SB Nation - Jarrod Parker

Down on the Farm: Baseball America's Top 10 Prospects in the NL West

raygu — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 15:41:02 -0000

Baseball America recently completed their Top 10 prospects for each NL West Team, and since I took the plunge and subscribed for 3 months, I bring you the Top 10s for the NL West. That's all I figured I needed to get access to the Top 10's for all major league teams. I have already provided you with the Top 10's for the NL East and NL Central teams. Today I bring you the Top 10's from the NL West.

Giants

1.	Buster Posey, c
2.	Madison Bumgarner, lhp
3.	Zack Wheeler, rhp
4.	Thomas Neal, of
5.	Dan Runzler, lhp
6.	Tommy Joseph, c
7.	Roger Kieschnick, of
8.	Ehire Adrianza, ss
9.	Brandon Crawford, ss
10.	Francisco Peguero, of

More after the jump:

Padres

1. Donavan Tate, of

2. Simon Castro, rhp

3. James Darnell, 3b

4. Jaff Decker, of

5. Logan Forsythe, 3b

6. Cory Luebke, lhp

7. Wynn Pelzer, rhp

8. Everett Williams, of

9. Edinson Rincon, 3b

10. Aaron Poreda, lhp

Rockies

1.	Tyler Matzek, lhp
2.	Christian Friederich, lhp
3.	Wilin Rosario, c
4.	Jhoulys Chacin, rhp
5.	Hector Gomez, ss
6.	Eric Young Jr., 2b/of
7.	Tim Wheeler, of
8.	Rex Brothers, lhp
9.	Esmil Rogers, rhp
10.	Nolan Arenado, 3b

Dodgers

1.

Dee Gordon, ss

2.

Chris Withrow, rhp

3.

Aaron Miller, lhp

4.

Ethan Martin, rhp

5.

Josh Lindblom, rhp

6.

Scott Elbert, lhp

7.

Andrew Lambo, of

8.

Ivan DeJesus Jr., ss

9.

Trayvon Robinson, of

10.

Allen Webster, rhp

Diamondbacks

1. Jarrod Parker, rhp

2. Bobby Borchering, 3b

3. A.J. Pollock, of

4. Brandon Allen, 1b

5. Daniel Schlereth, lhp

6. Chris Owings

7. Mike Belfiore, lhp

8. Marc Krauss, of

9. Ryan Wheeler, 1b

10. Collin Cowgill, of

Everything you wanted to know about Tommy John Surgery (but were afraid to ask)

Jim McLennan — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 15:00:33 -0000

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The news that top Diamondbacks pitching prospect Jarrod Parker is due to have Tommy John surgery today was not unexpected - he'd been out of action for most of the second-half of the year. But it's still never a good feeling when you hear about any pitcher getting his arm opened up. That's especially so when it is a young one, of whom much had been hoped for the future, with his name being mentioned as a potential member of the Arizona rotation, as early as at some point next year.

After the jump, let's see if we can soothe the concerns of Arizona fans a little bit. We'll describe what the operation entails, why it's necessary, as well as what Parker's chances of returning, and when that might be. Gory surgical pictures are included, so you might want to put down the beef taco first.

What's the injury?

Ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) reconstruction, to give it the proper medical name, repairs damage to the ligament which connects the upper arm-bone, the humerus, to the ulna, the lower, outside arm-bone. Violent motion - and there are few more so in sports than pitching a baseball - can stretch or tear this ligament. A 2002 study on young pitchers suggested that the number of pitches thrown is the greatest determinant of risk; the types of pitches thrown showed a smaller effect; with only a weak correlation between throwing mechanics perceived as "bad" and injury.

This used to be a career-ending injury, but in 1974, Dr. Frank Jobe carried out the first operation on Dodgers' pitcher Tommy John - he recovered fully, and went on to win 164 games after his return. Nowadays, the surgery is increasingly being performed on pitchers younger than John, who was 31 at the time. Before 1997, only about 12% of the operations were on patients aged 18 or younger. But in 2005, that number had increased to 33%

How does surgery help?

In the operation, the ligament in the elbow is replaced with a tendon. Previously, it used to be taken from a cadaver, but nowadays, the preferred donor tendon is from the patient's own forearm, typically the one attached to the palmaris longus muscle. This tendon serves no real purpose and, in fact, about 15% of the population don't have it - alternative sources include plantaris tendon in the ankle or a small part of the hamstring tendon, taken from the back rather than plant foot.

When any damaged tissue has been removed, the surgeon will then drill a series of holes in the elbow. To quote Tom Gorman, "If you were imagining a Makita with a quarter-inch bit you wouldn't be too far off." I don't know about you, but I am wincing and holding my elbow at the very thought. Once the subject's elbow has been turned into a piece of Swiss cheese [ok, it's a bit more structured than that], the tendon in question is inserted through the holes in a figure-eight pattern and locked in place. The aim is to provide it with a good supply of blood, to assist it in the healing process. The damaged ligament may be left in place: the nerve endings it possesses will still work, and assist in the recovery.

What are his recovery chances and how long will it take?

The good news is, the elbow joint is relatively simple in anatomical terms, since it can only move in one direction. As a result, elbow issues are generally less problematic than, say, shoulder ones. In a 2008 study, 75.5% of major-league baseball players surveyed after the procedure, said they had returned to the same level of play, and some sources put the failure rate as low as 7%. However, it does happen: somewhat poignant is the MLBlog of former D-backs starter Brian Anderson, where the final entry describes his surgery and included this poignant section:

Just knowing that the situation is fixed, I can look forward to rehabbing and getting strong again. It’s encouraging when the doctor says there is no doubt that I have a lot of innings ahead... Now I’m going to try and be an encouragement to my teammates and help out in any way that I can help on the field, all the while, making sure I’m going to be ready to pitch in the Major Leagues for whoever will have me. Maybe that can be Kansas City and I can make right for these past two years. I don’t think I would be too expensive of a player, and hopefully I can put up some good numbers and have some good years.

He never pitched in the majors again, blowing out the elbow in spring training. That, however, is the exception rather than rule and the odds are in favor of Parker, though it won't be quick. Typically, the surgery requires a full year of rehabilitation and maybe another year pitching before returning to pre-injury form. Part of the reason for the lengthy time out, is that the body has basically to convert the inserted tendon (which attaches muscle to bone) into a ligament (which connects bone to bone). This won't happen overnight: It is very weak immediately after the surgery, and the rebuilding process must be gradual.

For the first week, the arm is kept in a hard brace, completely immobile; the subject can then start very gentle exercises, and by about two weeks after the surgery, it's usually possible to restart everyday tasks like eating and combing his hair. However, any kind of pitching activity is still a long way off. The average wait is around four months, though it can be anywhere from three to six, depending on the patient's recovery. It's crucial not to rush the process. While the arm may feel great, there is a definite risk or re-injury should the new tendon/ligament be over-taxed, especially early on in recovery. As with any arm injury, the distance and velocity of the throwing is gradually increased, up until the pitcher is once again throwing off a mound. Here's a typical timetable:

0-7 Days: Splint is worn, squeeze a soft ball.
1-4 Weeks: Discontinue splint; sling worn for one more week; gradually achieve full range of motion.
1-2 Months: Full range of motion at elbow, wrist, forearm, shoulder; lightweights for forearm exercises.
2-3 Months: Continue lower body conditioning program; continue exercises for upper extremities, including rotator cuff.
3-4 Months: Easy tossing (no wind-up), 25-30 throws building up to 70.
4-5 Months: Continue throwing program with easy wind-up, 20-50 feet, 10-40 throws.
5-6 Months: Throwing program extends to 60 feet at half-speed.
6-7 Months: Gradually increase distance to 150 feet.
7-8 Months: Progress to a mound at half- to three-quarters speed, using proper body mechanics (stay on top of the ball, keep elbow up, throw over the top, follow through with the arm and trunk).
9-10 Months: Simulate game situations.
10-12 Months: Begin normal routine and make appropriate rehab starts.

However, that isn't the end of the matter. It will often take another year for a pitcher to become completely comfortable with his new arm. Pitching coach Mark Wiley referred to is as getting the "feel of the ball" and it has been described as being like learning how to pitch all over again. Said Wiley of that first season back, "They keep their heads above water and contribute ... but they're not as consistent."

