Making-the-Team Meter (MTM) Update

The marks to the left of the player's name indicates that their chances of making the team are moving up (▲), moving down (▼), or staying even (–). No mark to the left indicates there was no change from the previous week.

Players on the 40-man roster

▼ Jose Ascanio, rhp / Surrendered 3 hits to college players, though he got out of trouble without surrendering a run. (Previously –)
Brad Baker, rhp / (Previously –)
Blaine Boyer, rhp / (Previously –)
– Lance Cormier, rhp / Impressive in his first outing. (Previously ▼)
▲ Kyle Davies, rhp / He could be slotted into Sosa’s spot in the rotation while Jorge is away at the WBC. This could be his chance to prove he belongs. (Previously –)
▲ Joey Devine, rhp / With the help of Roger McDowell, Joey has significantly improved his slider. Solid first outing, and Cox had some good words to say about him: "They all did. But Joey. . . Roger [McDowell] has been bearing down on him and it's helped. He's throwing the ball well." (Previously ▲)
John Foster, lhp / (Previously ▼)
Chuck James, lhp / (Previously ▲)
▲ Anthony Lerew, rhp / He continues to impress the coaching staff with his stuff, and if he can master his control he’ll be a lock for the roster. (Previously ▲)
▲ Macay McBride, lhp / Good first outing. (Previously ▲)
▲ Oscar Villarreal, rhp / Solid first outing, with 4 Ks in 2 innings. He’s off to Team Mexico. (Previously ▲)
▼ Brayan Pena, c / If Salty keeps doing his thing, he’ll jump over Pena on the depth chart. (Previously ▼)
– Martin Prado, 2b / He could be this year’s Pete Orr. (Previously not listed)
▲ James Jurries, 1b / From Sporting News, If he proves himself defensively in camp, 1B James Jurries will platoon at first base with Adam LaRoche. The righthanded Jurries has produced impressive offensive numbers in the Minors and defensively he's just as strong as was Julio Franco. LaRoche is going to do all that he can to prove that he can hit lefties, but if Jurries impresses he will get a chance. He is also trying to get the monkey off his back. (Previously –)
▼ Scott Thorman, 1b / Jurries seems to be the favorite, and Thorman’s left-handed which hurts his platoon chances. He’s off to Team Canada. (Previously –)
– Matt Diaz, of / He’s out of options, but it seems that Langy has been given the left field job. (Previously ▲)
▼ Kelly Johnson, of / He has an option, and unless they carry 5 outfielders, he might be the odd man out. The fact that he and Langerhans are both left-handed means that they cannot be part of a lefty-righty platoon in left field. He could still play his way into a roster spot. (Previously ▼)

Non-roster invitees

– Kevin Barry, rhp / Pitched a scoreless inning, he’s getting himself in the bullpen mix. (Previously ▼)
Wes Obermueller, rhp / (Previously –)
Chad Paronto, rhp / (Previously ▲)
Travis Smith, rhp / (Previously ▼)
▼ Sean White, rhp / Good first outing, but he’s still such a long shot. (Previously ▼)
Mike Remlinger, lhp / (Previously ▲)
▼ Eddie Perez, c / All indications are he’s not going to be healthy enough to start the season. (Previously ▼)
Steve Pyzik, c / (Previously ▼)
▲ Jarrod Saltalamacchia, c / He is coming out of the gate hitting. (Previously ▲)
Clint Sammons, c / (Previously ▼)
▼ Cesar Crespo, 2b-ss / Went 0 for 2 and made an error, not impressive. (Previously ▼)
Jonathan Schuerholz, ss / (Previously ▼)
Brian Jordan, of / (Previously ▲)
▼ Dave Kelton, of / Going 0 for 3 against college pitchers won’t help his cause. (Previously –)
▼ Michael Ryan, of / Going 0 for 3 against major league pitchers won’t help his cause. (Previously –)

. . . Next MTM update early next week. . .