itter on their roster http://www.piratesfanproshop.com/authentic-josh-bell-jersey , so it appears they may need to Frankenstein one by platooning for the 2019 season."As the calendar has turned to 2019, the Twins organization is looking towards a new strategy for its offense. After high-OBP hitters Joe Mauer and Robbie Grossman left the team due to retirement and not receiving a contract, respectively, Derek Falvey and Thad Levine chose to target multiple sluggers to fill out the roster. First baseman C.J. Cron was claimed off waivers from Tampa Bay, while second baseman Jonathan Schoop and designated hitter Nelson Cruz were given one-year contracts. All three have at least one 30-home run season in their careers but Cruz is the only one to have shown any semblance of patience at the plate in his career. Thus, getting on base may be a problem for this team. Last season, MLB hitters drew a walk in 8.5% of their plate appearances which resulted in a .318 OBP. Looking at the Twins roster, I’m guessing there might be a platoon at catcher between Jason Castro and Mitch Garver and also in right field between Max Kepler and (Cruz? But he’s played just 9 OF games the last two seasons). Among the expected regulars for the 2019 season, only Garver, Jorge Polanco, Miguel Sano, and Cruz have a career OBP over the 2018 league OBP of .318.Of those players, Sano and Cruz are destined for the middle of the lineup due to their slugging nature, so they’re out. That leaves Garver and Polanco, but Garver would most likely start during day games at the end of a series and when a lefthanded pitcher is on the mound. However, the platoon works out perfectly as the switch-hitting Polanco has performed better against righthanded hitters in his career (.278/.346/.424, 106 wRC+).There are some issues, though. On Garver’s end, he’s hit just .229/.305/.347 (73 wRC+) in 131 plate appearances against lefties, but there might be good news as I’m assuming he’s performed better against them in the minors, though I’m not sure where to get that data. The second problem is that Garver is likely a below-average baserunner, both due to the fact that Statcast has his foot speed at 26.4 ft/sec (they claim the league average is 27 ft/sec) and because FanGraphs rates him as below-average on the bases in his short career (look at the BsR column, FanGraphs’ all-encompassing baserunning statistic). Therefore, though Garver is a bat-first catcher, he’s probably not an ideal leadoff man. Unfortunately, finding a leadoff man against LHP will be tricky and it depends on how creative you’re willing to be. With Kepler struggling immensely against southpaws thus far (.202/.273/.332, 61 wRC+), he’s either going to sit or should be buried at the bottom of the batting order. Having him ride the bench would open up a spot for Tyler Austin, who has limited major league experience in right field. We remember Jacque Jones as a leadoff hitter, but Austin would be even stranger. With more power than Jones, Austin also belongs in the heart of the lineup, but the middle would already be populated by Cruz, Cron, Sano, and Schoop. Austin is a career .272/.345/.592 hitter (145 wRC+) against lefties in his career Roberto Clemente Jersey , so he’d get on a base a ton, but would also give the Twins many early 1-0 leads. FanGraphs doesn’t think his baserunning is anything special, but now it’s time to get weird. Austin was measured as having an average top speed of 27.2 ft/sec, or roughly league average. Hey, no wonder the Yankees thought he could patrol that short right field porch at Yankee Stadium.There’s also the hope that Byron Buxton will eventually become the everyday leadoff hitter. He hasn’t shown much offensively outside of 2017 and part of 2016 but one hot streak at the dish could set him up as the #1 hitter in the lineup on a daily basis. With his speed and ability to wreak havoc on the bases, he’s just needed to be a better hitter in order to be more than Billy Hamilton 2.0. Even if he was strictly the leadoff hitter against lefties, Buxton has walked in 9.3% of his plate appearances against southpaws. His .299 OBP against them is atrocious, but that’s because his batting average is