2010 10th Round pick Evan Grills will get the Opening Day start tonight for Tri-City. Sound strange? It should because, of Grills' 56 pro appearances, only six of them were starts, and he appeared in all 37 of his games last season out of Lexington's bullpen.
Grills:
They want me to start again...I had an alright season last year but they had talked about me a
starter again, so … I was a little disappointed that I didn’t break with
the (Quad Cities) team but that’s just my competitive nature but I’m
happy to be here.
Whether that means "start" again, as in converting from reliever to starter, or "start again," as in start all over is uncertain.
What is certain, however, is that the Astros are keeping a close eye on Tri-City. New manager Ed Romero is apparently under orders from the Astros not to share the lineup. Romero, on the seven lefty hitters he has on the roster:
But basically, what the organization felt that’s what they wanted to
do, to lean heavily (left-handed). So, we’ll go with what
we have. It is what it is. I could be a little troublesome when we face
left-handed pitchers. But a lot of these guys played college ball and
some had some pretty good numbers against left-handed pitching, so it
shouldn’t be that bad.
And, just in case you're wondering, the ValleyCats will go with the piggy-back system.
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
