LHP José Suarez
2024 stats: 6.02 ERA, 52 1/3 IP, 56 K, 27 BB
Spring Training stats: 2.57 ERA, 7 IP, 9 K, 1 BB
Suarez has undoubtedly struggled the last two seasons, but he pitched better down the stretch last year after he was designated for assignment in mid-June, which served as a wakeup call. He also came into camp 20 pounds lighter this spring and has looked sharp on the mound, including striking out six in three innings against the Mariners on Thursday night.
Smith’s standout performance across the first three weeks of spring training must at least merit consideration. Asked Wednesday by Foul Territory to discuss one positive and negative coming from major-league spring training, Brown brought up Smith without prompt.
“The most exciting thing right now has been for me to watch Cam Smith and watch him develop. … He’s really creating a lot of conversation,” Brown said.
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Brown retained his rookie eligibility, stayed within the required top-100 prospect lists and accrued a full year of major-league service time in 2023. Thus, Brown remains PPI-eligible. Houston will receive a comp pick after the first round of the 2026 draft should Brown finish in the top three of American League Cy Young Award or MVP voting this season.
Perhaps the Astros try something similar with Smith this season. If Walker’s injury is short-term, Houston could carry Smith to begin the season, demote him when Walker is ready to return and attempt to preserve his rookie status.
… and will start getting outfield reps.
Cam Smith will play right field in a Grapefruit League game soon, Joe Espada said.
Leiter made his MLB debut last season, but he had some ups and downs, allowing 39 runs (35 earned) in 35 2/3 innings. He figures to be an important piece of the Rangers’ rotation plans this season, no matter what happens this spring.
“Jack put himself in a great spot,” Young said. “There’s still a lot of Spring Training left, but he’s performed unbelievably well. He has gotten better each outing. Yesterday was the best I’ve seen him. We’d like to see him continue that. But he’s put himself in a great spot.”
“As we sit here right now, we don’t have one player that I’m going to say, yeah, the guy is going to get 600 plate appearances over at second base,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said earlier in camp. “It might turn out like that, but we have a few guys that we can turn to. Guys that have shown us really good things, really good ability to perform at the major-league level.”
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But with the way the roster is aligned, the Twins would lean toward giving the bulk of the time at second base to Castro.
Stanton has said he was playing through pain in both elbows for most of last season, including during the playoffs, when he earned MVP honors by hitting four home runs in the American League Championship Series against the Guardians.
He has been attempting what he called an “interesting” course of treatment in hopes of avoiding surgery, which Stanton said would be season-ending. Stanton said, at this time, he lacks grip strength and is “having trouble picking things up” in day-to-day life. He has not swung a bat since mid-January.
The center-field battle is neck-and-neck. It would be very unlikely for the Cardinals to carry both Scott and Siani, given their similarities and the need for versatility with the remainder of the bench. St. Louis seems to be comfortable using Lars Nootbaar as a backup center fielder. That means a true competition between Siani and Scott will take place over the final 14 games — and it’s anyone’s guess who will win it.
So earlier this week, when Giants manager Bob Melvin told reporters to take a good look at Thursday’s exhibition lineup once it was released, he didn’t give a reason. He didn’t say that the lineup — 1B LaMonte Wade Jr., SS Willy Adames, CF Jung Hoo Lee, 3B Matt Chapman, LF Heliot Ramos, C Patrick Bailey, DH Wilmer Flores, RF Mike Yastrzemski, 2B Tyler Fitzgerald — would be his projected batting order that will start behind Logan Webb in the March 27 season opener in Cincinnati. Melvin didn’t have to say anything more. His general giddiness gave the rest away. And he wasn’t the only one eager to see the lineup in action.
The Padres could use an upgrade at this position. For now, they have four catchers in camp who might be better suited as backups. That collection includes Díaz, the highest-paid member of the group, and Maldonado, a veteran in the twilight of his career.
Others in camp: Kyle Hart, Randy Vásquez, Matt Waldron
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All of them could cycle through the big-league rotation this season, but Kolek might have a slight early edge for a spot. Saturday, he threw three hitless, efficient innings in a simulated game. At one point, Shildt said, Kolek recorded six consecutive “outs” on 13 pitches.
“He’s got a history of starting. We talked to him at Camp 44 about (stretching out into a starting role). He was enthused about it. I think he’s taken to it really well,” Shildt said. “And one of the things we talked about more conceptually — but now we’re seeing actually — is the ability to get to the point of six outs in 13 pitches. Quick outs. You got a really heavy, late pitch like (Kolek’s sinker), plus other pitches to match it, and it’s a recipe for early, softer contact. We’re still building him up, still evaluating it, but he’s off to a good start.”
