I’m going to continue my analysis of NFBC Main Event drops, but this first week will be a one-off. The NFBC ran its first FAAB bids last night but not all the leagues have drafted (I have my final one tonight), so the adds and drops not have the normal diversity and depth. Some of the information is still useful. With the limited number of teams and with the drafts so close to the season’s will dive into some of the players on the move (minimum three moves).

Note: I use the NFBC Main Event movement because it’s a decent number of identical leagues. Additionally, the owners stay engaged longer since each spent over $1700 per team.
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Blah, blah, some intro stuff on some guy that goes on too long. And here are the hitters who might be changing their launch angle (i.e. groundball rate).

Using Spring Training Ground Outs divided by Airball Outs (GO/AO), some possible swing plane changes might already be detectable. To find possible change, I found the hitters who had a combined 50% GB% and at least 300 PA from 2019 to 2020. Then, I removed those with fewer than 30 spring plate appearances and got the GO/AO values for the rest. Next, I converted the GO/AO to groundball rate (GB%) using the formula in this article. Finally, I just calculated the greatest differences and here are the results.

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• Every few days, I’ll keep updating these Spring Training velocity readings.

American League

Astros

• Josh James’s (hip) recovery timeframe is between late April to late June.

Astros right-hander Josh James, who was slated to miss the start of the 2021 season after undergoing surgery to repair a labral tear in his left hip in October, had a “physical setback,” Baker said Wednesday. The manager didn’t divulge details but said James would be “fine in a few days.”
…
The recovery time for James’ procedure is approximately six to eight months, the team said previously. A sixth-month recovery would take James into late April, while an eight-month recovery would stretch into late June.

I’m not even sure James is worth drafting-and-IL-stashing. I expect he’ll come back as a reliever and will be immediately dropped. I’d rather spend the draft capital on someone useable.
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Maximum Exit velocity is starting to get noticed more and more as the best single stat to measure a hitter’s raw power. While quite a bit has been written on it, the subject’s money quote is from Rob Arthur:

For every mile per hour above 108, a hitter is projected to gain about 6 points of OPS relative to their predicted number.

With several new Florida Spring Training ballparks getting publicly available Trackman, I sifted through all the games and found any players who set a new over 108 mph Exit Velocity high compared to the previous two seasons. Twenty-two players have seen improvement. Most of them had a limited number of plate appearances, so setting a new high should be expected. There are a few regulars who could see an improvement in 2021.

Alejandro Kirk
Combined PA: 25
2019 Max EV: NA
2020 Max EV: 107.4
Combined Max: 107.4
2021 Max EV: 110.3

Kirk has displayed power in the past and this jump is probably setting a baseline versus an actual power increase.

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• Every few days, I’ve been updating these Spring Training velocity readings.

American League

Astros

• Yordan Alvarez will have to sit for a couple of days whenever he plays in the field.

“I can’t get on board with that yet until we get clearance from the trainers,” Baker said. “It would help our team and flexibility if he could play the outfield and first base. In the past, whenever he played the outfield, we had to sit him down for a couple of days. Maybe his new knees after he got them operated on, that might permit him. As of now, we have to treat him with kid gloves and make sure he goes deep into the season.”

DH for life.
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During the offseason, I kept track of pitchers who saw a 2020 velocity drop or were coming back from injuries. I’ve decided to check in on them. I know some of the sources can be a little wonky (e.g. stadium guns), but it’s better than nothing. Also, the pitchers could add velocity as they continue through Spring Training even though it rarely happens. That said, any information is better than going in blind.

For the velocity readings, I used FanGraphs for the 2019 and 2020 readings and the 2021 information from my personally collected list.

Madison Bumgarner
2019: 91.4
2020: 88.4
2021: 90-91

Bumgarner seems to be caring after he blew off his pre-season throwing last year. Projections don’t like him projecting an ERA near 5.00 but if the velocity stands, he should at least be around 4.00 ERA pitcher.

