By now, you've probably heard that Tyler Glasnow (oblique) and Gavin Lux (knee) suffered major injuries Monday that will likely sideline them for the start of the season and weeks beyond.
Those are major headlines from spring training, the kind you couldn't possibly miss. But there are other, lower-key developments that you could easily slip past if you don't have your ear to the ground. I'm here to highlight those, along with their potential impact for Fantasy Baseball.
You can expect a weekly roundup from now until the start of the season. Here are some tidbits to get us started:
Kelenic's power display
Between 2021 and 2022, Jarred Kelenic hit .168 in about a season's worth of at-bats. Fair to say the shine has worn off for the one-time stud prospect, but he showed Sunday why we shouldn't sleep on his talent. It's not just that the 23-year-old hit two home runs. It's not just that those home runs traveled 428 and 438 feet. It's that for the day, Kelenic hit three balls in excess of 107 mph. Only four players had a day like that last year, according to MLB.com: Aaron Judge, Yordan Alvarez, Joc Pederson and Oneil Cruz, which puts Kelenic in elite company for a stat that serves as a pretty sturdy indicator of raw ability.
Brewer tantalizes with power
Garrett Mitchell, an athletic specimen whose ground-ball tendencies are so pronounced that it's fair to wonder if he'll be anything more than a steals specialist in Fantasy, surprisingly went yard twice in his spring debut Saturday. And his swing, particularly on the second one, looked more orthodox than we typically saw last year. After the game, he mostly talked about cutting down on his strikeouts, which would be nice, but "launch angle" are the words we want to hear come out of his mouth.
Pitch clock works for Kikuchi
Just when you thought you were out, Yusei Kikuchi pulls you back in, kicking off his spring with five strikeouts in two shutout innings Saturday. The most impressive number of all, though, was his 14 swinging strikes on just 33 pitches, an insane 42 percent rate that would be difficult to fake. A new breaking ball is partly to credit, but Kikuchi also may benefit from the new pitch clock, according to MLB.com. "I don't have to overthink too much about mechanics and everything else," he said. "I think it just simplifies everything and makes it easier."
Change is back for Sandoval
Though Patrick Sandoval reduced his ERA to 2.92 last year, his K/9 rate fell from 9.7 to 9.1 and his swinging-strike rate from 15.2 to 13.3 percent. The reason, manager Phil Nevin told MLB.com, is because he lost the feel for his changeup, which may turn out to be a blessing in disguise since it forced him to develop the rest of his arsenal. "He's one of the guys I'm most excited about," Nevin said. "His bread-and-butter [pitch] has always been that changeup, and he kind of lost the feel for that for a few months during the season and relied on the slider, which turned into just an electric pitch. And watching him throw, the changeup has been really good and back to where it was." Sandoval said he's committed to throwing the changeup more than the 24.6 percent of the time he did a year ago.
Angels lefty impressing, too
Nevin was just as impressed with Reid Detmers, who struck out five over two scoreless innings in his spring debut Sunday. After spending some time in the minors last summer improving the grip and velocity on his slider, the left-hander came back to deliver a 3.04 ERA and 9.9 K/9 in 13 starts. And as MLB.com tells it, bigger things could be in store this year. "He had a heck of an offseason," Nevin said. "You watch his bullpens, you watch his work. You see his body. He's noticeably gained some mass to his body. Remember, he's 23 years old. He's still growing. And from what I've seen in his 'pens so far this spring, the velocity, the movement on his slider and the velocity of the slider is where we got it to last year -- and even a couple of ticks above."
Confirming a bullpen committee
White Sox won't have a set closer with Liam Hendriks sidelined by non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Manager Pedro Grifol confirmed as much Monday and did so in convincing fashion. "Absolutely not," Grifol said. "That's not how we are going to run it." Kendall Graveman and Reynaldo Lopez are still thought to be the leading candidates for saves.
