Miami Palms Blog

John Danks is a newcomer to the Palms rotation, taking the spot of Don Schoppe after a long and successful career with the White Sox. Danks was in his first season back from injury last year, but he came back with excellent command, walking only 27, but also serving as a launching pad. His HR/Fly Ball rate was over 16% which is large for him, and very large for MLB. The Palms added Danks at a discount, undoubtedly hoping that all those dingers were a fluke, and they will get the veteran leader they need in the rotation in 2014.

The Palms have an anchor in center field by way of Coco Crisp. He rounds out a solid defensive outfield, can bat leadoff and is certainly not a liability at the plate. Crisp is always on base, it seems, and can move when he gets there. As seems to be the case with players that come to Miami, he elevated his home run total when he arrived, and hasn't looked back, hitting 15-20 a year to round out his reliability. Crisp is definitely a veteran leader on the team, and an important cog in the offense.

The ageless Tim Byrdak allegedly is showing his age. He has decided that 2014 will be his final year in baseball. He wasn't a problem in the bullpen for the team in 2013, though, posting a 3.77 ERA over 76.33 innings, best out of the pen for Miami, aside from closer Manny Parra. He and Oliver Perez will provide some leadership for a bullpen that is adding two rookies in 2014.

Kyle Blume came on strong his rookie season, going 217 innings and earning a 17-8 record with a 4.19 ERA. He struggled late in the season thanks to fatigue, but carried a sub 4 ERA through most of the season. Thanks to a nearly 6 strikeouts per 9 innings, and very good control when not drawing whiffs, he was likely the best pitcher the team had. He can work on keeping the ball in the yard this season, and maybe strikeout a few more batters, but he will be a top of the rotation starter in 2014.

The Palms are fortunate to have a fully stacked outfield both offensively and defensively. Blanco is a highly skilled defensive player with great range and quickness. He won't ever hit in the middle of the order, but he can certainly spend time at any of the outfield positions and is a threat on the basepaths, definitely an asset for the 2014 roster.

Tony Abreu will be the teams' shortstop for the second season in a row, after spending time as a utility man before that. Abreu hit .299 with 14 home runs in his first season of full time work. His defense is slightly below average, but his veteran presence in one of the more grueling defensive positions is greatly appreciated. Chris Korb has a slightly better bat, but is a defensive liability, and he will continue to be tutored by the more complete Abreu for the time being.

The Palms look like they will be using two rookies in Pete Otterloop and Keith Harding in their bullpen next season. In order to avoid a bullpen that is TOO young, they have added veteran Oliver Perez to the staff during the first day of Major League Baseball's winter meetings. Perez is a lefty who strikes out a lot of opponents. His problem, consistently, has been control . There may be a few more walks than the Palms are comfortable with, but the strikeouts will be a welcome change.

The Palms have acquired third baseman Chris Johnson from the Atlanta Braves. His career has been marked by numbers that seem better than they should be. He isn't the swiftest of runners, but often finds himself on base thanks to a high average on balls in play. He is a line drive hitter first and foremost, so the Palms hope his gap power will prove beneficial this season in Palms Park. Johnson replaces another former Brave, Martin Prado, who left the Palms to join Cincinnati last month.

Don Schoppe moved to the rotation for the first time in 2013 and was surprisingly effective. He went 10-11 with a 4.05 ERA, thanks in large part to his ability to prevent walks. He allowed only 37 through the season. Schoppe had been a reliever for 6 years prior and he cashed in on a jump to the rotation brought on by a mass exodus after 2012. The Palms have a replacement on the roster already after signing John Danks earlier this month. The Palms will still seek to replace a few members of their bullpen, as well as third baseman Martin Prado, who left for Cincinnati.

The Palms will need to restock their bullpen. Calvin Hobbes, Ivan Fernandes and now Dennis Sarfate have all bailed on Miami. Sarfate has penned a deal to take him to San Francisco, where he will join an already formidable bullpen. At this point, Miami has three unresolved spots in the back end of their pitching staff. While some of the spots may be filled internally, they are certainly on the lookout for a free agent or two. Sarfate was nothing if not a workhorse for the Palms, having at least 70 innings pitched every year since 2009. He was often the victim of bad luck, but was never truly a liability. Miami wishes him well in San Francisco.