Mets starter Johan Santana got knocked around yesterday, giving up 5 runs, 4of which were earned, on 4 hits, 2 walks and no strikeouts. It was reported that his fastball was in the 89-90 mph range. Mets manager Terry Collins backed off talk that Santana would be his Opening Day starter yesterday. Here is a quote from Collins in Andy Martino's piece for the New York Daily News:
So the manager has actually been saying that he does not think Santana will be on the disabled list on April 5, but it remains to be seen if he will pitch that day?
"That is correct," Collins said, emphasizing that he is not hedging on his initial prediction. "I have never said that (Santana will be the Opening Day starter). I have said from the beginning, that he is on schedule to start Opening Day. I never said he was going to pitch Opening Day."
I really don't see the importance of who the Opening Day starter is for any team. Looking at Santana's profile page on Fangraphs, his fastball velocity was in the 89-90 mph range in 2009 and 2010 and he still put up very good ERAs, but with K rates in the 6.50-7.90 range.
Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter will be out of action for the next few days or so with a sore left calf. Will Yankees manager Joe Girardi finally drop Jeter in the lineup this season?
More fantasy baseball thoughts after the jump:
The shocking news of the day was the Yankees signing Andy Pettitte to a minor league deal yesterday. The first question I asked is why? What does it say for guys like Phil Hughes and Freddy Garcia who are fighting for a spot in the Yankees rotation? Dan Szymborski from ESPN and Baseball Think Factory took a look at how Pettite would perform after taking a year off and projects him to perform better than Hughes or Garcia. It appears Pettitte won't be with the team until May according to some tweet references in this Grant Brisbee piece over at Baseball Nation.
Royals catcher Salvador Perez had knee surgery yesterday to repair a tear in his left knee and will miss 3 months of action. I remember hearing that he would miss only 3-4 weeks in the original reports after the injury. Perez should come cheap for those in keeper leagues this year.
Reds catching prospect Devin Mesoraco is struggling this spring, hitting just .111 thus far. I see him platooning with Ryan Hanigan till May/June sometime and then playing everyday, ala Wilson Ramos in Washington last season.
The Padres are attempting to sign catcher Nick Hundley to an extension. Does this mean Yasmani Grandal could be trade bait?
Following up on Bret's post on spring training stats on Friday, here are a few stats that surprised me this morning:
Mat Gamel is hitting .292-.393-.708 with 3 HRs, 8 RBIs, 3 walks, 3 strikeouts and 3 stolen bases. 3 stolen bases! I don't see him running much during the regular season, but if he throws in 5-8 stolen bases if he gets regular action.
Travis Snider may be winning the left field job in Toronto this year with his spring performance, as he is hitting .333-.375-.833 with 4 HRs and 13 RBIs. That all comes with a K/BB rate of 10/2 though. His competition in left field is Eric Thames, who is hitting .320-.370-.520 with a HR, 5 RBI, with a 5-0 K/BB rate.
Another Blue Jay, third baseman Brett Lawrie is picking up where he left off last year, as he is hitting .609-.625-.957 with 7 extra base hits amongst his 14 hits, 1 walk, 1 strikeout and 5 stolen bases. I can see Lawrie stealing 30 bases this season.
Another hitter who appears to be picking up where he left off last year is Royals outfielder Alex Gordon, who is hitting .310-.394-.621 with 2 HRs, 7 RBI and a 4-4 K/BB rate. I think I am higher on Gordon than others as I can see him duplicating his 2011 breakout season.
Diamondbacks pitching prospect Trevor Bauer has a 7-1 K/BB rate in 7 innings and has given up just 5 hits in the process. I think most everyone sees Bauer in the DBacks rotation by midseason, if not sooner.