Spring training gives players, and especially pitchers, a chance to ease into the regular season.

But don't tell that to Noah Syndergaard.

Dude was lighting up the defending World Series champions in his first exhibition action Monday, not only striking out two in two perfect innings but also hitting triple digits on 11 of his 22 pitches.

In February.

MLB.com puts it in perspective for us: Only three pitchers threw 11 pitches of 100 mph or more all of last season. Syndergaard, of course, is no stranger to that club, but you may recall he threw only 30 1/3 innings last season because of a torn lat, including just three after returning in September. And you may feel some trepidation because of it.

And two innings of great pitching won't eliminate it. It shouldn't compel you to move Syndergaard up your rankings or to go the extra dollar for him in an auction. But if watching a long-absent superstar light up the radar gun, leaving some of the game's most celebrated hitters shaking their heads, doesn't fill you with a vigor for the upcoming season, this baseball thing may not be for you.

Kopecetic

Syndergaard wasn't the only pitcher to hit triple digits Monday. The White Sox's Michael Kopech, who may be the big-time pitching prospect who Fantasy owners are most looking forward to seeing now that Brent Honeywell is down for the count, blew away the Athletics with his hard heat.

And I do mean blew away:

One of the thrilling aspects of both the Syndergaard and Kopech highlights is how apparent the velocity is even to the naked eye. Those two looked like they were playing a different game from everyone else -- or maybe the same game in a superhuman way.

And most importantly for Kopech, he didn't walk anyone. The one thing that has looked like it might hold him back for most of his climb up the minor-league ladder stopped being a problem over his final nine starts, when he issued 1.9 walks per nine innings. And what was the result? A 1.29 ERA, 0.86 WHIP and 11.4 strikeouts per nine innings.

Center of attention

When Royals manager Ned Yost said a couple weeks ago that Adalberto Mondesi (previously known as Raul Mondesi Jr.) would compete for the starting second base job, consternation about Whit Merrifield's role permeated the Fantasy Baseball world.

Relax. There's an opening for him in center.

He handled the position capably Monday. The bat even more so. He went  2 for 3 with a home run and a double to remind everyone he's now the Royals' best hitter following the departures of Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas and Lorenzo Cain.

Of course, not everyone believes he's as good as he was last year, when he hit .288 with 19 home runs and 34 stolen bases. He was of no interest to Fantasy owners before then and only reached the majors at age 27. But if you look at some of the adjustments he made, which correspond to what he did in the minors, it seemed legit.

You can read more about that here.

Long at short

Checking to see if that young infield bat can handle shortstop is the "in" thing this spring, beginning with Reds natural Nick Senzel, whose numbers at Double-A suggest he may already be on the verge of a call-up even though he was only drafted in 2016. But Eugenio Suarez emerged last year as a legitimate building block at third base, Senzel's natural position, and Scooter Gennett would appear to have a stranglehold on the second base job. So the Reds had to do something with him.

We had heard reports of Senzel working out at shortstop, but he saw his first game action there Monday. And it evidently wasn't a disaster.

"He looked good. He looked comfortable at the position," manager Bryan Price said.

More surprising, though, was Scott Kingery's appearance at shortstop, part of what MLB.com described as the Phillies' new emphasis on versatility. It might also be a contingency if J.P. Crawford falters at shortstop or Maikel Franco at third base.

Kingery, a 20-20 man in the minors a year ago, would be in line for the second base job if Cesar Hernandez hadn't hit over .290 with an on-base percentage over .370 there the last two years. He wouldn't appear to be giving up the job any time soon.  

Minor concerns

One spring performance worth monitoring is Mike Minor's transition back to the starting rotation, where he thrived for the Braves in 2012 and 2013 before shoulder issues forced him to the bullpen for the Royals last year.

He of course dominated as a reliever, but is he capable of extending that performance over a starter's workload? On Monday against the Dodgers, it didn't appear that way. He allowed two runs on two hits with two walks in 1 2/3 innings.

Then again, it's spring training, where we often attribute too much to too little.

"I have had a lot of bad springs, so I'm not worried about it," he said. "I'll figure it out in the spring and be ready for the season."

That's not entirely true. He has a career 2.89 ERA in spring training, though with an unusually high walk rate. Prior to his best season with the Braves in 2013, though, he had a 6.26 ERA, which more or less illustrates his point.

So we've learned nothing. Thanks, Mikey.

Van with a plan

It's only three games, but Scott Van Slyke is playing like a man who has never had this opportunity before.

Probably because ... he has never had this opportunity before.

The guy hit 20 home runs a couple times in the Dodgers' minor-league system -- and with a good walk rate to boot -- but, come on, it's the Dodgers. If you don't break through at the right time, you're stuck in the supporting cast.

The rebuilding Marlins are a different story. Rebuilding clubs provide a perfect opportunity for overlooked players to strut their stuff. And it strut it Van Slyke has, following up a two-homer performance Friday with a 2-for-3 performance Monday.

He says he shortened his swing in the offseason, and he's in the mix for the starting right field job, with Derek Dietrich presumably occupying left field and Cameron Maybin presumably in center.

An NL-only sleeper, this one.