Shaun Garceau takes over Tyler Herron’s spot in the Palm Beach rotation. Daryl Jones is one of Palm Beach’s most eligible bachelors. Also, it seems that Dr. Suess is an licensing Nazi.
Kary Booher takes a look at Allen Craig as he begins to heat up at the plate. Personally, I love cold weather but Craig isn’t a fan:
“Here, when it’s freezing, you don’t want to sit down for two minutes because you might turn into a popsicle,” Craig joked the other day in the clubhouse. “But it’s starting to heat up.”
Craig and Springfield hitting coach Derrick May, whom Joe Mather and Jarrett Hoffpauir have given credit to in the past, are still working on some elements of Craig’s approach at the plate:
Through 33 games, he had six home runs, 10 doubles and 28 RBIs, and has begun to lay off bad pitches — a point of emphasis from hitting coach Derrick May.
“With him, I’m just trying to have him use the middle of the field and shorten his swing. He’s doing a good job of that,” May said. “Most of all, it’s pitch selection. He’s swinging at better pitches. He’s giving himself a chance.”
While this isn’t minors related, I think it’s awesome that the Padres’ Front Office has started a blog, which appears to be written by Paul DePodesta. The Cardinal’s Front Office has been very accomodating with regards to interviews and they seem to be catching on to modernizing their operations but I’d be a little surprised to see them try something like this. Frankly, the whole thing could go down in flames once the crazies find it and start commenting. Still, it’s an amazing chance to connect with a lot of dedicated, hard-core fans.
Just one game to report tonight. Quad Cities was rained out and both the Springfield and Palm Beach clubs had the day off. Fortunately, I have good news from Memphis. Not only did the team win but someone important had a good night. Care to wager a guess who?
- Memphis teed off on Juan Gutierrez, the prospect that Houston shipped to the Diamondbacks in the Valverde-Qualls trade. Colby Rasmus went 3-for-6 with a HR. It feels good to type that even if it is just one game.
- Brian Barden went 3-for-5 with a double and a walk.
- Nick Stavinoha was 3-for-5.
- Josh Phelps went 2-for-4 with a HR.
- Bryan Anderson continues to hit going 3-for-5 with a double and a triple. He’s hitting .324/.343/.500 in 34 ABs so far for Memphis.
- Blake Hawksworth had a so-so outing. He lasted 6 innings but allowed 10 hits (2 doubles, solo HR) for 3 ER. He struck out 4 and walked none but that’s still a bit too hittable.
- John Wasdin followed with 3 scoreless innings striking out 1. He was also credited with a save (what a crazy stat) because the score was 6-3 when he entered the game.
Filed under: Daily Farm Reports
erik
azruavatar
fewgoodcards
roarke49
theredbaaron
Rasmus will get so hot that we will forget where he started…its become a pretty obvious pattern.
Good and bad.
Good he ends up evening out..bad he bottoms out so early.
Derrek Lee used to do that for the Cubs…then the 1 year he actually had a good start he almost won the MVP..maybe we can hope for that kind of fix in Colby’s game.
Maybe the success of the MLB OF’ers will calm him..he isnt going anywhere..but the prize that is the USA Olympics is going to start looking quite good.
Motivation can come in many different things…..when you get basically told there is nothing you can do to make this team..it probably takes a toll for a bit.
The apple will be dangled in front of him as the season goes on and I think Colby responds and in a big way.
He could still very well hit 30 HR’s this year…combined (AAA, OLY, MLB)
That is a good year for a 21 yr old.
I’m sick of people still using this always a slow starter excuse, he has started slow in the past but never this slow!
He is hitting .205 so far 38 games into the season, in his past years through 38 games he has been hitting….
.294 in 2005
.314 in 2006
.293 in 2007
Why can’t Colby’s one quarter season slow start be that he is very young and taking some time to adjust to older and more experienced Triple-A pitching?
Nah, Wasdin was credited with the save the old school way, for merely not giving up the lead and pitching 3 innings. The score could have been 15-0 and so long as he pitched the final 3 innings without giving up the lead he would have been credited with the save.
NOW how crazy does that stat sound?
