NL Central Update

CHICAGO CUBS

Inside the Numbers: Marlon Byrd, coming off his all-star season in 2010, leads the Cubs this spring with 18 hits in 39 at bats, good for a .462 average. Starlin Castro is 17 for 43 (.395) with a team high 4 home runs and 12 runs batted in. Castro hit just 3 home runs in 463 at bats during his rookie season. Scott Moore, who spent last year in the Orioles organization, is hitting .364 (12/33) with 3 home runs. 23 year old catching prospect Welington Castillo has 11 hits in 15 spring at bats (.733). Castillo hit .255 with AAA Iowa last season before earning a late season call-up where he hit .300 (6/20) in 7 appearances. Ryan Dempster leads the Cubs with 18 innings this spring and has a team 15 strike outs and an ERA of 2.00. Randy Wells has a 1.29 ERA in 14 innings of work. Carlos Silva and free agent signing Matt Garza have combined to go 0-4 in 8 games (6 starts) and have allowed 38 runs in 22 innings of work. Silva has allowed 29 hits in 11 1/3 innings of work.

Of Note: 25 year old infielder Darwin Barney is making a strong case to make the Cubs opening day roster as a backup infielder. Barney, a shortstop by trade, is unlikely to bump Starlin Castro for the starting job but his versatility and ability to hit for average make him a good candidate to earn a bench spot. After hitting .299 with the Iowa Cubs (AAA) last year, Barney was called up to play in Chicago where he hit .241 in 30 games. However, this spring Barney is 13 for 34 and has just 1 strike out in 14 games. Barney was a 4th round pick by the Cubs in 2007 out of Oregon State.


CINCINNATI REDS

Inside the Numbers: 24 year old outfield prospect Dave Sappelt leads the Reds with 15 hits this spring and is hitting .556. Sappelt also has a pair of home runs and a pair of stolen bases. The 5'9" Sappelt hit .342 across 3 levels in the minors least season finishing the season in AAA Louisville. Kris Negron has just 17 at bats, but leads the Reds this spring with 9 runs batted in. Negron also has 3 steals. Negron spent the majority of 2010 in AA where he hit .272 with 11 home runs and 34 stolen bases. Aroldis Chapman has allowed just 5 hits in 8 innings of work striking out 10 but walking 7 while posting a 2.25 ERA over 6 games. Bronson Arroyo has tossed a team high 14 innings over 4 starts, but has a 5.14 ERA.

Of Note: Joey Votto set career highs in almost every offensive category in his 3rd full season in the majors last year including runs (106), hits (177), home runs (37), runs batted in (113), walks (91), stolen bases (16) and average (.324) en route to the National League MVP award. The Reds will need another strong season from their star if they hope to repeat as NL Central champs. Votto has seen his numbers improve every season though so there's no reason to think he won't continue to produce at a high level. Now 27, Votto is hitting .276 this spring and is second on the team with 8 runs batted in.


HOUSTON ASTROS

Inside the Numbers: Brett Wallace, hoping to earn the starting first base job in Houston this season, leads the Astros with 16 hits this spring and is batting .364. Earlier this week he drove in 7 runs in one game against the Orioles. Hunter Pence is having another strong spring with 15 hits in 42 at bats, but he's only scored 2 runs and has only 5 runs batted in and 0 homers. Michael Bourn has not drawn a walk in 39 at bats and has stolen just one base. Chris Johnson looks to build on his breakout season last year batting .359 (14/39) with a pair of homers and 9 runs batted in. J.A. Happ (2-1 2.08) and Brett Myers (0-1 9.00) are tied for the team lead in innings with 13. Top prospect Jordan Lyles is 1-2 in 4 appearances but has only allowed 2 earned runs in 10 innings of work. Enerio Del Rosario who was traded to Houston last season from Cincinnati is holding hitters to a .152 average through 9 1/3 innings and has not allowed an earned run. Wilton Lopez has worked 6 innings this spring and has not allowed a baserunner.

Of Note: So who's going to take Jason Castro's spot on the opening day roster? Humberto Quintero is locked in to one of the catching spots and has done nothing this spring to suggest otherwise batting .391 (9/23) with 4 doubles and 5 runs batted in. J.R. Towles is having a strong spring hitting .357 (10/28) with a pair of homers and 5 RBIs. Carlos Corporan is still in the running with 7 hits in 16 at bats (.438), but Brian Esposito (1/12), Chris Wallace (1/2) and Ramon Garcia (0/2) are likely headed back to the minors. The Astros would love to see Towles finally live up to his potential, but his abysmal run over the past three seasons (38/241) has to make Astro fans nervous about the prospect of seeing him behind the dish on opening day.


