Wednesday, March 1 Dynasty Spring Training Notes

Chris Clegg looks at all the actionable info from Wednesday's Spring Training action

If you missed yesterday's writeup, be sure to check it out for more details on Kyle Bradish’s velocity, Addison Barger’s chances of making the team, and if Joey Wentz is worthy of a rotation spot in Detroit

Tuesday February 28 Dynasty Spring Training Notes

Andrew Painter, RHP, PHI

Andrew Painter was the most anticipated starter of the day, and he did not disappoint. The Phillies have been adamant that they believe he can break camp with the team. I have questioned it a bit, considering Painter will only be 19 on Opening Day, but with how mature and talented he is, it is a strong possibility.

Painter pitched two innings with three hits, one strikeout, and one earned run. It won’t wow you, but he did everything you wanted to see. He pumped the fastball 66 percent of the time, locating it well and averaging 96.8 mph. Painter topped out at 99, and the pitch featured good life at the top of the zone. 

Painter featured his new pitch, a cutter, which averaged 89.2 mph. It featured some pretty devastating movement. A slider and curve were mixed in but only thrown four times between the two pitches. I wanted to see the changeup thrown, but hopefully, in the next outing, we will. 

I’m remaining pretty confident that Painter is going to throw at least 130 innings with the Phillies, even if he does not break camp with them. There’s a lot of value to still be had here in dynasty and redraft leagues, which goes against my normal strategy of not buying prospects in redraft leagues and buying high pitching prospects in dynasty leagues. I just believe Painter is that good. 

Ronny Mauricio, SS, NYM

As I have stated in all my Spring Training writeups, Ronny Mauricio smokes the ball and that has never been a question. He posted a 90th percentile exit velocity that was near the top of players his age last season. He is also a great athlete and can steal bases. The concern has always been his plate discipline. His chase rate was above 40 percent last year which was a massive red flag.

Mauricio smoked another bomb yesterday that went 413 feet and came off the bat at 105.6 mph. He now has three home runs in seven at bats. The nice thing is, he has yet to strike out this spring. His O-Swing percentage stands at 33 percent, but still an improvement in a small sample, he has whiffed just once on 11 swings and his called plus swinging strike rate is ten percent. If this trend continues, Mauricio could move toward the elite rank of prospects.

Hunter Brown, RHP, HOU

It feels like a massive balloon with helium was let out with Hunter Brown’s one inning of work on Wednesday. He walked two batters and allowed two runs across that inning. It was far from ideal, but it did exploit a concern with Brown, his command. Brown discussed it after the start needing to work a bit more on his slider command. He also said he felt that he was rushing himself a bit. The important thing to note is that it was just one inning of work and nothing to overreact to.

Cavan Biggio, 2B, TOR

The Cavan Biggio hype died out very fast after his rookie season in 2019 and his strong 2020 season. Biggio has never hit for much average, but the power, speed, and OBP have been the carrying tools. Between 2019 and 2020, Biggio played 159 games, accumulating 24 home runs and 20 stolen bases, while pairing it with a strong OBP.

Biggio has struggled with injuries and poor performance, which led to a demotion to the minors. Can he revitalize his career this season? I’m not putting a ton of stock in it, but he’s off to a strong start in Spring Training. Biggio has five hits in ten at-bats. Biggio has put in the work, spending extra hours after practice working on his swing and spending time with Victor Martinez to work on his swing. Biggio has also been working in right field and has shown a decent skills there. He may be a fourth outfielder at the moment, but with injuries, Biggio could earn time. It is too early to know whether Biggio’s performance is fools gold or not, but i’m watching closely.