Spring Training Miscellany: Cubs Win 7th in a Row, Sampson Struggles, Huge Torrens Power, PCA’s Catch, More
That’s SEVEN straight wins for the Chicago Cubs in the Cactus League, and that saguaro crown is totally within reach. This one was a nice comeback win for the youngsters, beating the Rangers 9-6, with great pitching from everyone but the starter …
- That would be Adrian Sampson, who gave up three homers for the second straight start. He gave up just 10 homers total last season over 104.1 big league innings, so, yeah, this is notable. I wouldn’t say for sure that it “matters,” since there could be specific things Sampson is working on and they make him a little more likely to give up deep contact in the air. But on the other hand, Sampson is competing for the fifth starter job, so at some point, you’d want to see him settle in a bit.
- In case you want to see the trio of blasts:
- Edwin Rios is crushing the ball right now, and he’s going to be very much in the Opening Day roster conversation thanks to his serious power:
- Back-up, back-up catcher Luis Torrens hit one about 440 feet:
- And then he homered again in the 9th inning for good measure. Only about 430 feet that time. It’s worth remembering that Torrens, whom the Cubs signed to a minor league deal, has shown the ability to be a league-average bat in the big leagues. From a reserve catcher who can also play in the infield in a pinch, that’s a pretty valuable thing. Still only 26 years old, too.
- Nick Burdi looked REALLY good today. The fastball was popping (no velo readings, but it had to be 99-100 mph again), and the slider had hitters completely buckled.
- Speaking of great looking relievers, Cam Sanders is so nasty:
- Sanders threw two scoreless innings, and so did Anthony Kay. Interesting that each is getting multiple innings even in Spring Training.
- Pete Crow-Armstrong is just so dang good defensively:
