Miami Palms Blog

Ryan Henning is certainly not known for his fielding. Before making several acquisitions to shore up the outfield, Henning was a DH two seasons ago. Trusting Henning's bat more than that of Rico Gomez, he was given the role of every day second baseman last season. For the first half of the year, he didn't disappoint, even earning himself an all-star appearance. As he fell off in the second half of the year, however, Gomez straightened things out, and was well on his way to reclaiming his job, especially as Henning fell off, only hitting one home run in the second half. Of course, with Gomez leaving to go to the Cubs, the job remains Henning's. If Henning can be consistent, he will be a constant threat, owing to his ability to hit from either side of the plate. Jaspero Gonzalez will see plenty of time in late innings and when Henning earns a day off.

Jaspero is one of the two unrelated Venezuelan Gonzalezes on the team (the first being Felix Gonsales). Jaspero is regarded as a middle infield prospect, though he has played most of his career in the minors and in Venezuela at second. This more than anything has been what has kept the youngster in the minors for so long, with Ryan Henning and Rico Gomez blocking his path, as well as other infielders Scott Henninger, Cole Abernathy and Matt Webster. With so many players finding new teams in the past couple of years, Gonzalez is finally getting his shot, and will be a back up middle and right infielder. Gonzalez is known more for his glove and speed off the plate, but what this team needs is as reliable bat, which Henning has and Gonzalez does not. The rookie will still see plenty of playing time, nevertheless.

Gonsales was a highly sought after young pitcher coming out of Venezuela with a good fastball and a live, if mercurial slider. In his first two years in the league Gonsales has been a disappointment, falling back on his fastball in tough spots and all too often giving up clutch base hits. If he can learn to mix his pitches a little bit better, Felix could be a feared set up man. If not, he will once again be left to mop up duty.