OT: Some observations and pics from Tigers Spring Training

Submitted by Moleskyn on

I was down in Lakeland for the past few days and caught a few of the Tigers games, so I thought I'd share some observations and pics from my time there. First, some observations:

  • I saw JV throw a live BP session on a practice field (which was awesome btw...there were only a few other people who knew he was throwing, so I was close enough that I could hear him interacting with the hitters and coaches). I posted a few pics below, but I also have some vids. If you're interested in seeing them, I'll post them - but they're like 2-3 minutes long, and are pretty much just him throwing pitches.
  • Joba Chamberlain looked to be in pretty good shape. From what I remembered of him, he was borderline obese not too long ago. He's still a bit chunky, but not overly so. If I remember correctly, we saw one appearance of him, and he pitched well.
  • Rick Porcello is in great shape. You can kind of see it from one of the pics below, but he was leading the group of pitchers in their pole runs (running foul pole to foul pole along the warning track).
  • JV is also in great shape and is working hard. I didn't post the pic below, but he was running his poles really hard, and he was running them by himself.
  • Steven Moya is huge. He looks young and raw, but he was one of the better looking minor league athletes out there. He also threw a guy out at the plate from right field - threw an absolute rope, right on the money to get the guy.
  • Devon Travis was impressive...and small. I didn't realize he got the fan vote for Minor League Offensive POY last year, but he was the prospect that probably caught our attention the most.
  • Definitely a lot more speed on the team. We knew Rajai Davis was fast, but Steve Lombardozzi stole third, and there was a noticeable difference in overall team speed.
  • We saw Porcello, Scherzer, Sanchez, and Lobstein start. They all did pretty well. I think Scherzer was the only one who gave up a run (off a homer...that was the only hit he gave up). I think they all went two innings, except for Lobstein, who I think went three.
  • The weather was beautiful. Coming back to Cleveland yesterday with single-digit temperatures and snow was a bit depressing.

That's all that comes to mind right now. I'll try to answer if you have any questions about anybody specific. Here are some pics:


(L-R: Sanchez, Porcello, Below, Nathan, Putkonen)


(Sanchez and Porcello)


(Ground-rule double that Cabrera hit during BP. I caught it on the left field berm)


(Joba saying "Hi" to some of his New York buddies...he and Phil Coke were two of the friendliest guys there)


(Joe Nathan)

GoWings2008

March 4th, 2014 at 11:03 AM ^

Thanks for all that info...some new names to the Tigers' roster (as opposed to the Tiger's roster, people in golf circles - that's for you Magnus!) and a great summary.  I feel as if I was there with you!

Seriously though, much appreciated!

Jehu the Damaja

March 4th, 2014 at 11:04 AM ^

One year I'll make it out there. Did Kinsler play at all? He's gotta be huge this year for us. He's bitter about being traded(said he hopes the Rangers go 0-162) but hopefully it motivates him to kick everyone's ass.

Moleskyn

March 4th, 2014 at 11:12 AM ^

Yeah, I saw him in 2 or 3 of the games. Overall he played OK. I only remember one hit he got, and that was a double that he one-hopped off the wall in right center against the Braves. Other than that, he made some routine plays in the field, got eaten up by short-hop line drive that I don't think many guys would have fielded (aside from Iglesias). He seems like kind of a quiet guy though. I sat down the first base line for 2 games at Joker Marchant, and I don't recall him walking by the fans or signing autographs or anything.

Also, speaking of Iglesias, he played in the first game we saw (last Thursday) and he looked really uncomfortble running. Made me remember that he missed some time last year with shin splints, and sure enough, he didn't play the rest of the weekend. Makes me wonder what he's doing with his training that's hurting his shins so much. That's something I would have expected to diminish with some rest during the offseason.

Magnus

March 4th, 2014 at 11:04 AM ^

I was just reading an article in SI about spring training, and a guy brought up the thought that 20 years ago, every team had a rightfielder with a cannon arm...but now he says there's maybe just a dozen guys with "rightfield arms" in MLB. I thought that was interesting, because I used to love watching guys like Raul Mondesi hose guys out from rightfield. I used to think the coolest play in baseball was the 9-3 out where lollygaggers got thrown out at first.

Moleskyn

March 4th, 2014 at 12:37 PM ^

It is so worth it. This was the third year in a row I've gone, and it's turning into a new family tradition for the men in my family. We had 4 generations at Sunday's game in Orlando against the Braves (both my grandfathers, my dad, myself and my two brothers, and my 4 year old niece. It was her first baseball game ever...she was also the first female to join us at a Spring Training game). 

But the atmosphere is so relaxed, the players (well, the experienced guys who have secure roster spots) are loose and having fun, and the weather is fantastic. You just don't get this sort of access during the regular season.

LSAClassOf2000

March 4th, 2014 at 1:42 PM ^

This is a great tradition really, and like others, I am quite jealous - I have not made it down there in a few years now and it is a great atmosphere from what I can remember. As for the regular season, it seems like there was a little more access perhaps back in the day, but not a lot more. I remember some of the players would stand and chat with the folks sitting near the dugouts during BP at Tiger Stadium, for example, but only for a bit as it was structured time. 

