Payton is a Rule 5 pick, and Aquino has options left, so that could be determinative unless Aquino runs away with it in what's left of the pre-season.

I think it comes down to Payton vs Aquino.

Hit a bomb in Sunday's scrimmage. But does he even make the roster? And if he does, will they even play him? I'm stuck in limbo with this guy. Anybody hear anything? See anything? Read anything? What's going on with him?

From Baseball America:

Los Angeles Dodgers

—Dodgers’ No. 6 prospect Josiah Gray Saturday showed off his plus fastball, fooling Joc Pederson with a riding heater in the team’s intrasquad game Saturday. The righthander has three above-average pitches, but its his 92-96 mph fastball that led the way for him to climb three levels in 2019 and win the organization's pitcher of the year award.

<video showing him blowing Pederson away, audio of Pederson's reaction> 

From Baseball America:

Cleveland Indians

—Third baseman/shortstop Yu Chang had a week to build upon following a campaign where he hit .178 in 73 at-bats in his first taste of the major leagues. Cleveland’s No. 22 prospect this week homered five times in simulated or intrasquad games, including twice against righthander Carlos Carrasco and once against all-star righthander Shane Bieber.

Fomr Baseball America:

—After making an appearance at third base for the White Sox earlier in the week, No. 2 prospect Andrew Vaughn Sunday played first base and clobbered a home run to left field in the team’s intrasquad game.

<video showing the home run>

Fom Baseball America:

The start of the Major League Baseball season is just under two weeks away, which means summer camp is in full swing. That means there is plenty of time for prospects to compete in intrasquad and exhibition games. Each day during the week we will be providing a roundup from summer camp that includes highlights, debuts of 2020 draftees and more.

Baltimore Orioles

—The Orioles added a quintet of players to their 60-man player pool Friday, headlined by 2019 No. 1 overall pick Adley Rutschman. Rustchman, the No. 5 prospect in baseball, was previously the lone Top 10 prospect in the Top 100 not to be in a player pool. Rutschman Saturday quickly made an impact in the team’s intrasquad game, drawing a walk against righthander Hunter Harvey, moving from first to third on a single and later scoring on a Rio Ruiz three-run home run.

<video showing the walk>

—The Orioles also added to the player pool lefthander Keegan Akin (No. 9) and righthanders Michael Baumann (No. 10)—the Orioles’ co-minor league pitcher of the year in 2019—and Isaac Mattson.

Put on weight, started suffering from planatr fascitis, took the weight off, and now is "symptom-free."

Admits he's bummed the season didn't start on time.

https://nypost.com/2020/07/13/clint-frazier-bummed-over-yankees-role-that-could-have-been/

Buxton is the starting centerfielder on the OOTP AL All-Stars, slashing .257/.316/.435 with 16 taters and 29 thefts in 95 games. In a bit of wishful thinking, Mike Trout is also in the lineup.

Ross Barnes' career. He stood 5'8", weighed 145.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/barnero01.shtml

Stathead Spotlight: Cody Bellinger

90 Batting Runs and 30 Fielding Runs through age-23 season

Rbat -- Runs Batting: Number of runs better or worse than average the player was as a hitter.
Rfield -- Runs from Fielding: Number of runs better or worse than average the player was for all fielding.

Note: season age on Baseball-Reference is determined by the player's age on June 30th, traditionally the midpoint of the season. Due to the extremely late start of the 2020 season, Bellinger will be playing his age-24 season even though his 25th birthday now came before the season could begin.

See the list at Stathead.com's Batting Season Finder

Will B-R keep its OOTP going after the real boys take the field (if they do)?

Through July 12, Snell has a 3.21 ERA and eight wins in 17 starts. In 106.2 IP he's fanned 140. But the Rays are only 49-48, trailing the Yankees by 11 games.

July 13 All-Time Top Performers

Batters:

Lou Clinton* (BOS, 1962): 5-7, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 4 R, cycle

Pat Seerey* (CLE, 1945): 4-6, 3 HR, 8 RBI, 4 R

Johnny Mize* (STL, 1940): 4-5, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 2 R, cycle

Mark Teixeira (TEX, 2006): 3-5, 3 HR, 7 RBI, 3 R

Bobby Murcer (NYY, 1973): 3-4, 3 HR, 5 RBI, 3 R

Johnny Mize (STL, 1938): 3-4, 3 HR, 5 RBI, 3 R

Rich Becker (MIN, 1996): 4-6, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 3 R

Joe DiMaggio (NYY, 1940): 4-4, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 2 R

Alfonso Soriano (CHC, 2012): 4-4, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 3 R

Ryan Braun (MIL, 2012): 4-4, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 3 R, 1 SB

Now on the 10-day IL, along with Urquidy.  Maybe room in the lineup for Kyle Tucker after all, at least at the outset.

Anthony Rizzo (1B) CHI-N - Jul. 12

https://www.rotowire.com/baseball/player.php?id=743051

Rizzo (back) took batting practice Sunday and is "doing better" according to Chicago manager David Ross, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports.

ROTOWIRE RECOMMENDS: Rizzo has sat out the past few intrasquad games, but he's still getting work in, as he participated in drills Saturday followed by the Sunday's batting practice. With the start of the regular season less than two weeks away, the Cubs seem to be exercising some caution with their first baseman, though he appears to be on track to play Opening Day. 

Blake Treinen (P) LA - Jul. 12

https://www.rotowire.com/baseball/player.php?id=743023

Treinen could be in line for early save opportunities if Kenley Jansen (undisclosed) is not ready to pitch ninth innings by Opening Day, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reports.

ROTOWIRE RECOMMENDS: Manager Dave Roberts recently stated that he expects Jansen to report to camp soon, but there's no guarantee that the veteran closer will be ready to pitch in high-leverage situations right away even if he does join the team soon. With setup man Pedro Baez (undisclosed) also yet to report to camp, Treinen is the logical choice to close games early if Jansen needs more time to get in game shape. Treinen has racked up 71 saves in his career, including 38 in 2018, when he posted a dominant 0.78 ERA, 0.83 WHIP and 11.2 K/9 across 80.1 innings. 

Kyle Crick (P) PIT - Jul. 12

https://www.rotowire.com/baseball/player.php?id=743067

Crick would likely become the frontrunner for the closer's role if Keone Kela (undisclosed) is unable to pitch, DK Pittsburgh Sports reports.

ROTOWIRE RECOMMENDS: Crick made his summer camp debut Sunday, allowing a walk and a double while striking out Josh Bell. Manager Derek Shelton said he was confident Kela wouldn't need many camp appearances to round into closer form, but his grip on the job continues to loosen with each passing day. Rich Rodriguez and Nick Burdi could also vie for saves, but Crick figures to get first crack. 

Jose Peraza (2B) BOS - Jul. 12

https://www.rotowire.com/baseball/player.php?id=743021

Boston manager Ron Roenicke is not ready to name a starter at second base but feels Peraza can play every day, Ian Browne of MLB.com reports.

ROTOWIRE RECOMMENDS: The manager is monitoring the competition at second base, and Peraza and Michael Chavis are the leading candidates. "We know [Peraza] can play every day if we need him to play every day. And then it just depends on how he does. If Chavis is doing offensively what we saw at times last year, then he's going to play a lot," said Roenicke. If Chavis' offense reaches the potential he showed in stretches last season, then he's likely to get a majority of at-bats. Look for both players to be in the lineup against left-handers, with Chavis spelling Mitch Moreland at first base. Peraza can also move around the diamond if need be, as he can fill in at shortstop, third base and left field.