Will he still be a top prospect?

No reason why not. Doesn't seem to have stopped Chris Carpenter this year, has it? He had the op in July 2007 - 2008 was a wasted year, but he has kicked ass in 2009. More objectively, a study found "Most major league pitchers return from ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction by the second season after surgery with no statistical change in mean innings pitched, earned run average, or walks and hits per inning pitched from preinjury levels." Indeed, some pitchers swear they throw harder after the surgery than they did before. In a 2003 story in USA Today, Tommy John subject Billy Koch said "It felt so good when I came back, I said I recommend it to everybody...regardless what your ligament looks like," and was probably not entirely joking.

However, other pitchers never return to the same velocity: Francisco Liriano, for example, lost two to three miles per hour and has been significantly less effective since the operation. It didn't help Russ Ortiz either, who missed all of 2008, and gave up a home-run on his very first pitch back. But he sucked before the operation too, so no change there. Overall, despite anecdotal evidence, there is no objective proof that the surgery improves velocity or pitching ability. In a 2002 interview, operation pioneers Dr. Frank Jobe told ESPN, "What the surgery does is restore the ligament's stability to where it was four or five years ago. A pitcher might say the operation did it, but it's just more stability in the arm contributing to better mechanics." The rehab program may also help improve conditioning overall.

If you're curious, I'll finish with a list of other pitchers who had the surgery this year and are currently making their way back to the majors. Monitoring them and their progress during 2010 may offer some insight into the timeframe for Jarrod Parker.

Ryan Feierabend (SEA) - surgery was on March 4th
Mark Worrell (SD) - March 25th
Jesse Litsch (TOR) - April 17th
David Riske (MIL) - April 20th
Joey Devine (OAK) - April 21st
Shawn Hill (SD) - April; 22nd
Scott Proctor (FLA) - May 12th
Taylor Buchholz (COL) - June 17th
Josh Outman (OAK) - June 23rd
Neal Cotts (CHC) - July 3rd
Tyler Yates (PIT) - July 15th
Edinson Volquez (CIN) - August 3rd
Jordan Zimmermann (WAS) - August 19th

This Week in AZ Baseball: prospects injury news, winter ball report and a "to-do" list.

Jim McLennan — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 01:00:20 -0000

We ate at Mrs. White's Golden Rule Cafe last night - it's the one on Jefferson, almost diagonally opposite the NE corner of Chase Field. First time we've actually ever been, even though I've driven past it on the way to work every day for almost three years now! I believe it was one of Orlando Hudson's favorite places to eat when he was with the Diamondbacks, and do have to say, the Chicken Fried Steak was phenomenal, a deliciously-moist concoction which has supplanted the previous best in Phoenix, that of the Texaz Grill on 16th Street. The walls are covered with signatures from previous famous diners; a lot of sports people in general, though I'd hardly have called the food part of a nutritious diet. Junior Spivey's signature was just above our table.

Anyway, leading off the news this week is that our 2007 first-round draft-pick, Jarrod Parker, will have Tommy John surgery on Wednesday. We also take a look at the performances of our players in winter ball, and paw over some suggestions for what the Diamondbacks need to do over the winter. Join us after the jump for all that, and more

The Diamondbacks first-round pick in 2007, Jarrod Parker, will be having Tommy John surgery on Wednesday. The team had initially hoped to avoid surgery for the problem, which first cropped up at the end of July, but the issue didn't appear to resolve itself, so an operation has been scheduled. It means he will miss the entire 2010 season, and it's likely that 2011 will largely be spent learning how to pitch. According to Tom Gordon, who had the surgery in 1999, "It takes a good two years to really have a good feel again." Still, Parker is young enough - he doesn't turn 21 until next month - that time is on his side. There'll be more on this next week, as I'm writing one of my medical pieces, detailing what the procedure entails, the rehab and Parker's future chances.

He wasn't the only Arizona prospect to suffer an injury setback this week. While Roque Mercedes may have one of the coolest names in the Diamondbacks organization (just ahead of Tyson van Winkle and Vincent Bongiovanni), the pitcher won't be taking the mound for a bit. Nick Piecoro reports our prospect was hit in the face by a line-drive, down in the Dominican Republic his injuries resulting in surgery which will keep him out for about six weeks. To add insult to injury, it was one of his team-mates that was responsible, as Mercedes was throwing batting-practice at the time. I bet that Roque-d him...

As the above paragraph suggests, Winter League ball is under way, with the Dominican and Mexican leagues now joining the Arizona Fall League. I've got a useful link for you, which allows you to see all the D-backs' winter ball statistics in one convenient location. The one line which jumps out is Conor Jackson, who has apparently turned into the Incredible Hulk following his encounter with Valley Fever, and is hitting .533/.682/.933. At this rate, major-leaguers will be queuing up to inhale some of our good ol' Arizonan fungal spores - right up until Bud gets around to banning them as an illegal PED. Which, based on how long he took with steroids, will probably be around the year 2027...

It certainly increased the chance of him being offered a contract by the Diamondbacks. I believe the rules are, that for arbitration-eligible players such as Jackson, we can't offer less than 80% of his previous salary, which for Conor would be $2.4m. If he was still unable to do anything more than become acquainted with Judge Judy and her daytime TV companions, that might not be worth the risk But going 8-for-15 with seven walks? Yeah, I think we'll see a contract with his name on it being drawn up by the front-office. [As an aside, Mrs. SnakePit wonders how Conor is coping there - after all, he's not the most Hispanic of players. She wonders if the team sent an interpreter with him]

Also enjoying his time in the Dominican is Tony Abreu, who is 9-for-22 with an OPS of 1.026. Daniel Cabrera had a solid first outing, throwing four innings and allowing only one run - perhaps more importantly, he also walked only one batter. As we saw during the regular season for Arizona and Washington [42 walks, four hit batters and 11 wild pitches in 51 innings of work], control is by far Cabrera's biggest issue. Jose Marte and Jordan Norberto have barely got started, but have combined for two scoreless innings out of the bullpen for Estrellas de Oriente

Not so much success for AZ pitchers in the hitter-friendly Arizona Fall League. Our four hurlers - Bryan Augenstein, Tom Laine, Scott Maine and Cesar Valdez - have combined for 11.2 innings of work and thirteen earned runs, on seventeen hits and ten walks. Maine and Valdez in partiocular seem to have been infected with Cabrera-itis, having handed out a total of eight free passes in 3.2 frames. At the plate, Brandon Allen has struggled, hitting .211 (8-for-38), though has ten walks, resulting in a respectable .375 OBP. Cole Gillespie is impressing, going 8-for-20 with five walks and only one K. Pedro Ciriaco is also doing well: 9-for-21 with an OPS over a thousand.

Finally in this area - though I'm not quite sure if this counts as "winter ball," since it's actually their summer - the Australian season is about to get under way, naturally featuring our own Trent Oeltjen. Here's a piece on baseball down under, and it looks like this could become another off-season destination for players. "The MLB and the Australian Baseball Federation have joined in a unique partnership to unveil a competition that will seek to attract US stars keen to tune up ahead of their home season. The MLB, buoyed by the success of its joint venture Australian academy on the Gold Coast, which has seen 126 players graduate to pro leagues around the world since 2000, will bankroll 75 per cent of the competition."

A potential financial cloud on the horizon for the team. The Phoenix Business Journal says " The next shoe to drop in the legal fight over special tax breaks and subsidies for developers could be over the 100 percent tax exemptions ponied up for high-profile projects. That action could come after the Arizona Supreme Court decides whether a $97 million tax break for the CityNorth mixed-use development in northeast Phoenix is constitutional under state law... A lawsuit [is] expected to be filed over government property lease excise taxes, or GPLETs. These funding mechanisms allow government entities that own land to lease it back to private developers and businesses, which then pay lower-than-normal property taxes." Currently, the Diamondbacks pay no property taxes because they lease Chase from the Maricopa County Stadium District. Insert rant about taxpayer-funded pro sports facilities here.

