The Nationals’ future will remain in the future. They have sent their 2009 first-round-draft-pick right-handers, Stephen Strasburg and Drew Storen, to their minor league camp. The expectation is that Strasburg would be in Washington by June and Storen at least by September.
The Dodgers demoted RHP James McDonald a day after he gave up six runs in 1 1/3 innings.
After saying the switch of 3B Chone Figgins to second base and 2B Jose Lopez to third was just an experiment, the Mariners played them both consistently at the new positions. Now the word is that the team will use Figgins at third and Lopez at second on occasion during the remaining exhibitions, but Seattle will almost certainly have Figgins in the middle of the infield and Lopez on the hot corner on Opening Day.
A bigger problem for the Mariners could be OF Milton Bradley. He has been ejected from his last two exhibition games for seemingly minor infractions. The question is whether his reputation has preceded him and put him on a short leash, or that there was more to the ejections than meets the eye and they’re a bad sign for the volatile player.
Game time:
The Padres again had RHP Mat Latos and LHP Wade LeBlanc starting in separate split-squad exhibition games. Again, they both pitched very well, almost identically. In a 4-1 victory over the White Sox, Latos lowered his ERA to 1.93 with a pitching line of 521105. The run came on a home run by OF/1B Andruw Jones. In a 5-1 victory over the Dodgers, LeBlanc lowered his ERA to 1.93 with a pitching line of 511113. The run came on a home run by 2B Ron Belliard after LeBlanc had thrown 4 2/3 hitless innings. San Diego will separate their days to pitch because it’s pretty clear that they’ll both make the season-opening rotation.
The day was full of outstanding pitching performances, with seven shutouts. Our Cy Young Award for the Day goes to Cubs RHP Carlos Zambrano, whose line was 530024 in a 4-0 win over the Royals.
In the other shutouts, RHP Felix Hernandez’s line was 520012 as the Mariners defeated the Diamondbacks 4-0 using home runs by OFs Franklin Gutierrez and Ryan Langerhans against RHP Dan Haren; RHP Tim Wakefield was in mid-season form with a line of 520023 in a 6-0 victory over the Orioles; RHP Todd Wellemeyer’s line of 540023 was plenty good enough in the Giants’ 6-0 win over the Reds that included 1B Aubrey Huff’s third homer; Twins LHP Francisco Liriano had a line of 330004 in a 6-0 victory over the Rays that could have been worse except for five Tampa Bay double plays including three involving 2B Sean Rodriguez and SS Reid Brignac; the pitcher who says, “Ni,” Tigers LHP Fu-Te Ni, used a line of 320001 to outpitch RHP Roy Halladay to help defeat the Phillies 3-0, and Brewers RHP Yovani Gallardo not only had a line of 540023, but also hit a homer for the only run in their 1-0 win over the Royals.
Athletics Ben Sheets lowered his ERA to 17.28 with a line of 431134 in a 7-4 victory over the Cubs.
The Indians used an eight-run second inning against RHP Jason Jennings to defeat another team of Athletics 12-4. Included was Cleveland DH Travis Hafner’s three-run homer, his second. He won’t be playing regular-season games in Arizona, but if he can have some offensive success that could make the Tribe’s offense pretty potent.
OF Cameron Maybin hit his first two homers, against Nationals RHPs Garrett Mock and Shairon Martis, and RHP Chris Volstad had a line of 561122 in the Marlins’ 5-3 win.
In the Dodgers’ 5-4 victory over the Rangers, RHP Ramon Ortiz’s ERA increased to 1.38 on a line of 452226. He was the winning pitcher in relief of RHP Josh Towers, over Rangers LHP Derek Holland.
The Rockies overcame the Angels 11-10 with five runs in the bottom of the ninth against RHP Juan Mateo and Nick Pugliese. Colorado 2B Eric Young cleared the bases with a triple. In a sloppy game, 2B Clint Barmes had three of the Rockies’ five errors.
The Cardinals defeated the Mets 6-5 on 2B Ruben Gotay’s homer in the bottom of the ninth against RHP Kiko Calero. St. Louis OF Colby Rasmus hit his third homer, a two-run shot against New York RHP John Maine, and Mets rookie 1B Ike Davis also had his third, against RHP Jason Motte.
The Blue Jays’ 7-6 win over the Braves had a last-inning rally typical of what we see in spring training. Toronto scored two runs in the bottom of the ninth, with Michael McDade hitting a game-winning double against RHP Jon Huber. Neither will have an impact in the majors or in fantasy baseball this season.
Injuries:
Mariners LHP Cliff Lee could begin the season on the disabled list because of a lower abdominal strain. Whenever he is ready to pitch, he’s subject to a five-game suspension for throwing at Diamondbacks C Chris Snyder. Lee is appealing the suspension. If he isn’t in the rotation the first time around, LHP Jason Vargas and RHP Doug Fister both are expected to make the rotation. They have been fighting for the fifth starter’s job. Fister left today’s game after Reds 1B Joey Votto hit a line drive off the pitcher’s forearm. The injury has been diagnosed as a bruise.
The Rockies said RHP Huston Street has no structural damage in his sore shoulder. However, he is likely to begin the season on the disabled list, possibly on an injury-rehab assignment. In his absence, LHP Franklin Morales and RHP Manuel Corpas could be Colorado’s closers.
Orioles 2B Brian Roberts (herniated disk) has resumed baseball-related activities.
