UPDATE Josh Tomlin: Super encouraging outing. Very good command and deception with all pitches. Looked like Tomlin at his best before injury. I think two homers at end might have been fatigue. Although we do know Josh is prone to solo homers. He needs to make staff somewhere. If not, first call up when pitching needed.
UPDATE Cody Allen and Bryan Shaw: Sharp again and I am confident baring injury that they can lock down 7th and 8th innings. I assume Shaw 7th and Allen 8th with situational lefty as needed.
David Aardsma: Threw well today and earlier also. He has high level ML experience and is a long shot to make the club. But it would not be completely shocking if he did depending on other factors moving forward. He is solid depth, but I think if Indians cut him he will sign with another team.
Yan Gomes: This young man is fundamentally sound in every way. He has a solid approach at the plate and I think his hitting will be an asset. More importantly, he calls a good game and is awesome at controlling the running game. Thank you Toronto and Esmil Rogers!
Jason Kipnis: Has been sharp in the field and not at the plate. Seems to be struggling with his plate discipline. He goes through stretches like this and it seems to be a pattern. But the flip side is that he gets red hot and hits everything in sight. If you watch Kipnis enough you can see if he is locked in by how many off speed pitches in the dirt he lays off. When he doesn’t swing at those, he is usually hitting well. I am not concerned and I don’t think you should be either.
Asdrubal Cabrera: He looks good and is showing good plate discipline. When he does that, he gets more than his fair share of hits. I expect in this contract year Asdrubal will do well.
Nick Swisher: Hitting the ball fairly well but many are “atom” balls. He did not hit one ball in the games I saw with any power. So that might be a slight concern but it is too early to tell.
Michael Bourn: Struggling at the plate but not in the field. He has shown good speed but still no inclination to steal bases. I still think Michael will come back with a stronger offensive year and more disruption on the bases. He is coming off minor leg surgery so building slowly this spring is logical.
Expect more on Sunday. None for tomorrow. Traveling back home.