BRADENTON, Fla. – The Bradenton infield has been pretty consistent in the early workouts and games. Will Craig has consistently been playing first base, as we reported this weekend, with some work at third. Cole Tucker and Mitchell Tolman have been the middle infielders, with Tucker at shortstop and Tolman at second. None of those assignments are a surprise, since that seems the natural progression for each player.
The surprising placement has been with Ke’Bryan Hayes, who has been playing with the Bradenton guys since day one. Hayes had a cracked rib last year in West Virginia which put him out for the second half of the season.