Last Night's Opening Game

 Short post on this one.

Opening Lineup: Very interesting as Francona stacked his lineup in 3 lefties in order followed by two righties.  An examination of the Mariner's roster shows they have no lefties in their bullpen which makes, once again, Francona a genius.  

As far as the game:

• Very little offense.  
• Notable was Ramirez screwing himself into the ground trying to hit a pitch that almost hit him in the knee.  He is a great player but the fact that he keeps doing this year after year shows me that he is not maturing as a hitter.
• Bell hitting two weak groundballs before his hard groundball basehit which, last year, would have been an out.  So the lack of shift may help him.
• Castillo was tough.  Kwan worked the count in the first inning to the max but on the decisive pitch which Kwan excels at (last year .892 OPS with a full-count), Castillo got him to pop out in foul territory to third base.
• The rest of the lineup looked like they were facing a really tough pitcher.  Just one of those nights and not untypical for recent Cleveland teams on opening day.
• Pitching
• Bieber was supposed to be stronger this year.  Last night he looked like Bieber the 2022 version.  Struggling to get his velo over 91, working out of jams, looking like a great competitor.  And Frnacona kept his pitchcount reasonable.
• Stephan looked good
• De Los Santos looked great coming in in the middle of an inning.
• Karinchak sucked but, hopefully, that was an aberration and not a sign of things to come.

Tonight the rookie Gaddis pitching against the former Cy Young winner Robbie Ray.  Whenever things like that set up many times the result turns out to be the opposite of what you would expect.  Go Guardians!

Opening Day Roster, Options, 60-Day DL, 15-Day DL, 10-Day IL

As we approach the season, the terms in the title of this post become more important.  Here are some important details about each

1, Options 

All players, once on the 40-man roster, can be sent to the minors in 3 different years.  If they are sent to the minors in a 4th year they have to first be DFA'd meaning they could be lost to waivers.   Diving deeper into the rule a player can be optioned to the minors at any time but that option only takes effect on opening day and the player has to be in the minors for 20 days to burn that option year.  So, even though Xzavion Curry was optioned to the minors he did not stay in the minors for 20 days after being optioned and he was back on the roster at the start of the season.  For both reasons, Curry, who started the season with two options, still has those two options.  You can find those rules here: Minor League Options | Glossary .

For the Guardians, assuming the rest of the guys who were optioned to the minors STAY in the minors for the first 20 days after being optioned (includes spring training time after being optioned), here are the option years they have left after 2023 per the great article in "Covering the Corner" ( Guardians have plenty of options thanks to their plentiful options ) and adjusting their list for guys already optioned this year for guys currently on the 40-man roster are:

• Players with three options remaining: Steven Kwan, Josh Naylor, Oscar Gonzalez, Will Brennan, Zach Plesac, Emmanuel Clase, Trevor Stephan, Nick Sandlin, Tim Herrin, Cody Morris,
• Players with two options remaining: Juan Brito, Bo Naylor, Angel Martinez, Joey Cantillo, Andrés Giménez, Myles Straw, Shane Bieber, Cal Quantrill, Aaron Civale, George Valera James Karinchak, Eli Morgan, Hunter Gaddis, Xzavion Curry
• Players with one option remaining: Richie Palacios, Bryan Lavastida, Tyler Freeman, Brayan Rocchio, Jose Tena, Jhonkensy Noel, Konnor Pilkington, Gabriel Arias and Triston McKenzie.
• Players with no options remaining or enough service time to become free agents: Mike Zunino, Cam Gallagher, Meibrys Viloria, Enyel De Los Santos, Josh Bell, Jose Ramirez.

2. 60-Day DL, 15 Day DL, 10 Day IL

While a player can be placed on the 60 Day DL anytime after March 1st, the timeclock for that stay in the minors begins on opening day.  Unlike the 15 day (pitchers) and 10 Day (position players) lists, the 60 day DL is NOT retroactive to their last game played.  A player on the 60-day DL doesn't count against the active roster or the 40-man roster.  With Cody Morris, he won't be able to pitch in the majors until the beginning of June.  He can go the minors for rehab which, I think, can last from 2 weeks to 30 days at which time he either has to be placed ont he roster or optioned to the minors, if he has options left. 

Apparently McKenzie, Hentges and Valera are not being placed on the 60 day DL but are on the shorter lists, which explains why Valera still has two options left.  Once these three come off the DL they will have to, after going on a rehab assignment either be added to the major league roster or optioned to the minors.   This is why you don't use the 60-day DL unless you absolutely needs to.  If McKenzie, Valera and Hentges are suppposed to come back BEFORE 60 days then you lose their services for longer than necessary with a 60-day DL placement.   Players can be moved from the 15 or 10 Day lists to the 60 day list and the time served on the shorter lists does count against the 60 day limit so making that move on these two guys later, if necessary, makes more sense.

NOTE: Valera does not appear to be on the IL and has been sent to Columbus, essentially burning one of his options.  Probably a reason for this but I don't understand it as he remains on the 40-man (as opposed to being on the 60-day DL) in addition to burning an option.  

3. Opening Day Roster

The real drama here was how they would make space for Gallagher and Viloria.  As expected, Jason Bilous was DFA'd and the other spot came from a 60-Day DL, although I though it might be George Valera and not Cody Morris.  Obviously Hentges and Valera could still be transferred to the 60 day list depending on how their rehab is going.  My guess would be that Viloria would be DFA'd if we needed to bring up a pitcher from Columbus who is not on the 40-man right now (Battenfield?  Marman?).

OK, people.  Time to play ball for real.  Go Guardians!

Rule 5 Update

 Just a quick update:  

Kevin Kelly has made the Tampa Bay Rays opening day roster.

Nic Enright will likely start the season on the IL as he works his way back from his cancer treatments.

So, at least so far, it looks like Kelly and Enright will not be coming back to the Guardians.  Things might change but that's what we know right now.

I wish them both well in their careers and I hope they both have Trevor Stephan-like success for their new teams (except when they are playing the Guardians, of course).

The Putting-All-My-Predictions-In-One-Post-Blog-Article

 OK, it's prediction time.   For me, this time of year is kind of like an internet time capsule where I can write things down only to be able to 'open' them after the season so I can laugh at myself.  I have put them all in one spot to make them easier to find at the end of season when my prediction list will probably look a lot like my NCAA men's basketball bracket this year (hopefully in a San Diego State, Florida Atlantic kinda way).  Note that some of these predictions I have already made in posts leading up to the season and I will also recap them, with links include, here.  

So, without further ado, here goes:

W/L Records for 2023:

Cleveland Guardians: 91-71 - If you remember, in November (Cleveland Guardians Perspective: A way too early look at our record next year ) I did a game-by-game analysis of how I thought the Guardians would do with the new, balanced schedule.  This is the number I came up with.   Even though we have injuries and there has been significant player movement among teams since I did this analysis, I stick by it as my projection.

Columbus Clippers: 86-64 - I see us backing up a lot of our top prospects at this level as we wait for roster spots to clear in the fall and sprinkle in some veterans to fill out the roster.  Although this will not be the typical successful AAA team stocked with AAAA players, I see this team excelling this year.

Akron Rubber Ducks: 69-69 - While we will have some of our best pitching prospects here to begin the season, I think the offense is going to be so light that we won't win that many games.

Lake County Captains: 73-59 - I see some overachieving going on at this level and, although Chase DeLauter won't contribute due to his injury, I see us getting a lot of contributions from guys who may end up at this level all year due to logjams above them.  

Lynchburg Hillcats: 66-66 - This is an optimistic projection for this team which always seems to be underage compared to the league average.   Again, just like last year, some interesting prospects and maybe a number of guys breaking out this year (see below) but not enough experience to post a winning record.

Guys Making Their Major League Debuts This Year

Regular Players

Tim Herrin

George Valera

Brayan Rocchio

George Valera

Jhonkensy Noel

Injury callups only during the season

Logan T. Allen

David Fry

Peyton Battenfield

Micah Pries

Kyle Marman

Summary:  Sorry, I don't think you will see Williams or Bibee this year.  Nor will you see any of the middle infielders other than Rocchio.   None of the guys we got in trades (Carver, Boyd, Haffer, Brito) are close enough to the major leagues to be called.  Some of these guys, as the list indicates, will only be called up due to injuries.   As there has been the past two years there will be a big strain on the 40-man roster in the 2023/4 offseason so we will likely only add guys who we are not afraid to lose to being DFA'd.   Noel will probably have a Bo Naylor-like callup in September just to get his 'firsts' out of the way approaching 2024.  If we are out of the race around the trading deadline it is possible that we may trade Rosario and Bell, opening up roster space for Noel, Pries and Fry.

Breakout Prospects for 2023

I posted earlier this year (Cleveland Guardians Perspective: Way Too Early Look At 2023 Breakout Prospects) about 10 prospects who I think are ready to break  out this year.  Here is that list plus one guy I added since I was at spring training this year:

1. Ryan Webb

2. Doug Nikhazy

3. Jose Cedeno

4. Jonathon Rodriguez

5.Dayan Frias

6. Juan Brito

7. Ethan Hankins

8. Justin Boyd

9. Gabriel Rodriguez 

10. Mason Hickman

11. (new addition to this list) Aaron Davenport

Ten Prospects To Watch Very Closely This Season

I recently posted (Cleveland Guardians Perspective: Ten Prospects To Watch Very Closely This Year) on 10 prospects who I think are at a critical time in their careers.  A good season this season could vault them up the prospect rankings.  A bad season could drop them into the suspect/organizational player category. 

