Pitchers to watch:
T. Walker
K. Graveman
T. Walker
K. Graveman
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Average salaries top $4M for 1st time
NEW YORK -- Even before the first pitch of the 2015 season is thrown, an eye-popping baseball record will be set.
The average salary when Opening Day rosters are finalized Sunday will break the $4 million barrier for the first time, according to a study of all major league contracts by The Associated Press. Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw tops players at $31 million and Los Angeles projects to open the season with a payroll at about $270 million, easily a record.
"We're enjoying a tremendously bountiful season in baseball," said Toronto pitcher R.A. Dickey, the 2012 NL Cy Young Award winner with the New York Mets.
Moneyball
With a $270 million payroll, the Dodgers are the sultans of salary, paying for two of the top four highest-paid players entering the 2015 season.
Clayton Kershaw (LAD) $31M Justin Verlander (DET) $28M Zack Greinke (LAD) $27M Josh Hamilton (LAA) $25.4M
Fueled by the largest two-year growth in more than a decade, the average salary projects to be about $4.25 million, according to the AP study, with the final figure depending on how many players are put on the disabled list before the first pitch is thrown. That is up from $3.95 million on the first day of last season and $3.65 million when 2013 began.
"MLB's revenues have grown in recent years, with the increase in national and local broadcast rights fees being a primary contributor," said Dan Halem, MLB's chief legal officer. "It is expected that player compensation will increase as club revenues increase."
Baseball's average salary was approximately $50,000 in 1976, the last year before free agency. Back then, many players took offseason jobs to pay their bills.Comment -
I wonder how many MLB players take offseason jobs to pay their bills these days?Average salaries top $4M for 1st time
NEW YORK -- Even before the first pitch of the 2015 season is thrown, an eye-popping baseball record will be set.
The average salary when Opening Day rosters are finalized Sunday will break the $4 million barrier for the first time, according to a study of all major league contracts by The Associated Press. Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw tops players at $31 million and Los Angeles projects to open the season with a payroll at about $270 million, easily a record.
"We're enjoying a tremendously bountiful season in baseball," said Toronto pitcher R.A. Dickey, the 2012 NL Cy Young Award winner with the New York Mets.
Moneyball
With a $270 million payroll, the Dodgers are the sultans of salary, paying for two of the top four highest-paid players entering the 2015 season.
Clayton Kershaw (LAD) $31M Justin Verlander (DET) $28M Zack Greinke (LAD) $27M Josh Hamilton (LAA) $25.4M
Fueled by the largest two-year growth in more than a decade, the average salary projects to be about $4.25 million, according to the AP study, with the final figure depending on how many players are put on the disabled list before the first pitch is thrown. That is up from $3.95 million on the first day of last season and $3.65 million when 2013 began.
"MLB's revenues have grown in recent years, with the increase in national and local broadcast rights fees being a primary contributor," said Dan Halem, MLB's chief legal officer. "It is expected that player compensation will increase as club revenues increase."
Baseball's average salary was approximately $50,000 in 1976, the last year before free agency. Back then, many players took offseason jobs to pay their bills.
What I find staggering is the MLB minimum salary is up to $507,500 this year.
Not a bad gig...Comment -
The revenue is unrealComment -
Barry Zito was clobbered by the Angels in Tuesday's Cactus League outing, allowing seven runs on eight hits over his four innings of work.
The Angels socked three home runs off him in the third inning, then tacked on an additional three runs in the fourth before Zito departed. The 36-year-old entered the day with a 2.30 ERA and 0.70 WHIP, and had nearly pitched his way onto the Opening Day roster. He now owns a 5.03 ERA and faces an uncertain future.
I like to hear about comeback attempts. So close.Comment -
Spring Training RBI Leaders:
Awesome to see El Toro tearing it up.
Hopefully this carries over to the Regular Season...
1. 
Ramirez, A CWS 17 2. 
Alvarez, P PIT 15 2. 
Bryant, K CHC 15 2. 
Escobar, E MIN 15 5. 
11 others tied 14 Comment -
Daniel Norris, Blue Jays
Norris is probably most interesting to Toronto for his 2-0 spring record, 2.41 ERA and 1.071 WHIP. He's most interesting to us because of his obsession with Jack Johnson and the fact that he lives in a van down by the river.
