Major League Baseball Spring Training Almost Over
Major League Baseball is about to end Spring Training, signaling the start of the league's next baseball season. With Opening Day slated for April 4, Monday, teams are already filling up their roster of players, with some additions and subtractions going on. According to a report in MLB Weekly Wrap, some of the teams have already confirmed who will be in their rotation.
The report mentioned that the Washington Nationals will be having Gio Gonzalez and Stephen Strasburg as second and third rotation respectively, with Max Scherzer likely will be No. 1 in their rotation. This piece of news was confirmed by manager Dusty Baker. Danny Espinosa is being groomed to be a good hitter for the team, while Michael Taylor will also be spending time on the field as outfielder.
Bartolo Colon, a veteran player, will be playing for the New York Mets. Yoenis Cespedes will also be playing for the Mets as Left Fielder, according to the report. Sean Gilmartin, who had a huge 2015 season, will also be starting for the Mets.
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For the Philadelphia Phillies, Jeremy Hellickson will be part of Opening Day starter, according to Pete Mackanin.
Another report by Bleacher Report counts down some of what it called "most alarming Superstar performances" during Spring Training. Among the top "alarming" performances according to the report, included San Francisco Giants pitcher Jeff Samardzija, who after a not-so-good 2015 performance, seemed to show some step down during Spring Training. According to the report, his 5.7 strikeouts per nine innings during training is indeed "alarming."
Another player that was mentioned in the report is the Boston Red Sox's shortstop, Xander Bogaerts. In 2015, his was able to improve his hit average to .320, which was quite an improvement from .240 in 2014. During spring training however, he seemed to have reverted to his 2014 hit average. Yet another player who did not fare well during spring training is the Chicago Cubs Kris Bryant. According to the report, Bryant seems to be cutting back on the number of home runs he can do. In last year's spring training, he was able to do nine home runs, but this year, he is down to just one home run.