10. Gabriel Rodriguez

9. Alexfri Planez

8. Jonathon Rodriguez

7. Micah Pries

6. Isaiah Greene

5. Tanner Burns

4. Jake Fox

3. Juan Brito

2. Ethan Hankins

1. Logan T. Allen

Ten Very Interesting Recent International Signees To Watch This Year

I just posted on this a couple of days ago (Cleveland Guardians Perspective: 10 Very Interesting and Recent International Free Agent Signings.).  

1. Jaison Churio OF

2. Angel Genao SS

3. Jose Cedeno C

4. Austin Aldeano RHP

5.Juan Benjamin 2B

6. Wuilfredo Antunez OF

7. Maick Collado 1B/3B

8. Nelson Aranguen C/1B

9. Rafael Ramirez, Jr.  SS

10. Manuel Mejias C

 

Plus, two guys who signed in January who you would think should be in the DSL this year but, if their ability matches their hype, might sneak into the ACL this summer:

1. Welbyn Francisca 2B

2. Yerlin Luis OF

Post For A Tuesday: Reading Too Much Into Everything Day

 1. Looking at the last 5 games (and discounting Plesac's first inning of his start last Friday), here is the combined line for our last 5 starting pitcher performances by Plesac, Bieber, McKenzie, Civale Quantrill:

21 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 6 BB, 26 K, 3 HP, 1 WP 1.29 ERA

Now, I know this is spring training but that's some pretty darn good pitching, especially when you consider 2 of those walks and 2 of those HBPs came in the second inning today after which Quantrill righted the ship.  

2. Did you ever notice that the guys playing at the end of the Guardians' exhibition games in recent weeks were guys unlikely to be on Columbus roster?  In fact, most of these kids up to this series with Arizona were kids likely to be left in extended spring training and then play in the ACL this season. In today's game the guys who played may have been guys who have not yet been assigned to a team.   Escobedo, Valdes, Holland, Bracho and Cairo have struggled on occasion in the past.   Gabriel Rodriguez is coming off an injury, Naranjo struggled for two years at Lake County and Cavenaugh is a first-year player who might have had a hard time, as an outfielder, finding a team to play on with our glut of outfielders.  Yesterday, Brito, Burgos, Bartlett, Lipscomb, Delgado, Tollentino and Durango are likely to all be playing A+ ball or below this coming season.

Certainly, none of these guys look like shoe-ins to play at either Akron or Columbus this year.  I don't know if this is how they do it every year but I would have certainly liked to see Bibee, Williams, Burns and some of stud minor league pitchers in a game or two.  It does look like they are trying to focus on getting these guys into their minor league routines as opposed to defocusing them with a one-off in a major league exhibition game.  For an organization that hardly lets any of their draftees play the year they are drafted, this falls in line with them wanting these guys spending 100% of their time exactly in their development with no interruptions.

3. The extensions to Gimenez, Stephan and, hopefully, Kwan would give us a core in the future.  I don't believe that a Bieber extension is out of the question and, although unlikely, I don't know that a Rosario extension is, either.  

4. Are we seeing Arizona mirages or does Myles Straw look like he is following the organization's suggestions of swinging harder this year.  It is good to see him hitting with authority and pulling the ball in so doing.

5. As far as McKenzie, I am hoping that the Guardians are being cautious with their projections.  I see no reason why they would sandbag us with a long projection but a number of people are thinking that 8 weeks may be an extreme projection for this sort of injury.

6. Let's hope there are no more lingering injuries that we don't know about.  Jose screwed himself into the ground pretty good the other day trying to hit a low-and-in pitch that almost clipped his knee.  While he does this all the time when I saw the replay I just winced and hoped he didn't catch a spike.

7. Well, we are at the end.  I can't wait for Thursday and to see who is assigned to which minor league team.  I dred that some guys who we used to count among our best prospects will be cut soon.  I have guys in mind who I think are at risk but I will keep my fingers crossed I am wrong.

5. 

Examing Our Winter Deals

 We made a number of small deals this winter.  Would have liked to seen all these guys bunched together to get a top prospect or a major league guy (like the Phillies did with Gregory Soto) but we didn't do that so let's see who we gave up and who we got back:

1. Owen Miller to Milwaukee for a PTBNL - Miller just made the Brewers' roster as a utility player.  We still don't know who the PTBNL will be but it should be someone of the ilk of Justin Boyd OR Steve Hajjer.  It shouldn't be an Andrew Monasterio type return.  

2. Carlos Vargas for Ross Carver - Vargas has apparently made the D-backs and showed off his 100+ mph fastball against the Guardians yesterday.  Haven't heard much about Carver this spring but I did make a Carver sighting when I was at spring training.   This was, in my opinion, a no-lose trade for Arizona.  Not so much for the Guardians unless Carver becomes Peyton Battenfield part deux or better.  Time will tell.

3. Will Benson for Justin Boyd and Steve Hajjer - Benson will apparently be in the starting lineup on opening day after having an excellent spring.  Hajjer was rated at the 26-29th best prospect for the Reds before the trade but had been on the IL with shoulder problems 3 separate times last year and Boyd, although he was a second round pick in 2022, wasn't listed in Cincinnati's top 46 prospects on any site I saw.   Seems like a decent return for the Benson that LEFT Cleveland.  We will see if it was a good return for the Benson that arrived in Cincinnati.  Remember Brandon Phillips and Tyler Naquin for guys we gave up on who went on to have success in Cincinnati.   Not wishing Benson ill-will, just wishing us better results than we had in the other two moves.

That's it for those deals.  The Guardians' way of competing within the financial structure of MLB is  dependent on developing their own prospects to become major leaguers.  Part of that is not giving away players and getting nothing or very little back.  I mean, we got David Fry for JC Mejia and that is turning out to be EXACTLY the type of trade we should make in that situation.  You can't win every trade but, on paper, given what the Guardians are after long-term, you should win them on paper at the time.  Boyd fits with what they want (speedy college outfielders who can play center field and have good contact and pitch judgement skills).   Hajjer and Carver are immediately injected into the Guardians Finishing School For Young Pitchers.  They both have good stuff.  Let's see if the Guardians can turn that into success-in-the-majors stuff.

As I said, I would have tried to bunch those guys and get one good player from a team that is rebuilding.  Maybe they did.   But maybe, depending on the final version of the Owen Miller trade, they got quantity that they hope they can turn into quality.  Let's hope so.  The future depends on it.

10 Very Interesting and Recent International Free Agent Signings.

 The most difficult thing for a prospect geek like me is to gauge the talent and potential of recent international signees.  It is so hard to judge the results from the Dominican Summer League and the Arizona Complex League.  Also, without direct access to the Fall Instructional League it is hard to get a handle on the buzz around Latin American prospects participating there.

So, with limited information, here is a list of 10 recent international free agents who I think may show out this year.  Remember, there are many more guys with intriguing tools who could have been on this list and it is in no way a slight to their abilities if they didn't make it onto this list.  

1. Jaison Chourio - OF - The most exciting international signing from last year in terms of current, visible potential there is a lot of hype surrounding him.  Statistically, it is hard to separate his performance in the DSL from everyone else as only his walk rate looked elite.  Still, the hype is real and you could feel it in the minor league camp this year.

2. Angel Genao - SS - The most hyped prospect from the 2021 signing group, Genao, truth be told, is probably the jewel of the farm system when considering only recent international signees.  His biggest downside, as near as I can tell, is that he is not exhibiting elite walk rates and his K rate is a little high for a SS at his level.

3. Jose Cedeno - I have loved his batting stroke since last year.  I think he is taller than his listed 5'7", maybe closer to or even over 6'0" now.  He played last year in the DSL so I think he will start in extended spring training but there is an outside chance he will see time in Lynchburg this year.

5. Austin Aldeano: - RHP - He spent most of last year in the DSL with a single appearnce in the ACL.  He is still only 18 but I think we will find this year that he is mature beyond his years.  It is not out of the question that he starts the season in the roation in Lynchburg.

5. Juan Benjamin - 2B - Benjamin doesn't have a very long track record but the fact that he hit .300 in the ACL last year with power (SLG .532) and good OB skills (OBP .462) as a middle infielder has put him on the map.  He will likely start at Lynchburg.

6. Wuilfredo Antunez - OF - Antunez is an older prospect for not having played a lot on a full-season club.  This is an important season for him as, despite his young age, he will be eligible for the Rule 5 this winter, another product of the lost 2020 minor league season.  When I saw him in spring training you could see the talent, but he appeared a little hard on himself.  Maybe that is just the way he motivates himself or maybe because he feels the pressure to make and perform on a full-season team this year.  I think he should start and be a key player in Lynchburg this year.

7. Maik Collado - 1B/3B - Collado is a personal favorite of mine.  He performed well last year in the ACL, although this could be a little deceiving as he was less than a year younger than the average prospect.  given that he is already 20+ years old her really needs to perform this year in Lynchburg so that he can get some time in Lake County this year to, hopefully, accelerate his development.  Power has not shown up yet but I expect it to show up a little more this year.  With any luck he will end up 2023 with his prospect status being somewhere between Noel's and Planez's.

8. Nelson Aranguen - C/1B - This guy looks powerful when you see him in person and he shows some power in batting practice.  Along with some of the other international signees (see below) and recent HS draftee Logun Clark, the catching position in the lower minors is stocked with interesting prospects.

9. Rafael Ramirez, Jr. - SS - His dad played in the majors and he was featured a couple times at the end of ST this year.  He fits the bill of having a good glove and hit tool and is somone I expect to dominate in the ACL this year if his spring performance doesn't have the Guardians gamble and send him to Lynchburg this year.  If any prospect can make that leap it would be more likely that it would be the son of a former major leaguer.  