Giants 3B Pablo Sandoval is expected to be out two days after having five stitches in his right shin to close a cut resulting from a collision at home plate. 3B Ryan Rohlinger will fill in for Sandoval. The news isn’t as good for 2B Freddy Sanchez, recovering from shoulder surgery. He won’t play until late April or early May. Jose Uribe is likely to get most of the playing time at second, but San Francisco also will use LF Mark DeRosa in the infield while Sanchez is out.
Astros CF Michael Bourn is out because of a strained right oblique muscle. Playing in his place, OF Jason Bourgeois stole his fourth base and improved his batting average to .286 in an 8-6 win over the Yankees.
NCAA news and blues:
No, I’m not just bitter because the teams I picked are dropping like flies in the NCAA basketball tournament. I am disappointed in the subjectivity and bias toward big conferences and big programs by the selection committee. If Kansas truly was the No. 1 overall seed, then why did Duke get a road to the Final Four only slightly tougher than Syracuse’s December schedule?
As short as I can make this discussion, the tournament should take one of two paths. 1. Become a tournament of champions, with each conference sending the regular-season champion and the survivor of a post-season tournament excluding the champ to the dance. Who really needs the ninth-place team with a losing record in a major conference to help decide the winner? 2. Let everyone in, using the conference tournaments as preliminary rounds. The tournament champs plus the remaining teams in the losers’ bracket of a double-elimination format would advance. The whole thing would be double-elimination, so the conference tournament champs would have to lose twice to be out. The conference tournaments still would have meaning and produce a champion. The regular season couldn’t be more meaningless than it is now, and it would lead to seedings for the conference tournament.
Sample Scouting Report:
Mat Latos, RHP, Padres
Ht.: 6-5 Wt.: 210 T: R Age: 22 Inj. Risk: 10 Alt. Pos.: SP
{2010} Latos so thoroughly dominated low Class A ball last season, that San Diego jumped him to Double-A San Antonio. After he went 5-1 and made the Texas League All-Star game, they only place for him was to go straight to the majors. Latos made another 10 starts for the Padres before they shut him down in September. He throws a mid-90s fastball complemented by both a slider and a curve. The hulking, multi-tattooed Latos has the potential to become a staff ace in time. He should do just fine this year as well. Born: Dec. 9, 1987, Alexandria, Va. 2009: Padres, 51 IP, 4 W, 4.62 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 0 S, 39 SO.
Projection
IP: 133 W: 11 ERA: 3.92 WHIP: 1.27 S: 0 SO: 105 Value: $5
Wade LeBlanc, LHP, Padres
Ht.: 6-3 Wt.: 200 T: L Age: 25 Inj. Risk: 10 Alt. Pos.: SP
{2010} LeBlanc completely turned around his 2008 season last year. At Triple-A Portland, he had poorer results (4-9) than in ’08, when he won 11 games, but pitched much better (3.87 ERA and 1.16 WHIP). He was pitching well enough that the Padres called him up for nine starts, in which he turned around his 1-3 major league mark from 2008 by knocking more than four runs off his ERA and 89 points off his WHIP. He’s not likely to become an ace because his fastball barely reaches 90 mph. LeBlanc does have a sharp-breaking curve and a changeup not far on this side of Johan Santana’s. Born: Aug. 7, 1984, Lake Charles, La. 2009: Padres, 46 IP, 3 W, 3.69 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 0 S, 30 SO.
Projection
IP: 124 W: 8 ERA: 4.28 WHIP: 1.30 S: 0 SO: 88 Value: $2
Showing posts with label Sean Rodriguez. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sean Rodriguez. Show all posts
Monday, March 22, 2010
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Bizarro baseball: Nats win twice, Sox blanked twice
After we wrote about how the Astros still pretty much suck, one of the connections to better days came up with a big game. RHP Roy Oswalt had a pitching line of 420011 in a 3-0 shutout of the Red Sox. LHP Wesley Wright came up with his second save, but his ERA still looks like the number of one of those barely paved, two-lane state highways out in the sticks. For Houston, Koby Clemens, the son of a former major league pitcher and a performance-enhanced mother, played first base.
Another Red Sox split squad also was shut out, 7-0 by the Rays. RHP Wade Davis lowered his ERA to 7.04 with a pitching line of 430015, and 2B Sean Rodriguez hit his fifth home run against RHP Junichi Tazawa. He knew he was no longer pitching in a Japanese industrial league; Tampa Bay’s three runs in his one inning were the first clue.
A second group of Astros weren’t as fortunate in a 4-1 loss to the Yankees. The game’s highlight was New York RHP Phil Hughes’ lengthy save, with a line of 430012.
Some bad pitchers changed hands in the ballyhooed Yankees-Tigers-Diamondbacks trade during the off-season. Arizona was left holding the bag with RHP Edwin Jackson, whose line in a 13-7 loss to the Reds was 2 1/3 67720. Jackson gave up a home run to OF Jay Bruce. He and 2B Brandon Phillips came in with averages under .200.
The Phillies used the work of LHP Cole Hamels (line: 521004) and rookie OF Domonic Brown (his first two homers this spring) in a 6-1 victory over the Tigers. One of Brown’s homers was against the losing pitcher, RHP Justin Verlander (3 1/3 34415). The other came against LHP Phil Coke, another in the aforementioned trade.
The Nationals came into the day with an 0-11 record – and left with not one, but two, wins. One split squad defeated the Marlins 12-3 behind RHP Craig Stammen (432014) and a grand slam by OF/2B Willie Harris against LHP Taylor Tankersley. For the other squad, LHP John Lannan’s pitching (421002) C Ivan Rodriguez’s three runs batted in added up to a 4-2 victory over the Cardinals.
