Fantasy Baseball Spring Storylines: Mar. 8 (Chapman, Ortiz, & More)

When Aroldis Chapman makes his spring debut, you know there is going to be one significant storyline to follow.  Of course, that’s not the only one worth monitoring.  Let’s take a look:

• It was a great debut for Aroldis Chapman , tossing two shutout innings.  He allowed one hit and one walking, striking out two.  The walks are the real story, as his control is the biggest concern surrounding him.  If he can continue to throw strikes, the chance of him making an impact sooner grows exponentially.
• David Ortiz went 1-for-3 with one run, his first hit of the spring.  Given his 2009 struggles early on, fantasy owners may be looking even closer on his spring performance then they normally would.  Watch closely and if others get scared, I wouldn’t hesitate to go for a bargain.
• To go along with my Wild Prediction today, Max Scherzer was awful in his Tigers debut.  He allowed five runs on four hits and three walks, striking out none, over just one-third of an inning.  Considering I had my concerns about him before this, he is flying down my draft board extremely quickly.  I know it’s just one outing, but throw it on top of the concerns I had with him moving to the AL and I doubt I will be owning him in any league.
• Brian Matusz allowed two runs on three hits and no walks, striking out six, over 2.2 innings of work.  He’s a tremendous sleeper and you have to like those results.
• J.P. Arencibia went deep again, his third of the preseason.  He was even batting third today.  Those in two-catcher formats have got to be watching him closely at this point, as the more he succeeds the more realistic it is that he gets an opportunity in Toronto.  Could he be this season’s Geovany Soto?  For more on Arencibia, click here .
• Jorge De La Rosa tossed three shutout innings, allowing one hit and one walk while striking out two.  He was tremendous in ‘09 after the All-Star Break and is a great late round flyer in all formats (his ADP is around 193 according to Mock Draft Central), especially with his strikeout potential.

Which of these storylines interests you most?

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