View from the Catwalk: Wacha, Baz shine
Rays News
Rays have the day off today, after dropping a game to the Twins yesterday. On the pitching side, Wacha, Reed, and Baz (see below) looked good, McHugh and Hess less so. On offense, Austin Meadows hit a loud home run.
Rays prospect Shane Baz,
— David Adler (@_dadler) March 7, 2021
Big fastballs (5 swinging strikes)
97.5 mph / 2,591 rpm
98.5 mph / 2,442 rpm
97.2 mph / 2,438 rpm
97.9 mph / 2,438 rpm
99.8 mph / 2,471 rpm (K) pic.twitter.com/z2HQvaKXco
Joey Wendle stans, you can read more about him and listen to an interview that includes a fun story about getting used to the Tropicana Field roof.
Here is some Wander video for your enjoyment:
Wander can swing it from both sides. pic.twitter.com/wptSMDkr2F
— MLB (@MLB) March 5, 2021
While all eyes are on the shortstop of the future, don’t sleep on our shortstop of the present. Willy Adames had a tough postseason at the plate, but he’s shown real growth in his defense and we know the guy can hit. He’s also the sort of person who is discussed as a clubhouse leader even at age 25. Marc Topkin discusses ($)
Pitching prospect Joe Ryan has great fastball. Does it matter why it works?
Mike Petriello is, to my mind, one of the most perceptive writers on MLB.com, so if he says the Rays shouldn’t be counted out then by golly I’m not counting the Rays out. Brewers and Giants are his other “sleeper” teams.
Fun interview with Rich Hill, who was actually Kevin Cash’s teammate in Boston:
Rich Hill is loving his first Spring with @RaysBaseball!@scottbraun | #30Clubs30Days pic.twitter.com/vVhLablDHg
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) March 7, 2021
Ryan Zimmerman with a really poor take on the factors that lead to success or failure in baseball. Are people still really talking about “analytics” as though it’s not part of every team’s arsenal?
Old friend alert: We figured that Jake Odorizzi would sign with the first team to lose a starter to injury. That team was the Houston Astros; two days after they learned that Framber Valdez (whose devastating curve ball Rays fans may remember) would miss the season with a bad finger fracture, and whose top pitching prospect, Forrest Whitley, is likely to need Tommy John surgery. They have signed Odorizzi for two years plus an option, a contract reportedly worth about $30 million.
Jake Odorizzi, Astros agree to a 2-year deal with a player option, per @Feinsand. pic.twitter.com/Xpr5kXt0CF
— MLB (@MLB) March 6, 2021
Also, old friend alert, Matthew Liberatore, who was traded for Randy Arozarena, had a rough spring outing. While it’s nice to win trades, I would still hope this is rust from a long time of inactivity and nothing more:
Liberatore up to three walks. Statcast says he hasn’t crested 90 MPH in his second inning of work. Tommy Parsons getting loose behind him.
— Jeff Jones (@jmjones) March 7, 2021
Around the League
Baseball’s COVID-19 testing program continues to show pretty low levels of infection; we’ll take a .03% positivity rate.
The latest set of COVID-19 testing results conducted under MLB's COVID-19 Health Monitoring & Testing Plan were jointly announced today by @MLB and the @MLB_PLAYERS. pic.twitter.com/O1MPJ8un42
— MLB Communications (@MLB_PR) March 5, 2021
That’s the good news. But our COVID concerns are clearly not behind us: Several players (including two from the Cleveland team) have been kicked out of camp for violating COVID protocols, and eight Astros pitchers are in quarantine for COVID-related reasons (the league doesn’t say whether the players have tested positive or been exposed to someone who did). Looks like they may need Odorizzi to pitch ALL the innings.
A profile of Bianca Smith, hired as a coach by the Boston Red Sox ($).