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As part of my preseason prep, I watched a Kris Bubic start from last season. During it, Rex Hudler, who is never short on opinions, brought up an interesting point. The more pitches each batter sees, the quicker the batter becomes with the pitcher repertoire, and the more likely the batter gets a hit. At first, I thought someone else was speaking, but no, the concept warranted further investigation. It’s the same theory behind the times-through-the-order penalty but the new effect could be felt depending on how many pitches a pitcher throws per hitter and depth of arsenal for the pitcher. That idea started me down a wormhole that led to many questions and one subpar answer, but there seems to be at least one nugget of wisdom in Rex Hudler’s head.

First off, with less than a month before the season starts, it’s not an ideal time to start a study that could take weeks to iron out. I barely have enough time to report news, velocity readings, and draft my own teams. The following “answers” are not set in stone and there are so many more questions to investigate. I could either shelve the ideas for months or just make a snippet available and let others run with the ideas while I grind through the fantasy season. I’m giving others the chance to refine the ideas before I come back to them.
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• About every couple of days, I’ve been updating these Spring Training velocity readings.

American League

Astros

• Alex Bregman still might not be ready by Opening Day.

Bregman said he injured his hamstring in early January while running sprints, and he has been rehabbing it since. The Astros are taking it extremely slow with Bregman, who maintains he’ll be ready for Opening Day. He’s been a full participant in the team’s morning workouts in West Palm Beach, which means he’s been fielding grounders and getting swings against pitchers in live bullpen sessions.

While it seems like Bregman might only miss a week or two at most, I’m worried the Astros will not give him a green light to steal bases … again (0 SB in 2021). Projections have Bregman between three and eight steals. While it’s not a ton of steals, he could end up with none. For owners looking to add some steals with each pick, Bregman may not fit that plan.

Blue Jays

• Vladimir Guerrero Jr. might play third base with a flyball pitcher.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. made his first Grapefruit League start at third base and saw just one ground ball, a slow chopper for an easy out. If the Blue Jays stick Guerrero at third for the odd game in 2021, that’s what they’d like to see, too. It makes sense for those games to come on days when the Blue Jays have a fly ball pitcher — like Roark — on the mound. Guerrero is optimistic in the strides he’s made since 2019 at the position, which he worked on over the offseason, including a stint in the Dominican Winter League.

Here are the potential starting pitcher options and their projected Steamer groundball rates. It would be great if he regained third-base position eligibility.

Ray (36% GB%) is the only obvious option with several others around 40% GB%.

• Robbie Ray was more productive (i.e better control) at a lower fastball velocity.

Ray needed 31 pitches to get through the first, including 10 foul balls and two walks, and was consistently sitting at 96-97 mph with a peak of 98.4 mph on his fastball, well above his recent averages.

Ray found his groove after that, though, while working more in the 94-96 mph range, and finished at 50 pitches (31 strikes). After those two walks in the first inning, Ray said he tried to focus more on hitting the plate and letting his pitches do the work. There wasn’t a conscious change to ease off of velocity, but it worked, and Ray’s misses were mostly on the edges of the zone.

To see if this observation has been a trend, I went back to 2018 and here are his stats at different fastball velocities.

Well shoot, that was a waste of time. He struggled no matter how hard he threw. Maybe if a person squints hard enough, the 92-93 mph range is “better”.

Rangers

• Mike Foltynewicz is going full Beefcake to get his velocity back.

Foltynewicz said the biggest issue with his velocity drop was his weight loss, which he put back on this offseason. He made multiple adjustments, both based on strength and technique in order to return to form.

Foltynewicz is using his legs a lot more now than he was, even in his peak years. He said he got rid of some of his more “lazy” pitching habits and cleaned up his mechanics, pushing off his quad more than his glute and hamstring.

His average velocity dropped from 95 mph in 2019 to 90 mph last year. It was back up in his first Spring Training appearance.

