3/22 Live from Arizona

Day three in Arizona. Today I watched some minor league bp, and a major league game against the White Sox. Here's what I got for you:

• Paulo Orlando had a strong BP session. I didn't get to see a lot, because I was bouncing around between fields but I did witness Orlando get solid wood on the ball and hit the gaps on nearly every swing. He also hit one of the few home runs that I was able to witness. Orlando was acquired from the Chicago White Sox for Horacio Ramirez. The fact that we were able to get anything more than a bag of balls for HoRam is impressive. Orlando has average tools across the board, but thus far as a pro hasn't done much with them.
• Rene Oriental was taking BP with the younger guys. The fields seemed to be divided up into groups of players that were at similar points in the development process. While Oriental played in the triple A game on Sunday, he played on a field with players that haven't tasted full season ball. For some reason the guy interests me and I am going to guess that he starts in either Burlington or Wilmington with a very aggressive approach to his development.
• Didn't get to see the big names hit. Okay this isn't entirely true as I saw Myers take about 10 cuts, but he didn't do anything of note during those swings. Hosmer fielded balls at first while I was there and Moustakas was nowhere to be found due to a strained oblique.
• Coaches will get on to a player. Spring Training isn't always a joke around section. Today one of the Royals minor league middle infielders through a ball to second behind is back and a coach immediately asked the player if that was how he would do it during the game. Of course the player looked a little embarrassed and he quickly put his game face back on.
• Jordan Parraz has a reputation. Today after a player make a smart Alec response to a coach the coach referred to him as Jordan Parraz. Not sure if this was a reference to Parraz being a jokester or a reference to Parraz being a smart ass.
• Kelvin Herrera and Ed Cegarra were working out. Last year both of these Latin American pitchers virtually disappeared due to arm/shoulder injuries. Today I glimpsed both, Herrera stretching out his shoulder and Cegarra leaving the field after shagging balls. Good to see both prospects around camp, of course if you have read my top prospect list you already know that I am a huge fan of Herrera and I will admit that I totally forgot about Cegarra while forming my list.
• Aviles returns to short. It would just be a huge boost for this team if Aviles can overtake Betancourt at the short stop position, but even if he can't wouldn't he be a better option than Getz at second? Getz has an option so he could be sent to Omaha easy enough. Aviles is already the superior hitter and fielder, so this would seem to make sense. Aviles did have two errors on pop ups today, but the first was because Irving Falu didn't yield to his call, and the second he shouldn't have been the one making the play. Either way, while dropped popups are embarrassing to witness as a fan, they aren't nearly as big of a deal in the Arizona sun when players haven't played many innings together.
• Ka'aihue made another sharp defensive play. I've heard from scouting reports that Kila Ka'aihue is a below average fielder, however from what I have seen during my time in Arizona he seems to be very quick with the glove. He has made several nice stops that I am not sure Billy Butler would have made. Perhaps, Ka'aihue's defense is underrated by scouts much like his hitting ability.