Billy Buckner was the winner of the 2009 Diamondbacks' award for Minor-League Pitcher of the Year. That may seem a bit of a surprise, given his lackluster performances early in the season with the big club, but when pitching for Reno, he went 9-3 with a 3.32 ERA. Looking at the other numbers, a couple of other candidates include Berling Cruz, who had a 2.23 ERA in fourteen games (thirteen starts) for the Diamondbacks in the Dominican Summer League, and Michael Belfiore's 2.11 ERA over 58 innings with Missoula. But I'm sure Zephon and IHSB will talk more about these guys in their end-of-season reviews.

Nick Piecoro has come up with his to-do list in the off-season for the Diamondbacks. Not too much to argue with there: little doubt we need a starting pitcher, a first-baseman and a couple of arms in the bullpen. However, I would question the amounts allocated by Nick, of the $28m we have to spend, especially given the names he mentions. I don't think $7m will be anywhere near to get someone like Jason Marquis, who earned close to ten million this season, and won 15 games with the Rockies. I doubt a 30% pay-cut is anywhere imminent in his future. The other suggestion, Brad Penny, who made only six starts, is more likely for the cash: $7m will only get you someone whose 2009 was marred either by injury or their performance.

I'd be surprised if we end up spending more, as Nick thinks, on the bullpen - especially as we don;t need a closer, or even probably a set-up man. Eight million dollars therefore seems a bit high. I think in Chad Qualls, Juan Gutierrez, Esmerling Vasquez and Clay Zavada, we have the makings of a fairly-solid bullpen, and you can add Blaine Boyer, who was very impressive in his time with us, or possibly even Daniel Schlereth to the mix. I think we just need a couple of reliable middle-inning guys, nothing spectacular or too expensive. Overpaying for relievers is not something I'd say the team needs to do - we have more significant needs.

Diamondbacks prospect Jarrod Parker set for surgery

Eli Greenspan — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 23:07:36 -0000

More photos » by George Nikitin - AP

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FOXSports.com is reporting that DIamondbacks pitching prospect Jarrod Parker will have Tommy John surgery next week.

Parker, 20, combined to go 5-6 with a 3.14 ERA in 20 starts at Single-A and Double-A last season.

The timetable for Tommy John surgery is around 10-12 months, meaning he may not be ready until the 2011 season.

How does this impact his future?

NL West Report: Hispanic Nicknames

Poseidon's Fist — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 16:00:39 -0000

More photos » by Ross D. Franklin - AP

Article-subject language disagreement

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Earlier this season Giants, who played with a uniform featuring "Gigantes" across the front for Hispanic Heritage Night. The Diamonbacks utilized a similar tactic this weekend, taking the field with "Los D-Backs" emblazened across the front of their alternate black uniforms.

Unfortunately for Arizona, the Hispanic mojo didn't help them on the field, as they appear more like Los Lonely Boys in the NL West cellar after two terrible weeks. Or, as Jim McLennan from the Pit notes, the uniforms would be more apt had a "t" been added after the "Los."

The use of Spanish on uniforms got me thinking...what if the Rockies put on their uniforms and follow the lead of their divisional foes? There may be less of a Hispanic population in Colorado than Arizona or California, but it is certainly a noteworthy presence all the same. In addition, the Rockies payroll is increasing dramatically in the Hispanic sector. Tell me what you think in the poll.

NL West Report

Arizona (62-82, t5th, L3, 23 GB)

Last Week: 1-5. 1-2 vs Dodgers. 0-3 vs Brewers. Arizona was swept for the second straight weekend, sending them to three games below fourth-place San Diego after going 2-11 the last two weeks. The loss yesterday guaranteed the Diamondbacks of a losing season, quite the disappointment after being a popular 1st or 2nd place team in preseason predictions.

Pace: 70-92 (-2 from last week)

Divisional Change: Lost 3.0 games on LAD.

This Week: 3 game road series @ Padres, 3 game home series vs Rockies. The schedule doesn't get any easier for Arizona, who has to go to Petco to play a team riding a 6-series win streak before hosting all the awesomeness that is the Colorado Rockies.

News: Inside the D-backs: Decision on coaching staff to come later

Ken Rosenthal suggests Arizona third base coach Chip Hale or former manager Bob Melvin as a fit for the Nationals managerial position next year, though interim manager Jim Riggelman has a legitimate shot to retain his post.

Top prospect Jarrod Parker will begin a throwing program tomorrow. Arizona's 2007 first-round pick was shut down in July after feeling discomfort in his elbow. After reassessing him in coming weeks, the Diamondbacks will decide whether he requires surgery or not. Says Josh Byrnes:

"Anytime an injury doesn't respond, I think you have to consider surgery...But again there's reason to believe the conservative course will get him back to where he was." - Steve Gilbert, MLB.com

Jarrod Parker

#77 / Pitcher / Arizona Diamondbacks

Height: 6-1

Weight: 180

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Nov 24, 1988

Kevin Mulvey, a waiver trade pickup from Minnesota, made his first career start Saturday. He struggled mightily in a 9-2 loss to the Brewers.

Transactions: Recalled OF Trent Oeltjen and C Luke Carlin.

Injuries: Activated LHP Scott Schoeneweis (depression) from the 15-day DL. Nothing new was found in recent bloodwork for Conor Jackson, but he's likely to miss the rest of the season, making it difficult for last year's cleanup man to earn his roster spot back for 2010.

Arizona Diamondbacks Injuries

15-Day

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Chris Snyder	lower-back	08/23/2009

60 Day DL / Out for the season

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Chad Qualls	knee	08/31/2009
Conor Jackson	pneumonia	05/12/2009
Brandon Webb	shoulder	04/07/2009

Los Angeles (85-59, 1st, L1)

Last Week: 4-2. 2-1 @ Diamondbacks. 2-1 @ Giants. Los Angeles failed to complete the sweep in both series after winning the first two games both times. It was a strong turnaround after failing to win either series the previous week agains the division's worst teams.

Pace: 97-65. (+2)

Divisional Change: Lost 0.5 game lead on COL.

This Week: 3 game home series vs Pirates, 3 game home series vs Giants. While the Rockies try to win a game at AT&T Park, the Dodgers can force the Rockies to be focusing on the wild card by sweeping the Pirates. It is the first time the Dodgers and Pirates have played this season.

News: Ronnie Belliard is providing an excuse for the Dodgers not to pay Orlando Hudson. In starting in place of Hudson 5 of the last 13 games, Belliard is robbing Hudson of the $10K/PA the starting second-sacker is due to receive per his contract.

Orlando Hudson

#13 / Second Base / Los Angeles Dodgers

Height: 6-0

Weight: 190

Bats: B

Throws: R

Born: Dec 12, 1977

	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG
2009 - Orlando Hudson	135	514	70	147	31	4	9	58	53	92	8	1	.286	.354	.414

Say what you will about a collapse - holding a divisional lead for practically the entirety of a season is something to be commended, and only a team with several strong contributors are capable of such a feat. So who is the MVP of the team? The answer from a few players may surprise you.

Brad Penny and Larry Bowa made amends in a private meeting this past weekend. The two were at ugly odds over several issues after Penny's departure from Los Angeles.

Ken Rosenthal also suggests the Dodgers may be interested in Dan Uggla.

Transactions: Called up IFs Chin-Lung Hu and Blake DeWitt.

Injuries: Activated RHP Hiroki Kuroda from the 15-day DL. Clayton Kershaw missed his Friday start with a bruised shoulder. He won't be on the DL and should return soon. Jim Thome is day-to-day with a right heel issue, and Randy Wolf is day-to-day with left elbow stiffness. He is scheduled to make his start tomorrow against Pittsburgh. Will Ohman is still attempting to return to the Dodgers this month after being on the DL since May 28 with a left shoulder injury.

Los Angeles Dodgers Injuries

Probable

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Randy Wolf	elbow	09/13/2009

Questionable

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Clayton Kershaw	shoulder	09/13/2009

15-Day

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Will Ohman	shoulder	05/28/2009
Guillermo Mota	other-excused	08/30/2009

60 Day DL / Out for the season

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Xavier Paul	ankle	05/21/2009
Jason Schmidt	shoulder	08/06/2009

San Diego (60-78, 5th, L2, 22.5 GB)

Last Week: 4-2. 2-1 @ Giants, 2-1 vs Rockies. The Padres have become the ultimate spoilers. They have now won six straight series, five against the top seven playoff contending teams. Despite winning the series against Colorado, however, the Rockies mathematically eliminated San Diego from the division title Friday.

