Quick note on the Angels’ pitching situation: Kelvim Escobar is potentially done for the season, and I can’t be the only one who thinks that John Lackey’s injury is more significant than the Angels are letting on. Perhaps that will keep Nick Adenhart in the starting rotation longer than expected, and could create a regular bullpen job for O’Day. A shakeup appears imminent in Anaheim.

• From the sound of things, Gammons thinks Clayton Kershaw is certain to be a factor for the Dodgers this year.  Their main concern is limiting his inning early so he finishes in the 150-160 IP range.
• Tigers manager Jim Leyland thinks Detroit’s first pick in the 2007 Draft, Rick Porcello, will be with the big league club some time this season.
• Gammons also notes that players like Porcello, the Yankees Austin Jackson, Andrew Brackman, and Ian Kennedy, the Red Sox Lars Anderson, Ryan Kalish, Anthony Rizzo, David Mailman, and Will Middlebrooks, will have a serious impact on this year’s draft.  Of course these players are all now top prospects who were drafted way above slot in later rounds.
• Picking player comparables is always tricky business, but Gammons thinks the best comparable he’s heard for Yankees SP Ian Kennedy is the Blue Jays SP Shaun Marcum.

• Beau Mills, 3B/1B, Indians
• Trevor Crowe, OF, Indians
• Matt LaPorta, OF, Brewers
• Phillipe Aumont, RHP, Mariners
• Robinzon Diaz, C, Blue Jays
• Charlie Morton, RHP, Braves
• Tyler Flowers, C/1B, Braves
• Brett Sinkbeil, RHP, Marlins
• Lance Broadway, RHP, White Sox
• Rick Porcello, RHP, Tigers
• Dexter Fowler, OF, Rockies
• Chris Nelson, SS, Rockies
• Jeff Samardzija, RHP, Cubs
• John Bowker, OF, Giants

• Law saw Angels’ top pitching prospect Nick Adenhart pitch four innings against the A’s. His two best pitches, a late-action two-seamer fastball and a deep breaking curveball, both looked very good and were well used by Adenhart. His third pitch, a changeup, wasn’t performing quite as well. Adenhart will need to develop his ability to use this pitch if he’s to realize the lofty projections anointed him.
• We’ve mentioned the huge three-run bomb that A’s prospect Daric Barton hit in his first game back after injuring his wrist. Well, Law cautions that we shouldn’t get too excited about this HR as it was hit off of non-prospect Matt Wilhite, whose arm-slot is uber conducive to a swing like Barton’s.
• Bad news on one of our top rookie breakout candidates, Rockies’ SP Franklin Morales. We were excited by the news that Cook and Hirsch had both been temporarily shelved, seemingly opening a door in the rotation for Morales. Law noticed, however, that Morales’ velocity was way down at a point in the spring where most pitchers are getting up to their normal speeds. Law spoke with a scout who had noticed the same thing in his previous start as well. Let’s be clear, it was Morales mid to high 90’s velocity coupled with his devastating slider that made him look so good last year. If he doesn’t have that stuff back come season start, Morales could be in a world of hurt.
• We’ve also noted that Rockies prospect Jayson Nix appears to be the front runner for the starting 2B job. Law thinks it will be a short-lived tenure for Nix, though. He notes that Nix’s swing is too long, and he struggles to connect with any decent fastball or breaking ball.
• Law also watched Giants flamethrower Erik Threets in one inning of work. Law wasn’t too enamored with Threets, who surprised him with a solid inning of work. Threets is throwing in the mid to high 90’s, but doesn’t have a second pitch to back it up.

• Wade Davis, RHP, Rays
• Jake McGee, LHP, Rays
• Adam Miller, RHP, Indians
• Chuck Lofgren, LHP, Indians
• Mike Aubrey, 1B, Indians
• Danny Moskos, LHP, Pirates
• Collin Balester, RHP, Nationals
• Tyler Clippard, RHP, Nationals
• Garrett Mock, RHP, Nationals
• Ross Detwiler, LHP, Nationals
• Greg Reynolds, RHP, Rockies
• Casey Weathers, RHP, Rockies
• Max Ramirez, C, Rangers
• Chris Davis, 1B, Rangers
• German Duran, 2B, Rangers
• Elvis Andrus, SS, Rangers
• Justin Masterson,  RHP, Red Sox
• Michael Bowden, RHP, Red Sox
• Deolis Guerra, RHP, Twins
• Jordan Walden, RHP, Angels
• Matt Wieters, C, Orioles

• Look no further than the MLBProspectNews.com 2008 Rookie Fantasy Sleepers page, located under the MLBPN Features section of our navigation bar.

“They’re an asset, and you have to take care of your assets. At the same time, they’re not 19-year-old kids, either. They’re certainly capable of doing it. You just have to see how they’re doing in August.”

Ironic, since it will soon be a young pitcher that will be taking his spot in the rotation, maybe as early as this season. In the same breath, Mussina says that he hopes that Joba Chamberlain will remain the setup man for a while, saying:

“I like what Joba was doing last year. That’s a pretty big role, too, getting to the closer. You look in the post-season, the teams that can fill in that space from the starter to the closer are the teams that do well.”

That seems to conflict a bit with Mussina’s previous stance, since leaving a pitcher of Chamberlain’s caliber in merely a setup role is practically the definition of “limiting a young pitcher”.

Is it possible that the real reason Mussina wants Chamberlain to stay the setup-man is because he knows he could be the odd-man-out of the rotation? With Chien-Ming Wang, Andy Pettitte, Phil Hughes, and Chamberlain starting that would leave Ian Kennedy and Mussina to duke it out for the fifth spot. Kennedy is a 24-year-old top prospect in the organization, and part of a powerful young trio that Manager Joe Girardi would like to keep together for a long time. What’s more, according to Gerry Fraley of Sportingnews.com it is Yankees GM Brian Cashman’s plan to have more than 70 starts by pitchers 25 or younger this season.

Things do not look good for Moose, who has been roughed up already this spring for 5 runs in 2 innings. Even though the Yankees are paying him $11.5 million this year and will be counting on him as a starter to open the season, it wouldn’t surprise us to see him lose his job if he can’t pull it together when winning games becomes a priority… which it always is for the Yankees. Fantasy owners should pick up low-risk-high-reward Ian Kennedy in the final rounds of the draft and wait patiently to see how things pan out.

Chamberlain got the start (even though he will be starting the season as Mariano Rivera’s setup man) and retired all six batters he faced, striking out two of them. Kennedy also worked two scoreless innings and gave up a single, the only hit allowed by the trio. Hughes struck out two in one inning of work.

Part of their success can be attributed to Andy Pettitte’s early morning workout routine with the young pitchers. Chamberlain, Kennedy, and Hughes have been participating every morning in Pettitte’s “starter’s program for stamina” to get them ready for the physical rigors of pitching every few days.

Fantasy-wise, it appears that Ian Kennedy is slated to start fifth right now behind Wang, Pettitte, Hughes, and Mussina, assuming that Chamberlain starts in the bullpen like everyone says. If that remains the case you can expect some pretty solid numbers from Kennedy with the massive run support the Yank’s bats will provide (i.e. Wins). If you’re worried about Kennedy getting bumped from the rotation if Chamberlain moves into that role mid-season, I wouldn’t be. At this point, aging Mike Mussina (who allowed 5 runs on 6 hits in 2 IP yesterday) would probably be the first to go.