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Top Performers for Pacific Coast League Prospects

Tuesday, May 14th, 2013

Below are some of the top performers from the Pacific Coast League who are prospects. For many of these players their performance has led to a major league callup.

Mariners

Mike Zunino C (.229, 6, 31) - Mike is considered one of the best catching prospects in the game. With Jesus Montero getting an opportunity to catch full time for the Mariners there is no rush to promote Mike. He has been driving in runs, but has been having trouble making contact with 38 whiffs in just 28 games. He is far superior on defense than Jesus and has all the offensive tools.

Alex Liddi 3B/OF (.261, 7, 30) - His power is intriguing but his inability to make contact is maddening. He leads the Pacific Coast League with 61 K’s in just 38 games. He has a 13/61 walk to K ratio. His inability to make contact shows his lack of recognition of pitch types. He appears to be a mistake pitcher, which will not allow him to survive in the major leagues.

Nick Franklin SS (.339, 4, 16) - The Mariners are having trouble finding offense from their major league shortstop. Nick could provide a solution to that, though the Mariners would take a hit defensively. Some believe his best position is second base. He has a nice 24/16 walk to whiff ratio which bodes well for his offensive production in the major leagues.

James Paxton LHP (2-3, 3.93) - His ERA is a bit high but he has struck out 44 in 36 innings pitched. James is a step away from pitching for the Mariners.

Giants

Kensuke Tanaka 2B (.348, 0, 13) - He signed as a free agent out of Japan and at 32 years of age is not really a prospect. If the Giants are looking for immediate help he is available. He has a 15/15 walk to whiff ratio and stolen 11 bases in 15 attempts.

Brett Pill 1B (.341, 9, 47) - Brett is a Brandon Belt slump away from getting a major league opportunity. His nine homeruns are tied for the league lead and his 47 RBIs leads the next closest player by 14 RBIs. He just needs to up that average to be considered the Triple Crown.

Gary Brown CF (.213, 1, 14) - Gary was once the top prospect of the Giants with his assault of High A pitching. He has not had that success as he rises up the ladder. He’s only stolen four bases in 8 attempts and he has a 9/40 walk to whiff ratio, not the kind of numbers you want to see from your leadoff hitter.

Dodgers

Scott Van Slyke OF (.397, 9, 30) - The son of Andy was also putting up Triple Crown numbers. He led the league in hitting and was tied for first in homeruns. He was still short of Pill for the RBI lead. He has a .503 OBA. Those numbers were so impressive the Dodgers could not ignore him anymore and called him up.

Dee Gordon SS (.314, 0, 12) - Some questioned his ability to hit. Others were concerned with his inconsistency on defense. No one questions his speed. He leads the Pacific Coast League in stolen bases with 14 in 16 attempts. The Dodgers needed help so he has also been called up.

Athletics

Michael Choice OF (.294, 8, 31) - With Josh Reddick missing time because of a hand injury Michael is showing the power that makes it tempting to call him up. He has been making better contact with only 31 strikeouts in 38 games. He also has walked 23 times putting his OBA at .404.

Sonny Gray RHP (4-1, 2.19) - His 5′11″ height gives many pause for his ability to have success in the major leagues. He is making some noise with his good start in the Pacific Coast League. He already has one complete game to his resume and should be an innings eater.

Diamondbacks

Chris Owings SS (.339, 2, 25) - His numbers are confirming he will be an offensive shortstop. His 32 runs scored are tied for second in the league. He has also stolen 7 bases in 9 attempts. The one cause for concern is his 5/32 walk to whiff ratio, which could drive down the average once he reaches the major leagues.

Cardinals

Jamie Romak OF (.276, 6, 20) - Jamie is a 2012 first round pick out of Florida State and is making pitchers in the Pacific Coast League fear him as much as his college brethren. With both Matt Holiday and Carlos Beltran getting older his opportunity could come next year.

Kolten Wong 2B (.311, 1, 13) - He looked like the Cardinals second baseman of the future until Matt Carpenter switched positions and shows the ability to play second. Kolten would be the better defensive player but is less of a stick than Carpenter. He is a perfect 5 for 5 in stolen bases.

John Gast LHP (3-1, 1.16) - A Jake Westbrook injury led to a call-up to the Cardinals. He was leading the Pacific Coast League in ERA. The Cardinals have a number of hard throwers in their system, but Gast is not one of them.

Michael Wacha (4-0, 1.99) - He opened some eyes in spring training. Like Jamie he is a 2012 number one pick, selected as the 19th pick, four selections ahead of Ramsey. Michael has only given up 27 hits in 40 innings but he does have a troubling 13/24 walk to whiff ratio, meaning his mid-90s fastball is not getting a lot of swings and misses.

Astros

Jonathan Villar SS (.308, 3, 21) - Marwin Gonzalez is currently occupying the position. Villar could be the future. He has 13 stolen bases in 17 attempts.

Jimmy Paredes OF (.366, 3, 15) - Those numbers got him a callup to the Astros. His defense is something left to be desired, but he will get an opportunity to show he deserves an opportunity in the major leagues. A 14/19 walk to whiff ratio is promising.

Jared Cosart RHP (4-0, 2.08) - Jared is benefiting from the tag team pitching rotation the Astros have established this year for all their minor league systems. In the past he has had command problems, but those have not yet surfaced in the Pacific Coast League. He has struck out 43 hitters in 39 innings.

