We all hated to see spring training shut down and the MLB season put on hold, maybe none more than St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Daniel Ponce de Leon
There were several St. Louis Cardinals competing for rotation spots during spring training this year. Then when Miles Mikolas went down with a forearm injury to competition heated up. This was a competition Daniel Ponce de Leon would have won, then the coronavirus pandemic shut things down.
Spring training is a time for established pitchers to get loosened up and for young pitchers to potentially turn some heads. Ponce de Leon fit into the latter category, coming into camp this year he had just twelve major league starts to his name.
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As the days crept on and the players started to distance themselves this spring, Ponce de Leon found himself on the right side of the numbers game. He was dealing every time he went out and the Cardinals were taking notice.
In his four appearances, he had pitched a total of thirteen innings and surrendered just one run. Not only that, but opposing hitters were also hitting just .186 against him. Other players in the competition, such as Carlos Martinez were not putting up as good of numbers. Even the Adam Wainwrights and the Jack Flahertys of the team were not pitching as well as Ponce de Leon.
With two weeks to go before the team headed north, the Cardinals were getting a good look at who would be in their starting rotation. Daniel Ponce de Leon was one of those players who would have gotten the first crack in the back end of the rotation.
With the season on hiatus for who knows how long, will Ponce de Leon’s spring still hold merit? MIkolas will surely have returned from his injury making one less slot to fill. Will be a heck of a note if Daniel Ponce de Leon can’t build on what he started in the spring and loses his firm grip because of the long layover.
For more information about COVID-19, visit the CDC’s website or the website for your state’s Department of Health.