Now that the season is about to start, let’s see who had the best spring trainings.
| RK | Player | Team | Pos | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | CS | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS▼ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Trout, M | PA | CF | 22 | 59 | 22 | 26 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 15 | 10 | 9 | 5 | 1 | .441 | .514 | .847 | 1.362 |
| 2 | Zunino, M | KD | C | 21 | 54 | 11 | 19 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 14 | 7 | 14 | 0 | 1 | .352 | .435 | .852 | 1.287 |
| 3 | Granderson, C | NYM | RF | 22 | 52 | 10 | 23 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 13 | 10 | 5 | 0 | 2 | .442 | .531 | .712 | 1.243 |
| 4 | Betts, M | PR | OF | 19 | 56 | 15 | 24 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 1 | .429 | .467 | .750 | 1.217 |
| 5 | Abreu, J | CK | 1B | 19 | 59 | 10 | 30 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0 | .508 | .516 | .678 | 1.194 |
| 6 | Cron, C | LAA | 1B | 26 | 75 | 11 | 31 | 11 | 2 | 3 | 16 | 4 | 9 | 2 | 0 | .413 | .432 | .733 | 1.165 |
| 7 | Mayberry, J | NYM | LF | 24 | 53 | 11 | 22 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 10 | 6 | 10 | 0 | 0 | .415 | .475 | .679 | 1.155 |
| 8 | Kemp, M | SD | LF | 18 | 54 | 9 | 20 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 14 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 1 | .370 | .393 | .741 | 1.134 |
| 9 | Morse, M | MIA | 1B | 19 | 49 | 8 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 17 | 5 | 12 | 0 | 0 | .347 | .429 | .673 | 1.102 |
| 10 | Belt, B | SF | 1B | 23 | 70 | 10 | 25 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 10 | 13 | 21 | 1 | 2 | .357 | .458 | .629 | 1.086 |
| 11 | Stanton, G | OD | RF | 19 | 48 | 7 | 15 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 14 | 7 | 13 | 1 | 0 | .313 | .393 | .688 | 1.080 |
| 12 | Donaldson, J | TOR | 3B | 21 | 55 | 8 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 12 | 7 | 14 | 0 | 1 | .327 | .403 | .673 | 1.076 |
| 13 | Pederson, J | FH | CF | 26 | 65 | 14 | 22 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 13 | 4 | 15 | 3 | 2 | .338 | .377 | .692 | 1.069 |
| 14 | Lagares, J | NYM | CF | 21 | 64 | 14 | 23 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 12 | 1 | 0 | .359 | .406 | .641 | 1.046 |
| 15 | Lamb, J | HD | 3B | 25 | 66 | 12 | 24 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 17 | 0 | 1 | .364 | .434 | .606 | 1.040 |
| 16 | Duffy, M | CC | SS | 26 | 61 | 8 | 22 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 15 | 4 | 16 | 0 | 0 | .361 | .400 | .639 | 1.039 |
| 17 | Valbuena, L | HOU | 3B | 17 | 50 | 4 | 19 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 1 | .380 | .418 | .620 | 1.038 |
| 18 | Soler, J | CC | RF | 19 | 58 | 9 | 20 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 15 | 6 | 12 | 0 | 0 | .345 | .400 | .621 | 1.021 |
| 19 | Harper, B | CK | LF | 19 | 45 | 9 | 12 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 15 | 11 | 1 | 1 | .267 | .450 | .556 | 1.006 |
| 20 | Martinez, J | HD | LF | 24 | 67 | 14 | 21 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 11 | 8 | 13 | 0 | 0 | .313 | .403 | .597 | 1.000 |
| 21 | Freeman, F | PA | 1B | 24 | 59 | 9 | 20 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 9 | 18 | 0 | 0 | .339 | .420 | .576 | .997 |
| 22 | Taylor, M | PP | CF | 21 | 65 | 12 | 21 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 2 | 15 | 1 | 1 | .323 | .343 | .646 | .989 |
| 23 | Upton, J | OD | LF | 18 | 51 | 8 | 16 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 4 | 13 | 0 | 1 | .314 | .357 | .627 | .985 |
| 24 | Negron, K | CIN | 2B | 24 | 56 | 12 | 20 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 11 | 1 | 2 | .357 | .446 | .536 | .982 |
| 25 | Middlebrooks, W | FH | 3B | 18 | 51 | 11 | 18 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 5 | 11 | 0 | 0 | .353 | .411 | .569 | .979 |
Notes:
1. Yeah, yeah, Mike Trout. Boring. But consider this: Kris Bryant would have beaten Trout by .290 OPS, except he only had 44 plate appearances which apparently was not enough to make him a “qualifier.”
