The Yankees in the ALCS: Symphony of
Self-Destruction

post from Bronx Baseball Daily on 22 October 2012 03:01:19 PM. © Bronx Baseball Daily

[...]

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Pineda Likely Out Until June or July

post from Sliding Into Home: A Yankees Blog on 22 October 2012 02:01:43 PM. © Sliding Into Home: A Yankees Blog

From Dayn Perry:

Pineda was initially expected back in spring training, however irrationally optimistic such a timetable was. Now, Yankees GM Brian Cashman says Pineda is not expected back until well into the 2013 season.

"We have to keep him off our radar for now," Cashman, appearing on Ian O'Connor's ESPN New York radio show, said of Pineda. "We're talking June of next year ... the second half of next year."

Some pitchers have been out for two seasons with this injury, so this is hardly unexpected.

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David Dahl heads the 2012 Fall PuRP List: #5-1

post from Purple Row - All Posts on 22 October 2012 02:01:37 PM. © Purple Row - All Posts

It's time to show the top five Rockies prospects as voted on by the Purple Row community. Tomorrow I'll wrap up this series with a look at the list as a whole, but for now, let's take a look at the future stars in Colorado's minor league system. According to the community, they're all position players.

As a reminder, 23 ballots were cast in this edition of the PuRPs poll, with 30 points being granted for a first place vote, 29 for second, etc. Until a player was named on 8 ballots, his vote totals were modified on a sliding scale to avoid an individual ballot having too much say over the community forecast -- but none of the above players had that problem, as all 30 players on the PuRPs list were named on at least 8 ballots.

For each player on the PuRPs list, I've included a link to their stats (via Baseball-Reference), their relevant "tool score indicators" compared to their league on a 1-100 scouting scale (which is explained here) per the wonderful Baseball Cube, their contract status (via Rockies Roster), their probable MLB ETA (assuming they do make the Show), and a note on their 2012 season to date. For what it's worth, I'll also include where I put them on my personal ballot.

Remember that neither the tool scores nor the statistics pages are the end-all be-all when evaluating these players. Context is hugely important (such as the player's age relative to the league's average or the league average offensive numbers), as is the fact that injuries to prospects can affect both their tools and their stats.

Here are PuRPs 5-1:

5. Will Swanner (554 points, 23 ballots) -- Spring 2012 Ranking: 13 -- High Ballot 4, Mode (most common when placed) Ballot 5

Swanner, a 21 year-old catcher who played for Low A Asheville this year, has been known for two things throughout his career -- his prodigious power and his poor contact rate at the plate. After all, in his first professional season Swanner swatted a homer every 11 PAs but didn't walk a single time, while striking out 40% of the time. Thankfully, the catching prospect has grown a little as a prospect since then, crushing SAL pitching to the tune of .302/.385/.529 as a 20 year-old catcher, bringing the walk rate up to 10% and the K rate down to 27%.

The big knock on Swanner is that he might not stick as a catcher defensively at higher levels (which is why I was hesitant to place him higher than 5th on my ballot), but those hit tools will play fine at first base or a corner outfield position. He's a little ways away, but with Swanner there's All-Star potential if everything breaks right.

Hit Tools

Speed
16Contact
6Patience
74Batting
62Power
97

Contract Status: 2010 15th Round, Not Rule 5 Eligible, 3 options remaining

MLB ETA: Late 2015

The composition (if not the order) of the top 4 PuRPs were agreed upon in 75% of ballots.

4. Kyle Parker (625 points, 23 ballots) -- Spring 2012 Ranking: 10 -- High Ballot 1 (1), Mode Ballot 4

Parker, a 22 year-old righty outfielder in High A Modesto, is a prospect that I missed on somewhat. The former Clemson QB and 2010 first round pick of the Rockies was expected to crush homers at the lower levels given his prodigious power, but he failed to dominate low A ball and in the first half of 2012 he was slowed by a hand injury. As a result, I looked unfavorably on Parker's development as a prospect.