Mets

Wilmer Flores SS (.272, 3, 22) - For a number of years he was the Mets top minor league prospect. The Mets continue to play him at short even though he lacks the defensive chops to play the position. His best hope may be the outfield, though his bat is not as strong as originally projected.

Zack Wheeler RHP (2-1, 3.74) - The way he is pitching Zack is major league ready with 47 whiffs in 43 innings. Though the Mets deny this, they do not want to promote him too early to get his arbitration clock clicking.

Rockies

Nolan Arenado 3B (.364, 3, 21) - The third baseman of the future is the third baseman of the present. He drove in those 21 runs in only 18 games and stroked 11 doubles.

Drew Pomeranz RHP (5-0, 3.18) - The Rockies are winning and at some point they are going to need pitching. Drew should be the first one for consideration based on his early start. He has struck out 44 in 40 innings of work.

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Posted in Cardinals, Athletics, Mariners, Giants, Rockies, Diamondbacks, Dodgers, Astros, Mets | No Comments »

How Do You Like Me Now

Monday, April 29th, 2013

The Miami Marlins signed a number of big name free agents in an attempt to excite a Miami fan base with a new stadium and a perception of improved players. They even traded a couple journeyman players to the White Sox to bring over a flamboyant manager in Ozzie Guillen. Like bamboo growing under their fingernails, the Marlins could not win and midway through the season they cried uncle, trading away many of the players from their roster to build for the future. The majority of their free agent signings or veterans still left on the team were traded to the Toronto Blue Jays at the end of the season to obtain a haul of prospects.

The Boston Red Sox felt they needed more sizzle with their players, going on a free agent spending spree with the signings of Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez. They had a television base to entertain and you can’t do that with vanilla players like Dustin Pedroia. They also hired a flamboyant manager in Bobby Valentin to add spice to the glitz. Bobby was just the opposite of their two time World Series manager Terry Francona. They felt Francona had lost control of the locker room. Before the season ended they would have a better definition of losing control of a locker room. By the time mid-season arrived many of their free agent signings were traded to the Dodgers as their second collapse in two years proved that last year was not the anomaly but the norm.

Now that the season is almost one month old the Toronto Blue Jays are finding out the same players who lost for the Marlins are also losing for the Blue Jays. Jose Reyes is injured for a couple months, something the New york Mets were very familiar with and Josh Johnson and Mark Buehrle are not making the Jays starting rotation the juggernaut many had thought it would be. It appears some things never change no matter what laundry you pick to wear the next day. The Jays find themselves in last place with a 9-17 record, nine games behind the first place Red Sox.

The Marlins are not winning, but no one expected them to win. They picked up a number of good players in Nathan Eovaldi, Jake Marisnick, Justin Nicolino and Adeiny Hechavarria to help them for the future. The current ownership group has burned their bridges with the fan base and it may be in the best interest of the Marlins that they sell the team before they have an opportunity to screw up this rebuilding process. They currently have the worst record in baseball at 6-19 with one of the most entertaining power hitters in baseball in Giancarlo Stanton. They claim to be spending money in other areas to help build the franchise, but they are at the bottom in signing international talent and last year they almost lost first round pick Andrew Heaney because they didn’t want to pay him the first round slot bonus money they were allocated. Myworld would like to know in what area they are spending resources to improve the team?

The Dodgers found that acquiring Carl Crawford, Adrian Gonzalez, Hanley Rameriz and Josh Beckett did nothing to their team to add to the win total in 2012, but it did do a lot to make them the second highest salaried team in the major leagues. It was felt next year once the players got used to each other the wins would come. Next year has arrived and the Dodgers are no closer to winning, finding themselves just above the San Diego Padres in the NL West with a 12-12 record, 2.5 games behind the leader. If I’m spending over $200 million for my team I would want a team playing better than .500.

The Dodgers believe that when Hanley Ramirez comes back from the disabled list they will be much stronger since he will fill the shortstop hole. When Hanley Ramirez played winter ball last year the team he played for did not put him at shortstop despite the Dodgers objections. The same was true for the championship Dominican Republic WBC team. The Dodgers feel they can win with Hanley at shortstop, even though his Latin compatriots felt their teams could not win with Hanley at shortstop.

The Boston Red Sox seem to be the only team to have benefited from the roster shakedowns. Relieved of huge salary burdens by trading Crawford, Gonzalez and Beckett to the Dodgers they have been able to tinker with their roster and found that signing vanilla role players to fill their lineup can lead to victories. Vanilla players like Daniel Nava, Mike Carp and Mike Napoli have been added to the 25 man roster to play alongside their previous players of vanilla quality like Jacoby Ellsbury and Dustin Pedroia to put the Red Sox in first place in the AL East. Myworld does not see that lasting as the season progresses, but it is better than the view they had in the standings the last couple years.

So what can be learned from these salary dumps and acquistions. To paraphrase a Martin Luther King statement, ”It is not the dollars in a contract but the content of a player’s character that will help create a winning atmoshere for a team”. Large contracts generally build complacency. You want players who are not driven by large contracts, but deserve them just the same, players who are driven by their will to win even after they earn the big bucks. And you don’t want those players who just talk about their will to win, but show it on the practice fields and the batting cages. Talk is cheap. Action is defining.

