Minor League Roundup, Hootenanny, and Hogtie

by afh4 on Jul 19, 2007 12:35 PM EDT

Well, the Indians farm league affiliates continue to play baseball. Let's take a little tour of some recent action, shall we?

Buffalo has suddenly gone into the tank, losing 5 straight games dating back to the 14th. None of these games were particularly interesting.

Last night, the lumbering Bisons lost in 12, 3-2. Box

Somewhat fascinatingly, it was a battle of Indians and White Sox castoffs by the end, as Mike Koplove took the loss and the once highly touted David Aardsma got the win for the Charlotte Knights.

Nobody did much on offense, and no one of interest really played. By my estimation there are only a few players in Buffalo I really care to think about at this point: Marte, Miller, and Laffey. Sean Smith walks batters, doesn't strike batters out, and generally doesn't impress me. Ed Mujica is just depressing.

Andy Marte continues his year long shame spiral. In his last ten games he's hitting .205 with no power or plate discipline. He's also struck out 13 times in that span. Just look at the stats for yourself. Bleh. I don't know what the hell is going on with Marte but I hope somebody gets it figured out soon.

It's been discussed elsewhere on the site so I won't harp on Adam Miller. Suffice to say there are some very good things since his return (he is a human K machine) and some bad things (he is a human walk/give up runs machine). He's topped out at 2.2 innings so far and I think he's probably just getting his feet under him. His K numbers are too good to ignore. Ever since his stint on the DL (not the downlow you pervs), he's struck out 13 batters in ten innings, including 4 in less than 3 innings of work his last two times out. Adam still looks really happy in his bio picture, so I'm going to be happy too.

I think Laffey is pitching today, since he last pitched on July 13, so there's not much to update there. Laffey is only 22 years old. Great. He's been very, very good in case anyone has failed to notice.

I'm pretty much obsessed with Asdrubal Cabrera, like a sorority chick and the TomKat baby. The whole reason I started this diary was to tell you guys:

Asdrubal went yard! Fun, right? He hit a walk off three run homerun in the 9th. Awesome.

Akron won last night, 9-7. Box

Akron is a fun place to be right now, mostly because of the shining light that is Asdrubal Cabrera. I imagine there are specials at all the local grocery stores and soda counters. Mmmm, I can taste that 3 for a dollar Toaster Asdrubals special now. I want the kind with frosting and fruit filling! I also want to hit that Italian place for the Spaghetti Asdrubals in Red Sauce.

Astrocab has actually kind of been slumping but his season numbers remain very robust. The homerun was his 8th of the year and his OPS sits at .870, good for 11th in the league, one slot behind Jordan Brown.

The only SS ahead of Asdrubal in OPS are a 26 year old guy named Jesus Merchan and Jed Lowrie, a Red Sox hand, Stanford product, and all around good prospect. In other words, Asdrubal is sitting pretty. I hope we're in for a power surge.

Lofgren has struggled a bit of late but he seems to be getting on the tracks, at least in terms of run prevention. His last time out he went 6, gave up 2 runs, but walked 3 and struck out 2.

Meh. Lest anyone forget Chuck Lofgren is 21 years old. Awesome.

Brian Barton continues to hit ok, but it's not that impressive considering his age or his position. He's about as steady as a minor league hitter can be between this year and last year but he just doesn't stick out. He also has the same number of homeruns as the MIGHTY ASDRUBAL. Basically, it's more of the same for Barton; it's not fair to call him mediocre but he's also not really earning a promotion, which he should be if he's a prospect.

Also, Brian Barton borrowed Josh Barfield's novelty eyebrows for his team photo.

The alluring Jordan Brown is looking stunning in his evening wear, and continues to intrigue. He's actually quite a bit younger than Barton, as Brown won't turn 24 until December. He's probably going to have a chance to contribute as a big league bench player or something if he can put together another season like this one at age 24 in Buffalo. He's got bit time gap power, second in the league with 27 doubles. Only 7 HRs, one less than ASDRUBAL THE IMPALER but hopefully the doubles will translate soon enough.

