SB Nation - Cole Gillespie

2009 Draftee Report Card, Part Three: Outfielders and Catchers

Zephon — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 18:00:07 -0000

The Diamondbacks entered the 2009 draft with 4 extra draft picks in the first round and the 1/2 sandwich round, and came out of the draft with 37 out of 55 picks signed. Kieth Law ranked the D-backs as having the best draft in 2009, and other reviews of the Diamondbacks' draft have been positive as well. With so many quality players signed, this draft certainly has the potential to be best draft the Diamondbacks have had in their short history, and the team had a nice balance of high-upside high school talent and safer college picks at each stage of the draft. In this series of articles, we're going to take a look at each signed draftee's debut season, and see how they performed. If a scouting report on a player is available, we'll also take a look at that.

For week three of our 5 part prospect extravaganza we're looking at outfielders and catchers. I know someone is going to ask why we chose to stick the outfielders with the catchers, so I guess i should explain. The Dbacks just didn't draft all that many outfielders or catchers, so we chose to put them together to make the articles even in size. Next week we're looking at the first half of the whopping 19 pitchers the organization selected and subsequently signed. Then, when we're all done with the five weeks of '09 additions, both of us will offer our respective 2010 Amateur-opinion Diamondbacks top prospect lists.

The grades we used in this article are relative to the league average statistics and the average age of the players in the league that the player was in. In addition, each player's draft position and personal strengths and weaknesses are taken into account (i.e. how they were supposed to do). It's best to remember that the draft is generally a crap-shoot - you can never know which guys will make it and which won't. Some players' careers may be lost to injuries, others just may never be able to make the adjustments to the more advanced levels of hitting or pitching. If two or three players out of a draft become solid major leaguers, the draft is generally thought a success.

It's not that uncommon for a team to have a draft where none of the players drafted have any significant impact on the major league club (just ask Pittsburgh). It happens. It's why the draft is 50 rounds long and teams have 25 players on their big-league rosters. If one major league player out of this draft became an all-star and a handful of them became regular big-league players, the organization got a good haul. So when you see these grades, imagine that they're in a perfect world, where there's no injuries, and players don't regress. These are absolute best-case scenarios. We can't predict the future.

When you discuss outfielders for the Diamondbacks, the great trio the Snakes trotted out in the 2001 World Series season has to be mentioned immediately - Luis Gonzalez in left, Steve Finley in center, and Reggie Sanders, who we let leave the following offseason, in right. Prior to the arrival of the 2009 Turbo-Charged Justin Upton, these three were arguably (with the debate between Sanders and Danny Bautista being a toss-up) the best players the Diamondbacks had ever had at the three respective positions. Runners-up to the Big Three include Shawn Green, Bautista, Jose Guillen, and Devon White.

Ever heard of Chris Jones, Hensley Meulens, and Matt Mieske? We thought not. Well, they're also just a small sampling of the numerous unheard-of outfielders the D-Backs have trotted out in their short history. And for 2010 we have a promising group of young outfielders, with the likely starters being that aforementioned 22-year-old guy named Upton in right, 26-year-old Chris Young in center, and a platoon of 26-year-old Conor Jackson and 22-year-old Gerardo Parra in left. And there's a healthy competition for the fifth outfield spot quietly stirring between Alex Romero, Cole Gillespie, and the one man almost nobody wants to see remain in a Diamondbacks uniform, Eric Byrnes.

So the major-league outfield appears set for quite a while, and it's a good thing that it is, as there really isn't much talent other than Gillespie in the upper-levels of the minors ready to fill in. AAA, if Gillespie is headed to the major-league roster, will contain no outfielders of note, unless Romero, Cyle Hankerd, and Chris Rahl put a banana in your pants. AA will be where some of the higher-upside guys in the system start next season, most noteably Collin Cowgill and Ollie "Lightning" Linton, of completely different skill sets, but equally potent. Cowgill is a good power hitter despite his 5'9'' frame, and can get on base. Linton has almost no home run power, although he used his ridiculous speed to accumulate 28 doubles and a whopping 10 triples last season, reached base at a .394 mark, and stole 28 bases. Further, Linton's speed makes him a plus defender in center, and he plays with the kind of reckless abandon that fans used to love about Byrnes.

They may ready for the majors just in the nick of time, as Cowgill, a more advanced hitter than Linton, could step in to backup/platoon with Parra when Co-Jack is a free agent in 2012, and Linton could be ready to start when CY is a free agent in 2014 (team has option for 2015 season). But the team clearly didn't want to count on Cowgill has their only plan to replace Jackson, especially given the questions surrounding whether or not Jackson will return to his old levels of production, so it decided to use a few of its earlier picks in the draft on college outfielders with advanced bats and tool sets who could rise quickly and provide insurance for the outfield. Then, to add a high-risk, high-reward outfield prospect to the lower ranks of the system, the team picked tool-shed Keon Broxton after solidifying the quick-rising ranks of the system.

Now, to move on to the catchers. While usually a difficult position to solidify for many years, catcher has been a fairly stable position for the Diamondbacks throughout their history. While we haven't had enough luck to find a Jorge Posada or Joe Mauer with a plus bat for the position for a dozen years, and we played too well last season to bank on Bryce Harper in the 2010 draft, we have been able to get six years (and counting, for now) from Chris Snyder, five years from Damian Miller, four years from Kelly Stinnett (although in two stints with the team, from '98-'00 and '05), and one real stop-gap starter in Johnny Estrada. Further, we've even received some good consistency with backups, from Robby Hammock to Rod Barajas to Chad Moeller. And, even though Snyder's clock in Arizona may be winding down, it appears that we have ourselves set at the position for many years once again with Miguel Montero's breakout season and a good cameo from John Hester, who appears to be a fairly capable backup for years to come.

