We know what will happen. Barring something unforeseen, Yasiel Puig will be wearing a Chattanooga Lookouts uniform to begin the season.
But what should happen?
We’ve explored the pros and cons throughout spring training (examples here, here and here). Now it’s your turn to weigh in.
The spring training leader in batting average won’t begin the season in the majors. Or in Triple-A for that matter.
The Dodgers optioned Yasiel Puig, their most productive hitter since Cactus League play began, to Double-A Chattanooga, ending weeks of speculation about where the organization’s most intriguing prospect will begin his first full season outside Cuba.
Carl Crawford is playing his third straight game in left field tonight as the Dodgers visit the Kansas City Royals in Surprise.
The Dodgers didn’t want to pencil in Crawford as their Opening Day left fielder until he passed a threshhold for throwing distance, mentioned previously at 125 feet. He has passed that threshhold “and he’s still got five days of throwing,” Dodgers manager Don Mattingly noted Monday. That’s great news for Crawford, who underwent Tommy John surgery just last August and was initially speculated to be out until May.
That’s not great news if you were hoping to see Yasiel Puig in left field come Opening Day.
Don Mattingly has compared him to Bo Jackson.
Critics are suddenly calling his $42 million contract “a steal.”
So why, again, should Yasiel Puig begin the regular season in the minor leagues?
This won’t make it into tomorrow’s editions, so here’s what happened in the Dodgers’ late game against the Kansas City Royals:
Dodgers manager Don Mattingly told reporters Thursday that outfielder Yasiel Puig should begin the season in the minors.
Asked if the 22-year-old was under consideration for the Dodgers’ Opening Day roster, Mattingly told reporters that “realistically it’s not the best thing for him.”
There are no ties in baseball. Except when it’s spring training.
Neither the Dodgers (0-1-1) or White Sox (1-0-1) were content to let the exhibition season end without needing three numbers to describe their record. Either that or Robin Ventura, the home manager, elected not to play after exactly three hours of baseball at Camelback Ranch on Sunday.
Dodgers reliever Peter Moylan surrendered a 2-run home run to White Sox slugger Adam Dunn in his first Cactus League inning. The Dodgers scored when Tim Federowicz doubled and Hanley Ramirez drove him home with a single in the third, and again on Luis Cruz‘s solo home run to left field in the sixth.
Here’s what we learned:
The Dodgers’ first game of spring training served a valuable purpose for everyone who watched it unfold on a cold day at Camelback Ranch: It reminded us that in spring training, the whole is always less than the sum of its parts.
We hope you took the under on Dodgers runs scored; more than that, we hope you don’t bet on Cactus League games. The Dodgers had their chances to score, and their bats picked up after Juan Uribe ruined Chicago’s chance at a perfect game with a single in the third inning. That sentence may never be written again.
Here are a few takeaways:
Hyun-Jin Ryu ranked 42nd and Yasiel Puig 47th on Baseball America’s annual list of the top 100 major-league prospects.
One other thing that sets the two apart is that they’ve never taken part in spring training in the United States before this year. On Monday, Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti shared his thoughts on how the two have adapted so far:
There’s immense potential among this group, but questionable depth beyond the three starters – and an immediate need for depth. Remember when Shane Victorino and Torii Hunter were being mentioned as potential fourth outfielders? It’s because the need existed: Carl Crawford had Tommy John surgery on his left elbow and arthroscopic surgery on his left wrist in 2012, Matt Kemp had surgery to repair his left shoulder last October, and Andre Ethier can’t hit left-handed pitching. More on that in a bit.
In lieu of any big-name acquisitions, Jerry Hairston Jr. and Skip Schumaker — utility infielders who make occasional cameos in the outfield – might begin the season as the fourth and fifth outfielders. Crawford might well begin the season on the disabled list. With so many question marks, there will be plenty of focus on this group in the spring, beginning with the heart and soul of the Dodger lineup.