It is still early in the season and a lot can happen to change things. Time will tell if the Dodgers and Blue Jays can turn things around despite their big acquisitions.

Posted in Red Sox, Blue Jays, Dodgers, Marlins | No Comments »

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Dodgers Waltz Over Orioles

Sunday, April 21st, 2013

For the first two innings Jake Arrieta was dominate, striking out the first two hitters he faced while carving up the first six Dodger hitters on just twenty pitches. He struggled in the third and blew up in the fifth, walking five and hitting one in those two innings to allow the Dodgers to overcome an early 3-0 deficit to down the Orioles 7-4.

The Orioles took a quick lead off recently promoted Stephen Fife. Nate McLouth led off the game with a bloop single over the shortstop’s glove, advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored when Nick Markakis bounced a single up the middle. Adam Jones was hit by a pitch and Chris Davis lined a single to load the bases. Matt Wieters could not bring them home, swinging and missing on a 91 mile per hour fastball. J.J. Hardy stroked a clutch hit with a single down the right field line, driving in two and advancing to second when Andre Ethier threw the ball to first. The mental error did not hurt as Ryan Flaherty flied to left to end the inning.

Arrieta was efficient with his pitches in the first two innings, throwing only five balls. It fell apart in the third when he walked the leadoff hitter A.J. Ellis. Skip Schmacher singled to left centerfield to advance Ellis to third. A one out walk to Carl Crawford loaded the bases where Mark Ellis launched a fly ball deep enough to left to score Ellis. A walk to Adrian Gonzalez loaded the bases again. Arrieta recovered getting ahead of Matt Kemp 1-2 and then blowing a 93 mile per hour fastball past him. Jake threw 34 pitches in the third inning and only 20 in the first two innings.

Adam Jones got the run back in the bottom frame by blistering Fife for a fly ball deep into left centerfield, just to the left of the bullpen. The ball would have easily landed into the visitors portion of the bullpen if it had been hit more in centerfield.

With a three run lead again Arrieta retired the side in order in the fourth, but still threw six balls out of the strike zone. His game unraveled in the fifth when he walked .095 hitting Skip Schumacher on four pitches, then got behind .180 hitting Justin Sellers 2-1 before plunking him. Another walk to Carl Crawford loaded the bases. Arrieta got ahead of Mark Ellis 0-2, but he was still able to line a single over the leaping J.J. Hardy to score two runs. That was it for Arrieta.

T.J. McFarland came on, allowing all the baserunners of Arrieta to score. Adrian Gonzalez poked one into left field for a double. Nate McLouth tried to make a sliding catch along the left field foul line, but the ball glanced off his glove, Gonzalez trotting into second with an RBI double. Matt Kemp singled to give the Dodgers a 5-4 lead.

Stephen Fife didn’t last five innings either. He was taken out of the game after a two out single by Nick Markakis. J.P.Howell came on and gave up a single to Adam Jones to put two runners on. Chris Davis swung and missed at a breaking pitch low and away to end the inning. Davis had three hits in his four at bats, picking the worst time to make an out.

The Dodgers slowly pulled away by scoring runs in the seventh and ninth. A.J. Ellis had a clutch two out single in the seventh to drive in a run. Jerry Hairston hit a sacrifice fly in the ninth to make it 7-4.

Game Notes: A fan tried to run on the field but he was grabbed quickly by security. He barely got to the left field foul line. He made a brief wave and then was grabbed by security. Two policeman escorted him away…Paco Rodriguez retired the side in order in the seventh, getting all three outs on ground outs. As far as myworld could determine, he threw only one 89 mile per hour fastball. The rest of the lefty’s offerings were junk balls…Manny Machado had a poor 0 for 5 day, striking out twice and grounding into a double play. Chris Davis still has a hot bat, stroking three hits, one of them hitting off the wall for a double. Davis has battered the ball off the wall a couple times. A little more distance and he could be leading the league in homeruns…Carl Crawford walked three times…Matt Kemp may be breaking out of his slump, stringing together three singles in his last three at bats.

Posted in Orioles, Dodgers | No Comments »

2013 Hot Stove - Dodgers

Saturday, December 29th, 2012

Overall Assessment: What a difference a year can make. From the verge of bankruptcy orchestrated by a distracted owner successfully tearing down a vaunted franchise to a group of owners buying the market and putting the cachet back in the Dodger name. Frank McCourt may argue that if he had an opportunity to complete his negotiation of a local television contract things would be different, but he was negotiating through weakness, an act of desparation to recover from the throes of bankruptcy. He never could have pulled off the local television contract the Guggenheim partners pulled off. With the new ownership the Dodgers have transformed themselves from penny pinching street bums to the richest franchise in baseball, surpassing the Yankees in salary. Now the biggest challenge, will all that money result in a championship?

Hot Stove Season: The biggest thing the Dodgers did was over the summer when they acquired Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford, Josh Beckett and Nick Punto. Despite those acquistions the Dodgers lost ground on the Giants even after the players arrival. All that was left to do in 2013 was some tinkering. The only significant trade the Dodgers have made during the offseason was acquiring Skip Schumaker from the Cardinals for Jake Lemmerman. Their biggest free agent moves helped stock their starting rotation, signing Zack Greinke and successfully posting for Korean pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu and then agreeing to a contract. If Ryu bombs and the Dodgers want to send him to the minors Ryu would have to give his consent, a dangerous clause negotiated in a contract and a bad precedent for the Dodgers to make. Seung-Yeop Lee tried to negotiate similar language in his contract a number of years ago but at that time the Dodgers refused and Lee ended up going from Korea to Japan.