95 mph first pitch for Mike Foltynewicz to kick off the game. Fly out to right field for Mookie Betts.

— kennedi landry (@kennlandry) March 7, 2021

Red Sox

• Michael Chavis could start the season in the minors.

Even if Michael Chavis has a decent spring, does Arroyo make the roster over him due to being out of options? — Ryan Sanders @KingXeiros

I think so. Chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom is all about roster flexibility, and that setup allows them to keep Chavis and Arroyo. Chavis could benefit from some consistent playing time in the minors.

Chavis is pretty much unrosterable right now.

• Alex Cora is going to mix-and-match lineups on a daily basis depending on the opponent.

“One thing for sure, we’re not going to have a set lineup,” manager Alex Cora said. “We’re going to have moving parts the whole season. … There are certain days that we’re going to be very, very athletic and other days that we’re going to be hitting the ball out of the ballpark.”

I’m worried that after the top five hitters, the rest won’t play every day. Maybe Bobby Dalbec gets full-time at at-bats. Maybe.

Royals

• Michael A. Taylor simplified his swing.

The outfielder said this is the earliest he has felt like he has his timing down in the box, and that comes with a no-stride swing rather than entering the spring with a leg kick. He worked this offseason on simplifying his swing after signing with the Royals.

“Now I have fewer moving parts, and it’s easier to just be on time,” Taylor said. “I err on the side of being early, and it’s just something that’s allowed me to be game-ready a little quicker.”

• Adalberto Mondesi’s lineup placement will be determined by how he’s hitting.

“If we’re watching Mondi be Mondi like the Mondi we saw at the end of the season, once again, it’s anywhere (in the lineup),” Matheny said. “Where do you want him? … Because when he’s going right, you want to see him as often as you can.”

In the article, Mondesi might start out batting 7th with studs like Michael A. Taylor and Nicky Lopez there to drive him in. While his Run total might suffer, he could have the green light to steal at will in order to score on any batted ball.

Tigers

• Nomar Mazara has also simplified his swing.

That’s something [Nomar Mazara] worked to correct with hitting coach Scott Coolbaugh last year in Chicago. Coolbaugh, of course, is now the Tigers hitting coach. Mazara said his swing finally began to feel right late in the 2020 season. In two postseason games, Mazara went 3-for-6.

This year, Mazara said he has eliminated unnecessary movements and simplified his swing. He thinks that will allow him to drive through the ball with an increased launch angle instead of rolling over and hitting grounders.

• Matthew Boyd worked on his changeup and plans on throwing it more.

Boyd made a point to work in his changeup, a pitch he tried to improve in the offseason. He threw it for 10 of his 37 pitches Friday, according to Statcast, more than he used his workhorse slider.

“The goal is to use everything,” Boyd said. “Go out there and attack with everything. I like how we used it.”

Boyd’s change has been productive with an 18% SwStr%, but over the last two seasons, he kept it away from the strike zone (36% Zone). While his change has been hit around (14% HR/FB), his fastball (17% HR/FB) and slider (14% HR/FB) got hit just as hard.

National League

Braves

• Mike Soroka likely will not be ready by the season’s start.

The Braves still aren’t setting a specific timetable for Mike Soroka’s return, but Snitker hinted the right-hander might make a start before Spring Training ends.

“He’s built up for us to get him out there at some point,” Snitker said of Soroka, who tore his right Achilles tendon on Aug. 3.

Diamondbacks

• Josh Rojas tweaked his game before Spring Training this year.

“I changed a lot of things,” Rojas said. “I changed my diet. I changed my sleep habits. I changed how hard I was lifting. I also started swinging a lot earlier. I started working with [D-backs hitting coaches] probably at the beginning of January — a little bit in December but really picked it up in January. So instead of coming in for Spring Training like [it] used to happen, making those adjustments while playing games, now I can actually work on at-bats and fine-tune those things instead of making big tweaks while playing other competition.”

