The Spring Signal, March 20th
The latest breakouts, news, and injuries
STANDOUT SPRING PERFORMANCES
Shota Imanaga
On Tuesday, Shota tossed 4.2 innings of one-run ball, striking out eight Angels. Shota is a WHIP category darling, finishing 7th in WHIP (0.98) last season among pitchers that had pitched at least 120 innings. Imanaga is currently SP 51, well worth a grab in drafts above his current ADP (168). This is what Shota was doing on Tuesday, carving up these hitters. Whiffs on all of his offerings is awesome to see.
Samuel Basallo
The young catching prospect is on fire this spring. Going yard twice yesterday, bringing his OPS up to 1.225!! Granted, this is Spring Training and an extremely small sample size (32 AB), but he is a top prospect and seems to be handling the transition to the majors better than most O’s prospects.
Braxton Ashcraft
Pittsburgh has pitching prospects coming out of its ears. Ashcraft is just another lab creation they have that debuted last year. On Wednesday, Ashcraft went 5.1 IP, striking out 8! Ashcraft’s mix was fairly balanced between his slider, sinker, and curveball, with all almost equal pitch usage. That historically checks out to last season.
The Pirates are cooking with peanut oil with this guy! Great late draft pick for sure.
FANTASY NEWS
Roki Sasaki
Manager Dave Roberts announced Roki Sasaki would be a part of the Dodgers rotation to begin the season. It’s been a tough Spring for Roki, starting 3 games and getting shelled every time. He was nails in the bullpen for the Dodgers in the postseason, but obviously, he is very young and can turn his career around. I wonder how long a leash the Dodgers will give him this year.
Sasaki is currently at SP 68 and has been sliding back all offseason.
Robert Hassell
One of the key parts of the Juan Soto trade to San Diego is still struggling to find his footing in the big leagues. In 206 PA last season, Robert had a 30% K%. Something we didn’t necessarily see in his minor league profile. It just goes to show that the jump between minor and major league pitching is miles apart. The Nationals optioned Hassell back to the minors this week to allow Robert to work on the strikeout issue. We will see him back in the MLB sooner rather than later. The Nationals are under new management with a new GM and manager. It will be interesting to see if they can tap into something with Hassell.
Carlos Estevez
Velocity was still down yesterday, averaging 89 MPH.
As Jon stated earlier this month, a fallback target to Estevez would be the flamethrower Erceg. Last night, Matt Strahm had to exit with a left leg contusion after being hit by a come-backer. Manager Matt Quatraro said it was a precaution with not much concern. The Royals could pivot to Erceg quickly should Estevez struggle out of the gate or an injury pops up.
INJURY NEWS
Chase Burns
Gotta be careful with some of these darn beat writers. On Tuesday, it was reported that Chase Burns will probably be left off the OD roster to rest from a range of motion thing in his arm. Yesterday, they announced he would be on the roster. I was bamboozled. So we are starting off with good news!
Trey Yesavage
Per Keegan Matheson, Trey will begin the season on the IL due to a right shoulder impingement. Toronto wanted to limit his innings anyway, so this will help later in the season, granted he fully recovers with no setbacks.
Taylor Walls
The Rays shortstop will begin the season on the IL while he deals with a right oblique issue. As of right now, it seems the rookie Carson Williams will take over shortstop duties, but outside options could be considered, per Marc Topkin.
Kyle Harrison
Pulled from Wednesday’s start because of a blister on his left index finger. Feel better soon, King. Shouldn’t be too bad a setback for Kyle.
Jeremy Pena
Some good news, Jeremy is able to throw and will swing a bat this weekend. Per Brian McTaggart, Opening Day is not off the table yet.
Jose Berrios
Yesterday, Jose was diagnosed with a stress fracture in his elbow and will not be on the Opening Day roster. Manager John Schneider also mentioned that Jose is pain-free and will continue to throw pitching through the injury… Since Berrios, Bieber, and Yesavage will miss OD, it looks like Eric Lauer or Louie Varland could fill the void until someone returns to MLB action. The Jays are using their pitching depth up before the season even starts.
Grayson Rodriguez
I saw this coming miles and miles away ever since the O’s traded him over the offseason. I knew something like this was bound to happen. Manager Kurt Suzuki announced Grayson had a “little dead arm” and is uncertain to make the Opening Day roster. Listen, I love Grayson. I thought he was going to be the next ace for my O’s. He has the stuff, but this dude just cannot stay healthy. This “little dead arm” is just the start of something else. I feel so bad for the kid, but I can say I told you so. Should this turn into something serious, Alek Manoah will probably replace him, or maybe Sam Aldegheri, fresh off his WBC run with Italy.
Francisco Alvarez
Last night, the Mets pulled Alvarez early with back tightness. Carlos Mendoza called it precautionary and would’ve stayed in the game if it was the regular season.
Good stuff. Excited that I was able to snag Ashcraft at the very end of my draft Weds night.