For one, the Mets have Degrom, Syndergard, Stroman, Porcello, and Wacha. They all stated a full complement of games and they are all established starters.
“Let two guys get on base, and that was just kind of how I was used ever since I got to the team,” Greinke said Saturday. “I just (pitched) my five innings, six innings and let the bullpen do the rest,” Greinke said. “That’s kind of how I was being used. It was kind of expected.”
Something important to note with Greinke... Over the past few seasons during Spring Training he has always commented on feeling that he’s “lost it” and that he’s not sure if he will he ready for the start of the season. And in his defense, his velocity has been very low the last few Spring Trainings and he’s gotten rocked around a bit at the start of the season. From a normal pitcher I would kinda freak out with comments like he made in this article, but given his track record of saying these things and still having really great seasons (despite some slow starts), I’m not concerned at all.
Interesting they have Abreu starting today. Maybe he starts out the season in the AAA rotation rather than in Houston's pen?
Yeah, Strom seemed to be extremely high on Abreu as a starter (although he didn’t rule out him being in the pen this season). But if they really do think his upside is that high, it makes more sense to send him down and have guys like Hughes, Taylor, etc fill the 2 open slots in the bullpen behind Osuna, Pressly, Smith, Peacock, Devenski, and Biagini.
I will be going to Spring Training in a few weeks, first time there. Is there anyone that can give me recommendations for where exactly to go to try to get autographs within the complex (Pre-workout, before the game, etc?). Where exactly to park early morning to try to get autographs early in the day?
Abreu goes 2 perfect innings, strikes out 4. I was excited about him last year, and I’m excited about him now. If he’s actually a starter, that could be huge.
It's only one short start for each guy, but Javier, Valdez and Abreu have all looked really good in their starts. The single biggest organizational development this year would be if a couple of those guys (throw Whitley in there too) can establish themselves as legitimate big-league arms. That would significantly improve our chances of competing once JV and Greinke are gone in a couple of seasons. It would also solidify any rotational concerns the Astros have, thus making them easily the most well-rounded team in the majors. Only three games into Spring Training, but good signs so far for each of those guys.