1. Yu Darvish is coming off an injury to his elbow last season, where the Rangers where forced to shut him down early. Darvish is hands down one of the best strike out pitchers in the game, and I expect him to make a full recovery. Unlike the Yankees with Tanaka, the Rangers were smart enough to shut Darvish down to make sure their future ace would make a full recovery. Tanaka had an injury in his elbow that every suggested he should get surgery on, and he is yet to get that surgery. There is something you need to know about international pitchers. They don't pitch in as many games as you would in the Major Leagues. Once they come over it is a big adjustment for them mentally, and on their bodies. This is why you see a lot of injuries out of international pitchers, another example is Hyun Jin Ryu who battled injuries last year. All of these guys have gotten hurt, but the good news is they should have a better understanding of what physically, and mentally in necessary to keep yourself healthy.
2. Jose Fernandez finally threw for the first time off a mound this week, and everything looked good. This kid is something special, not just on the mound, but off the mound. His maturity level is much higher than anyone expected, and he is showing it through his patience to get back on the mound. He understands he needs to take this one step at a time if he wants to get back on that mound and stay on it for awhile. Fernandez is taking those steps as slow as possible, which is the key to making sure you are 100 percent healthy. Another injury that recently happened was Chris Sale fractured his foot, and will miss all of spring training more than likely. A foot injury is not what I want to talk about with Chris Sale, it is who his replacement is in the meantime. Carlos Rodon will be taking his place in the starting rotation for spring training. This a guy who dominated college baseball at a very young age, but slowed down a little as he got older. He was drafted last season by the White Sox and I expect him to a be a starter in that rotation this season. He is a big boy with a big boy slider, it was one of the best in college baseball. I would keep an eye on his progress through spring training to see if he can make a spot for himself in that rotation.
3. There is a lot of talk that Kris Bryant, the number 2 ranked prospect in baseball, will be making the opening day roster for the Cubs. The is a very interesting situation for Bryant has had some of the best power in the minors. I didn't expect him to make the opening day roster this season, but that he would get called up very shortly. Now, I would say with all his hype, if he has a good spring training, I think it would be really hard to send him back down to the minors, especially when the Cubs have struggled in the offense production. Bryant is a natural third basemen, but is willing to switch up positions to make it on the roster this season. If Bryant shows any kind of power production in spring training I would expect him to be on that roster opening day, but probably not as a starter.
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