Locks (2): Catcher Travis d’Arnaud (who is more of a co-starter and is listed above) and infielder Luis Guillorme, who is dealing with quad soreness but is expected to return to games soon.
The final two spots come down to versatility, and there’s been some clarity come out of our discussions with team officials this week in North Port.
Favorites (2): OF Forrest Wall, INF/OF Luke Williams
Forrest Wall continues to hold down the primary outfield job in these projections, a combination of him raking (.462 with three homers and a 1.379 OPS in spring) and his ability to both steal bases and play great defense at all three outfield positions.
For Williams, conversations in North Port this week have shown that the team really values his versatility to play both infield and outfield, with manager Brian Snitker telling the media on Monday that “he can literally play anywhere everywhere on the diamond. That’s good; he’s a valuable piece to have around.”
That comfort all over the diamond, as well as his underrated speed (an above-average 28.7 ft/sec) makes him the perfect final member of the bench.