Camp started with Nolan Jones projected in left field and Jordan Beck in right. Both have impact potential, and Jones proved it when he finished fourth in National League Rookie of the Year voting in 2023. But neither entered Saturday having hit balls consistently hard this spring, although Beck broke through with a long home run against the Angels on Monday. Black wants production.
“It’s pencil, not ink,” Black said. “We want to see good swings. We want to see good at-bats. We want to see good outfield play. In our eyes, we know what the big league outfielder looks like. That’s what we want to see.”
Corner outfielder Sean Bouchard, who entered last spring penciled in at right field before an oblique injury, entered Saturday hitting .400 with a homer, a triple and two doubles. Veteran non-roster performer Nick Martini, an outfielder-first baseman, was hitting .375 with two homers and four RBIs. And Black is giving regular time and long looks to No. 8 prospect Zac Veen and No. 6 prospect Yanquiel Fernandez.
Sam Hilliard entered Saturday 2-for-19, but his ability to play center field in a part-time role like last year allows the team to rest Brenton Doyle, helping his cause.
At the end of last season, Tovar purchased a MaxBP Machine, which fires off those soft training balls that can imitate the spin of breaking pitches that have given him trouble in the past. Sometimes, Tovar increased the degree of difficulty by using a thinner bat. The Rockies have such a machine at Coors Field — hitting coach Hensley Meulens is a partner in the company — and hitters use them during the season.
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The homer off Webb, on an inside changeup, would have threatened glass or harder materials. The at-bat illustrated the goal of the machine purchase. He took two fastballs, the first inside, the second middle-middle for a strike before crushing Webb’s inside changeup. After seeing balls from the machine all winter, Tovar arrived in camp with the goal of seeing more pitches thrown in Spring Training competition to hone his judgment of pitch location.
“If everybody stays healthy throughout camp, you’ve got five guys, plus Albert [Suárez] is the sixth and [Cade Povich] is the seventh,” Hyde said. “It’s so early in camp right now. You’re just keeping your fingers crossed these guys can get built up and stay healthy at the same time.”
Neto remains ahead of schedule after undergoing shoulder surgery in early November but hasn’t been cleared to throw across the diamond or hit live pitching just yet. With Neto out, the Angels will have to turn to an internal option at shortstop to begin the season. Washington said he didn’t know whether Neto would miss a week or a month, but he didn’t expect him to be out too long.
Note:Sorry for the lack of content. I’m just returning from the dead (flu). Here is a Mining the News and I will need to rework my rankings.
• Two items I’m going to focus less on are StatCast generated fastball velocities and injuries. I’ll report on the fastball velos that come from game observations like with Ian Anderson (ATL) below. If anyone wants to know the StatCast velo readings, I recommend TJ Stats.
No Pirates pitchers here, even though they have several candidates (Bubba Chandler, Thomas Harrington, Michael Burrows), because there’s no room at the inn at the moment after they signed Andrew Heaney. … Jordan Lawlar needs to get healthy himself, and then needs either an injury to another infielder or for Eugenio Suárez to get old in a hurry for him to have a shot at playing time. But if he plays, Lawlar will be productive. … Logan Henderson deserves a shot at the Brewers’ rotation this year, and I think he’ll be more than just a fifth starter, but I don’t see the opportunity coming soon enough for the list. … Ronny Mauricio should get some time in the minors after a full year lost to an ACL injury, and there’s some risk his defense suffers if he’s lost any range or mobility. … Caden Dana and Sam Aldegheri debuted for the Angels last year, but they’re not on this list because they’re too far down the depth chart and neither was remotely ready for the big leagues.
Pirates: Bubba Chandler, RHP (MLB No. 15)
Chandler served notice at the end of last year at Triple-A with a 1.83 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, .183 BAA and 12.4 K/9 rate over seven starts for Indianapolis, and it wouldn’t have been surprising to have seen him up last year to help out had the Pirates hung around the playoff race. It remains to be seen if the club will be willing to bring him north on Opening Day, but the fact that they didn’t get the extra PPI Draft pick from Paul Skenes winning Rookie of the Year because they didn’t bring him up right away and he ended up being awarded a full season of service time anyway will be enough of a lesson learned.
“I’m really happy with the way it’s going,” Moreno said. “Perry has done a good job, Wash is really focused. I like the coaches. Just sit and watch these young guys throw bullpens and where they came from and what programs they came through. And we have a second baseman [No. 68 overall prospect Christian Moore] who just won a championship in college. You have to continue to put up good building blocks. And then the reality is being able to supplement everything.”
• It seems that MLB.com will be updating their injury report pages this season. A reminder that these are not articles but rather pages where info can be added or deleted anytime. For example, here is a report from the Cubs site on Nico Hoerner likely missing the season’s start.
2B Nico Hoerner
Injury: Right flexor tendon
Expected return: Early 2025
Status: Underwent surgery on Oct. 11. Currently in Arizona training and doing light baseball activities. Rehab could linger early into the season
