Players who are intriguing options for ’21
One of the most common complaints from MLB players about the unusual 2020 season was the way it disrupted their timing.
It had the same effect on me as one of my favorite columns to write every September fell by the wayside.
But as we all learn to adapt to the new reality, it turns out early in spring training is a great time to identify the players on each major league team who carry the most intrigue heading into the new season.
Better late than never, here they are.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Baltimore: 1B-OF Trey Mancini. He’s cancer-free a year after having a malignant tumor removed from his colon. Now, can he come close to repeating his 35 homers and 97 RBI from 2019?
Boston: SP Nathan Eovaldi. We know he throws hard (average fastball 97.8 mph, third highest among starters in 2020), and his strikeout rate has risen in each of the past three seasons.
Chicago: 3B Yoan Moncada. Write off last year’s poor numbers (.225/.320/ .385, zero stolen base attempts) due to COVID-19 fatigue that never went away.
Cleveland: SP Triston McKenzie. The entire rotation is fascinating, but McKenzie, 23, skipped Class AAA altogether and posted a 42/9 K/BB ratio in 33 1⁄3 innings.
Detroit: SP Tarik Skubal. Casey Mize and Matt Manning were more heralded, but the lefty Skubal (37 Ks in 32 IP) could crack the rotation first.
Houston: DH Yordan Alvarez. A 23year-old with bad knees is pretty scary, but that dominant 2019 rookie season is more than enough to dream on – not to mention the Astros want him to play some first base this season.
Kansas City: SS Adalberto Mondesi. One of the few genuine stolen base threats in the game. Just a small uptick in on-base percentage (it was .294 last season) could turn his stat line into one that wins leagues.
Los Angeles: 1B Jared Walsh. Shohei Ohtani is always intriguing (especially after showing flashes of brilliance at the plate AND on the mound this spring), but
Walsh’s .970 OPS and dramatic reduction in strikeouts last year could lead to him nudging Albert Pujols aside.
Minnesota: OF Alex Kirilloff. After spending all of 2019 at Class AA, Kirilloff, 23, made his MLB debut during last year’s playoffs. The 2016 first-round pick has the inside track to be the openingday left fielder.
New York: SPs Corey Kluber, Jameson Taillon. They combined for a total of one inning pitched in 2020, but if the shoulder (Kluber) and elbow (Taillon) issues are behind them, they both have ace upside.
Oakland: 3B Matt Chapman. Despite a September shutdown and hip surgery, Chapman still slugged a careerbest .535. He looks fully recovered this spring, spurring hopes of a possible 40homer season.
Seattle: 2B Ty France. Once you see his 2019 stat line at Class AAA El Paso (.399, 27 homers in 296 at-bats), you can’t forget it. After a midseason trade to the Mariners, he’s in line to get regular MLB at-bats for the first time at age 26.
Tampa Bay: OF Randy Arozarena. He can’t be as good as the guy who hit a record 10 home runs in last year’s playoffs, can he? Conceding a hit in batting average, his power and speed aren’t going away.
Texas: OF Leody Taveras. The Rangers want him in the leadoff spot, but he’ll
need to improve on last year’s .308 OBP. A great late source of stolen bases.
Toronto: 1B Vladimir Guerrero Jr. After he dropped a reported 40 pounds this offseason, expectations are once again skyrocketing. Is this the year he ups his launch angle a few more degrees and takes his game to a new level?
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Arizona: OF-C Daulton Varsho. He doesn’t even have a guaranteed roster spot, but the allure of someone with 20steal capability and catcher eligibility can be hard to resist.
Atlanta: SP Ian Anderson. The 22year-old righty was outstanding in his six-start MLB debut (1.95 ERA, 11.4 K/9) and even better in the playoffs (two earned runs in 18 1⁄3 innings). What will he do for an encore?
Chicago: SS Javier Baez. The twotime All-Star admitted to a lack of focus in the shortened season and says he’s back on track. There’s nowhere to go but up from a .203/.238/.360 slash line.
