Some more clues from Sunday’s 7-6 win over the Royals:
1. Carlos Villanueva made his first relief appearance of the spring…Ned Yost was coy when asked if this meant Villanueva is being groomed for the pen. My guess–they just want to get him some more experience against major leaguers, as well as to see him pitch a bit more.
2. Tony Graffanino‘s 0-for-4 run on the day lowered his Cactus League BA to .233…hopefully this slump is a temporary thing.
3. As expected, Zach Jackson was sent to Nashville…this leaves only 15 pitchers left in Maryvale, leaving Aquino, Balfour, Capellan, Villanueva, Thatcher and Spurling as the front-runners for the last 1-2 spots. Capellan’s future with the club is purportedly in doubt, due to his 6.75 ERA in Cactus League play…oh, and 17 hits and 4 BB’s allowed in 8.0 IP. Capellan is scheduled to pitch tomorrow, according to Adam McCalvy of mlb.com.
David Hannes
Copyright 2007
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
