Down in Dunedin

Catcher Travis D'Arnaud, picked up in the Halladay deal, is legit.

How legit?

He's hitting .396 with three homers and 12 RBIs in 13 games. Give him another month or so then move him up the ladder.

The rest of the offense:

Raul Baroon's been terrific (.389, .450, .611, four steals). Justin Jackson is on the Disabled List again, unfortunately. Welinton Ramirez (.231) and Mike McDade (.170) haven't started hitting yet. John Tolisano's (.250) bat was quiet early but looks like it's coming around.

If you haven't heard Venezuelan right-hander Henderson Alvarez's name yet, I'm pleased to provide the introduction. The kid's a total stud. He just turned 20-years-old, he's pitched seven innings in each of his starts this year, and he's allowed only one run on seven hits. If he doesn't keep shooting upward like a meteor, I'll be shocked. The only weakness is that his strikeout totals are low, but his stuff (sinking fastball, cutting change, biting slurve) is so good that I expect them to increase in time.

Out of the rest of the rotation, Andrew Liebel (1-2, 5.40) and Joel Carreno (0-2, 6.32) are disappointing, but Ryan Page (1-1, 4.76) and Chuck Huggins (1-0, 2.20) have pitched well.