5 MLB Players Who Have to Get off to a Hot Start in Spring Games
March has arrived!
For the first time since Madison Bumgarner's October heroics, we're going to have some live baseball games this week. The majority of teams have playoff aspirations, but for those to come true, key players will need to have bounce-back seasons.
Whether it's a player such as CC Sabathia coming off injury, or a former top prospect looking for a bounce-back season, a hot start in spring training would be a great sign to alleviate the stress in the front office and for the fans.
Admittedly, 99 percent of the time I ignore spring-training stats, as should you. Last season, four of the top 10 players in spring OPS went on to have terrible regular seasons. Justin Verlander threw 20 scoreless innings but after a strong April went on to one of the worst seasons of his career. It's a time when players get their reps in order to get ready for the arduous 162-game season.
However, for the prospect or veteran fighting for a roster spot or a player coming back from injury, spring training can be very important. These players need to prove themselves to earn playing time or fend off a top prospect to keep their jobs.
A hot start could do just that.
Yankees LHP CC Sabathia
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300 pounds is a lot of pounds.
After knee surgery limited his mobility CC Sabathia reported to New York Yankees spring training weighing 305 pounds—after playing the last two seasons at 295.
Sabathia's weight has always been a concern and of interest to the New York media. In 2011, he reported to camp 25 pounds lighter after dropping Captain Crunch from his diet, saying he used to eat it a box at a time. However, he still finished fourth in the AL Cy Young race that season, so it's not as if the weight limited his production on the field.
What should be the Yankees' concern is his dramatic drop in velocity. At the end of his 2011 season, his average fastball was 94.72 mph. Last season it averaged between 90.4 and 91.2 miles per hour. He was also using the pitch a lot less frequently, almost half the time by May of last season before he shut things down due to his knee injury.
In 2013, a talent evaluator spoke with Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe about Sabathia's weight loss and how it was affecting his ability to pitch:
"'The weight loss has created a balance problem for him,' said one talent evaluator. 'He’s all over the place. He’s learning how to pitch in that body, a body he’s really never had. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with him other than that.
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We might have to take this with a grain of salt, as this is before Sabathia's knee surgeries and 305 pounds of stress on those knees might not last very long.
It will be important for CC to get off to a strong start this spring, as the Yankees need all the rotation help they can get.
Yankees 3B/DH Alex Rodriguez
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I won't go too in-depth here, as this one is pretty obvious.
After sitting out the entire 2014 season due to a suspension, the odds against Alex Rodriguez are stacked pretty high. Even when he played in 2013, he was not very good, hitting .244 in just 44 games.
What can we expect from a 39-year-old player who is now supposedly free of performance-enhancing drugs? Joe Girardi has said A-Rod will have to earn his playing time:
"'He's on our roster, but you have to prove yourself, in a sense, for playing time and how you fit in,' Girardi said during his 'state of the Yankees' news conference on the days the team's pitchers and catchers reported. 'We really haven't seen him play in two years and we don't know exactly where he is at, so that's something he has to prove and earn.'
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I'm not sure there is a player more hated throughout baseball, even by his own fans. While he has the support of baseball's true home run king, Hank Aaron, if he gets off to a slow start things will get ugly and fast.
Dodgers of Andre Ethier
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Two-time All-Star Andre Ethier wants to start. He's said it multiple times in the past, and he said it again this spring:
"I want the opportunity to play every day. My mind hasn't changed from when I told you guys that a couple months ago. I felt like when I get a chance to play every day, I put up the numbers they ask of me. For some strange reason, it just happened that coming off a good 2012 season, in 2013 they took games away. You start to wonder why that happened. I feel like if I get a good full year in and get the at-bats, it starts to add up. It's tough when you get 300 at-bats and you're expected to hit 15 or 20 home runs.
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Ethier is the Dodgers' longest-tenured player, and with Matt Kemp now in San Diego, it would seem that Ethier would get his chance. However, the Dodgers' tentative Opening Day plans are for Carl Crawford, rookie Joc Pederson and Yasiel Puig to start, with Ethier the fourth outfielder.
LA certainly has plenty of incentive to play Ethier. He's owed at least $56 million over the next three years with a $17.5 million vesting option for 2018, so that's quite an expensive bench player.
However, after posting career lows in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage last season, Ethier will need a hot start in spring training to prove he's capable of putting together another All-Star-caliber season.
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Tigers SP Justin Verlander
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Not all is well in Detroit.
Max Scherzer is in Washington. Miguel Cabrera is still banged up. But one thing that should have Tigers fans smiling is Justin Verlander. Verlander spoke with Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal about his subpar 2014 season and how he expects things to be different in 2015.
"'To be honest, it’s night and day,' Verlander says of the difference from a year ago. 'I feel better than I have in years. I was able to get back into my normal routine, get into the weight room. I also was seeing a physical therapist for an hour and a half, three days a week, just learning about my body, how the surgery could have affected me. I feel great right now.'
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In spring training last season, his average fastball was over 95 miles per hour. However, by July, it was under 93. The swing-and-miss rate of his curveball more than cut in half last season, starting at over 14 percent in March and sitting at around 5 percent in September.
Stats Inc. had similarly discouraging reports. Right-handed hitters batted .327 with a .592 slugging percentage off his curveball, as opposed to .184 with a .275 slugging percentage from 2005-13. They showed similar increases against his slider, and the chase rates on both pitches by all hitters declined.
“I want to be back to being me," Verlander said, per Rosenthal.
After a poor 2014 season, that's all Tigers fans want to see as well.
Red Sox: Allen Craig and Shane Victorino
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From 2011-2013, Allen Craig was one of the best hitters in the National League. He hit .312 with a .500 slugging percentage, with 15 home runs per season despite being limited to an average of 109 games each year.
Last season, everything fell apart. He hit .237 in 97 games with the St. Louis Cardinals before hitting a disastrous .128 in 29 games with the Boston Red Sox. He spoke with Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe and seems optimistic about his 2015:
"I think it was a combination of things. Worked on some things this offseason. I just want to put it in the past. Looking forward to having a real good year and just kind of forgetting this chapter.
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Baseball is crazy sometimes. You’re up and down. It goes for players and teams. Last year was a learning experience for everybody. It wasn’t an easy year. There’s a lot of competition here, and I think competition is good for everybody. I think it gets the best out of you. So I’m just trying to get myself right.
I know I can hit in this league, so it’s doing the work and getting that rhythm back.
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Shane Victorino is another player in Boston who needs a hot start. After playing a huge role on the 2013 World Series-winning team, Victorino was limited to just 30 games last season due to injury. He's going to return to switch-hitting this season, telling WEEI's Rob Bradford "everything feels great."
Uber-prospect/second-year player Mookie Betts was the Red Sox's best hitter in the second half last season, but Victorino has the inside track to the starting right field job at this stage in camp, according to manager John Farrell:
"If Shane Victorino is fully capable and fully healthy, he’s our right fielder. That’s pretty simple. He was one of the best right fielders in the game two years ago.
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The Red Sox have a roster loaded with talent. Both Craig and Victorino will need to hit early and often if they want to earn playing time.
Note: Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com, MLB.com and FanGraphs unless otherwise noted/linked.
To talk baseball or follow the latest rumors, check in with me on Twitter: @ZPetersel.
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