Brown can clearly hit a little, but his BABIP is crazy high. However, he hit pretty well last year too and as Jay will tell us, hitting for average is a skill.

Trevor Crowe continues his bizarre season. He's now OPSing .963 in July, after having not posted an OPS over .600 in any previous month. It looks vaguely legit as he's got his doubles back (6 in July already) and some HR power (3 in July). Crowe continues to walk like a madman.

My interest in the minors wanes as this entry gets longer, but I'll try to zip through some highlights.

Hodges continues to be excellent and I hope he gets a bump by the end of the year. There's not great third base prospect in Akron and I'd like to see Hodges promoted aggressively.

MaxRam can really, really hit but the questions about his defense linger.

Beau Mills seems to have hit a considerably speed bump in his development as he hasn't quite figured out how to hit at Lake County. He's had some good games but overall the results are less than tepid. Disappointing because you'd like to see college guys get through a couple of low levels in time for their first full season but if he can get to Kinston by midseason next year it won't be any big blip.

I love Nick Weglarz. Young, big kid. Great power for his age, great plate discipline. Get on the train people. I'm hoping he ends next year in Akron, at the ripe old age of 20. That's probably wishful thinking but even if he starts the next season in Akron, that would be awesome.

Most of our best pitching otuside of AAA is shut down.

Alright, sorry this was long on just about everything besides original insight.

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Comments

Re: Minor League Roundup, Hootenanny, and Hogtie

i'm sure there's a perfectly good reason, but can anyone clue me in as to why Cabrera is still in Akron and not Buffalo? are they working on something specific with him?

by nctribefan on Jul 19, 2007 12:52 PM EDT reply actions

Re: Minor League Roundup, Hootenanny, and Hogtie

I think they made the commitment to keep him at the age appropriate level for an entire year, mainly for his comfort level and confidence. He's one of the very best players in the league, conceivably the best when defense is considered. I think they're letting him savor it a little.

Plus, he's not murdering the ball, a la Kouzmanoff. He still hits a ton of singles on the ground.

by afh4 on Jul 19, 2007 12:55 PM EDT up reply actions

Re: Minor League Roundup, Hootenanny, and Hogtie

This is the kind of thoughtful decision-making about prospects that characterizes the Tribe's organization and leads to its continuing success.

by ploni on Jul 20, 2007 5:12 PM EDT up reply actions

Re: Minor League Roundup, Hootenanny, and Hogtie

Lofgren has not been in AAA since he made that spot start to allow Jake to start in Akron a month or so back.

by Joe. on Jul 19, 2007 12:59 PM EDT reply actions

Re: Minor League Roundup, Hootenanny, and Hogtie

So it is. Minor league websites confuse me.

by afh4 on Jul 19, 2007 1:15 PM EDT up reply actions

Re: Minor League Roundup, Hootenanny, and Hogtie

If he doesn't learn to keep those walks down, he won't get promoted until the beginning of next year.

by Joe. on Jul 19, 2007 1:22 PM EDT up reply actions

Re: Minor League Roundup, Hootenanny, and Hogtie

One guy no one seems to be talking about these days is Jeff Stevens. Looks like he is right up there with Mujica as the highest upside bullpen guys we have in the minors.

by Joe. on Jul 19, 2007 1:17 PM EDT reply actions

Re: Minor League Roundup, Hootenanny, and Hogtie

I thought about including Stevens but was pretty tired of it by then.

I like him ok, I wish he hadn't been so weird before this year so he'd actually be in Buffalo. If he's one of our highest upside guys left, I guess it shows how many guys we've promoted and/or have fallen apart. He's a good arm to have but he's not exactly a world beater. Still, a decent pickup.

Can't wait for the return of Sipp.

by afh4 on Jul 19, 2007 1:26 PM EDT up reply actions

Re: Minor League Roundup, Hootenanny, and Hogtie

Stevens never really performed badly at any level. If you compare his numbers this year at AA, they're eerily similar to Sipp's last year. Granted, he was never as good as Sipp in the lower levels but Sowers can tell us all about how meaningless the lower levels can be.

by Joe. on Jul 19, 2007 1:34 PM EDT up reply actions

Re: Minor League Roundup, Hootenanny, and Hogtie

Well, by weird I basically just meant "I wish he hadn't gone to college or else had been able to push through levels aggressively at a younger age."

I mean, he was fine in 2006, and you're right that his peripherals are there, but it would've been nice if he could've gotten to AA in '06, so that he could be that much further along.

It's just wishful thinking.

It's an apt comparison to Sipp you draw but Sipp's also a stuff guy, which Stevens isn't to my knowledge.

by afh4 on Jul 19, 2007 1:47 PM EDT up reply actions

I've heard Stevens throws 95, and probably has

at least one decent breaking pitch, being that he was a starting pitching prospect. Granted, he's not Sipp, but he's not a no-name like some were thinking when we acquired him for Phillips. He's certainly more exciting in my opinion than guys like Newsom, Koplove, even Buzachero (who isn't bad in his own right; one report I read even said that his stuff is better than Mastny's, though like him, he's been more-less under the radar.)

Let me say - nice recap of the Minors. :-)

As for Barton, realize that he started off more slowly than either Cabrera or Brown, who have been pretty consistent all season. It took time for Barton to get acclimated to AA again, but he seems to have figured it out and actually has been hitting pretty well, arguably as well as either Cabrera or Brown, over the last month (I did not look that up - that's an educated guess based on box score reading almost nightly.)

Barton reminds me a bit of Gutierrez in the sense that his performance isn't "otherworldly," but is solid enough, even more solid than what Gutierrez was doing at AA in the past several years, but with comparable all-around tools. Of course, the one disadvantage Barton has compared to Gutierrez is that he is older than Gutierrez was when Gutierrez was putting up those mediocre seasons at Akron.

However, BA in their Top 100 report praised Barton, even saying he had more baseball skill than Crowe, so I wouldn't focus TOO much on the age; yes, it's a detriment, but if he keeps moving at a nice pace and gets to Buffalo by the end of this year, he'll only be 25 going into Buffalo next season, not much, if any older than the current 1B of the Indians who's hitting over .300 with over 10 HRs and has been playing an above-average 1B, so while age is important, it shouldn't be the only factor to consider.

Realize that Snyder and Van Every have been getting a lot of playing time, and so has Cooper, even though I don't know why he's still there - his performance over the last few years has been "meh" at best. Even Van Every has outperformed him, even though he's one year older than Cooper, but at least Van Every has shown signs of offense with his bat, something Cooper hasn't done.

I think the Indians want to keep "experienced" players at Buffalo throughout most to all of this year; it wouldn't totally surprise me if guys like Cabrera, Brown, and Barton don't make it up to AAA Buffalo until like the last week or two of this year, or even until next year, despite Barton's "older than ideal" age. I think the Indians want "capable" backups who can help out in a pinch if the Indians suffer some injury, and they don't want to put that pressure on any of those three if that situation arises; that's my best guess on why none of those three have been promoted.

Otherwise, you lose a Luna, Rivas, Inglett, Snyder, Van Every (I know the last two don't have experience, but both have good power and good OF defense, so they could serve a bench role if necessary, something I'm not sure they want for the three Aeros mentioned.)

Just my 2 cents. :-)

Go Tribe! :-)

by indiansfan on Jul 19, 2007 6:26 PM EDT up reply actions

Re: I've heard Stevens throws 95, and probably has

Stevens is at 90 in this report.

Every prospect's velocity gets wildly exaggerated when it's just hearsay. If you've got an actual scouting report, I'll buy it. But that would seem ridiculous considering his age.

