Aroldis Chapman back for the Reds

Aroldis Chapman is back after missing a week of spring training with a back spasm.

The Cuban defector can throw upwards of 100 mph, but took it easy against minor-league hitters. He threw one inning and maxed out at 97 mph.

Chapman has a lot of adjustments to make after his defection, but he looks like he will be a quality pitcher in Major League Baseball.

The Reds might opt to start him out of the bull-pen as he adjusts to life in America and recovers from back spasms, but he is the best of the candidates vying for the final spot in the rotation. Don’t be surprised to see him making an impact before the season’s end on a deep Reds pitching staff.

Either way, with Chapman, Mike Leake and Travis Wood all looking like they will develop in to quality starters expect to see at least one of them excel a little early and improve the Reds staff for this season.

The Reds season wins over/under is 79.5 and there is plenty of reason to believe that their young pitchers will improve the team as the season progresses.

Milton Bradley’s poor play nets cleanup role

Milton Bradley will be the cleanup hitter for the Seattle Mariners.

In spite of his declining play, Bradley will be hitting in a clean-up role ahead of defensive specialist Casey Kotchman.

Bradley gets the job by default. If he can get back to some approximation of his old form, then the Mariners will be a force in the AL West. But he has been slowly losing his power and with Kotchman, who has just 12 home runs, ahead of him, the Mariners will likely strand a lot of base runners.

With such a glaring weakness on the Mariners, their odds to win the World Series aren’t very good. They currently pay +2800.

Pre-Season Betting Update: Reds and Mariners by MLB Baseball Previews