Carpenter goes Saturday

The top pitcher to follow Saturday in a spring training game is Cardinals hurler Chris Carpenter, who attempts to prove he's on the road to making the team's rotation.

The Cardinals concede Carpenter's recovery from nerve transposition and an unrelated season-ending nerve condition is the camp's No. 1 concern. Carpenter would prefer the attention go elsewhere.

"Like I've said all along, everybody else is making a bigger deal out of it — understandably," Carpenter said.

Carpenter will face Washington at Roger Dean Stadium and be limited to 40-45 pitches. Manager Tony La Russa and pitching coach Dave Duncan will fixate more on Carpenter's mechanics and recovery than any instant statistical gratification.

"I know with the way that I feel that I'm not too concerned about it," Carpenter said. "I feel good. I feel strong."

He's the Cardinals number one priority in terms of monitoring progress this spring, and he should be a top priority to follow for every fantasy owner. Carpenter's draft position could slide wildly to either end of the spectrum because of a productive or unproductive performances through the end of March. Watch him closely every time out. He's probably capable of returning to his ace status. Then again, with all the injury problems over the past two years, he's also capable of becoming Mark Prior.