So, even though the system lacks any real high-upside catchers outside of 20-year-old Rossmel Perez, especially with the lackluster seasons just put in by former Sandwich-round pick Ed Easley and Rule 5 draftee James Skelton, the team didn't need to spend a high pick on a backstop. However, it is important to note that minor-league catchers are very important commodities. It is in the minor leagues that catchers begin to actually call games for pitchers, and the way a catcher handles a top prospect pitcher may have a huge impact on that pitcher's development. Therefore, it is crucial to have a solid group of organizational catchers who can call a good game for your pitchers and utilize each pitcher's strengths. So, while the team had the opportunity to address other organizational needs first, it chose to select Tyson Van Winkle in the tenth round, and signed two catchers taken in the eighteenth and forty-fourth rounds, respectively.

Round 1, Pick 17 - A.J. Pollock

Born: December 5, 1987 in Hebron, Connecticut School: University of Notre Dame Height: 6'1'' Weight: 200LBs Position: Center Field Bats: Right Throws: Right

Mid-A South Bend: ABs: 255 AVG/OBP/SLG: .271/.319/.376 XBH: 12 2Bs/3 3B/3 HRs K:BB: 36:16 ISO: .106 BABIP: .306 SB:CS 10:4 Errors: 1

Zephon: Pollock was one of our "safe" picks at 17 overall, a college bat that's should move quickly through the minors. Pollock is considered one of the better pure college hitters in this draft. He's a gap to gap line drive hitter who won't hit a ton of homers, maybe 10 to 15 at most. However, he does make up for that with his speed on the base paths. As he gets more experience he should become an excellent stolen base threat. Since he's recently converted from shortstop to the outfield, he still has a lot to learn defensively , but he should end up being a plus defender. Pollock got off to a slow start, heated up in July, had a poor August, and then had an excellent September to finish the year. Although his on base percentage isn't all that great, he does have a pretty solid 2:1 strike out to walk ratio. Pollock's slugging percentage was really dragged down by the miserable August. Overall, I think Pollock had a pretty solid debut, and I think it'll be interesting to see how he does next year in (most likely) Visalia. Grade: C+ (Short-term: C, Long-term: B)

IHSB: The way to describe the first pro season for the most oddly named man alive (Allen Lorenz Pollock = A.J. Pollock?) is solid but unspectacular, which is disappointing given that the organization expected him to rip through Mid-A South Bend given that Midwest League Competition wasn't foreign to Pollock, given that Notre Dame plays an exhibition game against the SilverHawks at the beginning of each season. He’ll nevertheless rise to Visalia because the organization wants to push him through quickly after a standout career and Notre Dame, and his age requires this for his top-prospect standing. Still a top-ten guy for the organization with his tools (speed, good contact bat, fielding, decent arm, light power) and occasional encouraging flashes of brilliance, but needs to show more consistency (or maybe some BABIP regression - his number for South Bend was .303, which, given his speed, may be low for Pollock), especially since the California League, which he’ll be entering, is a hitter’s paradise (although not quite to the proportions of the PCL). The acquisition of Tony Abreu likely means that the middle infield of the future is jammed up with Abreu, Taylor Harbin, and Pedro Ciriaco, so the once-possible move to second-base, which, in my unprofessional opinion, would have made Pollock's bat more valuable and saved outfield spots for power hitters, Justin Upton, and Chris Young's contract, now becomes nearly a complete a non-possibility unless the team starts to clear a couple prospects for major-leaguers at next year's or 2011's trade deadline. Good news with the stay in the outfield for Pollock is that his defense there is plus, as can be derived from his tool set. It can be thought of this way: you can get a plus bat with solid defense at second, or a solid bat with plus defense in center field. Grade: C+ (Short-term: C, Long-term: B-)

Round 2, Pick 64 - Marc Krauss

Born: October 5, 1987 in Deshler, Ohio School: Ohio U Height: 6'3'' Weight: 235 Position: Left Field Bats: Left Throws: Right

Mid-A South Bend: ABs: 115 AVG/OBP/SLG: .304/.377/.478 XBH: 12 2Bs/1 3B/2 HRs K:BB: 21:14 ISO: .174 BABIP: .359 Errors: 1

Zephon: With Justin Upton manning right field for as long as we can hopefully hold on to him, and Chris Young signed till 2013, left field is going to have a lot of guys competing for the job the next few years until someone completely locks down the position. Unfortunately for Marc Krauss, there's already Conor Jackson, Gerardo Parra, and A.J. Pollock ahead of him competing for the job. In addition, that doesn't even factor in a guy like Keon Broxton who's less projectionable, or guys like Borchering who may end up getting moved to the outfield. Getting past that, Marc Krauss put up a very nice season in South Bend, with an above average batting, on base, slugging, and isolated slugging percentages. I'd like to see a few more homers out of him next season honestly, all though I don't mind a high BA doubles hitter (see Conor Jackson). He's got a very solid almost 3:2 K:BB ratio, not too many strikeouts. For the season, Krauss was 21, a touch younger than league average. Hopefully he'll be able to move through the system quickly. Grade B+ (Short term: B Long Term: B+)

IHSB: There were two big concerns about Marc Krauss going into his first professional season. First was how he would handle the transition from aluminum bats and crappy, in-conference pitching to wood bats and good, professional-level pitching. Welp (misspelling intended for dramaticish effect), so much for that little dilemma. Second was where, and how well, could he play defense. Sadly, that one still hasn't been quite figured out. Nonetheless, he raked in his time in Mid-A fresh out of college, so it wouldn't be at all far-fetched if he ends up mashing the hitter-friendly California League and ends up in Mobile by the end of next season. Still, it's in cases like this where being an American League team would be really helpful. Especially since the position it appears he is most likely going to end up playing, left field (since right field is currently and hopefully forever-ly manned by a man named Upton), is home to Conor Jackson and Gerardo Parra (who is only going to be 23 next season to Krauss' 22) in the majors and guys like Cole Gillespie, Collin Cowgill, and South Bend teammate A.J. Pollock in the minors. Could definitely see this being a high-quality bat used as a trade chip in a year or two. Grade: B- (Short-term B, Long-term: C+)