If Barton has so much 'baseball skill' why doesn't he hit any better?

And please at least look up this "slow start" stuff. Barton's OPS by month, starting in April:
.970, .777, .845, .812.

What are you talking about? If anything, he's cool right now, hitting only .706 since the ASB.

Please don't just randomly compare Brian Barton to Ryan Garko and act like you're bestowing some gem of wisdom on me. I'm not cryptically listing the hundreds of OF prospects just like Barton that Cleveland has had over the last 5 years. We're both smart enough to realize their are a myriad of possible outcomes.

by afh4 on Jul 19, 2007 7:06 PM EDT up reply actions

A few thoughts!

Hello Andrew,

It's important to keep in mind that Stevens was a starter in the Cincinnati system, and it's possible that he was registering at 90 while he was a starter; I'll have to look into where I seen he was reaching 95 MPH, but that's not unheard of for a starter-turned-reliever to gain some MPH on his fastball, so that report might be a bit outdated as well, being that it came from when he was drafted in 2005, over 2 years ago.

As for Barton, I wasn't trying to compare him to Garko; my main point was that some of you guys were trying to discount Garko because of age and because he was supposedly weak defensively, yet he's looking like our best long-term 1B option now, isn't he? (And no, I'm not considering Martinez a long-term 1B option at this point; of course, Martinez has a better bat than Garko, but he'd be even more valuable at C than at 1B, and I suspect the Indians will keep him at C for at least a few more years. I don't see Aubrey or Head displacing Garko; Mills could, but probably not for at least 2-3 years, so Garko likely will be around for a while, unless they really want Martinez at 1B full-time, something I don't see at this point.)

My implied reference to Garko was the fact that you can't just write off a prospect due to his being in his mid-20s - every so often, one of those 25-YO guys actually turn out to be a useful piece, like Garko is appearing to be, even though his OPS was anything but stellar either. Whether Barton will or not, who knows yet, but it's too early to write him off yet.

Different from Garko, Barton got a later start than most prospects do (23,) which is why I'm not holding his age against him as much as some of you guys are; he's only been in the system 2+ years, and I'm not sure it's so much Barton's performance that is causing him to stay at Akron, but more the fact the Indians don't want inexperienced players at Buffalo in case of injury to a ML OFer (like Nixon, Dellucci, etc.) After all, why hasn't Cabrera or Brown been promoted - they've done better than Barton, yet neither of them have been called up either. So I don't think you can read too much into Barton's not being called up; personally, I would be calling all three up by August so they can get a month of AAA in this season, but I'm not sure the Indians will do that for the reason I mentioned in my other post.

Thank you for breaking down his OPS by month; I forgot he did start off hot, but I was correct in the sense that he has bounced back from a poor May, so my general idea was right, excluding April.

And also, "If anything, he's cool right now, hitting only .706 since the ASB."

No offense, but SSS - come on, you and I both know we can't judge him on 1-2 weeks - heck, Garko had a greater amount of time to judge him on last year in his ML stint, and that was only for a month, not enough to make a solid argument for him either.

Keep in mind that Gutierrez and Francisco didn't have stellar OPS (over 1000; Gutierrez's highest was 806 at Buffalo last year) throughout their Minor League careers, but those two have been displaying some good OPS up here in Cleveland to this point (SSS understood); Gutierrez over 900, Francisco over 1000.

Just my 2 cents. :-)

Go Tribe! :-)

by indiansfan on Jul 19, 2007 8:40 PM EDT up reply actions

Re: A few thoughts!

But why are we even parsing Barton by month, when the overall story is so uninteresting?

What are you looking for? Why are you looking for anything?

by Jay on Jul 19, 2007 11:03 PM EDT up reply actions

Re: A few thoughts!

Look, I'm not going to go through all this. It's boring.

