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Hey everyone! Baseball has begun! I do not care that it was only two games on the other side of the world, it's back! The Dodgers ended up taking both games, 3-1 in the first game, and 7-5 in the second. Chris Owings got the start at short stop in Game 1, going 0-3 with a walk and two strike outs, then a pinch hit single in Game 2. Not in the Top 100 but participating Down Under, Chris Withrow and Bo Schultz each threw an inning for the Dodgers and Diamondbacks, respectively. Withrow walked one and allowed a hit with no runs crossing while Schultz only gave up a single with no walks, runs, or punch outs. That single also came on the first pitch he threw in the Major Leagues.
A pair of Top 100 players left the building Saturday, with Travis d'Arnaud of the Mets and Michael Choice of the Rangers doing the damage. d'Arnaud hit a two run shot against Miami to go with a strike out in four at bats. Choice only had two trips to the plate but made it count with a three run dinger late against Kansas City. Billy Hamilton and Jake Marisnick each had 2-4 games with a run scored but went about it differently. The Fastest Man in Baseball hit a triple, a single, and struck out once in four trips to the plate while Marisnick doubled, walked and struck out once versus the Nationals.
Masahiro Tanaka went up against Minnesota, lasting 5.2 innings while allowing three runs. He gave up five hits and a a walk with six strike outs and a hit batter. He was the lone Top 100 pitcher in action yesterday.
Tim Wheeler of the Rockies was on point in Colorado's tilt against Cleveland. He was 3-3 with a home run, his fourth so far, two singles, two runs scored and three driven in. Wilmer Flores was equally effective at the dish for the Mets. Flores played short stop and was 3-5 with his second homer of the spring, two singles, four runs batted in, and two runs scored. Stefen Romero knocked a double to match with his pair of singles to drive in one and score once for Seattle. Billy Burns was running all over the place for Oakland, swiping his 10th bag, hitting a triple, single and walking once. White Sox second baseman and reigning stolen base champ Micah Johnson was 2-4 with a double, strike out and a run scored.
Chris Beck toed the hill for the Sox from the Southside, tossing five solid innings, allowing only one run on five hits. He also walked one and struck out five. Stolmy Pimentel got the ball for Pittsburgh and was the victim of the long ball, allowing three in five innings against Philly. Each were of the solo variety and accounted for all the runs as he also allowed three more hits, no walks and three strike outs. Corey Knebel worked a clean frame, striking out one Blue Jay. Chad Bettis got the save against the Tribe, striking out two of three batters faced, and Mariners righty Dominic Leone worked 1.2 innings, striking out four with only a hit allowed.
The Top 100
Position Players
| Rank (Ovr) | Name, Pos | Team | AB | R | H | RBI | HR | SB | Notes |
| 2 (2) | Xander Bogaerts, SS | BOS | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2B, 2 K, E |
| 13 (25) | Nick Castellanos, 3B | DET | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | K |
| 14 (27) | Austin Hedges, C | SD | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Sac Fly |
| 20 (38) | Travis d'Arnaud, C | NYM | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | HR (1), K |
| 22 (42) | Rougned Odor, 2B | TEX | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2B |
| Rank (Ovr) | Name, Pos | Team | AB | R | H | RBI | HR | SB | Notes |
| 23 (43) | Billy Hamilton, CF | CIN | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3B, K |
| 27 (50) | Jackie Bradley, CF | BOS | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| 32 (66) | Chris Owings, SS | AZ | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | BB, 2 K |
| 34 (70) | Stephen Piscotty, RF | STL | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2B, K |
| 35 (72) | Matt Davidson, 3B | CWS | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rank (Ovr) | Name, Pos | Team | AB | R | H | RBI | HR | SB | Notes |
| 41 (79) | Jake Marisnick, CF | MIA | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2B, BB, K |
| 46 (85) | DJ Peterson, 3B/1B | SEA | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | BB, K |
| 49 (91) | Marcus Semien, 2B | CWS | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 52 (94) | David Dahl, CF | COL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | K |
| 54 (98) | Michael Choice, CF | TEX | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | HR (3), K |
Pitchers
| Rank (Ovr) | Name, Pos | Team | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | Notes |
| 1 (4) | Masahiro Tanaka, RHP | NYY | 5.2 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 6 | HBP |
Standout Performances
Position Players
| Name, Pos | Team | Top 10 Rank | AB | R | H | RBI | HR | SB | Notes |
| Alejandro Segovia, 1B | TB | - | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Jonathan Quinones, SS | TB | - | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Henry Urrutia, RF | BAL | 6 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2B, 2 K |
| Michael Almanzar, 3B | BAL | - | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 K |
| Phil Gosselin, 3B | ATL | - | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | E |
| Ernesto Mejia, 1B | ATL | - | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Joey Terdoslavich, RF | ATL | - | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | BB, K |
| Hernan Perez, 2B | DET | 10 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2B |
| Tyler Collins, LF | DET | - | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2B, BB |
| Eugenio Suarez, SS | DET | 8 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | K |
