"Had Stowers finished his last camp with even just four fewer walks, he probably doesn't make the team. Many fans, myself included, were guilty of questioning what kind of message it sent to the rest of the clubhouse that he did crack the Opening Day roster with that .175 BA, .365 OBP be darned. Four fewer walks would have dropped him down to .312 OBP, well behind eventual call-up Heriberto Hernandez and miles behind Troy Johnston. Much harder to defend."
"Certainly nothing Stowers did last spring portended the All-Star campaign to come, even allowing for full credit being awarded for that solid OBP. A fact he was able to joke about himself in an interview with Fish on First when camp opened Monday that touched on not changing his approach now that he's much more established. Given how last spring went...he might want to consider mixing up that approach at least a teensy bit."
Kyle Stowers' roster spot hinged on a small walk differential; four fewer walks would have reduced his OBP to .312 and likely cost him an Opening Day roster spot. Injuries to Connor Norby and Jesus Sánchez also influenced roster construction and could have produced a different outcome if healthy. Spring training performance often fails to predict regular-season results, as demonstrated by Stowers later producing an All-Star campaign despite weak spring hitting. Players and pitchers use spring to develop pitches, refine conditioning, and adjust approach, so spring stats require cautious interpretation when projecting season performance.
Read at Marlin Maniac
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