Standard 5X5 with some fine tuning questions. Is Jeff Austin going to close for KC? He looks good this spring. Also is Mike Rivera going to be the opening day starting catcher for the Tigers. Thanks !!
Austin is the Royals’ Closer of the Future, maybe. He’s not shown much in spite of high expectations. If Roberto Hernandez were to fail or be moved Austin isn’t the likely guy to get the saves. I’d guess Jason Grimsley would, just because he’s pitched the best. But I really wouldn’t worry about this situation much. If Hernandez is out of the picture, someone new is likely to enter.
As for Rivera, I’ve read in places that he’s challenging for the starting catching job this spring. The problem is he has just 11 AB so far. Brandon Inge, Mitch Meluskey and Javier Cardona have 23, 22 and 20 respectively. Inge and Cardona have been terrible, but they are good catchers. Rivera is just adequate.
Rivera’s only chance out of camp is if Meluskey can’t throw. Maybe he’d be kept as a backup. But it makes more sense to start him off at Triple-A, where he can work on his game.