Tag: fantasy baseball

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Spring Training

Cactus Fever

Thursday, March 14
Cincinnati 4 at Texas 7
Surprise Stadium, Surprise
Temp: 67 at 6:07 first pitch

Langford Slam Shreds Reds

Rangers phenom Wyatt Langford stepped to the plate in the fourth inning with the sacks packed and his club leading, 3-0. Make that 7-zip as Langford launched a long bomb to right center that cleared the fence by a few ten-gallon hats. Last year, the 22-year-old laced the ball around the ballpark at a combined .360 clip in four levels of ball. Call Wyatt right on target. His 1-for-4 Thursday left his cactus average at .361 (13-for-36) with 5 HR and 14 RBIs.

The Reds finally found the scoreboard in what became a Hernandez Old Home Week in the top of the seventh. Texas subbed in Elier Hernandez for Evan Carter in left and Jonathan Hernandez replaced Brock Burke on the mound. After an Austin Hendrick strikeout, Reds’ second baseman Miguel Hernandez pinch hit for Jonathan India. Miguel jumped on Jonathan with a bomb to left for Cincinnati’s first run.

The Reds made some more noise in the ninth. Hernan Perez led off with a single to center. Catcher interference from Andrew Knapp put Hernandez at first. James Free doubled home Perez before Allan Cerda went yard on David Robertson for a two-run blast to center that brought the Reds within 3, 7-4. Robertson fanned Logan Tanner however, to end the game. Jon Gray (2-0) picked up the win, being stretched out to five innings of work. He yielded 3 hits and no runs while striking out five. Tejay Antone (0-1) took the loss for the Reds.

Ballpark Buzz … The Rangers’ Marcus Semien was PBP (Perfect But Painful) at the plate. He singled and scored in the first, stroked an RBI-double in the second, was plunked on the left arm by Buck Farmer in the fourth before scoring on Langford’s grand slam and Marcus walked in the sixth. Semien is hitting .250 (7-for-28) with 1 HR and 2 RBIs this spring. … Surprise Stadium was stuffed to the gills with an attendance of 12,026. … Right field “lawn seating” became downright dangerous. Every time the center fielder or right fielder went to toss the ball into the stands, a munchkin monsoon blew one way or the other, cheek-to-cheek, jowl-to-jowl, step-where-they-may. No band-aid brigade reported. … In the photo above, note the smoke coming out of the “stack” in the third base concourse. The wind blowing out to right quickly took on a barbecue flavor that kept fans down the first base line salivating. … A five-minute fireworks display followed the game before a thankfully long-delayed brief shower. … The game time temperature of 67 dipped to a windy 61, sending several seeking shelter under the covers.

Categories
Spring Training

Cactus Fever

Tuesday, March 12
Arizona 2 at San Diego 2
Peoria Sports Complex, Peoria
Temp: 70 at 1:10 first pitch

San Diego Slugger Goin’ South

Twenty-year-old Padres prospect Jackson Merrill wore #70 and batted ninth Tuesday against the Dbacks. Facing Arizona ace Zac Gallen in the second inning after a two-out walk to Kyle Higashioka, Merrill unloaded to left on Gallen’s 0-1 offering. By the time the ball landed beyond the fence, San Diego Manager Mike Shildt had put Jackson in the jump seat. That would be on the plane to South Korea, where the Padres will play the Seoul Series against the Dodgers March 20-21. Raking cactus pitching at a .343 clip with two HRs will do that.

Following the Merrill manifest adjustment, Gallen gave up a Xander Bogaerts single and Fernando Tatis Jr. double before being rescued by Will Mabrey, who got Jake Cronenworth on a fly ball to center.

Jake McCarthy led off the game with a single but that was the only DBacks’ hit until the fifth inning. Trailing 2-0, Blaze Alexander led off the inning with a single. Kyle Garlick moved him along with a 1-4-3 ricochet bullet out that tipped off pitcher Tommy Nance’s glove, thereby nullifying the double play. Albert Amora Jr. grounded out to short for the second out but Nance walked Tucker Barnhart to flip the order with runners on first and second. McCarthy ripped the ball into the right field corner and by the time Tatis Jr. corralled the ball, Jake was chugging into third with a two-RBI triple to tie the game.