2. But what’s this? Mike Zunino as the Mike Trout of catchers? Leading the qualifiers with homers? Already the Kaline pre-season projections are in flames. (That cheatin’ Kris Bryant had 9 but my new colleague Rob Manfred busted him for trying to sneak in with insufficient plate appearances.)
3. With two rookies the EFL takes 4 of the top 5 spots.
4. Giancarlo Stanton made sure to finish outside the top 10 to avoid publicity so he could sneak up on people this season.
5. Jake Lamb never shook the doubters who wanted someone else to start at third in Arizona. But he convinced the most important person: Casey McGehee is now the second string third baseman in Haviland.
6. Poor Matt Duffy. Nothing is good enough for his tyrannical task masters on Cottage Street. He’s been busted back to the Cheesy minor leagues. (Where does a player from Cottage Street go when he’s sent to the minors? Hut Lane? Hovel Trail? Park Bench?)
7. The EFL sweeps positions 18-23, six straight.
8. Michael Taylor makes the rest of us wonder how we let him fall all the way to Peshastin.
9. Justin Upton thanks his lucky stars he snuck into the top-25 or he’d have been traded to San Diego… twice!
10. Will Middlebrooks: tease, or breakthrough? He did give us 15 out of the top 25 players on this list.
Bottom dwellers? Well…
| 152 | Rizzo, A | OD | 1B | 20 | 58 | 8 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 5 | 8 | 1 | 0 | .172 | .250 | .328 | .578 |
| 153 | Martin, R | TOR | C | 20 | 56 | 5 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 14 | 0 | 0 | .196 | .308 | .268 | .576 |
| 154 | Gosselin, P | PA | 2B | 27 | 61 | 4 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 4 | 11 | 1 | 0 | .262 | .303 | .262 | .565 |
| 155 | Plouffe, T | MIN | 3B | 18 | 56 | 6 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 13 | 0 | 0 | .196 | .258 | .304 | .562 |
| 156 | Ramirez, J | CLE | 2B | 21 | 63 | 7 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 10 | 2 | 1 | .222 | .246 | .302 | .548 |
| 157 | Callaspo, A | ATL | 2B | 23 | 69 | 9 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .261 | .268 | .275 | .543 |
| 158 | Gomes, J | ATL | LF | 21 | 56 | 5 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 5 | 17 | 0 | 0 | .179 | .277 | .250 | .527 |
| 159 | Piscotty, S | STL | RF | 26 | 51 | 3 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 13 | 3 | 2 | .216 | .268 | .255 | .523 |
| 160 | Gardner, B | NYY | LF | 22 | 59 | 3 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 16 | 2 | 1 | .186 | .294 | .220 | .514 |
| 161 | Featherston, T | LAA | 2B | 26 | 53 | 8 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 12 | 2 | 2 | .208 | .246 | .264 | .510 |
| 162 | Bourjos, P | STL | CF | 19 | 47 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 12 | 5 | 2 | .149 | .231 | .277 | .507 |
| 163 | Lambo, A | PIT | LF | 26 | 60 | 6 | 11 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 12 | 0 | 0 | .183 | .222 | .283 | .506 |
| 164 | Revere, B | PHI | CF | 23 | 73 | 8 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 11 | 5 | 1 | .205 | .247 | .247 | .493 |
| 165 | Gillaspie, C | CWS | 3B | 20 | 60 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0 | .217 | .242 | .250 | .492 |
| 166 | Hernandez, C | PHI | 3B | 27 | 56 | 5 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 13 | 2 | 1 | .143 | .250 | .232 | .482 |
| 167 | Escobar, A | HD | SS | 21 | 61 | 6 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 0 | .180 | .231 | .246 | .477 |
| 168 | Souza Jr., S | HD | RF | 19 | 54 | 5 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 4 | 17 | 2 | 0 | .130 | .203 | .259 | .463 |
| 169 | Bonifacio, E | CWS | 2B | 23 | 54 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 10 | 2 | 1 | .130 | .230 | .222 | .452 |
| 170 | Rutledge, J | PR | 2B | 23 | 53 | 5 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 4 | 14 | 0 | 0 | .189 | .241 | .208 | .449 |
| 171 | Espinosa, D | WSH | 2B | 21 | 56 | 4 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 18 | 1 | 0 | .125 | .197 | .214 | .411 |
1. “Rizzo! What are you doing down here?” “Relax, Coach. I’m just avoiding publicity.”
