from Chronicle ... KISSIMMEE, Fla. — Jon Singleton, whom manager A.J. Hinch said has the "first look" at first base, is among a group traveling west across Florida for the Astros' opening exhibition game of the spring season Thursday, a 12:05 p.m. CT contest against the Phillies. MLB Network is to televise the game in the Houston area. Fellow first-base competitors Tyler White, A.J. Reed and Preston Tucker are slated for the journey to Clearwater, Fla., as well. So is shortstop prospect Alex Bregman and outfielder regulars George Springer and Jake Marisnick. "Obviously, some guys come out with better timing than others," Hinch said of what he looks for early on. "With pitchers, certainly want to see them get through their innings. We want to see 'em throw strikes. We want the baseball rhythm and timing to be good. Obviously, you're trying to make impressions for some other guys. There's a component individually out of all of them that we're looking for, some on a bigger scale than others. But good, clean baseball." Offseason addition Doug Fister is to start for the Astros, with Kevin Chapman, Michael Feliz, James Hoyt, Brendan McCurry and Jandel Gustave slated to pitch in relief as well.
It's cool that we'll get to see Singleton, Tyler White, and Duffy all play today. The process of elimination starts immediately.
I would not call 2014 a great season for him....but more along the hope of what he can be this season.
Duffy hit that ball great, inside fastball, it left the park in a hurry. Singleton had 3 bad at bats today.