10. Manuel Mejias - Along with Victor Izturis and Nelso Aranguen, they make up the trio of good, young international signees whose primary position is catcher.  Mejias is one class ahead of Izturis so I have included him as my 10th prospect on this 10 prospect list as Mejias is more likely to play this year at Lynchburg.  But, make no mistake about it, from what I saw this spring they both can play.

Two guys who didn't make this list because they were just signed in January and have absolutely no track record in pro ball are listed below.

11. Welbyn Francisca- 2B - This is the first of two 2023 international signees.  Francisca will likely spend the entire year on our Dominican Summer League team.  He is a highly-rated prospect but, given this is his first year, it will be hard to determine how he is progressing toward his potential because of the low competition level in the DSL.  

12. Yerlin Luis - OF - The other 2023 signee on this list, he shows a range of talents in a position, outfield, where the Guardians have had a lot of success in recent years in developing guys they have picked up as international signees. Like Francisca, his 2023 will likely be buried in the mass of players in the DSL but, like Chourio, he may stand out enough that the gets deserved hype and makes the meteoric rist that Chourio apparently has.

Meibrys Viloria on the 26- and 40-man. Reading between the lines

 OK, so, for right now, Viloria is on the roster.  But the rumblings are that it only stays this way if we don't have another transaction (trade, waiver claim, free agent signing) that could change that.  Taking a deep look at our 26 man roster, here is what I see:

Starting pitcher:   Plesac and Civale are the 'weak' links.  Actually, they are not weak by MLB standards.  Could we be a better team if we traded for a #2 or #3 starter.  Clearly.  But is this an area of need?  No, not in the slightest based on what I have seen and heard about the team this spring.

Bullpen - You can never have enough arms.   Still, the Guardians felt good enough about their position coming into and during spring training that they didn't sign any guys (e.g., Bryan Shaw, Will Smith) who had hung around free agency until ST started.  That shows me they feel good about their bullpen.  I am not so confident as the replacements from down below have thinned out a lot due to injuries.  Could we add here?  Certainly, but I don't see that impacting Viloria.

Infield - The starting spots are set and, as long as Arias is not injured, we are good to go with our spare infielder.  Could we use another grizzled veteran to be our 26th player?  Sure, but I don't see us adding one as we didn't add one on a minor league deal this off-season.  Nor should we, with our MIF depth.

Catcher - We spent money on Zunino.  If he is healthy I don't see us making a move here as we have the backup(s) we need and we have the future in Naylor.

Outfield: We have starters in Kwan, Straw and Gonzalez and our ideal backup in Brennan.  The only weakness there is Gonzalez, as we don't know if last year was a fluke or whether he will turn into the guy that wasn't even considered good enough to be rostered last winter.  I may be myopic here but I do see room to improve based on past conversations.  That conversation revolves around Bryan Reynolds.  Just like the Guardians were last spring with Jose Ramirez, the Pirates are in a similar, but not identical place with Reynolds.  The Pirates are not even close in numbers to compromising on a dollar figure for an extension with Reynolds and they might be where we were last year with Ramirez, ready to trade Reynolds if they can't get an extension hammered out before the season.  I am not a huge Reynolds fan based on my read of his stats but, who knows.

So, outfield is where I think we have the greatest current weakness although I don't necessarily see how adding in the outfield could necessarily cost us Viloria's roster spot as whoever we trade for Reynolds would likely be on the 40-man, clearing some space 

So, I don't know.  There seems to be no logical move that I see, based on need, that would cause Viloria not to be rostered. 

Thoughts For A Saturday Night - Roster, Trade Completion and March 25th Game

ROSTER

There was a scene in "Moneyball" where Art Howe said he was going to play Carlos Pena against Billy Beane's wishes that Howe play Scott Hatteberg.  When Howe wouldn't relent, Beane simply traded Pena to Detroit, ending the disagreement.

Today, I had to laugh as all of the pundits, including me, probably got a little bit like Art Howe must have felt (if you believe that the movie told what really happened).

While we were all arguing back and forth about Roman Quinn and Richie Palacios and while my choice: David Fry, was sent to the minor leagues, the Guardians instead chose to, most likely, include Mebrys Viloria on the opening 26.   So we will start the season with 3 guys who are all slow, not very good hitters and all play the same position, exclusively.  

I don't understand it as, if you are going to keep Viloria why not keep Fry who has shown good defense at 3rd and at first, in addition to his work at catcher?  I don't really understand the FO decision here, but it is what it is.  Fry punctuated this again tonight with a good play at 1B, a good batting eye (drawing our only walk) and a HR to the opposite field off Rockies' closer Daniel Bard.

THE WILL BENSON TRADE IS NOW COMPLETE

Will Benson was traded for two second round picks. Are these guys really second round talents?   Hajjar was the 100th best player in his draft class (drafted 61st) and Boyd was the 135th best prospect in his draft class (drafted 65th),  Still, we did a lot better in this trade, at least so far, than two other times we made a move to jettison a player we didn't think would be anything who was picked up by the Reds.

April 7, 2006 - Traded Brandon Phillips to Cincinnati for a PTBNL who turned out to be Jeff Stevens.

December 2, 2020 - Granted Tyler Naquin free agency.  He was signed by Cincinnati on February 18, 2021.

So, here's to hoping we hit big with Hajjar (ranked in the top 30 of Cincinnati's sytem) and Boyd (currently ranked 29th in our system).  I think if someone would have told me that we could get two prospects this good for Benson I would have taken it then...just like I am taking it as a good return now..

TONIGHT'S GAME

Crap, I don't ever remember seeing a spring training performance like I did from Bieber tonight.  I mean, like EVER>  Eleven Ks in 6 2/3 innings and only 4 hits and no walks.  And against a lot of Colorado regulars.

Karinchak and Sandlin looked good and Davis Sharpe looked not so good as his fastball only sat at 91 and he had trouble with his control/command.  But he still got the save.

As far as the hitters, besides Fry's HR and walk, Straw ripped a double (albeit on a 77 mph pitch), Brennan ripped a long double off the wall in left-center, Kwan had an RBI single while hitting out of the 3rd spot, Gonzalez hit a hard double down the line in left, Zunino got a bloop double and Tolentino got a triple and Delgado beat out an infield hit and then scored from first on Straw's double.

I still think Straw and Gonzalez have some work to do as they took some weak swings but they are at least trending in the right direction.  

I hope to see Fry back here helping us sooner rather than later.  

No defensive gaffes tonight except for Brennan's bobble of McMahon's base hit that let him to get into position to score the only run Bieber gave up and, of course, Fry's good catch near the first base stands.

Whatever else, good or bad, happened in the game tonight, Bieber's performance makes the night feel good.  Let's keep him healthy throughout the season and let that arm eat!

March 24 Game - This is Why the NFL Exhibition Season Has Become a Joke

 You know, Bro, (to quote a famous Guardians' player) at this point in spring training you just want to wrap the players up like Mrs. Parker did to Randy before he went outside in "A Christmas Story".

The reason: At this point in spring training only bad things (read: injuries) can happen.  From Tim Herrin getting hit on his pitching elbow WHILE SITTING IN THE DUGOUT AFTER HE WAS DONE PITCHING to almost getting cut in half by a line drive last night, from Gabriel Arias getting hit on the hand last night to minor leaguer Kyle Marman slipping on his delivery and going down in a heap in front of the pitching mound.  All that is going through my mind is "Oh, no.  Not now".  

Just ask the Phillies about Rhys Hopkins, going down on a play I have watched replay a dozen times now and STILL am trying to figure out how it could have ended up in a season-ending injury.  

When your 26-man roster is built on a house of cards because of a combination of a 40-man roster stuffed with prospects who you wouldn't want to DFA and your top prospects being tantalizingly close to ready for the major leagues...but not there yet, it is a nervous time.   Come July we will probably see enough reinforcements ready to give us more comfort.  But right now, we are paper thin.

With this backdrop, these last few exhibition games remind me of the whole NFL exhibition season.  The borderline guys play their butts off trying to make the roster while the key players are wrapped in bubble wrap waiting for the regular season.  

Lots of good things happened last night, but with these games STILL being spring training where results can end up as mirages, the thing that stuck in my mind was Arias' hand.  His right hand. The one he throws with.  So, when the news came out that he hadn't suffered any broken bones I was really relieved, although I still question whether he will be ready for opening day.  So it sent me scrambling for information. If they do have to put him on the IL could they recall Tyler Freeman without using up one of his options?  The answer is yes and would apply to anyone on the 40-man they have sent down to the minors.  That option is only burned 20 days after the player is optioned.  Any recall to the majors before that negates the loss of that option.  So, we are covered if we would recall Freeman or Rocchio to replace Arias...until we send them to the minors again for more than 20 days.

So, enough already about bubble wrap the NFL and continengcy plans.  Wiping that out of my mind let's talk about last night's game.

PITCHING

Plesac looked shaky in the first inning but righted himself after that.  Given what else we have seen this spring I think this performance tells me that Plesac will be OK and that he is just rounding into his optimal form.  Will he be there by the time he makes his first start of the season?  50/50 on that one but I think, to me, he looks more than good enough for the 5th spot and, to me, like he will blow away his 3-12, 4.31 ERA from last year.

Morgan looked good flashing enough of a fastball and a couple of killer changeups with mid-season movement on them.  

