[Griever20]

Pre-Spring Situation:
We got into the spring with some position battles ongoing here as we had

First Base: Alfonso Flores(R), Dan Cook(S), Victor Estrada(R)
CF: Brian Schill(R), Vicente Rodriguez(R)
Backup OF/Platoon in RF: Huai-yu Mah(L), Jose Campa(S), Brian Oatley(R)

And of course the whole bullpen situation brewing. Shortstop prospect Julian Hernandez will get a chance to show off, but we have no reason to rush him, and the fact that he failed his development drill put him further away from NMLB than expected to be honest.

We don’t expect fireworks this spring or season, but we have a deep roster of solid guys, and getting through spring injury free with Hinton, Hernandez, Rasbach, Roman, Ferguson and Messer would be nice.

Injury Report:
SP Dan Hinton shoulder inflammation 5-6 weeks
SP Adrian Hilscher oblique strain 4-5 weeks
LHRP Bill Costa recurring back spasms 1 week
never mind...

Spring Battles:
We went 12-10 in spring and actually led the EL North, but at a steep injury price…

As for the spring battles, 1B Victor Estrada was waived and DFA’ed by us, let’s see if he can pass through, if not, good luck with another team. We have even more depth in AAA at first base. The jobs went to Flores at DH and Cook at first base as a solid switch hitter.

In the outfield, field Vicente Rodriguez(.232-1-4 2/3SB) won the CF job by being a better defender Schill(.232-2-9) will get the backup job for the outfield. The platoon RF job went to Brian Oatley(.213-1-3) as Aaron McCreery insisted he is the best bat of the bunch… well.

In the rotation, we settled with Rule 5 draftee Danny Sandoval(0-3 11.42) despite a rough spring, John Marquardt(0-1 1SV 2.33 19.1IP) and Victor Lopez(2-1 1.32 14K 13.2IP), knowing that one of them is on borrowed time when Hinton returns.

For the bullpen, the lefty slots filled themselves due to the Costa injury, and for the rightys, we settled on the group that looked most competent… this will be fun.

Spring Training Pitcher of the Month:
SP Victor Lopez 2-1 1.32 14K 6BB 13.2IP

Spring Training MvP:
2B Franklin Reyes .314/.407/.588 4HR 10RBIs 6BB 59PA

Spring Training Dud:
SP Danny Sandoval 0-3 11.42 7K 12BB 8.2IP

Baseball America announced their Top 100 prospect list:
#1 LF Jason Barlett, 21, San Francisco Red Devils(S A)(+-0)
#2 RHSP Geroge Ostermeyer, 21, Atlanta Minuteman (MLB)(+2)
#3 RHSP Jose Toranzo, 22, Arizona Diamondbacks (S A)(+3)
#4 SS Julian Hernandez, 21, Montreal Expos (AAA)(-1)
#5 SS Cole McGuire, 22, Vancouver Canadians (S A)(+3)
#6 CF Ricardo Sandoval, 20, Las Vegas Gamblers (R)(+3)
#7 LHSP Brett Asselin, 21, Montreal Expos (AA)(+4)
#8 CF Eric Langdon, 22, Miami Marlins(R)(+11)
#9 CF Ismael Palma, 24, Las Vegas Gamblers (AAA)(-2)
#10 2B Rafael Jara, 22, San Diego Padres(AAA)(+12)

Expos further on that list:
#68 3B/1B Joe Townsend, 20, .151-5-10 .454OPS 61G -0.7WAR in R, R (NEW) (Trade SLC)

Unranked, yet promising:
R LF Santiago Rodriguez, 20, .259/.300/.434 8HR 16RBI 61G 2.9WAR in R ball (Trade WSH)
R RHSP Matt Porter,19, 2-1 1.00 3GS 0.4WAR in R Ball (2020 2nd Round)

We are ranked the #3 system in baseball with Hernandez, Asselin and Townsend highlighting our system, not counting the kids we have in the international camp.

Next Up: FINAL OPENING DAY ROSTER AND FIRST PITCH