Here is a look at the Spring Training News & Notes from the past few days. The news & notes are focused on changes that affect players value as well as players coming back off of injuries or rookies that might make an impact.
Hitters:
Elijah Dukes was cut by the Washington Nationals today. No reason was given for his release and from a fantasy perspective, there are not a whole lot of interesting choices behind him (Mike Morse, Jason Maxwell, Mike Morse, etc.) to have an impact unless the Nationals decide to move Ian Desmond from SS to the outfield.
If you are in a deep AL only league, Mark Kotsay is worth going $1 on as he could see 200 at bats between the outfield, first base and designated hitter. He stole his third base of the spring on Tuesday.
The San Francisco Giants stopped their waffling and tried Buster Posey at first base. He becomes more draftable in mixed league formats with two catchers if the Giants are committed to giving him time at multiple positions.
Michael Stanton hit his third home run of the spring for the Florida Marlins, and is making things interesting in the outfield picture.
Pitchers:
Jaime Garcia is still in the running for the 5th starter spot with St. Louis after striking out seven in three scoreless innings on Tuesday.
With no one stepping up at the back of the rotation, the Texas Rangers moved C.J. Wilson from relief pitcher into the mix. Wilson worked four innings, allowing one run with five strikeouts on Tuesday.
Phil Hughes matched the performance of Alfredo Aceves from earlier in the week by tossing four shutout innings with two strikeouts.
In a blast from the past, Ramon Ortiz who last pitched in the major leagues with the Colorado Rockies in 2007, tossed four shutout innings with five strikeouts for the Los Angeles Dodgers in his bid to claim the final rotation spot.
Ben Sheets, zero innings, eight hits, nine runs and one walk. That’s a good way to drop your draft value by three to five rounds.
Closers:
Franklin Morales picked up a save Monday for the Colorado Rockies and could see some action in that role to start the season with Huston Street likely to begin the season the disabled list.
A couple of sleepers to take note of at closer though they may not have an impact until later in the season.
Pat Neshek is returning from Tommy John surgery in 2008 and could be an option for saves after the All-Star break as the Minnesota Twins wait before throwing him possibly into the fire. He excelled in 2007 with a 2.94 ERA and 1.01 WHIP with more than a strikeout per inning.
Koji Uehara was moved to the bullpen to make way for all the young arms the Baltimore Orioles had coming up through the farm system and will serve in a set up role this year. Given the injury history of Mike Gonzalez, he could be an option for saves at some point this season. He is definitely worth a flier in an AL only leagues as is Neshek.