But quit making things up. There's no "Hot/Cold" trend in any of Barton's months. You can't smal sample size post ASB and then act like you've delineated a pattern in that fascination few points of OPS shift from May to June. Get real.

by afh4 on Jul 19, 2007 11:33 PM EDT up reply actions

Re: A few thoughts!

This gets back to Occam's Razor, "All things being equal, the simplest solution tends to be the best one." The simplest explanation for shifts in player performance tends to be small sample size.

It's natural for us to look for external factors and/or attribute shifts to a change in the player's fundamental skills. But that isn't the simplest explanation once you understand the huge role that randomness plays in the game.

We went through this with Crowe's position shift last year. It was a natural human supposition, but there was no evidence to support it. It simply fell well short of the test, is this the simplest explanation?

Basically, we should go on a lot fewer fishing expeditions. And when we do go fishing, it's best that we stick to reporting what a player did -- rather than making fanciful leaps about what it means.

by Jay on Jul 20, 2007 5:36 PM EDT up reply actions

Re: A few thoughts!

I agree. We're agreeing right?

yeah, I'm pretty sure. agreed.

brian barton ruuulz.

by afh4 on Jul 20, 2007 5:41 PM EDT up reply actions

Re: A few thoughts!

What you're really getting at is this: there is probably a reason why a player is hitting/pitching the way he is, but because it's extremely hard to pick up without inside access to the player and/or coaches, it's better not to speculate. Otherwise we're spouting off theories that have no basis in reality, unless "reality" means the limits of our creativity. This goes double for minor-league players.

by Ryan on Jul 20, 2007 6:44 PM EDT up reply actions

Agreed, though the SS I'm using is a bit larger

than the one you were using. And I was only suggesting that Barton's really had one poor month out of 3; the other two were solid, or in April's case, very solid.

I agree though - it's likely all too small a SSS; however, note that Barton's career OPS is 928, and outside of 223 ABs at High-A Kinston in 2005, he's always had an over 900 OPS at every level, which is why I'm not overly concerned about his bad May or the fact that his OPS is just in the 800s. Based on a larger SSS, he's always adjusted, so I'm thinking he has a decent chance of adjusting again.

Just my 2 cents. :-)

Go Tribe! :-)

by indiansfan on Jul 20, 2007 7:27 PM EDT up reply actions

Re: Agreed...

larger SSS? heh heh heh.

Let it go, man.

by homelytourist on Jul 20, 2007 7:38 PM EDT up reply actions

Larger SSS = 2 years' data, certainly more

telling than a few months or a week. Granted, it isn't without its own flaws, but then, what stats are? Why look at any stats, but we do anyway, right? :-)

Just asking.

Go Tribe! :-)

by indiansfan on Jul 20, 2007 9:03 PM EDT up reply actions

Re: Agreed, though the SS I'm using is a bit large

But every stretch of performance is going to have its hot and cold patches -- there is no "consistency" in baseball, and there is nothing inherently special about breaking it down into months, good or bad. Barton's month-to-month variation is not remarkable in any way.

Lacking any other context (e.g., coming off an injury), his "bad May" is just part of a less-good season. That lesser 2005 stretch is also a significant piece of his total picture, and he's "always adjusted" by being two years too old for his league.

by Jay on Jul 21, 2007 9:26 AM EDT up reply actions

Re: I've heard Stevens throws 95, and probably has

I wouldn't focus TOO much on the age; yes, it's a detriment, but if he keeps moving at a nice pace

This is the contradiction.

His age suggests that he is not likely to keep moving at a nice pace. That's why age matters.

His pace hasn't been that great anyway.

by Jay on Jul 19, 2007 7:50 PM EDT up reply actions

He's only been in the Minors since 2005;

therefore, I don't think his pace is that bad - it's his age that's the biggest detriment, not his pace. For most prospects, knocking on the door to AAA within 3 years is pretty good, but only his advanced baseball age is reducing that accomplishment in my opinion.