Karinchak looked good, especially his pace of pitching which, to me, along with his haircut, shows signs of maturity and understanding of his role in helping this team be successful.  Really excited about him this year and hoping he stays healthy.

Herrin looked really good, given his elbow's collision with the baseball a couple of days ago. I think he can be an excellent placeholder for Hentges and will give Francona pause whether to go 6/2 or 7/1 (R/L bullpen mix) when Hentges comes back.

Finally, Kyle Marman showed me some poise in coming in in the 9th inning and slamming the door.  His breaking ball was killer both in movement and location and, although he gave up a slap hit, he looked very dominant in getting the save.  

HITTING

Ramirez and Bell each going 2-3 with a blast was very positive.  

Straw going 2-3 with a dinger of his own made me smile.

Zunino with a hit was good as was Gimenez with a hit and Brennan, off the bench for an RBI hit were also good things to see.

The minor league guys (Viloria, Romero, Rafael Ramirez, Jr roping hits also made me smile.  

Pinto batting made me wonder why, with the 100s of guys in camp, another guy couldn't have been spared from playing in a minor league game to just have backup on the bench.   Also, it made Straw play the whole game and he almost got clipped by a fastball up and in his last AB.

All-in-all another good game to watch as we had hitting, pitching and solid, although without any spectacular, defense.  All I saw makes me more comfortable heading towards opening day next week.

March 23rd Game - The Day Off Must Have Done Everyone Good

We were firing on all cylinders tonight.  It was a beautiful sight.  We showed all our might.  I was filled with delight.

PITCHING

Yeah, I know it is spring training but to see Quantrill work his way throught the San Francisco lineup was very reassuring.  He looked in command the whole night and they definitely had trouble squaring up his pitches.  And it wasn't because the ball wasn't carrying (see below).

In the bullpen Stephan still looked a little all over the place for me.  On paper he had a scoreless inning but the eye chart test says that he made key pitches on 3-2 counts to get out of teetering at bats that could have easily ended up in walks.

De Los Santos looked solid.

Kelly came in to get an out on one pitch from an anxious prospect.

Clase closed out the 9th.

Summary: Francona, once again, used exhibition season to forward something that he plans to use this year: having relievers pitch in multiple innings.  Notice I didn't say PITCH multiple innings.  He was having guys get 3 outs, just not in the same inning.  If this will lead to him having his relievers get 4, 5 or even 6 outs remains to be seen.  But it he is clearly setting the stage for that to happen.

HITTING/FIELDING

Before I get to the hitting let me say that Andres Gimenez is already one of the best defensive second baseman that I have EVER seen.  Hey, I am an old guy and have seen a lot of good second basemen play, but watching Gimenez last night reminded me of how he makes everything look so easy, similar to the way Vizqual and Ozzie Smith made the game look.  

OK, let's talk about the hitters:  

• Good to see Bell jack one in the first with two guys on.  A wild pitch took grounding into a double play out as a possibility but he still got the ball airborne.  Ditto for his sacrifice fly later, albeit it really wasn't that deep.  At least he got it in the air twice with guys in scoring position.
• Kwan being Kwan.  We should jsut put him in suspended animation for a week so that he is just this locked in when the season starts.
• Naylor looks locked in.  If his performance just improves because he is one year further remvoed from his injury, he looks like he could have a monster year.  So, while it is just spring training, it is trending in a very good direction.
• Rosario avoiding grounding into a double play in the first because he struck out.  As I have said many times now, a key for this offense is to get Bell and Rosario to not hit into double plays.  He had a HR and a hard-hit single so he is looking good as we get closer to the opener.  
• Brennan singled in his only AB, a position he may find himself in during the season.
• In the battle for the last outfield spot, Quinn, while playing LF, made a nice running catch in the gap but he also stumbled on two other balls, looking very unsure of himself, especially on a high drive to the warning track.  In his only AB he K'd on 3 pitches.   Palacios, on the other hand, really didn't have a tough play in RF and had his bat sawed off on a dribbler in front of the plate in his only AB.  
• Collins also had a hit.  I expected to see Zunino catch this game as he didn't catch Tuesday's game, either.   Maybe Zunino caught Civale in the minor league game on Wednesday that Civale was supposed to pitch in.  Still, to not see Zunino for 3 days is a little concerning given his injury history.  Maybe he catches on Friday but there is no lineup yet so, still nervous.

Starters vs Relievers, How Do You Decide?

 The Guardians are approaching a situation where they may have to make a decision about where the balance is between winning this year and developing starting pitching for the future.  They are trying to decide how to have enough depth in their AAA starting pitching to fill in where needed on the major league team yet still have a strong bullpen both to start the season and when needed during the year.

One argument is that you need to have a lot of starting pitching depth stashed in the minors as the Guardians used 12 starting pitchers last year.  However, if you dig into the numbers it is not as simple as that.  If you take 5 starters and divide 162 starts between them you come up, roughly 32 starts between them with 2 starts left over.  Last year here is how the breakdown of games started looked.

Bieber 31 of 33 possible starts

McKenzie 30 of 33 possible starts

Quantrill 32 of 32 possible starts

Plesac 24 of 32 possible starts

Civale 20 of 32 possible starts

So, for the first 3 guys in the rotation they 'missed' a combined 5 starts.  For Plesac, he missed 8 starts and Civale missed 12 starts.   In total, our starting pitching missed 25 starts during the year.

Not all of those starts were 'missed' due to injury. In fact, missed is the wrong word as some were due to rainouts or to rescheduling of rainouts where they needed a spot starter for a double header to keep guys on their appropriate rest (or an extra day) in the rotation.  But let's look at how we covered those 25 starts, regardless of the reason.

Gaddis - 2 starts (2 total appearances)

Curry - 2 starts (2)

Morgan - 1 start 50)

Morris - 5 starts (7)

Pilkington - 11 starts (15)

Shaw - 2 starts (60)

McCarthy - 2 starts (15)

So, yes, you need depth starters to cover a number of starts.  However, I think you could envision Pilkington, Logan Allen (who likely is going to be rostered this coming winter) and even Peyton Battenfield to cover these starts.

Curry and Gaddis (limitations of useable major league pitches) and Morris (health issues) are much better suited to being relievers, albeit multi-inning relievers.   Truth be told, so is Battenfield but someone has to be used as a spot starter.   Use these guys in the roles they project to have long-term.

Guardians, you made this bed by not signing any QUALITY depth starters as minor league free agents.  You also created this by not signing or trading for any relievers who could backfill if a reliever got hurt.    So don't exacerbate that by burning a development year of Gaddis, Curry and Morris just to hold them in reserve if you happen to need a spot starter or an injury replacement.  Use them for what they are good at: relieving and then, this coming winter, get enough relievers and starting depth in so you don't repeat this situation next year. 

 

A Circular Argument

 On February 13th of this year the Guardians traded Will Benson to Cincinnati for 2022 draftee outfielder and RH hitter Justin Boyd and a player to be named later.  

This trade was similar to the Nolan Jones trade in which the Guardians traded a former top prospect who had problems making contact but who was right on the cusp of making it to major leagues.  

Benson's skill set was different than Jones'.  Benson is a good defensive outfielder capable of playing center field and right field.  He will take a walk and has good speed so could be a pinch runner or defensive replacement. 

Why am I rehashing a trade you already know about? 

It's because of the current roster situation.   Right now it appears, unless we make a trade or get a waiver claim, that Roman Quinn has a legitimate chance to make the 26-man roster when the season opens.  As I have seen Quinn play 3 times in person this year and other times on TV, I am shocked.  He looked horrible in the field and horrible at the plate.   He will turn 30 in May.   He has a .226 BA and a .303 OBP in his career.  Plus he has struck out 183 times in 535 ML ABs, meaning that he offers no contact advantages over Benson and less power potential.  Benson has a chance to get better. Quinn, who turns 30 in May, will never be more than he is now.

So why would we TRADE a guy who fits the role of extra outfielder with speed and then bring in a AAAA player like Quinn as our ONLY free agent outfield signing this winter and then consider giving Quinn the same roster spot?  Especially when we already have a right-handed hitting outfielder, Richie Palacios, who showed good ability as a pinch hitter last year and is already on the 40 man roster.  Remember, as well, that adding Quinn to the roster would cause us to have to either DFA or trade someone on that roster or place someone on the 60-day DL as our 40-man roster is full.

It seems like poor planning by the Guardians' front office to put us in this situation.  You have a 4th outfielder with potential.  You trade him and then do a poor job in signing a good potential replacement who brings you no more positives than the guy you just traded AND the negatives of poor performance this spring and having to be rostered.  Organizations who have to take care of every asset just can't do stuff like signing and then rostering guys like Quinn.  It just shows bad planning.

Hey, it may not happen and then this is just a tempest in a teapot.  But the thought that it is even being considered is just real head-scratcher to me as the circular argument of trading Benson because he has contact issues and then bringing in an older and arguably much worse verson of Benson and gving him a job is almost beyond my belief, not even considering we have other options.

March 21 Game - Listening to Hammy and Rosie and Keeping Score

 Just like my childhood.  Listening to Cleveland on the radio and keeping score.

News today that Tyler Freeman, Micah Pries and Luis Oviedo were sent to the minors.  No real surprises there but my guess (hope) is that we will see each of them make a significant contribution to the Guardians major league team during the season.  Certainly I can envision a scenario where all of them could be on our playoff roster if we make the playoffs this year.  Keep your heads up, boys.  You can be a part of the Guardians again before you know it.

