Spring Training is here!
Opening weekend in Arizona has featured several Southern California storylines.
Baseball is back, and even though the games don’t count for a while there’s plenty to observe. While we wait for the World Baseball Classic to begin, here is what I’ve noticed in the early going.
Manny Machado ran afoul of the pitch clock.
Padres third baseman Manny Machado had a wonderful season in 2022 culminating in San Diego’s appearance in the National League Championship Series. Still, even he is not above the law. On Friday, umpire Ryan Blakney issued an automatic strike to Machado when he failed to be ready for a pitch from the Mariners’ Robbie Ray. The strict enforcement of the pitch clock is new to the majors in 2023, but it seemed to speed up minor league games last season.
Machado had fun with the incident but admitted that it won’t be easy to adapt right away. Machado stated that he was actually in the batter’s box when the violation was issued but wasn’t looking at the pitcher quickly enough. Hitters must come set with eight seconds left on the clock, while hurlers have 15 seconds to throw their next pitch. That increases to 20 seconds if any runners are on base.
A pitch clock violation even ended a Spring Training contest on Saturday. The Braves’ Cal Conley faced a 3-2 count with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth and the score tied at six. Boston’s Robert Kwiatkowski benefitted from umpire John Libka calling strike three due to delay of game. I still wonder whether an ump would have the fortitude to end a regular season game this way. I hope that players will adjust and we’ll be spared such theatrics when the games actually matter.
Jo Adell faces a critical season.
The combination of cheap tickets, numerous giveaways, and my proximity to Anaheim led me to watch a lot of games at Angel Stadium last season. In 2022, outfielder Jo Adell registered -0.5 Wins Above Replacement and turned in a subpar 79 OPS+ with the bat. Nevertheless, he received 285 plate appearances with the front office clearly wanting to gauge his talent level amidst injuries to several key players and the reality of another lost season. Unfortunately, Adell struck out a whopping 107 times while hitting eight home runs. General Manager Perry Minasian added Hunter Renfroe to an outfield that returns Mike Trout and Taylor Ward. The position lacks depth, leaving possible at-bats for Adell and Mickey Moniak. Adell was the 10th overall pick in 2017, so the Angels want to give him every chance to live up to his potential. Adell is arbitration eligible in 2024 and has been the subject of trade rumors, but how much value he’d carry has yet to be seen. Saturday’s homer against a struggling Marco Gonzales is an early point in his favor.
Freddie Freeman might still be underrated.
On Saturday, Freddie Freeman crushed a two-run shot against Elvis Peguero of the Brewers. The Dodgers’ first baseman set a career high with 199 hits in 2022. While his finest full season was probably 2017 when he slugged a robust .586, hitting .325 while driving in 100 runs last season wasn’t too shabby either. It would be surprising if Los Angeles won 111 games again, but Freeman helps give them a fighting chance at retaining the NL West crown. Freeman got on base at a .407 clip last season, also a career best if you exclude the shortened 2020 campaign when his OBP was an absurd .462. Freeman may not eclipse that in 2023, but I would expect improvements from several other Dodgers hitters. I’m looking at you, Max Muncy and Chris Taylor. Freeman made his debut in 2010 but should have many solid seasons ahead.