With Kole Calhoun headed to the IL for while, Rojas has a chance to insert himself into the Diamondbacks lineup.

Nationals

• Patrick Corbin is trying to add an effective change.

Patrick Corbin is known for throwing his slider. This season, though, the southpaw could be adding to his arsenal with a changeup.

“If I walked into camp unaware of Patrick Corbin and his repertoire and all that type of thing, I would have just assumed that the changeup was a normal part of it — and it’s very, very good,” pitching coach Jim Hickey said. “It’s going to be a very effective pitch, and it’s something that he could use a lot more.”

Over his career, Corbin has thrown a changeup 7% of the time for a 5% SwStr% and 55% GB%. Corbin needs a third pitch (and his fastball velocity back) to become an elite starter.

Phillies

• Hector Neris is adding a slider.

Neris has dabbled with a slider before; he threw it more in 2015 than any other season. He threw a slider just three times in 2017, according to MLB’s Statcast data, then pulled it out of his pocket 29 times in 2018. It was a terrible pitch that season: Opponents hit .833 with three homers against Neris’ slider.

• Odúbel Herrera could be the starting centerfielder.

The chances of Odúbel Herrera starting in center field on April 1 seemed to increase each day during the first week of Grapefruit League action. Herrera started spring training in minicamp, a long shot to head north with the team when camp breaks.

It’s still early as the Phillies have 21 spring games left, but it’s no longer far-fetched to imagine the team debating Herrera’s place when it finalizes the 26-man roster before opening day.

The 29-year-old missed 2020 on the heels of a disgusting domestic violence incident and hopefully he used that time to better himself as a person above all else. When on the field, he used to steal bases (25 in 2016) but that total dropped to 5 in 2018 in almost 600 PA. Over the same timeframe, his Sprint Speed declined from 27.9 ft/s to 26.6 ft/s. For the steals to come back, he’s going to have to start running faster.

Pirates

• Chad Kuhl is working on his arsenal. First, he’s moving back to a two-seamer.

When throwing his two-seamer, Kuhl would like to resemble a much younger version of himself. The sinker is not necessarily his most devastating pitch, but it is predominant in his arsenal.

…

The slider is Kuhl’s best pitch. Batters hit only .071 /.114/.179 last year against his curveball. This spring, he’s putting a lot of time into sharpening his change-up. Although his four-seamer can buzz at 95-plus mph, he calls it his fourth-best offering and claims he never fell in love with velo.

Kuhl’s most important pitch is the two-seamer. He throws it 42 percent of the time to get outs in the zone and generate swing-and-miss. It was his staple when Kuhl broke into the majors in 2016.

And working on his changeup.

Chad Kuhl worked on a slightly new grip for his changeup this offseason, and he got some reps with it against cream-of-the-crop competition in his start Friday against the Phillies.

Kuhl threw his changeup for a swinging strike to Andrew McCutchen, a called strike to Brad Miller and a ball in the dirt and called strike to Bryce Harper, who ultimately tagged Kuhl for a home run on a 1-1 sinker.

First, for reference, here is Kuhl’s career results.

The four-seamer shouldn’t be a factor but last season he increased its usage up to 23%. His sinker has been better slightly better, so I could see moving to it. As for the new change, its performance will be key but the bar isn’t that high to replace his below-average curve.

• Kevin Newman changed his batting stance and has been leading off.

Kevin Newman has reached base safely in seven of his first nine plate appearances (four singles, three walks). That’s what you want to see, especially with Newman batting leadoff in all three games in which he’s played.
…
Over the winter, Newman changed to a more upright stance that lets him be more direct and shorter to the ball. “I felt like my swing got a little long last year,” he said.

Newman was a nice power/speed/AVG combo in 2020 (12 HR/16 SB/.308 AVG). With a 550 NFBC ADP, he’s free at this point.

Reds

• Tejay Antone is likely headed to the bullpen.