In the Indians-Giants game, San Francisco RHP Tim Lincecum had the winning poker hand (444444) but Cleveland won 7-1 behind RHP Jake Westbrook’s pitching (421101) and OF Shin-soo Choo’s homer. We’re touting Choo this spring.
Sample Scouting Report:
Wade Davis, RHP, Rays
Ht.: 6-5 Wt.: 220 T: R Age: 24 Inj. Risk: 10 Alt. Pos.: SP
{2010} Davis throws a low-to-mid-90s fastball and a hard curve. How far he ultimately advances in the majors could be determined by how well he can develop a third pitch. For now, his status as a prospect is behind LHP David Price and RHP Jeremy Hellickson in the Rays’ organization. Last season, in Davis’ second shot at Triple-A Durham, he was 10-8 with a 3.40 ERA and 140 strikeouts in 158 2/3 innings. That performance earned him a spot in Tampa Bay’s rotation after the Rays traded LHP Scott Kazmir. Davis could maintain his starting role by beating out RHP Andy Sonnanstine or become a vital cog in the bullpen this year. Born: Sept. 7, 1985, Lake Wales, Fla. 2009: Rays, 36 IP, 2 W, 3.72 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, 0 S, 36 SO.
Projection
IP: 109 W: 8 ERA: 3.88 WHIP: 1.34 S: 2 SO: 102 Value: $4
Another Red Sox split squad also was shut out, 7-0 by the Rays. RHP Wade Davis lowered his ERA to 7.04 with a pitching line of 430015, and 2B Sean Rodriguez hit his fifth home run against RHP Junichi Tazawa. He knew he was no longer pitching in a Japanese industrial league; Tampa Bay’s three runs in his one inning were the first clue.
A second group of Astros weren’t as fortunate in a 4-1 loss to the Yankees. The game’s highlight was New York RHP Phil Hughes’ lengthy save, with a line of 430012.
Some bad pitchers changed hands in the ballyhooed Yankees-Tigers-Diamondbacks trade during the off-season. Arizona was left holding the bag with RHP Edwin Jackson, whose line in a 13-7 loss to the Reds was 2 1/3 67720. Jackson gave up a home run to OF Jay Bruce. He and 2B Brandon Phillips came in with averages under .200.
The Phillies used the work of LHP Cole Hamels (line: 521004) and rookie OF Domonic Brown (his first two homers this spring) in a 6-1 victory over the Tigers. One of Brown’s homers was against the losing pitcher, RHP Justin Verlander (3 1/3 34415). The other came against LHP Phil Coke, another in the aforementioned trade.
The Nationals came into the day with an 0-11 record – and left with not one, but two, wins. One split squad defeated the Marlins 12-3 behind RHP Craig Stammen (432014) and a grand slam by OF/2B Willie Harris against LHP Taylor Tankersley. For the other squad, LHP John Lannan’s pitching (421002) C Ivan Rodriguez’s three runs batted in added up to a 4-2 victory over the Cardinals.
In the Indians-Giants game, San Francisco RHP Tim Lincecum had the winning poker hand (444444) but Cleveland won 7-1 behind RHP Jake Westbrook’s pitching (421101) and OF Shin-soo Choo’s homer. We’re touting Choo this spring.
Sample Scouting Report:
Wade Davis, RHP, Rays
Ht.: 6-5 Wt.: 220 T: R Age: 24 Inj. Risk: 10 Alt. Pos.: SP
{2010} Davis throws a low-to-mid-90s fastball and a hard curve. How far he ultimately advances in the majors could be determined by how well he can develop a third pitch. For now, his status as a prospect is behind LHP David Price and RHP Jeremy Hellickson in the Rays’ organization. Last season, in Davis’ second shot at Triple-A Durham, he was 10-8 with a 3.40 ERA and 140 strikeouts in 158 2/3 innings. That performance earned him a spot in Tampa Bay’s rotation after the Rays traded LHP Scott Kazmir. Davis could maintain his starting role by beating out RHP Andy Sonnanstine or become a vital cog in the bullpen this year. Born: Sept. 7, 1985, Lake Wales, Fla. 2009: Rays, 36 IP, 2 W, 3.72 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, 0 S, 36 SO.
Projection
IP: 109 W: 8 ERA: 3.88 WHIP: 1.34 S: 2 SO: 102 Value: $4
Friday, March 19, 2010
Oh, Brian, can you see?
Off-season Lasik eye surgery could be beginning to take effect for Braves C Brian McCann. He hit his first two home runs this spring, against RHP Brett Myers and journeyman LHP Tim Byrdak, as Atlanta lost to the Astros 8-5. RF Hunter Pence slugged his third homer for Houston.
Speaking of eyes, in the Stephen Strasburg watch, the Nationals right-hander pitched three scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out two in a 7-3 loss to the Cardinals. The winning pitcher was RHP Adam Ottavino, who to date has been overhyped as a prospect. He had a pitching line of 200001 after relieving RHP Adam Wainwright in the fifth inning.
In the Diamondbacks’ 9-3 victory over the Rangers, RF Justin Upton blasted his third homer. Texas LF Josh Hamilton, struggling to avoid injuries this spring, hit his first. Thus far, the second coming of RHP Colby Lewis with the Rangers doesn’t seem much better than the first. They re-signed him after he’d had some success pitching in Japan. However, his spring ERA is 9.95.
You know it’s spring training when the Pirates club the Yankees 10-5. And when 1B/SS Bobby Crosby hits two homers and 2B/OF Delwyn Young hits another, giving each three already this spring. It didn’t hurt for the Bucs that RHP Jonathan Abominablesnowman was pitching in the game. He gave up three runs in two-thirds of an inning, giving him 10 earned runs allowed in two innings, a 45.00 ERA.
