2015 MLB Spring Training's All-Dark-Horse Team
Ah, the dark horse, that mythical beast of spring.
You know the profile: A player on the fringes—maybe a rookie, maybe a veteran—who winds up winning not merely a roster spot but a starting gig on the strength of his March performance. Between the stretching and bullpen sessions, it's what makes this time of year exciting.
So who will emerge as 2015's MLB dark horses? By definition, it's difficult to predict.
But, what the heck, let's take a stab and choose one per position, including a starting pitcher and a reliever, from across both leagues.
What follows isn't a list of "best" players. In fact, it's quite the opposite. These are guys who, through some combination of inexperience, injury or inconsistency, have taken a step (or three) back from "sure thing." At the same time, they've all got the potential—and opportunity—to jog out between the lines on Opening Day.
Will they? It depends on the next few weeks, when some dark horses will gallop ahead of the pack and others stumble in the dust.
First Base: D.J. Peterson, Seattle Mariners
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We're starting with a long shot. Logan Morrison enters spring as the Mariners' presumptive first baseman, with veterans Willie Bloomquist and Rickie Weeks penciled in as the primary backups, per Bob Dutton of The News Tribune.
Meanwhile, Dutton notes:
"Third baseman D.J. Peterson, the organization's No. 2 prospect, is in line for additional minor league time at first base this season and projects as a likely candidate for big league duty at some point in the future. But not now.
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Hang on, though. Peterson, who clubbed one over the left-field fence in his first spring at-bat, shouldn't be dismissed out of hand.
The 23-year-old earned high praise from Seattle general manager Jack Zduriencik, who told CBSSports.com's R.J. White in February that Peterson has "a gift to hit the baseball."
Hit it he has, bashing 31 home runs and posting a .912 OPS between High-A and Double-A last year. He's blocked at the hot corner by All-Star Kyle Seager, so sliding across the diamond to first is the logical move.
Which brings us back to the incumbent, Morrison, who played just 99 games last season while battling injuries and posting a modest .735 OPS. Again, he's the presumed starter. It would take a huge implosion (or another injury) to open the door for Peterson.
At the very least, Peterson can set himself up for the near future with a strong spring, both at the plate and in the field.
Second Base: Rob Refsnyder, New York Yankees
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By now you've heard the inspiring story of Rob Refsnyder, the adopted South Korean kid with the decidedly un-Korean name who grew up in California and matured into, as Wayne Coffey of New York's Daily News puts it, "a profoundly spiritual and humble young man."
Great, but can he play? Yes, as evidenced by the .318/.387/.497 slash line he posted between Double-A and Triple-A last year.
Now, the former fifth-round pick is trying to become the Yankees' second baseman.
To do it, he'll have to chase down Stephen Drew, who New York signed to a one-year, $5 million deal. Drew is coming off his worst season in the big leagues, during which he hit just .162 in 271 at-bats between the Boston Red Sox and Yankees.
Drew is also moving from shortstop, where's he's played more than 900 games, to second, where he's played fewer than 40. He didn't ease concerns by booting a ground ball Wednesday.
Still, Drew is at least the nominal favorite to win the job.
Refsnyder, who started at second and went 2-for-3 on Thursday, could change that with an impressive Grapefruit League showing.
Shortstop: Jung Ho Kang, Pittsburgh Pirates
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Of all the players on this list, Kang's probably the closest to a starting job. Still, the Korean import enters spring behind Jordy Mercer on the Pirates' shortstop depth chart.
That's partly a result of the season Mercer had in 2014, particularly in the second half. After a slow start, he got hot in July and hiked his post-All-Star break OPS more than 100 points to .753.
But some of the Pirates' hesitation with Kang centers on his Korean league stats, and how they'll translate stateside.
Kang smacked 40 home runs and drove in 117 runs with the Nexen Heroes in 2014. If he could approximate those numbers in the Steel City, he'd instantly be one of the best offensive shortstops in the game.
Bucs fans can be forgiven for dreaming big after Kang launched an easy opposite-field home run in his first spring game, and followed that up by going 1-for-2 with a double Thursday.
Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle chose his words carefully when outlining the club's plans for Kang, leaving himself plenty of wiggle room to make decisions based on how the 27-year-old adjusts to MLB pitching, per Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review:
"We believe we've brought in a player who's going to be an everyday player. When that happens, we don't know. We want to prepare him for a starting role, see how the season plays out, see where he can fit and what he can add. Everybody's vision down the road is for this man to post up and become a regular player in the Pirates' lineup.
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If Kang keeps swinging it, that road could be very short.
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Third Base: Arismendy Alcantara, Chicago Cubs
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Most of the hot-corner talk in Cubs camp will be focused on Kris Bryant, the blue-chip slugger who'll own the position sooner than later.
But, as you've no doubt heard, Chicago may opt to stash Bryant in the minors at the outset of the season to avoid starting his service clock.
Bryant could force the Cubbies' hand with a scalding spring. If he doesn't, Mike Olt, who hit a two-run home run Thursday, looks like the front-runner, with Tommy La Stella also in the mix.
But don't count out Alcantara, a speedy jack-of-all-trades who CSN Chicago's Patrick Mooney says could fill the honorary Ben Zobrist super-utility role in manager Joe Maddon's tool box.
That's big picture. In the short term, Alcantara could also earn an Opening Day nod at third. Yes, he'd just be keeping it warm for Bryant, but the 23-year-old rookie would also be getting his foot in the door for playing time on a Cubs roster that's silly with young talent.