Thoughts about the game:

PITCHERS

Mckenzie is still scuffling, not being able to command his pitches or put batters away, only making it through 4 1/3 innings against a weaker lineup with only 3 major leaguers (Peralta, Heyward, Muncy) in it.  When they did make contact, the Dodgers hit the ball well against McKenzie.   He did K 4 batters but the 3 run homer to Peralta, following a bloop double and a walk to the 8th and 9th hitters,  was a killer. 

Karinchak came in for McKenzie with one out, one on in the 5th and got the next two guys with ease.  He stayed on to work in the 6th to easily get the first two guys out, one on a swinging strike.

Tim Herrin came on and allowed some traffic on the bases adding to the drama more than us faint-hearted fans would like.  He was just OK, leaving doubt about how he will do if he makes the team and how much better he would be with a half season at AAA to finish off his pitching development.  Then he got hit on the left elbow while sitting in the dugout in the 9th. 

Xxavion Curry finished off the game with a clean 4 outs, including stranding two runners left on by Herrin in the 8th, while striking out 3.  Again, I think his stuff plays so well in the bullpen but, like Herrin, he could probably benefit with some AAA time to refine his role in the bullpen. 

HITTERS

Naylor got a hit and line out to center field off the left hander Kershaw which is a good sign as he supposedly worked this winter on hitting lefthanders.  He also lined out in his next AB.

Kwan hung in there against Kershaw but was 0-3.  

Gimenez with a hit.

Gallagher a smashed double to drive in 2 runs.

Roman Quinn came in for Straw and misplayed a line drive before he dove to save himself, and Morillo.

Bell, continuing his spring trend, hit 3 groundballs, one for a hit.  Your power hitting first baseman should not be grounding out or striking out all the time.

Gonzalez apparently is still not there after his 3 hit game yesterday but he did hit to the right field like he did a lot last year with two strikes in his last AB.

Quinn came in and got a line drive hit in his lone trip to the plate.

March 20, 2023 Game

 Was able to carve out time to watch the 5-5 tie with Texas today and here are my thoughts.

(1) I have seen Mike Zunino a few times this year, a couple of those live.  I am really, really worried about this guy.  Every time I have seen him he is sub-par at blocking balls. It seems to me like he is only average at framing pitches and I don't have enough information about his throwing yet to make an assessment but the games I have seen I haven't been overly impressed.  His hitting is very subpar in my personal experience watching him and today he looked lost at the plate,  as bad as I every saw Hedges at any point last year.  I really hope he gets his act together as, right now, he looks like one of the worst signings by the Guardians in recent years.  It's only spring training but from what I have seen so far, I would rather have Hedges.

(2) I have also seen Tyler Freeman a number of times this year and, in my opinion, he is pressing, or at least that's what I hope it is.  His swing, at the present, looks very bad and a lot of his contact is excessively weak.  Ever since he injured his shoulder he doesn't appear to be the same player.  His performance this spring is moving him very close to being a 2nd tier prospect, basically, for me, moving him in the range of 15-25 within our system, very similar to what Owen Miller was when he was called up.  I see no way he makes the roster out of spring training.  It should be David Fry but, as we know it won't be, let's hope for a magical turnaround from Freeman.

(3) I am really, really worried that Roman Quinn will make the final roster.  He hasn't shown he deserves to be on a major league team.  Quinn is so bad (I saw him 3 times in person and a few times on TV) I can't believe that they are seriously considering rostering him unless he has compromising pitctures of Francona and Antonnetti...together.  I know Richie Palacios is just a middling prospect due to lack of power and only borderline average defense in LF and below average defense at second base but, if we can't have David Fry, why not have Palaicios who is homegrown and has shown by his pinchhitting last year that he deserves the 26th man spot on the roster.

(4) I am a little worried about Will Brennan.  He looked pretty bad at the plate today and recently, including grounding into 2 DPs in one game recently, something that I found almost impossible.  He also looked terrible getting caught off second base early in the game and that was after he was not agressive enough on Arias'  groundball hit to right field (something he clearly should have tried given the nature of the hit) and didn't go from first to third on it.

(5) On the plus side, Josh Naylor looks locked in.   I think he is a better first baseman than Josh Bell.   Up to this point Steven Kwan was the only one who looked ready for the season to start.  I include Naylor in that class now, too.

(6) Oscar Gonzalez got 3 hits today.  I hope this is the start of something big.

(7) I am still a little worried about Gabriel Arias as he is not driving the ball  as strongly as I would like.   

(8) Hunter Gaddis looked like vintage minor league Gaddis today.  I want him to be a starter but they need him as a reliever right now.  He did look REALLY good today and most of this spring, though.

(9) Our bullpen is starting to look more ready.  Emmanuel Clase and Nick Sandlin looked good and I am not worried about Morgan.  Luis Oviedo continues to look good but unless Hentges is going to be out for a long time, whoever they roster as the last reliever has to be someone they are willing to DFA when Hentges comes back.  Mike Kelly is the only reliever left who fits that bill unless you roster Gaddis as I think Oviedo has a De Los Santos-like future.

(10) Although David Fry isn't likely to make the opening day roster, he picked a couple of hard hits to third base today as if he was an everyday ML third basemen and made strong, accurate throws to first both times.  Very professional looking.   Still don't understand, evreything considered, why he is not on the opening day roster.

(10) Even though he didn't play today I am worried about Josh Bell.  He looks Zunino-bad at this point and I am worried that our big free agent spending on those two guys might be our biggest folly of 2023.  I hope they both turn it around. If they both reverted to their 2021 levels we have a chance to have a1very special season here.

(12) Will Smith looked pretty good today in his inning.  $1.5 million is all he would have cost us.  Again, I really don't understand their strategy as far as left-handed relievers this off-season.  Really don't. 

(13) Not to diss Jose Ramirez, he looked his usual, professional self although his double to right was a bloop shot.  

(14) Finally, the Guardians are letting the last couple of innings be played mostly by their rookie-league players.  The guys who are getting into these games late are mostly guys who won't even start the season on a full-seaon team.  I don't know if I am reading more into it than I should but most of the prospects who will be playing on full-season teams are spending time all their time at the minor league camp and in minor league games getting used to playing with their teammates for this coming season.  I am not saying that I agree or disagree with this but what I am seeing is something much more extreme than what I EVER recall seeing before.   Don't know why these 'crumbs' of late inning playing time are being bestowed on guys who likely will spend most ot their time in extended spring training but there has to be a reason.  I just don't know for sure what it is.

Not the most positive review I have ever written but perhaps I am just being overly negative.  Still, any team that has the Roman Quinn we have seen this spring and Mike Kelly make their final roster is a team that needs to re-evaluate their off-season free agent signings.

Thoughts for a Monday - First Day of Spring Edition

 (1)So we are getting down to it.  The "it", in this case, is the opening day 26 man roster.  The way I see it is assuming no other injuries pop up that require DL/IL placements, that 23 spots are taken and we are looking for 3 players, backup catcher and two relievers.  Today Touki Toussaint was sent down to the minor league camp and David Fry was told he wouldn't make the team, following the same conversation a day or two ago with Micah Pries.   

Assuming no more injuries pop up, we still have 4 spots on the 26-man roster that have not been decided: backup catcher, second utility man and the last two reliever spots.  

We have 3 ways to open spots on the 40-man without losing a real prospect: DFA Jason Bilous, DFA Bryan Lavastida (still can't believe I am saying that) and put George Valera on the 60-day DL.  

One of those spots likely goes to Cam Gallagher.  One is likely going to go to Tim Herrin by default.

That leaves 3 spots.

Until today I honestly thought David Fry had a chance to make the 26-man roster.  Everything (comments Antonetti made over the weekend, Freeman's struggles this spring, lack of an emergency catcher) made me think Fry had a chance.  So we have two choices now, Freeman or bring in someone else in a trade or a waiver claim.  Bringing in someone else's castoff seems unappealing so it looks like all these moves and conversations  have left us with Freeman as the utility guy.

As far as the two relievers it looks more and more like one will belong to Tim Herrin.  

The other is up in the air.  Gaddis seems like the most reasonable option but Antonetti's comments over the weekend made me wonder.  Nick Mikolajchak's and Andrw Misiaszek's injuries take them out of the running and so we are left with Michael Kelly or Luis Oviedo.   Kelly is the obvious choice using the logic that the Guardians used last year: keep a single reliever on your roster who you could DFA without batting an eye.  I don't believe Oviedo, Cade Smith or either Mikolajchak or Misiaszak, if either was healthy, is someone you would want to consider fungible when Hentges comes back or, when we bring Battenfield back up.  Kelly, you could. Making Kelly my choice at the moment for that last reliever spot.

(2)  I hope Gimenez comes back unscathed from the WBC.  When he took a throw at second on a double in the US game and went down, I saw him grabbing at his right knee while lying on his back.  Maybe it was nothing but it's something to at least watch out for.

(3) Very few reports out of the minor league camp so far.   I did notice when I was down there that Justin Campbell, our #12 prospect, was participating in all drills but not throwing.  Maybe just spring training soreness but having reports from minor league spring training on who's healthy and who's not would be good information to have instead of just finding out that information after team assignments are made.

(4) More in the next couple of days on the the toughest nut to crack in rating prospects: how do you evaluate DS/ACL prospects from last year on where they fit into our prospect rankings.

Bullpen Construction

 You all know my position:

1) Should have traded for AJ Puk.  JJ Bleday, the player the A's got back, has already been assigned to their minor league camp more than two weeks before the end of spring training.

2) Should have traded for Gregory Soto.  The package the Phillies gave up was (a) a bunch of guys who were never going to be more than bit players in Philadelphia and (b) were not great prospects.