However, there was a reason that Parker was a 1st round pick despite never fully investing all of his time in baseball. The power is there, the patience at the plate is improving, and the athleticism (for a corner outfield position, anyways) is certainly present -- though it's been said that he's the most likely internal replacement for Todd Helton down the line. And the results finally started to reflect the tools -- Parker's line in Modesto ended up a robust .308/.415/.562 -- and in the second half it ballooned to .326/.431/.628.

In other words, I'm finally becoming a believer in Parker (I slotted him 6th on my list) and I hope that he continues his rampage in AA Tulsa.

Hit Tools

Speed
24Contact
35Patience
75Batting
63Power
87

Contract Status: 2010 1st Round, Not Rule 5 Eligible, 3 options remaining

MLB ETA: Late 2014

3. Trevor Story (648 points, 23 ballots) -- Spring 2012 Ranking: 3 -- High Ballot 1 (2), Mode Ballot 3

Story, a 19 year-old righty shortstop who played at Low A Asheville, was ranked as the top prospect in the rookie level Pioneer League by Baseball America last year and he showed us why in Asheville this season (he was the #2 prospect in BA's SAL list this year). As one of the youngest players in the league and playing the toughest defensive position well, Story hit an impressive .277/.367/.505, including an impressive 67 XBHs.

Scouts have indicated that he's a potential 5 tool shortstop at the major league level, and Story has done little to gainsay them at this point. I ranked him 3rd on my list as an elite bat, and I'm excited to see if he can continue his success at the upper levels.

Hit Tools

Speed
72Contact
51Patience
82Batting
52Power
72

Contract Status: 2011 Supplemental 1st Round, Not Rule 5 eligible, 3 options remaining

MLB ETA: 2015

2. Nolan Arenado (668 points, 23 ballots) -- Spring 2012 Ranking: 1 -- High Ballot 1 (9), Mode Ballot 1

Arenado, a 21 year-old third baseman at AA Tulsa, was seen by many Rockies fans as the 2012 starter at 3B despite never playing a game above A ball. That's probably because Arenado had just been named the MVP of the Arizona Fall League last year and had hit extremely well in Low A Modesto as a 20 year-old. For people expecting MLB stardom in 2012, Arenado's year was a little disappointing...but by most other metrics, it was mostly a success.

After all, a .285/.337/.428 line at AA as a 21 year-old is just fine. The best part about Arenado as a prospect is his great contact rate -- facing pitching 2-3 years older than him, Arenado whiffed only 10% of the time. Despite having his defense maligned after he was drafted, Arenado has developed into a competent 3rd baseman. There have been some concerns about Arenado's attitude (specifically, how he deals with failure) expressed by none other than Dan O'Dowd, which is a red flag.

Even so, Arenado is the type of player who is going to be a league average or better third baseman in MLB for a long time because of his elite contact and hit tools. If you haven't been paying attention, 3B is kind of a black hole for most of MLB but particularly the Rockies, so even league average production is pretty note-worthy.

Hit Tools

Speed
18Contact
95Patience
35Batting
80Power
60

Contract Status: 2009 2nd Round, Not Rule 5 Eligible, 3 options remaining

MLB ETA: Late 2013

1. David Dahl (671 points, 23 ballots) -- Spring 2012 Ranking: NR -- High Ballot 1 (11), Mode Ballot 1

Dahl, a 18 year-old lefty outfielder for rookie level Grand Junction, was Colorado's first round pick (10th overall) in this year's draft. To say that Dahl impressed in his professional debut would be an understatement. Playing against pitchers 2-3 years older than him on average, all Dahl did was hit .379/.423/.625 (winning the Pioneer League batting title by 41 points), run away with the Pioneer League MVP, and get named the top prospect in the league.

In other words, Dahl had just about the best start to a professional career you could hope for from a first round pick, which is why he's ranked (by a mere 3 points) as the top Purple Row Prospect for Fall 2012. Dahl is a five tool talent that projects to stick in center field defensively and comfortably projects as a MLB regular with the potential for much more. Then again, Rockies fans will have to wait a while as Dahl is still years away from the Show.

