Reds manager David Bell made a bit of a surprising and well-received announcement on Wednesday that flame-throwing right-hander Hunter Greene would begin the season in the Reds’ starting rotation.
In fact, he’s not even occupying the fifth and final spot in the rotation, he’s slotted in as the team’s fourth starter and will make his highly-anticipated MLB debut on Sunday, April 10 against the World Champion Braves in Atlanta.
The 22-year-old was the second overall selection during the 2017 MLB draft out of high school in California. He registered a stellar 3.30 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and 139/39 K/BB ratio over 106 1/3 innings between Double-A Chattanooga and Triple-A Louisville during the 2021 season.
This is certainly fun news and gives Reds fans at least something to look forward to after their off-season fire sale, there are a couple of things to keep in mind though. One of the reasons that there are two spots open in the Reds’ starting rotation is that Luis Castillo and Mike Minor are expected to begin the season on the injured list. If Greene struggles through his first couple of starts, and those veteran hurlers are ready to return, it wouldn’t be shocking to see him sent back to Triple-A for more seasoning. He’s also going to be pitching his home games at the hitter’s paradise known as Great American Ballpark.
The upside – especially in the strikeout department – is very real and legitimate, just don’t go too crazy expecting him to hit the ground running right out of the gate. Through the first 15 NFBC Main Event drafts, Greene sports an average draft position of 370 and has gone as high as pick 331 overall. That was before there was confirmation that he was in the Opening Day rotation though. Expect that number to skyrocket during the upcoming weekend.
The Reds also announced that Reiver Sanmartin had claimed the third spot in their Opening Day rotation, and that Nick Lodolo is still in the mix for the fifth spot.
Seiya Suzuki Blasts First Home Run
The Cubs made a big – and somewhat unexpected – splash a couple of weeks ago when they signed Japanese slugger Seiya Suzuki to a five-year, $70 million contract. That was the largest contract ever given to a Japanese position player and a signal that the Cubs expect to compete in relatively short order rather than going through a complete teardown and rebuild.
The 27-year-old slugger took flight for the first time as a member of the Cubs on Wednesday, blasting a towering home run to left-center off of Mariners southpaw Marco Gonzales in a Cactus League contest. It was also his first hit through his first four spring ball games – though he has also drawn a walk and been hit by a pitch.
Suzuki comes stateside with great fanfare and high expectations after slashing a robust .317/.433/.639 with 38 homers in his final season with the Hiroshima Carp in 2021. So far, he has been slotted in as the second hitter in manager David Ross’ lineup for the Cubs – just ahead of Frank Schwindel. That spot in the order should lead to ample chances to score runs, though it may lower his projected RBI total.
Fantasy managers have been buying the hype, as Suzuki has been moving up draft boards ever since signing on the dotted line. So far, through 15 Main Event drafts in the NFBC, Suzuki sports an average draft position of 151 and he has gone as high as pick 104. I’d be shocked if that price didn’t rise even further this coming weekend.
Michael Conforto Battling Shoulder Issue
Now that the lockout has come and gone – and the ensuing free agent frenzy has settled down – there’s still one marquee name floating around out there without a deal – Michael Conforto. Perhaps now, we have a better understanding of why that’s the case.
Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported Wednesday that Conforto landed “irregularly” on his right shoulder during a workout in January and that he wanted to return to 100% health before resuming any contract negotiations.
Conforto’s representatives – and everyone’s favorite mega agent, Scott Boras – said that he has now fully regained his arm strength, is back to hitting and throwing normally and also that he has resumed contract discussions with interested teams last week.
Assuming everything here is to be fully believed, and that Conforto is now 100% healthy, his market should come together quickly now that we’re just days away from the start of the regular season.
At this stage though, there aren’t many immediate openings in which he’d seem like a terrific fit. There’s a chance that he may need to wait until a contending team suffers a major injury in the corner outfield in order to secure the kind of contract that he’s reportedly looking for. When you also factor in that interested teams would have to give up a draft pick to sign him, as he rejected the Mets qualifying offer this winter. That compensation remains in place until July 16 – the day prior to this year’s MLB draft. It’s hard to believe that Conforto would have to sit out the first half of the season before finding his new destination, but crazier things have happened.
Fantasy managers haven’t been buying the dip, as Conforto’s stock plummeted in NFBC Main Event drafts all the way down to pick 264 overall on average. That came with a minimum pick of 215 and a maximum way down at 369 overall.