Strength: On paper they have a pretty strong team. A one-two punch of Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke at the top of the rotation would be a combination no team would want to face, especially during a playoff series. Matt Kemp still has the potential to put up MVP numbers in centerfield, but he needs to avoid injuries. Adrian Gonzalez can still drive in runs from first base but he is a quiet player not expected to provide leadership to a team that needs a leader. The Dodger dimensions may restrict some of their offensive potential, but they should be able to still score runs.

Weakness: They have a number of question marks. The left side of the infield has a lot of questions between the unproven Luis Cruz, who has been released a few times in his career and the poor defense of Hanley Ramirez, who often times does not come to the park motivated to play. Who plays third and short may be decided in the spring, but Ramirez is the favorite at this point. Andre Ethier needs to show he can hit lefthanders, otherwise he will end up a platoon player. The acquistion of Schumaker showed their lack of confidence in who they already have at second (Nick Punto and Mark Ellis) and the bullpen lacks a true closer. Carl Crawford will be a weakness if he plays with the skills and motivation of his post Ray days. A lot of potential weaknesses for a team with a salary over $200 million.

Top Position Prospect: They paid a lot of money for Cuban defector Yasiel Puig. He has the talent to take over one of the outfield spots in 2014 should either Crawford or Ethier fail to live up to their abilities. He has the five tools you look for in a player, power, speed, arm, can hit for average and play defense. Only time will tell whether he uses those tools properly.

Top Pitching Prospect: The rumors were the Dodgers drafted Zach Lee because they had no intention of signing him. He would ask for an exorbitant amount of money and who could blame the Dodgers for not signing him. Well, the Dodgers ended up paying a lot of money to sign him ($5 million plus bonus). He’s been promoted aggressively and his numbers have suffered for it. He has four pretty good pitches with a fastball that usually sits in the low 90s.

Watch out for: Onelki Garcia, another Cuban defector who could not establish foreign residency, making him part of the 2012 draft. The Dodgers selected him in the third round. His agent wanted a multimillion dollar contract but he had to settle for six figures because of established bonus rules that put a ceiling on what the Dodgers could give Garcia as a third round pick. He will turn 24 next year so he could advance quickly. The lefthander throws in the low 90s with enough of a repetorie to make it in the starting rotation.

Top Rookie Prospect: This will be a veteran team. The player with the best shot of winning rookie of the year will be KBO veteran Hyun-Jin Ryu. The pudgy lefthander can get his fastball in the low 90s but rules the plate with his change.

Projected on Paper Finish: It will be an embarrassing season if the Dodgers do not finish first. It will be an affirmation that there are a number of character problems on this team who don’t have or have lost the ability to win. They should be motivated by that to win the division.

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Posted in Dodgers | No Comments »

Dodger Dollars Continue to Fly With Ryu Signing

Sunday, December 9th, 2012

After signing Zach Greinke to a six year $146 million dollar contract to put their 2013 salary structure north of $200 million, the Dodgers continued sending the dollars flying with a reported six year $36 million contract for Hyun-jin Ryu. This after paying the Hanwha Eagles a $25.7 million posting fee.

If Bud Selig is trying to achieve salary equity with his luxury tax rule, the Dodgers are flipping him the finger. With a local television contract that will pay them $240 million in 2013 they still fall below that in roster salary. Add in the additional revenue they will receive from the 3 million plus who attend the games, the merchandise sales and the revenues from the national television contracts and internet they can keep on spending.

Teams such as the Tampa Bay Rays with their $20 million local television contract must continue to find bargains such as James Loney and hope he has an outlier type year. Of course, in 2012, the teams with the second, third and fourth largest salary structure did not make the playoffs, so all this dollar throwing could be all for naught. The Dodgers do have a lot of branding to do to improve the damage Frank McCourt brought with his abysmal managing of the franchise so perhaps this spending is temporary. Since they are negotiating no trade contracts they can still do like the Red Sox and Marlins and dump their Dodger dollars on some other team.

There does appear to be a clause in the contract for Ryu that allows him to become a free agent after the first year if he meets certain inning requirements (another report says he can opt out after five years and meet a 750 inning requirement, which seems to make more sense from the Dodgers perspective). If that occurs this would mean the Dodgers paid a tad over $31 million for his one year of service, $25.7 million going to the Hanwha Eagles and $6 million going to Ryu. That would be A-Rod type money.

With a top three rotation of Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke and Josh Beckett it may be a challenge for Ryu to meet his innings requirement.

Posted in Korea, Dodgers | No Comments »

While I was Away

Sunday, November 11th, 2012

A lot happened while myworld was frolicking in Hawaii. Though we are technically not back from vacation, we are in San Diego and have some down time. This is a list of the top ten, not in any particular order.

1) Despite not posting for 14 days our hits increased 200 per day. Normally, you expect a decrease in hits. Spam comments have increased as well. Perhaps there is a connection there.

2) The San Francisco Giants swept the Detroit Tigers in the World Series. There was much conjecture on whether the Tigers chose to hibernate because of the cold weather. Marco Scutaro drove in the game winning run in the 10th inning of the fourth game to give the Giants a 4-3 victory. Pablo Sandoval was voted the World Series MVP after hitting three homeruns in the opening game. Hugo Chavez must be smiling.

