Who is your favorite camp surprise from years past?
It feels like most years, there will be a player in Spring Training who comes out of (seemingly) nowhere, turns in an impressive performance, and captures the fancy of the fans.
Usually, this is a young player yet to reach the major leagues, giving us a glimpse of potential. Occasionally, it will be a nondescript quad-A veteran who sparks talk that “all he needed was a chance.”
Usually nothing becomes of these flashes, mostly because Spring Training performance is notoriously unpredictive, especially in the early going when players are facing minor leaguers or future grocery baggers. For instance, Dylan Cozens’ big Spring in 2019 did not portend him being the next power hitting star. And Jake Cave’s impressive showing in 2023 did not precursor a breakthrough at the major league level.
Oh my goodness. Dylan Cozens jumped a 3-0 pitch and hit it so far that it landed on top of the roof in RF. The red arrow is approximately where the ball hit: pic.twitter.com/UJ228TtG9f
— Meghan Montemurro (@M_Montemurro) February 24, 2019
This year’s heretofore unknown spring standout was Gabriel Rincones, Jr. The 24-year-old outfielder was already on the radar of prospect knowers, but his three home runs this spring put him on the radar of more casual fans.
Does this mean we’ll be seeing Rincones similarly smashing balls at Citizens Bank Park in the near future? Based on the usual hit rate of prospects, probably not, but hey, it’s always fun to dream!
The question of the day is: Who is your favorite unexpected spring star of years past?