The DBacks and Padres mirrored further scoring chances, both clubs having runners reaching second in the sixth and eighth innings, but that was the extent of the scoring, the game ending in a 2-2 draw.

Fernando Fantasy Update: Tatis Jr. went 2-for-3, legging out an in-field single to deep short in the first and lacing a double that just cleared Garlick’s head in left an inning later. Tatis Jr. struck out in the fifth. The two hits bumped his cactus average to .250 (6-for-24) with 5 RBI and 1 HR.

Ballpark Buzz … Cronenworth made the defensive gem of the day in the third when, with Barnhart at first following a lead-off walk, Jake McCarthy lined a ball toward first. Cronenworth dove toward the line, snaring the ball on one hop. He jumped to his feet, stepped on first, spun and nailed Barnhart at second for the double play. … Hats off to the Peoria Sports Complex staff. My wife has a walker and they graciously stored it in a nearby wheelchair area as we made our way up the stairs to section 201 behind home plate.

Categories
Spring Training

Cactus Fever

Sunday, March 10
San Francisco 3 at Seattle 8
Peoria Sports Complex, Peoria
Temp: 78 at 1:10 first pitch

Polanco’s Solo and Slam Slays Giants

Jorge Polanco roughed up San Francisco starter Tommy Romero for five RBIs with a pair of long balls in the first two innings, sending Seattle to an 8-3 win. Polanco’s first-inning blast, a solo shot, cleared the yellow HR line on the black backdrop in center by three feet. His next blast, a grand slam, came an inning later, landing beyond the Cutwater Shirts sign in left after a one-out single by Taylor Trammell and costly walks to Michael Papierski and Dylan Moore. Starter George Kirby picked up the win with two-and-a-third innings of four-hit, two-run ball with 5 strikeouts.

The Mariners’ second baseman also factored in the Mariners seventh run in the fourth. Giant pitcher Carson Seymour was not about to allow a third HR to Polanco when Jorge stepped to the plate with two out. Seymour plunked him but Cal Raleigh made him pay, belting a double to drive in Polanco with his third run of the afternoon. Jorge’s 2-for-2 day has him ripping the ball at a .500 clip (7-for-14) this spring. Raise your hand if Polanco’s fantasy ranking at #236 suddenly became a tempting flyer.

Seattle’s final run was a hard lesson learned for Giant first baseman Tyler Locklear. Jonny Farmelo led off the eighth inning with a high fly foul that sent Locklear angling toward the stands at first. A few feet short of the first row, he reached out and the ball skipped off his mitt. The very next pitch, Farmelo went several barns deep with a homer to right center, prompting a fan behind me to bellow, “That’s on you, 87. Catch the ball!”

The Giants scored two runs in the second when the first three batters, Luis Matos, David Villar and Casey Schmitt, went double-double-single against Kirby. With a wink and a glow, Schmitt’s ninth-inning replacement Jimmy Glowenke went yard in his first spring training at bat for the Giants final run.

Ballpark Buzz … There was a Panda sighting in the sixth inning as 37-year-old Pablo Sandoval, looking very svelte, hit a flare to right for single in the sixth before going down on strikes in the eighth. … Cal Raleigh (6-for-17) went 2-for-3, including a first-inning triple that Giant CF Jung Hoo “Gung Ho” Lee almost ran down in right center, but couldn’t squeeze. … Today’s ballpark shanty of choice was the Deschutes IPA delightfully diluted with Mountain Dew. … Grin and bear it — T-Shirts in the Mariners / Padres Team Store have reached the $45 mark. No supply chain issues there. … Time of game: 2:42. Attendance: 7,572. … It’s great to be back in Cactusville! Stay tuned. I’ll be filing reports Tuesday the 12th (DBacks @ Padres) and Thursday the 14th (Reds @ Rangers).

