As the stats start to pile up, we will have plenty of 3 Up, 3 Down's leading into Draft Day but the opening week has given us plenty of content to build on. Positional battles are starting to take shape early in camp while prospects thought to be in the mix are getting early opportunities to take hold of an everyday Opening Day spot.
Here's the latest 3 Up, 3 Down:
RHP/U Shohei Ohtani (3R/$5), Asti Grape Stompers
Ohtani continues to prove that he’s healthy and ready for two-way status in 2021, as he reached 100 mph during his 35-pitch live bullpen session at Tempe Diablo Stadium on Saturday which has RDBL teams re-considering a run at the right-hander as the Grapes continue to entertain dealing him.
“I’m loving it,” Maddon said via Zoom on Saturday. “I think he’s walking around very confident right now because he feels good. Pitching-wise, his arm stroke is much better. I thought he was pushing the ball last year, but now he’s in a better slot. Hitting-wise, the balance in his feet and the path of his bat, I know it’s just batting practice, but I didn’t see it like that last year.”
There was some pessimism about Ohtani's pitching outlook after he topped out at just 90 mph during a bullpen session last Thursday, but the right-hander proved that those concerns were overblown. Notably, Ohtani hit 97 mph only once during his brief stint as a pitcher last season. The 26-year-old indicated that his elbow feels "much better" compared to 2020, and he could be poised for a bounceback as a hurler if he's able to keep healthy throughout the campaign.
Nick Senzel (Minors), St. Joseph Jokers
Jokers outfielder Nick Senzel is considered the Reds' starting center fielder, Bobby Nightengale of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports. Senzel's exact status in a crowded Reds' outfield wasn't entirely clear, and a platoon between him and the left-handed Shogo Akiyama may have made some sense, but manager David Bell made it clear that he had a true starting role. Senzel had plenty of hype as a prospect but has yet to put fully put things together at the highest level, hitting a modest .245/.305/.416 in 127 career games. He's still just 25, so he has plenty of room for growth, but he may need a run of good health to sort things out and fulfill his potential, something that's avoided him in recent years. His 14 homers and 16 steals thus far in his career hint at cross-category potential if he can just manage to stay on the field for the Jokers.
Alex Kirilloff (Minors), Honolulu Hammerheads
Kiriloff appears set to have a legitimate shot to compete for an Opening Day roster spot, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports which could put Heads GM Ross Horiuchi in a tough spot considering his salary cap crunch. Teams typically hold their top prospects down for the first few weeks of the season to steal an extra year of service time, prioritizing their future balance sheet over their present win total, though that's not quite a universal practice. The Twins are saying all the right things about trying to win, suggesting Kiriloff could get a shot to break camp with the team. Of course, he has to prove this spring that he does indeed give the team the best shot at winning, something that shouldn't be hard to do when the top alternative in left field is someone who fits best in a bench role like Jake Cave. Kiriloff has yet to play a regular-season game above Double-A, but he made his big-league debut in the postseason last year, which couldn't be a much clearer sign that the team views him as one of its best 26 players.
The Heads could also face some pressure from shortstop Jazz Chisholm (Minors) who homered in his Spring debut Sunday.
RDBL Cap Space
The trend of the off-season for RDBL Front Offices seems to be significant cap space but a Free Agent market that appears to not be as deep as in past years could make for an interesting Auction Draft leaving a chance that one or more teams could be left with big money in their pockets. One of the contributing factors is two years of activations bunched into one season leaving clubs with more payroll flexibility than normal. The group of activations was expected to be large, but with a surge of young players getting an extended look in 2020 at the big league level, it's bigger than ever.
Keeping Large Contracts
Just as baseball has become more analytical, so have RDBL Front Offices as clubs seem overly focused on retaining their top 12 contracts as opposed to their top 12 players. Players with large contracts have seen significant drops in value as Nolan Arenado (2/$55), Charlie Blackmon (3/$47) and Manny Machado (2/$48) have had little to no activity on the open market.
Catcher Free Agent Market
RDBL Clubs are projected to have 19 openings behind the plate on Draft Day and in our latest Free Agent Rankings at the position, Mike Zunino ranks as the 7th best. With such a shortage of talent, the Mt. Diablo Devils have started to test the waters on James McCann (2FA/$5) while the Alamo Short Stacks have reportedly been open to listening on Christian Vazquez (2FA/$5) who has finished 3rd and 5th in scoring over the last two seasons. For those waiting to fill two spots on Draft Day, the cost could be significant to land viable assets.
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