3) Obama won reelection. FOX, the far right news organization that advertises a fair and balanced report for the Republican party all predicted Romney would win the Presidential race, bucking the numbers from the polls that had it for Obama. They were shell shocked the next day when their predictions on hope were beaten by the numbers. Perhaps some of those prognosticators should take some lessons from the Sabermetrics. You can never argue agaisnt the numbers. Too many people want the Democrats out of their pocketbooks but the Republicans out of their bedrooms and they were willing to pay a little extra to keep the conservtive right and their version of sharia law out of their bedrooms.

4) The Yomiuri Giants won the NPB, also winning 4-3 but only needing six games to win the Japan Series. It is their 22nd title, the most in the NPB. Tetsuya Utsumi, who was the winning pitcher in the first and fifth game was voted the Series MVP.

5) The Japanese Samauri team was hit for a loop when their two top pitchers from the 2009 event, Yu Darvish and Hisashi Iwakuma both declined to participate in the 2013 event. They both cited the number of innings they pitched and working with their teams in spring training as their primary reason. Taiwan has also lost Wei-Yin Chen for the WBC. He also cited participating in spring training as the main reason for passing on the event. Expect a note from Bud Selig to the major league players pleading with them not to cite the participation of spring training as the reason for their lack of participation in the WBC. Japanese players criticized major leaguers for not taking the WBC seriously in their negotaition for more of the WBC pie, but when those Japanese players are faced with a major league schedule they see the light of a 162 game marathon and they do not want to extend that with three to 10 more games in the WBC.

6) The Samsung Lions beat the SK Wyverns in the KBO Series in six games, winning the last game 7-0. Seung-Yeop Lee was voted the Series MVP for his one homerun, seven RBIs and 8 for 23 performance. He continues to be a hitter who performs well in the clutch.

7) In the KBO Geon-chang Seo of the Nexxen Heroes won the Rookie of the Year award while teammate Byung-ho Park won the MVP. The Heroes did not make the playoffs. The big winner in the KBO was Hyun-jin Ryu from the last place Hanwha Eagles, who reluctantly allowed Ryu to be posted for the major leagues. The Los Angeles Dodgers made the winning bid when they posted $26 million for him. Scott Boras calls him a number three starter, so expect him to be more of a back end of the rotation starter. He’s a lefthander, a bit pudgy, with a fastball in the high 80s. He may find it tough to get major league hitters out.

8) The Dodgers are also the team favored to sign Shohei Otani, the high school pitcher who has hit 99 miles per hour on the radar gun. The Nippon Ham Fighters selected Otani as the number one pick in the NPB draft and are negotiating with his parents. In Japan it is rare for players to have agents, but it would not surprise my world if Otani is consulting with his United States agent to see what he can get.

9) The Yomiuri Giants went on to win the Asian Series, beating the Lamiga Monkees 6-3 in the finals. The series was played in Pusan, Korea but neither Korean team was able to advance to the finals. The LaMiga Monkees upset the Samsung Lions in pool play 3-0. The host team Lotte Giants were beaten by the Yomiuri Giants 5-0. Taiwan had beaten China’s Stars 14-1 while the Perth Heat were beaten by the Lotte Giants 6-1. You can see more here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_Asia_Series

10) World Series qualifying rounds will begin shortly. Myworld will update you on those games. One will be played in Taiwan while the other is hosted by Panama. Thailand got a shot in the arm when Johnny Damon agreed to play with them. The man knows how to have fun, but then he doesn’t have a major league team restricting his participation. The Philippines would like to have Tim Lincecum play for them, but the Giants prefer he stay at home. Tim also has to negotiate a big contract so getting injurted in a WBC qualifying round would not help his negotiating status.

As a bonus, yesterday was Malala day. The Taliban in Pakistan made her a martyr by attempting to assinate her and failing. They are sinking to new lows by trying to kill 14 year old girls simply because they would like to be educated. Only cockroaches would want to be led by them. Cockroaches are only good for squishing with the bottom of your shoes. Support Malala in her quest for the 2013 Nobel Peace Prize.

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Posted in Australia, Japan, Panama, Korea, Taiwan, World Baseball Classic, Tigers, Giants, Dodgers, Philippines, China | No Comments »

Shohei Otani Chooses Major Leagues Over NPB

Sunday, October 21st, 2012

If he was eligible for the major league draft he would probably be one of the top five players. With a fastball that has been clocked as high as 99, the Japanese pitcher participated in the 18 and under Japanese tournament in Korea, though he seemed to play second fiddle to Japanese starter Shintaro Fujinami. Myworld wrote a little bit about him here: http://myworldofbaseball.com/wordpress/?p=853 and here: http://myworldofbaseball.com/wordpress/?p=1025

The Dodgers seem to be the team that has shown the greatest interest in him, though the Texas Rangers, Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles have been reported to have interviewed him. Many of the Japanese teams would have placed him as their top pick in their upcoming draft.

Otani joins Kazuhito Tadano (not drafted by Japanese teams because of his link to a gay porn film, signed by the Indians, released and now pitching in the NPB for the Nippon Ham Fighters since 2008) and Junichi Tazawa (currently with the Red Sox) who have gone to the major leagues without being drafted in the NPB. Mac Suzuki was another player, but he was kicked out of his parent’s house as a tennager after being expelled in high school and went to California to live. He was eventually signed by the seattle Mariners but had an unexceptional major league career but he has a Wikipedia page dedicated to him.