Pace: 70-94 (+1).

Divisonal change: No change.

This Week: 3 game home series vs Diamondbacks, First 3 games of a 4 game road series @ Pirates. Will there be a letdown now that they will be playing two of the three teams that are more than a game worse than them?

News: The Padres are out to thwart contending teams, and that is no joke. The only consolation for playoff teams is that they have been a thorn in every team's side, defeating every playoff contender they have faced in the last seven series two games to one.

Nick Hundley drove in a run in walk-off fashion, in his first career pinch-hit AB. And he didn't even have to make contact.

An AL Scout says Kevin Towers fleeced Billy Beane with the Scott Hairston deal, the trade in which he recieved RHPs Sean Gallagher, Ryan Webb and Craig Italiano. That's hard to argue against when Hairston has a worse OBP than any Rockie position player, including Omar Quintanilla.

Scott Hairston

#12 / Left Field / Oakland Athletics

Height: 6-0

Weight: 195

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: May 25, 1980

	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG
2009 - Scott Hairston	52	205	21	49	10	1	7	32	8	32	3	2	.239	.269	.400

Ken Rosenthal says the Padres' payroll could be as low as being in the neighborhood of $25million next year. For that to happen, Adrian Gonzalez and Heath Bell would have to be moved, along with Brian Giles leaving the payroll. Those three moves have a decent chance of happening.

Baltimore is averse to trading their top prospects, so they are out of the running for A-Gone, not that I saw much of a fit there to begin with.

Transactions: Recalled RHP Sean Gallagher and LHPs Aaron Poreda and Cesar Ramos from AAA Portland.

Injuries: Rookie OF Kyle Blanks will likely miss the rest of the season with a partial tear in his right plantar fascia (part of the foot). Kevin Kouzmanoff is still day to day with a strained calf.

San Diego Padres Injuries

15-Day

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Brian Giles	knee	06/19/2009
Kyle Blanks	foot	08/29/2009
Mike Adams	shoulder	08/22/2009

60 Day DL / Out for the season

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Mark Worrell	elbow	03/27/2009
Cha Seung Baek	forearm	03/30/2009
Shawn Hill	elbow	04/26/2009
Chris Young	shoulder	06/15/2009

San Francisco (77-66, 3rd, W1, 7.5 GB in Div, 4.5 GB in WC)

Last Week: 2-4. 1-2 vs Padres. 1-2 vs Dodgers. I would consider it a failure of a week to lose two games in the wild card standings in which you lose a home series against the Padres then fail to capitalize when the Padres swiped a series from Colorado.

Pace: 87-75 (-2).

Divisional Change: Lost 2.0 games in NL West (LAD), lost 2 games in WC (COL).

This Week: 3 game home series vs Rockies, 3 game road series @ Dodgers. If the Giants don't take advantage of their mound triumverate and at least win the series against Colorado, it will be hard to continue considering them in contention for the wild card, as they would be 5.5 games back at best with 16 games left.

News: Timcecum missed his last start but should be back tonight. He'll face Jason Hammel, who quite literally is the best fifth starter in MLB.

Several Giants are nearing career numbers, not greatly surprising given their youth. However, one player worth highlighing is Jeremy Affeldt, who raised eyebrows by signing a quick lucrative deal in the offseason. He has already shown why he deserved that contract. He leads the league in holds, for what you will make of that.

Jeremy Affeldt

#41 / Pitcher / San Francisco Giants

Height: 6-4

Weight: 225

Bats: L

Throws: L

Born: Jun 06, 1979

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2009 - Jeremy Affeldt	1-2	65	0	0	0	0	0	53.0	40	13	11	2	28	45	1.87	1.28

I hate to point this out - I really do - but after beating the Dodgers last night, Brad Penny is 3-0 with a 1.64 ERA in three starts since joining the Giants' rotation. That's good for a 0.4 WAR, giving him a strong shot to pass Randy Johnson's three month body of work (0.5 WAR) in just a month. It is worth noting he won the Giants' only game against the Padres as well as defeating two strong offenses and two of the best teams in the National League.

Top prospect Madison Bumgarner made his MLB debut Tuesday. The promotion was a surprise but oddly mirrors the Rockies move to try out Esmil Rogers against the Padres in an effort to delay their hobbled ace for the Rockies series. Bumgarner San earned a no-decision, allowing two runs in 5.1 IP including five hits, two of them home runs.

Transactions: Called up LHPs Madison Bumgarner and Alex Hinshaw, RHP Joe Martinez and 2b Kevin Frandsen. Outrighted RHP Ryan Sadowski to AAA Fresno and DFA'd RHP Osiris Matos. The Washington Nationals claimed P Jesse English from the Giants on waivers.

Injuries: Activated Freddy Sanchez from the 15-day DL, finally. Tim Lincecum missed his last start with back spasms but is expected to take the mound tonight against Jason Hammel and the Rockies. Randy Johnson has seen no setbacks of yet in his attempt to return to action with the Giants in their bullpen.

San Francisco Giants Injuries

Probable

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Tim Lincecum	lower-back	09/12/2009

60 Day DL / Out for the season

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Randy Johnson	trapezius	07/06/2009
Noah Lowry	ribs	03/27/2009
Kelvin Pichardo	shoulder	06/28/2009
Emmanuel Burriss	foot	09/01/2009
Henry Sosa	shoulder	08/05/2009

Poll

If the Rockies were to have a Hispanic Heritage Night, what would they put on their uniforms?

Las Montañas

51 votes

Los Rockies

28 votes

Las Montañas Rocosas

26 votes

Rockies

28 votes

Red

10 votes

Other/Tell me in the comments

4 votes

147 votes | Poll has closed

Signing deadline looms for NL West teams

Poseidon's Fist — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 16:00:16 -0000

More photos » by Marcio Jose Sanchez - AP

Anyone this good joining the division this year via the draft? Hopefully, but hopefully not for that white and black team.

Browse more photos »

In case, you've missed it, the signing deadline for players selected in June's draft is 10pm MDT tonight. The Rockies remain the least likely in the division to sign their top pick, but as it stands now, only three divisional first rounders have been inked. This is how we're looking this morning:

Arizona

The Diamondbacks made quick work of signing 17th overall pick AJ Pollack, agreeing to terms nearly two months ago. Arizona also had the 16th overall pick. They selected and have now signed HS infielder Bobby Borchering. Jim McLennan includes an audio interview with Borchering in that last link. The deal means Arizona has successfully reached agreement with their first 11 picks and 28 of their top 29. That's getting down to business.

Los Angeles

The Dodgers didn't have a first round pick once they signed Orlando Hudson, but they did recently strike a deal with second-round pick Garrett Gould. Los Angeles also has inked sandwich pick Aaron Miller and have deals with their first 11 picks and 18 of 19.

San Diego

Donovan Tate, a HS outfielder and 3rd overall pick, has yet to sign with San Diego. Corey Brock reported that Kevin Goldstein at Baseball Prospectus believes he will sign for about a $6.5million bonus by tonight's deadline. Tate had been given a dorm room at Chapel Hill (sound familiar?), where he planned on played baseball and football. Despite that, the Padres remain confident they'll sign pick Tate.

The Padres also have yet to sign 2nd-rounder Everett Williams or 4th-rounder Keyvius Sampson. Corey Brock says "Williams could be tricky to sign since he was perceived as a first round pick that slid into the second round." Here's the draft database for the Padres.

San Francisco

Sixth overall pick Zack Wheeler remains unsigned, but the Giants are moving forward with talks. Brain Sabean said he "thinks we'll get it done" and those in the know seem to expect Wheeler to sign by the deadline. The Giants also signed their second round pick, high school catch Tommy Joseph, to the most lucrative 2nd round bonus so far this year: $712. San Francisco gave Buster Posey a $6.2mil bonus last year. Picks 2-17 have been signed.

