Spring training report: Saturday at a glance

[Da-news-now]

Right-hander Wily Peralta had another rough spring outing, allowing 11 hits and 10 runs (seven earned) in 2 2/3 innings in a 15-7 loss to the Angels. Peralta did not survive an eight-run third inning, during which he surrendered two long home runs to Albert Pujols, who had one for the spring entering the game.

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[RobDeer 45]

I've been able to catch four games through different sources. Here are my quick observations so far:

-Wilkins has a really nice swing path through the zone. I'm not sure what kept him from excelling in the majors previously, but he looks like a definite option if Carter were to go down with an injury or underperform. On the other hand, Carter loves to drop his back shoulder to try and elevate the ball. He's massive, so any over execution to lift the ball seems unnecessary.

-Broxton and Yadiel Rivera have very similar body types and abilities. Both are tall, wiry, long striders, that are surprisingly fast out of the box. They struggle with pitch recognition, though. Their swings are long, which makes it difficult to barrel up a ball when they get deep into counts.

-Jaye Chapman employs a Papelbon-esque dangling of the right arm before coming up in an exaggerated crouch in the stretch. His velocity looks good and he throws a cutter or front door slider that lefties have a hard time laying off of. Very slow, methodical. With. Every. Pitch.

-Flores has a good approach at the plate. Sees the ball well and works deep into counts. Compact, line drive swing which won't produce many homers, but he has good enough speed to leg out singles into doubles. He's played some centerfield as well and has looked pretty good.

-I only saw Nolin for an inning, but I didn't see anything overly impressive. Clean delivery, over the top, velocity looked decent but not spectacular.

-Pinto has made a couple nice plays at first so far and he appears to be a very likable player. He likes to razz the other players and is always smiling. He just seems like the goofy clubhouse guy that everyone gets along with. As far as hitting, he's been a little too selective, passing on called third strikes and taking pitches he should have been offering at.

-Reed has also looked at a few called third strikes in full count situations. He's had some bad luck, too. A couple outs would have been doubles if not for great defensive plays.

 

[Brew4U]

Yadiel Rivera is making a very serious play at being the Brewers second baseman of the future, or at least until Isan Diaz is ready.
Rivera is actually showing some serious power. In 24 spring at bats he has hit two homers and yesterday hit a ball out near the centerfield monster for a triple.
I think he goes to Colorado Springs this year to get some more confidence and experience. He really struggled there last year and posted a .238 BA and .266 OBP. If he can put on another 15 lbs. I think he could display Matt Carpenter type numbers.