Johnny Almaraz

Richie is about two weeks from throwing off the mound. Pauly is a little behind him, probably a month away.

Richie is about two weeks from throwing off the mound. Pauly is a little behind him, probably a month away.

We brought some guys in to start getting ready during the early part of Spring Training in case we lost read more

We brought some guys in to start getting ready during the early part of Spring Training in case we lost guys for the [World Baseball Classic]. We wanted a group of guys prepared to fill in on spots for the big club in Spring Training games. Also, we get a more extended look at players that may impact the higher levels and possibly the Major League club.

Along with really protecting a lot of the young kids because they've been abused (in terms of usage) in high read more

Along with really protecting a lot of the young kids because they've been abused (in terms of usage) in high school and college, we're also going to be really aggressive with the guys that are in the system already. If they show us that they're strong enough, they're going to go out there, and if they can go 90-100 pitches, they're going to do that.

He seems to be doing OK. He needs to work on things and develop more consistency. We want him to read more

He seems to be doing OK. He needs to work on things and develop more consistency. We want him to throw a two-seam fastball more.

We're going to individualize every single program for every guy in the system. That'll be the big positive. And of read more

We're going to individualize every single program for every guy in the system. That'll be the big positive. And of course, the take-a-strike, we've modified that, that's no longer going to exist. Pitch counts will exist, but it's not one blanket program. If it needs to exist for a certain individual, it will. If it doesn't for another, it won't.