Empty the Bench

By: Andrew Thell

- Bang, bang, bang, bang – vamanos vamanos – and we’re off on the 2010 MLB season. We saw quite a debut for some of the game’s stars from Kevin Youkilis, Roy Halladay, Dan Haren, Johan Santana and … Garrett Jones? Jones went 2-4 with a walk, 3 runs, 3 RBIs and 2 home runs. It’s a perfect example of why, despite the enthusiasm for Opening Day that has been building for months, we can’t get too excited about anything until we have a larger sample size. While it’s true that Jones hit 21 HRs with a tasty .293/.372/.567 line in 82 games to close out the 2009 season, the Pirates outfielder is not a guy we should expect to keep it up. Jones’ hot start is shades of Chris Shelton. We’re talking about a guy who never proved he was an elite hitter in 10 minor league seasons. 10. Jones played way over his head in 2009, and even at that unsustainable level he only managed a .208/.243/.455 split against lefties. He has platoon written all over him, and even if he stays in the role I would be surprised to see Jones surpass a .265 batting average or 25 home runs.

Neftali Feliz photo credit: Icon SMI

- The big story of the day, outside of Albert Pujols’ obvious dominance, has to be the debut of all-world prospect Jason Heyward. The kid did hit a 3-run homer to right field in his first professional at-bat. Later in the 8th inning he took a pitch back up the middle for an RBI single. Not too shabby. More important than the results from one game is how the kid looked at the plate – like a pro. He has a great approach, calm with a quiet bat, he keeps his hands back and stays on the ball, showed great bat speed and brings all kinds of swagger. Of course, anybody who drafted Heyward saw that too – it’s not like you’ll be able to trade nickels on the dime for him, but it’s exciting to see such a polished young hitter go to work on what promises to be a fantastic career.

- I’m not a fan of Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston and his terrible opening-day lineup didn’t do much to win me over. Gaston had Jose Bautista, a 29-year-old who sports a career .329 OBP, in the leadoff spot, with Travis Buck (career .235/.298/.407) in the sixth spot and put Travis Snider down in the nine hole. “Players write out the lineup – they really do – in the way that they play,” Gaston said heading into the game. Well, when you’re dealing with a young kid like Snider and you have no expectations of competing perhaps that shouldn’t be the case. Snider was one of the elite power prospects, and an elite prospect in general, heading into last season and despite a modest .241/.328/.419 showing in 77 games in 2009 he remains a potential franchise cornerstone. Putting him down at the bottom of the lineup where he won’t be hitting with guys on base and see pitches to hit may not be the best thing for his development – it might be a self-fulfilling demotion. If I’m a Blue Jays fan I’d much rather see my prized young hitter put in a chance to succeed, see pitches and build his confidence.

- Speaking of mishandling prospects, the Rangers announced that young flamethrower Neftali Feliz will be their 8th-inning setup man this season. While that’s exciting news for owners in holds leagues or those hoping he can vulture saves if/when Frank Francisco gets hurt I don’t think it’s what’s best for his development. Seeing spot duty one inning at a time is not what this kid needs, he’s their ace of the future and he’s not going to learn to pitch that way. I think they should work Feliz into a long-relief role where he can stretch out his arm, learn to pitch through multiple innings and manage his stuff. The old Earl Weaver method has worked in recent years for studs like Pedro Martinez and Johan Santana and I think Feliz has the talent to be in that class if he can stay healthy and learn to pitch (admittedly two big ifs) instead of just throw.

- On a more positive note, Blue Jays starter Shaun Marcum gave plenty of reason for optimism in his return from Tommy John surgery. Marcum gave up 3 runs in 7 innings, but all the scoring came on a 3-run Nelson Cruz homer in the 7th that was about a foot outside of the zone – Cruz just powered a good pitch out of the park. I cautioned earlier about trying to take early-season results to the bank, but Marcum was stellar in 2008 before going down: 3.39 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, .222 BAA, 123 Ks in 151.1 innings. In 2007 he had a very promising year, and Marcum looked like a player was legitimately breaking out in 2008 and with a guy his age there’s no reason he can’t fully recover from the Tommy John procedure. I’m buying where I can.

Gleaning more from MLB Opening Day after the jump …

- I’m not a fan of the lone Opening Day Red Sox versus Yankees contest, it perpetuates the obnoxious notion that these teams are somehow more legitimate or important than the rest of the league, but I have to say the Sunday night matchup was a treat. Scoring and lead changes were aplenty. It was also exciting to see Daniel Bard come in and get the hold in the 8th, that kid can throw it. The big bats showed up to play and the marquee starters, C.C. Sbbathis and Josh Backett, took turns getting mauled. I myself don’t have a lot to say about the contest, but my man Scott Pianowski over at Roto Arcade makes an excellent point about the AL East pitching. We generally all take caution with middle of the rotation guys out East, but perhaps we should take it a little more seriously even with the elite names:

“It amazes me that so many fantasy owners try to swim against the current and get by with AL East pitchers. The American League in general is a softball league when it comes to offense, and the rules switch to slow-pitch for the AL East, which probably boasts three of the five best teams in baseball (Yankees, Red Sox, Rays), not to mention an offensive paradise in Fenway and a home-run jetstream in Yankee Stadium … Not that you can’t be successful in this environment, of course, but you’re making it harder on yourself … Perhaps Jon Lester(notes) has the stuff to get through the division and make a Cy Young push, but it’s time to stop expecting that from [Josh] Beckett. The Texas flamethrower has a 4.53 career ERA at Fenway and against the Yankees it jumps to 5.51. Messy outings like this aren’t surprises for Beckett, it’s what we should expect.”

- Speaking of the AL East’s effect on starting pitching, few offseason moves had me salivating more than Roy “Doc” Halladay moving to the NL East. Citizens Bank is no walk in the park, but Opening Day highlighted just what a difference a change of scenery makes. A day after the Yanks and Red Sox all-star offenses duked it out Halladay got to make his National League debut down I-95 in Washington, DC. The final line: 7 IP, 6 hits, 2 BBs, 1 ER and 9 Ks. Halladay was at the top of my pitcher board going into fantasy drafts, even ahead of two-time defending Cy Young winner “Tiny” Tim Lincecum, and it was nice to see him go out and take care of business. Halladay finished with just 88 pitches thrown (59 for strikes), and if this was late April or after he would have gone the distance. After giving up a run in the first inning Doc cruised, regularly getting ahead of and into the heads of Nationals hitters while working non-stop pitcher’s counts. The man is a machine.

- Vin Scully he is not, but Mark Grace is a magnificent bastard. He’s an asshole, and he irrationally shuns all the new metrics I hold dear, but that’s his charm. He calls a fun game. “You can play cards on that guy’s back” Grace said of Padres behemoth outfielder Kyle Blanks on Monday afternoon. It seems like Grace is good for a few gems like that or awkward, confrontational moments every night and they make for broadcasting gold. As if a lineup including Justin Upton, Mark “The Sheriff” Reynolds, Miguel Montero, Stephen Drew and fantasy sleepers Conor Jackson, Adam LaRoche, Kelly Johnson and Chris Young isn’t enough to make you watch Diamondbacks games, Grace is the icing on the cake.

- Arizona’s Miguel Montero, my favorite “bargain” catcher going into the season, looked good in the Diambondbacks’ thumping of the Padres in their home opener. He picked up right where he left off last year (11 HRs, 40 RBIs, 39 runs on a .316/.366/.534 line after the All Star break) going 2-3 with 2 RBIs and a walk, and he also left 4 runners on base. Montero should see plenty of pitches to hit and RBI opportunities hitting 6th in a loaded Arizona offense.

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