3) Signed at least one right-handed reliever in free agency or sign a couple of guys (like Bryan Shaw last year) who you were pretty sure would be effective on the opening day roster.

Instead the Guardians did not trade for a reliever although they made plenty of trades (Owen Miller, Nolan Jones, Will Benson) this winter.  They did not sign first-tier or even second-tier relievers in free agency, settling, instead, for third tier relievers who they brought in on minor league deals.  Those 3rd tier guys really have no business being on a contending team's major league roster.  And a contending team with a full 40-man roster?  Where you would have to DFA a prospect to even add them?  Out of the questeion, or at least it should be.

They decided to, de facto, stand pat with their 8 quality relievers from last year.  Great if they all stay healthy, again, for the second year, something that almost never happens.  They also have, appropriately, looked at Gaddis, Curry, Pilkington and to a lesser extent, Battenfield and Logan Allen this year, along with Tim Herrin, to fill out spots in the bullpen.  All but Battenfield and Allen are already on the 40 man.

The point is, the Guardians have made this bed and unless something amazing happens (Reynolds and Bednar from Pittsburgh for any 3 prospects (only 2 pitchers) they would want plus 3 B-prospects (only one position player) negotiated by both sides, making a 6-for-2 trade) we need to go one of Gaddis or Curry for the last spot until Hentges is healthy.

Most of these minor league free agent relievers have now been sent to the minor league camp.  However, any talk of Kelly or Toussaint or even, right now Battenfield, being on the opening day roswter is probably not appropriate due to the DFA thing.  

So the Guardians backed themselves into a corner by not doing what they needed to do this off-season.  Now they need to avoid doing anything stupid to try to make up for it.

Ten Prospects To Watch Very Closely This Year

 You can probably put players in our farm system into 5 classes:

Organizational Players - Look, 250+ minor leaguers will likely play for Guardians' farm teams in the upcoming season.   Many of those do not truly have a chance to be major leaguers.  They are simply there to fill out a roster.  These types of players are known as organizational players.  Sometimes one or two of these guys make huge advances in ability and their chance of making it to the majors imcreases significantly which is what the player and the organization are shooting for.  But, for the most part, they are there to fill out rosters. 

Suspects - These types of guys have been brought into the system because they have tools that, with the right development by the player under the guidance of the coaching staff, could put that person in a position to make it to the major leagues.  However, somewhere along the way their development has been stalled, either by injuries or by disappointing performance or both.  These players are on their way to becoming organizational players unless they have an epiphany season where all that coaching and those tools fall into place.  

Low-Level Prospects - These are guys who were acquired because they had one real tool to work with.  Pitchers obtained to be developed as relievers, catchers obtained because of their defense or their throwing arm, infielders obtained because they can play great defense and outfielders whose primary tool is speed/defense or power.  

Medium-Level Prospects - These are guys who were either higher round draft picks or international signings or guys obtained through trades who have a decent chance to make it to the majors.  They are likely not going to be stars although that could change over time if their tools develop. 

High-Level Prospects - These are guys who were 1st-3rd round draft picks, international signings for over $500,000 or prospects obtained by trading a first-line major leaguer with 1+ years of service time left before free agency.  These guys project anywhere from being starters in the majors to being core players for a major league team.  

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING AT IN THIS POST

This post is about guys who are not on the 40-man roster and who are or were significant prospects whose success or failure in 2023 would have a significant impact on the strength of our farm system, our ability to restock the major league team or who could be used to make a significant prospect-for-major leaguer trade.  I have highlighted 10 players, with "10" being least impactful to the health of our farm system in this list if they fail and "1" being most impactful.  These prospects are ones who may be in danger of crossing the line to a lower status if they struggle this year or, if they put it all together, may keep their current status or even move up, the latter making them more valuable to the organization as indicated above.  

THE LIST

Below is the list of 10 players I think are in crucial seasons.  Players who didn't make this list but were close include Josh Wolf, Lenny Torres, Joe Naranjo, Luis Durango, Jose Pestrano and Junior Sanquintin.  By falling just outside of this list the players above would have a very positive impact on the strength of our farm system if they dramatically over-achieved this year but likely would not have as negative an impact if the under-achieved.  

For the 10 players listed below, their performance this year, whether they succeed or fail, will likely have a bigger impact.  Here's the list.

10. Gabriel Rodriguez - Rodriguez was eligible for the Rule 5 last year and I could swear the Guardians were just 'hiding' him at Lake County to give him an extra year of development.  He rarely played two days in a row in 2022 and, when he did play, he batted near the bottom of the order.  Turns out he was suffering from an injury that required surgery in the off-season.  As we enter 2023, Rodriguez is still just barely 21 years old.  If he has a healthy and productive season at Akron this year he could valult into competition for a 40-man roster position.  Otherwise he is Rule 5-eligible for the 2nd year in a row and would stand a decent chance of getting taken.  He started as a high-level prospect in the first couple of years after he was signed and dropped to a medium-level prospect and now sits as a low-level prospect as he is rarely mentioned, at this point, on Guardians' prospect lists.   Like guys on this list and the honorable mentions above, he is set up to be able to have a career year and make a dramatic push up the prospect lists or continue at the trajectory he is currently on and be on the suspect list.  Rodriguez, as an infielder with some pop, is intriguing and I hope he puts it all together this year.

9. Alexfri Planez - Planez has always played in the shadow of prospects like Noel and Tena but he shows good tools and all he needs is a spark to push him up to the level of Noel or higher on Guardians' prospect lists this coming winter.  Like others on this list and in the honorable mention category above, if Planez does not get rostered this year he will become a 6-year minor league free agent this coming winter so this is a big season for Alexfri and the Guardians as both have spent a lot of time getting him to this point.  Given that he signed when he was 6 he will play most of 2023 as a 21 year old, again younger than the average for the leagues he is playing in.  He has shown a lot of power potential but like so many younger hitters, is adverse to taking a walk.   If he can show more plate discipline he could become a viable prospect.  Right now he is in the low-level prospect category and doesn't appear on many Guardians' prospect lists.  A good season could vault him up to the middle level and make the Guardians either trade him or force their hand to add him to the 40-man this winter.  Otherwise, he would likely sign with someone else this winter as there are lots of outfielders currently ahead of him on the depth chart of outfield prospects and young major leaguers.

8. Jonathon Rodriguez - When he was drafted in 2017 in the 3rd round by the Guardians he was one of the youngest players in his draft class so it was pretty obvious that he would take a while to develop as he was constantly younger than the average of every league he played in. He broke out in 2022 with 26 HRs while splitting time between Lake County and Akron.  He added a HR this year in spring training.  He is currently a low level prospect but, playing this year at Akron and, hopefully, Columbus, could vault into the medium-level or, with an unbelievable season, into the high-level category with the latter potentially leading to an end-of-season promotion to Cleveland if the Guardians are out of the race or if the need arises for another bat in September.  If he doesn't perform the Guardians would have to re-sign him as a 6-year minor league free agent and, if they do, maybe he could follow the same path as Oscar Gonzalez.

7. Micah Pries - Like Jonathon Rodriguez, Pries doesn't appear on any Guardians' prospect lists.  He is an older college player who has been slightly older than the average of every professional league he appeared in.  That being said, his best year was last year when, as a 24 year old, he was age appropriate for the Eastern League that he faced while at Akron.  He has followed that up with a strong spring this year.  Again, like Rodriguez, if everything continues to click for Pries and he can repeat or even improve on 2022 while playing at the top minor league level, he could vault from an organizational player up to a medium-level prospect.  If not then he remains as an organizational player in the mold of Trenton Brooks.  If he does improve he could become a viable option if Bell opts out after this year or be used as a trade chip to bring in a veteran.

6. Isaiah Greene - Obtained in the Francisco Lindor trade, Greene will turn 22 during the season.  His highest level so far is low A, where he led Cleveland minor leaguers with 97 walks and 39 stolen bases at Low A last season.  I saw him hit in the cages this spring and he did pound the ball and looked like he had put on some muscle.  He is currently considered a low level prospect for the Guardians as he is only ranked 41st in our system by FanGraphs, 37th by me and is not even listed in our top 30 prospects on MLB pipeline.  A lot of that is likely due to his low BA last year (,224) and his lack of punch (.340 SLG).  However, considering his increased strength, his speed and his walk rate he could be in line for a big uptick in his prospect status this year, starting at Lake County if he can just hit for more power and make better hard contact, things he is primed to do.  Without that this low-level prospect may slip into the suspect category by the end of the year if he is mediocre at Lake County this year, especially in a farm system overloaded with left-handed hitter outfielders with speed but without power.

5. Tanner Burns - Burns was never a hard thrower but the thought was once he got into the Guardians' Finishing School for Young Pitchers, his velocity would bloom and his other stuff with his decent control would be augmented by that increased velocity as has been seen by other pitchers who came through our system.  Well, in 2022 Burns had his worst year.  He walked 45 in 88 innings ang gave up 14 HRs.  Although he had a 3.55 ERA his WHIP was 1.35 giving him an unsustainable strand rate.  Burns SHOULD be a stud pitcher like Williams at this point and, having been in the Finishing School for a couple of years now, should look better than he did last year.  He simply looked in 2022 like he didn't have enough weapons to compete at the higher levels of the minors, let alone in the majors.  This could just be his development stalling a little bit only to re-accelerate this year.  But he clearly is one of those guys who is at risk for moving from medium-level prospect all the way down to suspect if he doesn't have a bounce back year in 2023.  On the other hand, if he does revert to the good projections that he had when he was drafted, given the Guardians' ability to develop pitchers, he could become an excellent trade chip this summer or winter.