Antone is one of the four main candidates for the fifth spot in the rotation, joining Michael Lorenzen, José De León and Jeff Hoffman. Reds manager David Bell and the coaches have raved about Antone since he came up last season.

But from what I’ve been hearing, Antone will also get serious consideration for the bullpen and that seems like the better bet to open the season.

I read this take from several sources. Damn. I hope he stays stretched out and can eventually join the rotation.

• Whenever I feel ambitious, I’ll continue to collect Spring Training velocity readings.

• MLBTradeRumors published a list of the players who are out of minor league options and will need to stick with their MLB team or be released. Some players I found interesting are Alec Mills, J.B. Wendelken, Adrian Houser, Jake Bauers, Chris Flexen 플렉센, Joe Ross, Austin Voth, Ronald Guzmán, Mike Foltynewicz, and Mike Tauchman.

American League

Angels

• Jared Walsh and Albert Pujols are likely in a first base platoon. When Walsh does play, he’ll hit high in the lineup.

Angels manager Joe Maddon acknowledged that Walsh’s success came in a small sample size, but he liked the way the left-handed hitter controlled the zone and showcased his raw power. He mostly hit Walsh second in the lineup ahead of Mike Trout and Anthony Rendon, and that could again be the case this season, although Maddon is still tinkering with his lineup construction.

But either way, Walsh figures to be in a critical spot in the order and will get most of the starts against right-handed pitching, while Pujols will serve as his backup and likely see most of his time at first base when there’s a lefty on the mound.

While Walsh showed promise (.971 OPS) in his 108 PA last season, his fantasy value gets crushed if he’s in a part-time role.

Blue Jays

• Robbie Ray is trying to improve his command.

Ray threw 24 of his 26 pitches for strikes, so Monday’s mission was accomplished. Using his four-seam fastball, slider and changeup, Ray was very encouraged by his pitch mix after the outing — the slider in particular. Ray’s slider has typically been an out pitch, and there have been times hitters have been able to lay off of it, knowing it would likely finish out of the zone. This time out, Ray spotted a few in the zone, and he feels like that could really unlock some potential in 2021.

His walk rate (7.8 BB/9) must improve or he’s out of the league.

• Thomas Hatch is developing a curveball.

The next step for Hatch is the development of [Hatch’s] curveball, which he’ll continue to tinker with through camp. This is a pitch that the Cubs pushed him to work on prior to his trade to Toronto, and the Blue Jays have done the same, so he understands the importance of that pitch to his long-term development.

Indians

• Aaron Civale has finished revamping his delivery.

“It almost looks like a stretch,” Indians manager Terry Francona said. “He takes that one little step back with his left foot and then he’s raring to go and I agree with him. [Carlos] Carrasco did it completely out of the stretch. Consistency and repeating your delivery is so big and anything that they can do to enhance that is welcome.”

“It’s not only the split-change,” Civale said. “It’s a new slider grip and … more four-seams and working on that. That was another reasoning behind the arm-path change — I was to be able to square up the ball a little bit better and get some better profiles on my pitches. Every outing is going to be a learning curve and seeing where things are at with where my stuff is at right now.”

Civale saw a small uptick in talent (13% K%-BB% to 17% K%-BB%) with the new release point. The 17% value was sandwiched between Kyle Hendricks and Zach Davies among last season’s qualified pitchers. A decent place to be.

Mariners

• Mitch Haniger hit a ball 110 mph.

Haniger crushed a three-run homer off left-hander Phillip Diehl that easily cleared the left-field wall in the third inning, leaving the bat with an exit velocity of 110 mph, according to Trackman data. It was the first home run for Haniger since he took Astros lefty Wade Miley deep on June 4, 2019.

Of all the hitters with at least 50 batted ball events last season, Hanigar would rank ahead of 140 of 351 batter ahead of Freddie Freeman, Anthony Rendon, and DJ LeMahieu.

