Mormon Baseball

If I have to pick one Mormon player as the strongest performer during this spring training, there is really little question about who should be picked: Bryce Harper. His performance has simply been stunning. During his last week of the spring, he hit .778! He led all batters (those with at least 30 at bats) in spring training in batting average with .478 and hit 3 home runs, and he did it with a respectable 67 at bats. You almost wanted his coaches to tell him to calm down and save something for the regular season. But Harper isn’t the only Mormon player to perform well in the spring.

Close behind Harper is Eric Sogard, whose strong performance in spring helped him win a spot on the opening roster for the Oakland As as a backup infielder. Sogard hit .444 with 1 home run in 54 at bats during the spring. Since his teammate and fellow Mormon Adam Rosales is currently on the 15-day DL, it is not clear if Sogard’s success came at the expense of Rosales. Rosales also performed well during the spring, hitting .324 (in 37 at bats).

Another position player who  may have improved his position during the spring is the Mets catcher John Buck. Buck hasn’t performed well during the past few years, and this spring training season has been his best since 2009, improving his chances to remain as the Mets everyday catcher while the team grooms their favored prospect, Travis d’Arnaud, who has been expected to make the team this year. Buck hit .444 for this past week.

Among pitchers, the clear leader is Josh Johnson, who ended the preparatory spring with a 2.70 era over 20 innings. As expected Johnson will be part of the Blue Jays’ strong starting rotation that is expected to make Toronto a contender for the post season this year. Also strong was reliever Kyle Farnsworth, who earned a 1.42 era on 6.1 innings of relief. Farnsworth is expected to be the Tampa Bay Ray’s setup pitcher for closer Fernando Rodney. Perhaps the biggest disappointment is Phillies’ starter Roy Halladay, who had a few mediocre outings in spring training, including one this past week, and ended spring with a 6.06 era. Still, Halladay will be a key part of the Phillies’ starting rotation.

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Current Roster Players:

• Darwin Barney—second base—Chicago Cubs
  4 for 13 (.308), 1 runs, 2 rbi, 0 hr, 0 bb, 0 sb, 4 so.
  YTD: .239, 9 runs, 11 rbi, 2 hr, 4 bb, 0 sb, 7 so in 71 at bats.
• John Buck — starting catcher — New York Mets
  4 for 9 (.444), 1 runs, 1 rbi, 0 hr, 2 bb, 0 sb, 1 so
  YTD: .342, 9 runs, 8 rbi, 2 hr, 7 bb, 0 sb, 11 so in 38 at bats.
• Jacoby Ellsbury — starting outfielder — Boston Red Sox
  4 for 8 (.500), 2 runs, 0 rbi, 0 hr, 1 bb, 0 sb, 2 so
  YTD: .288, 8 runs, 1 rbi, 0 hr, 7 bb, 0 sb, 7 so in 52 at bats.
• Kyle Farnsworth — closer — Tampa Bay Rays
  0-0, 0.00 era, 1 hits, 0 er, 0 bb, and 1 k in 1.0 innings
  YTD: 0-0, era 1.42 6 hits, 1 er, 0 bb and 3 k in 6.1 innings
• Jeremy Guthrie — starting pitcher (right handed) — Kansas City Royals
  0-0, 2.25 era, 6 hits, 1 er, 0 bb, and 1 k in 4.0 innings
  YTD: 2-1, era 4.09 29 hits, 10 er, 3 bb and 15 k in 22.0 innings
• Roy Halladay— starting pitcher (right handed) — Philadelphia Phillies
  0-0, era 4.15, 8 hits, 2 er, 2 bb, 6 k in 4.1 innings.
  YTD: 2-1, era 6.06, 21 hits, 11 er, 9 bb, 16 k in 16.1 innings.
• Bryce Harper — left field — Washington Nationals
  7 for 9 (.778), 1 runs, 3 rbi, 0 hr, 1 bb, 2 sb, 0 so
  YTD: .478, 11 runs, 15 rbi, 3 hr, 4 bb, 6 sb, 12 so in 67 at bats.
• Elliot Johnson — infielder — Kansas City Royals
  2 for 11 (.182), 2 runs, 2 rbi, 1 hr, 2 bb, 0 sb, 6 so
  YTD: .273, 10 runs, 9 rbi, 2 hr, 4 bb, 4 sb, 16 so in 55 at bats.
• Josh Johnson — starting pitcher (right handed) – Toronto Blue Jays
  2-0, 3.86 era, 8 hits, 4 er, 10 k, 3 bb in 9.1 innings.
  YTD: 5-0, 2.70 era, 12 hits, 6 er, 23 k, 3 bb in 20.0 innings.
• Matt Lindstrom — right handed bullpen pitcher – Chicago White Sox
  0-0, 5.40 era, 1 hits, 1 er, 1 k, 0 bb in 1.2 innings
  YTD: 0-0, 5.14 era, 4 hits, 4 er, 5 k, 6 bb in 7.0 innings.
• Brandon Lyon — right handed bullpen pitcher — New York Mets
  0-0, 0.00 era, 2 hits, 0 er, 0 k, 1 bb in 1.0 innings
  YTD: 0-1, 7.00 era, 14 hits, 7 er, 5 k, 3 bb in 9.0 innings.
• Mitch Maier — outfielder — Boston Red Sox
  1 for 1 (1.000) 0 run, 0 rbi, 0 hr, 0 bb, 0 sb, 0 so
  YTD: .346, 5 runs, 3 rbi, 0 hr, 4 bb, 2 sb, 3 so in 26 at bats.
• Clayton Mortensen — right handed bullpen pitcher —Boston Red Sox
  0-0, 13.50 era, 2 hits, 3 er, 3 k, 1 bb, 2 hr in 2.0 innings
  YTD: 0-1, 5.23 era, 7 hits, 6 er, 7 k, 4 bb, 2 hr in 10.1 innings
• Shane Peterson — outfielder — Oakland A’s
  Did not play in the major league spring training this week
  YTD : .408, 9 run, 7 rbi, 1 hr, 5 bb, 0 sb, 11 so in 49 at bats
• Adam Rosales — 2B — Oakland A’s
  0 for 2 (.000) 0 run, 0 rbi, 0 hr, 0 bb, 0 sb, 1 so
  YTD: .324, 12 run, 9 rbi, 3 hr, 8 bb, 1 sb, 6 so in 37 at bats
• Eric Sogard — infielder — Oakland A’s
  3 for 14 (.214) 1 run, 3 rbi, 0 hr, 0 bb, 0 sb, 2 so
  YTD: .444, 10 run, 9 rbi, 1 hr, 6 bb, 1 sb, 4 so in 54 at bats
• Mitch Talbot — starting pitcher (right handed) — Miami Marlins
  Did not pitch — reassigned to AAA New Orleans
  YTD: 0-0, 4.50 era, 9 h, 4 er, 2 hr, 5 k, 0 bb in 8.0 innings
• Nik Turley — starting pitcher (right handed) — New York Yankees
  reassigned
  YTD: 0-1, 27.00 era, 4 h, 4 er, 0 hr, 2 k, 1 bb in 1.1 innings