{"id":44785,"date":"2021-03-21T16:48:58","date_gmt":"2021-03-21T20:48:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=44785"},"modified":"2021-03-21T19:41:36","modified_gmt":"2021-03-21T23:41:36","slug":"diamondbacks-spring-training-20210320-notes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2021\/03\/21\/diamondbacks-spring-training-20210320-notes\/","title":{"rendered":"Diamondbacks Spring Training Notes, 2021: March 20"},"content":{"rendered":"

Arizona Diamondbacks Spring Training Notes: March 20, 2021<\/strong><\/h2>\n

When Saturday began, there were 11 days left in Diamondbacks spring training. Here are the news and highlights from March 20 in Diamondbacks spring training\u2026<\/p>\n

Ketel Marte\u2019s ankle is doing better. He probably could have played Saturday, but they wanted to rest him for another day before getting him back into the lineup every day. Jon Duplantier threw a 30-pitch bullpen that went well. The team will look at the results and plan the next steps forward.<\/p>\n

Among those vying for the right field spot, Tim Locastro has been playing the best. This is despite his 10-day absence due to COVID. \u201cHe hasn\u2019t lost a beat,\u201d Lovullo said in amazement. \u201cCredit to him. Ten days down? I never would have noticed it. In his first game back, he slashed a couple of balls and was right in the rhythm of his swing.\u201d Locastro brings an \u201cinstant energy\u201d and a \u201cquality at-bat\u201d that the coaching staff has noticed throughout his time in spring training. It is \u201cstuff we want and expect from him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s growing and learning. You saw what he did (Friday) when he bunted for a base hit. (That is an) area of his game that he\u2019s been fine-tuning during spring training. We\u2019ve been very pleased\u201d with where Locastro is.<\/p>\n

Disruption<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Locastro is \u2014 as David Brandt of the Associated Press put it \u2014 a \u201cdisruptive\u201d player no matter when he bats. This is because he, in the words of Lovullo, has \u201csome natural gifts.\u201d Lovullo pointed out that \u201che has great hand-eye coordination\u201d and is \u201cfast as the wind.\u201d Those are not coachable. What has stood out to Lovullo is \u201cthe type of quality at-bat he\u2019s been giving us by surveying the strike zone.\u201d He\u2019s \u201cswinging at strikes and working pitch counts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lovullo especially likes that Locastro is \u201cgetting himself into good hitting counts and not missing the pitch.\u201d He continued, \u201cThat\u2019s the hard work that he\u2019s putting in behind the scenes that stands out more to me.” Lovullo feels that \u201cthere\u2019s a good chance he\u2019s going to barrel you and end up standing on first base. It\u2019s exciting. There\u2019s a certain level of excitement he brings when he steps up to home plate. It\u2019s not just standing up there and getting hit by a pitch. He\u2019s a good baseball player, and he\u2019s a good hitter as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Diamondbacks spring training pitching update: Luke Weaver<\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n

Luke Weaver had a somewhat rough outing in Saturday\u2019s exhibition game against the Kansas City Royals<\/a>. (4 1\/3 IP, 4 R (3 ER), 7 H, 0 BB, 5 K, 2 HR). Despite that, Weaver \u201cthought it went really well, honestly. Sometimes we look back at a stat line and think, \u2018What the heck is this guy talking about?\u2019 But it was definitely the first outing this year where everything came together. That was the best I\u2019ve thrown my changeup in a while.\u201d<\/p>\n

He knows there were goods and bads. \u201cI couldn\u2019t land the curveball today, but it had good action. Some sliders had some good action as well. I had no walks \u2014 I tried to control what I could control. That first homer was the big one I take away. It was sloppy. Besides that, I can live with everything else. You can\u2019t get mad about some singles that come through or where they find gaps.\u201d<\/p>\n

Baseball\u2019s Version of March Madness<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Weaver knows that the team is being overlooked. It\u2019s a natural consequence of the roster construction of the Los Angeles Dodgers<\/a> and San Diego Padres<\/a>. He is okay with that. \u201cA lot of us think that it\u2019s kind of more fun that way. It\u2019s draining to have all the attention.\u201d He alluded to NCAA March Madness, saying it\u2019s more fun \u201cto have an upset. Everyone wants to see an upset. (They want) to see the big names go down. If you want to classify us as the 12-seed or a double-digit seed, we\u2019re hungry and ready to take you down. That\u2019s how we\u2019re approaching it.\u201d<\/p>\n

He concluded, \u201cThere\u2019s no extra pressure on us. We\u2019re just going out there to have fun and play a game. When you can do that consistently, you\u2019re going to have some good results. That\u2019s what we\u2019re striving for.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reflection on the Exhibition Game<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Lovullo feels the team is headed in the right direction. \u201cStep by step, we\u2019re getting closer and closer. In different areas, each guy is starting to bring things together.\u201d He included at-bats and pitching appearances. Defensively, the team has had \u201ca couple of miscues \u2014 certain things that we need to sure up. But those are all identifiable things that typically happen in spring training. We\u2019re on the right track and right path and getting closer each day.\u201d He is satisfied with the progress so far but knows there is still work to do. \u201cWe have a little more time here and a few things we have to tighten up. But we\u2019ll get that done.\u201d<\/p>\n

That work includes \u201clanding all pitches in all areas for all of our pitchers.\u201d Lovullo said that is something that \u201cgets tightened up as we get further into spring training.\u201d This includes \u201ccommand, location, and having the ability to finish off hitters with quality secondary stuff.\u201d It also includes \u201cbeing able to position defense behind that.\u201d In addition, Lovullo wants to, over the final week of spring, \u201cGet the team together and let the players all play together.\u201d Over the last week, they\u2019re going to get the majority of their projected regulars on the field at the same time. This will allow them to \u201clet it play out with the pitcher making pitches and the defense picking up the ball.\u201d<\/p>\n

Offensively, he wants the players to \u201ccontinue looking for the pitch that (they) want. Digging out the right equation to go up there and have a productive approach. Put your A-swing on the pitch you want. We\u2019re seeing that more and more.\u201d<\/p>\n

Diamondbacks Spring Training Position Player Updates<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Christian Walker<\/strong><\/strong><\/h4>\n

Lovullo has been impressed with the growth of Christian Walker over the past three seasons but feels that he is capable of even more. \u201cThe sky\u2019s the limit for him.\u201d Lovullo continued, \u201cHe is consistent with his swing plane. Consistent with his work ethic on both offense and defense. We\u2019re watching him improve day by day. I have every reason to think he can continue to improve.\u201d<\/p>\n

Walker isn\u2019t the only one improving, obviously, nor is he the only one they expect to improve. \u201cThose are our expectations for everybody here. We don\u2019t ever want to sit still. If you are sitting still, you\u2019re getting passed. (Not just in baseball, but) in life. Christian takes advantage of every opportunity that is presented to him. He accepts coaching, looks at limitations legitimately, and keeps getting better every single day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stephen Vogt<\/strong><\/strong><\/h4>\n

Vogt was hit on the back of the hand by a pitch in the bottom of the second. Although there was concern, he seemed to be fine. A home run in his next at-bat confirmed it.<\/p>\n

Lovullo said that this spring, Vogt is \u201cswinging the bat extremely well. I know he\u2019s worked hard to fine-tune a couple of things that bothered him last year.\u201d That work has paid off. \u201cHe\u2019s had a very productive swing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Main Photo:<\/p>\n

Embed from Getty Images<\/a>