By Nathan Rode
National Supervisor

TAMPA, FL—Florida in July. It’s bound to rain and that’s what it did for most of the first day of the East Coast Professional Showcase. Hosted at Steinbrenner Field, home of the Yankees’ spring training and Florida State League team, the event kicked off Monday with workouts and games. Batting practices were interrupted twice by long rain delays. Games attempted to start at 6:30 p.m., but players didn’t even take the field before the tarp was pulled back on. We finally started a game at 7:50, but only got to the bottom of the second before another downpour. Everything was finally scrapped for the day.

RHP Zach Linginfelter (Sevier County HS, TN) started for the Cubs, but clearly couldn’t get a good grip on the ball, throwing just 16 of his 29 pitches for strikes. At East Coast Pro, hitters get to stay in the box after a walk or hit by pitch and 2B Luis Curbello (Puerto Rico Baseball Academy) got hit twice by Linginfelter. At 6-foot-5, 220 pounds, Linginfelter has a big, strong frame and fairly easy delivery. His fastball sat 89-94 mph, but clearly the conditions were not conducive to a good outing. He struck out two batters and the game was halted after two batters in his second inning.