The Marlins defeated the Mets 5-1, with RHP John Maine giving up all five of the runs in two-thirds of an inning. That’s a 67.50 ERA.
The Diamondbacks defeated the Rockies 8-7 in Hermosillo, Mexico. RHP Leo Rosales made up for some shaky pitching earlier this spring by recording a save. In his one inning, he gave up a solo homer to 1B Brad Eldred.
In the Cubs’ 8-7 victory over the Angels, RHP Thomas Diamond earned a save. He entered the game with the bases loaded and a two-run lead with two out in the eighth inning. Diamond allowed one runner to score, but held LA/Anaheim scoreless in the ninth. Could closer be his future role?
The Athletics’ corner infielders made news in their 10-3 victory over the Royals. 3B Eric Chavez, now playing first base, went 0-for-3 but the news was that he played on back-to-back days for the first time since last year’s back surgery. Meanwhile, new 3B Kevin Kouzmanoff drove in three runs.
Still hitting home runs for the Rays were 2B Sean Rodriguez, his fourth, and OF Justin Ruggiero, his third. Tampa Bay still lost to the Tigers 9-6.
The Giants pounded four home runs – by 1B Aubrey Huff and OFs Fred Lewis, Aaron Rowand and Nate Schierholtz – but still lost to the Brewers 10-8.
The scoring in the Rockies’ 5-4 win over the Mariners all came after the starting pitchers left the game. For Colorado, RHP Ubaldo Jimenez pitched four scoreless innings, giving him a string of seven shutout innings. In RHP Felix Hernandez’s first appearance this spring, he went 2 2/3 innings without allowing a run for Seattle.
In the Dodgers’ 6-4 victory over the Rangers, Matt Kemp hit his second homer this spring and OF Garret Anderson went 1-for-3, a single against LHP Derek Holland, in his first game as LA’s DH since signing a minor league contract.
The rest of the Dodgers won their final exhibition game in China, 11-1 over the CPBL All-Stars. OF prospect Trayvon Robinson hit a two-run homer, and LF Manny Ramirez and 1B James Loney had three hits apiece. The winning pitcher, RHP Josh Towers, had a pitching line of 341102.
Inside the injuries:
While Mets SS Jose Reyes recovers from a thyroid disorder, which is expected to take 2-8 weeks, they will have rookie Ruben Tejada share time with 2B/SS Alex Cora in Reyes’ place. The timetable on CF Carlos Beltran’s return now has been pushed back as far as Memorial Day.
The Angels were set to go with their regular lineup against the Cubs until SS Erick Aybar reported a stiff arm and RF Bobby Abreu tightness in his side. Both sat out the game.
Cubs 3B Aramis Ramirez went out Saturday because of a sore triceps muscle, and isn’t expected to throw for a couple of more days.
The Red Sox scratched RHP Josh Beckett from his start because he was sick. Instead of disrupting other pitchers’ schedules by moving him back to Monday, the Sox said Beckett wouldn’t pitch in a game until his next scheduled start Friday against the Pirates.
The Royals said CF Rick Ankiel, pulled from Friday’s game because of a sore right ankle (ankiel?), could be out a week. In his absence, they will take an extended look at OF Jason Dyson, who stole 46 bases in 80 games last season between low Class A and Double-A ball.
Dodgers SS Rafael Furcal is trying to prove that he’s 100 per cent ready to play this year. He has played in eight of their last nine games. He said that when he played last season he was leery of reinjuring his back.
Sample Scouting Report:
Ubaldo Jimenez, RHP, Rockies
Ht.: 6-4 Wt.: 200 T: R Age: 26* Inj. Risk: 10 Alt. Pos.: SP
{2010} If there is such a thing as a perfect pitcher for Coors Field, Jimenez could be it. He throws a high-90s fastball and mixes in good off-speed pitches, which generates plenty of strikeouts and reduces the number of balls put in play. During the last two seasons, more than 60 per cent of his outs have come on ground balls. Those don’t ever go out of the park the way even a wind-blown fly ball can. Almost any kind of start could be an improvement over last year, when his April ERA was 7.58. Just think how good he could be if he went to a team playing in a pitchers’ park. Born: Jan. 22, 1984, Dominican Republic*. 2009: Rockies, 218 IP, 15 W, 0 S, 3.47 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 198 SO.
Projection
IP: 208 W: 15 ERA: 3.62 WHIP: 1.29 S: 0 SO: 187 Value: $14
Speaking of eyes, in the Stephen Strasburg watch, the Nationals right-hander pitched three scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out two in a 7-3 loss to the Cardinals. The winning pitcher was RHP Adam Ottavino, who to date has been overhyped as a prospect. He had a pitching line of 200001 after relieving RHP Adam Wainwright in the fifth inning.
In the Diamondbacks’ 9-3 victory over the Rangers, RF Justin Upton blasted his third homer. Texas LF Josh Hamilton, struggling to avoid injuries this spring, hit his first. Thus far, the second coming of RHP Colby Lewis with the Rangers doesn’t seem much better than the first. They re-signed him after he’d had some success pitching in Japan. However, his spring ERA is 9.95.
You know it’s spring training when the Pirates club the Yankees 10-5. And when 1B/SS Bobby Crosby hits two homers and 2B/OF Delwyn Young hits another, giving each three already this spring. It didn’t hurt for the Bucs that RHP Jonathan Abominablesnowman was pitching in the game. He gave up three runs in two-thirds of an inning, giving him 10 earned runs allowed in two innings, a 45.00 ERA.
