MLB: Spring Training: The best position fights in the training camps

The MLB’s jumping training has been open for a few weeks now. On Friday, the games in Grapefruit and Cactus League will finally start. One of the most interesting aspects of the preparation for the season is always the team’s internal duels for the last remaining open positions, which are only decided during the training camps. SPOX presents the best position battles and forecasts.

In Boston’s Bullpen, a position is carved in stone: Craig Kimbrel is the Closer role. But the problem was and still is the “Setup Man”: Who takes over the eighth inning? In 2017, this question was only resolved by a trade for right-hander Addison Reed. But he now plays for the Minnesota Twins.

No replacement has been hired; after all, there are already various successor candidates in the squad. Carson Smith, Joe Kelly and Matt Barnes are the three who could ultimately act as setup men. All three of them had their difficulties in the past, but all of them bring the stuff to compete late in the game.

Another name on the list is Tyler Thornburg, whom the Red Sox picked up from the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for third baseman Travis Shaw. Up to now, however, he has not played for Bostonn a persistent injury but put him out of action the whole year. Now it should be introduced slowly and could become an important piece of the puzzle.

Prognosis: The Red Sox’s wish would certainly be that sooner or later Thornburg would jump into the breach, because it is still difficult to comprehend the fact that Shaw, who had developed splendidly in Milwaukee, was given up for him. But for now, Barnes will probably be ahead of the pack. He held his opponents at an average of. 224 over 70 and showed better control than Kelly, who throws the hardest out of the group but sometimes gets a bit wild.

If it were only for his defense, the role of the Center Fielder in the White Sox would not be a competition: Adam Engel would have the job for sure. He played spectacularly in 97 games in 2017 and achieved 16 Outs Above Average according to Statcast. Just as many as Boston’s staright-field Mookie beds!

But he was offensive far below average. He had a. 517 OPS (On Base plus slugging) with 117 strikeouts and was simply not a factor. That brings Leury Garcia and Charlie Tilson into play.

Tilson arrived 2016 in the trade for Pitcher Zach Duke from St. Gallen. Louis to Windy City. At that time, the team had already set great hopes for the outfielder. But already in his first match he injured his thigh muscle and missed the rest of the season. In 2017 he was not in action at all, foot and ankle injuries cost him the entire playing time. He is still considered a talented offensive player, but the long downtime almost guarantees that his season starts in the Minors.

Garcia, on the other hand, is a switch hitter and knows how to get to base regularly, which makes him an option as a lead-off hitter. He can also hack the corners of the outfield and has better chances of a place in the lineup.

And then there’s Luis Robert. He comes from the Dominican Republic and was considered one of the international top prospects of the current signing period. Many see it as the center fielder of the future for Chicago. With his 20 years of experience and no experience above the rookie ball he should not play a role for the time being.

Prognosis: The White Sox are under no pressure to win anything this season. They simply have not yet reached that stage in their development. Therefore, they can afford to rely on Engel and give him the time to work out at least a reasonable stroke. That is why he first gets the trust. However, it is questionable whether this will remain so in the long term.

Actually, the lineup of the Indians is standing. But one problem could trigger a small chain reaction: What if Left Fielder Michael Brantley doesn’t get fit for the start of the season as expected? He’s been permanently injured for the last few years, but he’s supposed to be ready now. But they don’t want to settle for the opening day in Ohio.

If Brantley’s not there yet, it’ll be interesting. It would be possible to simply choose one of the numerous backup options such as Lonnie Chisenhall or Melvin Upton Jr. to be inserted. However, if Brantley were to go longer, it would probably make more sense to place Second Baseman Jason Kipnis, who recently played Center Field more often, in the left field.

But this would create a gap at the second base. One that could stuff Third Baseman Jose Ramirez. He represented Kipnis several times at the end of the last season and convinced in the field. According to his own statement, he feels more comfortable on the right side of the infield anyway.

In this scenario, Yandy Diaz, who was appointed to the MLB team in August last year and showed good performance on the record (. 914 OPS), would probably move to the third base in this scenario. He also did not let himself get into debt defensively.

The Dark Horse in this discussion is Giovanny Urshela. He’s an outstanding defender on third base. One could argue that the Infield-Defense with him on third and Ramirez on second base would be probably the best in the Indians’ team. The problem, however, is that he hardly plays a role in offensively. He has a career OPS+ of 56, which roughly speaking means he beats 44 percent below major league average. As a defensive replacement, this may be enough, but not as a starter.

Prognosis: The Indians hope that Brantley will return healthy, but after all the injuries, it’s going to be the variant with kipnis in the left field, Ramirez at second base and Diaz at Hot Corner. With the positive side-effect that so Talent Diaz is integrated into the master lineup.

