Pirate SS Konnor Griffin was the first talk of spring training after shooting two moonshots in the same game, followed by Pittsburgh leaking their desire to sign him long-term. Translation: They know he needs to be part of the opening day lineup, but would like to maximize the leverage they have here. We’ve seen this movement a lot, and I understand it. I actually think it makes sense for most young players to offer a year or two of free agency so they can make a ton of money sooner than they would have and have a stable income over time. Decent money management is all you need to help your entire family live like royalty for at least a hundred years. Why whine about the dollars out there? It’s a little different for a player from Pittsburgh. People like to win, or at least compete.
Rockies BY Zac Veen has dealt with some addiction issues this offseason and gained approximately 500 pounds of muscle mass (reportedly over 40 pounds). He’s looking good early this spring with two home runs in six games, but the real benefit of this life change, in my opinion, would be his response to the daily grind of the season. Should also help with his reaction to breakdowns. It’s hard to replace old habits with new ones, and I wouldn’t be surprised if more time on the ball field is often his response to new-found free time that used to be filled with a few things.
Rockies 1B TJ Rumfield has three home runs and is slashing .417/.533/1.167 through 15 plate appearances. Spring training doesn’t matter unless it does, and for someone like Rumfield, it certainly does. This new front office in Colorado brought in a few new guys and could see some additional investment to make their offseason goals work, which will help this former Yankee farmhand make his case for an expanded look. At 6-foot-1 and 225 pounds from the left side, he makes more contact than the typical big man and has been better than league average in each of his last four stops in the New York system.
Nationals 3B Brady House has had just eight at-bats, but has already hit two home runs. Last season he hit just four in 73 games en route to a 56 wRC+. House is the 11th overall pick out of high school in 2021 and has better bones than that. This fresh new front office and coaching staff could help revamp his approach and make a big difference. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s a better-than-average regular in year two. He was just traded for Brewers OF Garrett Mitchell in the Highlander Dynasty Invitational, and he’s likely available cheaply in your leagues.
I checked the books again, and there is no law that says Detroit can’t open the season Kevin McGonigle at short stop. They have Zach McKinstry and Javier Baez on the roster, but they have both lived life as utility players and would likely be a better fit for a major league roster in that role. McGonigle is 2-for-2 with a double, triple and walk today, slashing .462/.533/.769 on the spring. It’ll be hard to send him down if he’s still rampaging like this in a few weeks.
Yesterday I looked Twins RHP Taj Bradley wiped out a left-handed hitter with a 98 mile per hour fastball in the zone and wished I had him on some teams. He got nickel and dimed the next inning, but he revamped his pitching and started doing the homework necessary to hold down a big-league rotation spot. Arrows up for Bradley with a full season to fine-tune his craft in a relatively weak division. Click here to read more about Bradley’s development journey.
Red Sox LHP Connelly Early hit 97 in that same game during a tough nine-pitch inning. He looks great. It’s February and I love baseball, so a lot of this stuff looks pretty great to these Midwestern winter eyes, but I’m working hard to separate the yes-baseball feelings from the holy-shizz-look-it-that-man feelings. Still good, but not as smooth in his second inning where the announcer started talking about how Cam Schlittler got a lot of hype, while Early was also good without the hype. Real brother stuff. In this game they play against the Twins. There isn’t a Yankee on the air.
Speaking of New York, two MONSTARS from the Yankees, FROM Spencer Jones And RHP Carlos Lagrangeput on a show during their time on this planet: Jones hitting ridiculous bombs and Lagrange hitting 102.4 while striking out every hitter with ease. I wouldn’t like it if I were that Boston broadcaster.
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