The Marlins defeated the Mets 5-1, with RHP John Maine giving up all five of the runs in two-thirds of an inning. That’s a 67.50 ERA.
The Diamondbacks defeated the Rockies 8-7 in Hermosillo, Mexico. RHP Leo Rosales made up for some shaky pitching earlier this spring by recording a save. In his one inning, he gave up a solo homer to 1B Brad Eldred.
In the Cubs’ 8-7 victory over the Angels, RHP Thomas Diamond earned a save. He entered the game with the bases loaded and a two-run lead with two out in the eighth inning. Diamond allowed one runner to score, but held LA/Anaheim scoreless in the ninth. Could closer be his future role?
The Athletics’ corner infielders made news in their 10-3 victory over the Royals. 3B Eric Chavez, now playing first base, went 0-for-3 but the news was that he played on back-to-back days for the first time since last year’s back surgery. Meanwhile, new 3B Kevin Kouzmanoff drove in three runs.
Still hitting home runs for the Rays were 2B Sean Rodriguez, his fourth, and OF Justin Ruggiero, his third. Tampa Bay still lost to the Tigers 9-6.
The Giants pounded four home runs – by 1B Aubrey Huff and OFs Fred Lewis, Aaron Rowand and Nate Schierholtz – but still lost to the Brewers 10-8.
The scoring in the Rockies’ 5-4 win over the Mariners all came after the starting pitchers left the game. For Colorado, RHP Ubaldo Jimenez pitched four scoreless innings, giving him a string of seven shutout innings. In RHP Felix Hernandez’s first appearance this spring, he went 2 2/3 innings without allowing a run for Seattle.
In the Dodgers’ 6-4 victory over the Rangers, Matt Kemp hit his second homer this spring and OF Garret Anderson went 1-for-3, a single against LHP Derek Holland, in his first game as LA’s DH since signing a minor league contract.
The rest of the Dodgers won their final exhibition game in China, 11-1 over the CPBL All-Stars. OF prospect Trayvon Robinson hit a two-run homer, and LF Manny Ramirez and 1B James Loney had three hits apiece. The winning pitcher, RHP Josh Towers, had a pitching line of 341102.
Inside the injuries:
While Mets SS Jose Reyes recovers from a thyroid disorder, which is expected to take 2-8 weeks, they will have rookie Ruben Tejada share time with 2B/SS Alex Cora in Reyes’ place. The timetable on CF Carlos Beltran’s return now has been pushed back as far as Memorial Day.
The Angels were set to go with their regular lineup against the Cubs until SS Erick Aybar reported a stiff arm and RF Bobby Abreu tightness in his side. Both sat out the game.
Cubs 3B Aramis Ramirez went out Saturday because of a sore triceps muscle, and isn’t expected to throw for a couple of more days.
The Red Sox scratched RHP Josh Beckett from his start because he was sick. Instead of disrupting other pitchers’ schedules by moving him back to Monday, the Sox said Beckett wouldn’t pitch in a game until his next scheduled start Friday against the Pirates.
The Royals said CF Rick Ankiel, pulled from Friday’s game because of a sore right ankle (ankiel?), could be out a week. In his absence, they will take an extended look at OF Jason Dyson, who stole 46 bases in 80 games last season between low Class A and Double-A ball.
Dodgers SS Rafael Furcal is trying to prove that he’s 100 per cent ready to play this year. He has played in eight of their last nine games. He said that when he played last season he was leery of reinjuring his back.
Sample Scouting Report:
Ubaldo Jimenez, RHP, Rockies
Ht.: 6-4 Wt.: 200 T: R Age: 26* Inj. Risk: 10 Alt. Pos.: SP
{2010} If there is such a thing as a perfect pitcher for Coors Field, Jimenez could be it. He throws a high-90s fastball and mixes in good off-speed pitches, which generates plenty of strikeouts and reduces the number of balls put in play. During the last two seasons, more than 60 per cent of his outs have come on ground balls. Those don’t ever go out of the park the way even a wind-blown fly ball can. Almost any kind of start could be an improvement over last year, when his April ERA was 7.58. Just think how good he could be if he went to a team playing in a pitchers’ park. Born: Jan. 22, 1984, Dominican Republic*. 2009: Rockies, 218 IP, 15 W, 0 S, 3.47 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 198 SO.
Projection
IP: 208 W: 15 ERA: 3.62 WHIP: 1.29 S: 0 SO: 187 Value: $14
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Rodriguez hits to make his pitch
Spring training moved into high gear with 27 major league teams playing in 14 games. The Nationals lost two split-squad games.
Sean Rodriguez continued his hot start toward winning the Rays’ second base job by hitting his second home run in two games. It was the only hit against Orioles LHP Brian Matusz in 1 1/3 innings of their 6-5 defeat.
Blue Jays C prospect J.P. Arencibia won their game over the Tigers 9-7 with a two-run homer in the ninth inning against Tigers RHP Zach Miner. Our thinking is that Arencibia is a much better prospect than Detroit SS Brent Dlugach, who hit his second homer this spring.
Listened to part of the Rangers-Royals spring opener. Texas was one of the big-hitting teams – in fact, each major league team from the Lone Star State banged out 21 hits. The Rangers defeated Kansas City 13-3, and the Astros clobbered the Nationals 15-5. For Houston, RF Hunter Pence hammered two homers – in the fourth inning. Those were against marginal RHPs Shairon Martis and Joel Peralta, but Pence’s 3-for-3 day with four RBI might have signaled the beginning of what we think could be a big year for him.