Round 3, Pick 95 - Keon Broxton

Born: May 07, 1990 in Lakeland, Florida School: Santa Fe (Fla.) CC Height: 6'3'' Weight: 187 Position: Center Field Bats: Rights Throws: Right

Rookie-level Missoula: 272abs AVG/OBP/SLG: .246/.302/.474 XBH: 11 2B/9 3B/11 HRs K:BB: 93:19 ISO: .228 BABIP: .333 SB:CS: 6:1 Errors: 4

Zephon: First, I must note that Keon Broxton is NOT related to the Dodgers reliever. Keon Broxton is a player I'm probably a little too high on. I seem to always end up loving players that share my birthday(See Conor Jackson). Broxton is a multi-tooled outfielder who was raw but fast-improving during his junior college season. Physical comparisons have ranged from Rondell White to Matt Kemp. His strike zone judgement is sketchy, but it's obvious from his numbers that he not only has some serious power, but some serious wheels as well. I think this guy is definitely a diamond in the rough. As IHSB notes, he's basically Chris Young. If this guy figures out the strike zone, he could be something special. Take a look at his XBH numbers, especially the ridiculous 9 triples. Then look at his excellent .228 ISO. This is a guy I think you should be keeping an eye on over the next couple years. Grade: B (Short Term: B Long term: B+)

IHSB: Although it's worth noting that Zephon has a moderately unwarranted solid man-crush on Keon Broxton, it's not like Keon Broxton is bad. Quite the contrary - he plays a solid center field, has wheels, hits for power, and strikes out a ton. That's right, ladies and gentlemen, we've found Chris Young again. He's just 19 years old, just finished slugging all over the Pioneer League, and will definitely be in line for a slow path through Yakima next season to work on those on-base skills. It'll take a lot of work, but if this guy figures out that his bat doesn't need to go below his knees or above the letters, he'll do some special things. Grade: B+ (Short-term: B, Long-Term: B+)

Round 10, pick 306 - Tyson Van Winkle

Born: February 2, 1988 In Vancouver, Washington School: Gonzaga Height: 6'1'' Weight: 190 Position: Catcher Bats: Right Throws: Right

Low-A Yakima: ABs: 156 AVG/OBP/SLG: .244/.367/.308 XBH: 10 2B K:BB: 35:25 ISO: .064 BABIP: .314 SB:CS 4:2

Mid-A South Bend: ABs: 17 AVG/OBP/SLG: .059/.111/.059 XBH: None K:BB: 2:1 ISO: .000 BABIP: .067

Zephon: First I have to say it: Tyson Van Winkle is a funny name. Now to the analysis. At first glance, Tyson had a relatively mediocre season, but he did have two bright spots: His on base percentage in Yakima was 123 points higher than his batting average, and his strike out to walk ratio is a pretty decent 7:5 ratio. I'm not even going to bothering discussing his time in South Bend, other than the fact that it appears he was the victim of extremely bad luck, sporting a BABIP of .067. Winkle is the highest drafted catcher in the Dbacks' 09 draft. With the offensive skillset he's shown, i would think he'd best succeed as a defense first catcher in the mold of Chris Snyder, a guy who can draw walks and maybe hit for a little pop, although the latter he has yet to show. Grade: C (Short term: C- Long term C)

IHSB: 17 at-bats is too few to make any judgment on, so people should only bother to look at the Yakima numbers. From those numbers, we find one thing that Van Winkle needs to really improve upon in order to make himself a solid catching prospect. He needs to find some sort of power that can make him into an OPS "Moneyball" guy (hearkening to Oakland GM Billy Beane's book about deeper statistical analysis of baseball players, although the original definition of a "Moneyball" guy has been stretched to be anybody with a high OPS and low BA), the type of player that casual fans will hate because he'll have low batting averages, but the type of guy that the stat nerds (like me) will like because he gets the job done without making a whole lot of contact. And, of course, he needs to know how to handle a pitching staff. However, the Diamondbacks have historically been good at developing good defensive/game-managing catchers (see Chris Snyder, Rod Barajas). This makes the biggest question the Van Winkle's power, which is crucial to his development. Without power, Van Winkle flops, no questions asked. Grade: C- (Short-term C-, Long-term: C-)

Round 18, Pick 546 - Roidany Aguila

Born:10/22/1990 in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico School: Colegio Nuestra Senora de la Providencia HS Height: 5'10'' Weight: 175 Position: Catcher Bats: Right Throws: Right

Rookie-level Missoula: 13 ABS AVG/OBP/SLG: .000/.000/000 XBH: 0 ISO: BABIP: .000 K:BB 6:0

Low-A Yakima: 42 ABs AVG/OBP/SLG: .119/.156/.143 XBH: 1 double ISO: .034 BABIP .172 K:BB 13:1

Zephon: I won't bother with a grade for this one. Roidany Aguila did absolutely nothing in his 57 ABS. Even if he raked in those at bats, it wouldn't mean much, since it's such a small sample size. It does he appear that he was a victim of bad luck with a BABIP of 000 in Missoula, and BABIP of .172 in Yakima. The big positive for Aguila his age. He was 18 during the whole season, and only turned 19 after the season ended. Latin American prospects tend to be quite raw, and seem to take a while to develop, but Aquila does have youth on his side. Grade: Incomplete