2. Clearly Phil Gosselin is no Jace Peterson. We can still hope he’s as good at breaking hearts.
3. Two Dragons so close to the bottom…
4. …but the son has the dad’s back. Very touching.
Now to the pitchers.
| RK | Player | Team | W | L | ERA▲ | G | GS | SV | SVO | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | SO | AVG | WHIP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Graveman, K | CC | 3 | 1 | 0.36 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 25.1 | 12 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 17 | .141 | 0.75 |
| 2 | Walker, T | CK | 4 | 0 | 0.67 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 27.0 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 26 | .114 | 0.56 |
| 3 | Phelps, D | MIA | 2 | 0 | 0.95 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 19.0 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 15 | .154 | 0.89 |
| 4 | Gonzales, M | CC | 3 | 0 | 1.04 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 17.1 | 11 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 9 | .183 | 1.04 |
| 5 | Harvey, M | NYM | 1 | 1 | 1.19 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 22.2 | 17 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 21 | .210 | 0.79 |
| 6 | Buchanan, D | PHI | 3 | 0 | 1.29 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 21.0 | 14 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 15 | .182 | 0.76 |
| 6 | Wojciechowski, A | HOU | 1 | 0 | 1.29 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 21.0 | 17 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 16 | .213 | 1.05 |
| 8 | Leake, M | CIN | 2 | 1 | 1.35 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 20.0 | 15 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 11 | .205 | 0.95 |
| 8 | Scherzer, M | PP | 1 | 0 | 1.35 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 20.0 | 15 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 23 | .205 | 0.80 |
| 10 | Bradley, A | ARI | 3 | 2 | 1.61 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 22.1 | 20 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 14 | .241 | 1.16 |
| 10 | Kershaw, C | LAD | 3 | 0 | 1.61 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 22.1 | 15 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 22 | .190 | 0.99 |
| 12 | Wacha, M | STL | 1 | 0 | 1.77 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 20.1 | 17 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 16 | .230 | 1.03 |
| 13 | Stults, E | ATL | 3 | 0 | 1.88 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 24.0 | 23 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 8 | .258 | 1.17 |
| 14 | Lyles, J | COL | 2 | 1 | 2.01 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 22.1 | 10 | 11 | 5 | 1 | 10 | 14 | .135 | 0.90 |
| 15 | DeGrom, J | NYM | 4 | 0 | 2.08 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 26.0 | 15 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 25 | .167 | 0.73 |
| 16 | Andriese, M | TB | 1 | 1 | 2.21 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 20.1 | 22 | 10 | 5 | 0 | 8 | 15 | .272 | 1.48 |
| 17 | Pomeranz, D | CC | 2 | 3 | 2.38 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 22.2 | 19 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 10 | 28 | .226 | 1.28 |
| 18 | Cashner, A | SD | 3 | 0 | 2.45 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 18.1 | 15 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 14 | .221 | 1.04 |
| 19 | Ross, T | FH | 3 | 0 | 2.49 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 21.2 | 16 | 8 | 6 | 1 | 8 | 25 | .203 | 1.11 |
| 20 | Weaver, J | LAA | 3 | 0 | 2.53 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 21.1 | 18 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 23 | .220 | 1.03 |
| 21 | Gee, D | PP | 2 | 0 | 2.73 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 26.1 | 25 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 10 | 12 | .266 | 1.33 |
| 22 | Gonzalez, G | WSH | 0 | 2 | 2.79 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 19.1 | 16 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 7 | 19 | .216 | 1.19 |
| 22 | Shields, J | SD | 2 | 1 | 2.79 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 19.1 | 13 | 9 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 23 | .183 | 0.93 |
| 24 | Buchholz, C | CC | 2 | 2 | 2.84 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 19.0 | 27 | 9 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 22 | .346 | 1.63 |
| 24 | McAllister, Z | CLE | 3 | 1 | 2.84 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 25.1 | 29 | 10 | 8 | 1 | 4 | 28 | .293 | 1.30 |
1. See what I mean about the insatiable demands of the Head Cheese? Graveman has the best spring pitching record in baseball but gets the bare minimum 33% allocation for Cottage. Pomeranz is #17 — clearly the other best Cheese starter — but is shunted off to the bullpen (albeit at 100%). Phew! They apparently don’t care a fig for team chemistry on Cottage Street. (I bet their minor leaguers go to Prison Yard. The ones that complain about it probably go straight to Death Row.)
