Ponce de Leon fired three scoreless innings in a Grapefruit League loss to the Mets on Friday, allowing two hits while recording four strikeouts.
The right-hander encouragingly refrained from issuing any free passes, a particularly gratifying outcome for Ponce de Leon considering how hard he worked on his command during the offseason. Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports Ponce de Leon effectively utilized his high fastball and curveball during the outing while also experimenting with a new grip on his slider picked up from teammate Austin Gomber. Ponce de Leon remains a candidate for one of the Cards' two open rotation spots, but manager Mike Shildt envisions the 28-year-old fitting in seamlessly almost anywhere on the staff. "He can make a real impact because his stuff is really good," Shildt said. "He's got multiple weapons that the eye test will tell you and the measurables will tell you that are real weapons."