4/1/22 : April Spring Training ?

The arrival of April Fools Day is a reminder of how different this year’s spring training camps have been. The lockout introduced many oddities including today when the initial AAA/AA groups head north to compete on Sunday in Allentown in the final intra squad scrimmage of the spring before the season begins for LHV on Tuesday -and also before the big league camp breaks 🤦‍♂️. With the major league opening roster still unsettled that means that there’s going to be adjustments to be made to the upper level minor league rosters this coming week when the big leagues do break camp on Wednesday.

Today’s weather here in the Clearwater area is equally “fooling”. We had heavy rain last night and this morning which likely eliminates the use of Ashburn Field today at the complex where the right field corner usually floods when downpours occur. Hopefully the big club will be able to get their game in later today in Sarasota.

The minor league players were informed of their initial roster or extended spring assignments yesterday. That information won’t be made public till the affiliates introduce the players.

But in the spirit of April Fools Day here are some early minor league opening day roster predictions from yours truly :

Lehigh Valley might just be a veteran laden roster to insure that experienced players are at the ready if needed by the big club.

Reading perhaps features rising prospects such as Logan O’Hoppe, Jhailyn Ortiz, James McArthur, Simon Muzziotti and Francisco Morales.

Jersey Shore could have an exciting roster of speed and power with perhaps the likes of Johan Rojas, Luis Garcia, Mick Abel, Cristian Hernandez, Griff McGarry, Ben Brown, Christian McGowan and Ethan Wilson included.

In Clearwater there is maybe a roster filled with youthful energy and the skills of players such as Yhoswar Garcia, Alexeis Azuaje, Jamari Baylor, Hao Yu Lee, Andrew Painter, Micah Ottenbreit and Kendall Simmons taking the field.

I will leave it up to the readers to decide if I’m playing an April Fools Day prank with those predictions or not 😎. Time will tell.

On a serious note though wherever the players begin the season they should keep in mind an advice that I’ve heard repeated often on the backfields on previous camp break days - “It’s not where you start but where you finish the season” that counts. As finalized rosters are disclosed over the next week or so we look forward to another summer of player development and having our guys prove the “experts” wrong who’ve downplayed the strength of the system.

Happy April Fools Day, Happy Baseball ⚾️

Photo from yesterday’s scrimmage