the culprit. Going a little deeper, it’s actually his 31% strikeout rate (major league average was around 22% last year). If he could cut down the strikeouts and in turn hit around .250, we might be seeing him lead off ballgames by the time July rolls around. Finally, I’m going to circle back to this lineup against righthanders because there’s one other intriguing player I haven’t suggested yet. Though Kepler has been horrendous against lefties in his career, he’s been perfectly adequate against righties (.245/.328/.448, 106 wRC+). That batting average is low but with a 10.7% walk rate, Kepler is like Buxton in that his numbers are a little low due to a poor batting average. Unlike Buxton, however, it’s not due to a poor strikeout rate (16.3% vs. RHP). Rather, he has a .258 BABIP against righties in his career, significantly lower than the league average that consistently hangs around .300. I feel Kepler would make more sense as a leadoff hitter than Polanco, especially after factoring in that Kepler has been the better baserunner in his career than Polanco. In summary, this is a tough nut to crack. The solution is easy against righthanded pitchers in that the Twins should choose between Kepler or Polanco, but it’s not so clear against lefties. They could keep a consistent leadoff hitter with Polanco in spite of his relative struggles, or they could think outside the box with Austin. Or they could blow everyone’s minds and start every single game with our new favorite player, Willians Astudillo. Final decisions and a prediction!"This will be our final look at the spring roster competition for the Atlanta Braves before the final result is announced early next week. If you want to take a look back at where we have come then you can do so by clicking here. While we entered the spring with things pretty settled, a series of nagging injuries, particularly in the starting rotation, have muddled the picture considerably. Rotation Locks: Julio Teheran, Sean NewcombWhen the spring began the rotation appeared set with four veteran starters and glut of young starters competing for the fifth and final rotation spot. Now Julio Teheran is penciled in as the Opening Day starter, Sean Newcomb has been unimpressive but is almost assured of getting a start at some point during the opening week. Newcomb has struggled this spring allowing 14 hits and 10 runs through five starts. Additionally, he has walked 15 in just 17 innings. His performance has hardly inspired confidence so saying he is a “Lock” might seem like a stretch but given the overall health of the rotation, he will likely be penciled in for the opening series in Philadelphia. One note here, Brian Snitker indicated on Saturday that the team plans to open the season with five starters on the Opening Day roster despite a couple of early off days. They are also planning on throwing Teheran on Opening Day and then bringing him back on April 3 thanks to an off day in the schedule. The fifth starter won’t be needed until April 4 in the series finale against the Cubs. Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY SportsStarter Competition: Max Fried, Kyle Wright, Bryse WilsonWith Touki Toussaint getting optioned on Saturday, it appears likely that Max Fried, Kyle Wright and Bryse Wilson have a good chance to being the season on the Opening Day roster. Fried has shown the ability this spring to work as a starter or a reliever. Wright was hit hard in his last outing but his overall body of work was good. Wilson continues to fly under the radar but also turned in a solid spring. Injured: Mike Foltynewicz http://www.piratesfanproshop.com/authentic-josh-bell-jersey , Kevin GausmanMike Foltynewicz is scheduled to throw live BP on Sunday which would be another step forward in his recovery from elbow soreness. Kevin Gausman is scheduled to start Sunday’s game against Tampa Bay and is expected to throw around 75 pitches. He will likely need one more start before he will be ready to join the rotation. Cuts:Luiz Gohara, Ian Anderson, Kyle Muller, Joey Wentz, Kolby Allard, Mike Soroka, Touki ToussaintBullpen Locks: Arodys Vizcaino, Jonny VentersArodys Vizcaino appears to have come through the