Thanks for sharing these observations. Very much appreciated. 

Moleskyn

March 4th, 2014 at 11:15 AM ^

Really nice facility. Well-maintained and there's not a bad seat in the house. Last year we saw a game at the Blue Jays' facility in Dunedin - that place is a piece of crap. Worst stadium of any kind I've ever been in.

We've also been to a couple games at the ESPN/Disney Wide World of Sports where the Braves play. That's probably a notch or two above Joker Marchant.

jmdblue

March 4th, 2014 at 11:19 AM ^

Lots of talent and lots of questions this year.  My biggest fears are whether VMart and Torii Hunter can still hit as they close in on retirement.  Both will have very important slots in the lineup. Did you get a look at either of them?

Moleskyn

March 4th, 2014 at 11:47 AM ^

Yeah, Torii played in every game I saw, and Martinez played in all but one. Neither one of them did anything spectacular. The biggest takeaway I had of Hunter was that he's a great leader and awesome personality. Before one of the games, I was out in center field watching the outfielders doing some pre-game drills, and they all seemed really loose and like they were having fun - and Torii was at the center of it. Either laughing at guys if they made a mistake (at one point, they were doing a drill where Dave Clark would toss a ball over their shoulders as they were running and they tried to catch it without a glove. Steven Moya was going back for one, he missed the ball, and it hit him in the head. Everybody started laughing, but Hunter was literally on the ground, rolling around laughing. It was really funny), or telling stories that everybody was listening to. On offense, he might have had a hit or two, but the Tigers' offense overall was pretty quiet. In the 4 games I saw, they didn't hit any home runs, and one game ended in a 0-0 tie.

Martinez looked fine. He was killing the ball during BP. Granted, it's BP, but there was a noticeable difference between him and other guys with the way the ball was jumping off his bat. I don't remember anything specific about his at-bats during the games, but I don't think there's anything to worry about with him.

maize-blue

March 4th, 2014 at 11:22 AM ^

So far, from the various radio shows I've heard, the biggest concern for the year seems to be how the guys batting behind Miggy will fair. Some have proposed that opposing teams can simply pitch around Miggy without the threat of Fielder behind him and run numbers will go way down.

In previous years the Tigers were built around power pitching and power hitting at the cost of team speed and defense. I think they will be a much more balanced team this year and they still have great pitching even with the loss of Fister.

WMUgoblue

March 4th, 2014 at 12:06 PM ^

Informative and entertaining post, did you by chance happen to see Ray, or Krol pitch at all? Also Phil Coke's box score numbers are atrocious and his velocity I read was topping out at 85 any chance you got a glance at how bad he was live?

Moleskyn

March 4th, 2014 at 12:31 PM ^

I saw Coke pitch once against the Yankees, and he looked OK. The radar gun wasn't working at Joker Marchant, so I don't know how hard he was throwing. 

I saw Krol twice and Ray once. I don't really remember much from Krol's outings, but he did fine. Ray worked himself into a jam in his first inning on Sunday against the Braves, but got a DP to get out of it. He did fine in the second inning. I don't remember how hard he was throwing.

One guy I was hoping to see more of was Castellanos. He didn't start any of the games I saw (he started the SS game at the Phillies on Friday, but I was watching the home game against the Yankees), and I think I only saw one or two of his at-bats - one of which was a sac fly. I also didn't see any of his ability in the field. It sounds like he's been having a solid spring so far, I just wasn't able to witness it.

Moleskyn

March 4th, 2014 at 12:32 PM ^

He's on the 40-man roster. Hasn't played above Lakeland though, so I expect he'll be starting either there or in Erie after Spring Training. He's a young guy and made some solid contact. He stands out just because of his appearance, but he also made some nice baseball plays.

Blake

March 4th, 2014 at 3:20 PM ^

I went down to the Dominican Republic 2 years ago for a bit of a "beisbol" expedition to see the Caribbean Series and by luck also had the chance to check out the Tigers training center outside of the baseball hotbed town of San Pedro de Macoris.

At 6'6" Moya looked like a man among boys out there with left-handed power and a great arm. The coaches down there were really high on him and thought he had the raw tools to make an impact in the majors someday. I've tracked his career a bit since...he was in Lakeland last year, but has some holes in his swing at this point (106k's in 93 games), but he's only 22 at this point, so still plenty to develop. 

I will say, if you love baseball and are a bit adventurous, a trip to a baseball-crazy country like the Dominican is worth it...you can't go too far on the island without seeing kids playing baseball with whatever they can find even if it's just a stick and bottlecap. It's fantastic!

That being said, Lakeland is also great and a must-visit for Tigers fans.

Prince Lover

March 4th, 2014 at 1:16 PM ^

Tigers need all their lefty hitters to have good years. Hopefully Avila rounds back into the starting All Star catcher he was a couple years ago too.

If you'd like to comment on those two, please feel free but it's probably getting a little tedious at point. I mostly just wanted to chime in about my favorite pro team. I love me some tigers, and the warm weather that eventually follows.