IHSB: Nothing else to say here that Zephon didn't already. 57 ABs is too few, but the kid has time. Young catching prospects are always intruiging, but, especially coming from Latin America and having a position that requires a good relationship with the pitching staff, lots of development is a must. Grade: Incomplete

Round 26, Pick 786 - Daniel Kaczrowski

Born: 06/17/1987 in St. Anthony, MN School: Hamline U Height: 5'9'' Weight: 170 Position: Left Field Bats: Right Throws: Right

Low-A Yakima: 274ABS AVG/OBP/SLG: .266/.345/.343 XBH: 16 doubles, 1 triple, 1 homerun ISO: .077 K:BB 42:28 BABIP: .312 SB:CS 12:3

Zephon: Another one of the 'owskis selected by the Dbacks this year, and another one I'm rooting for purely based on his last name. In college Kaczrowski was a shortstop, but after signing with the Dbacks, Kaczrowski was moved to the outfield. I'm not sure if the move was permanent, or just to get him playing time, but it does reduce the value of his offense. Looking at his offensive statistics, there really isn't that much to say. The batting average isn't bad, but it's not that good. His on base percentage is pretty decent considering the low batting average, and his strike out to walk ratio is a respectable 4:3. In addition, all though his power numbers aren't that great, Kazcrowski makes up for it a bit with his excellent 80 percent success rate on the base paths. If Kaczrowski doesn't develop more power, he's going to have to succceed at the major league level by basically being the good version of Juan Pierre: a guy who hits for contact, draws a lot of walks, and swipe lots of bags. If he could get moved back to the infield, he'd be worth a lot more, but who know if that's even an option. Grade: C (Short term: C Long term: C-)

IHSB: Doesn't have the bat to make in the outfield, so even though it's where he played this year, he'll likely be found in the middle infielders section when it comes time to check back in on these guys. I can only speculate that the 5'9'' Kaczrowski was put in the outfield because, of the plethora of middle infielders that the Osprey had available to it, Kaczrowski was the one that the team has the least invested in, as he's a 26th round pick. However, given

his draft spot, putting up an OPS just shy of .700 while probably uncomfortable playing out of position is pretty solid. Another guy whose career goal is to be Augie Ojeda, the fact that the team is juggling him around the diamond already is absolutely detrimental to the part of his game he needs to focus on the most, his defense. It's a bit of shame when a team's handling of a player has a negative impact on the player's development, but in this case, given the sheer quantity of middle infielders covered last week, it's understandable that Kaczrowski was juggled. Grade: B- (Short-term: B, Long-term: C)

Round 44, Pick 1326 - Zach Varnell

Born: 06/25/1986 Pine Bluff, AR School:: U Arkansas Pine Bluff Height: 6'1'' Weight: 200 Position: Catcher Bats: Right Throws: Right

Low-A Yakima: 37abs AVG/OBP/SLG: .108/.267/.135 XBH: 1 double K:BB: 20:8

Zephon: The very last pick to sign with the Diamondbacks was Zach Varnell, a catcher out of Arkansas. There's really not all that much to say about the guy, as he had a pretty poor debut season. I think the only thing worth mentioning is the fact that his on base percentage is 159 points higher than his batting average, and he does have a pretty decent 2 to 1 strike out to walk ratio. Other than that, there's not a whole lot of a positives for this guy. He'll more than likely end up being minor league organizational filler, all though then again, there's been some other catchers that teams have signed in the last round that have turned out pretty well... Grade: Incomplete. And Pointless.

IHSB: There's a reason that Varnell was picked later than any other kid we signed - he's an organizational guy. Catchers are always valuable commodities, as mentioned in the introduction, and that's what Varnell is here for. The bat is pretty much irrelevant, as we can't have any real expectations of him ever reaching the major leagues. All we can honestly hope for is for Varnell to handle the pitching staff of Yakima, South Bend, or wherever the heck the team decides to put him (it really doesn't matter) well. And since I have no information on how Varnell handles a pitching staff, there is no grade that I feel I can assign here. Grade: Incomplete (and Irrelevant)

The Diamondbacks seem to be pretty set in the outfield with Justin Upton, Chris Young, Conor Jackson, Gerardo Parra, and Cole Gillespie. However, there's still some concern about Chris Young's offense, and Conor Jackson will be a free agent in 2012. Although the outfield is not the most pressing of needs for the Diamondbacks at the major league level, in the minors there's a lack of impact talent, so they took two promising (and hopefully fast moving) college bats in A.J. Pollock and Marc Krauss. In addition they added a high ceiling, toolsy and young raw prospect in Keon Broxton. Daniel Kaczrowski was drafted as a shortstop and will most likely end up being moved back to the middle infield next year.

Moving onto the catching position, the Diamondbacks seem to be pretty set with Miguel Montero, Chris Snyder (who will most likely be moved during this offseason), and John Hester at the major league level. While the team had the opportunity to address other organizational needs first, it chose to select Tyson Van Winkle in the tenth round, and signed two catchers taken in the eighteenth and forty-fourth rounds, respectively. Tyson Van Winkle has a chance to be a high OPS catcher in the vein of Chris Snyder; 18th rounder Roidany Aguila is a young Latin American talent that is a total wild card, and Zach Varnell fills the need for an organizational catcher.

Next week we'll begin looking at the whopping 19 pitchers taken in the draft, starting with pitchers A through Hale. Before we close, I, Zephon, would just like to once again make note of the resources we used to create this series of articles: Milb.com, Fangraphs.com, and Baseball-Reference.com; plus a special thanks to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic and emilylovesthedbacks for doing the final edits to the article. I'd also like to thank IHateSouthBend for collaborating with me on these articles. With out him, this series of articles wouldn't be possible, and wouldn't be nearly as good... So thanks dude. And to the everyone else on Snakepit, I'd just like to thank you all for the positive feedback you've given us so far. Thanks for reading, and stay tuned next week for part three!