Jim Callis at Baseball America put together a chart of unsigned picks and what their contract demands are. The details are quite vague, but it's still handy.

And now for your weekly divisional report, but first, my apologies for all the red links. I'm writing on a new computer and it seems to be having formatting issues...

NL West Report

Arizona (54-64, 4th, L1, 16 GB)

Last Week: 4-2. 2-1 vs. Mets. 2-1 vs. Dodgers. D-Backs fans brought brooms to the final game of each series, but Arizona failed to allow them to wave each time.

Pace: 74-88.

Divisional Change: Gained 1.0 game.

This Week: 1 make-up game @ Atlanta, 3 game road series @ Phillies, 3 game road series @ Astros.

News: For the second straight year, the Diamondbacks have a veteran lefty with underwhelming stuff attempting to battle unthinkable battles off the field. After Doug Davis went through treatments for cancer last year, Scott Schoeneweis has had to cope with the surprise of his wife being found dead. None of us want to even imagine the horror ourselves, yet Schoeneweis took two weeks off to cope and be with his four children.

Scott Schoeneweis

#60 / Pitcher / Arizona Diamondbacks

Height:6-0

Weight:190

Bats:L

Throws:L

Born:Oct 02, 1973

That apparently was not enough time, as the lefty was scored on in six of his past seven outings, allowing 11 runs in 5 innings in that span, including a .462 opponent batting average. He was placed on the DL with depression last week. Sad sad story.

Brandon Webb plans to pitch "somewhere" next spring after rehabilitating his surgically repaired shoulder. Arizona is still unsure whether to pick up his $8.5 million option for next season. Webb prefers to stay in Arizona.

Nick Piecoro looks into the payroll going forward to 2010.

Doug Davis was claimed on waivers by the Brewers, but Arizona retracted him and he remains in the desert. We went on to beat the Dodgers Saturday.

Davis wants to be signed to a 3-year extension, but the Diamondbacks are non-committal at this point.

After having a terrible start to the season, Jon Rauch has turned his season around in a big way. Jim McLennan explores in his story: The Raucherrection of Jon.

Transactions: Called up IF Rusty Ryal from AAA and optioned OF Chris Young to AAA. Released RHP Tom Gordon and recalled LHP Daniel Schlereth.

Injuries: Placed LHP Scott Schoeneweis on the 15-day DL Tuesday with depression. Eric Byrnes has started a rehab assignment in AAA in an effort to return this month from his broken hand. Justin Upton hit off a tee yesterday and is in line to return in September. Top prospect Jarrod Parker might need surgery, but Arizona won't pull the trigger on that yet. He will be re-evaluated next month.

ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS INJURIES

15-DAY

PLAYER	INJURY TYPE	INJURY DATE
Eric Byrnes	hand	06/26/2009
Scott Schoeneweis	other-excused	08/10/2009
Justin Upton	oblique	08/06/2009

60 DAY DL / OUT FOR THE SEASON

PLAYER	INJURY TYPE	INJURY DATE
Conor Jackson	pneumonia	05/12/2009
Brandon Webb	shoulder	04/07/2009

News on the other three divisional teams after the jump.

Los Angeles (70-48, 1st, W1)

Last Week: 3-3. 2-1 @ Giants. 1-2 @ Diamondbacks.

Pace: 96-66.

Divisional Change: Lost 0.5 game lead to COL.

This Week: 3 game home series vs Cardinals, 4 game road series vs Cubs. The Dodgers' week before their visit to Coors is filled with games against the top two teams in the NL Central.

News: Hiroki Kuroda said he is "lucky to be alive" after being struck in the head by a line drive by Arizona rookie infielder Rusty Ryal. It was the second time a pitcher was felled by a line drive to the head at Chase Field (the first being in 1998), and Ryal was credited with a double after the ball ricocheted into the stands.

Hiroki Kuroda

#18 / Pitcher / Los Angeles Dodgers

Height: 6-1

Weight: 210

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Feb 10, 1975

Kuroda is quoted as saying that his wife thought he was dead when he was carted off. He is apparently okay now, will miss Thursday's start as a precaution but will remain in the rotation.

Randy Wolf had a heck of a game yesterday, taking a one-hit shutout into the eighth, striking out a season high 10 while falling a triple shy of the cycle at the plate. He was the sixth Dodger pitch ever to hit a home run during a three-hit night in franchise history. I blame Yumeiro Petit for everything.

Snoop Dogg takes Ticket Truck for spin | dodgers.com: News
On Tuesday, the Dodgers announced the launch of the club's first mobile ticketing unit with local rap icon Snoop Dogg taking the truck on its inaugural voyage.

Rookie knuckleballer Charlie Haeger was called up and will start tonight.

Joe Torre is confident Los Angeles will add an arm if they need it. Two options are John Smoltz and Vicente Padilla.

Transactions: Optioned LHP Eric Stults to AAA and called up RHP Charlie Haeger.

Injuries: Chad Billingsley threw 85 pitches in a bullpen session and reported no pain. He's set to tomorrow. Hiroki Kuroda is reportedly "feeling good" but will likely miss his Thursday start vs. Chicago. No replacement has been announced.

LOS ANGELES DODGERS INJURIES

PROBABLE

PLAYER INJURY TYPE INJURY DATE

Chad Billingsley hamstring 08/16/2009

15-DAY

PLAYER INJURY TYPE INJURY DATE

Will Ohman shoulder 05/28/2009

Jason Schmidt shoulder 08/06/2009

60 DAY DL / OUT FOR THE SEASON

PLAYER INJURY TYPE INJURY DATE

Doug Mientkiewicz shoulder 04/17/2009

Xavier Paul ankle 05/21/2009

PLAYER	INJURY TYPE	INJURY DATE
Chad Billingsley	hamstring	08/16/2009

PLAYER	INJURY TYPE	INJURY DATE
Doug Mientkiewicz	shoulder	04/17/2009
Xavier Paul	ankle	05/21/2009

San Diego (49-70, 5th, L4, 21.5 GB)

Last Week: 2-4. 2-1 @ Brewers, 0-3 @ Cardinals.

Pace: 67-95.

Divisonal change: Lost 1.0 game.

This Week: 3 game home series vs Cubs, 4 game home series vs Cardinals.

News: Heath Bell actually blew a save last night, just his second of the season. That quietly puts Huston Street in the NL lead in save percentage, trailing only Mariano Rivera for the MLB lead. Bell and Adrian Gonzalez were placed on waivers over the weekend. The Angels are interested in Bell, but the Jake Peavy trade lessens the need for San Diego to unload their talent.

Heath Bell

#21 / Pitcher / San Diego Padres

Height: 6-3

Weight: 240

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Sep 29, 1977

Randy Read replaced Jim Lefebvre as hitting coach July 31, and the move has paid off so far. San Diego has hit over .300 under Read and are scoring over five runs a game.

Jarrod Saltalamacchia is injured for Texas. A potential replacement is Padre backup Henry Blanco.

Last year, an NL West shortstop injured his own hand. Actually, two of them did. One of them is now an elite player at his position, hitting cleanup for the NL Wild Card leaders. The other got traded and has spent most of the season on the disabled list due to anxiety. Am I ever glad we are proud owners of the former player. The Padres filed a grievance against Khalil Greene, attempting to recoup $1.7million in salary after Greene fractured his hand after "swiping a storage chest." San Diego privately resolved the case with Greene before they had to go to a hearing.

Transactions: Optioned C Eliezer Alfonzo to AAA. Signed RHP Matthew Lollis and assigned his to the AZL Padres. Optioned RHP Mike Ekstrom to AAA Portland and recalled RHP Cesar Carillo.

Injuries: Activated C Nick Hundley (forearm) from the 15-day DL.

San Diego Padres Injuries

15-Day

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Brian Giles	knee	06/19/2009
Edgar Gonzalez	concussion	07/19/2009

60 Day DL / Out for the season

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Mark Worrell	elbow	03/27/2009
Cha Seung Baek	forearm	03/30/2009
Shawn Hill	elbow	04/26/2009
Chris Young	shoulder	06/15/2009

San Francisco (63-54, 3rd, L1, 6.5 GB)

Last Week: 2-4. 1-2 vs. Dodgers, 1-2 @ Mets.