Categories
Spring Training

CACTUS FEVER

Saturday, March 26
Los Angeles 10 at Kansas City 5
Surprise Stadium, Surprise
Temp: 91 at 6:05 first pitch

Four Dodger Dingers Rock Royals

In the bottom of the eighth inning, the Royals had twice as many hits as the Dodgers — 10 to 5 — but trailed by twice as many runs, 9-4. Such is the succinct shock and awe of watching three-run home runs disappear into the night. Justin Turner turned the trick after Brady Singer walked Chris Taylor and Max Muncy in the first. Tomas Telis did the deed in the eighth after Brad Peacock hit Zach McKinstry and walked Andy Burns. Telis’ clothes-line blast to right left the yard faster than a Telus text. Toss in Kevin Pillar’s two-run bomb in the sixth and Jake Lamb’s solo shot in the ninth and it was bombs away for the Dodgers after the Royals had regrouped from Turner’s opening salvo to tie the game 3-3 after three. They got there with Carlos Santana smashing a two-out double to left to cash in Bobby Witt Jr. and Andrew Benitendi. Witt had singled and stole second before Benitendi drew a walk. Whit Merrifield opened the scoring in the first with a triple to the right corner. Fantasy baseballers take note, Merrifield was cool and dried at third before the throw reached the infield. Another 40-SB year seems like a cinch. He came home on a wild pitch.

Ballpark Buzz … The white elephant in the winning L.A clubhouse was, “What is wrong with Cody?” He sported the golden sombrero tonight with four strikeouts. Since his third-inning single March 24 against Colorado, Bellinger has struck out. Eight. Consecutive. At. Bats. Dodger hitting coaches Brant Brown and Robert Van Scoyoc won’t sleep a wink tonight. … Evidently Banner Medical Center didn’t get the memo, a.k.a. last week’s column. Tonight their non-baseball trivia question asked how many mammograms they’ve performed the past year. 9000-plus, if you’re keeping score at home. I’m sure the mothers in attendance just loved responding to their children asking, “Mommy, what’s a mammogram?” …

My Fantasy Baseball strategy … If ya need it, as spring training is already winding down. From the six spot, I’ve been pretty consistent — after 50+ mock drafts from multiple spots — of drafting the following 22 starters when (sigh) Ohtani doesn’t fall into my lap. Round-by-Round: 1–Bichette (SS) / 2–Scherzer (SP) / 3–Urias (SP) / 4–O’Neil (OF) / 5–Peralta (SP) / 6–Bryant (1B) / 7–Chisholm (2B) / 8–Manoah (SP) / 9–Jansen (RP) / 10–Romano (RP) / 11–Av. Garcia (OF) / 12–Ad. Garcia (OF) / 13–Donaldson (3B) / 14–McGee (RP) / 15–Voit (CI) / 16–Baddoo (OF) / 17–Desclafani (SP) / 18–Bader (OF) / 19–O. Cruz (MI) / 20–Kiner-Falefa (UT)

Note the emphasis on team power and speed with an unabashed prayer for batting average. There’s little or no speed with corner infielders so I targeted Bryant because he can swipe a few and now has HR-friendly Coors Field. Others I have targeted are Albies, O’Neil and Chisholm. The rest will arrive on your doorstep. How? Pick 4 starting pitchers and 4 hitters in the first 8 Rounds, targeting the above. Use the dead space between hitter to drop down and grab The Starting Pitcher You Really, Truly Love. Forget the waiver wire, this is a six-month commitment. Use the 9th and 10th Round to take two relievers. Your 11th, 12th and 13th Rounds go to collecting Av. Garcia, Ad. Garcia and Donaldson respectively. Rounds 11-thru-13 run like clockwork. McGee is listed as the Giants’ closer but for some reason he’s ranked 300+ at Fantrax. Dig him up. If he’s scooped, Rogers or Bednar should be available. Rounds 15-to-19 can be a bit of a white knuckler, because some joker may take a flyer on Oneil Cruz out of the blue. I’m drafting him 30 or 40 spots higher because when at the 200+ ADP, be safe, not sorry. Also, I drafted catcher Luis Torrens in the 30th round (last) to clear up space for other picks. Catchers don’t run but he did poke 15 over the fence last year. The above road map has the necessary built-in deviations so you can breathe easy during the 45-seconds between picks. Good luck, managers!