American League Quick Hits: Austin Meadows has been held out of Grapefruit League action since Sunday due to a minor oblique issue, though he’s tentatively expected to return on Thursday. ... Trevor Story is expected to begin the season batting sixth in the Red Sox lineup. … Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reported that Pete Fairbanks suffered a 50 percent tear of his right lat muscle and is expected to be sidelined for at least six weeks before being re-evaluated. … The Blue Jays signed Dexter Fowler to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training. … Michael Pineda (visa) is expected to arrive at Tigers spring camp this weekend. Tyler Alexander will open the season as the team’s fifth starter until Pineda is ready. … Michael Kopech (illness) is slated to make his Cactus League debut on Thursday. … Evan White underwent successful surgery to repair a sports hernia. … J.P. Crawford will miss a few spring games due to a dental procedure. … Andrew Vaughn (hip) resumed hitting on Wednesday. … The Rays optioned Vidal Brujan to Triple-A Durham. … Michael A. Taylor (hip) returned to the Royals lineup on Wednesday. … Andrew Chafin was scratched from his Grapefruit League appearance Wednesday due to groin tightness. … Astros skipper Dusty Baker officially tabbed Framber Valdez as his Opening Day starter. … Trevor Larnach and Jose Miranda were among the cuts from Twins big league camp on Wednesday. … Luis Severino (arm) threw a bullpen session on Wednesday and is scheduled to throw up to 40 pitches on Saturday in Grapefruit League action against the Braves. … Twins manager Rocco Baldelli indicated that Josh Winder and Johan Duran could be used out of the bullpen to begin the season. … Hansel Robles (visa) will report to Red Sox camp on Thursday. … Zack Greinke was officially named as the Royals Opening Day starter – the same honor that he last fulfilled 12 years ago for the Royals.
Kelvin Gutierrez delivered a three-run double in the ninth to lead the Orioles past the Rays. … Riley Greene went 2-for-2 with a double in a victory over the Phillies and remains on track to be the Tigers Opening Day center fielder. … Tarik Skubal punched out five over four shutout frames in a win over the Phillies. … Tanner Houck struck out four over four innings of one-run baseball against the Braves. … Rafael Devers had a couple of hits including a home run in a victory over the Braves. He’s expected to bat second in the Red Sox lineup in 2022. … Carlos Hernandez was lit up for six runs (five earned) over 2 2/3 innings against the Giants. … Jose Urquidy fired three scoreless frames against the Mets in his Grapefruit League debut… Dylan Cease fanned three over four shutout innings against the Rangers. … Santiago Espinal went 2-for-3 and crushed a three-run homer as the Blue Jays throttled the Yankees.
National League Quick Hits: AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports that CJ Abrams could be among the finalists for a spot on the Padres Opening Day roster. … Ranger Suarez (visa) is set to make his Grapefruit League debut on Friday against the Orioles. … Brandon Belt (knee) ran the bases on Wednesday without issue and could return to game action over the weekend. The Giants remain hopeful he’ll be ready for Opening Day. … Giants manager Gabe Kapler said that he expects Evan Longoria (finger) to miss around six weeks of action. … Mike Yastrzemski (quad) is expected to return to live games over the weekend. … Donovan Solano (hamstring) will begin the season on the injured list, but isn’t expected to be looking at a lengthy absence. … Zack Wheeler (shoulder) will make his Grapefruit League debut on Saturday. … Andrelton Simmons (shoulder) was able to play catch on Wednesday, but his availability for Opening Day remains in question. … Nick Ahmed will begin the season on the 10-day injured list due to shoulder discomfort. Expect Geraldo Perdomo to man the position in his stead. … Jordan Luplow was diagnosed with a Grade 1 oblique strain and may begin the season on the injured list. … Braves manager Brian Snitker officially announced that Max Fried will get the ball on Opening Day as the Braves begin their title defense. … Juan Yepez was removed from Wednesday’s Grapefruit League game after taking a pitch off of his jaw. He’s likely to require stitches but is expected to be okay after the scary incident. … Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said it’s “unlikely” that Caleb Ferguson makes the Dodgers’ Opening Day roster as he continues to work his way back from Tommy John surgery. … Dauri Moreta was informed that he has made the Reds Opening Day roster. … The Braves signed Preston Tucker to a minor league contract.
Diego Castillo socked a pair of home runs in a losing effort against the Twins. … Adam Duvall crushed a three-run homer in a loss to the Red Sox. …Ian Anderson was crushed for six runs in just two innings of work in that one. … Paul DeJong homered, doubled and drove in five runs as the Cardinals routed the Nationals. … Paul Goldschmidt went 4-for-4 with a homer and a steal in that 29-8 shellacking. … Miles Mikolas hurled five innings of one-run ball to earn a victory there. … Anibal Sanchez was pounded for 10 runs over his four frames in that game while Cade Cavalli allowed 11 runs (10 earned) over 2 1/3 innings out of the bullpen. … Freddy Peralta struck out five while allowing three runs (two earned) over four innings against a lineup full of Padres regulars. … Nick Martinez whiffed four over four shutout innings against the Brewers in Cactus League competition. … Zac Gallen punched out two across 2 2/3 scoreless frames against the Rockies. … David Peralta slugged his fourth spring homer as the D’Backs disposed of the Rockies. … German Marquez struck out six over 3 2/3 innings of one-run baseball against the Diamondbacks. … Manny Machado cranked an opposite-field two-run shot off of Freddy Peralta. … Pete Alonso slugged his first home run of the spring – a game-tying opposite-field three-run blast off of Astros southpaw Adam Morgan. … Julio Urias hurled four shutout innings and struck out three against the Guardians.