Otani has still not made a decision on what team he will eventually agree to sign his name on a contract. As a free agent and under 25 the major league teams will be restricted by their foreign international budget. Expect the price to reach seven figures, especially with the Dodgers bidding.

A Japanese team can still draft him. If a Japanese team does draft him they have until March 31 to negotiate a contract with him. Any major league team will then have to wait until March 31 to negotiate a contract with him. If no Japanese team drafts him Otani becomes a free agent eligible to sign with any major league team. Once he signs with the major league team Otani will be banned from playing in the NPB for three years.

You can read more about Otani here: http://yakyubaka.com/2012/10/21/shohei-otani-chooses-the-us-over-the-npb/

Posted in Japan, Red Sox, Orioles, Rangers, Dodgers | No Comments »

NL West Post Season Minor League All Stars

Saturday, September 29th, 2012

The final group of minor league division All Stars, the NL West.

Arizona Diamondbacks

The Diamondbacks will have to wait until next year to make the playoffs. As usual, they have a bevy of prospects percolating up their minor league system. They are the only team with three minor league champions in Reno (AAA), Mobile (AA) and Missoula (rookie). Those prospects seem to stall once they reach the major leagues. Despite those three championships the minor league system still finished below .500 (.499).

Jake Elmore 2B AAA - Jake was voted as having the best strike zone discipline in AAA. His 74/54 walk to whiff ratio is evidence of that. He also hit .344 with 32 stolen bases in 40 attempts. It resulted in a promotion to Arizona where he has struggled with a .206 average. In three of his five years he has walked more than he has struck out.

Ryan Wheeler 3B AAA - Third base is his next year if he can come close to replicating his AAA numbers (.351, 15, 90). He combines both offense and defense. His major league debut has been a dud (.224) but a good spring could make up for that.

Adam Eaton OF AAA - Adam was voted the MVP of the Pacific Coast League, hitting .381 with 38 stolen bases. He has hit .300 in each of his three professional minor league season. His major league debut is a bit of a challenge (.256). He has a career minor league .456 OBA. Standing at only 5′8″ he has to produce to continue to be still considered a prospect.

Matt Davidson 3B AA - He has Ryan Wheeler ahead of him and may have to switch positions. While he replicated his numbers from last year (.261, 23, 76) his RBI numbers were down 30. He was voted the best power prospect in the Southern League.

Alfredo Marte OF AA - This was the first year Alfredo hit double digits in homeruns with 20. He also hit .294, driving in 75. Diamondbacks are crowded with corner outfielders so that power needs to continue if he wants to crack the major league roster.

Alexander Carreras SP short season - After getting blasted in Hi A (9.95) in four starts, the Cuban defector was demoted to a short season league and pitched better (8-5, 2.96). The lefthander doesn’t miss a lot of bats.

Michael Perez C rookie - The fifth round 2011 pick from Puerto Rico powered his way to the All Star game with 10 homeruns and a .542 slugging. He also hit .293. Still strikes out too much (72 in 58 games).

Stryker Trahan C rookie - The Diamondbacks first round 2012 pick also showed some power, hitting .281, 5, 25. He coaxed 40 walks in 49 games for a .422 OBA.

Colorado Rockies

Colorado had a number of players voted to the post season All Star teams, but many of the older players are more organization players than prospects. The future still looks bright at the lower levels if they can find some pitchers who get hitters to beat the ball on the ground.

Matt McBride 1B AAA - At 27 years of age he has been around awhile. He hit .344 with 10 homeruns. Doesn’t strike out a lot but lacks the power for a corner position.

Andrew Brown OF AAA - Another older prospect Andrew hit .308 with 24 homeruns and 98 RBIs. At 27 with a 2-year major league career .216 average his best bet would be as a fourth outfielder.

Lars Davis C AA - A third round pick in 2007 he has advanced slowly for a college player. In his third year in AA he hit .287 with a career high 9 homeruns and 43 RBIs. He has yet to play 100 games in his six major league seasons.

Edwar Cabrera SP AA - Last year Edwar led the minor leagues in strikeouts with 217. Except for his two major league starts (11.12) he pitched well going 8-4, 2.94 in AA and 3-1, 3.41 in AAA. His strikeout numbers were cut in half ((126) but he pitched 30 less innings. Does not throw with a lot of velocity.

Kyle Parker OF Hi A - Drafted in the first round in 2010, the former highly sought after football player hit .308, 23, 73. The RBI numbers dropped but his stikeouts also dropped while his walks and slugging (.562) increased.

Christian Bergman SP Hi A - Didn’t miss a lot of bats but 16-5, 3.65 brought him into the spotlight. Last year he produced more ground ball outs and had better command.

Tyler Anderson SP Low A - This was the debut season for the first round 2011 pick. He finished 12-3, 2.47 with an impressive ground ball to fly ball ratio. Tyler didn’t miss a lot of bats but forcing hitters to beat the ball on the ground will save on the pitch counts.

Harold Riggins 1B Low A - His season ended in early August but it didn’t stop him from hitting 19 homeruns with 76 RBIs. He hit .302 but his whiffs (104) for games played (87) is a bit too high.