The Rockies had a mere 17 hits in their 11-1 victory over the Diamondbacks.
The teams walked to runs in the Mets’ 17-11 victory over the Cardinals. There were 18 bases on balls. A name to file away: St. Louis 2B Daniel Descalso. He might not be in the majors until 2011, but he was 2-for-2 in the game.
Mets SS Jose Reyes missed the game to undergo a blood test. There apparently was an abnormality in an earlier test during his physical exam.
LHP Johan Santana threw off a mound for the first time since undergoing elbow surgery last September. He made 40 pitches in batting practice to Rod Barajas and rookie Josh Thole, who are expected to be New York’s catchers this season.
Almost all of the scoring – two runs apiece – was against the bullpen in the Phillies’ 3-2 win over the Yankees. The starters, RHP Roy Halladay and LHP C.C. Sabathia, each pitched two scoreless innings.
The dishonor of playing the spring’s first tie game, 4-4 in 10 innings, went to the White Sox and Angels. They couldn’t possibly have played any longer – not with approximately 7,000 pitchers and a couple of hundred position players available in their spring training camp.
It wasn’t long ago that RHP Radhames Liz was a fraudulent prospect with the Orioles. He’s now with the Padres, and he gave up six runs in the eighth inning of their 9-3 loss to the Mariners. Included was 1B Tommy Everidge’s grand slam. It was a good day for Seattle first basemen; Ryan Garko also hit a solo homer.
The Nationals were hoping to improve their bullpen by trading for RHP Brian Bruney, but he was the losing pitcher in their 10-4 loss to the Marlins.
A guy we’ve touted as a potential closer somewhere is RHP Joe Nelson. He saved Boston’s 2-1 victory over the Twins.
What they’re working on:
Red Sox RHP Jonathan Papelbon, who has no reason to feel that Nelson is a threat to the closer’s job, is trying to regain his split-finger pitch. He threw four of them among his 13 pitches against the Twins.
Worth noting:
The Cubs’ closer of record, RHP Carlos Marmol, was 11-for-11 in save opportunities after taking over the job last season. A word of caution: His 161 appearances during the past two seasons were the majors’ second-highest total, so he could feel the pressures of being overworked. Or he might be one of those pitchers who haven’t always babied their arm so that the workload wouldn’t bother him.
The White Sox have used 3B Gordon Beckham, fueling speculation that he could be used in a trade with the Padres for 1B Adrian Gonzalez.
The Angels credit RF Bobby Abreu, who has a long-established and well deserved reputation as a selective batter, with helping SS Erick Aybar exceed his career on-base percentage by 55 points last season and 3B Chone Figgins and CF Torii Hunter improve theirs by 40 points.
Sample Scouting Report:
J.P. Arencibia, C, Blue Jays
Ht: 6-1 Wt: 215 Age: 24 B: R
{2010}Arencibia hasn’t yet lived up to the potential that Toronto saw when it made him a supplemental first-round draft pick in 2007. The former Tennessee Volunteer’s average has dropped at each of his last two stops, and he has struck out at least four times for every walk in each of his four minor league stops. You should look past his .236 average at Triple-A Las Vegas last year to consider it a negative but not something that would keep him from having fantasy value. That would come from his 21 homers and 75 RBI, which would give him more value than most catchers. A year earlier, he totaled 27 dingers and 105 RBI in high Class A and Double-A. J.P. also needs to work on his throwing. He has a strong arm, but threw out just 25 per cent of potential base stealers in 2009. The Jays need a catcher; by mid-season Arencibia could have that job.
Projection
AB: 385 BA: .264 HR: 17 RBI: 62 SB: 0 R: 50 Value: $5
Sean Rodriguez continued his hot start toward winning the Rays’ second base job by hitting his second home run in two games. It was the only hit against Orioles LHP Brian Matusz in 1 1/3 innings of their 6-5 defeat.
Blue Jays C prospect J.P. Arencibia won their game over the Tigers 9-7 with a two-run homer in the ninth inning against Tigers RHP Zach Miner. Our thinking is that Arencibia is a much better prospect than Detroit SS Brent Dlugach, who hit his second homer this spring.
Listened to part of the Rangers-Royals spring opener. Texas was one of the big-hitting teams – in fact, each major league team from the Lone Star State banged out 21 hits. The Rangers defeated Kansas City 13-3, and the Astros clobbered the Nationals 15-5. For Houston, RF Hunter Pence hammered two homers – in the fourth inning. Those were against marginal RHPs Shairon Martis and Joel Peralta, but Pence’s 3-for-3 day with four RBI might have signaled the beginning of what we think could be a big year for him.
The Rockies had a mere 17 hits in their 11-1 victory over the Diamondbacks.
The teams walked to runs in the Mets’ 17-11 victory over the Cardinals. There were 18 bases on balls. A name to file away: St. Louis 2B Daniel Descalso. He might not be in the majors until 2011, but he was 2-for-2 in the game.
Mets SS Jose Reyes missed the game to undergo a blood test. There apparently was an abnormality in an earlier test during his physical exam.
LHP Johan Santana threw off a mound for the first time since undergoing elbow surgery last September. He made 40 pitches in batting practice to Rod Barajas and rookie Josh Thole, who are expected to be New York’s catchers this season.
Almost all of the scoring – two runs apiece – was against the bullpen in the Phillies’ 3-2 win over the Yankees. The starters, RHP Roy Halladay and LHP C.C. Sabathia, each pitched two scoreless innings.
