Fantasy Baseball Spring Storylines: March 7 (Bonderman, Buchholz, and More)

Rain wreaked havoc out in Arizona, but that didn’t limit the number of interesting storylines. Catching battles, injury returns breakouts, and more. What else can you ask for?

1. Jeremy Bonderman is a pitcher with a lot of eyes on him. We’ve all heard about the potential, but he’s never seemed to put it all together. Throw in last year’s injury, and you really have no clue what you are going to get. His first spring outing certainly didn’t help matters, allowing six runs on six hits and one walk, striking out one, over just two-thirds of an inning. Among the hits were home runs to Jose Bautista and Randy Ruiz . He’s nothing more than a complete flyer in all formats right now.
2. Will either Dioner Navarro or Kelly Shoppach step up and win the Rays’ catching job outright? Shoppach went 1-3 with one HR and two R, putting him at .333 with two HR this spring. Navarro, meanwhile, went 3-3 to raise his average to .667. This is a battle that we’ll have to follow closely all spring, and possibly into the season. That makes it tough for those in two-catcher formats to trust either of them from the outset, doesn’t it?
3. Clay Buchholz a starting pitcher breakout in 2010? His spring certainly didn’t get off to an impressive start, giving up three runs on five hits and two walks, striking out one, over two innings of work. I’ll be taking a closer look at him in the coming days to give us a better idea of what’s possible for him.
4. The dark horse in the Mets fifth starter battle? How about Hisanori Takahashi who tossed three shutout innings of one-hit ball? The thing is, that’s not even the most impressive part. He struck out six without walking a batter. Keep the name in the back of your head, just in case. He should have an advantage the first time around the league, given the lack of experience against him.
5. Stephen Drew had a big day, going 2-3 with one HR, three RBI and two R. He’s a player that could be a great bounce back candidate for ‘10, and one we’ll spend more time discussing in the near future.

Which of these storylines interests you most?

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