2. The Gentle Kangaroos rewarded their spring star with a place in the Canberra rotation. And it wasn’t some piddly #5 spot, either, like the Mariners did. Walker is the #3 starter in the ‘Roo rotation. Let’s see which management philosophy — the hard-core Cheese Grater or the comfy Kangaroo Pouch — gets the best results.
3. The Pears rewarded Gee — whose only credential, really, was his fine spring — with the #3 slot in their rotation, right behind Max Scherzer who had a better spring and has had a far better career. But where is their #1 starter (Chris Sale) on this list?
4. At least Buchholz got an actual rotation spot at the Cottage.
5. Eric Stultz wants to prove to the Wolverines that they made a big mistake in not extending his contract. Zach McAllister wants to make the Drive rue the day they let him go. Carlos Martinez (#26, HD), Daniel Norris (#28, CK), and Wandy Rodriguez (#29, PR) all are bewildered about why they didn’t get a starting gig for their teams.
| RK | Player | Team | W | L | ERA▲ | G | GS | SV | SVO | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | SO | AVG | WHIP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 59 | Sanchez, A | DET | 0 | 0 | 5.10 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 30.0 | 25 | 17 | 17 | 7 | 8 | 31 | .227 | 1.10 |
| 60 | Sanchez, A | TOR | 2 | 1 | 5.16 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 22.2 | 21 | 16 | 13 | 1 | 10 | 11 | .247 | 1.37 |
| 61 | Cosart, J | KD | 1 | 2 | 5.60 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 17.2 | 19 | 11 | 11 | 1 | 11 | 11 | .284 | 1.70 |
| 62 | House, T | CLE | 2 | 2 | 5.70 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 23.2 | 26 | 16 | 15 | 2 | 5 | 19 | .274 | 1.31 |
| 63 | Price, D | DET | 0 | 2 | 5.76 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 25.0 | 24 | 16 | 16 | 1 | 5 | 29 | .253 | 1.16 |
| 64 | Fister, D | PA | 0 | 0 | 5.96 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 22.2 | 30 | 16 | 15 | 7 | 3 | 12 | .313 | 1.46 |
| 65 | Volquez, E | KC | 2 | 3 | 6.33 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 21.1 | 34 | 17 | 15 | 2 | 7 | 21 | .366 | 1.92 |
| 66 | Vogelsong, R | SF | 2 | 2 | 6.45 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 22.1 | 21 | 17 | 16 | 4 | 7 | 17 | .236 | 1.25 |
| 67 | Feldman, S | HOU | 0 | 3 | 6.87 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 18.1 | 27 | 14 | 14 | 1 | 8 | 8 | .346 | 1.91 |
| 68 | Garza, M | MIL | 2 | 1 | 6.95 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 22.0 | 33 | 21 | 17 | 3 | 6 | 21 | .347 | 1.77 |
| 69 | Koehler, T | KD | 0 | 1 | 7.00 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 18.0 | 27 | 15 | 14 | 3 | 8 | 9 | .365 | 1.94 |
| 70 | Heaney, A | OD | 1 | 2 | 7.03 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 24.1 | 29 | 19 | 19 | 4 | 10 | 19 | .299 | 1.60 |
| 71 | Williams, J | PA | 0 | 4 | 7.40 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 20.2 | 35 | 20 | 17 | 5 | 3 | 13 | .368 | 1.84 |
| 72 | Vargas, J | KC | 1 | 2 | 7.89 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 21.2 | 29 | 21 | 19 | 7 | 6 | 19 | .315 | 1.62 |
| 73 | Samardzija, J | HD | 1 | 3 | 8.44 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 21.1 | 28 | 20 | 20 | 9 | 2 | 18 | .315 | 1.41 |
1. That A. Sanchez sure is consistent!
2. Cosart was distracted. Gambling is hard enough even without always having to be careful not to bet on baseball games. Who has time for pitching?
3. Fister 1.0 wasn’t all that great this spring. Which doesn’t bode too well for Fister 2.0.
4. A rather dismal run there in the 69 – 71 slots. Koehler is the only one of the three not in the EFL minors. He’s the #5 starter for Kaline. Two of these three are being overpaid… by the Wolverines!
5. Samardzija is ready to give the Dragons everything they bargained for… and more! All this for only $7,250,000 a year.