| Name, Pos | Team | Top 10 Rank | AB | R | H | RBI | HR | SB | Notes |
| Matt den Dekker, CF | NYM | - | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Wilmer Flores, SS | NYM | 6 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 0 | HR (2) |
| Aaron Hicks, CF | MIN | - | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | CS |
| Dean Anna, 2B | NYY | - | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Yangervis Solarte, 2B | NYY | - | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Zoilo Almonte, RF | NYY | - | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2B |
| Jaff Decker, LF | PIT | - | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 BB |
| Cameron Rupp, C | PHI | - | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | E |
| Cesar Hernandez, 2B | PHI | 8 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2B |
| Aledmys Diaz, SS | STL | - | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | K |
| Name, Pos | Team | Top 10 Rank | AB | R | H | RBI | HR | SB | Notes |
| Travis Jankowski, CF | SD | - | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | SB (1) |
| Micah Johnson, 2B | CWS | 6 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2B, K |
| Leury Garcia, SS | CWS | - | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | SB (2), BB, K, PO |
| Mike Olt, 3B | CHC | - | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | BB, K |
| Shawon Dunston Jr, CF | CHC | - | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Tim Wheeler, RF | COL | - | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | HR (4) |
| Angelys Nina, 3B | COL | - | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | K |
| Matt Long, CF | LAA | - | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3B |
| Dan Black, 1B | CWS | - | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2B |
| Gary Brown, CF | SF | - | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | BB, HBP |
| Name, Pos | Team | Top 10 Rank | AB | R | H | RBI | HR | SB | Notes |
| Elliot Blair, RF | SF | - | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Juan Perez, LF | SF | - | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | HR (2), BB |
| Mark Minnicozzi, 1B | SF | - | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | BB |
| Ehire Adrianza, SS | SF | - | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Billy Burns, LF | OAK | - | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | SB (10), 3B, BB |
| Stefen Romero, LF | SEA | - | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2B |
| Ronald Guzman, 1B | TEX | 10 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | BB, K |
| Abraham Almonte, CF | SEA | - | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2B, K |
Pitchers
| Name, Pos | Team | Top 10 Rank | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | Notes |
| Tyler Ybarra, LHP | TOR | - | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Corey Knebel, RHP | DET | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| Arquimedes Caminero, RHP | MIA | - | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | WP |
| Sean Donatello, RHP | MIA | - | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| Vic Black, RHP | NYM | - | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Gonzalez Germen, RHP | NYM | - | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Shane Greene, RHP | NYY | - | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| Stolmy Pimentel, RHP | PIT | - | 5 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 HR (Rollins, Howard, Asche) |
| Kevin Quackenbush, RHP | SD | - | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | |
| Chris Beck, RHP | CWS | 9 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| Name, Pos | Team | Top 10 Rank | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | Notes |
| Jumbo Diaz, RHP | CIN | - | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| Nick Maronde, LHP | LAA | - | 0.2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| Arnold Leon, RHP | OAK | - | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | HBP |
| Danny Duffy, LHP | KC | - | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | HR (M. Choice) |
| Chad Bettis, RHP | COL | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| Roenis Elias, LHP | SEA | - | 5.1 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | HR (W. Rosario) |
| Dominic Leone, RHP | SEA | - | 1.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| Chris Withrow, RHP | LAD | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Bo Schultz, RHP | AZ | - | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Injuries
- Tigers RHP Bruce Rondon (season; right elbow - TJS)
- Padres LF Alex Dickerson (two weeks; left ankle sprain)
- Mariners RHP Taijuan Walker (two weeks; right shoulder inflammation)
- Cardinals LHP Marco Gonzales (one month; left forearm tightness)
- Dodgers RHP Ross Stripling (season; right elbow - TJS)
- Twins 3B Miguel Sano (season; right elbow - TJS)
Optioned to the Minors
RHP Erik Cordier (AAA)
RHP Heath Hembree (AAA)
RHP Jake Dunning (AAA)
LHP Darin Downs (AAA)
LF Kevin Pillar (AAA)
RHP Blake Parker (AAA)
Colorado Rockies -
LHP Rob Scahill
Released
1B Matt LaPorta
RF Jack Cust
San Diego Padres -
LHP Zach Braddock
SS Brandon Wood
Houston Astros -
LF JD Martinez
San Francisco Giants -
RHP Kameron Loe
RF Jeff Francoeur
RHP Seth McClung
Waiver Claims
Baltimore Orioles -
1B David Adams
Re-assigned
SS Javier Baez (CHC)
RHP Aaron Sanchez (TOR)
CF Joc Pederson (LAD)
RHP Zach Lee (LAD)
3B Maikel Franco (PHI)
Player of the Day
Tim Wheeler of the Rockies takes home this honor today after hitting his fourth home run and driving in three. This might be a good time to remind you that in 2011, Wheeler hit 33 home runs for Tulsa as a 23 year old, with 21 steals to boot.
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