I went and saw Highland play again and I am going to state two beliefs:
1. I seriously doubt that Odorizzi will ever make it to the show as a pitcher.
2. That what I said in the first belief actually increasese the likelyhood that the Cards draft him at 39, because…
…this guy is the best high school shortstop I have ever seen play. Just absolutely sick with a glove and he has a chance to hit in the majors as well. We are talking 75 (on the 80 scale) ceilings on glove and arm. His arm is already there. The smoothest atheletes I have seen in the 20 years I have been watching high school ball…
that’s amazing b/c i haven’t seen one scouting report this spring say that he could be drafted as a position player. i did find this from an old perfect game scouting report though.
6.78 runner, easy swing with whippy bat speed, strength will equal power, upper level shortstop actions. Likely a pitcher but some like as a MIF more.
FGC-
He may very well be drafted as a pitcher, as I have heard many teams are interested in him as a pitcher. But I knew one of the area scouts for the Nats (my old high school coach) and he was saying that they were thinking of him as a SS first. He also said that he thought the balance of the pro-scouts are starting to lean in favor of him as a SS.
It plays out on the field. He is just really really smooth. I hate the idea of teams taking players based on defense, but it is really easy to project his defense to pro-level, it just doesn’t have that far to go. As for his offense, I can’t speak to it just because he wasn’t facing a high level pitcher on Friday. It would be nice if we had some info on some of the games he has played against a higher level of competition.
Either way his frame is very projectable, he will easily add 20 pounds of muscle without sacrificing anything. I personally think you draft atheletes and make them pitchers, because pitching is such an atheletic intense activity–but SS and CF are the other positions that I think you can stick atheletes into and esily justify it.
i guess we’ll find out on draft day. i just have a different philosophy about drafting than you i guess. the first thing i look at is if a guy can hit, and then i figure out where they can play. you can be the best defensive player in the world, but if you can’t hit you aren’t going to play in the big leagues. if it is the other way around, you are going to play in the big leagues. this kid could be a great defensive shortstop, but i think you are taking a big risk expecting him to hit with where you are going to have to take him. i think it is a much safer pick to take him as a pitcher.
AZ–Come live in Iowa where you can go weeks of 0 degree temp, and I’d like to see you say you like cold weather after that.
I’m loving the XBH’s from Anderson. With all due respect to Mr. Molina, it sure would be nice to have a catcher that doesn’t have to struggle to get his ISO over 100 every year…
BJM, did you see Ordozzi’s game the other day when he had this line:
7IP 3H 0R 1BB 14K
I wouldn’t be surprised if he was one of first 3 HS P taken, more likely first 5, but wouldn’t be surprised with first 3.
He hasn’t even allowed an earned run in the 57 innings he’s pitched and has a 96:5 K:BB ratio.
FGC-
Not a different strategy at all. I personally agree with you that you find hitters and pitchers first, but I am just stating what I am hearing and have seen. I think a lot of scouts emphasize speed, arm, and glove over power and average because they are easier to project.
Good arm now / Good arm as a Pro
Good speed now/ Good speed as a Pro
Good hitter in high school/High probality of failure as a Pro
It is not impossible to scout hitting ability, but it takes a much more trained set of eyes than I have and quite a bit of luck. Faced with this many scouts will scout the tools they can easily understand and let luck take its course.
Personally I draft him as a pitcher. Good atheletes have a better shot at staying healthy and having productive careers as pitchers…
Shhh
In fact that was one of the three games I have seen him so far, that was against Jersyville if I am thinking of the same one. You can definetly say that he dominates high school hitters, but he only needs his fastball to do it. Don’t throw high school stats at a scout, generally they are worthless because the level of competition is very easy.
Again I am just stating what I have heard from a couple scouts I know and have seen personally. Great athelete, amazing two-way player.
Just curious, so I’m going to keep asking questions, what did you think of his “stuff”? Did he really only use his fastball? And do you know if he was mostly using his 2 seamer or 4 seamer?
