Adam Jones Leads O's Past Twins; Danny Espinosa a Find for Nats

Players of the Day for Wednesday, March 9, 2011

American League

Adam Jones

Baltimore's Adam Jones singled, doubled and homered in four at-bats, carrying the Orioles to an 11-2 pounding of Minnesota.

Jones also scored three times and drive in three runs, raising his Spring batting average to a reasonably solid .350 and helping get the O's back to .500 in the Grapefruit League with a 5-5 record.

Jones, of whom much is expected, comes off a somewhat disappointing season in which he slugged 19 homers and drove in 69 runs. A center fielder, Jones is a five-tool guy who some figure to be a league MVP some day. The O's have made some serious off-season moves to improve their offensive production and Jones will be a key to that effort in 2011. Just finishing anywhere other than last place in the rugged AL East will be considered a victory in Charm City.

National League

Danny Espinosa

Rookie second baseman Danny Espinosa is off to a hot start with the Washington Nationals, batting .455 with two home runs and 10 RBI in seven exhibition games.

In Wednesday's 8-4 win over the Marlins, Espinosa powered up with a single, double, his second home run of the season - a two-run seventh inning blast - and four RBI.

After a short stint with the Nationals in 2010 in which he hit six home runs in 28 games (103 at-bats), Espinosa has already secured the starting job at second and he appears to be relishing the appointment.

The Nats finished last in the NL East last year but are expected to be more competitive in 2011.