Lesson learned: Padres slugger Tatis can crush fastballs
SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. » Diamondbacks left-hander Caleb Smith was reflecting on Tuesday’s first spring training start when he talked about a valuable lesson he learned when facing the San Diego Padres.
“Don’t throw Tatis a fastball,” he said with a chuckle.
After Smith grooved a fastball, Fernando Tatis Jr. hit a grand slam deep over the left-center wall for his first homer of the spring. The 22-year-old hit the ball so hard that Arizona’s outfielders barely moved and the ball landed among the fans sitting on blankets at Salt River Fields.
Here are a few other players who were impressive during the first week of exhibition action.
RHP Merrill Kelly, Diamondbacks
Kelly gave up two runs in two innings during his first outing but his stuff looked good, and five of the six outs he recorded were strikeouts. It was an encouraging sign for the 32-yearold, who looked like one of the better pitchers in the National League early in 2020 before a blood clot was found in his shoulder and his season ended. Kelly had thoracic outlet surgery to dissolve the clot. The procedure involved the removal of a rib.
1B/3B Bobby Dalbec, Red Sox
The 25-year-old corner infielder has three homers in his first nine spring atbats, which has raised expectations even more for his 2021 season. The 6-foot4, 227-pounder had an impressive debut for the disappointing Red Sox in 2020, batting .263 with eight homers in just 80 at-bats.
C Gary Sanchez, Yankees
The 28-year-old is trying to bounce back from a miserable 2020 season when he batted just .147 with a .253 on-base percentage. He hit two homers in his first five spring at-bats, raising hopes that the two-time AllStar will return to his 2019 form when he hit a careerhigh 34 homers.
3B Ke’Bryan Hayes, Pirates
The Pittsburgh prospect was excellent in his first big league action last season, batting .376 with five homers in 85 at-bats. Now the Pirates are hopeful he can be one of the cornerstones of this season’s lineup. He’s off to a good start in spring training this week with three hits, including two doubles, in his first seven at-bats.
RHP Trevor Bauer, Dodgers
The reigning NL Cy Young Award winner for the Cincinnati Reds joined the Dodgers during the offseason, making the defending World Series champions even more formidable heading into 2021. In his first outing for L.A., he struck out two batters over two scoreless innings and gave up just one hit.