Taijuan Walker, Mariners
Although he hasn't officially been named to Seattle's starting rotation yet, the 22-year-old seems like a shoo-in following his incredible Cactus League performance. He's allowed one run over 25 innings in seven games. Dirty, filthy, disgustingess doesn't even begin to describe his repertoire.
Joc Pederson, Dodgers
Hidden beneath the Kris Bryant hoopla and other Dodgers stalwarts is young Joc. The outfielder has slugged six home runs this spring and slashed at a .389/.421/.796 rate. His teammates are excited from him to begin the season with the big club both for his power and his coffee-delivery abilities:
Jung Ho Kang, Pirates
The Korean infielder hasn't had a great spring -- hitting .171 with two homers and four RBIs. But he has showed some signs of improvement as of late and will be on the Opening Day roster come April 6. Let's hope he can bring some of his 40-homer, Ho-Bros magic to Pittsburgh this year:
Jorge Soler, Cubs
The Cuban slugger impressed with his power last September and, after a great spring, looks to be a prime candidate for the two-spot in the batting order:
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Not a bad addition to a roster that will, at some point, also include Bryant, Javier Baez, Anthony Rizzo, Addison Russell, Starlin Castro and Jon Lester. Plus, fans can yell "SOLER POWER!" every time he hits a home run (or not).
Mookie Betts, Red Sox
Yes, there's a guy named "Mookie" that could star for the Red Sox this season. He's slashed an incredible .452/.477/.857 in 42 March at-bats and looks poised to begin the season as the team's starting center fielder. He's clutch at the plate and on the defensive side of the ball:
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Dalton Pompey, Blue Jays
Pompey got called up to the big club at the end of last year, and now, after a spring in which he's hit .327/.364/.519 in 52 at-bats, the 22-year-old looks primed to take over a starting outfield position for the Jays. Scouts also believe he may be the second coming of Roman military leader Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, aka, "Pompey the Great." His conquering of King Felix helps support this theory:
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Rusney Castillo, Red Sox
The Cuban outfielder played like a superstar when he came up with Boston at the end of last season -- hitting two homers and slashing at a .333/.400/.528 rate over 10 games. His injury-shortened spring has also been a sight to behold:
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Castillo is competing for the starting right-field job with Shane Victorino. Victorino definitely has his work cut out for him.
Pat Venditte, A's
After spending seven years in the Yankees' Minor League system, the 29-year-old Venditte has put together a strong spring for the A's. We're hoping he makes the team, partly because we like when players make the team, but mostly because he pitches with both hands:
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Burt Reynolds, Mariners
His name is Burt Reynolds. He's hitting 1.000 this spring (one triple in one at-bat) and he's also Robinson Cano's cousin. We're pretty sure he's not going to be on the M's Opening Day roster, but still, HIS NAME IS BURT REYNOLDS.Comment -
Burt Reynolds! That is awesomeComment -
Blue Jays are going to rely on that hobo Daniel Norris in the rotation with Stroman out for the season.Comment -
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MESA, Ariz. -- When the Cubs head onto the field behind Jon Lester on Sunday night in Chicago, their third baseman will be a guy who has homered once every 15 at-bats in the Cactus League, putting up a .283/.389/.565 slash line.
No, as you might have heard, it won't be Kris Bryant. Most likely it will be Mike Olt, who is 26 and on his own mission. He's had a terrific Spring Training, not that you would know it by reading headlines or listening to national talk shows.
"I've been really impressed with his defense, probably more than I thought,'' Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. "Offensively, he's made some nice adjustments there.''
Olt's two-run homer 3/26/15: Mike Olt sends a two-run homer to left to bring the Cubs within a run
This is a guy who absolutely tore apart the Arizona Fall League three years ago, exactly like Bryant did after the 2013 season. Olt has hit some bumps in the road since then, mostly because of beanings and vision troubles, but he played well enough this spring that he would have earned the job vacated by Luis Valbuena had Bryant not overshadowed him.