MILWAUKEE BREWERS

Inside the Numbers: Jeremy Reed and Erick Almonte are tied for the team lead in hits with 19. Catcher Greg Kottaras, speedy outfielder Chris Gomez and shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt all have 6 doubles. The Brewers have 14 different players with double digit hit totals already this spring: Reed (19/51), Almonte (19/48), Brandon Boggs (13/44), Luis Cruz (12/40), Casey McGehee (11/40), Kottaras (15/39), Gomez (15/38), Mark Kotsay (11/34), Betancourt (12/33), Edwin Maysonet (10/32), Rickie Weeks (14/32), Eric Farris (11/30), Prince Fielder (11/29) and Zelous Wheeler (11/27). McGehee has a team high 4 homers and Reed and Boggs are tied with the RBI lead with 11. Yovani Gallardo has a team high 13 1/3 innings in his 4 spring starts and leads the team in strikeouts with 14. He is 2-0 with a 2.70 ERA so far this spring.

Of Note: Offseason acquisition Shaun Marcum is expected to be a big part of the Brewers rotation in 2011, but he had to leave his last start on Thursday early following tightness in his shoulder. Currently slotted to be the #2 starter for Milwaukee following Zack Greinke's basketball injury (oops), the Brewers can ill afford to see him go down for an extended period of time. Injuries are nothing new to Marcum though who missed the entire 2009 season following Tommy John surgery.


PITTSBURGH PIRATES

Inside the Numbers: Lyle Overbay leads the Pirates with 15 hits this spring and is tied with John Bowker for the team lead in homers with 3. Andrew McCutchern continues to do a little bit of everything going 14 for 39 with a pair of homers and 2 stolen bases. Ex-Padre Kevin Correia, coming off back to back 10+ win seasons in San Diego, leads the Bucs in innings this spring with 18 1/3 over 5 starts. He has a team high 15 strike outs, but is 1-2 with a 6.38 ERA. Brian Burres has thrown 9 scoreless innings this spring and Michael Crotta has thrown 8 1/3 shutout innings allowing just 3 hits and 0 walks. Crotta was 7-10 between AA Altoona and AAA Indianapolis last season with a 4.42 ERA.

Of Note: With right-hander Kevin Hart starting the season on the 60 day disabled list following shoulder surgery, the Pirates went out and got 27 year old Garrett Olson this week. Olson spent his first two years with Baltimore before spending the last two years in Seattle. He's 13-21 in 99 games in his brief career with a 6.20 ERA and comes to Pittsburgh after getting waived by Seattle this spring. In 5 appearances this spring, Olson has a 5.40 ERA in 5 innings of work. Olson is coming off his best major league season in 2010 where he was used solely as a reliever and posted a 4.54 ERA in 35 appearances getting his first major league save.


ST. LOUIS CARDINALS

Inside the Numbers: Matt Carpenter leads the Cardinals with 17 hits this spring. He also has a team high 3 triples. Skip Schumaker is hitting .424 (14/33) and John Jay while hitting just .240 (12/50) has a team high 11 runs batted in. Albert Pujols is having a relatively quiet spring with just 8 hits in 36 at bats. He does have 7 runs batted in though. Matt Holliday is 13 for 36 with a pair of home runs and 5 runs batted in and just 1 strike out. Lance Berkman is 8 for 35 with a home run, but no walks and 7 strike outs. Kyle Lohse is 2-0 with a 1.38 ERA in 3 starts during which he hasn't walked a batter in 13 innings. Kyle McClellan is 2-0 with a 0.75 ERA in his 3 starts. Relievers Fernando Salas and Trever Miller have combined to throw 14 innings this spring and allowed no runs and just 2 hits.

Of Note: McClellan appears to be well on his way to earning the final spot in the Cardinals' rotation this season. McClellan has allowed just 6 hits in his 12 innings of work allowing opposing batters to hit just .146 against him. McClellan was stingy against opposing hitters as a reliever last year as well holding hitters to just a .210 average while posting a 2.27 ERA. But while McClellan is excelling, Jaime Garcia and Jake Westbrook are struggling. In four spring starts Garcia has an 8.31 ERA and has allowed 23 hits in 13 innings while Westbrook has a better ERA (4.91), but has allowed 24 hits in 14 2/3 innings.