A fresh Period will be a welcome sight for some Roger Dorn Baseball clubs looking to build momentum and move from the right side of the standings over to the coveted left.
The Spokane Fightin' Fish and Lake Merced Goutfish are leading their respective Divisions, which is as to be expected entering the season but the Meinert Hops have surprised many with the early East Bay Division lead. They will look to continue the hot start Monday despite not having a starter on the mound.
Depth Starters Step Forward
Monday will highlight the starters across the RDBL that can really be the difference between making and missing the Playoffs. 2021 saw the emergence of starters like Chris Flexen and Anthony DeSclafani who became Keepers for this season and 2022 is very likely to see similar breakthroughs.
Carlos Hérnandez (Clovers), Nick Martinez (Stacks), Adrian Houser/Taylor Hearn (Heads), Austin Gomber/Michael Wacha (Fringe) and Elieser Hernandez (Grapes) are some of the pitchers to watch as they make their 2022 debuts.
Manoah in Bronx
The Burlingame Blue Ducks are off to a solid start and will send their prized activation Alek Manoah to the mound in New York to face off against the Yankees. Manoah is no stranger to the bright lights of Yankee Stadium, as the 6’6″ Florida product made his MLB debut against the Bronx Bombers last season and held them to just two hits through six innings with seven strikeouts. The right-hander also faced the Yankees later in the season (in NY) and posted strong results again, this time going 5.2 innings to the tune of three earned runs off five hits with three walks. He would finish the year with a stellar 3.22 ERA through 20 starts, amassing a 10.2 K/9 and a 3.2 BB/9 while owning a league-leading 16 HBP.
Taijuan's Knee
The Fringe have already sent three starting pitchers to the IL over the last week and will hope Taijuan Walker's knee prevents a fourth. Walker is set for his 2022 debut against the Phillies but complained of knee issues in his final Spring start early last week after off-season surgery. Walker allowed six runs, including two home runs, across just 1.1 innings against the Nats in his final tune-up of spring training. He threw a perfect first inning, then allowed six hits in the second inning. Somewhat alarmingly, Walker’s fastball sat around 86-88 miles per hour in his third Grapefruit League start.
Taters Offense
An anemic start to the season for the Idaho Taters has the attention on the club's offense. When you take Jared Walsh, Alex Bregman and Brandon Nimmo out of the equation, the remainder of the Idaho Taters offense went 7-for-109 in Period 1. They will look to right the ship with the calendar turning to Period 2.
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