Hit Tools

Speed
89Contact
87Patience
33Batting
100Power
84

Contract Status: 2012 1st Round, Not Rule 5 Eligible, 3 options remaining

MLB ETA: 2016

Tomorrow, I'll post the entire list for discussion.

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http://www.purplerow.com/2012/10/22/3537412/david-dahl-purps-list-colorado-rockie
s-prospects-2012

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Reggie Jackson 2004 Fleer Greats

post from 30-Year Old Cardboard on 22 October 2012 01:33:44 PM. © 30-Year Old Cardboard

Reggie Jackson 2004 Fleer Greats For the most part, when I see Reggie Jackson’s name appear on a baseball card checklist for a modern set, I think A’s or Yankees. It is a fair question – his two most successful … Continue reading →

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Sherman: Cano Wants 10-Year Deal

post from Sliding Into Home: A Yankees Blog on 22 October 2012 01:01:49 PM. © Sliding Into Home: A Yankees Blog

From Joel Sherman:

Whenever I have asked about his financial goals, Cano always has said he is not concentrating on that subject. Yet a few members of the team told me Cano has said he is expecting a 10-year contract at top-of-the-market dollars. In a conversation with me yesterday, Boras also did not give numbers, but it was clear he expects his client to be treated financially like one of the great players in the game.

Boras said he anticipates the no-brainer move of the Yankees picking up Cano?s $15 million 2013 option, but he does not foresee an extension this offseason because ?their normal course of action with players under contracts is to let them play it out, so I don?t think there will be urgency on their part.?

The Yankees? urgency is in knowing that if an extension is not done by the start of spring training, Boras almost certainly would take their best player into the free-agent market for 30 teams to bid on a year from now.

You obviously pick up his option for next season, $15 million for Cano is very reasonable, even with his annual October disappearing act. But if those are going to be his demands, I think the Yankees should call his bluff and see if any other team is stupid enough to give Cano that type of deal. If there is one, then they should strongly consider letting him walk.

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The Astros Blogger 2012 Minor League Awards

post from The Crawfish Boxes - All Posts on 22 October 2012 01:01:36 PM. © The Crawfish Boxes - All Posts

121479444

Welcome to the inaugural Astros Blogger Minor League Awards.

I grabbed Astros bloggers from Astros County, Climbing Tal's Hill, Farmstros, What the Heck, Bobby? and more to vote on nine categories involving Astros Minor League players. These are the results.

Best One Game Performance Of The Year - Chris Devenski's no-hitter

Jeff Luhnow said the player to be named later in the Brett Myers deal was going to be a significant piece. Boy was he ever right. In five starts with the Astros Devenski posted a 3.07 ERA in 29.1 innings. Prior to his acquisition by the Astros he had posted a 4.23 ERA in 61.2 innings in the Chicago White Sox farm system. Several of us were simply unimpressed, but we were soon to find out why Luhnow considered him a significant piece.

On September 1, Devenski's final start of the season, he threw nine innings of no-hit ball while striking out 16 batters. The only blemish on his pitching line was one walk. Overall, Devenski finished his second season in pro-ball with a 3.86 ERA in 91 innings pitched between the White Sox and Astros farm system. He wasn't considered a significant piece when the trade happened, but he is now and we'll be keeping a close eye on him going forward.

Also receiving votes: George Springer's 4 homeruns in a row and Nolan Fontana's 1-1, one stolen base and five walk game.

The Prospect Most Likely To Prove Everyone Wrong - Jiovanni Mier

Seven other prospects got votes for this award, but Mier was the only one to get multiple votes. Drafted in the first round of 2009 MLB draft with the 21st selction, Mier got off to a great start in his professional career batting .276/.380/.484 in 229 plate appearances at Greeneville. He has since struggled to produce offensively and also stay healthy. In 2009 and 2010 he struggled to adjust to both Lexington and Lancaster, the Astros A and high A Minor League affiliates. Both years he batted in the .230's, had decent walk rates, but hit for very little power.

