Jedd Gyorko isn't done just yet.
At least, that's the presumption with Jhonny Peralta tearing a ligament in his left thumb. The Cardinals anticipate a 2-3-month absence, and the way these rehabilitations go, it's not outside the realm of possibility that they could be without their starting shortstop for most of the first half.
And though he has been mostly a second baseman after coming up as a third baseman, shortstop just so happens to be the position Gyorko played for the Padres down the stretch last season, logging 29 games there. And sure enough, that's where he played Monday, going 2 for 3 with a double and two RBI.
It doesn't mean he was good at it, which may ultimately be why the Cardinals go with a lighter-hitting Greg Garcia or Aledmys Diaz instead.
"We'll keep firing them all in there and see what happens," manager Mike Matheny said.
Still, the possibility of full-time at-bats for a player with middle-of-the-order power at the weakest position in Fantasy is reason to get Gyorko on your radar. He finished last season on a high note, remember, batting .270 with 10 home runs and a .778 OPS over his final 48 games.
1. Saunders socks another one
Michael Saunders homered in a 1-for-3 performance against the Braves on Monday, which wouldn't be a big deal in and of itself, but it comes just two days after a two-homer game against the Phillies.
This from a player who lost almost all of last season to knee surgery.
"My big concern when he showed up this year -- he basically missed the whole year last year and he has been banged up in the past -- how does that affect you? And it hasn't so far this spring," manager John Gibbons told MLB.com Saturday. "We got him for a reason, we got him because we liked him."
You may remember that last year, prior to the injury, Saunders was getting some love as a sleeper. As an underachieving former prospect leaving a pitcher's park where he always struggled for a team known for breathing new life into hitters, he had a pretty good case. And given that manager John Gibbons has already declared him the team's everyday left fielder -- against lefties, righties, whatever -- maybe he still does.
2. Young guns unite
On any given day in spring training, you'll see a bevy of pitching prospects try to hold their own. But rarely do so many at once paint such a bright picture of the future. Here's what some of those young guns Monday, listed by how likely are to secure a rotation spot this spring:
Vincent Velasquez, Phillies: 3 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 1 BB, 3 K
Aaron Sanchez, Blue Jays: 3 IP, 1 ER, 5 H, 0 BB, 3 K
Henry Owens, Red Sox: 3 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 1 BB, 1 K
Aaron Blair, Braves: 2 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 3 K
Kyle Zimmer, Royals: 3 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 0 BB, 2 K
Cody Reed, Reds: 3 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 1 K
Michael Feliz, Astros: 3 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 2 K
Certainly, the performances of Velasquez and Sanchez are encouraging since Fantasy owners are openly rooting for them to secure spots, but the one I want to point out is Owens, who may now have the inside track on a job with Eduardo Rodriguez slow to recover from a knee injury. He struck out five in two scoreless innings his first time out and has impressed the Red Sox coaching staff with his tenacity.
"He's probably somewhat unflappable in those moments where he's not letting the innings speed up on him," manager John Farrell told MLB.com. "He doesn't try to pitch to try to avoid contact. He still is trying to make quality pitches in the strike zone, and because of him being able to stay controlled emotionally, he's executing to the bottom part of the strike zone and not letting the inning unravel."
Owens was arguably an even better prospect than Rodriguez, so time to get him on your radar.
3. Shoemaker clobb(l)ered
Matt Shoemaker wasn't a favorite for one of the Angels' two open rotation spots coming into spring training, and performances like Monday's will keep it that way. He got pummeled, allowing seven runs on 10 hits with one walk and one strikeout in three innings, and there was nothing unlucky about it. Like during his disappointing sophomore season, he couldn't keep the ball in the park, serving up three long balls. That's four in five innings so far this spring.
It's notable because he was a top-40 starting pitcher at this time last year after catching the league by surprise with a 16-4 record, 3.04 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and 8.2 strikeouts per nine innings as a rookie in 2014, but more and more, that's looking like an aberration. The Angels are leaning toward Hector Santiago -- he of the 5.47 ERA in the second half last year -- which is telling.
4. Vogt of confidence
Stephen Vogt has stretches where he looks like Buster Posey, but he's always so banged up that you can never be sure what you're getting from him. Particularly after he hit .217 with a .630 OPS in the second half (compared to .287 and .872 in the first), enthusiasm was tempered, and then when he ended up needing elbow surgery just five weeks ago, you started to hear him mentioned as an out-and-out bust candidate.
So naturally, in his third game back, he goes yard twice.
"I haven't been feeling great, so to have two swings like that where I actually trust the elbow, trust that everything was going well, it was nice just to take full swings and not have to feel any pain," Vogt said.
That'll keep him in the top 10 at the position. And it's not like catcher is so ripe with superstars that he couldn't inch his way into the top five.
5. Wood letdown begins anew
In the excitement of Wood rejoining the Dodgers starting rotation with the injuries to Hyun-Jin Ryu and Brett Anderson, we may have overlooked one crucial detail: He's not good anymore.
Or at least he wasn't last year. True, we shouldn't write off a 25-year-old talent, especially one who dominated at the start of his career. But that's the thing: Wood wasn't some can't-miss talent. He was an overachiever whose ability to hide the ball made up for marginal stuff, and there's a chance it has only now caught up to him. For what it's worth, he's not worried about the five runs (two earned) he allowed in two innings Monday.
"I thought my stuff was pretty good for the most part, with one or two bad pitches," he told MLB.com. "Overall, pretty good."
And it's worth noting that, yes, pitchers are mostly preparing for the season right now and not so focused on results. But for me to buy into Wood as a sleeper, I'm going to need some evidence that he can still miss bats.