The World Champion has one of the deepest lineups in the majors. However, no clear solution seems to have yet been found in the left field. Before the end of last season, Cameron Maybin was brought in, but he was only partially convinced.

In addition, Marwin Gonzalez, Jake Marisnick and Josh Reddick, who will probably start in Right Field, played there. Tony Kemp is also an option. The farm system also gave Derek Fisher a little bit of uptime. His biggest moment was of course the victory run in Game 5 of the World Series – as a Pinch Runner.

In 53 games, last year’s Rookie. 212 beat with 5 home runs and 17 RBI. Not famous, but his numbers in the Minors (. 318,21 HR, 66 RBI) in Triple-A suggest that there is more to him if he gets the appropriate playing time.

Prognosis: The preference of the Astros will indeed be to establish Fisher in the left field. Gonzalez can also play in Right Field and Infield and would be an interesting utility option, while Reddick is at home in Right Field. So Fisher will have every chance of winning the job.

If you think of the Yankees, these days Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton are the first to be seen. These two are both playing in the right field. But there will be no battle here. Whatever happens, both will be in the lineup. One could switch to Left Field, one could act as a designated hitter, and Judge played Center Field at college, which would also be an option in theory.

The situation in the infield is much more exciting. The second base is vacant due to the Stanton trade that sent Starlin Castro to Miami. The Yankees also sent Chase Headley to San Diego. Third Base is also open.

A few days ago, the Yankees then opened a multi-purpose trade in Brandon Drury, which comes from Arizona and, according to General Manager Brian Cashman, is scheduled for the third base. Remains second base. The candidates for this are the all-rounders Ronald Torreyes and Tyler Wade. Torreyes beat last year. 291/. 314/. 375 in 108 games, 43 of them from the start at second base. Wade, on the other hand, only had 58 at-bats in the MLB and eleven starts at the second base.

Torreyes is the ideal fifth infielder, Wade can also play in the outfield and is supposed to be New York’s answer to Ben Zobrist (Cubs), who can be used in the in- and outfield.

Two veterans, Jace Peterson and Danny Espinosa, were invited to the camp, and Prospect Miguel Andujar also had the best cards in the Hot Corner so far. This is the third-best third-base prospect in the league. Defensively he still has some catching up to do, but at the record he was already convincing for double and triple A in the previous year.

Meanwhile, at the second base, the ideal idea is that Top-Prospect will take over Gleyber Torres directly. He would have made the jump to the top in 2017 if it hadn’t been for his serious elbow injury on the left arm. He is now fit again and ready to recommend himself.

Prognosis: Before Drury’s arrival, Andujar had much to say in favor of Andujar at third base. This scenario is not out of the question, but Drury seems to be a safer option at the beginning of the season and will probably start the season as a starter. Second Base, however, is likely to be occupied by the reliable Torreyes. However, Torres takes over at the latest in May, after a long injury break, when he collects in the Minors practice and finds his rhythm again.

Texas has four starters to be considered seeded: Cole Hamels, Martin Perez, Doug Fister, Matt Moore. The fifth place of the rotation will be decided in the camp.

Candidates include Mike Minor, Bartolo Colon, Matt Bush, Jonathan Niese, Ronald Herrera and Yohander Mendez.

Minor and Bush have the advantage that they have recently been more active as relievers and could thus, to a certain extent, make the leap into the squad through their second education. Minor was an important relief pitcher in the bullpen of the Royals. Before that, however, he already showed in the service of the Braves that he can be useful as a starter. However, his last start was in 2014. Bush, on the other hand, was already active in the Bullpen of the Rangers last year and probably has the hardest fastball in the staff of the Rangers. But who knows if he can use it as a starter?

Colon, now 44 years old, hangs another 21. Season’s up. Last year he worked for the Braves and Twins. In Atlanta he didn’t get a foot on the ground, and in Minnesota “Big Sexy” presented itself in an acceptable way.

Niese is another complaint project. He was reliable with the Mets from 2010 to 2015, but missed 2017 with a knee injury. He doesn’t have a spectacular throwing arsenal, but still manages to spot people.

The youngster of the group is Herrera (22). He presented himself well in the Yankee system in the Minors and came up with an 8-0 record in nine starts at double-A level. In addition, however, he lacks any experience – he had three starts in triple-A and has only three big league innings on his account.

If you go to Upside, you can’t get past Mendez. It is the organization’s fourth-best prospect. But: He never pitched above Double-A, has problems with Fastball-Command and has to work on his pitches in general.

Prognosis: The best story would surely be if Big Sexy would prevail again. But pitching in Arlington is already difficult for pitcher of the best age. With 44 and his stuff, however, it seems almost impossible for Colon. Minor will initially prevail and will take fifth place at the beginning of the season. What happens next is still in the stars. Bush, of course, remains in the bull pen.

Page 1: Camp Battles in the American League

Page 2: Camp Battles in the National League