This season he was in .280/.385/.400 territory which was a huge improvement over his previous two years. The only problem with those numbers were that they came in only 220 plate appearances because of injuries. It should also be mentioned that those numbers came in the high octane offensive environment of Lancaster. The one positive consistent thing Mier has done is walk at a higher than average rate and play solid defense at shortstop. It's easy to forgot he's still only 21 and if he's promoted to Corpus Christi he'll be right where he needs to be age wise.

Still the high draft status -- and I'm sure Mike Trout being drafted four slots later -- raises expectations for him as a prospect. Has everyone given up on him? No, and that's evident because he won this award.

Prospect With Hardest Last Name To Spell - Asher Wojciechowski

Easily the victor in this award. I thought Foltynewicz would have gotten some votes but it was almost a clean sweep for Wojo. The ironic thing is that aside from one Wojo vote everyone else that voted for Wojciechwoski got the spelling right.

Others getting votes were Oberwacky (Brett Oberholtzer) and for some reason George Springer.

Best Prospect Twitter Account To Follow - Austin Wates

Yup the guy that won the twitter account award got into a fight with one of writers a couple years back. Ironically, David is a huge supporter of Austin Wates.

Breakout Prospect of the Year - Delino DeShields Jr.

Coming off a season in which he hit .220/.305/.322 in 541 plate appearances we ranked Delino DeShields 11th overall in the Astros farm system last year. He should improve his stock significantly this year in our prospect rankings after a year in which he hit .287/.389/.428 and oh by the way stole 101 bases, setting the Astros Minor League mark between Lexington and Lancaster. It's been hinted that he'll likely start the year at Corpus Christi for his 20 age season.

Also receiving votes was Nicholas Tropeano.

Prospect With The Highest Floor - Jonathan Singleton

I thought this was a weird selection but after review this makes sense. He's playing well and he's been playing well his entire Minor League career. The knock against him was his power, which he began to show more of this year, and power is usually the last to develop anyways. Maybe there's someone else that would be a better fit for this position, but I can't think of another prospect more worthy of this award.

Also receiving votes was Nolan Fontana.

Prospect With The Highlest Ceiling - George Springer and Carlos Correa

Both Springer and Correa split a majority of the vote evenly and rightly so. Both are having good starts to their professional careers, but still have question marks surrounding their development.

Best Pitching Prospect - Jarred Cosart

No surprise here, the scouting report on Cosart is that he's got good stuff, but lacks the statistical evidence to back it up. The one thing to note with Cosart is that his groundball rate is well above average, but with that comes a lower strikeout rate. I don't think there's any complaints here with Cosart as the best Astros pitching prospect.

Also receiving votes was Michael Foltynewicz.

Best Position Player Prospect - Jonathan Singleton

Singleton walks away with his second award. Not much else you can say about him. He's awesome.

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Twins add Brunansky, Cuellar, Steinbach to staff
(Yahoo! Sports)

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Twins have hired Tom Brunansky as their hitting coach, Bobby Cuellar to be the bullpen coach and Terry Steinbach as a bench coach and catching instructor.

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OT: Did you nerds ever actually play sports

1350919261

We're all avid baseball fans if we're writing for or frequenting Beyond the Box Score.

And we're all "nerds" and "geeks" right? Or so the stereotype goes about sabermetrically-slanted baseball folk. But I know I, for one, don't consider myself a basement-dwelling, bed-pan using computer nerd like the kids from South Park in the World of Warcraft episode.*

*This is an actual picture of Blake Murphy.

Now, anyone in the baseball community who said "yeah, but he never played the game" about me would be mostly right. I was all hockey, all the time as a youth, and my baseball experience is limited to Slow Pitch/Beer League and coaching Rep Rookie Ball (pitching machine age). With that said, I'm sure there are people here who are or were decent ball players, or have some war stories from other sports.

To wit: I played rep hockey most of my life (although I never played Junior) and now play Beer League Hockey, I wrestled in high school, I play competitive ball hockey, I play Beer League Slow Pitch, and I coach Rookie Ball (7-9 year olds, pitching machine). But my favorite sport to play is actually basketball, except that I'm a complete zero offensively and get by on hustle alone.

Former and current BTBS'ers pose for a post-game picture.