It's been that way everywhere you look around the Cubs' Sloan Park complex over the last month. The top prospects responsible for MLB.com ranking the farm system first have almost universally played as advertised -- consider Albert Almora's .364 batting average and .891 OPS in 15 games, for instance -- while a lot of other players have raised their games to try to capture a spot on Maddon's 25-man roster.
Pitchers Brian Schlitter and Zac Rosscup and outfielder/utility man Junior Lake were optioned to Triple-A on Wednesday morning, but Maddon says all three played at "a level that would put them on a Major League team right now.''
Not that long ago -- 2014, to be exact -- the Cubs were an equal-opportunity team, opening their door both to their own young players and to guys who had fallen between cracks elsewhere. But that changed this spring, with Maddon arriving at the same time as the wave of talent that Theo Epstein, Jed Hoyer and Jason McLeod have been building in their three seasons on the job, with owner Tom Ricketts investing heavily in the amateur talent they've identified.
Maddon has been impressed, to say the least.
Soler's two-run home run 4/1/15: Jorge Soler drives a Will Smith pitch over the wall for a two-run home run to give the Cubs a 9-1 lead in the bottom of the 5th
"Personality-wise, I have really been impressed with them as people, and their work has been great,'' Maddon said. "As baseball players, you all knew how good they are. I'm getting to see it for the first time.''
While Bryant was the headliner before he was sent to Iowa on Monday, in Maddon's mind, he wasn't much different than Cuban outfielder Jorge Soler, who came to camp set as the right fielder after a successful audition last spring. He has hit .345 with four home runs and 15 RBIs in 18 games.
"Coming into it, I had heard about him,'' Maddon said. "To get the opportunity to work with somebody like that, as managers and coaches, it's somewhat unique. He's really that impressive, offensively and defensively, [and I] think he can be a good baserunner also. He's just a great guy. He smiles easily. He listens well. He's the kind of guy you want to grow with.''
From the top lines of the Cubs' inventory of players on down, it's been a productive spring. Maddon should feel great when he gets on a plane to fly to Chicago late Saturday afternoon.
Szczur's long solo home run 3/3/15: Matt Szczur hits a long solo home run to left field off Derek Holland in the top of the 5th inning
"I think we did a nice job early on of laying out what needed to be done individually, in our meetings, and these guys have gone out and attacked this stuff,'' Maddon said. "Just by watching it yourself, you can see a lot of improvement in individuals right now. A lot of that was very well directed. I'm really pleased where we're at right now compared to the first day.''
No one epitomizes that improvement more than outfielder Matt Szczur, the 25-year-old former Villanova football star.
Like Javier Baez, Arismendy Alcantara and Lake, among others, he's a holdover from the Jim Hendry regime. His athleticism always stood out, but there were questions about his bat, which only grew when he hit .226 in 66 big league plate appearances last season. He went to work tearing down and rebuilding his right-handed swing over the winter in Philadelphia and worked overtime with John Mallee, the Cubs' new hitting coach, after arriving in Arizona in early February.
He's crushed the ball all spring, with five home runs to go alongside a .362 batting average in 21 games. In Maddon's words, he's "hit the ball far and consistently well,'' and finds himself sweating out the final cuts.
Top 3 best farm systems in MLB Jim Callis joins MLB Tonight to discuss the teams that have the top farm systems in baseball and which can make the biggest impact
"The spring has been good,'' Szczur said. "Everything has been going well. I worked really hard in the offseason with my hitting instructor. John Mallee and myself clicked right away. He knew what I was working on. We sort of fine-tuned things together and it's been working out for me.''
Szczur was a fifth-round Draft pick in 2010. He has had a front-row view to his organization's collection of talent. He has climbed the ladder one rung at a time, with at least 121 games at every level since a quick promotion from Class A to Class A Advanced in 2011.
He says the competition for jobs is "unbelievable'' but it doesn't sound like he'd want it any other way.
"The players are great,'' Szczur said. "They're all great teammates, great people. It's fun to get out there and get out to work because they get after it just like you do. Every day's a work day. All the players take it serious. They're not lackadaisical. They go about it the right way. It's a great thing for the organization.''
Talent is pouring through the pipeline, and it's not going to stop when guys like Bryant and Baez join Soler in Chicago.
