The calendar has flipped to March with rotations beginning to turn over for the first time while World Baseball Classic players are making their final Spring appearances before joining their respective camps.
Here's what we are on the lookout for on Wednesday:
Andrew Painter Time
The Cloverdale Clovers were already salivating over the 2023 debut of Ricky Tiedemann on Tuesday who sat at 97-99 with a wipeout slider in his one clean inning of work. It's hard to believe the club could have an even better pitching prospect but Andrew Painter is earning that praise entering the season. The 6'7" 19-year-old pitched at three different levels in 2022, going 6-1 with a 1.56 ERA, racking up 155 strikeouts in 103.2 innings pitched, holding opposing hitters to a .188 batting average. He was acquired from the Alamo Short Stacks in a blockbuster deal that sent Rafael Devers, Juan Soto and others to the eventual 2022 Champions.
Stacks Await MRI Results on Rodgers
When Rockies second baseman Brendan Rodgers dislocated his shoulder yesterday, manager Bud Black indicated that there would be more information on the timetable for his return “in the coming day.” Black’s comments indicate that Opening Day may be in question for Rodgers, who would be good to go in “a few weeks” if all goes well. Rodgers, who won a Gold Glove at second base and posted a strong 4.3 bWAR in 2022. After being acquired by the Stacks in early May, Rodgers turned it up a level slashing .284/.344/.439 over his final 491 at-bats, overcoming a rough start to the season.
The Stacks lost fellow middle infielder Gavin Lux for the season on Monday while Miguel Vargas (finger) continues to battle back from a fracture in his finger.
Shaking Off 2022 Injury Concerns
Shane McClanahan (Hops) and Matt Manning (Taters) are set for their 2023 Spring Training debuts after each dealing with elbow issues to end the 2022 season. All reports have been positive on both players entering camp as they are set to serve important roles in their respective RDBL rotations. McClanahan was one of the top arms in the league a season ago, posting 537.0 points with a 2.54 ERA an 0.93 WHIP.
Alcantara 2023 Encore
The Fringe will have their ace Sandy Alcantara for the first time in 2023 after capturing the 2022 RDBL Pitcher of the Year Award. Alcantara posted 733.0 points last season, 86.0 points more than the next best pitcher and the 9th most full season points in RDBL History. His 614.0 points in the RDBL Regular Season were the second best mark in League History as he looks to continue that momentum into 2023, his last season under contract with the Fringe.
Grapes Rotation
Grapes GM Terry Shelley was less than enthused with Jose Quintana's outing on Tuesday after he surrendered five earned runs while failing to make it out of the first inning. This came after Luis Severino gave up four earned runs in two innings of work on Monday. That moves the spotlight to Brady Singer who will make his Spring debut on Wednesday after a breakout season where he posted 374.0 points with a strong 3.23 ERA and 1.14 WHIP in 153 1/3 innings.
With starting pitching the most readily available asset on the trade market, keep an eye on the Grapes over the next few weeks if their pitchers continue to falter.
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