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.