Trevor Story SS Low A - Voted the best defensive shortstop in 2012 but with Troy Tulowitski at short he may have to settle for second. The 2011 supplemental first round pick showed power for a middle infielder with 18 homeruns, hitting .277. Needs to cut down on his strikeouts (121).

Francisco Sosa OF split season - This is his fifth year and the Dominican has still not played in a full season league. The 22 year old hit .275 with only four homeruns, but was 21 for 23 in stolen bases. Next year he needs to show what he can do in a full season league.

Kyle Von Tungeln OF split season - His average was unimpressive (.258) but 34 walks in 44 games brought his OBA to .401. Not a lot of power with only one homerun and 7 for 10 in stolen bases.

David Dahl OF rookie - The first round 2012 pick won the MVP of the Pioneer League, hitting .379, 9, 57. He also contributed 22 doubles and 10 triples for a .625 slugging percentage. Voted the top prospect in the Pioneer League.

Eddie Butler SP rookie - The Rockies supplemental 2012 number one pick went 7-1, 2.13 in 12 starts. He also had an impressive ground ball to fly ball ratio (3.10).

Scott Oberg SP rookie - Scott pitched out of the pen picking up 13 saves with a 2.33 ERA. At 22 he was old for rookie ball.

Los Angeles Dodgers

They spent a lot of money for veterans with large salaries, trading what few prospects they had in their minor leagues to acquire those prospects. Having veterans in the major league lineup does not leave a lot of room for prospects. Just ask the Yankees. It is not like the Dodgers system is oozing with prospects, suffering from the previous ownerships de-emphasis on putting money in the minor leagues.

Tim Federowicz C AAA - Nurtered by the Red Sox, Tim was voted the best defensive catcher in the Pacific Coast League in 2012. He added offense to his resume, hitting .294, 11, 76. At 24 he is still young enough to make an impact.

John Ely SP AAA - His 14-7, 3.20 ERA got him voted Pacific Coast League pitcher of the year. At 26 his time is now but a 20.25 ERA in two appearances with the Dodgers was disappointing. Relies more on command than velocity to get hitters out.

Josh Wall RP AAA - He picked up 28 saves but with a 4.53 and 25 years of age his future is at the back end of the bullpen, not as a closer.

Jeremy Rathjen OF rookie - The 11th round 2012 pick hit .324 with 9 homeruns. He also walked 48 times for a .443 OBA.

Jonathan Martinez SP rookie - The 18 year old Venezuelan went 3-0, 3.05 in 12 starts. He averages over a strike out an inning.

San Diego Padres

The Padres have what is considered one of the better minor league systems in baseball. They didn’t get a lot of players voted to the post season All star teams and what players made the list were at the lower levels.

Ali Solis C AA - The 25 year old from Mexico has been playing since 2005, but the Padres are loaded at catcher. His defense and .283 average got him a cup of coffee in the major leagues where he appeared in four games but no hits in three at bats.

Nate Freiman 1B AA - Nate slugged four homeruns in two games for Israel in the WBC qualifier. The one game he did not hit a homerun Israel lost. He slugged 24 homeruns and drove in 105 at San Antonio hitting .298.

Tommy Medica DH Hi A - Another first baseman, Tommy slugged 19 homeruns, slugging .623. He hit .330 driving in almost a run per game (87 in 93 games).

Matt Andriese SP Hi A - The third round 2011 pick went 10-8, 3.58 in his second year.

Kevin Quackenbush RP Hi A - If you don’t like his 27 saves and 0.94 ERA you have to like his name. He was voted the best reliever in the California League. His strikeout numbers went down when compared to last year.

Austin Hedges C Low A - May be the best Padres defensive catcher. The second round 2012 pick was voted best defensive catcher in the Midwest League. He also showed some power, hitting 10 homeruns and speed, stealing 14 bases in 23 attempts.

Adys Portillo SP Low A - After three years he is finally reaching his potential, going 6-6, 1.87 in 18 starts. When promoted he skipped High A and went to AA, reverting back to his ineffectiveness (7.20). Despite the impressive ERA he still lacked command and didn’t miss bats (45/81) so the verdict is still out.

Roman Madrid RP short season - The seventh round 2012 pick went 7-0, 2.89, picking up 13 saves.

Chris Nunn RP short season - He matched his bullpen partner’s undefeated streak (3-0) with a better ERA (0.87) but fewer saves (3). A late round (24) 2012 pick.

San Francisco Giants

The Giants seemed to break away from the division after the Dodgers chose to take on three expensive contracts and the Giants lost Melky Cabrera to a drug suspension. Not a lot of prospects here to get excited about. The Giants seem to have magic dust when developing pitchers. They had a couple All Stars in AA that are to be watched.

Chris Heston SP AA - Voted the best control in the Eastern League and the top pitcher, finishing 9-8, 2.24. He has been advancing one level a year so expect time with the Giants next year.

Mike Kickham SP AA - The lefty went 11-10, 3.05, skipping High A but still improving his ERA by more than a run.

Adam Duvall 3B Hi A - He bashed 30 homeruns, driving in 100 runs. He appears to be a good run producer but poor defense may force a move from third base.

Shawn Rayne Utl Low A - The 22 year old outfielder hit .309 with 53 stolen bases in 56 attempts. He also walked 61 times for a .413 OBA. He may challenge Gary Brown for that lead off spot.

