Spring Training: Who's Hot, Who's Not?

Yeah, these are fake games we’re talking about here, but better to do well in them than the alternative.

Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times.

Corey Seager hit .344/.417/.688 last July and hasn’t stopped raking since. The Dodgers shortstop hit .307/.358/.585 with 17 home runs and 41 RBIs during the 2020 regular season, .328/.425/.746 with eight homers and 20 RBIs in the postseason that followed, and he’s at .400/.475/.914 with six and 13 this spring.

Yeah, these are fake games we’re talking about here, but it’s better to do well in the exhibition season than the alternative. Seager is absolutely ripping the baseball, and he is going to blow away the 2021 projection set by baseball-reference.com. Uh, .273/.340/.489, with 24 and 87? No.

Seager is on another planet completely, but he has company in the solar system. Los Angeles has two catchers who are distinguishing themselves in Cactus League action to date: Will Smith (.345/.406/.517 and displaying a gun of an arm) and Austin Barnes (.391/.481/.652); three, if you include the late-arriving Keibert Ruiz, who is four-for-four with five RBIs in two games.

Other standout L.A. batsmen this spring include Chris Taylor (.393/.469/.893), Mookie Betts (.370/.485/.481), Zach McKinstry (.333/.333/467), Kody Hoese (.400/.571/.1.571) and Gavin Lux (no errors and a .382/.417/.500).

On the flip side, Justin Turner hasn’t done much yet, with a .219/.342/.313 slash line in 38 at bats. A.J. Pollock, better in his last few games, is at .176/.294/.505 and Max Muncy is hitting .200/.368/.333. Cody Bellinger, with only 13 at bats, is at .154/.154/.385, which is meaningless.

Standout starting include Jimmy Nelson, with his 0.00 ERA and nine strikeouts in seven innings, Dustin May (3.12, 11 Ks in 8 2/3), Trevor Bauer (2.03, 16 Ks, 13 1/3) and Julio Urias (1.74, nine and 10 1/3). Neither Walker Buehler (4.50, 11, 12) nor Clayton Kershaw (6.30, 8, 9) have set the world on fire so far, but I’m not worried a whit about them. You shouldn’t be either.

Victor Gonzalez has been essentially perfect out of the bullpen during the preseason, unscored upon with eight strikeouts in 6 1/3. Tony Gonsolin (2.61, 12 Ks, 10 1/3) has had a nice spring, as has Corey Knebel (1.50, 7, 6), Kenley Jansen (1.50, 10, 6 and with only one homer allowed), but mark me down as skeptical. Left-handed relievers Garrett Cleavinger (5.40) and Scott Alexander (4.76) have been underwhelming, but David (I-still-want-him-starting) Price has been good (2.70), with non-roster invitee and ex-Friscan Mike Kichham making a believer out of me (3.38, 10, 10 2/3) in his comeback from obscurity.

The Dodgers are the best team in baseball and are ready to begin the season now.

Standout batters from around baseball include the following: Mariners’ Ty France (.417, five homers, 15 RBIs), Bucs’ Adam Frazier (.577, 5 HR, 15 RBIs), Cleveland’s Cesar Hernandez (.412), Angels’ Shohei Otani (.636, 4 HR), Mets’ Pete Alonso (.382/.475/.794), Cubs’ Joc Pederson (.406, 5 HR, 10 RBIs), newly-svelte Jays’ Vladimir Guerrero (.571), Nationals’ Josh Bell (.375, 4 HR), Giants’ Evan Longoria (.474, 4 HR) and Oakland’s Matt Olson (.406, 5 HR, 14 RBIs), to name just a few.

Pitching standouts include Kenta Maeda (Minn., 0.63), Jacob deGrom (Mets, 0.66), Robbie Ray (Jays, 1.98), Lance Lynn (White Sox, 2.31), Eduardo Rodriquez (Red Sox 2.31), Max Fried (Braves, 1.80), Steven Matz (Mets, 0.90) and Lucas Giolito (White Sox, 2.35), to name a handful.

ICYMI:

The Royals just signed longtime catcher Salvador Perez to a four-year, $82 million contract extension, which is generous of them. I’d have thought that Kansas City would’ve learned something from the Alex Gordon four-year $72 million free agent deal which blew up in their face five years ago, but apparently not. Gordon hit .237/.320/.366 from 2016 through 2019 after hitting .281/.359/.450 the previous five seasons as the team won 80, 81, 58 and 59 games, respectively. Sure, Perez was usually good for 20 homers and 70 RB1s per season in his 20s, but he doesn’t hit for average (.257 since 2014) or on base percentage (.289 since ‘14) and isn’t getting any younger. He’s about to turn 31 and KC is set to spend a quarter of its payroll for a catcher on the down side of his career, in 2021 and likely into the future.

After being out of baseball in 2020, former-Dodger Scott Schebler is trying to earn a job with the the the LAA of A, and is having a nice spring, hitting .364/.400/.844 with four homers and nine RBIs.

Media Savvy:

You had to know this was coming, from Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times: Column: It’ll be a trilogy with a predictable ending: Kenley Jansen’s October meltdown III. I’ll just add that it’s interesting that Hernandez’s headlines begin with the word “column,” which shouldn’t be necessary. You’ll never see me begin a column with the word column.

The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal on Bobby Witt, Jr., the first base extension market, Trea Turner, a 2014 Arrieta-for-Realmuto trade that never was, and a couple of quotes from Angels about other Angels. For example, Mike Trout re Shohei Ohtani: “The Ohtani we’re seeing now, in games, is the one everyone wanted to see. I think he’s finally putting everything together. He’s healthy. The way Perry and Joe are handling him, that’s the direction and mentality he needed. Just go. Do your thing.”

Zach Kram, of the Ringer, writes that the “Dodgers-Padres Is Poised to Become MLB’s Next Yankees–Red Sox Rivalry.” OK, son.

Baseball Photos of the Day:

Dave Bristol at Spring Training in 1967. I know that the photo is from 1967 because, while Ernie Broglio (uniform number 37) never appeared in a game for the Reds, he was with Cincinnati’s top farm club during the ‘67 campaign, his final season in professional baseball.

Stan Musial and Mickey Mantle.

Tim McCarver and Jim Gilliam.

Clayton Kershaw and Sandy Koufax, 2010.

And remember, glove conquers all.

Howard Cole has been writing about baseball on the Internet since Y2K. Follow him on Twitter. Follow OBHC on Twitter here. Be friends with Howard on Facebook.

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