Cleveland Sports Forum

Speaking of prospects....

Don't know if anyone saw the game today vs. SD but Juan Brito, at 3B, made a play that would make Jose Ramirez jealous.

Robbed a guy of extra bases on a scorching grounder down the 3B line then, falling into foul territory as he threw he threw out the runner.

Brooks Robinson-esque! It really was.

More detail than I can swallow on exhibition games.

I enjoyed this quote after one Arizona game about de los Santos 0-3: "it is still extremely early"

I would note the same about Kyle Manzardo hitting .750 after yesterday.

If you don't want to read the entire play by play and detailed analysis, here's simply the BA stat lines for guys in their Top 30 prospects

Manzardo, Kyle Cleveland Guardians MLB 2 1 1 0 0 0 .750 .750 .750
24
Halpin, Petey Cleveland Guardians MLB 2 0 0 0 0 1 .000 .000 .000
25
Brito, Juan Cleveland Guardians MLB 2 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .200 .000
26
Frias, Dayan Cleveland Guardians MLB 1 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000

Smith, Cade
Cleveland Guardians
1 1 0 0 0 0 1 4.50

IN THE EX-GUARDIAN UNIVERSE
Morris, Cody
New York Yankees
2.1 1 0 0 0 1 3 0.00 W
Caminero, Junior Tampa Bay Rays MLB 3 1 1 3 0 0 .400 .400 1.200 1 HR

I think only Civ can keep track of the 90 guys in camp.

Who is Milan Tolentino?

IF who has dropped in prospect ratings with a year or two of fairly unproductive performances; BA now rates him No. 37 with these kind words:

37. Milan Tolentino, SS[169 games] 2B [43 games 3B[36 gam
Drafted out of the California prep ranks in 2020, 4th round; Tolentino in 2023 advanced to Double-A Akron. His high baseball IQ plays well defensively, and he has a contact-oriented approach at the plate. [doesn't everyone we sign?] LH hitter

Numbers are not impressive:
AT Akron in 32 games: 206/306/241
Career MILB stats: .258 .352 .374 16 HR: Strikesout about 24% of his at bats

Lineup today:

Straw CF
Florial LF
Ramirez 3B
Noel 1B
Brennan RF
Arias DH
Rocchio SS
Tena 2B
Nunez C [29 year old, hit pretty well in Coors field in 2021; but principally a AAA platoon guy; he hits left]
Curry P

DeLauter with a homer today! Pretty much the rare highlight.

DeLauter hit it out of the park ! This kid has it . If you live in Columbus every game should be must see baseball. DeLauter, Manzardo, Brito, Tena, Arias or Rocchio, Angel Martinez and others.

Chase DeLauter smashes his first spring homer | 02/27/2024

https://www.mlb.com/guardians/video/cha ... efault-vtp

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Bo Naylor still dealing with back spasms

Guardians catcher has missed the last two games

By Mark Schwab

Published: Feb. 27, 2024 at 5:53 PM CST

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) - Early in Spring Training is when you can be a little cautious with injuries and the Guardians are taking that approach with their young catcher Bo Naylor.

Guardians Manager Stephen Vogt told reporters in Goodyear that there was no reason to push things this early in camp.

Naylor was scratched from Monday’s game against San Diego with back spasms and then missed Tuesday’s game against Oakland. Whether or not he can play Wednesday against Arizona remains to be seen.

Naylor has only played in one game, the Cactus League opener on Saturday against Cincinnati. He missed their second game, but was not scheduled to play that day, it was a standard day off, which players get this early in camp.

Stephen Vogt said Bo Naylor (back spasms) won't play Tuesday vs. A's after being scratched from Monday's game vs. SD. He said there's no need to push things this early in camp.

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DeLauter's was a bomb, reached the fence surrounding the park.

Just a bit farther than Strus' shot at the buzzer

February Lineup

Kwan LF
Laureano DH?
Ramirez 3B
Josh N 1B
Arias SS
Giminez 2B
Hedges C
DeLos Santos RF: he's going plenty of at bats to see what he can do; I'd like to see Florial out there as much, although maybe it's a foregone conclusion that he will be on the roster
Freeman CF

BA highlighted players from Tuesday

Chase DeLauter, OF, Guardians: Once he got healthy toward the end of 2023, Chase DeLauter showed exactly why Cleveland coveted him in the draft. Between the regular season and the Arizona Fall League, the statuesque outfielder swatted 10 home runs in 80 games. Against the A’s on Tuesday, DeLauter picked right up where left off. After entering for Myles Straw, the lefty masher went 2-for-2 with his first home run of the spring.

and the full list of top 30 prospects in action:
De Los Santos, Deyvison Cleveland Guardians MLB 2 0 0 0 0 1
DeLauter, Chase Cleveland Guardians MLB 2 1 2 1 0 0 1 HR
Frias, Dayan Cleveland Guardians MLB 1 0 1 0 0 0
Martinez, Angel Cleveland Guardians MLB 2 0 1 0 0 0
Noel, Jhonkensy Cleveland Guardians MLB 2 0 0 0 0 1
Rocchio, Brayan Cleveland Guardians MLB 2 0 0 0 0 0
Rodriguez, Johnathan Cleveland Guardians MLB 2 0 0 0 0 0
Tena, Jose Cleveland Guardians MLB 0 0 0 0 2 0
No pitchers

Good to see they are allowing Straw to hit near the top of the order. I would assume they want to see him get as many at bats as possible.

Gimenez still practicing at SS is another good sign. Hopefully Tito being gone means that they may be more open minded to discussing or experimenting more.

I am really excited to watch these young guys play and develop. Look forward to this season. Best Cleveland seasons are when no one expects anything.

Injuries & Moves: Stephan shut down for three weeks

Feb 28, 2023 2:27 PM CST

LATEST NEWS

Feb. 28: RHP Trevor Stephan shut down with deep bone bruise Stephan had been feeling pain in his right elbow for a while. When he was looked at further on Wednesday, a deep bone bruise in his elbow was discovered and he'll be shut down from throwing for three weeks.

RHP James Karinchak (right shoulder fatigue)
Expected return: Hopefully by end of Spring Training Karinchak will be on a slower schedule than the rest of the pitchers and catchers who reported to camp on Feb. 13 due to fatigue in his throwing shoulder. He got a cortisone shot on Feb. 25 and is excited to get back to throwing in the near future. (Last updated: Feb. 28)

OF George Valera (left hamstring strain)
Expected return: TBD
After dealing with hamate and hamstring issues in 2023, the injury bug bit Valera once again. In the early days of camp before Cactus League games got underway, Valera took a misstep during popup drills and strained his left hamstring. The Guardians aren't sure of an exact timetable for his return just yet, but manager Stephan Vogt said it'll at least be a few weeks.

"I feel really bad for the kid," Vogt said. "Never want to hear that or see that. He won't be in games for a while."

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