Spring Training Wrapup: Batters

It was a pretty quiet day yesterday on the transaction wire. Newark continued their daily cuts by letting Eric Hinske go. Vancouver also released Jose Bautista and Kiko Calero. More cuts are coming, hopefully they won't all come on Saturday at midnight.

Today I will take a look at the best performers in spring training.

Grady Sizemore, Carolina. We'll start with the obvious. Sizemore grabbed the trifecta in leading the league in batting average (.386), on-base perecentage (.432) and slugging (.771). Sizemore also finished with 6 homers, 15 RBIs and 16 runs scored.

Chris Coste, Arkansas. Coste may have sewn up the starting catcher gig in Arkansas with his brilliant spring. Coste was second in average (.369) and sixth in OBP (.393) and drove in 19 runs (tied for 8th). His competitor, Toby Hall, on the other hand, hit an uninspiring .182 in 22 at bats.

Ryan Howard, Hillsborough. Howard continued his excellence from last year. The Listach winner led all players with 9 homers and tied for sixth with 20 RBIs. Howard was seventh in OPS (.918) and third in runs created (21.6).

Endy Chavez, Carolina. Chavez had the longest hitting streak of the preseason (13 games) and ended up with a .356 average, 18 RBIs(!), and 12 runs scored. Chavez tied for the league lead in hits with 36. How Chavez will fit in with the Mudcats in the regular season is unknown, but most likely he has bought himself a good chance at a platoon role at least.

Justin Morneau, Arkansas. Morneau got off to a great start early in the preseason, with a 6-RBI game and a 7-RBI game in the first 10. That makes his league leading 29 RBIs seem somewhat fluky, but he still did have a good spring. Morneau finished with a .343 average (8th), 7 HRs (tied for 3rd), 17 runs (tied for 8th), a .408 OBP (5th), .571 Slugging (6th), and 26.2 runs created (1st).

Eric Byrnes, South Boston. Aside from having a great John Houseman name ("Did you hand in your assignment, Mr. Byrnes?"), Byrnes had a great spring for South Boston. Byrnes was second in the league in OPS (1.003), and also hit .321 with 6 HRs, 17 RBIs, 19 runs, 2 3Bs, .630 slugging, and 9.2 runs created/27. The South Boston outfield is crowded, but manager Sid Fernandez has assured Byrnes of at least a platoon role.

Ian Kinsler, Hoboken. The most impressive rookie this spring. Kinsler was fourth in batting average (.361) and 5th in slugging (.583). Kinsler also had 13 runs, 14, RBIs, 2 3Bs, 3 HRs, and a .390 OBP.

Corey Patterson, New Jersey. Patterson gets the Speed Demon Award for his league leading 10 stolen bases (actually tied with Juan Pierre, but with 1 less caught stealing), 18 runs, and 2 triples. But Patterson was also far less one-dimensional than Pierre. Patterson also drove in 19 RBIs, and hit 5 doubles and 3 homers. Now if only he could learn to take a walk...

Torii Hunter, Honolulu. Hunter had a surprising spring this year with 8 homers and 25 RBIs (both good for second in the league). His .250 average was mediocre, but you can't argue with those results.

Jacques Jones, New Jersey. Seems like Team Buddah's offense is ready for the season. Jones ended up third in OPS (.987). Jones also ended up with a .658 slugging (2nd), 20 RBIs (t6th), 6 HRs (t8th), a .304 average, 6 2Bs (t5th), and 2 3Bs. Jones is plagued by the same walk-o-phobia that his teammate suffers from.

Tomorrow we'll look at the pitchers.

First round of cuts

As the preseason winds down, several teams have started to make their cuts. Marietta let go of Gavin Floyd. Arkansas released several extra pitchers and two outfielders that they picked up only three days ago. Vancouver cut ties with Marcus Giles, a former Listach award winner. Only a few teams are at the 30-player limit, so expect more cuts in the next week.

Falcon catcher Chris Coste has gotten off to a hot start. Coste had a 4-5 day against Vegas yesterday and is now batting .386 on the preseason.

Speaking of the Arkansas-Vegas game, Falcon starter Ervin Santana pitched 10 solid innings, but ZERO strikeouts!! It's strange that a pitcher would go what amounts to a whole game without even one punchout, but it happened again. This time it was John Lackey against Arkansas. Nine innings, one run, but again, no strikeouts! It took Hoboken's Boof Bonser to show Lackey and Santana how it's done. Against Newark, Bonser pitched a complete game 2-hit shutout, with 11 Ks.

Only a few days after his last flirtation, Carolina's Rocco Baldelli again was one homer shy of the cycle! Baldelli was 3-4 with 3 RBIs against South Boston.

Some more pitching gems: DC's rookie hurler Anibel Sanchez pitched a complete game shutout, surrendering only 3 hits against Hillsborough. Philly's Brandon Webb pitched a 4-hit shutout of Vancouver.

New Jersey's Jack Wilson drove in 5 RBIs against fellow rookie team, Sardine City.