Just my 2 cents. :-)

Go Tribe! :-)

by indiansfan on Jul 19, 2007 8:44 PM EDT up reply actions

Re: Minor League Roundup, Hootenanny, and Hogtie

I'm not sure if i'm able to get a good read on how you feel about Asdrubal...

by Brick. on Jul 19, 2007 1:32 PM EDT reply actions

Re: Minor League Roundup, Hootenanny, and Hogtie

If you had to pick one, who would you choose, Marte or Hodges?

Article about You-Know-Who at BPro today. For reasons beyond my understanding, Normandin seems to like his future much more than Jhonny's. I hate to say this, but the career arcs between Marte and You-Know-Who just keep getting more similar with Blake taking Belliard's place in the "career year for a vet to block a prospect on a contending team" role. I'm not looking forward to the future where the tribe trades Marte away, only to have him figure it out.

by oxforddave on Jul 19, 2007 1:35 PM EDT reply actions

Re: Minor League Roundup, Hootenanny, and Hogtie

I've reread what you wrote like five times and I still have nothing.

by Joe. on Jul 19, 2007 1:39 PM EDT up reply actions

Re: Minor League Roundup, Hootenanny, and Hogtie

I think I'd still take Marte. But it's a lot closer than it used to be, obviously. Andy is only 11 months older and has two levels on him.

Plus, Hodges has the injury history.

As for Phillips, bleh. I don't even really want to talk about it, but the thing about Brandon that is most harped on is the personality conflict. Even if Marte ends up going elsewhere to succeed, you can only blame his performance because there won't be a strawman of "He was never given a fair shake because of personality conflict."

I don't think it'll happen again like that. Marte is going to get a long, long look next year in the majors I think, and if he can't do it then, well, the decision to cut bait has to be the only real option.

by afh4 on Jul 19, 2007 1:44 PM EDT up reply actions

Re: Minor League Roundup, Hootenanny, and Hogtie

Oh you meant Philips. I was thinking Voldemort.

by Joe. on Jul 19, 2007 1:46 PM EDT up reply actions

Re: Minor League Roundup, Hootenanny, and Hogtie

It's about that time. Your confusion is understandable. :)

Disclaimer: this post doesn't mean what you think it means.

by AngG on Jul 19, 2007 1:49 PM EDT up reply actions

Re: Minor League Roundup, Hootenanny, and Hogtie

It was my attempt at a joke as mentioning Phillips around here is about as popular as mentioning Voldemort in Harry Potter.

by oxforddave on Jul 19, 2007 2:58 PM EDT up reply actions

Re: Minor League Roundup, Hootenanny, and Hogtie

The Belliard-Phillips thing will not happen with Blake-Marte. Marte has done a lot more in Triple-A to earn a fair shot than Phillips ever did, and Blake is just a little too old and a lot not-good-enough to shoot a prospect for.

by Jay on Jul 19, 2007 2:05 PM EDT up reply actions

Re: Minor League Roundup, Hootenanny, and Hogtie

Plus Blake can be moved around a bit in the field, whereas Belliard was stuck at 2B. If they really want to keep Blake next year, I imagine they'll stick him back in right when we're no longer rolling Trot Nixon's corpse out there.

by zempf on Jul 19, 2007 2:13 PM EDT up reply actions

Re: Minor League Roundup, Hootenanny, and Hogtie

The tribe is contending, and hopefully they will be next year. Barring a big second half slump from Blake, I don't see how Marte beats him out for the job in 08. The other possibility is Marte being a better hitter than the corner outfielders or Garko, and I don't see that either. Nixon's shell will likely be replaced by Dellucci, Gutierrez, Francisco, or even Snyder (who despite his struggles continues to outhit Marte).

It is not that Marte is not a better third-base man than Blake, he may very well be. But he certainly is not forcing the tribe to bring him up, and he is not going to get an extended tryout like Garko did last year (despite Garko's bleh numbers in AAA) as the tribe was out of it.