Weekend Mug (of tea)

morineko — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 05:19:24 -0000

You may want to put down your owls before reading this post....

As you've probably figured out, I'm the third and final weekend editor to make a debut post here on BCB. You may know me from my many comments and parenthetical remarks. My weekend mugs are tea, preferably lychee-flavored, to keep me awake while I finish this post full o' links.

The Arizona Fall League season is over and the Peoria Javelinas are its champion. They defeated the Phoenix Dirt Dogs 5-4 on Saturday. Jonathan Lucroy went 1 for 4 with a single and run scored and Zach Braddock struck out 3 in one inning of work. Mark Rogers, who did not appear in the game, is satisfied with his AFL experiences.

Extra Bases offered its readers a challenge: create your own team of free agents. Their contest is over, but it's still a good puzzle. Better yet, try to pick what sort of team Doug Melvin would create out of the pool of free agents.

Roy Halladay doesn't want to sign with Toronto. He probably doesn't want to sign with the Brewers, either. It looks like another year of largely irrelevant Halladay madness in the media.

This weekend's (sort of) notable transactional excitement:

Diamondbacks: Add Cole Gillespie (and others) to the 40-man roster.
Pirates: Claim pitcher Chris Jakubauskas on waivers, designate Jeff Karstens for assignment. No word if Dave Kerwin is behind the move.
Reds: Laynce Nix has elected free agency.
Royals: Pitchers Doug Waechter and Devon Lowery have refused assignment and become free agents.
The non-notable 40-man additions before the deadline are over at Baseball America's Prospect Blog.

It's been a slow weekend for Brewers news. If you're not inclined towards football, you can go read a book. My baseball reading for this week was Minnesotans in Baseball, a published version of the Minnesota SABR chapter's work on the Biography Project. There's a fairly large section in there about Paul Molitor. At least in nonfiction one doesn't need to worry about characters named for airplane parts.

This Week in AZ Baseball

Jim McLennan — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 20:15:09 -0000

The hot-stove season is now officially under way, with the free-agent market opening on Friday morning, with 171 players putting themselves on the auction block. Relief pitcher John Grabow was the first to go, getting a $7.5m, two-year deal from the Cubs. He has been pretty good over the past couple of seasons, but this seems like the Northsiders doing what they do best, overpaying for mediocre talent, since Grabow's career ERA+ is 107. Anyway, after the break, we'll discuss more free agents (both major- and minor-league), the end of professional baseball for the year in the US, how our winter guys are doing, and whatever else comes to mind.

As noted already, the Diamondbacks have got their winter underway already, with a trade bringing reliever Aaron Heilman to the team, in exchange for a couple of prospects. Fan opinion has been a bit mixed: some see Heilman as a mediocre arm, not worth pursuing, while others welcome the depth Heilman's addition provides, at the cost of two low-ceiling minor-league players. There was some discussion of him possibly trying out for the rotation, but all the public comments from the team have him as a set-up man for Qualls. Said Josh Byrnes, "He's pitched in pressurized situations before in terms of his role and the markets he's pitched in."

Our Double-A affiliate in Mobile have got themselves a new logo (above). It's not bad, I reckon - if you think it looks a bit retro, that's exactly the look they were going for. Said team president Bill Shanahan, "We're going back in time and honoring the old Bears uniforms of the 1940s. Our new cream-colored home uniform is a classic look. The bear is out of hibernation, hungry and ready to go. With our old logo, the bear was a nice, fun, happy bear. But we're going for a more aggressive look now. We're hungry for more championships and eager to expand." Hungry? Why do I sense a certain Rockies fan-eating bear picture might be cropping up in the comments?

Speaking of our farm system, courtesy of Baseball America, here's the list of Diamondbacks' minor-league free agents:

RHP: Scott Dohmann (AAA), Seth Etherton (AAA), Bobby Korecky (AAA), Ramon Sanchez (Hi A)
LHP: Jonathon Coutlangus (AAA)
C: Orlando Mercado (AA), Matt Tupman (AA)
2B: Guillermo Reyes (AA)
3B: Ruben Gotay (AAA), Agustin Murillo (AAA)
SS: Abraham Nunez (AAA), Ed Rogers (AAA)
OF: Trent Oeltjen (AAA), Chris Roberson (AAA), Brandon Watson (AAA)

A couple here I'd like to see us try to re-sign, most obviously Jon Coutlangus. Not, admittedly, for much more reason than I like saying "Coutlangus"... And I have to support the retention of Trent Oeltjen, simply to prevent the marching of a mob of angry Laideez on Das SnakePitBunker. But otherwise... If you've spent six years in the minor-leagues and are still down at Double-A, with your thirtieth birthday coming up on Tuesday, one wonders if considering an alternative career might be for the best.

Today is the last day of the Arizona Fall League, with the championship game going on over at Scottsdale Stadium between the Peoria Javelinas and the Phoenix Desert Dogs - the latter are after their sixth straight AFL title, which is quite a feat, given how there's little carry forward of roster members from one year to another. The game is being shown live on the MLB Network and also streaming for free at mlb.com, with the game underway at the time of writing. However, it will take place without #1 draft pick Stephen Strasburg, who twisted his knee and been scratched from the Peoria line-up as a precaution. The hearts of Nationals fans skip a beat.

Arizona's boys on the Scottsdale Scorpions finished with a 15-16 record, 3.5 games back of Phoenix in the standings. Despite a decent performance in front of the assembled 'Pitters on Wednesday, Brandon Allen finished the year hitting a disappointing .177 in the AFL, though did lead the league with 22 walks. It has been a very long season for Allen: he has played in five different leagues (Southern, International, Pacific Coast, MLB and AFL), accumulating over 750 plate-appearances (502 in the minors, 116 in the majors and about 135 in the AFL). Take the rest of the year off, Brandon - you deserve it.