And I love their choice for their new coach, I think he is perfect for a young group of players.Comment -
I could se Baez being traded at some point thus yearComment -
Spring Training Strikeout Leaders:
1. 
Norris, D TOR 29 1. 
Price, D DET 29 3. 
Sanchez, A DET 26 4. 
Kluber, C CLE 25 4. 
Pomeranz, D OAK 25 Comment -
USA Today's Bob Nightengale reports that the Braves are "on the verge" of acquiring Trevor Cahill from the Diamondbacks.
Nightengale says Atlanta will pay about half of the $12 million Cahill is owed in 2015.
The only noteworthy thing here is what the heck is up with Atlanta and Archie Bradley might finally be ready to crack the Arizona rotation.Comment -
Athletics pitcher Scott Kazmir surrendered just one earned run on four hits in six innings while recording no walks or strikeouts in his final start of the spring Thursday against the Giants. Kazmir gave up just two earned runs across four outing this spring to finish with a 1.00 ERA and 14:4 K:BB ratio in 18 innings. He'll square off against the Rangers Wednesday in his regular-season debut.
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Spring Training Batting Average Leaders:
1. 
Abreu, J CWS .508 2. 
Trout, M LAA .463 3. 
Betts, M BOS .444 4. 
Granderson, C NYM .440 5. 
Cron, C LAA .426 Comment -
I am trading Justin Upton for G Cole what do you guys think? I have CarGo to fill the spot.Comment -
Who is C. Cron?Comment -
What do we think of my lineup for my roto leagueComment -
Is Jose Fernandez of the Marlins expected back soon?Comment -
Yankees manager Joe Girardi is prepared to enter this season without a designated closer, instead splitting opportunities between right-hander Dellin Betances and left-hander Andrew Miller. Elsewhere in the American League East, first-year Rays skipper Kevin Cash also won't have a set ninth-inning man in the early going, with Jake McGee beginning the campaign on the disabled list.
In a game that loves specialized, defined bullpen roles, it's somewhat rare for a club to use a committee for an extended period of time. On the other hand, circumstances often force teams -- even successful ones -- to turn to multiple closers throughout the 162-game march from April to October.
Over the 10 seasons from 2005-14, at least 12 teams made the playoffs without having one pitcher collect 60 percent or more of their total saves. In some cases, an injury struck. Other times, the original choice simply struggled and was replaced with an internal choice or a trade acquisition.
Romo seals World Series win 10/28/12: Sergio Romo strikes out Miguel Cabrera to finish off the Game 4 victory and 2012 World Series title for the Giants
In fact, three of the past four World Series winners are part of this group. The 2011 Cardinals subbed Jason Motte for Fernando Salas (51 percent) down the stretch. The 2012 Giants replaced an injured Brian Wilson with Santiago Casilla (47 percent), then turned to a committee headed by Sergio Romo. Two years later, it was Romo (50 percent) who gave way to Casilla.
To look at this phenomenon from a different angle, research last season showed that almost one-third of postseason qualifiers from 2004-13 had changed closers by the time they reached October. And then six of last season's 10 playoff clubs fell into that category.
It remains to be seen whether the Yankees or Rays stick with a closer duo or committee all year long. Either way, if they ride multiple closers to a playoff berth, they likely will be in good company.Comment -
Finally! It's Opening Night!
I'll have to DVR "Mad Men"
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Oh I'm so pumped!Comment -
More excited for tomorrow's games but I'll be watching in 8 hours anyways.Comment -
The Braves will acquire Maybin and Quentin, Rosenthal tweets. The Braves will also acquire pitcher Matt Wisler, as FOX Sports’ Jon Morosi tweets. McDaniel tweets that the Braves will also receive outfield prospect Jordan Paroubeck. Rosenthal tweets that the Braves will also receive the 41st pick in this June’s draft.
Who knows what Atlanta is doing.Comment -
Seems like Atlanta organization is going nuts with all these moves.Comment -
Yeah, I know it's only 1 game, but the Cubs are still the Cubs.
No hitting, shaky defense and Lester not sharp.
I predict another long, losing summer for the Cubbies...Comment
