B/R's 2017 All-Spring Training Team with 1 Week to Go
I've said it before and I'll say it again: Spring stats don't matter, except when they do.
Every year, scalding exhibition performances evaporate like a desert mirage once the games start to count. Then again, some guys have a great Cactus or Grapefruit League showing and keep on killing it.
Sprinkle the requisite grains of salt, then, on the following position-by-position list of standout spring studs. On the other hand, don't dismiss them.
Some are established stars, others are up-and-comers looking to make a mark. They've all come to play in Florida and Arizona, though—and that definitely counts for something.
Catcher: Gary Sanchez, New York Yankees
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Fair warning to the pinstripe intolerant: Gary Sanchez is the first of three New York Yankees to make the cut. It's been that kind of spring for the baby Bronx Bombers.
Speaking of bombs, Sanchez leads all catchers with four to go along with 13 RBI, a .361 average and a 1.188 OPS.
Anyone who wondered if last's season's second-half barrage and American League Rookie of the Year runner-up finish were a fluke has their answer.
"I used to think he wasn’t going to be as good as Jorge Posada," an unnamed scout told the New York Post's George A. King III, "but now, maybe the Yankees have Johnny Bench, and there aren't too many Johnny Benches."
There aren't too many Gary Sanchezes either.
Honorable Mention: Dustin Garneau (COL): .409 AVG., 1.419 OPS, 3 HR, 12 RBI
First Base: Greg Bird, New York Yankees
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After shoulder surgery cost Greg Bird the entire 2016 season and he hit just .215 in the Arizona Fall League, all eyes were on the 24-year-old heading into spring.
So far, so great.
Through 16 games, Bird has gone 16-for-38 with six doubles, a triple and four home runs, good for a .421 average and 1.447 OPS.
When the Yankees signed right-handed masher Chis Carter, who led the National League with 41 home runs last season, it seemed possible he'd platoon with the lefty-swinging Bird.
Now, with Bird on fire and Carter hitting a scant .129 in the Grapefruit League, that's a tough sell.
"Why tell a kid he can't hit lefties?" an NL scout said of Bird, per Newsday's Erik Boland. "Maybe he can, maybe he can't, but for me, with that swing and that approach, I'm putting him out there until I find out for sure."
Honorable Mention: Brock Stassi (PHI): .326 AVG., 1.127 OPS, 5 HR, 15 RBI
Second Base: Ian Happ, Chicago Cubs
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The Chicago Cubs' roster is laden with young, team-controlled stars. That doesn't mean they can't add more.
Outfielder Eloy Jimenez—the team's No. 1 prospect, according to MLB.com—hit .321 with two home runs in 16 spring games before going down with a bruised shoulder that could cost him three weeks, per Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune.
Second baseman and No. 2 prospect Ian Happ has been even more impressive.
The 22-year-old switch-hitter has 16 hits in 40 Cactus League at-bats with four doubles and three home runs. His .400 average is tops among Cubs hitters with more than four games played. And he's shown versatility, which manager Joe Maddon covets, by taking reps at second base as well as the outfield.
Happ won't crack Chicago's Opening Day roster, but he could make his big league debut at some point this season.
"Right now he looks great. He’s going to have to go out and play," Maddon said, per Gonzales. "That’s it. I think he’s really good. He’s a major league player."
Honorable Mention: Tyler Saladino (CWS): .389 AVG., 1.200 OPS, 3 HR, 9 RBI
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Shortstop: Gleyber Torres, New York Yankees
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Time to hoof it back to Yankees camp and take a gander at Gleyber Torres. Don't worry, he's worth it.
After winning Arizona Fall League MVP honors at age 19, the now-20-year-old is hitting .464 with a 1.448 OPS this spring. The Derek Jeter comparisons are trickling in.
What's more, with shortstop Didi Gregorius sidelined by a shoulder injury, there could be an opening for Torres.
The safe money is on the Yanks' top prospect starting the season in the minors. He's never played above High-A, after all, and exhibition stats don't guarantee sustained MLB success.
The fact it's even a debate, however, is a testament to Torres' sky-high ceiling.
"This opportunity is pretty good, every day to see the game," Torres said, per DJ Eberie of the Times-Leader. "Just play my game. It's easy."
He's certainly made it look that way.
Honorable Mention: Addison Russell (CHC): .300 AVG., 1.216 OPS, 5 HR, 9 RBI
Third Base: Pablo Sandoval, Boston Red Sox
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Of all the inevitable best-shape-of-his-life comeback stories this spring, Pablo Sandoval's stood out.
After two disastrous, injury-marred seasons with the Boston Red Sox, the Kung Fu Panda came into camp slimmed down and saying the right things.
