Kris Bryant pulled a prank on some unsuspecting college kids.

Michael Conforto is a player everyone is excited to see in 2016. I find it odd that so many are so bullish though the Mets only gave him 15 plate appearances against lefties last season versus 179 against righties. Can he hit lefties? Will the Mets let him try? The Mets have Yoenis Cespedes and Curtis Granderson playing every day in the outfield leaving Conforto to battle with Alejandro De Aza and Juan Lagares for playing time. At least De Aza doesn’t have a track record of success against portsiders (career: .239/.302/.354).

Jacoby Ellsbury (wrist) was hit by a pitch Saturday but he is back to taking soft toss and hopes to return to game action soon. He expects to be ready on Opening Day. The 32 year old outfielder has appeared in 135 games just once in four seasons. He’s always out of the lineup and is coming off a 111 game season with a .663 OPS.

Kevin Gausman (shoulder) had a cortisone shot. He could resume throwing by Friday as it seems to be working. April 10th as the Orioles starter is the goal right now, we shall see if it happens. Big fan of the skills.

Lucas Giolito has been demoted by the Nationals. It’s always what was going to happen as there was no spot for him in the rotation and no need to start his arbitration clock immediately. We will see the best pitching prospect in baseball at some point this season but it might not be until the second half of the season though.

Jon Gray has an abdominal strain which means he won’t be starting the year in the Rockies’ rotation. I love the talent, who doesn’t, but how can you even bother rostering him unless you are in an NL-only league? The answer is – you cannot.

Mat Latos allowed seven runs over 4.2 innings Tuesday to the Giants. Still think he’s a nice late round option in AL-only leagues now that he calls Chicago home. Wasn’t that long ago that the 28 year old was a strong mixed league option.

Lance McCullers (shoulder) will almost certainly begin the year on the DL. Still, it sounds like he could return by mid-April at which point you would have to think that Scott Feldman would be moved into middle relief. Set your goal for McCullers at 170-innings this season. That way you won’t be ticked off if he is used as most expect, and not as most had hoped.

James Paxton allowed two runs over five innings Monday as he struck out eight minor leaguers. "I was just working on getting extension. That's what I was working on in the bullpen this week, to get my curveball spinning a little tighter. Really kind of reaching out there for the glove and getting that tight spin back." Paxton hit 93-94 on the radar gun with the heater which is encouraging after he was bombed for seven runs in two innings his last time out against the Athletics. Paxton is battling with Nate Karns and Wade Miley for the final two spots in the rotation of the Mariners. A one-time elite prospect, Paxton has been healthy enough to throw a mere 165 big league innings to this point and cannot be trusted even if he grabs a starting spot as he’s failed to reach 105-innings pitched in either of the last two seasons.

The Phillies might go with a 6-man rotation this year. Haven’t we seen this enough to understand it just doesn’t work?

Colin Rea sounds ticketed for the Padres starting rotation. If true, that means Brandon Morrow, Drew Pomeranz and Robbie Erlin are fighting for the final spot as Brandon Maurer has been sent to the bullpen (see Ray’s Ramblings). Rea, a 25 year old righty, made six starts last season for the Padres with a 4.26 ERA, 1.26 WHIP and 7.39 K/9 ratio. He added a splitter last season which really helped, but none of his four pitches stand out. He is a solid “pitcher” though and he keeps the ball in the yard (he allowed three homers in 102 innings in the minors last season). A decent late round option in NL-only leagues.

Aaron Sanchez tossed 6.1 scoreless innings Wednesday against the Mets. He would seem to have the 5th spot in the rotation in his sights after posting a 1.35 ERA with just three walks in 20 innings. Seems like he's trying his best to lock down that 5th starting pitcher spot. 

Ervin Santana will start Opening Day for the Twins. Ugh. Still, you gotta feel better about that then Jeremy Hellickson as the Phillies O.D. starter, don’t you? I might like Marcus Stroman and Cole Hamels a bit more too ;-)

 

Ray Flowers can be heard Monday through Friday, 7 PM EDT and Friday on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio (Sirius 210, XM 87). You can also hear Ray Sunday nights at 6 PM on the channel talking fantasy sports. Follow Ray’s work at Fantasy Alarm and on Twitter (@baseballguys).