Picking the Mid-Spring Training All-Overachiever Team

Ah, spring training stats—how you tease, how you tempt, how you beguile. Our heads tell us that a torrid March doesn't portend a scalding April (never mind the months that follow), but our hearts...well, they're tougher to convince.

There's nothing wrong with optimism, and every year a handful of players carry surprisingly strong spring performances into the regular season.

For the most part, though, what happens in the Grapefruit and Cactus Leagues stays in the Grapefruit and Cactus Leagues. 

With that in mind—and with the exhibition slate at roughly the halfway point—here are nine players (one per position) who have significantly overachieved so far, in a decidedly small—small!—sample. 

Some are set to break camp as starters; others are long shots to crack the 25-man roster. But they've all got one thing in common: inflated spring numbers that, while impressive, could set up casual, overly optimistic observers for a letdown.

1st Base: Travis Ishikawa, San Francisco Giants

Charlie Riedel/Associated Press

The last clear memory most San Francisco Giants fans have of Travis Ishikawa involves a baseball sailing into the October night and over the brick wall at AT&T Park. Who can forget Joe Buck's immortal call? "Travis Ishikawa...hits one into right!"

So you can forgive them for donning rose-colored glasses before peeking at the first baseman/outfielder's 2015 spring line, which includes a .318 batting average plus a home run and four RBI in 22 at-bats.

Ishikawa's chances of making the Opening Day roster were bolstered when right fielder Hunter Pence went down with a broken forearm March 5.

Just don't expect the 31-year-old journeyman, who contemplated retirement last season before the Giants inked him to a minor league deal, to consistently hit like a pennant-winning hero.

2nd Base: Jose Pirela, New York Yankees

Lynne Sladky/Associated Press

If New York Yankees fans were hoping for a position battle at second base, general manager Brian Cashman put those hopes to rest. "Once we brought [Stephen] Drew in, the roster was locked in," Cashman told John Harper of the New York Daily News. "There’s no competition in the middle infield."

Don't tell Jose Pirela, who's hitting .421 with a pair of doubles and a triple.

As for Drew? He's sitting at a cool .105.

Let's pump the brakes, though. Pirela might not even be the best non-Drew option in camp, as Harper explains: 

"

[Some] Yankee decision-makers think [Rob] Refsnyder will be a better major-league hitter than Pirela, in large part because he has better plate discipline. If Refsnyder’s defense at second base wasn’t still a work in progress, you get the feeling the Yankees would have been more willing to gamble with youth at that position this season.

"

In the end, Pirela and Refsnyder may both be preferable to Drew, who is coming off the worst season of his big league career.

But a more reasonable goal for Pirela is probably to crack the 25-man roster as a utility infielder—and then keep hitting. 

Shortstop: Alexi Amarista, San Diego Padres

Charlie Riedel/Associated Press

Alexi Amarista can flash the leather, as he showed last season in San Diego. If he could hit like he has this spring, he'd be one of the premier shortstops in the game.

The 25-year-old entered camp as the presumed starter, per CBSSports.com's Michael Hurcomb, but he's swinging like his job's on the line, to the tune of a .471 average.

Reality is likely closer to Amarista's slash line in 1,118 career MLB at-bats: .234/.279/.336.

Fortunately, the Friars—who revamped their lineup over the winter—aren't expecting him to shoulder the offensive load.

3rd Base: Luis Valbuena, Houston Astros

Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press

Luis Valbuena had something of a breakout in 2014, posting career highs in games played (149), home runs (16) and on-base percentage (.341) for the Chicago Cubs.

The Houston Astros, who acquired Valbuena from Chicago for outfielder Dexter Fowler, are hoping he can build on that success this year.

And he might. But the 29-year-old, who owns a career .229 average over parts of seven big league seasons, could be setting the bar a tad high with his torrid spring.

In fact, Valbuena's .526 average paces all players not named Mike Trout, and he's smacked a home run to go along with three doubles and five RBI. 