"Teamwork is the most important thing to me," he told Bleacher Report's Scott Miller. "I don't care about my numbers."
The Red Sox do care, and the numbers are trending up. Sandoval is 15-for-43 this spring, which equates to a .349 average, with three home runs and 13 RBI.
He needs to prove it over a 162-game grind, but he's got a real shot to win over the Beantown faithful and, dare I say, pull his weight.
Honorable Mention: Ryon Healy (OAK): .333 AVG., 1.153 OPS, 4 HR, 13 RBI
Left Field: Jose Osuna, Pittsburgh Pirates
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Jose Osuna can play first base as well as left field. Unfortunately for him, he's blocked at first by top Pittsburgh Pirates position-player prospect* Josh Bell and in the outfield by veterans Andrew McCutchen, Starling Marte and Gregory Polanco.
Osuna is making his case with a torrid spring, however.
Through 15 games, the 24-year-old owns a .417/.500/.889 slash line with a team-leading five home runs and 14 RBI.
Osuna was added to the Bucs 40-man roster in November and credits his exhibition output to a stint in winter ball, per Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
"I got a lot of calls, 'He's on the 40-man? Who is this guy?'" manager Clint Hurdle said, per Rob Biertempfel of TribLive.com. "Obviously, they hadn't been paying attention."
If they weren't then, they'd better be now.
Honorable Mention: Yoenis Cespedes (NYM): .424 AVG., 1.354 OPS, 5 HR, 9 RBI
* Say that five times fast.
Center Field: Keon Broxton, Milwaukee Brewers
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In early February, I highlighted Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Keon Broxton as a fantasy baseball sleeper.
Spring stats don't count, but he's making me look prescient.
In 38 at-bats, Broxton is hitting .395 with a 1.226 OPS, three home runs and 10 RBI. Add the .294 average and .937 OPS he posted in the second half of 2016 before a fractured wrist ended his season, and you've got something approaching a predictive trend.
It's going to be a long season for the rebuilding Crew, who will serve as target practice for the powerful Cubs as well as the playoff-hopeful Pirates and St. Louis Cardinals in the NL Central.
A breakout from Broxton would be exactly the kind of bright spot Milwaukee fans need.
Honorable Mention: Charlie Blackmon (COL): .432 AVG., 1.233 OPS, 2 HR, 7 RBI
Right Field: Bryce Harper, Washington Nationals
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Bryce Harper won the NL MVP Award in 2015 and frequently looked like he had the baseball cheat codes scrawled in eye-black under the brim of his hat.
In 2016, he came crashing back to earth.
The simplest explanation was Harper's nagging right shoulder injury. The question was, would he get healthy over the winter and silence the doubters this spring?
The answer thus far: heck yes.
In 15 Grapefruit League games with the Washington Nationals, Harper has six home runs and two doubles among his 11 hits and boasts a 1.314 OPS.
The swing is back. The swagger is back. We're back to thinking about his ticking free-agent clock, and how much money the Yankees—er, someone—will pay him after the 2018 season.
Nats manager Dusty Baker summed things up succinctly.
"He looks good," Baker told reporters. "He looks real good."
Honorable Mention: Jorge Bonifacio (KCR): .414 AVG., 1.261 OPS, 3 HR, 7 RBI
Pitcher: Taijuan Walker, Arizona Diamondbacks
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Sample sizes are always an issue in spring. That's doubly true for pitchers, which is why we're leaving relievers out of the conversation and focusing only on starters.
There are many horses to choose from, but Taijuan Walker leaps out with an eye-popping 25 strikeouts and only two walks in 17.2 innings.
Walker, who was traded from the Seattle Mariners to the Arizona Diamondbacks this winter, has shown flashes of brilliance before but owns a 4.18 ERA across 357 big league innings.
Is this the year the 24-year-old finally puts it together?
He's making an impression in the Diamondbacks clubhouse, as Paola Boivin of AZCentral.com outlined:
"With his easy smile, it’s clear why players gravitate to Walker. It’s more than that, of course. It’s the fastball in the mid-90s, the slider, the change-up. It’s his stature on the mound, and frankly, in the room. He is a 6-foot-4, 235-pound bundle of presence. He’s hard to miss.
"
More to the point, he's been hard to hit. With $200-plus million ace Zack Greinke an enigma and right-hander Shelby Miller coming off an atrocious season, that's welcome news for the D-Backs.
Now, we see how it translates.
Honorable Mention: Masahiro Tanaka (NYY): 13.1 IP, 19 SO, 2 BB, 3 H, 0 ER
All statistics current as of Monday and courtesy of MLB.com unless otherwise noted.
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