It’s been a long offseason but we’ve made it to Opening Day and beyond! Although Spring Training stats are usually to be taken with a grain of salt, I’d figure I’d mention some middle infielders who have had a great spring training and highlight some other noteworthy items as they pertain to middle infielders from Opening Weekend:
Michael Massey – Royals: Massey’s had a great spring, batting .279 with 5 homers, 13 RBI, and 2 stolen bases. He’s flashed a good power/speed combo in his brief cup of coffee with the Royals (4 HRs/3 SBs in 173 at-bats) in addition to his .312, 16 HR/13SB output in the Minors in 2022. I’ve grabbed him in a couple of leagues past ADP 300, so he’s come cheaply in deep leagues. I expect Massey to win the Royals second base job, however, in the unlikely event he doesn’t, Massey is sure to overtake the punchless Nicky Lopez soon enough. He dealt with various injuries in the early days of his Minor league career, and Massey has leaned on the Royals training and hitting staff as he grows into a major league ballplayer. The Royals have a young talented infield that includes Vinnie Pasquantino, Maikel Garcia, Bobby Witt Jr., so it’s easy to overlook Massey. I expect Massey to out earn his 300+ ADP and hit the ground running. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a similar slash line that Thairo Estrada put up last year. EDIT: Massey didn’t play Saturday over Nicky Lopez, so perhaps this is an early platoon situation.
Ezequiel Tovar – Rockies: Earlier in the offseason, Rockies GM Bill Schmidt was coy about Tovar making the team right out of spring training. Tovar’s had a great spring, batting .308 with 2 homers and 8 RBI, and has joined the big-league club. Although the Rockies did Rockies things and signed veteran Mike Moustakas, Tovar should play regularly out of the gate. Assuming 600 plate appearances, he’s a dark horse candidate for a 20/20 season. Tovar doesn’t seem to have as much power, but Rockies fans will surely remember Troy Tulowitzki and Trevor Story and raise expectations for Tovar accordingly.
Anthony Volpe – Yankees: Made his MLB debut, becoming the first Yankee rookie to start on Opening Day since Aaron Judge, and is considered the heir apparent to Derek Jeter. While it’s unfair to Volpe to compare him to an all-time Yankee legend, time will tell if Volpe ever reaches the career heights Derek Jeter did. Volpe’s made a great impression on the Yankee brass in Spring Training, leading to him making the team out of the gate. As of this piece, Volpe’s recorded his first career hit, stolen a couple of bases, and made some great defensive plays. It looks like Volpe will rise from the #9 spot but hopefully, it doesn’t take a couple of injuries (looking at you Aaron Hicks and Giancarlo Stanton) to do so.
Brice Turang – Brewers: Recorded a hit in his MLB debut playing second base but has been benched on Saturday. Luis Urias’ hamstring injury will open some playing time up, however, the Brewers called up outfielder Joey Wiemer, so Turang looks to be in a platoon at second base for now. Turang will help in the speed department and has some sneaky pop.
Jake Cronenworth – Padres: Yet another Padre to receive an extension past the year 2030. This deal is significant because it is the biggest deal for a player with less than four years of service time. The Padres are happy now but will be sad in 2030 when their core is ready for retirement. I’m sure the Padres still have money in their reserves for a $400M+ extension for Juan Soto. Well, although Cronenworth may not be the most valuable middle infielder for our fantasy purposes in 2023, it’s apparent that the Padres see something in him, although they may be placing a premium on his real-life positional versatility.
Gunnar Henderson – Orioles: The preseason AL ROY frontrunner hasn’t recorded a hit entering play Sunday but has shown a good eye at the plate, chipping in a few walks. He’s moved up to the 5 slot in the lineup and it’s a matter of time before the hits start falling.
Jonathan India – Reds: Razzball’s favorite player in 2022 had a solid Spring, with a .320 average, 8 RBI, and 4 stolen bases. He’s showing some early pop and speed in the early going. Hopefully, he can avoid the various injuries that have plagued him last season to become one of the few bright spots in a punchless Reds lineup.
Oneil Cruz – Pirates – Smoked a 101.3 MPH Hunter Greene pitch on Opening Day and boy did it look effortless. Since Statcast started tracking pitches in 2015, only five major leaguers have hit harder thrown pitches to date. As someone who has watched quite a bit of Yankee games through the years, without Googling the answer, I’d be willing to wager Aroldis Chapman gave up a majority of those 100+ MPH dingers. I’m starting to wish I had more shares of Cruz!
Jorge Mateo – Orioles: MLB’s stolen base leader after play Saturday with 4. Perhaps it’s partially due to the ineffective Red Sox pitching and poor defense at catcher coupled with the new pickoff rules but I expect Mateo to keep running wild this year. EDIT: Mateo cut his hand and is looking at an absence of a couple games.
Jazz Chisholm Jr – Marlins: Smooth Jazz finds himself hitting cleanup in a poor Marlins lineup this year as he won’t be batting leadoff with Luis Arraez in town. Jazz Chisholm looks to set a career high in RBI and should still contribute to the rest of the roto categories. Performing well in the outfield is a learning curve but his athleticism and sharp baseball instincts should make learning the outfield an easy transition.
Trevor Story – Red Sox: Will begin throwing in two weeks and is on schedule to start hitting in a month. Although good news, we still won’t see him until midseason.
Nolan Gorman – Cardinals: Gorman’s largely been forgotten in drafts this year as the Cardinals have a wealth of position player flexibility. Gorman’s bounced around the lineup but has whacked a couple homers and taken four walks so far. Gorman’s DH’ed recently but qualifies at second base in Yahoo. File Norman Gorman’s name away for later. Like Cruz, if he can improve on his 30+% K rate, watch out!
Teams With Favorable Matchups This Week: Rays (facing the Nationals and A’s); Red Sox (facing the Pirates and Tigers).
Teams With Unfavorable Matchups This Week: Tigers (facing the Astros and Red Sox); Diamondbacks (facing the Padres and Dodgers).
Fernando Tatis Jr. Return Calculator: 17 days.
Have a great week!
