I was on 970 ESPN in Pittsburgh this afternoon for my weekly segment with David Todd. The podcast can be heard below. Here is a summary of what we talked about this week, along with links to relevant articles.
**We discussed Alen Hanson, and how he has been lost in the mix this Spring. I wrote about what Hanson has been working on, and what he needs to do to reach the majors this year. He’s got a chance to arrive this year, but needs to find consistency with the bat. He has the hitting skills to eventually be a starting second baseman.
**I wrote last week about how Harold Ramirez has been dealing with conditioning issues. He’s back in games now, and should be ready close to the start of the season. We talked about the trend with conditioning problems with Luis Heredia and Ramirez.
**We discussed the rehab progress for Jameson Taillon and Clay Holmes, who are both returning from Tommy John, and who will both be pitching in games in extended Spring Training.
**David wanted to hear about Nick Kingham’s status this Spring. I wrote about him last week, noting that he was working on improving his two-seam fastball this year. David asked if he will make his debut this year, and I think he absolutely will.
**We discussed the Clayton Richard news today, and whether he will arrive in the majors this year with the Pirates (I say yes). David asked about the Indianapolis rotation, and I forgot to answer after talking about Richard. Right now the rotation looks to have Kingham, Adrian Sampson, Casey Sadler, Chris Volstad, and one more starter, which might be Jeremy Bleich to start the year. Eventually Richard will join the mix, and Taillon could be there by the middle of the year.
**We discussed the decisions this week to send down John Holdzkom, and to go with Jeff Locke over Vance Worley in the rotation. I agree with the Holdzkom decision because of what Arquimedes Caminero has shown. I disagree with the Worley/Locke decision, because I think Worley is the better starter.
**David, on the site moving to a subscription site: “The rates are cheap. It’s absolutely worth every penny of it. Can’t endorse it fully enough.” You can subscribe to the site here, with rates below $2.50 per month, or less than one cup of coffee per month.