Cincinnati: SP Tyler Mahle. Lost in the excitement over Trevor Bauer, Luis Castillo and Sonny Gray was Mahle’s quietly impressive season. He had one of the lowest barrel rates of any starting pitcher (3.5%) and struck out 11.3 batters per nine innings.
Colorado: 1B C.J. Cron. A knee injury limited him to 13 games, four homers and a .190 average last season, but the possibility of full-time at-bats in Colorado gives Cron plenty of preseason helium.
Los Angeles: SP Julio Urias. Earning four postseason wins, then a save in the World Series clincher should give the 24year-old lefty (and fantasy managers) tons of confidence. The skills are there, and finally a rotation spot is too.
Miami: SP Sixto Sanchez. Armed with a fastball that can touch 100 mph, Sanchez, 22, burst on the scene last August with no Triple-A experience and more than held his own. The Marlins will handle him carefully though, so beware of an innings cap.
Milwaukee: 2B Keston Hiura. For someone who’s hit all the way through the minors and in 2019 as a rookie, he can’t be as bad as last season’s .212/.297/ .410 slash line. Will switching positions hurt his bounce-back potential on offense?
New York: 1B-OF Dominic Smith. The universal DH helped fuel his huge breakout season (.316/.377/.616). Can the Mets find a way to keep him in the lineup every day?
Philadelphia: 3B Alec Bohm. It seems unreasonable to expect a repeat of his .338 average and .400 OBP as a rookie. But hitting second between Andrew McCutchen and Bryce Harper sure will help.
Pittsburgh: 3B Ke’Bryan Hayes. Exploded out of the gate in his one-month MLB debut with five homers and a .376 average. But can he succeed with limited talent around him?
San Diego: SP Dinelson Lamet. After a fabulous (2.09 ERA, 0.86 WHIP, 12.1 K/9) regular season, Lamet didn’t pitch in the playoffs due to an elbow injury that was dangerously close to being catastrophic. He’s the ultimate boom-orbust candidate.
San Francisco: C Buster Posey. The former NL MVP last hit above .285 with double-digit homers in 2017. Can he still be a productive catcher at age 33 after opting out last season?
St. Louis: OF Dylan Carlson. The Dexter Fowler trade eliminated his primary obstacle to playing time. Now, the top prospect’s power and speed can shine.
Washington: SP Stephen Strasburg. Nerve issues in his pitching hand ended his 2020 season after only five innings. A rare discounted star if he’s back to full health.
Baltimore Orioles
It’s possible LHPs John Means and Keegan Akin and RHP Dean Kremer (all 27 or younger) could be joined in the rotation by veteran RHPs Matt Harvey and Felix Hernandez and/or LHP Wade LeBlanc. Manager Brandon Hyde will be pressed to give everyone and others enough innings for a sufficient evaluation.
“I don’t think we’re going to be looking at numbers, but we will be looking at what their pitches look like, if they look healthy, the kind of swings they’re getting from opposing hitters,” Hyde told reporters.
Harvey, Hernandez and LeBlanc are non-roster invitees, meaning spots would have to be made on the 40-man roster.
What we learned: 1B/3B/OF Tyler Nevin, Colorado’s firstround pick in 2015, is in his first big-league camp with Baltimore after being acquired in August. He is the son of Yankees third base coach Phil Nevin, who spent 12 seasons in the majors.
Boston Red Sox
1B/3B Bobby Dalbec had an impressive, if brief, showing last season (.263, 8 HRs, 16 RBI in 23 games) after making his major league debut on Aug. 30.
He started spring training with three homers in his first nine at-bats. Dalbec, listed at 6-foot-4, 227 pounds, said he lost about 10 pounds in the offseason, hoping to improve his speed and versatility. But manager Alex Cora would like him to work on plate discipline.