The dishonor of playing the spring’s first tie game, 4-4 in 10 innings, went to the White Sox and Angels. They couldn’t possibly have played any longer – not with approximately 7,000 pitchers and a couple of hundred position players available in their spring training camp.
It wasn’t long ago that RHP Radhames Liz was a fraudulent prospect with the Orioles. He’s now with the Padres, and he gave up six runs in the eighth inning of their 9-3 loss to the Mariners. Included was 1B Tommy Everidge’s grand slam. It was a good day for Seattle first basemen; Ryan Garko also hit a solo homer.
The Nationals were hoping to improve their bullpen by trading for RHP Brian Bruney, but he was the losing pitcher in their 10-4 loss to the Marlins.
A guy we’ve touted as a potential closer somewhere is RHP Joe Nelson. He saved Boston’s 2-1 victory over the Twins.
What they’re working on:
Red Sox RHP Jonathan Papelbon, who has no reason to feel that Nelson is a threat to the closer’s job, is trying to regain his split-finger pitch. He threw four of them among his 13 pitches against the Twins.
Worth noting:
The Cubs’ closer of record, RHP Carlos Marmol, was 11-for-11 in save opportunities after taking over the job last season. A word of caution: His 161 appearances during the past two seasons were the majors’ second-highest total, so he could feel the pressures of being overworked. Or he might be one of those pitchers who haven’t always babied their arm so that the workload wouldn’t bother him.
The White Sox have used 3B Gordon Beckham, fueling speculation that he could be used in a trade with the Padres for 1B Adrian Gonzalez.
The Angels credit RF Bobby Abreu, who has a long-established and well deserved reputation as a selective batter, with helping SS Erick Aybar exceed his career on-base percentage by 55 points last season and 3B Chone Figgins and CF Torii Hunter improve theirs by 40 points.
Sample Scouting Report:
J.P. Arencibia, C, Blue Jays
Ht: 6-1 Wt: 215 Age: 24 B: R
{2010}Arencibia hasn’t yet lived up to the potential that Toronto saw when it made him a supplemental first-round draft pick in 2007. The former Tennessee Volunteer’s average has dropped at each of his last two stops, and he has struck out at least four times for every walk in each of his four minor league stops. You should look past his .236 average at Triple-A Las Vegas last year to consider it a negative but not something that would keep him from having fantasy value. That would come from his 21 homers and 75 RBI, which would give him more value than most catchers. A year earlier, he totaled 27 dingers and 105 RBI in high Class A and Double-A. J.P. also needs to work on his throwing. He has a strong arm, but threw out just 25 per cent of potential base stealers in 2009. The Jays need a catcher; by mid-season Arencibia could have that job.
Projection
AB: 385 BA: .264 HR: 17 RBI: 62 SB: 0 R: 50 Value: $5
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Not much relief from bullpens
Here’s what happened today, when the schedule of exhibition games expanded to nine, with five of those between teams that both ostensibly were made up of major league players.
A trend was terrible relief pitching, which is understandable because especially this early in the spring, a number of even the late-inning relievers are pitchers who won’t even get a sniff of the majors in 2010.
The Tigers had some encouraging developments. RHP Jeremy Bonderman started and pitched two scoreless innings. OF Casper Wells, whom we introduced to you Tuesday, drove in a run with a triple to tie the game in the ninth inning, then scored the winning run in a 7-6 victory over the Blue Jays. However, LHP Daniel Schlereth, part of Detroit’s big trade with the Diamondbacks and Yankees, blew a lead by giving up four runs in the bottom of the eighth – with three of those on a home run by minor league journeyman Chris Lubanski.
There was similar bullpen failure in the Giants’ 8-7 victory in 10 innings over the Mariners. San Francisco allowed two runs to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth. 1B Aubrey Huff homered for the Giants. RHP Tim Lincecum gave up three runs in just one inning. He noted that his violent motion has “a lot of moving parts” and that he has to refine each one of those to get his delivery working right. There’s no need to panic now, but remember that there’s a possibility he might not be able to put everything back together just right.
The Orioles hit six home runs in a 12-2 rout of the Rays, but the most interesting homer in that game might have been by 2B Sean Rodriguez. He’s fighting for the starting job in Tampa Bay. If he wins that, Ben Zobrist could start in right field. I predict that if Zobrist plays regularly at second base, the Rays have a good chance to make the playoffs, but if Rodriguez or Reid Brignac is in the usual starting lineup, TB will be a weaker, non-playoff team.
Anyway, today Baltimore got two home runs apiece from DH Josh Bell and 1B Rhyne Hughes. Don’t go putting them on your draft or auction list. Bell hit a homer against RHP Matt Garza, a legitimate major leaguer, but the other was against LHP Heath Phillips. Hughes, who already is 26 years old, hit his blasts against journeyman Phillips and 29-year-old Jason Cromer. You might see similar performances by these players this season – if you’re at a Triple-A game.
Here’s an idea for the majors. Take a page from the NBA’s book and have a few teams that are hopelessly overmatched in a major professional league.
In spring training, baseball pretty much does that by scheduling exhibitions against college teams. The major league teams won all four games against collegians today, by a composite score of 53-10. That’s 6-0 in favor of a handful of major leaguers and the professional minor leaguers representing MLB cities.
The Red Sox swept Northeastern 15-0 and Boston College 6-1 in a pair of seven-inning games. The Marlins played all nine against the University of Miami for a 19-3 victory. In an eight-inning contest, the Phillies overcame Florida State’s 6-4 lead to win 13-6. Seminoles pitchers walked 16 batters. Bad news for Philadelphia was that RHP prospect Phillippe Aumont lasted just two-thirds of an inning and allowed five runs.
