Aroldis Chapman Goes Five Scoreless for Reds; Justin Morneau, Luke Hughes Power Twins in 19-4 Win

Players of the Day for Saturday, March 24, 2012

Grapefruit League

Justin Morneau

Due to a variety of injuries, concussion symptoms and operations, Minnesota's Justin Morneau, the AL MVP in 2006, played in just 81 games in 2010 and 69 in 2011. In Saturday's 19-4 wipeout of Tampa Bay, Morneau had his all-star swing working as he belted a two-run and a three-run homer in his two at-bats, his first two wall-clearing shots of the spring.

Luke Hughes

Morneau, who normally hasn't produced much in terms of hitting or positive outlook in his previous spring seasons, is still batting just .154, but the power stroke seems to be coming back.

Luke Hughes, a utility infielder who played sparingly for the Twins in 2011, is looking more like a keeper for the major league club after going 5-for-5 with two doubles, a home run and five RBI.

Primarily a second baseman, Hughes played both second and short in Saturday's breezy win.

Minnesota banged out 18 hits - 10 for extra bases - against the Rays, pounding starter Jeremy Hellickson for 11 hits and 10 earned runs in three innings.

Cactus League

Aroldis Chapman

Cincinnati is hoping to fit flame-throwing Aroldis Chapman into their starting 2012 rotation and after Saturday's 6-0 whitewash of the Padres, that plan appears to be on track.

Chapman started and pitched five innings of shutout ball, allowing four hits while fanning five with a walk. His pitches were clocked in the mid-to-upper 90s, offering San Diego hitters little chance at the plate.

In 54 appearances last season with the Reds, Chapman went 4-1 with a 3.60 ERA and 71 strikeouts. Control has been a concern for the hard-throwing lefty, whose pitches have been occasionally clocked at over 100 MPH since he exploded onto the scene with the Reds in 2010. Last year he issued 41 walks in 50 innings, but through four appearances this spring, he's issued only two free passes in 12 innings.

Tim Stauffer Tosses Six Scoreless for Padres; Luke Hughes Helps Twins Down Tigers

Players of the Day for Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Grapefruit League

Things seem to be heating up in Florida's Grapefruit League. A casual observer might even believe that some teams are a little annoyed that the Detroit Tigers have traveled around the state beating the heck out of the other squads with an air of smug contentment.

Luke Hughes

That may or may not be the case, but the Minnesota Twins gave Detroit a bit of their own medicine with a 7-3 win Wednesday, knocking around their first two pitchers for seven runs in the first five innings.

Luke Hughes, a AAA Rochester farmhand who played 96 games - mostly at second base - for the Twins in 2011, singled, socked a home run, stole a base, drove in three runs and scored twice in three at-bats to pace the Minnesota batters.

Hughes has toiled in the minors since 2003 and will probably be delegated back to the triple-A Red Wings once the regular season begins, unless Alexi Casilla, the regular second baseman, gets injured again, as in 2011.

The win pushed Minnesota's record to 12-8, though they still trail the 13-4 Tigers in the standings by three games. St. Louis and Toronto are also in the hunt for Grapefruit glory.

Cactus League

Tim Stauffer

The Padres took it to the Dodgers, 3-0, in Cactus League action as Tim Stauffer had a very solid outing for San Diego, a team that was out of the pennant picture as early as June last season.

If the Padres intend to compete in the NL West, they'll need a good season of work out of Stauffer and their other starters in the pitching-rich division.

Stauffer worked the first six innings of the game, allowing just three hits and no runs while fanning two batters. He demonstrated great control in not allowing a single walk, getting his first win of the spring.

Stauffer started 31 games for San Diego in 2011, compiling a 9-12 record with a 3.73 ERA. His most recent stint was easily his best showing of the exhibition season.

The Padres are a respectable 11-8 in Cactus League play.