Let's get back to the rest of the minor leagues...
Who else are we excited/hoping to see in spring training this season?
Are you tired of beating a dead horse or something?
I am always excited to see the younger guys finally break out .... Was trying to do some deeper dives into the pitchers. I assume Campbell will start in A+ like Williams, Bibee and Nikhazy and take that next step to AA before long. Hopefully by July, we are talking about the Big 4. He is the type of pitcher who seems to be able to find a little bit more speed using the Guardians pitching guru help. And, hopefully it doesn't take a full season to find his grove after some mechanical adjustments like some other pitchers. My daughter's coach is constantly redoing her mechanics each offseason and by March it's deemed -- this is what you got mechanically for the year. But, she still hits the strike zone, just fine (see how I worked the horse back to life)?
But, seriously, I like to see the winner of the Benson/Palacios battle for the 4th OF role. I assume Benson has it locked up as they kept him over Miller. Just hope he has some magic in that revamped swing (in the 15th innings like Oscar) where we don't need to PH for them. So, I guess some people take years to get their mechanics right (here is hoping).
There are some of our guys leading the Puerto Rico league ... Palacios would be 4th in OPS if at minimum games played. Your J Rodriquez is tied for 5th in HR and a Miller kid is 7th in BA. Yet, as this is a 2nd tier winter league with no legit pitching, it is all taken with a grain of salt. Looked at the Dominican League and Tena has a slightly better BA than a Franmil Reyes and tied in OPS.
As for the pitchers, I really want to see if Cantillo/Hankins can find their form and join the lofty status of the Big 3. We really only need 1 of 2 of them and Cambell/Nikhazy to take that step this year. I probably won't see Zibin in Arz but would like to hear what he is doing. With $1.2 million in the bank, there are great expectations for him. If they can just maintain his occasional 95/96 speed that wouldn't be bad for a Northern kid. Would hope that one of Torres, Wolf or Greene can finally live up to their hype, but shouldn't count on it.
I would like to see how these Naylor and Zunino guys actually pitch this year as GSon is saying. Maybe one of them can knock Plesac out of the 5th slot.
