Chan Ho Park was, well, Chan Ho Park again on Monday. The right-hander gave up four runs in three and one-third innings to the Nationals. Park is probably the leading candidate right now to be the Mets fifth starter (especially considered his primary competition is thought to be Aaron Sele), but look out for Mike Pelfrey. Pelfrey hasn't allowed an earned run or walked a batter in five innings this spring. Worst case is that Pelfrey gets the call by June. Park has a 5.50 ERA over the past four years along with a sub-2:1 K/BB and a mediocre 6.2 K/9.
Shawn Hill appears to have locked up a rotation spot for the Nationals after an impressive four inning, one run effort Monday against the Mets. For the spring, Hill has a 2.00 ERA in nine innings. It's hard to get too excited about a guy with these numbers in nine big league starts: 6.90 ERA, 5.1 K/9, and a 1.73 WHIP. Still, some of Hill's minor league numbers give reason to consider him a sleeper: 2.1 BB/9, K/BB near 3, and just 16 homers given up in nearly 500 innings. He could turn out to be a nice $1 pick-up in NL-only leagues this year, especially pitching in that ballpark.
Jeremy Bonderman is, yet again, a trendy break-out pick this year, and so far this spring, he's done nothing to quiet those opinions. Bonderman shut out the D-Rays over four innings on Monday and now sports a 2.00 ERA over nine innings with nine strikeouts. In 2006, Bonderman posted career-bests in K/9 (8.50), K/BB (3.2), ERA (4.08), and innings with 214. With an improved offense behind him, Bonderman could be poised for an 18-20 win season.
Strangely enough, Red Sox manager Terry Francona stated Monday that if the season began today, Julian Tavarez would be his closer. We suppose that means Taverez has to be considered the front-runner for now, but that could change again by Wednesday. Taverez has allowed five walks and hit two batters in 7 2/3 spring innings and between that and his career 1.49 K/BB ratio and 5.20 K/9 rate, he's a poor bet to open as the closer, and that's being nice.
Hold your hats. Kameron Loe may be emerging as the favorite for the Rangers' #5 starter job. I guess deep AL-only leaguers should pay attention, as Loe has yet to allow an earned run this spring. Still, Loe, outside of a few good starts in 2005, has been the personification of mediocre throughout his career. 1.39 K/BB, 4.17 K/9 (really), and last year, hitters batted .317 against him. The Rangers on paper have a solid 1-2-3 with Millwood, Padilla, and McCarthy, but no one is really stepping forward to claim the final two spots. Loe is probably the worst bet among a group that also includes Edinson Volquez and Robinson Tejeda, but right now the way he's pitching, he can't be ignored.
With Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon expressing his disappointment with Seth McClung, it's time to start look at his other closing options, the top two of which are considered to be Chad Orvella and Al Reyes. So far this spring, McClung has allowed eight of 17 batters to reach base while registering just one strikeout. Orvella has tossed four scoreless innings while Reyes has allowed one run in five innings. McClung has the best stuff of the bunch, but he's had enormous difficulty in locating his pitches (176/155 career K/BB). Orvella had his share of struggles last year, but he was once thought of as the team's closer of the future and the way things are going this spring, the future could be 2007.
It looks like Braden Looper has locked up a rotation spot for the Cardinals. Looper held the Braves scoreless over 4 2/3 innings on Monday and now has allowed just one run over 11 innings in three starts. Looper has the ability to be a solid #5 starter, but with a career 5.5 K/9 rate, don't expect much help beyond a handful of wins and an ERA in the 4.50 range.
Boof Bonser is another guy who's locked up a rotation spot. Bonser set down all 12 Marlins he faced on Monday and has not allowed a run in his last two starts (seven innings). There's a lot to like about Bonser when you dig into his minor league numbers: 9.3 K/9, 3.63 ERA, 7.7 H/9, and he's been durable, making at least 27 starts every year since 2001. He's ideally a #3 or #4 starter, but he'll likely open pitching behind Johan Santana in the rotation. Nice sleeper potential here.
Lots of attention being given to Matt Lindstrom this spring as the Marlins' possible closer. Lindstrom has allowed just one run over 5 1/3 innings so far as he competes with Taylor Tankersley (sore shoulder) and Kevin Gregg for the closer's job. He's struck out just two, however, and remains somewhat of an enigma at age 27. Lindstrom has worked in the 97-98 range this spring and has, in the past, topped 100 on the radar gun. Last season in 58 2/3 innings, he struck out 70 batters while walking 21. The year before, his K/BB was an awful 58/55, so it's hard to say whether he's turned things around. If we start seeing him miss more bats, I'd be much more comfortable recommending him, but it would be nice to see a few breaking pitches mixed in.
It looks like Javy Lopez's major league career is over after the Rockies released the veteran catcher on Monday. He'll probably retire unless he gets a starting job elsewhere (won't happen) or the Braves want him as a backup (not likely). He had a fine career, including an alleged steroid-induced .328/.378/.687 2003 season at age 32. His departure should be a slight boost to Chris Iannetta's prospects of getting 350+ at-bats sharing time with Yorvit Torrealba. Torrealba has a .707 career OPS, so look for Iannetta to see more and more time as the season progresses.
With the likes of Brian Moehler and Chris Sampson being his competition, it looked like Matt Albers had a good shot at the #5 starter job entering spring training. Though his command can waver at times, Albers sports an impressive 9.4 K/9 over 98 minor league starts. Now though, after opening with four scoreless innings, Albers gave up four runs in three innings on Monday, a day after Moehler tossed four shutout innings. The battle is by no means over, but Albers' next start is crucial. Either way, you don't want Moehler or Sampson on your fantasy roster, and at least Albers has some upside.
Johnny Estrada had three more hits on Monday, making him 14-for-26 on the season. Manager Ned Yost has indicated that Estrada is likely to hit fifth in the order, which is somewhat of a surprise given Estrada's career .734 OPS, but he did hit .328 with RISP last season. Hitting fifth should allow Estrada to improve on last year's 71 RBI, depending on which Estrada shows up, the 2004/2006 version or 2005's .261/.303/.367. Estrada isn't much of a player in real life, walking in less than 3% of his PA's last year (13 times total), but a catcher who can hit .300-12-80 has significant fantasy value.
Looking for a slugger who is a candidate for a quick start? Look no further than Jim Thome. Thome, who hit .300/.457/.713 last April, is 5-for-18 with three homers this spring after homering twice and walking twice on Monday. Thome hit just 12 homers after the All-Star break last year, so beware another second half slide.
Dustin Nippert is emerging as a legitimate candidate for the Arizona fifth starter job after allowing one run on two hits over three innings on Monday. Overall, Nippert has given up one earned run on four hits over seven innings this spring. He's competing with Enrique Gonzalez (six earned runs in his last outing), Edgar Gonzalez, and perhaps Juan Cruz for the job. Nippert was the team's top pitching prospect until he posted a 4.95 ERA in Triple-A last year. Nippert though did strike out 130 batters over 140 1/3 innings, but with 161 hits allowed, the bats that he wasn't missing produced far too many hits.
J.J. Putz, dealing with a sore elbow, played catch for the second straight day on Monday and is expected to throw long-toss on Tuesday. Putz, barring any setbacks, is expected to be ready for game action early next week. With no real viable secondary option (unless you're a huge George Sherrill fan), Seattle has to hope for the best here. Putz saved 36 games last year while striking out nearly 12 batters per nine innings, leaving him on the cusp of joining the game's elite closers.