4. Jake Fox -  Jake was highlighted as a sleeper prospect in the recent article by Jonathon Mayo. I see Fox as a mid-level prospect right now, sort of an Owen Miller-type prospect (not Miller in the majors, Miller when he was coming up in the minors).  Fox will play the entire season as a 20 year old after playing last season on a full-season team as a 19 year old, young for that level.   It is not out of the question that the Guardians ask him to repeat low A so that he starts an ascent up the minors as a more age-appropriate prospect for the level.  They did the same thing with both Joe Naranjo (Lake County) and Bo Naylor (Akron) last year when they were not successful their first time around when being young for a level.  Both Naranjo and Naylor did better their second time around and both improved their prospect status.  So, where Fox starts this year and how he does at that level will help determine if Fox stays as a mid-level prospect or goes up or down.

3. Juan Brito - My poster child for a bad trade return, Brito was praised for his batting eye with more walks than Ks at Low A last year.   However, Low A is a place where many pitchers are still working to develop control and very few have come close to mastering command.  If you are competent enough to not chase pitches you are going to draw a lot of walks.  Unfortunately, when they come nto the zone you have to be able to hit the ball and to be an offensive second baseman you have to be able to drive the ball.   This spring in the major league games we saw Brito's extreme battng eye, leading the majors in spring training with 10 walks at the time he was sent down.  However, when he hit the ball, he either made weak contact or got hits by slapping at the ball.  That won't even play at higher levels of the minors, let alone in the majors.  It also portends a long development path to let him grow into whatever power he may develop and we don't have that as in 3 years he will be out of minor league options and, by that point, has to be a viable major league option.   Clearly in 2023 we need Brito to follow Jhonkensy Noel's path last year where he started at Lake County and had enough success that he ended the season in Columbus, where he likely will start in 2023.  If Brito spends the entire year at Lake County, this guy who is rated as a medium prospect (FanGraphs) or a low level prospect (MLB pipeline and most Guardians' websites) could quickly become a suspect which would not be a good situation as we gave up one of our top prospets, at the time, for Brito.  It would also put a strain on our 40-man roster as you can't really have the strong farm system we have and afford to carry ANY suspects on your roster and, by so doing, expose a better prospect to the Rule 5.

2. Ethan Hankins - Hankins is actually getting older, turning 23 in a couple of months.  Considering that he was drafted in 2018 and due to injuries and the pandemic year has only thrown 64 innings in the minors on 5 seasons.  He was eligible for the Rule 5 draft last winter and will be eligible this winter and will become a 6 year minor league free agent after the 2024 season.  Thus he has 2 years to vault 3 levels, having to either be rostered after the 2023 or 2024 seasons or risk being lost to the Guardians.   For a guy who only has 21 innings at low A as his highlest level, that is quite an order.  Plus, he is also going to be limited in innings pitched as he has never had a full workload in the minors.  A reasonable estimate is that he would be limited to 75-80 innings this year.  All these things combine to put Hankins' career at a crossroad.  On one hand he has the potential to be an uber prospect with good stuff coming out of HS and throwing over 98 mph this spring.  On the othr hand the Guardians are running out of time with him.  He can be a big part of our future if he makes progress this year, moving from a medium-level prospect to a high-level prospect.  However, if his career stalls again this year he could easily move into the suspect category.

1. Logan Allen - Allen is the darling of prospect geeks and beloved of FanGraphs who rates him higher (#4 in the Guardians' system) than any other service [NOTE: Remember that last year FanGraphs had Kwan rated as the #3 prospect in our system so they have a lot of street cred with me].  He is also listed on a couple of sites as one of the top 100 prospects in baseball.  So Logan T. Allen is a significant prospect.  In his first 1 1/2 years in the minors he simply domnated.  However, when he got to AAA in the last half of 2022 he struggled.  His velocity was down a couple miles an hour and he became very hittable.  He did finish the season stronger in his last couple of starts but the queston marks were still there heading into 2023.  He got to pitch in spring training and at least in the game I saw he was throwing 94, so that is promising.  Still, he looked a lot like the second half pitcher of 2022 as he got hit around quite a bit in the  3 ML exhibition games he pitched in.  So, is Logan T. Allen the dominant pitcher we saw in his first 1 1/2 seasons in the minors or is he the sub-par major league pitcher (similar to his former Guardians' namesake) that we have seen since?  Given his high prospect status, the uncertain answer to that question makes Logan Allen the most important prospect on this list and his success or failure this year, more important than any prospect not currently on our 40 man roster.

Do We Have A Pitching Factory?

 Reading Jonathon Mayo's article today I thought the comments from James Harris about pitching development were really interestng.  He seemed to want to step away from the use of the phrase "pitching factory" that so many of us have used.

Now, a good working defnition of a factory is a place where starting materials and/or important pieces are combined together to make a finished product.

The quality of that final product could vary based on the quality of the materials and how good the processes are for making that final product.  

Harris' comment from the article that caught my eye was "We've had success.  It starts with our scouting group.  People have identified strike throwers, guys who have some athleticism, mature bodies who come into our system and are open to partner with us.  It's not a system where it's like a factory where you come in and we create the same pitcher.  It's one where we partner with a pitcher, help him understand his strengths and then complement those strengths."

There is a lot to unpack in his words, to be sure, but I get what he is saying.  If you take the literal definition of a factory above, the connotation would be that, indeed, you were making the same product (identical pitcher) every time.  So, I agree with what Mr. Harris says, to a point.  We, as writers and fans, are misusing the word 'factory' AS IT PERTAINS TO WHAT THE GUARDIANS' PLAYER DEVELOPMENT SYSTEM IS DOING.

However, I think what most, if not all of us, meant is that they get 'raw material' in and churn out major league pitchers.  Not bringing in Eli Morgan with his off-the-charts changeup and have him develop an Emmanuel Clase fastball to go with it.  But they worked with Morgan to increase the speed and maybe life on his fastball to make his changeup that much more effective.

Now, you want a factory?  If they could turn Javier Santos, Geo Rivera and Magnus Ellerts from their recent draft into Clase (or even Stephan) then I would be willing to fall back to the more formal definition of a factory.   

What we, as fans/writers, are saying is that the Guardians are obtaining pitchers who might not be major league pitchers with their current stuff and turning them into not only major league pitchers but average to excellent major league pitchers just by identifying what they look for to start the pitcher developments process (strikethrowers, athletes, college guys who are open to taking instruction) and then using established processes to help these guys reach and even exceed their potential,

So, Mr. Harris, I yield.   I will not call it a 'factory' in the future.  More appropriately I will call it The Cleveland Guardians Finishing School For Young Pitchers.  Unlike the finishing schools for young women in the 1800s and early 1900s, though, the Guardians' finishing school staff are teaching these pitchers, not to walk with good posture and know how to act in civilized and formal situations, but, rather, how to trash opposing hitters, be merciless in those efforts and help us to win world series championships.

Let the Finishing School flourish with a never-ending outpouring of quality major league pitchers (as well the occasional Javier Santos to Emmanuel Clase conversion). 

March 16 Game - Does Arizona have that spring rain smell?

 After the rainout last night, the Guardians were back at it today, facing the White Sox and former teammate Bryan Shaw.

This game was the typical Cleveland game.  Great pitching, good defense and timely hitting.  Here are the highlights:

HITTERS

Batting Order: Looks like our regular season batting order.  Kwan, Rosario, Ramirez, Bell, Naylor, Gonzalez, Arisa (substitute Gimenez here during the regular season), Zunino and Straw.  Solid lineup with good alternating of L/R batters and Bell 'protecting' Ramirez.  

Rosario with two line drive hits, one to right and one to left.

Kwan smoked two balls but ended up with an 0-3.  

Straw drove the ball over the right fielder's head for a double and ended 2-3.

Micah Pries with a double, Gabriel Arias with a double.

Naylor, being able to welcome his brother back, went 2-3 with a crushed grand salami in the first that cleared the ballpark out in right field.

PITCHERS

McKenzie gave up some hard contact, especially early, but strengthened as the game went along.   It sounded like his curveball got sharper starting in the 3rd and he got more Ks as a result.  But 4 solid innings, to be sure, albeit against some of the guys in the running for backup/platoon positions for the White Sox.

Clase with a good inning.

Gaddis with 2 strong innings as he makes a bid for the last righthander in the bullpen.  You all know that I think Gaddis and, especially, Curry, have brighter futures in the bullpen than as starting pitchers.  It may take these guys time to get the rhythm of that role but I think they both can be Stephan-like relievers.

Herrin ended it with 2 scoreless even though he was touched for 3 hits, 2 in the 9th when he was saved by a good defensive play by Zach Collins, who threw out former Guardian Erik Gonzalez trying to advance on a would-be wild pitch.

All in all a painless win, it appears.   Still, when you only get 8 hits the offense is still a concern of mine but at least the pitchers had outings to build on. 

Back at it tomorrow.  I am wondering if Quantrill jumps back into the mix since he only had one outing with the Canucks and tomorrow would be his normal slot, following McKenzie, that is.

Musings from the WBC. What do we have in these players?

Besides spurring nationalistic sentiments for Team USA that go something like: "What the heck?  These guys are superstars and they have can't even win their pool?" there are stories coming out of the WBC involving first, second and third level Guardians' prospects.  Let's dive in to guess at whether some of those guys are poised for breakout years.

