Everything that is logical says Cuban sensation Yasiel Puig should begin the season in the minor leagues. After he defected from Cuba he didn't play organized baseball for a year and a half. He only played 23 games in the minors in 2012, and followed that up with an underwhelming 20 games in the Puerto Rican winter league.
The man has so little baseball experience that he simply needs to play and play and play before he is ready to join the big leagues. That would be the logical play.
But there is nothing logical about the sound of a ball off Puig's bat. He battled back from an 0-2 count in the first inning to run the count full, then blasted a two-run home run off Dan Straily over everybody in left field. It was a bomb, just as his other two home runs this spring have been.
Puig followed that with a dinker into right field in the third inning for another hit, then stole his fourth base of the spring, easily.
Through the third inning Tuesday, Puig is hitting an absurd .477/.466/.750 this spring (21-for-44), and that doesn't count his 1-for-1 in the rainout in Scottsdale on Mar. 8. Since starting with two hits in his first eight at-bats, Puig is hitting .527/.514/.833.
Yes, he has 10 strikeouts and no walks, and is still susceptible to breaking balls out of the strike zone. None of this is likely to continue, at least not at this level.
But man is it fun to watch.