spring healthy although his shoulder really hasn’t been tested in regards to workload. He and Jonny Venters both appear to be locks for the bullpen at this point. Aaron Doster-USA TODAY SportsCompetition: Jesse Biddle, Shane Carle, Luke Jackson, Chad Sobotka, Wes Parsons, Josh TomlinThe rest isn’t nearly as clear which is why the Braves may opt to keep all four of their young starters and have them pitch in relief early on. Jesse Biddle and Shane Carle have been solid if unspectacular this spring. Chad Sobotka came into camp with a lot of momentum following his performance late in 2018 but he has struggled with walks and has been hit particularly hard this spring allowing eight hits and nine runs in just 8 2/3 innings. Essentially the same thing can be said in regards to Luke Jackson. Dan Winkler was optioned on Sunday and has reportedly dealt with some elbow soreness as well this spring. He has only thrown 5 1/3 innings but hasn’t seen a lot of success either in that small sample. He will likely rejoin the bullpen mix down the road. One reliever that has been impressive has been Wes Parsons who has allowed just five hits and struck out 15 in 13 1/3 spring innings. Josh Tomlin allowed three hits and one run over three innings in his debut on Saturday and just given the state of the bullpen competition, feels like he could be in the mix for a long relief role. Injured: A.J. Minter, Darren O’DayThe good news is it seems that there is a bit of help on the way. A.J. Minter is scheduled to throw an inning in a minor league game on Monday and is hoping to return during the season’s first week. Darren O’Day is also scheduled to throw on Sunday which would be the first time he has done so since experiencing forearm soreness following his spring debut. Cuts: Huascar Ynoa, Grant Dayton, Jacob Webb, Patrick Weigel, Thomas Burrows, Corbin Clouse, Tucker Davidson, Dan WinklerButch Dill-USA TODAY SportsCatcher Locks: Tyler Flowers, Brian McCannTyler Flowers and Brian McCann have been set as the team’s catchers since the start of camp but the Braves have to feel a little bit better about their depth given the performance of Alex Jackson during his stint in big-league camp. Raffy Lopez was optioned earlier this week and will begin the season at Gwinnett. Cuts: William Contreras, Carlos Martinez, Jonathan Morales, Alex Jackson, Raffy LopezButch Dill-USA TODAY SportsInfield Locks: Ozzie Albies, Johan Camargo, Josh Donaldson, Freddie Freeman, Dansby Swanson, Charlie CulbersonNo surprises among the infield group either as all appear to be healthy and ready for the regular season. Others: Austin Riley, Andres Blanco, Pedro Florimon, Sean Kazmar JrCuts: CJ Alexander Bill Mazeroski Jersey , Luis MarteButch Dill-USA TODAY SportsOutfield Locks: Ronald Acua Jr,Ender Inciarte, Nick MarkakisAtlanta’s starting outfield is set but there is a question as to who will land the fourth outfielder job. 4th Outfielder: Matt JoyceThe Braves acquired veteran Matt Joyce from the San Francisco Giants on Sunday. He will likely see action in Sunday’s game and in both exhibition games at SunTrust Park on Monday and Tuesday. Joyce was reportedly willing to open the season at Gwinnett if necessary but it appears that it will be Adam Duvall who will be at Triple-A when the season begins. Duvall’s struggles have continued into camp as he is just 7-for-41 (.171/.306/.317) with two doubles and two homers. He has eight walks against just seven strikeouts but the Braves were still looking for more of sign that a bounce back is possible. Others: Cristian Pache, Ryan LaMarre, Rafael OrtegaCuts: Greyson Jenista, Drew Waters, Adam DuvallOpening Day Roster PredictionStarting Rotation (5): Julio Teheran, Sean Newcomb, Max Fried, Kyle Wright, Bryse WilsonBullpen (8): Arodys Vizcaino, Jonny Venters, Jesse Biddle, Shane Carle, Luke Jackson, Wes Parsons, Josh Tomlin, Chad SobotkaCatchers (2): Tyler Flowers, Brian McCannInfielders (6): Ozzie Albies, Johan Camargo, Josh Donaldson, Freddie Freeman, Dansby Swanson, Charlie CulbersonOutfielders (4): Ronald Acua Jr., Ender Inciarte, Nick Markakis, Matt JoyceInjured List (5): Mike Foltynewicz, Kevin Gausman, A.J. Minter, Darren O’Day, Dan Winkler