Mormon Baseball

If it is possible to “win” spring training, then Elliot Johnson has pulled it off this year. Johnson, who has built a career as a utility infielder, did what he needed to. He was .345/.387/.586 during the spring—numbers that would attract the attention of any manager. But Johnson has managed similar numbers in previous years in spring training—in 2008 and 2011—but his performance during the year has fallen far short. His best year in the majors was 2012, when he hit .242/.304/.350. Still, his performance has won him a spot in the opening day roster. Without doubt, he will be trying to do still better this year.

Johnson was particularly strong during the last week of spring training, when he led all the other Mormon players except the Rangers’ Adam Rosales. Rosales was 5 for 11 last week (.455) with a run scored. But Rosales hasn’t done nearly as well as Johnson, recording a weak .191 spring batting average. And also unlike Johnson, Rosales has been designated for assignment to AAA.

Also strong during the final week of spring training were Eric Sogard and Darwin Barney. Barney managed to keep his spot at 2nd base for now, after hitting .277 in the spring with a home run, 6 rbis and 9 walks in 47 at bats. But he faces competition from the cubs’ top prospect Javier Baez, who is expected to be brought up and play at 2nd base. But while Sogard hit just .255 in the spring, with 8 runs scored and 4 rbis, he doesn’t seem to have any worries about keeping his spot as the As’ everyday 2nd baseman.

Among pitchers, the best performance of the spring was from the National’s Doug Fister, although he pitched just 5.2 innings and ended up on the 15-day DL due to a right lat strain. The best performance in the final week of spring training came from the White Sox’ closer Matt Lindstrom.

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• Darwin Barney — second base — Chicago Cubs
  3 for 9 (.333), 0 runs, 3 rbi, 0 hr, 3 bb, 0 sb, 1 so
  YTD: .277, 4 runs, 6 rbi, 1 hr, 9 bb, 0 sb, 5 so in 47 at bats.
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• John Buck — backup catcher — Seattle Mariners
  1 for 5 (.200), 0 runs, 0 rbi, 0 hr, 1 bb, 0 sb, 3 so
  YTD: .241, 1 runs, 4 rbi, 0 hr, 3 bb, 0 sb, 8 so in 29 at bats.
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• Jacoby Ellsbury — centerfield — New York Yankees
  Injured — did not play
  YTD: .174, 5 runs, 1 rbi, 1 hr, 5 bb, 0 sb, 6 so in 23 at bats.
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• Kyle Farnsworth — relief pitcher — New York Mets
  0-0, 4.50 era, 2 hits, 1 er, 0 bb, and 2 k in 2.0 innings
  YTD: 1-0, era 5.40, 12 hits, 6 er, 4 bb and 6 k in 10.0 innings
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• Doug Fister — starting pitcher — Washington Nationals
  Did not play (15-day DL)
  YTD: 0-0, era 1.59, 4 hits, 1 er, 1 bb and 6 k in 5.2 innings
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• Jeremy Guthrie — starting pitcher — Kansas City Royals
  0-1, 7.00 era, 11 hits, 7 er, 3 bb, and 8 k in 9.0 innings
  YTD: 1-1, era 6.98, 25 hits, 15 er, 8 bb and 17 k in 19.1 innings
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• Bryce Harper — starting centerfield — Washington Nationals
  3 for 10 (.300), 1 runs, 4 rbi, 1 hr, 1 bb, 0 sb, 2 so
  YTD: .239, 6 runs, 9 rbi, 2 hr, 7 bb, 2 sb, 11 so in 46 at bats.
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• Elliot Johnson — second base — Cleveland Indians
  5 for 13 (.385), 1 runs, 1 rbi, 0 hr, 0 bb, 0 sb, 6 so
  YTD: .345, 7 runs, 9 rbi, 2 hr, 3 bb, 2 sb, 16 so in 56 at bats.
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• Josh Johnson — starting pitcher — San Diego Padres
  Injured, did not pitch (15-day DL)
  YTD: 0-1, era 3.38, 10 hits, 5 er, 4 bb and 13 k in 13.1 innings
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• Matt Lindstrom — Chicago White Sox, reliever and maybe closer
  0-0, 0.00 era, 0 hits, 0 er, 0 bb, and 1 k in 1.0 innings
  YTD: 0-0, era 3.00, 3 hits, 1 er, 0 bb and 2 k in 3.0 innings
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• Brandon Lyon — relief pitcher — Los Angeles Angels
  0-0, 13.50 era, 4 hits, 2 er, 0 bb, and 0 k in 1.1 innings
  YTD: 0-0, era 4.50, 9 hits, 4 er, 0 bb and 6 k in 8.0 innings
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• Clayton Mortensen — relief pitcher — Kansas City Royals
  Did not pitch
  YTD: 0-0, era n/a, 0 hits, 0 er, 0 bb and 0 k in 0.0 innings
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• Shane Peterson — Oakland As minor league affiliate, infield
  Did not play — reassigned
  YTD: .167, 0 runs, 1 rbi, 0 hr, 4 bb, 0 sb, 6 so in 12 at bats.
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• Adam Rosales — Texas Rangers, backup infielder
  5 for 11 (.455), 1 runs, 1 rbi, 0 hr, 0 bb, 0 sb, 3 so
  YTD: .191, 4 runs, 7 rbi, 0 hr, 2 bb, 0 sb, 16 so in 45 at bats.
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• Eric Sogard — Oakland As, backup short stop
  2 for 6 (.333), 2 runs, 0 rbi, 0 hr, 1 bb, 1 sb, 1 so
  YTD: .255, 8 runs, 4 rbi, 0 hr, 6 bb, 2 sb, 8 so in 47 at bats.
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