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Nationals Clinch Playoff Spot

Friday, September 21st, 2012

For the first time in the new franchise history and the first time since 1933 the Washington Nationals have clinched a playoff spot. They downed the multi million dollar Dodger lineup, riding the six innings of one run pitching from Ross Detwiler to take the 4-1 win. Despite the big trade with the Red Sox and the steroid suspension of Giant Melky Cabrera, the Dodgers continue to fall further behind the Giants. There only hope for a playoff appearance is as a wild card team and they won’t do that playing Hanley Ramirez at shortstop.

Ross Detwiler brought his A game for the playoff clincher, retiring the first nine hitters he faced, striking out four. He seemed to tire in the sixth, walking his first hitter and running his second three ball count before getting Adrian Gonzalez to ground meekly to first to end a potential Dodger rally.

The Nationals got their leadoff man on base in the first three innings off Dodger pitcher Chris Capuano. After failing to score in the first two innings they scored in the third on a RBI double by Ryan Zimmerman to score Bryce Harper from first. After Zimmerman advanced to third on a ground out a wild pitch scored him. The ball bounced back to A.J. Ellis, but instead of flipping to Capuano covering home A.J. chose to dive towards the plate in an attempt to tag Zimmerman. He failed.

Mark Ellis led off the fourth ruining Detwiler’s no hitter and shutout with one swing, sending the ball into the left field bullpen to pull the Dodgers within one run. The Nationals responded with two runs in the bottom of the fourth, a double down the third base line by Danny Espinosa scoring Ian Desmond from first. For some reason Hanley Ramirez thought he could get Ian racing home, but his throw was late and bounced past the catcher, allowing Espinosa to advance to third. Ian had no reason to slide since he crossed home longer before the ball bounced in front of the catcher. Espinosa scored on a flyball hit by Kurt Suzuki. The Nationals were only able to get two baserunners after that.

The Dodger bats after the fourth were just as quiet. Christian Garcia continued his relief excellence, striking out two of the three Dodgers he faced in the seventh. Ryan Matteus retired the side in the eighth and Drew Storen picked up the save by striking out the side, facing the meat of the Dodgers lineup in Matt Kemp, Adrian Gonzalez and Hanley Ramirez.

Game Notes: Both Ian Desmond and Steve Lombardozzi were born on this day. Davey could have had a double play birthday tandem, but chose to start David Espinosa at second to spoil the party…While in San Diego I learned Adrian Gonzalez and their family are closing their recreational facilities they built for the kids. They charged more for the use of the gym than other recreational facilities so it was not very kid friendly. They did allow players from Mexico to come over to use their facility, but it is unclear what if anything they charged them…Before the start of the game the fans booed the umpires who botched a call last night. After a tag play at third the umpires couldn’t figure out if the runner going from third to home had scored. Replays clearly showed the runner was at least ten feet away from the plate when the tag was made for the third out, but the umpires, especially the home plate umpire was asleep at the wheel. They allowed the run to score because they didn’t see anything and the Nationals lost by one run. That is one play where replays would have helped, but the umpiring crew should not have been sleeping in the first place…It was Hispanic night at the ball park. A number of t-shirts were worn stating “enciende tu Natitude” which I assume means “ignite your attitude”….At one point Ross Detwiler batted with his average matching his uniform number (.048). That is not what any player likes to see since uniform numbers are only two digits…The Dodgers seem to be a miscast group of characters. Perhaps next year they will gel, but this year there seems no fire in the group. They lack a player who can lead. Matt Kemp needs to take over this team if he expects to reach the playoffs next year.

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Major League Teams Interested in Shohei Otani

Thursday, September 20th, 2012

He throws a fastball that has been clocked at 99 miles per hour. The Los Angeles Dodgers will be the first team to meet with his representatives. He is not a 33 year old veteran of the Nippon Professional Baseball League. Shohei Otani is an 18 year old kid just out of high school. He has declared himself eligible for the NPB draft and all 12 NPB teams have expressed an interest in him. So have a number of major league teams. Signing with a major league team just out of high school will have to get some approval by the NPB.

Dodgers assistant general manager Logan White calls him one of the best players in the world. White stated he has the same kind of potential as Clayton Kershaw. At 6′4″ he has a nice frame for a pitcher. The Red Sox, Rangers and other major league teams are lining up behind the Dodgers in an attempt to talk to him. In the NPB draft his salary will be restricted by the NPB team that wins the right to negotiate with him. If he becomes a free agent to negotiate with a major league team he will get the bulk of their international budget for 2013, or about $3 million. It will be interesting to see if Japan lets a talent like this escape their clutches.

Another top high school player Shintaro Fujinami did not express an interest in the major leagues. Fujinami was the top pitcher for Japan in the 18 and under tournament held in Korea, starting in back to back games and then throwing in relief for three straight appearances. He throws in the mid-90s and at 6′5″ has a good frame.

Fujinami finished with a 1.11 ERA in his four appearances and three starts in the 18 and under tournament. He struck out 26 hitters in 24 innings. Otani started two games, including a 3-0 loss to Korea. He finished with a 4.35 ERA and struck out 16 in 10 innings of work. Fujinami limited the opposition to a .186 average, but may have been overworked by pitching in back to back to back games while Otani limited the opposition to a .152 average.

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