[battists]

2026 Pre-Season Infielder Preview

Catchers
I don't know how I'm going to find time for all of these catchers, to be honest. Obviously, we can get some at-bats through the DH, but I have SIX of them on the roster, for crying out loud. I'll have to work some of them at first, at least.

Alex Bowen
Rookie and fellow New Yorker. Highly-rated prospect who was an inconsistent hitter in high school. Hit .311 his junior year, but only .171 his season year. Definitely a power hitting prospect though. Looks like a solid defensive catcher. Would like to get him plenty of time behind the plate, and management will be pushing to see him play as such a high draft pick.

Larry Brown
Another pure rookie, this time a later-round pick. He struggled to hit even in high school, and seems really raw defensively as well. Slow as molasses. I'm not quite sure what they saw in this kid, to be honest, but I'll try to get him in a game here and there.

Andrew Moss
20-year old, big kid for a catcher. Was a pretty high pick last year, and got into 16 games. Didn't do much (.194/.318/.222). Seems like he has a good eye, but that's about it. Looks OK behind the plate. Scouts seem to think he could develop into a solid power hitter. Not sure I see it, but OK.

Santiago Sanchez
19-year old Dominican kid that came through the international complex. Played 41 games for Hermosillo last year and hit .303/.356/.333. Not bad. Bit of a noodle of an arm, but really catches the ball nicely. Goes about his business pretty quietly. Definitely going to need to find games for this guy.

Jose Zuniga
Pickup from Brazil. Brazil? I didn't even know they had baseball there... He's been in the organization since 2023, but this is the first year they rostered him, so I don't have a ton to go on. Decent arm for a catcher, I think. I'll keep an eye on him, but I don't see him stealing that many gams from Bowen and Sanchez.

Duane Baker
10th-rd pick in this year's draft, drafted after his second year of college. Big, solid kid (6'3, 210) from Maryland. Only played 18 games in two years in college, why do they draft these guys? Looks pretty good behind the plate, but with a sitck doesn't seem to have very good plate discipline. Still, there's so little tape to go on... Just going to have to throw him out there.

Infielders

Travis Crawford
Pretty slick fielder. He's played at first and third, but I might like him at third, with that arm. Only got 12 PAs at Hermosillo last year, managed a .286 average. Hit around the same number throughout high school, so the potential to be a decent contact hitter is there. Hit a bunch of homers in HS, so hopefully his power will continue to develop.

Scotty Smith
Third round pick from a few years ago. Huge kid, 6'5 215. Everyone seems to like him quite a bit. Has been in Hermosillo for two years, but only got into 3 games in his first year. Played almost the entire season last year, hit .253/.353/.320. Seems to have some position flexibility. Has played a bit of corner outfield and at first. He lumbers around the outfield, but he's surehanded, and Christ what an arm! Really not quite sure what to do with him. Playing him at first seems like a waste of that arm. But he has no range in the outfield. Might try him at third, but he's not especially surehanded, so I'm not sure that will work at the hot corner. Lots of options with this kid.

Mike Davis
This kid seems like a player. 2nd overall pick in last year's draft. Like lightning on the base path. One of the older players on the team. Averaged around .330 for his three years in college. Only hit .239/.289/.351 last year, but his eye isn't terrible. I just think he needs a little more work. Looks pretty comfortable in the infield; super smooth at second. Might get him a little more work at short, too.

Walt Armstrong
Just six days younger than Mike Davis, but ol' Walt has been hanging around Hermosillo for three seasons now. At Hermosillo, he has hit for .303/.384/.402. Not quite sure why they haven't moved this kid up yet, and if they don't want to, why they haven't moved him. He's a solid 3B. Plays a little second as well. Well, as long as I have him, I'm not turning down a consistent .300 hitter!

Johnny Brandon
8th round pick from this year's draft. Guess they were really loading up on catching talent? Kid hit .300 with a .394 OBP in college, and a .477 slugging %, so I'd definitely like to see if he can hit at this level. Looks solid at third. But just like catcher, I have all of these third basemen! Gotta move some bodies around.

Brooks Clark
Four. Did they really draft FOUR thid basemen in this year's draft? Yep, they did. This one has a rocket for an arm, but struggles to hold onto the ball a bit. Only hit .250 in college, not much power. Feels like "just a guy" to me, but let's see what I can do with him.

Luis Rubio
Another draft pick 3B; at least this one was drafted three years ago. So what's he still doing here? He'll be 23 in a few weeks, oldest player on the squad. In three years here he has only played in 62 games, and hit .234/.326/.311. Either the pitchers REALLY like him, or he has photos of someone. He's not especially slick defensively either. I can't promise I'm going to fight to get this kid innings, unless he really shows me something early on.

Cyril Stefanelli
Really young Venezuelan kid from the international complex. Great position flexibility; already looks comfortable all over the infield and has even played a little in the outfield. Switch-hitter; nice. Scouts think this kid could make the bigs, so I'm going to get him plenty of at-bats.

Ivan Cordova
Another Hermosillo vet, almost 23 years old, local Mexican find. This kid is a Gold Glove-caliber fielder who can play all four infield positions. But he's heading into season 5 in Hermosillo and has averaged .227/.310/.314 during that time. On the plus side, last year he was .242/.315/.326, so he's at least improving. Question is, is he improving enough to go anywhere? Still, hard to keep defense like that out of the lineup. I'll certainly use him late in games.

Carlos Trujillo
Carlos is a rarity on this team; he was signed as a FA last season. There's something interesting about this kid. I like him a lot. At 21 years, he has already bounced around a bit. Even got a sniff at low A and AAA last season (didn't do much). But in his one year here, he hit .296/.322/.357. Bit of a free swinger, but at least a decent contact guy. Like Cordova, though, really excellent defensive player. He's so damn smooth on the double-play, it's a joy to watch.

Likely Starters

Catcher - Alex Bowen
First Base - Santiago Sanchez
Second Base - Carlos Trujillo
Shortstop - Mike Davis
Third Base - Cyril Stefanelli