The Yankees didn’t play a college team, but they did find a willing opponent in the Pirates. New York didn’t win until OF Colin Curtis hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth against Pittsburgh RHP Virgil Vasquez for a 6-3 victory.
Position changes:
SS Miguel Tejada opened the exhibition season with the Orioles at his new position, third base.
White Sox 3B prospect Dayan Viciedo will start at first base in their opening exhibition.
Failed SS prospect Sergio Santos is now with the White Sox trying to make it as a righthanded pitcher.
Injuries:
White Sox CF Alex Rios is out because of a sore right shoulder. He seems to be becoming somewhat brittle. Expect him to miss 30-40 games this season.
Astros 1B Lance Berkman (bruised left knee) will miss Thursday’s game. If he plays Friday, that would be as a DH.
Cardinals SS Brendan Ryan seems impatient to get back as he recovers from surgery on his right wrist. Beware his trying to come back too soon and missing a significant part of this season as well.
Indians DH Travis Hafner has missed much of the past two seasons, and still has to prove he has regained his former strength and form 17 months after arthroscopic shoulder surgery.
News and notes:
The Diamondbacks and RF Justin Upton have officially agreed on a six-year, $51.25-million contract.
Padres RHP Heath Bell is working to add a changeup to the fastball and curve he already was throwing. You might not realize this, but even with just two pitches he led the National League with 42 saves in 2009.
A trend was terrible relief pitching, which is understandable because especially this early in the spring, a number of even the late-inning relievers are pitchers who won’t even get a sniff of the majors in 2010.
The Tigers had some encouraging developments. RHP Jeremy Bonderman started and pitched two scoreless innings. OF Casper Wells, whom we introduced to you Tuesday, drove in a run with a triple to tie the game in the ninth inning, then scored the winning run in a 7-6 victory over the Blue Jays. However, LHP Daniel Schlereth, part of Detroit’s big trade with the Diamondbacks and Yankees, blew a lead by giving up four runs in the bottom of the eighth – with three of those on a home run by minor league journeyman Chris Lubanski.
There was similar bullpen failure in the Giants’ 8-7 victory in 10 innings over the Mariners. San Francisco allowed two runs to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth. 1B Aubrey Huff homered for the Giants. RHP Tim Lincecum gave up three runs in just one inning. He noted that his violent motion has “a lot of moving parts” and that he has to refine each one of those to get his delivery working right. There’s no need to panic now, but remember that there’s a possibility he might not be able to put everything back together just right.
The Orioles hit six home runs in a 12-2 rout of the Rays, but the most interesting homer in that game might have been by 2B Sean Rodriguez. He’s fighting for the starting job in Tampa Bay. If he wins that, Ben Zobrist could start in right field. I predict that if Zobrist plays regularly at second base, the Rays have a good chance to make the playoffs, but if Rodriguez or Reid Brignac is in the usual starting lineup, TB will be a weaker, non-playoff team.
Anyway, today Baltimore got two home runs apiece from DH Josh Bell and 1B Rhyne Hughes. Don’t go putting them on your draft or auction list. Bell hit a homer against RHP Matt Garza, a legitimate major leaguer, but the other was against LHP Heath Phillips. Hughes, who already is 26 years old, hit his blasts against journeyman Phillips and 29-year-old Jason Cromer. You might see similar performances by these players this season – if you’re at a Triple-A game.
Here’s an idea for the majors. Take a page from the NBA’s book and have a few teams that are hopelessly overmatched in a major professional league.
In spring training, baseball pretty much does that by scheduling exhibitions against college teams. The major league teams won all four games against collegians today, by a composite score of 53-10. That’s 6-0 in favor of a handful of major leaguers and the professional minor leaguers representing MLB cities.
The Red Sox swept Northeastern 15-0 and Boston College 6-1 in a pair of seven-inning games. The Marlins played all nine against the University of Miami for a 19-3 victory. In an eight-inning contest, the Phillies overcame Florida State’s 6-4 lead to win 13-6. Seminoles pitchers walked 16 batters. Bad news for Philadelphia was that RHP prospect Phillippe Aumont lasted just two-thirds of an inning and allowed five runs.
The Yankees didn’t play a college team, but they did find a willing opponent in the Pirates. New York didn’t win until OF Colin Curtis hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth against Pittsburgh RHP Virgil Vasquez for a 6-3 victory.
Position changes:
SS Miguel Tejada opened the exhibition season with the Orioles at his new position, third base.
White Sox 3B prospect Dayan Viciedo will start at first base in their opening exhibition.
Failed SS prospect Sergio Santos is now with the White Sox trying to make it as a righthanded pitcher.
Injuries:
White Sox CF Alex Rios is out because of a sore right shoulder. He seems to be becoming somewhat brittle. Expect him to miss 30-40 games this season.
Astros 1B Lance Berkman (bruised left knee) will miss Thursday’s game. If he plays Friday, that would be as a DH.
Cardinals SS Brendan Ryan seems impatient to get back as he recovers from surgery on his right wrist. Beware his trying to come back too soon and missing a significant part of this season as well.
Indians DH Travis Hafner has missed much of the past two seasons, and still has to prove he has regained his former strength and form 17 months after arthroscopic shoulder surgery.
News and notes:
The Diamondbacks and RF Justin Upton have officially agreed on a six-year, $51.25-million contract.
Padres RHP Heath Bell is working to add a changeup to the fastball and curve he already was throwing. You might not realize this, but even with just two pitches he led the National League with 42 saves in 2009.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)