Come to think of it, Marte did get the tryout last year.

by oxforddave on Jul 19, 2007 3:08 PM EDT up reply actions

Re: Minor League Roundup, Hootenanny, and Hogtie

What I'm saying is that due to Blake's versatility, Marte doesn't really have to beat him out. All he needs to do is beat out someone that Blake can replace.

by zempf on Jul 19, 2007 3:26 PM EDT up reply actions

Re: Minor League Roundup, Hootenanny, and Hogtie

Agreed, but he is definitely not doing that yet. Blake is a free agent next year and that seems to be the best hope for Marte in the near future.

by oxforddave on Jul 19, 2007 3:33 PM EDT up reply actions

Re: Minor League Roundup, Hootenanny, and Hogtie

Blake will be a free agent after 2008, not after 2007. He won't have six full years of service time at the end of the season. His contract is up, but that just makes him an arbitration guy.

Marte doesn't have much place on a roster except as starting 3B. They won't dump Marte, still a very good and very young prospect despite everything, just to keep an aging Blake as the starting 3B. They won't.

That is why Marte is going to be the starting 3B next season, until and unless he fails on a BP-esque level.

by Jay on Jul 19, 2007 7:54 PM EDT up reply actions

Re: Minor League Roundup, Hootenanny, and Hogtie

Marte has to make the 25 out of spring next year as I believe his last option was used this year.

by talonk on Jul 20, 2007 1:46 AM EDT up reply actions

Re: Minor League Roundup, Hootenanny, and Hogtie

It was long on wonderful is what it was, Andrew. I consider myself entertained.

Disclaimer: this post doesn't mean what you think it means.

by AngG on Jul 19, 2007 1:41 PM EDT reply actions

Re: Minor League Roundup, Hootenanny, and Hogtie

Thanks.

by afh4 on Jul 19, 2007 1:48 PM EDT up reply actions

Re: Minor League Roundup, Hootenanny, and Hogtie

Now the Lord can make you tumble, and the Lord can make you turn, and the Lord can make you overflow... but the Lord can't make you burn

by Turkmenbashi on Jul 19, 2007 2:29 PM EDT up reply actions

Re: Minor League Roundup, Hootenanny, and Hogtie

Re: Mills, you just can't tell much of anything from a guy's first pro season. My take is that he's too excited to draw any walks. There's no cause for pessimism at all because he really just got there.

Again ... check back in a year.

by Jay on Jul 19, 2007 2:07 PM EDT reply actions

Re: Minor League Roundup, Hootenanny, and Hogtie

In my mind's eye I will always see the alluring Jordan Brown in that evening gown. Very good.

This post means exactly what you think it means.

ken from alexandria

by ken from alexandria on Jul 19, 2007 2:14 PM EDT reply actions

Re: Minor League Roundup, Hootenanny, and Hogtie

Here's a BA article on Crowe, analyzing his troubles and the reasons he seems to have gotten out of his funk:

http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/prospects/?p=473

And the lightbulb looks to have finally gone off - he has been performing at his "pre-2B/injury" levels since he was put back in the leadoff role - the only role he has a ML profile for. I think its fair to say that Trevor's hopes and expectations for this year have undergone a complete transformation, and that's probably a good thing.

by mcrose on Jul 19, 2007 2:32 PM EDT reply actions

Re: Minor League Roundup, Hootenanny, and Hogtie

Does anyone have scouting reports or first hand opinions of Espino or Rondon down at Lake County? Both are young and putting up good numbers.
Also, I am very excited about Weglarz and Rivero.

by bewwolv on Jul 19, 2007 5:21 PM EDT reply actions

Re: Minor League Roundup, Hootenanny, and Hogtie

I've listened to some games on the net, and can relay what I've gleaned so far:

Rondon - 19 yr old and the most consistent starter on the LC staff all year. Made the All-star team. No info on "stuff", just that he throws the standard 3-4 pitch mix, and obviously has a good feel for pitching since his DSL peers are still back inthe Dominican or in the Gulf Coast league.

