Cuts are an inevitable part of spring training. Teams come in knowing they have to trim their rosters to 25, and most already have 20 or so of those spots figured out.
But some cuts -- pardon the pun -- sting a bit more than others. Particularly in Fantasy, where you spend an abnormal amount of time studying players' numbers and trends, you grow attached to a handful of fringe players, and when they fall short of making the roster, you can't help but feel a little bit bummed.
So here's three cuts that caught my interest today. Keep in mind that, since these are fringe players, they're in large part irrelevant in standard 10- or 12-team mixed leagues:
OF Steve Pearce, Pirates
I just wrote about this guy the other day. What a shame. After Pearce came in and bopped three homers right away, I thought the Pirates might give him a chance at least to share at-bats with Xavier Nady in right. But he'll have to wait, gaining experience in the minors for now. I still say he ends up becoming a decent provider of home runs in NL-only leagues before season's end, likely following a trade of either Nady or Jason Bay. He ended the spring with a .263 average and four home runs in 38 at-bats.
OF Colby Rasmus, Cardinals
Really, you kind of sensed this one coming -- no matter how unfair it seems. For sure, Rasmus looks like he belongs. The five-tool athlete hit .273 with two home runs and three stolen bases in 33 at-bats. Even more impressively, he walked 12 times, or more than one-fourth of his plate appearances -- that's not a misprint -- to give him an on-base percentage of .467. Ay, chihuahua. So why didn't he get the job? He's 21 and has minor-league options -- it's that simple. Right now, I think the Cardinals like Skip Schumaker for their outfield vacancy and leadoff spot, and I could see him hitting for a decent average and keeping the job all year. But if someone suffers an injury, put in a claim for Rasmus.
SP Greg Smith, Athletics
I normally subscribe to the belief that spring stats mean nothing, but I do like to monitor them for young, under-the-radar pitchers (you need only look at Dave Bush in 2006 or James Shields last year to understand why), and I thought I had picked up on a winner in Smith. One of the prospects acquired in the Dan Haren trade, the 24-year-ol
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