• Shed Long Jr. has not recovered from a 2020 shin injury.

Shed Long Jr. is still not 100 percent recovered from the season-ending stress fracture to his right shin that he sustained last September, but the Seattle second baseman believes he’s getting close. Long has been held out of Cactus League games, but he has been taking batting practice and working out. However, he has been limited with some of his work at second base.

Long and Dylan Moore were projected for similar production, but with Long’s delay, Moore is the easy favorite to be the Mariners second baseman.

Rangers

• Kyle Gibson has likely added a subpar cutter to his subpar arsenal.

Chris pointed it out in today's zoom, but here's Gibson's pitch arsenal from baseball savant.

Gibson said he's not trying to eliminate any of those pitches, but adapt how he's using them. https://t.co/NToX3SvZHt pic.twitter.com/7hj0VMYTnJ

— kennedi landry (@kennlandry) March 1, 2021

• Ronald Guzman is seeing reps in the outfield.

The Rangers got Lowe with the idea that he would be the starting first baseman. But he and Ronald Guzmán have been formidable competition for each other this spring. Lowe has almost exclusively played first base, while Guzmán has put in work in the outfield to give himself more versatility.

Rangers manager Chris Woodward said that Guzmán playing in the outfield was something that progressed more quickly than expected.

Since Guzman has started trying, he is making waves by hitting .600/.714/1.200 so far this spring. It’ll be a an interesting playing time situation to track.

Rays

• Francisco Mejía will be paired with certain pitchers and opponents.

Cash said the club has been trying to get Mejía acclimated with a new pitching staff by having him catch bullpen sessions and live batting practice sessions. Additionally, Cash said they’ll single out certain pitchers they want Mejía to work with and line him up against specific opponents — like the Red Sox — who the Rays will see more often during the regular season.

With a set grouping, Mejia’s playing time will become obvious possibly in Spring Training but more likely early into the season.

Royals

• Jakob Junis developed a cutter.

It was time to develop a cutter.

The 28-year-old pitcher made it a priority over the winter to work on the pitch that Eldred said he’d be a good candidate for based on his arm path and natural delivery. Junis worked with his brother, Noah, in Arizona over the offseason to develop the new pitch, which didn’t come easy when Junis first threw it. But through tinkering with the grip, he was able to find one that he felt comfortable with. He stuck with that and found consistency across his bullpen sessions, watched the velocity increase and felt his confidence growing.

While Junis has shown great control (2.5 BB/9 for his career), his limited velocity (91 mph) and just two pitches have limited his upside. One concern I have is that the cutter will blend with his slider and he’ll be back to having just two pitches again.

Twins

• Kenta Maeda is working on his curve.

He has changed the grip on the curve a bit since then, he said, and hopes that he can get enough action on the pitch to draw swings and misses even when he throws it in the strike zone.

Yankees

• Aaron Hicks is projected to bat third.

Aaron Hicks is projected to begin the season as the Yankees’ No. 3 hitter, according to Boone, who likes Hicks’ switch-hitting ability, on-base skills and ability to keep the ball off the ground. Hicks has said that he feels fully recovered from the Tommy John surgery that he underwent following the 2019 season, and Boone said that the center fielder appears to be in “great shape.”

While I know the Yankees need some left-handedness in their lineup, it shouldn’t matter where Hicks breaks up the run. With that said, Hicks’s value jumps since the batters before and after are great.

National League

Cubs

• Shelby Miller is adding a slider.

Now with the Cubs, Miller is excited to pick up on a project he started shortly before making that decision last August. The veteran righty began working on a new slider while with the Brewers, and Miller got to test it out in his Cactus League debut on Monday against the Padres.

More surprising than the slider was that teams were willing to give Miller a chance.

• Kris Bryant is getting time in the outfield to play against left-handed pitchers.