Pace: 87-75.

Divisional Change: Lost 1.0 games in NL West. Lost 1.5 games in Wild Card.

This Week: Final game of a four game set @ Mets. 3 game road series @ Reds. First 3 games of 4 game road series @ Rockies.

News: Now that Alex Rios and his fat contract has headed south to Chicago, Andrew Baggarly at the San Jose Mercury News reminds (or informs) us that there was once talk of a Tim Lincecum for Alex Rios swap less than two years ago. The best trades are indeed the ones you don't make. Unless you're Toronto. Imagine that 1-2 punch.

Tim Lincecum

#55 / Pitcher / Toronto Blue Jays

Height: 5-11

Weight: 170

Bats: L

Throws: R

Born: Jun 15, 1984

Would you let Barry Zito go on a waiver claim? Henry Schulman at SFGate evaluates from all angles.

Ken Rosenthal has a Q and A with Giants GM Brian Sabean. Among the topics: how Sabean wanted to draft Lincecum so badly he refused to watch him in person, Barry Bonds, and the futures of the catching position, the Kung Fu Panda and Sabean himself.

Transactions: None.

Injuries: Activated Nate Schierholtz (hip) from the 15-Day DL and placed Rich Aurilia (ankle) on the 15-day DL.

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Rich Aurilia	ankle	08/12/2009
Andres Torres	hamstring	07/31/2009

San Francisco Giants Injuries

15-Day

Player Injury Type Injury Date

Rich Aurilia ankle 08/12/2009

Andres Torres hamstring 07/31/2009

60 Day DL / Out for the season

Player Injury Type Injury Date

Randy Johnson trapezius 07/06/2009

Noah Lowry ribs 03/27/2009

Kelvin Pichardo shoulder 06/28/2009

Henry Sosa shoulder 08/05/2009

Arizona Diamondbacks Top 20 PRE-SEASON Prospects in Review

John Sickels — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 16:53:20 -0000

More photos » by Jeff Roberson - AP

5 months ago: Arizona Diamondbacks left fielder Gerardo Parra catches a ball off St. Louis Cardinals' Colby Rasmus during the third inning of a baseball game Friday, July 17, 2009, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Browse more photos »

Arizona Diamondbacks 2009 Pre-Season Prospects List in Review

This list was originally published November 16th, 2008. This is a REVIEW of the PRE-SEASON list for 2009, not a revision of that list. This is a REVIEW of the old list. The first grade listed is the OLD GRADE.

1) Jarrod Parker, RHP, Grade B+: Pitched very well in Double-A (3.68 ERA, 74/34 K/BB in 78 innings) at age 20 before going down with an elbow injury. Hasn't had surgery yet.

2) Daniel Schlereth, LHP, Grade B: 1.01 ERA with 39/16 K/BB in 27 Double-A innings. Allowed five runs in 4.2 major league innings, has missed time with strained ribcage. Could help in pen next year.

3) Gerardo Parra, OF, Grade B-: Hitting .290/.330/.429 in 75 major league games, a successful debut especially considering jump from Double-A.

4) Cesar Valdez, RHP, Grade B-: 4.60 ERA with 56/27 K/BB in 86 innings in Triple-A. Holding his own in PCL conditions.

5) Wade Miley, LHP, Grade B-: 4.09 ERA with 84/27 K/BB in 106 innings in the Midwest League, 112 hits allowed. Getting a lot of grounders but not exactly dominant.

6) Bryan Shaw, RHP, Grade B-: 4.63 ERA with 83/34 K/BB in 95 innings in the California League. Decent performance considering environment but not dominating.

7) Trevor Harden, RHP, Grade B-: Excellent in early season Midwest League outings, promoted to Cal League and is holding his own (4.54, 55/22 K/BB in 81 innings, 103 hits) but (broken record) not dominating.

8) Kevin Eichhorn, RHP, Grade C+: Has pitched four innings in the Pioneer League. Sample too small to be meaningful.

9) Barry Enright, RHP, Grade C+: 3.98 ERA with 78/27 K/BB in 129 innings for Double-A Mobile, 145 hits. Throws strikes with average stuff.

10) Collin Cowgill, OF, Grade C+: Hitting .277/.373/.445 with 11 steals in 61 games in the Cal League, on the DL since mid-June. Doing OK but not great before getting hurt.

11) Evan Frey, OF, Grade C: Hitting .256/.339/.317 with 24 steals in Double-A. Lack of power limits his upside.

12) Tony Barnette, RHP, Grade C: 10-7 but with a 6.25 ERA for Triple-A Reno, 90/48 K/BB in 127 innings, 156 hits. Throws strikes and pitching environment isn't easy.

13) Billy Buckner, RHP, Grade C: 3.29 ERA with 84/43 K/BB in 82 innings in Triple-A. 8.63 with 33/15 K/BB in 41 major league innings. Good Triple-A numbers in rough environment means he'll get more chances, but might end up as a Quadruple-A guy.

14) Hector Ambriz, RHP, Grade C: 5.92 ERA with 83/30 K/BB in 97 innings in Triple-A, 123 hits. Another guy who throws strikes but doesn't dominate.

15) Brooks Brown, RHP, Grade C: Traded to Tigers. 4.45 ERA with 41/42 K/BB in 87 innings for Triple-A Toledo. Low strikeout rate is worrisome.

16) Bryan Augenstein, RHP, Grade C: 0.78 with 31/6 K/BB in 35 innings in Double-A, 5.50 ERA with 29/7 K/BB in 36 innings in Triple-A, made two major league starts. Throws strikes, gets grounders, a typical Arizona prospect.

17) Wes Roemer, RHP, Grade C: 4.33 ERA with 72/33 K/BB in 104 innings in Double-A, 104 hits. Another inning-eater.

18) Josh Collmenter, RHP, Grade C: 4.07 ERA with 124/41 K/BB in 119 innings, 101 hits for Visalia in the Cal League. Good K/IP and K/BB ratios.

19) Leo Rosales, RHP, Grade C: 1.40 ERA with 12/8 K/BB in 19 innings in Triple-A, 4.73 ERA with 20/8 K/BB in 27 innings in the majors. A competent middle reliever.

20) Josh Whitesell, 1B, Grade C: .313/.422/.494 in Triple-A, .191/.356/.298 in the majors. Draws walks, has power, could have a career as a platoon guy if he can time a hot streak just right and sneak into a job. Limited upside at age 27.

Arizona loves the polished pitchers who throw strikes but most of them don't have great projectability or stuff, limiting the upside in the system. Parker was the best hope for a future ace, but his elbow problem throws his durability into doubt now. Parra has been a decent surprise, but the system really needs more impact hitting and more upside arms. The 2009 draft has a better mixture of upside and polish, but it will take some time for that to percolate up through the system.

Cubs Minor League Wrap--July 30

Josh77 — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 06:03:03 -0000

First of all, I want to apologize for not having a MLW yesterday. AT&T was supposed to turn on my phone and internet service yesterday, but I wasn't confident that they would and sure enough, there was a problem. After initially telling us that it wouldn't be fixed until tomorrow or possibly even Monday (and even that wasn't until after they asked my wife "Are you sure you're not a moron?" half a dozen times before agreeing to send someone out), a technician actually called back later and said he could come out this afternoon. He fixed the problem in about a half an hour. I've never had anything but great service from AT&T technicians who get sent out. The people who you have to deal with to actually get one of those technicians to come out, on the other hand. . . Dealing with any major faceless corporation is a problem, but the AT&T call centers are a special level of hell.

As far as the trade goes today, I think the Pirates got some interesting parts, but little that the Cubs can't afford to lose. I like Kevin Hart the best of all of the players the Pirates got. Hart's a bit of an overachiever who turned his career around by learning the cut fastball. I think he should to continue to "overachieve" for a while, but he's really a #4-5 starter. He was a nice return for Freddy Bynum no matter what.

