Baseball in Fort Wayne

• Josh Barfield – Can he make it back? We should see his brother come through Fort Wayne a time or two this summer too.
• Jack Cassel – Can he make it?
• David Freese – Out to prove 2008 was no fluke and that he is ready to make the MLB roster. Will the Achilles injury kill his chances at a starting gig?
• Dale Thayer – He’s made his case. Will start at Triple-A. Is there room for him in the Rays bullpen?
• Luis Cruz – It’s likely he’ll make the Bucs’ roster. Will he start?
• Will Venable – An unexpected breakout? Methinks so.
• Chase Headley – Where’s he gonna play? Will he skyrocket?
• Kyle Blanks – Will he terrorize triple-A? Will he stay in the Friar’s system? Will he play outfield?
• George Kottaras – He has the backup job as Boston’s catcher . . . for now.
• Dirk Hayhurst – From Prospect to Non-Prospect to Major Leaguer to Blue Jays Waiver Wire Claim to Blue Jays release for Matt Bush to Minor League deal. Where does he go from here?
• David Pauley – Can he win a spot with Baltimore after being traded out of Boston?
• Nick Hundley - Enters the season as the Padres starting catcher. Sizzle or fizzle?
• Freddy Guzman - Broken bone in hand killed his shot at an Opening Day roster spot in Seattle. Will it kill his shot for the whole season?
• Michael Cuddyer - The last remaining Twin from the Wizards days as a Minnesota affiliate. Can he return from an injury plagued 2008?
• Eddie Bonine and Jaun Rincon - Will Detroit give Eddie a place in the rotation and can Rincon win a bullpen gig?
• Travis Chick – Is it the last shot for this longshot?
• Jon Link – After a great 2008 in Birmingham, does he stick it out in Triple-A all of 2009 or does he move up to the Majors?
• Leo Rosales and Luke Carlin – Can these former Wizards win spots with the Diamondbacks?
• Ray Chang – He was the talk of the early WBC days. Can he make Pittsburgh fans talk as much? I will probably catch him during an Indy roadtrip if he gets assigned to Triple-A.
• Greg Burke - Heath Bell is the heir to Hoffman as closer in SD. Will Burke be the top set-up man?
• Kyler Burke - First round draft choice did a disappearing act after being traded to the Cubs for Michael Barret and Fort Wayne native, Rob Bowen. Does he still have a shot to fulfill his promise?
• Matt LeCroy – Former Wizards and MLB catcher has entered the managing ranks with the Single-A Washington Nationals affiliate, the Hagerstown Suns. Will be fun to follow his progress up the manager ranks a la Randy Ready.
• Rand Ready – Speaking of Ready, he’s probably on most short lists of managerial candidates for any team who might consider replacing their manager (there’s at least one or two during every season). Will he move up or stay in Portland all season?
• JJ Furmaniak – He’s back in the mainland in Phillies camp after a year in Japan. Where’s he going to ultimately land to start the season and how will he perform once he gets there?
• Matt Bush – The oft-injured, highly touted shortstop turned oft-injured, impressive pitcher makes his return from Tommy John surgery. What are the Blue Jays going to do with him?
• Josh Geer – the fifth spot to join Jake Peavy in the rotation seems to be his to lose. Will his elbow hold up?
• Cubs Backup 3B Battle: Can Bobby Scales or Luis Rivas win the gig?

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