The Spring Signal, March 24th
The latest breakouts, news, and injuries as we wrap up the spring and head to the regular season
Probably the last Spring Signals of the year, Opening Day is just days away, meaning it’s time for something new! I personally will be at Twins vs. Orioles, so I’m pumped. Rosters are starting to take shape. Let’s dive in!
STANDOUT SPRING PERFORMANCES
Tyler Glasnow
Sunday night, Glasnow faced the Angels, striking out eleven while giving up a run.
The curveball, as Rob states, was on point last night. Earning a 36.1% SwStr% on 36 pitches is awesome. In fact, he was the whiff leader overall on Sunday. We all know that if Tyler stays healthy, he is a Cy Young candidate.
Cole Young
The Mariners second basemen decided to put on a full display of his power on Friday night. Going yard twice, once off of lefty Logan Allen (105.6 MPH EV). There is a possibility of Young platooning against lefties, but if he can mash against them as well as RHP, his lineup presence will be high.
~~~~~ JON INTERJECTION! ~~~~~
I remember my anniversary and all of my kids birthdays. So I’m not the worst man in the world. But there are definitely import things that happen with my family that I should remember, but do not.
But I remember baseball stuff. And I think a lot of you guys feel me on this. When I hear the name COLE YOUNG, my brain goes right to this homer he hit off Kumar Rocker last year.
I dare you to watch that video and not let some primitive grunting sound come out of your mouth. I either go “ughgnnnnn” or just laugh out loud when I watch that moon rocket cock docket. I hit the furthest ball of my life in men’s league baseball two years ago and the feeling really is something. I’m not going so far as to say it was actually a feeling of sexual arousal. But I’m also saying that it was more than just like what it feels like to eat a piece of chocolate or something. The ball I hit probably went like 285 feet, let’s not get it twisted. I just can’t imagine what it must feel like to hit a ball like that in a Major League game. What a freaking shot.
So yeah, I absolutely back up the mention of Cole Young here. It was not consistent power in the bigs last year (5.6 Brl%, 102.7 EV90), but there are MOMENTS. And maybe those moments will turn into more moments with another year of experience.
Okay, back to Hunter!
Zach Eflin
The O’s shook up the roster big time this past weekend. Optioning long tenured Dean Kremer to minor league camp and putting Eflin in the rotation to begin the season. Although the way the beginning of the season shakes out for Baltimore, they barely even need five starters. Just because of the way off days land. Mike Elias said he wants Dean to begin the season in AAA and stay stretched out as a starter. They are well aware it is going to take more than just five starters after their disaster of 2025.
Enough about Dean. On Friday, Eflin made his last start of the Spring, facing off against the Yankees. The full arsenal was on display and was extremely effective. Going 5.1 IP and striking out seven Yanks, only issuing one hit.
The stuff has looked great this Spring from Zach, who had offseason back surgery. He said he has never felt better, and it definitely shows. Once he went down with his back injury last year, after getting shelled every time he took the mound, it was discovered that his arm angle dropped, and his pitches just didn’t have the same movement. Likely compensating for the bad back.
FANTASY NEWS
Reds Lineup Decisions
Reds beat writer posted this over the weekend.
This is such a relief to see as a Sal Stewart fantasy owner. Tito Francona is an old-school manager; he has his guys. He goes on to say in the post that he “thinks this sets Geno up to drive in more runs”. I highly suggest reading the full post. Tito is one of a kind.
Parker Messick
The Guardians are all on in their young pitching prospect, opening up the year in the MLB rotation! The flip side of this, Logan Allen will be sent to AAA.
Sean Manaea
Per Mike Puma, the Mets plan on using Manaea in the piggyback role. Their rotation will go as follows: Peralta, Peterson, McLean, Holmes, and Senga. One can assume, piggybacking off of Senga and/or Holmes. This should put Manaea in good spots to dominate in lefty/lefty matchups. Granted, the volume may not be there early in the year. Something worth keeping an eye on.
Pittsburgh’s Closer Situation
Pirates Manager Don Kelly announced Monday that Dennis Santana will not be the only closer with save opportunities. Not how it shook down last season; only a handful of players received save opportunities. But their bullpen is much better this year. Gregory Soto and Mason Montgomery are two filthy lefties who will now be used should the opposing team stack LHB coming into the ninth inning.
