1. I wonder if the Guardians brain trust is going to be in Phoenix today to check out their minor league players in Goodyear, especially George Valera? They would get a 2-fer with their ML team playing the Diamondbacks.
2. In an irrelevant factoid, Francona owns a house in Tucson, where the Guardians used to have spring training. In a geography lesson, Tucson is 112 miles from Phoenix. It also has a relatively high elevation at 2389 feet above sea level. So, for those of you wondering if Francona can sleep in his own bed or will visit his house during this stop in Phoenix, probably the answer is a solid 'no'.
3. On the Diamondbacks 40-man roster are some familiar faces: Kyle Nelson has been a reliever for the Diamondbacks ever since Cleveland let him go and has carved out a nice career for himself. Carlos Vargas is on the 40-man but hasn't been on the active roster since early this season. Konnor Pilkington is also on the 40-man and currently in the minors. Cole Sulser is on the 60-day DL right now. Plus Torey Lovullo is the manager
4. Just in case anyone is counting, in 2016 Michael Martinez, the last man on our bench that year and the author of the weak groundball to third base that ended the 2016 World Series, hit 1 HR and 4 doubles for the Guardians in 95 ABs with and OPS of around .600. David Fry has 1 HR and 1 double in 22 ABs for the Guardians this season with a small sample size OPS of .670. Not saying we are going to the World Series this year but, if we are, and if we are in the same situation as 2016, I would much rather have Fry as the last man on the bench than a weak hitting guy like Martinez (or even Gabriel Arias, the way things stand for him right now).
5. Speaking about Fry, it was almost comical to see him with a HR and a double while throwing out a crucial runner trying to steal given our catching woes. Complete disclosure includes that he did allow a stolen base and a wild pitch by Logan Allen but no passed balls. For those of you who are thinking David Fry should get another start behind the plate tonight...he shouldn't. He is not a starting catcher on a major league team and will be exposed if we play him there too often. But he can be a great utility player...if he gets to play more than 22 ABs in 45 days.
6. In all business fairness to the Guardians, continuing to play Rosario has its merits. The alternative is to send him to the bench, DFA him or trade him for peanuts. If Rosario gets hot maybe we get more for him. Zunino, on the other hand, is hurting this team and has no trade value and will not going forward, even if he gets on a small hot streak. Everyone is saying it but there is no logical reason if you want to win this season to keep Bo Naylor in the minors.
7. This, hopefully, will be a good series for the Guardians. The Diamondbacks have some star power in Corbin Carroll and a lot of good hitters as there are a lot of .800+ OPS numbers looking at their stats. They have good starting pitching with Merrill Kelly and Zac Gallen being potential all-stars this year and their bullpen is solid.
8. As far as the minors goes, here are some random thoughts:
a. I really wish the AZL games were on a live feed, at least the video. I mean, how hard would that be?
b. Speaking of the AZL, Rafael Ramirez, Jaison Chourio and our young catchers are not disappointing. Plus there is enough rehab stuff going on that it would be fun to watch. As far as pitching, Austin Aldeano is the only guy who looks exciting right now. This will be a recurring theme as we are not signing international pitchers. Again, these teams are only put together so the stars have a place to play. Still, these games have to be tough to watch with the pitching being so bad.
c. Juan Brito is tearing it up at Akron. This is great as his timeline works if he can have a good year at Akron and follow it up with a good year at Columbus next year that allows him to get 100 or so ABs in Cleveland next year.
c. Interesting that Burns did a tandem with Leftwich yesterday. I think he could have a future as a multi-inning reliever as his velocity seemed to be up a bit in that role yesterday.
d. Still love the Lynchburg hitters. Genao, Benjamin, Antunez all show promise and although I am not as high on him as some, Lopez is an interesting catching prospect.
e. Tommy Mace's long-awaited AA debut yesterday was a disaster. Let's hope the kid rights the ship as he settles into this new level. He's another guy who might have to slip into a relief role soon if he doesn't get better results than he has so far in his career as a starter.
f. Jonathon Rodriguez is teasing us with his numbers so far. He ahs been young for every league he has played in, including this year, but it is time that he really breaks out. His future on the 40-man and maybe in the organization is at stake this year.
g. Free Welbyn Francisca!
h. Today's starters Nikhazy (Akron) and Webb (Lake County) have something to prove. Richardson (Lynchburg) and Jogly Garcia (AZL) need to build of recent success. Remember, our farm system is looking really weak right now and will be extremely weak with the graduations of Gavin Williams, Brayan Rocchio and George Valera, hopefully by the end of this year.
i. Free Bo Naylor!
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