Baseball, like a flower, blooms in the spring. They also share equally effusive PR people. Just the other day I read about how a petunia’s branches gained 15 pounds and was in the best shape of its life. Sure, it’s always good to look at spring training numbers to give you an idea what you can expect from guys during the season — can I draft Wyatt Langford yet?! Dude is mashing like the ball’s a potato! Players in spring training are facing the top pitchers who are all displaying their best stuff. No one needs time to get warmed up. No one’s trying new pitches or getting a feel for the ball. They are at the height of their game in the beginning of March. Our former commissioner, Bud, once doffed his toupee and tried to have the World Series played in March. That’s the true pioneer of a sped-up game. Forget the pitch clock, just play the World Series in Spring Training. Since these spring training numbers mean so much, I decided to look at some players stats so far:
Blake Sabol – Three homers and hitting .348! I’m about to Buster in this guy’s Posey! Hmm, sounded better in my head. That happens when you’re so freakin’ excited to draft a guy!
Darick Hall – Five homers and hitting .316. All I need this draft season is Darick Hall and Johnny Oates’s baseball card from the 70’s.
Trent Grisham – Has four homers and it’s all coming up Grisham! He’s challenging for the league lead in Spring Training with aforemewntioned Darick and Romy Gonzalez with six homers. Yes, you heard that right, the White Sox have a bright spot!
Jose Miranda – Five homers and hitting .325. Can someone say post-post-post-post-post-post-post-post-post-post-post-post-post-post-post-post-post-post-post-post-post-post-post-post-post-post-post-post-post-post-post-post-post-post-post-post-post-post-post-post-post-post-post-post-post-post-post-post-post-post-post-hype sleeper?!
Shane Bieber – In 23 1/3 IP, he has 1.54 ERA and a 0.64 WHIP and 25 Ks. Forget how I said I was out on Bieber, he’s back, baby, he’s back! Velo is going wee-woo!
Jared Shuster – In 20 2/3 IP, he has a 1.74 ERA and 0.77 WHIP and can I draft him as my first pitcher off the board? I’m just askin’ questions!
Alek Manoah – In 20 1/3 IP, he has a 3.10 ERA and 1.18 WHIP with 21 Ks. After some tough sledding early on, Manoah has rejiggered his belly fat to pre-2023 levels and now that he has his mechanics (he’s aiming his belly button towards first more when he throws his slider), he feels more comfortable.
Okay, stop. This is such nonsense. Now we get to grade everyone’s reading comprehension because these are LAST YEAR’S spring training stats. If someone can read everything but capped words, I apologize in advance if you draft Alek Manoah. (I DON’T.) I like to do this post every year because every year I get the same comments about how well a player is doing in the spring and asking if I’m going to change my fantasy baseball rankings because of it. Spring training stats are a joke. They mean nothing. Let me say it again for emphasis, spring stats mean nothing.
The only takeaway from Spring Training stats: Are those stats helping a guy win an every day job?
Jose Miranda had the best spring training in the history of spring trainings last year, and that led him to do what last year? He couldn’t even keep the starting job away from Kyle Farmer! How did Shane Bieber do? Have the worst season of his career? Yeah, pretty much. Speaking of terrible seasons, Alek Manoah did not look bad last spring, and then he dropped this giant turd splatting all over your teams.
My latest favorite thing about Spring Training madness is the people touting a pitchers’ velocity being up or down after, like, ten pitches.
It is very funny seeing people talk velocity on a pitcher after, like, a half inning in February. He’s down 3 MPH on six pitches in his first appearance? Welp, he’s cooked. He’s up 4 MPH on 9 pitches? Wow, he just won a SpongeBob at the local carnival
— Razzball (@Razzball) February 28, 2024
Seriously, you should only be looking at who’s healthy, who’s winning position battles, and who’s winning rotation spots. The rest is meaningless. With that said, things I am seeing in Spring Training that have affected my thinking:
Christopher Morel – Haven’t moved him in my rankings, but if the Cubs are serious about playing him every day at 3rd base, I am intrigued. It’s hard to know when a new manager comes in how much changes, but this is a change I am very interested in watching.
Luis Rengifo – Ron Washington said he envisions Moniak and Rengifo hitting leadoff. Playing for Wash is like the scene in Goodfellas when Henry Hill is doing lines and the guy is like, “You wanna see helicopters?” Imagine the Angels are going to be running like crazy this year, and I’m here for it with draft bargains like Rengifo, and Moniak. He also said Schanuel is his number two hitter and Carlos Estevez is his closer. Believe Wash, he’s not washed, just slightly fried.
Jared Triolo – He’s hitting well, which might mean nothing, but their Jolly Roger is in storage they haven’t raised it in so long, and Triolo has a lot of positions he can fill. Still more of an NL-Only play for now.
Brooks Lee – People in Florida are telling me Lee looks excellent. He’s 23, going basically undrafted, #2 in Itch’s Twins’ prospects list and everyone in that lineup is injury prone. Correa just read that, kicked a rock, and his plantar fasciitis flared up.
Ronald Acuña Jr. – Oh my God, tell me he’s not hurt. Jesus, Mary, Joseph and all the characters in The Bible, please, tell me he’s not hurt.
Lastly, Rudy’s been in the lab! Meth? Nope! He’s cooked up a new, free Lineup Tool. There’s a new slot in the top menu next to Player Rater. You can see quickly any player you want and where they’re hitting vs. righties and lefties…Never before has it been so easy to see what Bud Black is thinking (now, you have to ask yourself if you want to):
