Mar 20, 2016; Salt River Pima-Maricopa, AZ, USA; Colorado Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado (28) triples in the second inning against the San Francisco Giants at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports
SURPRISE, Ariz. — Take a spin around the Cactus League with “Three Up, Three Down,” an inside look at what is coming up and what went down on Monday.
THREE UP
1. Nolan Arenado might be anonymous east of the Rockies, but if the Colorado third baseman played in New York, Boston or Chicago, they might already be erecting statues of him. Rockies manager Walt Weiss insists Arenado’s name belongs in the same sentence with Mike Trout and Bryce Harper as the best young players in the game. Arenado, 24, has won Gold Gloves in his first three big league seasons. He hit 42 home runs and drove in a major league-leading 130 runs last year. If spring training is a precursor for the regular season, Arenado will be the 2016 National League MVP. He is batting a Cactus League-leading .629 and has hit in all 13 games he played. He went 2-for-2 with a walk Monday in the 9-6 victory over the Rangers. It was his eighth consecutive multi-hit game. He doubled in the first inning, his fifth straight game with an extra-base hit. He has an extra-base hit in eight games.
“It’s pretty amazing what he’s doing right now,” Weiss said. “He’s such a great player, nothing (he does) surprises me anymore.”
Arenado was supposed to have the day off, but elected to make the lengthy trip from Scottsdale to Surprise. “He goes, ‘I want to play,'” Weiss said. “He chose to play three days in a row and travel to Surprise, as we all know that’s Nolan.”
2. Milwaukee Brewers infield prospect Yadiel Rivera has a flair for the dramatic in spring training. He hit a two-run home run in the ninth inning Monday off Deolis Guerra as Milwaukee rallied to defeat the Angels 4-3. It was Rivera’s third ninth-inning home run this March that altered the lead. He is making a significant bid to earn a bench role or possibly the starting shortstop job.
“That’s safe to say,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. “He’s had a very good spring and the homers are something that’s fun for everybody.”
Rivera raised his average to .375. He hit only two home runs last year in the minors and went 1-for-14 in seven big league games.
3. It appeared when the Cleveland Indians acquired veteran third baseman Juan Uribe that Giovanny Urshela would open the season with Triple-A Columbus. Urshela, however, is doing his best to prevent that from happening. Urshela hit his club-leading fifth home run, an opposite-field blast, in a 9-4 triumph over the Chicago White Sox.
“Hitting a ball that way, you haven’t seen him do that too often,” Indians manager Terry Francona said. “That was good to see. He’s feeling pretty good about himself, as he should.”
He is hitting .313 with 12 RBIs this spring. Urshela hit .225 with six home runs and 21 RBIs in 81 games last season.
THREE DOWN
1. Mike Trout is down — putting down a good bunt that is. Trout had a bunt single on a first pitch Monday against the Brewers. With the third baseman playing back, Trout took advantage with a perfectly laid bunt. He has not had a bunt single in a regular-season game since 2012 when he had three. Angels manager Mike Scioscia is not averse to seeing Trout, who belted 41 home runs, 32 doubles and six triples last year, to bunting occasionally.
“Mike has the opportunity of getting on base and turning anything into a double (by stealing second),” Scioscia said. “There are times when if he’s got a nice pad back there, and the third baseman is playing soft, he’s a good bunter.
2. The Texas Rangers sent down three blue-chip prospects — third baseman Joey Gallo, middle infielder Jurickson Profar and outfielder Nomar Mazara — all optioned to Triple-A Round Rock, but there is no doubt they are a major part of the club’s future. Gallo led the club with three home runs when he was demoted and has prodigious power. Profar was considered the top minor league prospect after the 2013 season before a right shoulder injury that eventually needed surgery wiped out the last two years. Mazara, who turns 21 next month, hit .375 with a .500 slugging percentage in a dozen games. The trio may begin the season in the Pacific Coast League, but don’t be surprised if they are in the American League before the season ends.
“They understand they are an important group of players,” Rangers manager Jeff Banister said. “(They are) that wave of next players as things happen and we have needs.”
3. The Dodgers are concerned enough about left fielder Andre Ethier’s right shin to send him for a bone scan. Ethier fouled a ball off his shin Friday and has been on crutches since. X-rays detected no fracture, but his leg is not responding to treatment, so the club ordered a bone scan Monday.
“Sometimes X-rays don’t tell the whole story, so that is why we wanted to get a bone scan,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “Either the X-rays hold true or there is a fracture. After a contusion, even if it hits you pretty good, you should still feel less discomfort and he’s just not there yet.”