JOSH WOLF

Wolf was obtained in the Francisco Lindor deal before the 2021.  At draft time he was throwing 91-96 mph.  Since he has been with the Guardians he has been injured a lot and when he wasn't injured he didn't pitch well, not making it out of low A although he is already 22.6 years old.  At the time of the trade he was the Mets #10 prospect, a look at Guardians' prospect ratings from all available sites does not show him listed on ANY of those sites, including mine, some of those lists going 50 or more prospects deep!  

It is hard to believe that this kid could be anything more than organizational depth plus an extreme lottery ticket at this point in his career.  However, he pitched a couple of times in the WBC, striking out 3 batters in 2 innings and pitching 95-6 mph.  This was in addition to striking out 3 batters in one inning in an exhibition game against the Nationals right before the WBC.

What can't be lost in this, as well, is that Wolf's worth as a trade chip no doubt increased as a result of his exposure in the WBC.  This might be important now (inclusion in a Brian Reynolds/Dan Bednar trade) or at the deadline.

Hopefully this will be a chance for the kid to reclaim his career with the Guardians seeing what happened in the WBC and converting him to a reliever.  

BO NAYLOR

Naylor showed power and some throwing ability in the WBC but looked like a rookie who needed more seasoning at times, as well.  SURPRISE!  That is what the astute Guardians have planned for him.  Still, he didn't choke on the big stage that is the WBC and showed flashes of what makes him a top 100 prospect in baseball.

DAYAN FRIAS

His numbers look EXACTLY what you would expect a GOOD low A prospect would have in the WBC.  He clearly looked overmatched at times but flashed some tools that tells me he is going to be just fine, and maybe even an all-star, at Lake County this year if he stays healthy.   Add him to the list of  excellent shortstop prospects in the Guardians' system and, like Wolf, puts him on the radar as a trade chip now and at the deadline in July.

CADE SMITH

Cade's inclusion on the Team Canada roster will no doubt help him be ready for the competition level at Akron when he comes back to spring training today.  Heck, it might even lead to the Guardians pushing him to Columbus to start the season to prep him for a callup later in the year.  His numbers in the WBC did not look that good but his pedigree tells me we could be seeing Mr. Smith in Cleveland this year or as part of a trade package at the deadline.

There were also 4 veterans (Gimenez, Quantrill, Palacios and Viloria) who played in the WBC but this article was just about our prospects.

An early look at AAA - Columbus. Who will be the next men up?

 OK, the 26 man roster is coming into focus, unless we have some injuries or trades before the season.   Assuming that we don't, here is a list of the next men up at each position who will start the season at AAA Columbus.  This list, obviously, can change with future events but this is what I think it will be right now.

CATCHER

Major Leagues: Mike Zunino and Cam Gallagher or David Fry

Next man up - Bo Naylor.  Unless one of the above would go on the 60-man DL I think Bo Naylor would be the next man up.   He is on the 40-man.   If Fry makes the opening 26 as a utility man, they might just roll with him as the backup for as long as possible to give Naylor a little extra time.  Again, I think they have already DFA'd Lavastida by this point, hoping to keep him in the organization but clearing a roster spot for Gallagher.  If David Fry makes the 26 man, they might also just roll with him as backup catcher for a few days.

FIRST BASE

Major Leagues: Josh Bell and Josh Naylor

Next man up: Tyler Freeman.  Arias played there last year, he would be the next man up with Freeman backfilling his utility role.  

SECOND BASE

Major Leagues: Andres Gimenez

Next man up: Tyler Freeman.  Either Freeman starts at second or he backfills the utility role with Arias starting at 2nd.

SHORTSTOP

Major Leagues: Amed Rosario

Next man up: Tyler Freeman.  But as with 2nd base, Arias either plays SS or Gmenez moves over from SS with Arias playing second base.  Freeman becomes the utility infielder in either of those situations.

THIRD BASE

Major Leagues: Jose Ramrez

Next man up:  Tyler Freeman.  Again, Arias slides in to 3B with Tyler Freeman coming in.  Like C and 1B, Fry is the wildcard here if he isn't already on the roster.

LEFT FIELD

Major Leagues: Steven Kwan

Next man up; Richie Palacios.  Actually, Brennan starts in LF but Palacios backfills the 4th outfielder position that Brennan had.

CENTER FIELD

Major Leagues: Myles Straw

Next man up:  Brennan or Kwan and backfilling the roster with the other in left field and Richie Palacios coming up.

RIGHT FIELD

Major Leagues: Oscar Gonzalez

Next man up: Richie Palacios. Will Brennan slides into center field and, again, Palacios comes up and becomes the 4th outfielder.

STARTING PITCHER

Major Leagues: Bieber, McKenzie, Quantrill, Civale and Plesac

Next man up:  Xzavion Curry appears to be the logical choice with Konnor Pilkington backing him up followed by Logan Allen or Hunter Gaddis.  Obviously Allen would have to be added to the 40-man so they would likely go with one of the other three.

BULLPEN

Major Leagues: Clase, Stephan, De Los Santos, Sandlin, Morgan, Karinchak, Herrin, Gaddis

Next man up:  Curry or Battenfield seem the logical choices for a multi-inning reliever although Cody Morris and Hentges may come up if they are ready. If Battenfield comes up it may result in Pilkington being DFA'd.   I only see Mikolajchak up later in the year if he shows his FB velocity and stuff holds up at AAA.

Happy pi day and may the 3.14159... be with you! Let's recap the last 4 days of major league exhibition games

 MARCH 11th

My last game in Goodyear this year, it was very much like senior citizen day at the ballpark which, for me, is a good thing as I was surrounded by kindred spirits, LOL.

Pitching

Civale was topping out at 92 mph striking out the side in the 2nd. He gave up two runs, the first one, at the time it crossed the plate, was due to the excessive time it took Josh Naylor to get to the ball in the right field corner and his less-than-strong throw.  The second, which somehow was called an earned run, was due to a bad Civale pickoff throw that Arias could not keep on the infield followed by a sacrifice fly.  I guess the scorer thought that if the runner was on second he would have advanced to 3rd and then scored on the next out, another fly ball to center field.  All in all, a solid performance from a guy who we think will be our #4 starter and, if healthy, wold be a decent #3.

Stephan followed and was throwing 96 in his clean inning.

De Los Santos, throwing 95 with good breaking stuff, also had a clean inning.

Sandlin, topping out at 91 mph, gave up a hit but didn't allow a run as he looked solid.

Cantillo was up to 95 and consistently was at 94 as he gave up a walk and got a K in a scoreless inning

Battenfield was perfect in his one inning, topping out at 93.

Logan Allen was also perfect sitting consistently at 94 which, to me, was encouraging because his velocity dipped at the end of last year.  He needs to be at 94/95 to be effective, in my opinion.

Hitting

Kwan looked like vintage Kwan.  Ramirez looked like Ramirez.  Zunino, with a HR and a walk and a K looked like the Zunino we all want to see this year.  Fry got a hit to RF after his HR to left the day before.  Besides that, everyone else looked like they had looked all exhibition season: not a lot of excitement to write home about.

Summary

I was standing at the wall taking pictures of the lineups and I saw a gentlemen who looked like he was 60 years old who was attending the game with his father.  The father, looking at the A's lineup, said "I don't recognize anyone.  Where are all the real players?".  The A's brought the B team of their roster which, due to all the trades, is a B team of every other roster in baseball.  So this was, in my opinion, the weakest lineup the Guardians have played this spring.  Still, it was nice to see the guys have a good game offensively and defensively.

MARCH 12th.

Pitching

Curry started in place of Quantrill who was making the start for Team Canada.  He did pretty well although he only K'd one guy.  Clase gave up a 2 run HR as did Herrin and Morgan gave up a solo shot.  Barager and Bilious were clean.  The overall line of 8 ip, 10 H allowed, 7 ER and only 4 K to go along with 4 HRs was troubling as every guy who pitched who we would expect to pitch in the regular season got touched for a HR.

Hitting

Straw did his best Kwan impersonation, going 2-2 with a walk.   Arias had 2 hits,Noel had 2 hits and a HR and Rameriez, Bell, Pries, Gonzalez, Brennan and Martinez each had one.  Better offensve showing (12 hits, 3 XBHs).

MARCH 13th

Pitching

Plesac was shaky again, giving up 4 hits, a walk, a HBP and 2 WPs, again having to be rescued in the first inning.  Karinchak was not much better giving up 3 ER in one inning.  Toussaint followed suit in the next inning as did Oviedo a couple of innings later.  Kelly and Daniels were clean.

Hitting

Kwan had another good game, going 2-2 with a walk.  Rocchio had 2 hits and Brennan, Pries and Martinez each had a hit as did Sean Rodriguez.  

MARCH 14th

Pitching

Beiber gave up a 2 run HR in the first but, aside from that, he looked sharp in his 4.2 innings, K'ing 5. Stephan got lit up again for 2 uns and a HR but Sandline K'd 3 in his inning, and De Los Santos was unscored upon although he loaded the bases on 2 hits and a walk.    Unfortunately, Pilkington got lit up with the help of some bad fielding and gave up 4 runs on 2 hits and a walk to blow the game.

Hitting

Rosario went 3-3 with a HR (our only XBH of the game) and Bell went 2-2 with a walk.  Arias and Gallagher got one hit and the rest of the hits went to the minor leaguers called up for the game.  Considering Trout and Ohtani were in the WBC and we played our starting lineup, we could have had a better showing.

OVERALL SUMMARY

We are a little over two weeks from the start of the regular season and we are still not looking sharp at all.  It is spring training but the hitting and pitching is getting more than a little concerning.  Let's keep our fingers crossed that things start turning around.