If any one of our hitters looked good in the AFL this year, it was new 40-man roster addition Cole Gillespie. While not showing much power (one home-run in 72 at-bats), he hit .333 with a phenomenal K:BB ratio of 6:17. Yep, that's not a misprint: he walked almost three times for every strikeout. Given the league average was almost 2:1 the other way, it's especially impressive. On the pitching front, Bryan Augenstein recovered well after a poor first outing, to end up with the lowest ERA among the Arizona prospects at 4.15. Over his final five outings, he allowed four earned runs over 15.2 innings, with three walks and 14 strikeouts.

Conor Jackson returned from the Dominican Republic on Monday - to the disappointment of his team there, who wanted him to extend his stay. You can't blame Leones del Escogido for wanting to hang on to CoJack. At the time of his departure, he was leading, not just his team but the entire league in the Sabermetric Triple Crown categories: OBP (.561), SLG (.589), and OPS (1.150) as well as those old-school favorites, BA (.425) and - are you ready for this? - stolen bases, with Conor having nine, without being caught once. It's perhaps that which is perhaps the most convincing proof that he has fully recovered from the energy-sapping effects of Valley Fever.

Jordan Norberto also continues to perform well, pitching in the DWL. With a 2.70 ERA, he has yet to walk a batter in ten innings of work, and has fanned thirteen. However, Norberto has hit three batters and thrown four wild pitches, so control does still seem to be something of an issue. In Venezuela, Alex Romero is hitting .372, though has yet to hit a home-run after 86 at-bats. Not too much of a surprise there. Tony Abreu is also homerless in the Dominican, after 79 at-bats, and has only two walks in that time, leading in part to a lackluster .659 OPS thus far. Bit of a theme for most of the Diamondbacks in winter ball: combined, those listed have only four HR in over five hundred at-bats.

Seems to be a bit of a spat going on over the sale of the franchise previously known as the Tucson Sidewinders. An investor says former owner Jay Zucker refused to honor a contract giving him the right to buy 10% of the team. David Smallhouse of Primo Ventures says he invested $1 million in the franchise in 2004 with an option to buy another 10 percent of the company. During the 2007 sale of the franchise, Smallhouse tried to exercise the option, but Zucker refused. Smallhouse now wants a Pima County Court judge to compel Zucker to go to arbitration regarding the matter.

And a random note to finish. NL Rookie of the Year, Chris Coghlan could have been a Diamondback. We actually picked him first, in the 18th round of the 2004 draft, but he didn't sign and re-entered the draft in 2006, when the Marlins picked him in the 1st round - guess it proved a profitable decision for him. The rest, as they say, is history...

Friday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:25:35 -0000

by Jim Prisching - AP

The Braves would love to unload Derek Lowe's contract, but don't sound all that interested in taking on Corey Hart in exchange.

View full size photo »

Some things to read while moving Christmas dinner.

When something shows up in two separate sections of the site, it's usually best to assume it's true, so the fact that there are posts about it in Rumorville and the FanShots must mean there's some truth to the rumor that the Brewers and Braves have discussed a trade that would send Corey Hart to the Braves for Derek Lowe. However, Mark Bowman of MLB.com says the Braves aren't interested in Hart, which makes two of us. Meanwhile, Jorge Says No! reiterated a trade idea they mentioned a while back: Hart for Kenshin Kawakami.

As of 12:01 this morning, the market is officially open for free agents to negotiate with other teams. Tom H. has an overview of the market, with the Brewers tied to the usual names: John Lackey, Doug Davis, Jarrod Washburn. Randy Wolf's name was also mentioned.

The Pinstriper has predictions for all of this offseason's Type A and B free agents, and thinks the Brewers will sign Doug Davis and re-sign Jason Kendall. Meanwhile, they have Mike Cameron, Braden Looper, Felipe Lopez and David Weathers signing with the Padres, Astros, Dodgers and Pirates, respectively.

While the BBWAA has left the Brewers out in their voting for most of their major awards, one pitcher still collected an award from another source: Manny Parra won Joe Posnanski's NL Les Sweetland Award for being the NL's worst pitcher in 2009, while Jason Kendall narrowly missed winning the NL LVP.

At least in this scenario, Kendall wouldn't be back: Wisconsin Sports Tap thinks the Brewers should step into the future and give Jonathan Lucroy the catching job in 2010. I've covered why I think it's a bad idea.

Two Brewer staffers, manager in the Brewers' media relations department John Steinmiller and manager of marketing promotions Caitlin Moyer have started a blog to keep fans updated on what's going on at Miller Park during the offseason, and they have a post on some planned renovations in and around the park, as well as the renaming of some parking lots (h/t Adam McCalvy). Miller Park Drunk took a look at the new parking lot map and wonders how Paul Molitor ended up getting the faraway lot.

As noted in today's Fall/Winter League Update, Alcides Escobar had a pretty good night in Venezuela last night, going 4-for-4 with a solo home run. If you're looking for more about it and happen to speak Spanish, here's a game story from ElImpulso.com.

For many Brewer fans, it's been a long few decades of waiting for the Crew to put a winning team back on the field, but we've held strong. A Girl's View of the Brewers tells the story of her Brewer fanhood.

Around the league:

Cubs: Re-signed John Grabow to a one year deal worth $3.75 million.
D-Backs: Acquired Aaron Heilman from the Cubs for a pair of minor leaguers.
Royals: Signed pitcher Brad Thompson to a minor league deal.

I know I mentioned it earlier this week, but I'm going to mention Lookout Landing's Faces series again because today's installment features former Brewer first round pick Dave Krynzel.