Rookie Shortstops
Well, at least one of the trio (Griffin, McGonigle, and Wetherholt) will begin the season on the big league team. JJ Wetherholt had his number called to be a part of the Opening Day lineup. This spring, JJ had a couple of bombs, a couple of steals, and ended up with a .780 OPS in 33 ABs.
Honestly, if he can make the roster with that stat line, Kevin McGonigle should be a lock to make the roster. But the difference is, McGonigle has major league players in front of him. Granted, he is far better than they are at the plate, but the Tigers will want to keep Kevin as long as they can. Manager AJ Hinch was quoted yesterday saying, “I just don’t know where the opportunities are necessarily going to come, whether that is through his own doing or whether something happens to somebody and an injury opens up playing time.” Per Jack Magruder. Sounds like Kevin will open the season in AAA, but we will wait and see.
Boston Rotation
Last night, news broke that the Red Sox will have Connelly Early as a part of their Opening Day rotation. It probably helped a little bit. Johan Oviedo was shelled yesterday, giving up six earned runs. Just kidding, they probably don’t care too much about that.
They revealed their master plan; Ranger Suarez and Brayan Bello are still not fully built up due to their WBC stints. Early will provide additional firepower to help eat innings should they need an extra day off or a shorter outing. The Red Sox at some point need to move Connelly back down to AAA for at least 34 days to retain another year of control. Maybe once Ranger and Brayan are fully built up? They also have Payton Tolle ready to go. It is quoted to be a creative rotation, which is scary for fantasy owners to hear.
INJURY NEWS
Spencer Strider
This morning, it was announced that Strider will begin the season on the IL due to a strained oblique. Possibly, this is the cause of his lower velocity during Spring Training games? The Braves had said they want to use breakout pitcher Didier Fuentes out of the pen for a few weeks before returning to AAA. Unless, of course, another Braves injury happens…. I personally hope to see J.R. Ritchie making this rotation in his place. But the Braves have said Jose Suarez will likely fill the fifth starter role. Martin Perez is among the candidates to fill the void as well, per Mark Bowman. Gross.
Since the year hasn’t begun yet, the Braves could try Ritchie, and if he’s not translating well, plug in an old vet. But what do I know?
Grayson Rodriguez
Over the weekend, manager Kurt Suzuki said that Grayson will begin the year on the IL. They are being “extra careful” with the young pitcher. Jack Kochanowicz and Ryan Johnson (wow, what a unique name) will plug in as the fourth and fifth starters in this rotation.
Gavin Lux
Out of the lineup on Saturday because of a “cranky” right shoulder. Not sure what they’re putting in the water in Tampa. First Uceta, now Lux, with a cranky shoulder. Maybe they should invest in a new mattress for those guys. Lux has been dealing with general soreness all Spring Training. Don’t expect much to begin the season from Gavin. As I am writing this, the Rays are placing Lux on the IL to begin the season with a “right shoulder impingement.”
Nick Lodolo
Had to cut his start short on Saturday due to a blister on his left index finger. And this is not a new thing! Lodolo had blister issues on the same finger last year. They should be able to figure it out, but it’s possible Lodolo misses a start at the beginning of the year. It’s also possible it’s a nagging that that ends up shaving 20-30 innings off of his season.
Dodgers Update
Manager Dave Roberts updated the public last night. Blake Snell and Tommy Edman are expected to return by the end of May.
Quinn Priester
The RHP is looking at an early May return. Quinn will throw a couple of bullpens before going back to Arizona to build back up.
Anthony Volpe
After going through offseason shoulder surgery, Volpe could start a rehab assignment around the second week of April. It sounds like an end of May potential return at this point, should everything go well. Per Gary Phillips.
And with that, we’re closing out the spring! We shift to regular season mode. Jon’s Daily Notes and all of the tools going on are a guaranteed difference-maker (positively, we hope) to your fantasy team management this year. So become a paid subscriber today to get those and everything else going on right now. If you want DFS, betting, and daily projections, become an MLB DW PRO member to unlock everything.
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Great write up. Personally I didn't blame David Bell for everything on the Reds, but Tito is next level for sure. Big time players manager. Communicates so well.