[ayaghmour2]

Weekly Record: 1-5
Overall Record: 10-16 (7 GB)

First Injury of the Spring: Don't worry. It's not Peter the Heater. Or one of the Jones Brothers. Or Leo Mitchell, Skipper Schneider, or Sal Pestilli. It's not any of the guys you think, though if you think about who might be one of our most valuable hitters this spring, you may be able to guess who this!

If you guessed Billy Brown, I'd be quite impressed, as the rarely mentioned backup outfielder who hit .105/.268/.123 (9 OPS+) in 71 PAs after a waiver claim last season isn't what you would call a household name. That didn't stop him from getting mentions twice this spring, as the 28-year-old was slashing .348/.423/.870 and seemed to have a bench spot locked up. His 252 WRC+ came with three doubles, homers, and walks, scoring five times in his 26 trips to the plate. He'll now miss at least two months with a torn thumb ligament, making a return to the majors coming in June at the earliest. Not that their spots were ever at risk, I think this guarantees Chubby Hall (.267, 1, 3) and Jimmy Hairston (.412, 1, 4) spots on the roster. A seventh outfielder seems like a lot, but we have plenty of infield versatility, so carrying Brown with those two wouldn't be the worst thing. I don't see an outfielder like that available that'd be worth the limited role, so the rest of the spots will go to the infield.

Rule-5 Picks Impress: No pair benefited more from the George Oddo trade then Buzz Turner and Dizzy Danforth, the two arms we took in the Rule-5 Draft. Both have pitched well, with Danforth actually making a few starts. He went 4 against the defending champs, allowing 3 hits, a run, and a walk with a strikeout in an 8-3 win. He followed the victory with a no decision, allowing 4 hits and 2 runs with 2 strikeouts in another 4 inning start. Combined with his work in the pen, the former Cannons has allowed 9 hits, 3 runs, and a walk with 5 strikeouts in 10.1 innings pitched. He'll now head to the pen, as we'll let Buzz Turner have a shot in the same situation. He's thrown 7 solid innings of his own, allowing 5 hits, 2 runs, and 2 walks with 4 strikeouts. Turner, who is two years younger, came from the Foresters, and he got a strikeout in a scoreless inning against his former organization. I hope he's the one that starts against them on the 7th, but more importantly that he gets a start in each of the final two weeks. It may be impossible to keep both, but I think one of these guys will make camp, backing up our two high leverage arms David Molina and Jim Kenny.

First Round of Cuts: The roster shrunk from 55 to 48, as I let some of the super longshot guys go early so the rest can feel like they survived. Among the notable were former 1st Rounder Bert Rogers, former everyday second basemen Clark Car, and Billy Riley prospect piece Rupert Abbott. Top pitching prospect Bob Allen is still in camp, and even though he put together a pair of scoreless relief outings, he's unlikely to see himself breaking camp in Chicago. The other exciting prospect left is Elmer Grace and his .395/.410/.526 batting line, coming with a 168 WRC+, 2 doubles, a homer, and 7 RBIs. With Brown now hurt, there's an argument to be made that Grace should be the 24th man, as he's got nothing left to prove. Semi-regular time would be tough, Skipper and Sutterfield rank 4th at their respective positions, and there's likely guys like Billy Hunter, Otto Christian, and Charlie Woodbury on had to take the limited role. 24 in June, he's almost destined for a major league debut this season, but if moved he's still not eligible for the Rule-5 Draft.