MLB Spring Training Update

I had a chance to watch some Spring Training action over the weekend, and have now been able to see about half of the Major League teams in action. The joy of Spring Training is the chance to see all of the prospects that fans like myself can only read about during the off-season.

As I've said numerous times during the past few days the days where teams built themselves through Free Agency are nearly over. Teams are understanding that it's much more beneficial to build up the team from within, rather then overspending the competition for overpriced free agents. Spring Training is a chance for many of these youngsters to make an impression on their Managers, and earn them a job on opening day, rather then make their first Major League appearance during September call ups.

I had a chance to take a look at the Reds yesterday afternoon, and during the off-season it was hard not to hear all of the buzz about some of their young prospects. At the top of that list was Jay Bruce, Bruce is a human specimen, he is not much smaller then Adam Dunn but projects to be in the CF battle for the Reds this year. Bruce faced AJ Burnett early on in the game and blasted a pitch into the opposite field driving in a run as he reached second base.

The Reds also used one of their prized pitching prospects Jonny Cuetto, Cuetto gave up four hits, but I was impressed with his assortment of pitches as he was able to strike out Vernon Wells, and blew a mid 90's fastball right past Frank Thomas. Cuetto came undone after getting squeezed on what should have been a strike three to Thomas, after not getting the call the Blue Jays were able to rough him up a bit. If Cuetto doesn't start in April for the Reds, expect to see him in Cincinnatti sometime this summer.

The White Sox will also be relying on some young players this year, and a prospect from years past Carlos Quentin is getting a second chance in Chicago this year. Quentin just missed a home run as it sailed foul in an at bat against Jorge De La Rosa, however a few pitches later Quentin blasted a double in the gap in Right Field. After watching the at bat by Quentin it's hard not to notice how the ball just flies off his at bat, he has that certain "it" that scouts talk about. It's now just a matter of cutting down on his strikeouts.

Quentin will be battling for an OF spot for the Sox, as the Sox are one of the more interesting camps this year, as they will have a few positions up for grabs. John Danks got the start for the Sox, and after having a rough rookie campaign, Danks looked to have made a slight alteration in his windup. The change showed some impressive results as his 93 MPH fastball seemed to be sneaking past Royals hitters.

I was able to watch the Atlanta Braves on a few occasions over the weekend and came away impressed with the youth and talent in this organization. Escobar, who is expected to be the opening day SS, flashed some leather in the field and should do an adequate job of replacing Edgar Renteria. If Escobar falters, the Braves have another solid prospect Brent Lillibridge who didn't get any basehits when I was watching but seemed to show a good eye at the plate, and his stats in the minors show that he has some added pop despite playing SS.

Can someone please explain to me why the team with the largest payroll has no solid option for 1B? The Yankees have another stacked lineup, but after watching them play twice this weekend I couldn't help but laugh at how Shelley Duncan, and Morgan Ensberg were playing 1B for the pinstripes. One good sign for the Yankees is that Andy Pettite looked solid in his spring debut on Sunday. The Yankees will be relying heavily on Pettite this year as Mussina lost something last season, and the rest of the staff is just coming into their own.

It's also clear that the Houston Astros will play the equivalent of Arena Football League in Minute Maid Park this year. Houston has a loaded lineup with the acquisition of Miguel Tejada, but have no pitching beyond Roy Oswalt. Watching Wandy Rodriguez try to retire the Yankees lineup was like watching a 16 seed face a 1 seed during the opening round of the NCAA tournament.

Those are just some of my observations after a little less than a week of Spring Training, I will try to have some additional reports as the week progresses.