The deadline has passed for players to be added to 40-man rosters to protect them from the Rule 5 Draft, so we can start looking at players who might be available. One such player is former Brewer farmhand Cole Gillespie, left unprotected by the D-Backs. Gillespie hit very well in AAA for the D-Backs after being acquired as part of the Felipe Lopez deal, and will probably get a shot to make a team as a fourth outfielder next spring.

We spend a lot of time discussing minutiae during the offseason and most of it doesn't amount to much in the end, but this is why we do it: Jonathan Mayo of MiLB.com has a look at players who have gone from minor league free agent to big league contributor. It doesn't happen often, but it is possible to strike gold.

Miller Park Drunk is starting a season-by-season review of the decade that was for the Brewers, but you're forgiven if you're not too excited about reliving the 2000 season. It's about as exciting as Ryan Braun modeling more Remetee stuff.

Does a change up lose its effectiveness when a batter sees it multiple times? That's the question Max Marchi of The Hardball Times is taking on, by looking at batters who see multiple change ups, both in the same AB and over multiple ABs, and the pitchers who throw them.

On this day in 1969, the Seattle Pilots fired Joe Schultz, the first manager in franchise history, after just one season. Dave Bristol took over and managed the club for their first three seasons in Milwaukee.

Also, on this day in 1989, Robin Yount won his second American League MVP Award, this one as a center fielder. Yount received just eight of the 27 available first place votes but edged out Ruben Sierra by 28 points.

I couldn't find a Brewer birthday again today, so we'll have to settle for wishing a happy birthday to Rick Monday, who turns 64. Thanks in advance to FtJ, who will likely point out a birthday I missed in the comments.

And finally, a programming note: I'm leaving in a few hours to go deer hunting for a few days. I'll still be writing the Mug next week, but I'm moving Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday's Mugs to the afternoon so I can still hunt in the mornings. I'll be back with a regular Mug a week from today.

Drink up.

Arizona Fall League: Strasburg and Crow Dominate

raygu — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 14:00:34 -0000

by Lenny Ignelzi - AP

6 months ago: FILE - In this April 3, 2009, file photo, San Diego State pitcher Stephen Strasburg throws during a game in San Diego. The Washington Nationals selected Strasburg with the No. 1 overall pick in the baseball draft on Tuesday, June 9, 2009. (AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi, File)

View full size photo »

Here's a look at Saturday's AFL action where the Nationals Stephen Strasburg returned to the bump and dominated once again.

Let's take a look after the jump:

Stephen Strasburg-3.2 Inn, H, 2 BB, 6 K, 4 W (4.26)

Aaron Crow-4 Inn, H, 4 K (5.87)

Chris Heisey, OF, CIN-0-4, 3 K (.305)

Yonder Alonso, 1B, CIN-0-3, BB (.278)

Josh Bell, 3B, BAL-1-3, BB, K (.305)

Grant Desme, OF, OAK-0-3, BB, K (.344)

Drew Storen, RP, WAS-2 Inn, 3 H, BB, 2 K (0.71) S (3)

Cole Gillespie, OF, ARI-2-4 (.328)

Domonic Brown, OF, PHI-0-4 (.255)

Thomas Neal 1B, SFG-1-4, SB (9) (.270)

Brandon Allen, 1B, ARI-1-4, RS, K (.165)

Brandon Crawford, 3B, SFG-1-4, HR, 2 RBI, 2 K (.286)

Reese Havens, SS, NYM-1-1, RS, RBI, 3 BB (.276)

Ike Davis, 1B, NYM-0-3, BB (.319)

Mike Moustakas, 3B, KC-2-4, RBI (.273)

Poll

Does Stephen Strasburg start the year in the majors or minors?

Opening Day starter

23 votes

Minors-called up by June

59 votes

82 votes | Poll has closed

Arizona Fall League: Friday's Roundup

raygu — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 16:30:28 -0000

Let's see how some of MLB's top prospects performed the day before the Rising Stars game after the jump:

Chase D'arnaud-2B, PIT-1-3, RS, RBI, SB (.261)

Jose Tabata, OF, PIT-1-4, RBI (.366)

Cole Gillespie, OF, ARI-1-4, RBI (.327)

Domonic Brown, OF, PHI-0-4, RBI, BB, 2 K (.256)

Willin Rosario, C, COL-2-4, 2 RS, HR, RBI (.303)

Thomas Neal, 1B, SFG-2-5, RS, 2B, SB, RBI (.313)

Donald Veal, SP, PIT-4 Inn, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 5 K (0.56 ERA)

Starlin Castro, SS, CHC-2-6, (.424)

Matt Dominguez, 3B, FLA-2-3, 2 2B, 2 RS, 4 RBI, BB (.174)

Bryan Peterson, OF, FLA-3-6, RBI (.388)

Hank Conger, C, LAA-2-4, 3 RS, 2B, RBI, BB (.226)

Mike Moustakas, 3B, KC-1-4, RS, HR, RBI (.268)

Dustin Ackley, OF, SEA-1-4, RS, 2B, RBI (.295)

Jordan Danks, OF, CHW-2-4, RS, 2B (.343)

Casper Wells, OF, DET-2-4, RS, 2B, 2 RBI (.358)

Carlos Triunfel, SS, SEA-0-4 (.111)

Yonder Alonso, 1B, CIN-0-3, BB, K (.259)

Chris Heisey, OF, CIN-1-4, hr, 2 rbi (.358)

Brandon Hicks, SS, ATL-0-4 (.293)

Brandon Snyder, 1B, BAL-0-3, BB, K (.355)

Danny Espinosa, SS-1-4, RS, 2B (.350)

Chris Marrero, 1B, WAS- 0-4, 2 K (.348)

Grant Desme, OF, OAK 0-4,3 K (.354)

Arizona Fall League: Wednesday's Roundup

raygu — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:07:44 -0000

It will be interesting to see where Jim Callis ranks the Cubs SS Starlin Castro in the Baseball Prospect Handbook that comes out in early 2010. Castro is certainly getting alot of hype.

