Aaron Hicks Belts Three Homers in Twins Win; Led by Stefen Romero's 7 RBI, Seattle Stops KC

Players of the Day for Thursday, March 7, 2013

Grapefruit League

Hicks: 3 HR, 6 RBI

One usually wouldn't expect much power from the leadoff spot, but Minnesota's Aaron Hicks - a rookie with no major league experience - launched three rocket shots in the Twins' 10-6 victory over the Phillies.

Getting an extended look in center field, Hicks put balls out of play in the first, fifth and seventh innings. With a shot at four homers in the eighth, he laced a single to center, driving in two runs, completing a 4-for-5 day with six RBI and four runs, a stat line that would equate to a good week for most players.

With Ben Revere traded away in the off-season, center field could be there for the taking if Hicks continues his impressive play. He's batting .411 with four dingers and 12 ribbies.

Cactus League

Romero: 2 HR, 7 RBI

After winning their first 11 games, Kansas City finally got beat, and the team that stopped their winning streak was the one which has been nearly as hot, the 11-3 Seattle Mariners, who got seven RBI from the bottom hitter in the lineup, second base prospect Stefen Romero, who went 4-for-5 with a pair of homers, a single, double, four runs and those seven RBI.

Romero's effort helped Seattle cruise to a 12-2 victory.

All of Romero's RBI were produced with two swings of the bat. He socked a grand slam in the fourth and a three-run blast in the eighth.

Romero was a Topps AA All-Star last season, batting .347 with 12 homers and 50 RBI in 56 games for Jackson in the Southern League.

His effort was in support the first Spring start of 2010 Cy Young winner, Felix Hernandez, who allowed two hits and one run over two innings, fanning a pair. Hernandez inked a $175 million, seven year deal with the Mariners last month, making his the highest-paid pitcher ever in the majors.

Rookie Oscar Taveras Impressive for Cardinals; Alex Gordon's Grand Slam Leads 11-0 Kansas City

Players of the Day for Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Grapefruit League

St. Louis improved to .500 (5-5) in Grapefruit League play, bashing five home runs off Miami hurlers in a 7-2 romp.

ROb Johnson, Ronny Cedeno, Oscar Taveras, Matt Adams and Matt Holliday each belted long balls for the Cardinals. For the two Matts and Taveras, the dingers were their seconds of the season. Taveras also doubled and drove in two runs in three at-bats.

Taveras, a highly-ranked prospect who's been with the Cardinal organization since 2009, led the Texas League (AA) in home runs (23) and doubles (37) and was second, with 94 RBI, in 2012. The Cardinals are giving the 21-year-old from the Dominican Republic an extended look in right field.

Batting .333 with a pair of homers and eight RBI, Taveras is making a solid impression this Spring.

Gordon: GS, 4 RBI

Cactus League

Alex Gordon continued his hot spate of hitting with a 3-for-4 effort Wednesday, smashing a fifth-inning grand slam to go with a single and double in Kansas City's 8-1 rout of Arizona, their 11th straight win without a loss in the Cactus League.

Batting out of the leadoff spot, Gordon has been having a whale of a time at the plate, even though he insists he hasn't found his groove just yet, batting .524 (11-for-21) with a pair of homers, seven runs and five RBI.

The Royals banged out 15 hits and got three scoreless innings from starter James Shields, who won his first game in a Royals uniform.

KC's hot start has them 1 1/2 ahead of Seattle in the standings. The Mariners are 10-2 after losing a 7-6 squeaker to Milwaukee.

Conor Jackson Helps Orioles to 6-6 Tie with Blue Jays; Jeff Francis Thorws Four Strong Innings as Colorado Wins

Players of the Day for Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Grapefruit League

Conor Jackson

The Yankee-Red Sox rivalry may be the stuff of legend, but the two teams to watch in the AL East this season may be Baltimore and Toronto.

Those two squared off in exhibition action Tuesday afternoon, the result a 6-6, 10-inning tie which, fittingly, settled nothing.

Conor Jackson continued his hot hitting, going 3-for-3, with a single, double and a solo homer.

Jackson, acquired by the Orioles after spending last season in the minors, is making his case for staying in the majors, batting .421 with three long balls and six RBI in just 19 at-bats. The O's are giving him an extended look in an attempt to bolster their outfield. Adam Jones and Nick markakis have center and right fields locked down, but left field is still a wide open competition.

Along with Jackson, Lew Ford and Chris Dickerson are among the top candidates for the position.

Cactus League

Francis: 4IP, 0R, 1H

The Colorado Rockies are hoping to make 2013 a season in which the memories of 2012 are forgotten, and, to do so, they'll need much better pitching than what surfaced last season. The Rockies had the highest ERA in the majors: a whopping 5.22 mark.

A step in the right direction was provided by starter Jeff Francis, who threw four shutout innings, allowing just one hit and no walks while striking out four in Colorado's 6-3 win over the still-searching Cubs.

Francis, 17-9 in 2007 for the Rockies, hasn't had a winning season since. Last year's mark of 6-7 included a 5.58 ERA in 24 starts. He threw just 113 innings, allowing opponents a .316 batting average, so Tuesday's win - his first of the Spring - was a refreshing change. A lefty hurler, Francis could be key to Colorado's mound turn-around.

The Cubs fell to 5-7, while the Rockies improved to 6-5.

Casper Wells Drives in Five as Mariners Go 10-1; Ben Revere Should Fill Center Field Void for Phillies

Players of the Day for Monday, March 4, 2013

Grapefruit League

Ben Revere

With Shane Victorino headed to Boston, the Philadelphia Phillies need somebody to patrol center field this season and the most likely candidate would have to be Ben Revere, whom the Phillies acquired from Minnesota following the 2012 season.

Revere has blazing speed, swiping 40 bases for the Twins last season while being caught just nine times. He was off and running in Philly's 5-0 shutout win over the Pirates Monday, his third steal of the preseason.

Batting from the leadoff spot, Revere stroked a pair of singles, scored one run and drove in another as the Phillies breezed to the win, starter John Lannan allowing the only Pittsburgh hit of the game in three innings of work. Three relievers finished up with six innings of hitless ball as the Phillies evened their record at 5-5.

Cactus League

Wells: 3-4, 5 RBI

Seattle continues to club the opposition to death in the Cactus League, smashing Colorado by a 16-6 score on Monday to improve to 10-1 in exhibition play.

Outfielder Casper Wells, who is likely to stick with the big club after playing 93 games for the Mariners in 2012, went 3-for-4 with a single, double and a triple, driving in five runs and scoring three times.

Wells batted just .228 in 2012, but has shown flashes of potential, socking ten homers and driving in 36 runs.

With an outfield that includes sure-fire center fielder, Franklin Gutierrez, Wells is likely to be looking for playing time in between more experienced types such as Raul Ibanez, Michael Morse, Jayson Bay and slugging Carlos Peguero.