Spring Training has a weird way sending messages, and there really isn’t a consistent way to interpret it. For most players it’s merely a way to shake the cobwebs loose. For others it’s a chance to prove their worth to silence the haters or make the final spot on a roster. Whether a player does well or not at the end of the day those numbers become cryptic, especially for guys who consistently do well during the regular season and poor in Spring Training, and vice-versa. But with one week to go before the start of the regular season, this will be that last chance for everyone to make their mark. With that, here are five batters who are having truly noteworthy performances in Spring Training.
Yoenis Cespedes - Outfielder, Oakland Athletics
In 2012 Cespedes finished the season with a .292 average, 23 home runs and 82 RBI, good enough for a second place finish behind Mike Trout for the American League Rookie of the Year Award. That spring, Cespedes only managed to hit .229 with one home run and two RBI. In 2013 Cespedes entered Spring Training with his guns blazing, hitting .295 with six home runs and 15 RBI; however, he only managed to hit .240 on the season with 26 home runs and 80 RBI. So far this spring Cespedes is off to a horrific start with a .163 average, but he has gone yard once and knocked-in nine runs. Based on the numbers and the law of averages, it’s almost likely that Cespedes might finish with over a .300 average, 30 or more home runs and close to 100 RBI. This of course is only when you attest for the fact that when he does poor to mediocre he turns it into a brilliant regular season and vice-versa.
Shin-Soo Choo - Outfielder, Texas Rangers
How terrible does Rangers’ General Manager Jon Daniels feel right now? After signing Choo to a seven-year $130 million deal one might think that he would want to send a message this Spring Training. Unfortunately for him, that message has been “I’m not worth the money.” Choo is having a terrible spring, even more so than Cespedes. In 48 at-bats Choo is averaging .146 and has only gone yard once while knocking-in three runs. Choo has never really been much of a power hitting; however, he has been incredibly consistent. Not since 2009 has Choo's average been this poor in Spring Training when he hit .208. Since then, Choo had only hit below .322 once in 2012 when he hit .271 in his final season with the Cleveland Indians.
Michael Choice - Outfielder, Texas Rangers
If there was an antithesis of Choo, it would most certainly be Choice who joined the team from the Athletics in exchange for Craig Gentry and Josh Lindblom. Choice was an unfortunate victim of being one too many players in an otherwise already crowded outfield roster, but he certainly has big league potential. To prove it, Choice is hitting .357 with three home runs and 13 RBI. With numbers like that Choice could and should legitimately start over Choo in left field, but money always talks in these kinds of situations, and Choice will more than likely find himself on the bench behind Choo, Leonys Martin and Alex Rios or possibly as the team’s designated hitter, the best solution.
Dustin Ackley - Outfielder, Seattle Mariners
It’s hard to believe that in only two years Ackley has gone from the Mariners’ starting second baseman who hit an Opening Day home run in Japan to a potential left fielder, but with Robinson Cano in his spot, not to mention the lack of production at the plate he proved since that day in 2012, changes needed to be made. Toward the end of last season the Mariners demoted Ackley to their Triple-A team in Tacoma to convert him into the outfield. Ackley has always been a great hitter when it comes to the minors and Spring Training, but it’s a matter of converting that ability into an every day situation in the Majors that has become quite the challenge. So far in 2014 Ackley is back to his old habits by hitting a colossal .418 with two home runs and 13 RBI in 55 at-bats. Whether he’ll be able to move this impressive display of hitting over next week will be the real test.
Mike Moustakas - Thirdbaseman, Kansas City Royals
Like Ackley with the Mariners, Moustakas is one of the best hitters in Spring Training for the second consecutive year. Last season he hit .394 with five home runs and 16 RBI, but only managed to hit .233 with 12 home runs and 42 RBI. This spring Moustakas is crushing a staggering .467 with four home runs and 17 RBI, but what’s to come for him once the regular season starts? Once again, like Ackley, Moustakas hit incredibly well at the minor league level which might make sense why these two players have hit so well consistently in these realms. In most cases, Spring Training lineups are chalked full of Triple-A studs who see the most playing time because teams want to protect their star play investments. Therefore, it’s the Triple- pitchers who are getting shelled by the likes of Ackley and Moustakas in Spring Training and once again when they get demoted to work on their hitting. But, the Royals have a lot of faith in Moustakas, who clearly has the potential to be a breakout star much like the last Royals’ third