Espino - went to HS in Florida and leapfrogged higher drafted Tribe prep hurlers to make the Lake County roster in thge pen. His calling card is a hammer curve which is a true strikeout pitch. He's since moved into the starting rotation, where he's still increasing his pitch count.

Also, the youngest Captain is JeanMar Gomez, who hasn't exactly been consistent, but has had several stellar outings where he's dominated, including the first part of a combined no-hitter.

Including the GCL club, I'd have to say that we have more young (age less than 21) pitching talent than we've had since I started paying attention tothe minors.

by mcrose on Jul 19, 2007 8:01 PM EDT up reply actions

Re: Minor League Roundup, Hootenanny, and Hogtie

I'm developing a real prospect crush on Weglarz. I have to get to Lake County, and soon.

by nickjs21 on Jul 19, 2007 6:53 PM EDT reply actions

Re: Minor League Roundup, Hootenanny, and Hogtie

Yeah, all the signs look really good.

I'm wondering, though, how big he'll be by the time he gets to the majors. He's listed at 6'3" 215 pounds already - is this guy another Adam Dunn?

by Ryan on Jul 19, 2007 7:13 PM EDT up reply actions

Re: Minor League Roundup, Hootenanny, and Hogtie

I wouldn't complain.

by nickjs21 on Jul 19, 2007 9:35 PM EDT up reply actions

Re: Minor League Roundup, Hootenanny, and Hogtie

Let me know if you ever want to catch a Captains game together... I live literally five minutes from the stadium.

Now the Lord can make you tumble, and the Lord can make you turn, and the Lord can make you overflow... but the Lord can't make you burn

by Turkmenbashi on Jul 19, 2007 7:15 PM EDT up reply actions

Re: Minor League Roundup, Hootenanny, and Hogtie

The schedule's tight, so it may be a while. I just hope no one's in a hurry to call up Weglarz (Mills looks like he could use the time, so I'm not worried about him).

But if you're familiar, I'd like to pick your brain: Where's the best seat in the house?

by nickjs21 on Jul 19, 2007 9:38 PM EDT up reply actions

Re: Minor League Roundup, Hootenanny, and Hogtie

Most of the seats are so close, you can't go wrong. I usually go for third base side seats to maximize opposing team taunting.

Now the Lord can make you tumble, and the Lord can make you turn, and the Lord can make you overflow... but the Lord can't make you burn

by Turkmenbashi on Jul 20, 2007 9:19 PM EDT up reply actions

Re: Minor League Roundup, Hootenanny, and Hogtie

Adam Miller getting hammered yet again tonite. 8 runs in 2 innings. Velocity is there, but he has been getting hit hard and often since he's been back. The guy doesn't bounce back very well from the DL it seems - took him a year to get his groove back after his first extended trip. Despite the anticipation over the last couple weeks on a possible countdown to a Cleveland appearance, I don't think he's going anywhere for a while.

With Jensen Lewis called up, Aaron Laffey is the only pitcher in Buffalo that could be called upon right now. I don't think they have any confidence in Mujica yet.

by mcrose on Jul 19, 2007 8:13 PM EDT reply actions

Re: Minor League Roundup, Hootenanny, and Hogtie

I don't like the way this is going. Miller pitches well, gets hurt, comes back, struggles, pitches well, gets hurt. Not a good cycle, especially if they plan on using him in relief in the Bigs. I don't see him adding anything to the major league club this year. I hope I'm wrong.

Sometimes you just gotta be lucky

by mauichuck on Jul 20, 2007 7:35 AM EDT up reply actions

Re: Minor League Roundup, Hootenanny, and Hogtie

Miller's injury a few years ago bears no relation to his finger injury this year. I don't know what the deal is with his last few appearances, but his injury was very minor and had nothing to do with his throwing motion.

by Jay on Jul 20, 2007 9:18 AM EDT up reply actions