Let's have a look at the top performances in the AFL on Wednesday after the jump:

Matt Dominguez, 3B, FLA-1-4, HR, 2 RBI (.140)

Chris Singleton, 2B, MIN-3-5, 2B, 2 RS, RBI (.319)

Ryan Kalish, OF, BOS-2-3, RS, 2B, RBI, 2 BB, SB (.273)

Dustin Ackley, OF, SEA-0-4, (.300)

Jordan Danks, OF, CHW-0-3, RS, RBI, BB (.361)

Casper Wells, OG, DET-1-4, HR, 3 RBI (.348)

Jose Tabata, OF, PIT-3-5, RS, RBI (.365)

Brandon Allen, 1B, ARI-1-5, RBI, 2 K (.162)

Cole Gillespie, OF, ARI-1-4, RS, RBI (.348)

Brandon Laird. 3B, NYY-2-5, RS, HR, 3 RBI (.328)

Ike Davis, 1B, NYM-1-4, K (.333)

Brandon Hicks, SS, ATL-2-4, 2 SB (5), RBI (.286)

Chris Heisey, OF, CIN-1-4, HR, RBI. 3 K (.365)

Jason Castro, C, HOU-0-4 (.143)

Jemile Weeks, 2B, OAK-1-3, BB (.309)

Brandon Snyder, 1B, BAL-1-3, BB (.364)

Arizona Fall League: Tuesday Roundup

raygu — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:00:36 -0000

I was listening to Christopher Russo's Maddog Radio show last Friday on my drive home, and he mentioned that he was talking to the Giants radio announcer Jon Miller off air during the Phillies-Yankees game. Miller told Maddog that he had talked to the scout that signed Matt Weiters. The same scout said when he saw Buster Posey play, he thought Weiters was special, but Posey would be TWICE the player Weiters would be in the majors.

With that, let's take a look at the performances from Tuesday's action after the jump:

Danny Espinosa, SS-2-6, RS (.321)

Chris Marrero, 1B, WAS- 2-6 (.362)

Josh Bell, 3B, BAL-1-4, RBI, BB (.320)

Grant Desme, OF, OAK 1-4, RS, SB, BB, K (.386)

Mike Moustakas, 3B, KC-2-5,(.269)

Daryl Jones, OF, STL-1-5,. 3 K (.207)

Aaron Crow, SP, KC-3.1 Inn, 6 H, BB, 4 ER, 2 K (7.36 ERA)

Starlin Castro, SS, CHC-2-4, RS, HR, RBI (.429)

Josh Vitters, 3B, CHC-3-4 (.360)

Matt Dominguez, 3B, FLA-0-3(.128)

Freddie Freeman, 1B, ATL- 0-3 (.286)

Andrew Lambo, OF, LAD-0-5 (.393)

Lucas May, C, LAD-2-3, RBI (.325)

Jose Tabata, OF, PIT-1-3, RBI. BB (.348)

Buster Posey, C, SFG-1-4, 2 K (.231)

Brandon Allen, 1B, ARI-0-3, BB, K (.159)

Dustin Ackley, OF, SEA-2-4, RS, (.343)

Jordan Danks, OF, CHW-1-4, RS, SB, RBI, BB (.379)

Cole Gillespie, OF, ARI-2-4, HR, RBI, BB (.357)

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.

Arizona Fall League: Wednesday Roundup

raygu — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 16:30:15 -0000

More photos » by Sara D. Davis - AP

6 months ago: FILE - In this June 7, 2009, file photo, North Carolina's Dustin Ackley (13) hits a three-run home run during an NCAA super regional college baseball championship game in Chapel Hill, N.C. The Seattle Mariners selected Ackley with the second overall pick in the baseball draft on Tuesday, June 9, 2009. (AP Photo/Sara D. Davis, File)

Browse more photos »

A short post on the top performances in the Arizona Fall League on Wednesday:

Trayvon Robinson, OF, LAD-1-3, RS, RBI, 2 BB, 2 Ks, 2 SBs

Dustin Ackley, OF, SEA-2-4, RS

Mike Moustakas, 3B, KC-1-4, RBI, RS

Austin Romine, C, NYY-3-4, RBI

Ike Davis, 1B, NYM-1-3, 2 RBI

Ruben Tejada, SS, NYM-2-5, 2 RS, RBI

Dominic Brown, OF, PHI-25, 2 2B, RBI

Cole Gillespie, OF, ARI-3-3, 2 BB, RBI, SB

Jason Heyward, OF, ATL-1-4, 2B, RS

Freddie Freeman, 1B, ATL-0-3, BB, K

Jemile Weeks, 2B, OAK-2-5, RS, 2B, SB

Chris Marrero, 1B, WAS-2-4, 2B, RBI, BB, K

Bryan Peterson, OF, FLA-3-5, 2 RS, 2 2B, HR, RBI

Mike Stanton, OF, FLA-2-4, K

Josh Vitters, 3B, CHC-3-4

Drew Storen, IP, H, K, S

I am not writing up the pitchers just yet as they are only throwing 2-3 innings at the most. Once they get their arms stretched out, I will include them in the roundup. I included Storen as he got the save in his first outing in the AFL.

Here's a couple tweets from Keith Law who is in Arizona watching the action:

Whatever the #Cubs paid for Starlin Castro, it was a bargain.
Jenrry Mejia: 93-98 in 1st inning. #mets

Yes. 35+. RT @VivaElBirdos @keithlaw think Heyward has the power upside to be a 30 hr guy?