Comebacking veteran impressing Braves
The Braves have openings both in left field and at DH, and Eddie Rosario is looking like a prime candidate to fill one, according to MLB.com. The 2021 NLCS MVP had his 2022 wrecked by vision issues, but now, "everything looks like it did when we first got him," hitting coach Kevin Seitzer said. "Last year, we were trying to figure out what was wrong with his swing, and he was like, 'I can't see,' and it played out." After a 3-for-44 start last year, Rosario succumbed to surgery and returned for the final three months, but he was told his vision would return gradually. All indications are that it's back, finally. "He's not even the same guy," Braves manager Brian Snitker said. "I can't believe he actually went as far as he did in the season with that."
Yanks righty flashes with new cutter
Domingo German is the odds-on favorite to claim the rotation spot vacated by the injured Frankie Montas, but 27-year-old Clarke Schmidt introduced himself as a candidate Sunday, unveiling a new cutter to strike out five over two perfect innings. "I've noticed a lot of hitters are swinging under it because they're expecting some sink, and it stays up with the cut," Schmidt told MLB.com. Manager Aaron Boone was likewise impressed "That could be something that really unlocks him and makes him now in play versus lefties in a longer, starting kind of role," Boone said.
Driveline helps lefty find horsepower
Sean Manaea may turn out to be the latest pitcher salvaged by Driveline Baseball. The left-hander worked with the development program this offseason and was clocked between 93 and 96 mph in his spring debut Sunday. The final line was nothing impressive -- he allowed one run on three hits with two strikeouts in two innings -- but at the same point last year, he was throwing 88-90, according to MLB.com, going on to average 91.2 mph during the season. "The information they've given me and what they see on the analytical side, it's kind of opened my eyes and made me realize some things," Manaea said. "They know stuff's in there. I believe in that, too."
Quick hits
- It sounds like Mastaka Yoshida won't be the Red Sox's leadoff hitter after all. Manager Alex Cora would prefer to keep Rafael Devers in the two hole and doesn't want to hit the left-handers back to back. The middle of the order seems more likely for Yoshida despite his presumed lack of power.
- Nick Castellanos, who followed up a career-best 2021 with a career-worst 2022, has been working with hitting coach Kevin Long to cure what ails him. After taking steps to simplify his swing in the offseason, giving him more time to react to sliders, he made the simple adjustment of moving up in the batter's box and standing closer to the plate Sunday. The result, as MLB.com reports, was an opposite-field home run. "I feel like I'm in a more relaxed spot at the plate," Castellanos said. "I don't feel like I have to attack the outside corner as much."
- Despite Eduardo Escobar's strong finish last year, rookie Brett Baty will have a chance to supplant him this spring, according to MLB.com. He's off to a nice start, having gone 3 for 6 with a home run.
- Those wondering if Fernando Tatis will be inclined to run as much coming off shoulder and wrist surgeries can rest easy. According to MLB.com, the team told him to rein it in due to the recurring shoulder subluxations in 2021, when he still managed to swipe 25 bags in 130 games. Now that the issue has been addressed, Tatis expects to have no restrictions on the base paths.
- While the Giants are notorious for having basically no full-time players, they may make an exception for David Villar, according to MLB.com. "We obviously have other guys, like Wilmer [Flores] and J.D. Davis," president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi said, "but I think we do see [Villar] as the incumbent and hope he takes it and runs with it and can be an everyday guy for us." The 26-year-old was a surprise breakthrough last year, homering 36 times between the majors and minors.
- Among the pitchers adopting a slider with more horizontal, "sweeping" action this year are the Cubs' Jameson Taillon and the Athletics' Kyle Muller. A similar change worked wonders for Andrew Heaney last year, but of course, results will vary. Notably, Muller struck out four over two innings in his spring debut Sunday.
- No doubt, the Tigers' decision to tweak the dimensions at their home park this year had something to do with Riley Greene, whose expected home runs, according to Statcast, were lower there than at any other venue. The 22-year-old is doing his part to improve his power, looking to lower the 56 percent ground-ball rate he contributed as a rookie. "I took a lot away from [the ground-ball rate]," Greene told MLB.com. "The swing thoughts that we've been working on, just [batting practice] rounds this offseason, really trying to not hit the ball on the ground, I feel like the stuff we worked on this offseason is really going to help with that." Greene is also the early favorite to bat leadoff for the Tigers.