Left Field: Nate Schierholtz, Texas Rangers
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The Rangers' left field slot is as wide-open as the East Texas plains.
Slugging rookie Ryan Rua will jostle with Michael Choice and Jake Smolinski—who each saw limited action with the Rangers in 2014—as well as veteran Ryan Ludwick.
Schierholtz joined the fray in early February, when he inked a minor league deal with a spring training invite.
Last season was a washout for the 31-year-old outfielder. But in 2013, he set career highs in home runs (21) and RBI (68) with the Cubs, and he's a plus defender with a howitzer arm.
Even if the left-handed-hitting Schierholtz doesn't win the job outright, he could wind up in a platoon with, say, the right-handed Ludwick.
Center Field: Eddie Rosario, Minnesota Twins
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The battle for center field in Minnesota is being sold as a showdown between Aaron Hicks and Jordan Schafer. And, yeah, probably one—or both—of those guys will win the job.
Rosario, though, as Patrick Reusse of the Star Tribune notes, has "an outside chance" to sneak into the picture.
If he does, he'll have to hit better than he did last year, when he followed a 50-game drug suspension with a pedestrian .237/.277/.396 slash line at Double-A.
Rosario's not the only up-and-comer with tools in a Twins system that's highlighted by Byron Buxton, the No. 2 prospect in all of baseball, according to ESPN Insider Keith Law.
But the 23-year-old—who hit .302 with an .810 OPS between High-A and Double-A in 2013—could be the first to crack the big league roster.
Right Field: Ryan Raburn, Cleveland Indians
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Raburn sits four deep on the Indians' right field depth chart, per MLB.com. None of the players ahead of him, though, have a lock on the job.
Brandon Moss and Nick Swisher are both coming off injury-bitten seasons and figure to see time at designated hitter. And David Murphy was the second-worst defensive right fielder (among regulars) in the game last year, per FanGraphs.
That leaves ample opportunity for Raburn.
The 33-year-old underwent knee surgery in September, ending a disastrous campaign that began with a spring training wrist injury. In all, Raburn put up a paltry .200/.250/.297 slash line.
In 2013, on the other hand, he hit 16 home runs and posted a career-high .901 OPS.
Most likely, the Tribe will mix and match its various pieces between the outfield and DH, depending on health and productivity.
Raburn could insert himself into the middle of that mix with a bounce-back spring.
Catcher: Peter O'Brien, Arizona Diamondbacks
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The departure of veteran backstop Miguel Montero, who was shipped off to the Cubs, leaves a gaping hole behind the dish in Arizona.
That hole should ultimately be filled by Peter O'Brien, who the Diamondbacks acquired from the Yankees for Martin Prado.
Will "ultimately" come sooner than later? That depends.
Tuffy Gosewisch, Arizona's primary backup last season, is the safest, if not the most exciting, choice. And Oscar Hernandez, another minor league catcher, is also in the picture.
Take a gander at the 34 home runs O'Brien hit between High-A and Double-A last season, and it's easy to see why the Diamondbacks are salivating. But the 24-year-old catcher is still learning the nuances of the position, which could hurt his chances of breaking camp with the big club.
"I feel every time you have a tool that stands out, there's going to be something someone talks about negatively," O'Brien told Fox Sports Arizona's Kevin Zimmerman, responding to doubts about his defense. "I've always been an underdog my entire career."
Starting Pitcher: Barry Zito, Oakland A's
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Barry Zito is far from the most dominant pitcher vying for a starting spot this spring, and he's not the most likely to land one either.
But he's unquestionably one of the coolest stories: a 36-year-old former Cy Young-winner who spent a year away from the game and is back to prove he's got something left in the tank.
Add his Zen-like, surfer-dude persona and the fact that he's fighting for a job with the club that drafted him, and you've got all the makings of an against-all-odds, Rudy-esque screenplay.
Will this story have a Hollywood ending? Probably not.
Zito posted a 5.74 ERA in 2013, the final year of the much-maligned megadeal he signed with the San Francisco Giants. And he's competing against a bushel of younger, quite likely better arms for a spot in Oakland's rotation.
But the cerebral southpaw looked downright decent in his exhibition opener Thursday against the Cubs, retiring the first five hitters he faced and ultimately surrendering two runs (on a two-run blast) in two innings with no walks and a pair of strikeouts.
"It doesn't feel like a year and half," he said after the outing, per The Associated Press (h/t CSN Bay Area). "You just kind of go right back to where you were."
Relief Pitcher: Erik Cordier, San Francisco Giants
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The defending champs don't have many open spots on their roster (though the injury to Hunter Pence raises questions in the outfield), but there should be a lively competition for the final bullpen spot.
Erik Cordier, who made his big league debut with the Giants last September at age 28, isn't the favorite, or the second-favorite. Third-favorite might even be a stretch.
Then again...that fastball. In his first MLB game, an otherwise forgettable 9-2 loss to the Colorado Rockies, Cordier singed the radar gun, topping out at 101 mph.
All told, Cordier struck out nine and surrendered one earned run in six innings with San Francisco after posting a 3.59 ERA and fanning 68 in 52.2 innings in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League last season.
If he does win a place in the Giants pen, he could see late-inning action behind closer Santiago Casilla. Sergio Romo is the primary setup man, augmented by the lefty duo of Javier Lopez and Jeremy Affeldt. But manager Bruce Bochy likes to mix and match, and he isn't afraid to throw a pitcher into the fire.
Cordier, like all dark-horse candidates, is hoping to feel the heat.
All statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com unless otherwise noted.
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