What we learned: RHPs Thad Ward and Josh Winckowski grew up in Fort Myers, Florida, Boston’s spring training home since 1993. Both are nonroster invitees. Ward, Boston’s fifth-round pick out of the University of Central Florida in 2018, is a former spring training bat boy for Boston.
Chicago White Sox
RHP Michael Kopech, the 2014 first-round (33rd overall) pick by Boston who was acquired in the Chris Sale trade, made his major league debut in 2018 (1-1, 5.02 in four starts) but has not appeared in a major league game since Sept. 5, 2018, following Tommy John surgery that erased his 2019 season and opting out of 2020. Chicago sees him as an elite pitcher to build its rotation around in the future, but for now Kopech, who can regularly hit triple digits, will work out of the bullpen.
“I’m still going to have a starter’s approach out of the bullpen, but as far as my velocity goes, it may be a tick or two up now and then,” Kopech said.
What we learned: In his second stint as White Sox manager and first with any team since 2011, Tony LaRussa, 76, told MLB.com he’s had no regrets about returning.
Cleveland
Anthony Gose appeared in 372 games from 2012 to 2016, all as an outfielder with Toronto and Detroit, before converting to a pitcher in 2017 and going back to the low minors. Now, the left-hander is hitting triple digits on radar guns in spring training games.
After pitching in spring training in 2020, Gose was delayed this spring by an offseason illness while pitching in the Dominican League and a car crash. In his first two outings, he threw a combined two scoreless innings (two hits, three strikeouts, no walks).
“He’s obviously a kid we’re rooting for,” manager Terry Francona told reporters. “His stuff is off the charts.”
What we learned: DH Franmil Reyes and 3B Jose Ramirez, who finished second in MVP voting last season, were required to isolate last week after breaking MLB’s COVID-19 protocols. Reyes was also required to isolate last season after breaking protocols.
Detroit Tigers
Manager IF
AJ Hinch is challenging Isaac Paredes to
make the opening-day roster, telling reporters it might be the best place for Paredes, who made his major league debut last season, to continue his development. Versatility might help Paredes to do so. Primarily a shortstop through 2018, he has also played third, including 33 games last season for Detroit, with appearances at second and first. Hinch wants to see quality at-bats from Paredes.
“I want him to play with some urgency and a chance to make this team,” Hinch said. “I’ve said it to him. I’ve said it publicly. I think he can help us win.”
What we learned: In the first spring training camp since the death of Al Kaline, Detroit is honoring the Baseball Hall of Famer by setting up his locker in the coaches room of the clubhouse, marking the 67th consecutive year Kaline has had a spring training locker with the team.
Houston Astros
Since RHP Zack Greinke joined the Astros in 2019, the team has been trying to get him to buy into its philosophy of pitching at the top of the zone with his fastball.
“That’s all they talk about here, and they’ve been wanting me to do ever since I got here,” Greinke told reporters. “I’ve thrown it a lot more since I’ve been here. Maybe try to do it even more if it works.”
Greinke is 11-4 with a 3.54 ERA in 22 starts with Houston, although his strikeout rate with the Astros (8.3) is a tick above his career average (8.2).
What we learned: RHP Forrest Whitley has been slowed by injuries since he was the 17th overall pick in 2016. This could be a make or break year for Houston’s top pitching prospect. But he’s already been delayed this spring, first by the
coronavirus intake protocols and then by a sore right arm.
Kansas City Royals
Ryan O’Hearn, once the heir apparent to Eric Hosmer at first base, finds himself fighting for a bench spot. He’s also trying to learn from the guy who forced him into that situation – 1B Carlos Santana, who joined Kansas City as a free agent this offseason.
“I recognize my weaknesses where I was getting eaten up … especially fastballs inside and elevated fastballs,” O’Hearn told reporters. “Figuring out how to get those balls in the air. The exit velo’s been there.”
What we learned: Two days after a turning an error by Cincinnati LF Errol Robinson into a Little League home run, Bobby Witt Jr., Kansas City’s top prospect and second overall pick in 2019, hit his first official homer