Despite the Cubs moving Jose Ascanio into the rotation in Iowa, I think that if he has a major league future, it's as a middle reliever. He's had control problems in the majors, as most of you know, although his walk rates haven't been bad in the minors the last couple of seasons. If he can pitch in the majors with the talent he's shown in the minors, he's a decent right-handed middle reliever. There are a lot of those guys out there and since we got a decent left-handed middle-reliever for him, I'm not going to cry over his loss.

The interesting player we gave up was Josh Harrison. Harrison, the nephew of former major leaguer John Shelby, is a guy who doesn't have a lot of raw tools but has done nothing but hit since the Cubs drafted him in the sixth round out of Cincinnati. At 5'8", he's not likely to ever hit for power and despite his stolen base totals, his speed isn't that impressive, as his SB% indicates. Still, he's hit over .300 in both seasons in the Cub system and while batting average is one of my least favorite stats to evaluate minor league hitters, it's hard to ignore the evidence that Harrison appears to be pretty good at putting wood on the ball. Because of my moving I haven't finished my mid-season prospect lists yet, but I was planning on including Harrison somewhere in the high-teens. If this trade comes back to bite us, it's going to be Harrison that is going to do the biting. However, I think the odds are very much against it. He could end up as a poor-man's Howie Kendrick, and we've all seen how many problems the real Kendrick has had in the major leagues.

Now, on to the games. Everyone who played, won.

Iowa Cubs

The Iowa Cubs dethroned the Omaha Royals, 6-1.

J.R. Mathes had a great start tonight, throwing seven innings and allowing only four hits and one unearned run. Hart walked one and struck out four.

B.J. Ryan faced six batters tonight. He retired the first five and then walked the sixth one before exiting the game. He had one strikeout. Ryan did have some problems finding the plate, however, as of the 25 pitches he threw, only 11 were for strikes.

Left fielder J.F. Griffin (it's all-initials day for the I-Cubs) was 3 for 4 with a double. He scored once and had one RBI. Right fielder S.O. Taguchi had a triple in a 2 for 5 game. Taguchi had two RBI and scored once.

Tennessee Smokies

The Smokies beat the Mobile BayBears, 5-2.

Starter Casey Coleman improved his record to 10-5 with six solid innings tonight. Coleman allowed only one run on five hits. He walked two and struck out two.

Brian Schlitter got his 14th save tonight, although he did allow a run on two hits in 1.2 innings.

Third baseman Marquez Smith hit his eighth home run tonight, a two-run homer off top D-Backs prospect Jarrod Parker in the third inning. Smith was 1 for 5. Then first baseman Blake Lalli went deep back-to-back for his fifth home run. Lalli was 2 for 4.

Left fielder Ty Wright was 2 for 3 with a walk. Catcher Welington Castillo scored once in a 2 for 4 effort.

Daytona Cubs

The D-Cubs cracked the Charlotte Stone Crabs, 2-1 in 12 innings.

Starter Jay Jackson picked up where he left off in Daytona, allowing only one unearned run in 5.2 innings tonight. Jackson gave up four hits, walked only one and struck out nine. (Oh, and thanks to the people on the board who announced his demotion. It's been a rough week for me, and it's good to know others can cover for you.)

David Cales tossed three shutout innings of relief. He gave up one hit and walked two. Cales fanned one.

Henry Williamson got the win. He gave up a walk and a single, but no runs. Williamson fanned two.

Right fielder Brandon Guyer was 2 for 6 and drove home the winning run in the bottom of the 12th. Shortstop Starlin Castro went 2 for 5 with a walk. Third baseman Jake Opitz went 2 for 4 with a walk.

Peoria Cubs

They were winning 3-0 when they were rained out in Dayton. The game will not be made up.

Boise Hawks

The Hawks sunk the Vancouver Canadians, 12-9.

Ryan Sontag retired the final four Canadian hitters without incident for his third save. The rest of the Boise pitchers wish to remain anonymous, although one of them did get the win.

Right fielder Jae-Hoon Ha hit his first home run of the year tonight, a three-run home run as part of a seven-run third inning for the Hawks. Ha also doubled and scored twice in a 2 for 5 game.

First baseman Justin Bour went 3 for 4 with a walk. He scored twice and had two RBI. DH Burundi Davis was a home run short of the cycle in a 3 for 4 game. Davis scored once and had two RBI.

Second baseman Logan Watkins went 2 for 4 with a stolen base an RBI and two runs scored.

AZL Cubs

Did not play.

2009 Trade Deadline Preview: Arizona Diamondbacks

Brendan Scolari — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 08:50:50 -0000

More photos » by Jeff Roberson - AP

Browse more photos »

Buyers or sellers?

The Diamondbacks were considered contenders heading into 2009 butt they have fallen far short of expectations. The D-Backs are just 37-55 and are 21 games behind the division leading Dodgers. They are sellers, in fact they have already begun the selling process by trading away reliever Tony Pena and second baseman Felipe Lopez. With nothing to compete for it's very possible that the Diamondbacks trade away other veterans before the trading deadline.

Short-term need

The Diamondbacks biggest problem is their lack of offense. Justin Upton and Mark Reynolds are both very good hitters but there aren't many other threats in the lineup. Stephen Drew has been injured and unproductive for much of the year but he isn't going anywhere. The D-Backs don't have anyone to play second base at a high level now that they've traded Felipe Lopez for two minor leaguers. The first baseman of the future may be Brandon Allen, a 23 year-old slugging first baseman who was acquired for Tony Pena.

The outfield is also weak. Obviously Upton is going to be a fixture for awhile but Chris Young, Eric Byrnes, and Gerardo Parra haven't produced. The Diamondbacks have a lot of faith in their young players so they will probably rely on Young and Parra for 2010 as well.

The pitching has been pretty good even with Brandon Webb missing essentially the whole season. The bullpen could use some more depth especaiily after trading Pena, but young arms like Clay Zavada and Daniel Schlereth should help fill the void.

Long-term need

The pitching staff should remain strong for the long term but there are a few questions to be answered. Both Doug Davis and Jon Garland are pending free agents who may be traded before the deadline to try to bring the D-Backs some more young talent. If they stay the organization has to decide whether to bring them back for next year. Brandon Webb is also a huge question mark, his option for 2010 was once a lock to be exercised but it's possible the D-Backs will decline it and save the extra money. Even if he is brought back no one knows if he'll be able to re-gain his Cy Young caliber form.

The offense is stll riddled with holes and until the outfield gets more production outside of Upton it will be hard to score runs. Some better luck for the infielders would help as well, Stephen Drew, Conor Jackson, and Chad Tracy have all fallen way short of preseason expectations. Tracy will likely not return but Drew and Jackson will play key roles for the near future at least.

Big leaguers on the market?

Even though Pena and Lopez have already been traded, there should still be more trades for the Diamondbacks before the deadline. While Doug Davis would attract interest on the trade market, it has been suggested that the D-Backs would rather hang onto him. Jon Garland would be tougher to trade but he might be able to get the D-Backs a decent prospect to go along with salary relief. The team would like to unload Eric Byrnes' contract but that may only be possible if they take another bad contract in return, possibly the recently DFA'd Julio Lugo. Chad Qualls is the team's best reliever and could be dealt but the D-Backs would need to be bowled over because he is under contract for 2010 as well.

Minor league strength

The pitching depth supports a minor league system that is no longer what it used to be. Jarrod Parker could be an impact player as a starting pitcher and Daniel Schlereth could do the same out of the bullpen. Beyond that though there are a lot of low-upside pitchers who can reach the big leagues but are not expected to make a huge difference. With the talent already one the pitching staff, that won't be a problem for now.

The real problem is once again the hitting, where Arizona lacks any real impact prospects. The club tried to address this issue in the recent draft by using the first four selections on hitters. If those guys can develop then the D-Backs will finally have the bats to go along with their plethora of pitching.

Take on short-term money to win?

At this point the Diamondbacks are trying to get rid of expensive veterans, not add more of them.

For more coverage of the Diamondbacks, check out AZ Snakepit.

2009 MLB Futures PITCHf/x

Harry Pavlidis — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 01:00:12 -0000

The kids were out to play Sunday night in St. Louis. Some live arms and hard to classify breaking stuff a'plenty (slider? curveball?).