The reason Ross is open-minded about using Bryant rests in the fact that all three of Chicago’s starting outfielders lean left. Heyward and Pederson both bat from the left side, while Happ is a switch-hitter. Jake Marisnick was added to the mix as a righty complement, and veteran Cameron Maybin (non-roster invitee) gives the Cubs another bench piece to consider, too.

On days when a left-handed starter is on the mound for the opposition, Ross may look for ways to maximize the offensive production. One avenue used in the past has been playing a righty hitter at third (such as utility man David Bote) and bumping Bryant to an outfield corner.

If only the Cubs had an outfielder who struggles against lefties that Bryant could take the place of?

Dodgers

• Gavin Lux may have gained the inside track to the second base job.

He hit atop of the lineup and jumped on the first fastball he saw from Rockies right-hander Dereck Rodríguez in the first inning, then delivered an RBI single in the fourth. Chris Taylor and Zach McKinstry will all get playing time at second this spring, but Lux appears to have the inside track at the job, especially if he has a strong performance in camp.

This position battle seems very much in flux.

Giants

• Alex Wood is working on a new changeup.

Wood, who joined the Giants on a one-year, $3 million deal this offseason, said he slightly raised his posture to help improve the depth of his slider and has been pleased with the results thus far. He’s also experimenting with a new grip for his changeup, though he doesn’t plan to debut the pitch until he pitches multiple innings in his next Cactus League outing.

Mets

• Marcus Stroman is adding a split change.

Unlike a traditional changeup, Stroman’s split-change relies on pressure from his ring finger, which he places on the outer edge of the seam. Stroman has been working for months to perfect the pitch, but he couldn’t be sure about its effectiveness until he used it in games. Now that he has, Stroman is more confident than ever in his ability to use it this season.

Over the past four years, Stroman has thrown changeups only about 5 percent of the time. Tuesday, he threw his split-change on about one-quarter of his offerings, including one that induced a groundout from Astros outfielder Michael Brantley.

• Brandon Nimmo is trying to improve against left-handed pitching.

Historically, the Mets have removed Nimmo from their lineup versus lefties, or at least slotted him near the bottom of it. The offseason additions of right-handed outfielders Kevin Pillar and Almora would also appear to limit Nimmo’s chances against lefties. But Nimmo, after reading about the practices of his childhood idol Todd Helton, decided to spend significant time this spring taking batting practice off left-handed pitchers. He hopes seeing those sorts of arm angles more regularly will give him the tools necessary to force his way into the lineup versus lefties.

While Nimmo has a career split of about 100 OPS points (.864 vs RHP, .758 vs LHP), a .758 OPS is not worthless doesn’t need to be platooned.

Pirates

• Todd Frazier and Colin Moran will be in a first base platoon.

With Ke’Bryan Hayes set to get everyday reps at third base, it’s likely Frazier will stick at first base and platoon with Colin Moran. But since he’s on a Minor League deal, Frazier said on Saturday that he’s working to make the team and just trying to prove he’s healthy and ready to contribute.

The platoon makes sense. Here are the pair’s career OPS splits.

Name: OPS vs LHP, OPS vs RHP
Frazier: .815, .751
Moran: .636, .779

Reds

• The outfield situation is still a playing time mess.

While it looks like there will be no NL DH rule, how do you see the outfield playing out? Do you think Winker will be an everyday starter or will they run a platoon system with the depth that they have?

I keep asking myself the same thing. David Bell says they’re going to use all the outfielders. You have the two left-handed hitters in Akiyama and Winker, and don’t forget about Aristides Aquino, in addition to Castellanos and Senzel. I think Bell and staff will play a lot of matchups, and that’s not necessarily lefty-lefty, but a lot of matching up based on who hits what type of pitchers better. You could also see the better defenders — Aquino, Akiyama, Senzel — coming in later in games as defensive replacements more often in games where the team has a lead.

If healthy, Senzel seems to be the only full-time outfield lock with Castellanos being replaced late in games for his subpar defense.