Shhh
He didn’t just use his fastball, but it was really his bread and butter. When I was able to see a gun it was sitting around 92 with some arm-side movement, I am assuming 4-seamer. I think he threw a 2-seamer that got 88-89 a couple times, I was higher behind home plate so I couldn’t see how much depth it had. He threw a few change-ups to the heart of the order that appeared to be really good, I am not sure on the difference in speed, but his arm slot was consistent and the pitch had some good downward movement to it. When kids made contact it was straight into the ground, which suggest there is a lot of downward movement on his stuff. His change could develop into a plus pitch. What breaking stuff (slider and curve) I saw was show-me type stuff and less developed, but he had decent arm action that suggest he could tighten up his slider and curve into adequate pitches. He was coming from a 3/4 slot so I bet he could really zip a tight slider. Again a major-league average pitch with a plus ceiling.
Overall, he is a thin kid that could easily put 20-30 punds on and play just uner 200. He has terrific atheletic ability so additional weight shouldn’t hinder him. As a pitcher he is a classic example of a projectable frame. Mechanically he had a very loose, no effort delivery. As he puts additional pounds on he should gain velocity, it is not a stretch to think of him sitting in the 94-95 range throughout a game.
Basically as a pitcher he has a shot of two plus pitches in his fastball and change with an average breaking-ball. I really liked his change-up, potential ++ pitch. This is a guy I would think of if I was looking for the classic projectable high-school pitcher.
I got there early to watch him warm-up in the field. I caught one game where he wasn’t pitching earlier in the spring and I can’t emphasize enough that this is one of the smoothest SS that you will ever see in high school.
Truth be told I really doubt he makes it to us at 39. If the birds really want him and grab him at 13, it could be justified.
BJM–Did you see happen to see Keith Law at Odorizzi’s game? I believe he was there. Nice report, BTW. You’ve sold me. His draft video he looks really sharp. Really seems to be a lot more advanced than your typical HS arm.
No! I didn’t really think to look for him. I sat with some guys from the Nationals front office for a couple innings. They were pretty serious when Odorizzi was pitching or at bat, but the rest of the time they were pretty cool and shot the shit a little. I got the impression that they were looking to catch Melville on this trip as well and that they doubt teams would be too concerned about his up and down year, but it has definitely cast him some dollars. There were a couple other area players that they were interested in seeing for the later rounds. A lot of teams were on this guy and you can bet teams were taking notes of other teams around.
If the Cards grab him, I bet it will be as a MIF. I haven’t seen Kozma play in the field yet (Memorial Day weekend, don’t get yourself promoted to PB Pete), but if this kid can hit at the next level he would push Kozma to second.
i don’t know about moving kozma to 2nd. he was considered the best defensive shortstop in last year’s draft, and while his arm probably isn’t as strong he is a very good defensive shortstop.
FGC–That was purely hypothetical…
I read somewhere that had Ordazzi the #22 overall prospect in the draft..maybe PGcross…not sure.
I have yet to read anywhere that he will be drafted as anything else then a pitcher.
I need to get over and watch him..just so hard to know when a HS is sked.
I played Highland in HS…I think they play their conf sked on Mon/Wed/Fri..hopefully that is still the same.
Unless Melville has regressed since I saw him last fall…I find it hard to believe he wont be a top 15 pick..but rumors are he hasnt been dominate.
On PG’s top 50 prospects Melville wasn’t even listed.
And thanks for the info BJM.
big difference between pg and baseball america this year. BA had melville ranked 13th overall. i have also heard that melville, gerrit cole, and alex meyer didn’t even make pg’s top 10 high school pitching prospect list. that is quite a drop for 3 guys they consistently rated among the top 10 high school prospects overall. they had cole as #1 on that list for a long time.
nuhusky41 - that’s crazy. I hate that stat even more now. How archaic and inane yet relied upon by so many individuals in the big leagues. Ridiculous.
Erik - I like to walk barefoot in snow. I really like cold weather. 0 degrees sounds pretty nasty (and I’d almost certainly gripe) but I’ll always pick extreme cold over extreme heat.
Can someone provide a complete list (if there is one) of the Boras clients.
From what I have heard
Pedro, Crow, G.Cole, Hosmer, Alex Meyer.
Anyone else already see how this is going to play out?
Cole goes to the Cubs, Tigers or Angels
Hosmer goes to the Yanks, Sox or Tigers.
Sad how the system is manipulated.
For Depodesta’s blog, that would be the Padres front office, not the Dodgers. Pretty cool though if it’s real.
Good catch Jesse. I still associate him with the Dodgers because of his time as GM there but he is working with Towers in San Diego now.