Miami Palms Blog

Brett Hayes wasn't even a prospect when he came to Miami, but through his own development (including 10 home runs in limited use) and the decline of Carlos Ruiz, Hayes finds himself slotted as the opening day catcher for the Palms. Much like Omir Santos before him, Hayes turned a career in which he was sparingly used and light hitting into one of a player who is both comfortable at and behind the plate. He is one of many players thrust into a greater role this season, and hopes are high that he will seize the opportunity.

Lucas Harrell was decent in 2013 but struggled retiring batters in 2014. His strikeout rate dropped in 2014 by almost a full strikeout, while he also faced limited success when the ball was in play, sporting one of the highest BABIPs on a team full of bad luck pitchers. The team will hope that in limited use, his velocity will go up, and he will reach greater heights.

The Palms work in rebuilding their pitching staff began last year, and included a pair of rookies, including Keith Harding. Harding proved to be a workhorse, but struggled as the season wore on, especially with home runs. He is adept at finding the strike zone, but in his effort he also produces a high contact rate, allowing a whopping 23 home runs. He will only get better, and with pitchers like Cody Allen and Felix Rodriguez joining the staff, he has some wise mentors to learn from.

Johnny Giavotella hasn't yet been able to break into the starting lineup, but he has settled into an impressive groove as a utility infielder. He hit .307 last year, far and away a career high, with an OPS of .765, which, while not all star level, is fairly impressive. With Chris Korb getting moved to a platoon role at third, Giavotella also stands to get more time on the field with more rregular relief of Tony Abreau as well as Kelly Johnson and Billy Dupont. Expect to see more of Giavotella to see if his uptick at the plate was a product of small sample sizes or a real improvement.

The Palms continue to be pretty happy with long time first baseman Billy Dupont. Originally an outfielder, Dupont has better range and quickness than the standard first basement, demonstrated by the fact that he hit 7 home runs last year. He is allergic to walks, but he also does a good job avoiding strikeouts, which works to forgive his other offensive issues. He hits for good power, but with so many quality bats on his team, he isn't relied on specifically for his big bat, which puts him at ease in the bottom half of the order.

The Palms rejiggered their rotation and their bullpen, but John Danks, despite a rough season, will maintain his role every 5 days. Danks went 6-8 with a miserable 5.74 ERA thanks almost entirely to an astronomical home run rate. There is no way that he could possibly duplicate such a disaster, which means that Danks should be expected to perform as a more reasonable rate. If he can get his ERA down below 5, that should be just fine as a 5th starter.