as you should be.
By Princivalli on Feb 21, 2013
Ray, I was listening to the show on sirius/xm that comes after yours last night and the guy (not sure who it was) was belittling a caller for wanting to take Harper in mid 2nd round. Now maybe that is a bit early but his reasoning was “if Harper doesn’t go 30-30 then its a waste of a pick”. Really? Exactly WHO are you going to get in the mid-2nd round who is guaranteed to be 30-30? Who even has a reasonable chance to do that in the 2nd round? I think its more likely Harper goes 30-20 this year, more power and same or less steals. I would love to get him in the 3rd round but I would not be surprised at all to see him provide 2nd round production this year and maybe more. I certainly do not see him regressing this year. Your thoughts on this?
By Ray Flowers on Feb 21, 2013
Princivalli – I didn’t hear the comment, so can’t speak to it specifically. I’m not a huge fan of Harper in the second, but as I pointed out in the PLAYER PROFILE I wrote about him – that’s what it’s gonna cost.
http://baseballguys.com/2013/01/30/player-profile-bryce-harper/