Another day on the minor league fields in Goodyear is behind me. Today saw the A-ball teams stay on the Reds side of the complex. The Double-A and Triple-A teams hit the other side of the complex and played on the Indians side.
In the Low-A game the Dayton team was facing a starting pitcher who was pumping up to 99 MPH in Juan Mota. Mariel Bautista hit a laser right at the center fielder against him. Mike Siani turned on one at 99 and pulled it down the line. Later in the game Siani made an outstanding catch in center on a line drive towards right-center.
Speaking of outstanding plays in the field, Jonathan Willems had the best play I’ve seen this spring so far. Playing at third base he had a laser hit at him and he made a quick snag of the ball and made a spinning turn and throw to first to get the hitter.
Michael Byrne got the start on the Dayton field. He’s got late movement on his fastball, on both planes. But, the pitch was also working 86-88 MPH today. The breaking ball looked good.
Ryan Lillie pitched in relief on the Daytona field. He looked good in the inning I was focusing on him (he pitched more than one inning, but I was going back-and-forth between fields trying to see as much as I could). His fastball was moving well at 91-92 MPH on the day and his breaking ball was sharp.
Injury Updates
When it comes to stuff not on the field, I did get an update on Hunter Greene. He’s throwing and not being held back at this point from anything. But he’s also not going to begin the season playing with a team as he continues to work his way back on rehab. Earlier this week I wrote about seeing Calten Daal out on the field taking swings. He’s not quite ready to in the field. He won’t be ready to begin the season with a team. Nick Travieso is throwing – in fact he had a side session on Friday. He will be staying back in Goodyear to begin the season, but barring any setbacks could be with a team in the first half.
That’s it for today. Double-A and Triple-A teams are in Goodyear on Saturday afternoon.