Pitch types and some stats after the jump...click the headers to sort,

pitcher	cfx	#	vs LHH	vs RHH	MPH	PFX_X	PFX_Z	DEG	RPM
Brad Lincoln	Curveball	2	1	1	82.3	5.5	-9.8	29.5	2,053.2
Brad Lincoln	Fastball	12	8	4	94.7	-5.4	7.0	217.9	1,881.2
Brian Matusz	Change	5	0	5	84.0	4.8	6.1	141.7	1,466.6
Brian Matusz	Sinker	4	0	4	93.3	5.9	7.7	142.4	2,029.2
Brian Matusz	Fastball	4	1	3	94.4	2.9	9.5	163.5	2,072.5
Casey Kelly	Curveball	2	2	0	82.9	4.9	-5.8	40.6	1,413.5
Casey Kelly	Sinker	1	1	0	93.4	-8.7	3.3	249.4	1,931.1
Casey Kelly	Fastball	6	5	1	94.1	-6.5	7.5	221.0	2,087.7
Chia-Jen Lo	Curveball	4	0	4	74.7	5.5	-10.0	29.2	1,877.0
Chia-Jen Lo	Fastball	16	5	11	94.0	-4.6	7.9	209.9	1,915.9
Chris Tillman	Change	3	1	2	82.2	-7.7	7.2	226.8	1,937.8
Chris Tillman	Curveball	4	0	4	80.1	1.2	-10.1	6.8	1,805.4
Chris Tillman	Fastball	18	1	17	94.7	-5.6	8.2	214.0	2,092.8
Danny Duffy	Change	1	1	0	84.1	9.4	4.9	117.5	1,986.5
Danny Duffy	Curveball	2	1	1	74.2	-6.6	-8.6	322.5	1,772.7
Danny Duffy	Fastball	6	3	3	93.3	2.3	9.7	166.6	2,081.5
Francisco Samuel	Fastball	9	6	3	97.0	-8.5	5.8	235.1	2,247.5
Francisco Samuel	Slider	5	0	5	89.4	0.1	1.6	156.3	483.8
Jarrod Parker	Curveball	1	0	1	83.2	1.7	-2.8	31.0	598.1
Jarrod Parker	Fastball	3	0	3	96.4	-7.4	7.2	226.1	2,210.2
Jhoulys Chacin	Change	4	3	1	85.9	-5.4	3.0	242.3	1,191.8
Jhoulys Chacin	Curveball	4	3	1	81.7	6.1	-3.6	60.7	1,329.9
Jhoulys Chacin	Sinker	4	3	1	91.6	-7.6	0.1	270.0	1,585.5
Jhoulys Chacin	Fastball	4	4	0	94.0	-3.7	5.4	213.9	1,367.2
Juan Carlos Sulbaran	Change	5	3	2	82.9	-11.3	5.7	243.2	2,314.8
Juan Carlos Sulbaran	Sinker	12	11	1	91.0	-8.4	5.8	235.1	2,078.6
Juan Carlos Sulbaran	Fastball	2	0	2	92.2	-3.2	8.7	199.5	1,926.1
Kyle Drabek	Change	1	1	0	84.5	-6.5	0.5	265.5	1,221.2
Kyle Drabek	Curveball	2	1	1	82.7	-0.7	-5.5	349.4	1,024.5
Kyle Drabek	Fastball	6	2	4	95.9	-6.3	7.5	220.1	2,079.9
Leyson Septimo	Change	3	0	3	86.7	8.8	1.9	102.4	1,727.9
Leyson Septimo	Sinker	1	0	1	95.6	7.1	3.1	113.3	1,655.0
Leyson Septimo	Fastball	6	1	5	95.9	6.4	6.5	135.4	1,948.5
Leyson Septimo	Slider	5	3	2	84.0	-2.5	0.3	258.1	512.5
Luis Perez	Change	2	0	2	83.1	7.3	1.0	98.5	1,363.5
Luis Perez	Curveball	4	2	2	81.0	-4.3	-3.1	309.2	1,019.8
Luis Perez	Sinker	6	4	2	91.9	9.6	1.5	99.3	1,979.0
Luis Perez	Fastball	5	1	4	92.2	8.0	4.6	120.0	1,894.6
Mat Latos	Curveball	1	0	1	83.4	0.7	-3.8	10.0	708.1
Mat Latos	Fastball	7	2	5	96.4	-4.8	9.2	207.6	2,226.8
Neftali Feliz	Change	3	3	0	89.7	-10.5	2.7	255.1	2,167.5
Neftali Feliz	Curveball	2	0	2	80.6	3.0	-2.9	45.9	749.2
Neftali Feliz	Fastball	17	12	5	99.4	-9.0	7.2	230.9	2,544.1
Trevor Reckling	Change	3	0	3	82.5	7.0	4.4	122.1	1,526.6
Trevor Reckling	Fastball	9	2	7	91.4	6.5	7.2	137.7	1,962.5
Trevor Reckling	Cutter	1	0	1	90.2	2.0	7.5	165.3	1,550.0
Trevor Reckling	Slider	5	2	3	82.2	-3.3	-2.9	308.0	833.1
Yohan Flande	Change	1	0	1	85.8	2.5	8.5	163.9	1,673.6
Yohan Flande	Fastball	6	2	4	91.4	1.3	6.3	168.7	1,332.0
Yohan Flande	Slider	5	0	5	84.1	-1.5	1.3	225.3	493.2

Here are the 14 fastest pitches from the Futures Game, all courtesy of Neftali Feliz.

Yikes. And his change-up is about 90 mph.

I'll leave you with some stats.

pitcher	#	Swing	Whiff	B:CS	In Wide Zone	Chase	Watch	SLGCON	GB
Brad Lincoln	14	0.5000	0.1429	2.5000	0.7857	0.0000	0.3636	1.3333	0.3333
Brian Matusz	13	0.5385	0.2857		0.3846	0.2500	0.0000	0.0000	1.0000
Casey Kelly	9	0.4444	0.0000	1.5000	0.6667	0.0000	0.3333	0.0000	0.3333
Chia-Jen Lo	20	0.2000	0.2500	14.0000	0.4500	0.0000	0.4444	0.0000	0.5000
Chris Tillman	25	0.4400	0.0909	5.5000	0.4800	0.2308	0.3333	0.5000	1.0000
Danny Duffy	9	0.3333	0.3333	4.0000	0.5556	0.0000	0.2000	0.0000	1.0000
Francisco Samuel	14	0.3571	0.4000		0.3571	0.2222	0.4000	2.0000	0.0000
Jarrod Parker	4	0.2500	0.0000	2.0000	0.7500	0.0000	0.6667	0.0000	0.0000
Jhoulys Chacin	16	0.5000	0.7500	7.0000	0.3750	0.3000	0.1667	0.0000	1.0000
Juan Carlos Sulbaran	19	0.3684	0.2857	11.0000	0.3158	0.2308	0.3333	0.0000	0.0000
Kyle Drabek	9	0.4444	0.2500	1.5000	0.5556	0.5000	0.6000	0.0000	0.5000
Leyson Septimo	15	0.4667	0.7143	1.6667	0.4000	0.3333	0.3333	1.0000	1.0000
Luis Perez	17	0.4706	0.3750	1.2500	0.7059	0.4000	0.5000	1.2000	0.2000
Mat Latos	8	0.5000	0.2500	1.0000	0.6250	0.3333	0.4000	0.0000	0.6667
Neftali Feliz	22	0.5000	0.3636	2.6667	0.5000	0.4545	0.4545	0.0000	0.0000
Trevor Reckling	18	0.5000	0.1111	2.0000	0.4444	0.4000	0.3750	1.0000	0.7500
Yohan Flande	12	0.6667	0.2500	3.0000	0.6667	0.2500	0.1250	0.5000	0.5000

Up next, New Arms of the Week, big league style.

1.	Dee Gordon, ss
2.	Chris Withrow, rhp
3.	Aaron Miller, lhp
4.	Ethan Martin, rhp
5.	Josh Lindblom, rhp
6.	Scott Elbert, lhp
7.	Andrew Lambo, of
8.	Ivan DeJesus Jr., ss
9.	Trayvon Robinson, of
10.	Allen Webster, rhp