Again, he may well be a key piece for the up-and-coming Astros. But a look at his respectable yet unspectacular ZiPS projection, per FanGraphs—.239/.324/.400, 14 HR, 52 RBI—should bring exuberant Houston fans down from the stratosphere. 

Left Field: John Mayberry Jr., New York Mets

DG/Associated Press

John Mayberry Jr. is what he is: a 31-year-old veteran who can play all three outfield positions plus first base and owns decent splits against lefties.

And that's how the New York Mets, who signed Mayberry to a one-year, $1.45 million deal this winter, plan to use him.

Ah, but here come those silly spring stats: A pair of home runs (including one off the Washington Nationals' Max Scherzer), a .476 average and a 1.370 OPS. Have the Amazin's found the steal of the offseason?

No, they've found John Mayberry Jr., who is what he is. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Center Field: Anthony Gose, Detroit Tigers

Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press

When the Detroit Tigers acquired Anthony Gose from the Toronto Blue Jays in November, they got a fleet-footed, defensively inclined 24-year-old center fielder. Also, a so-so hitter...at least to this point. 

In 552 big league at-bats over three seasons with the Jays, Gose posted a .234/.301/.332 slash line. This spring, he's upped that just a tad to .520/.586/.880.

Here's skipper Brad Ausmus' assessment of his hot-hitting addition, per George Sipple of the Detroit Free Press:

"

He has a swing that certainly can work at the major league level. I know [hitting coach Wally Joyner] and he are working on some specific things they hope will be beneficial over the course of the season. When it comes to hitting, you get into such habits, such muscle memory, it's hard to make changes suddenly. It takes time.

"

Gose's spring dominance is almost certainly a mirage. But Detroit has reason to hope his time is now.

Right Field: Caleb Gindl, Toronto Blue Jays

Kathy Willens/Associated Press

Caleb Gindl is the type of guy you want to root for: a 26-year-old with eight MiLB seasons under his belt but no more than a cup of coffee in the big leagues, playing like heck to beat the odds.

He doesn't even appear on the Blue Jays depth chart, but he's raised his profile this spring with a .435 average and seven extra-base hits in 23 at-bats.

"[He's] done nothing but square balls up," said Sportsnet's Joe Siddall after Gindl drove in the only run in a 1-0 Jays win. "He's opening some eyes for sure."

Enough to make the Opening Day roster? Probably not. Still, he's the very definition of an overachiever—and it'll be fun rooting for him while he lasts. 

Catcher: Johnny Monell, New York Mets

Phelan M. Ebenhack/Associated Press

When the Mets signed Johnny Monell to a minor league deal in November, it registered somewhere between "non-story" and "huh" on the news-o-meter. 

Monell is almost surely ticketed for Triple-A. But boy, is he making some noise in the meantime, collecting 10 hits in 24 at-bats and clubbing a pair of home runs. 

More weight should probably be placed on the .238 average he posted in the Los Angeles Dodgers' and Baltimore Orioles' systems last year, or the fact that the 28-year-old has bounced between four franchises in eight seasons.

Aw, what the heck, look at that 1.148 spring OPS one more time. Doesn't mean anything, but it sure is pretty.

Pitcher: Jason Marquis, Cincinnati Reds

Ross D. Franklin/Associated Press

Jason Marquis underwent Tommy John surgery in July 2013 and didn't pitch in the big leagues last season. Now, he's attempting a comeback with the Cincinnati Reds, and it couldn't have gotten off to a better start.

The 36-year-old right-hander opened the spring with 7.2 no-hit innings and overall has allowed just one earned run on three hits in nine frames, with seven strikeouts and two walks.

"I believe in myself," Marquis told The Enquirer's John Fay. "I love to compete."

It's a compelling yarn, and Marquis could win a spot in the Reds rotation. Then again, he hasn't posted a sub-4.00 ERA since a stint with the Nationals in 2011, so his ceiling is probably less spring stud and more serviceable fifth starter. 

All statistics are current as of March 14 and courtesy of MLB.com.