After a day off, not a lot has changed today in the Phillies roster situation. Yesterday though, some news was made. Today some non-field news was. Here's my latest:
- Doc will pitch in a minor league game Saturday. Dare I say there will be more attention there than Sarasota.
- Kendrick looked awesome yesterday. So the pitcher who just threw a sinker and a normal fastball now is pitching better with a change-up. Good.
- People are noticing Dom Brown's success. I'm just wondering when he's officially announced as a starter?
So now that we dispensed with the news, here's my roster update:
- Rotation: Hamels, Halladay, Lee, Kendrick, Lannan.
- Line-Up: Rollins-SS, Revere-CF, Utley-2B, Howard-1B, M. Young-3B, Brown-LF, Mayberry-RF, Kratz-C. In the running: Ruf, Nix.
- Bullpen: Papelbon, Adams, Durbin, Bastardo, Aumont, Horst, Valdes. In the running: Stutes, Cook.
- Bench: Nix, Frandsen, Inciarte, Galvis, Quintero. In the running: Ruf, J. Mitchell, Betancourt.
- DL: D. Young.
- Restricted: Ruiz.
I'm going to say Mayberry will start Opening Day and Nix will not really be a platoon partner. For all the talk about Ruf underperforming, his .671 OPS beats Nix's .606. I'd like to see Nix get the job and hopefully succeed (so Delmon Young isn't a guy we depend on), but I'm definitely not sure on Nix getting much playing time. I also continue to think the bench looks as is, and Aumont, Horst, and Valdes will be the last three in the bullpen. No changes here.
Now, AAA:
- Rotation: Cloyd, Pettibone, Lopez, Martin, Cochran. In the running: Cook, Bass.
- Line-Up: Gillies-CF, Hernandez-2B, J. Mitchell-RF, Ruf-LF, Joseph-C, Fields-1B, Overbeck-1B/DH, Blanco-SS, Orr-3B. In the running: Martinez, Valle.
- Bullpen: Stutes, De Fratus, Diekman, Rosenberg, Robles, Savery, Jimenez. In the running: Simon, Friend.
- Bench: Martinez, Lerud, D. Mitchell, Hanzawa. In the running: Suomi, Susdorf.
I'll take it a step forward. I have no changes in any level for today. So the minor league projections here are the same now. Hopefully by Sunday we'll know.
