Surprise Day 10

A few days ago I discussed the pitchers that I thought had the best chance at winning the final spot in the rotation, but now pitching coach Mark Connor has cleared things up for everyone. Connor said that the five pitchers in the running are Juan Dominguez, C.J. Wilson, Josh Rupe, R.A. Dickey, and Thomas Diamond.

I was a bit surprised that Connor included Diamond in his list of possibilities. Diamond has never pitched above the AA level in the minor leagues and probably isn't ready for the majors yet. Still, he is one of the team's top pitching prospects, and will probably make an appearance in Arlington sometime this season.

Buck Showalter also announced the order of the first four starters in the rotation. That is odd considering how early it is in spring training, but the Rangers haven't had this kind of stability on their pitching staff in a long time. According to Showalter, ace Kevin Millwood will be followed by Adam Eaton, Vicente Padilla, and Kameron Loe. That's probably the way I would have set it too.

Francisco Cordero threw a bullpen session on Friday, though he wasn't scheduled to throw until today. He threw 35 pitches, including changeups for the first time, and reported no setbacks. Reliever Nick Regilio, however, felt tenderness in the spot where he had surgery, and will have to take an MRI exam today.

The Rangers are planning to play two intrasquad games on Tuesday and Wednesday in preparation for the spring training opener on Thursday. Most of the pitchers will get in an inning or two, and after that it will be on to Surprise Stadium and the Kansas City Royals.

Oh yeah, I love the rain.