SB Nation - Casper Wells

Lunchtime Prowl: Dombrowski In-Depth, Granderson Rumors, Centerfield Options, and Magglio's Homer

Ian Casselberry — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 17:00:21 -0000

This week at Mack Avenue Tigers, Kurt Mensching takes an in-depth look at Dave Dombrowski's work as general manager since he's been in charge of the Tigers. How does he approach his work? How has he remade the franchise in his eight years with Detroit? How has he developed the minor league system? What is his approach to making trades?

Dombrowski's taken quite a bit of criticism so far this offseason, so this "big picture" look at his tenure as Tigers' GM comes at the right time. And maybe it clues us in as to what can be expected in the weeks to come.

The Chicago Tribune's Phil Rogers had three Tigers-related notes in his Sunday "Whispers" column: 1) The Brewers were interested in Curtis Granderson before they dealt J.J. Hardy to the Twins, but Detroit wanted more than a shortstop in return. 2) The Cubs want Granderson, but not at the cost of Carlos Marmol or Starlin Castro. 3) The Tigers are one of several teams scouting Jake Fox (11 homers in 241 plate appearances this year).

If Granderson was traded, who takes over in centerfield? Jason Beck addresses this question, and eliminates Wilkin Ramirez from consideration. Mostly because he's played all of two games in center during his minor league career.

Beck also says signing a veteran centerfielder, such as Mike Cameron, would be another possibility. (I wish Detroit would sign Cameron to play left field.) But Cameron made $10 million this season. Even if he took a pay cut, he'd probably cost more than Granderson.

One more note from Beck: The Tigers received $590,731.18 in postseason shares for their second-place finish in the AL Central. (The Twins got $1,772,193.48 for winning the division.)

Big League Stew ranked the 10 best "big moment" home runs of the past decade. Magglio Ordonez's 2006 ALCS-winning homer is on the list. But would you have ranked it higher or lower, or did 'Duk get it just about right?

Top prospect rankings are en vogue this time of year. Lynn Henning takes a crack with his top 20 Tigers prospects, and it's interesting to compare his list to others. Casper Wells, for example, rates higher with Henning than Kevin Goldstein.

If eight teams are interested in reliever Takashi Saito, as NPB Tracker says (I'm going to trust their translation), could the Tigers be one of them? This year with the Red Sox, Saito struck out 52 and walked 25 in 55.2 innings. He posted a 3-3 record and 2.43 ERA, all for $1.5 million.

(via MLB Trade Rumors)

This isn't Tigers-related, but Big Al's our buddy, so we link to him when we can. His explanation of the most annoying types of Lions fans is spot-on. And unfortunately, it hits a little close to home with me. I often talk about how the Lions have broken me as a fan and I intend to switch my allegiances elsewhere.

In my defense, however, as much as I talk about becoming a Seahawks or Jets fan, to name a couple of dalliances, I never actually follow through. I wish I could quit the Lions.

Morning Prowl: Miguel Cabrera's Non-Tradability, Giving Away Edwin Jackson, and Casper Wells Interviewed

Ian Casselberry — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 13:00:21 -0000

by Paul Battaglia - AP

Miguel Cabrera tries to bounce a baseball on his knee the same number of times his name has popped up in trade rumors this week.

View full size photo »

We've heard from Lynn Henning, who believes the Tigers could trade Miguel Cabrera to the Red Sox. We've heard from John Lowe, who thinks Cabrera's contract makes a deal difficult to pull off. (Buster Olney concurs, as does Matt Klaassen at Fangraphs.) But have we read anything from the Red Sox point of view?

The Boston Globe's Peter Abraham says the Sawx should steer clear of Cabrera, citing his weight, his contract, and The Events of October 3 as major concerns. Abraham doesn't buy into the Tigers being in financial trouble, either, so if Cabrera's being shopped around, potential suitors should ponder why that is.

One more Cabrera note: At Twinkie Town, Jesse Lund wrote a note for Keizo Konishi, the one guy who didn't give his first-place MVP vote to Joe Mauer.

Lighten up, Jesse. The Twins might be pursuing Rich Harden this winter.

Yahoo! Sports' Jeff Passan talked to a baseball executive who doesn't understand why the Tigers are acting "like they want to give" Edwin Jackson away. Passan goes on to criticize Dave Dombrowski for the poor decision-making (and contracts) that have put him in the position of trying to trade a pitcher like Jackson.

Yesterday, Kevin Goldstein ranked outfielder Casper Wells #11 on his list of the Tigers' top prospects at Baseball Prospectus. (Didn't these lists used to come out closer to Spring Training?)

Wells was also interviewed by BP's David Laurila, discussing topics such as overcoming his wrist injury, his surprising power this season, working with different hitting coaches, and majoring in TV and film at Towson University.

In case you missed it (or bumped up against BP's pay wall), Fangraphs also posted their list of the top 10 Tigers prospects. One key difference is that Marc Hulet didn't include 2009 draft picks in his rankings.

Reliever Robbie Weinhardt opened some eyes with his performance in the Arizona Fall League championship (two hitless innings, four strikeouts). At Fire Jim Leyland, Mike Rogers takes a look at Weinhardt through Pitch F/X, which shows that Weinhardt throws strikes pretty consistently and has three pitches to work with.

Simon on Sports has been asking baseball bloggers to answer 10 offseason questions about the specific teams they cover. I was asked about the Tigers, which you can read here. We discussed the current trade rumors, the fate of Placido Polanco, and who Detroit would sign if money wasn't an obstacle, among several subjects.

Part 1-Interview with Project Prospect's Adam Foster

raygu — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 17:29:13 -0000

Since joining the UBA NL-only roto league where I needed to increase my knowledge of all the prospects in MLB, I started checking out the various sites that cover them including Baseball Prospectus, Baseball America and John Sickel's Minor League Ball. Another site I used quite often is Project Prospect, run by Adam Foster. Adam was nice enough to answer some questions about his site, rankings system and prospect questions for Fake Team readers.

Today I have part 1 of the interview.

Fake Teams: You run a wonderful prospect site-Project Prospects, tell us how you got started with the site, and interested in scouting.

Adam Foster: I started Project Prospect during my senior year in college (2006). My roommates all went home that summer, so I had a lot of free time.

I was already pretty involved in researching prospects for my fantasy league. And I realized that there was very little MiLB coverage out there. So I started following the minors daily and gathering prospect information.

The next step was getting my internship with Baseball America that winter. I started to gain an understanding of scouting when I worked with BA staffers John Manuel, Matt Eddy, Aaron Fitt, Alan Matthews, Matt Meyers and Chris Kline. Those guys helped me learn a ton about the minors.

Fake Teams: Some sites do rankings based on what the player's potential ceiling is, while others base their rankings based on scouting. How does Project Prospect do their rankings? Is it a combined effort with the other writers on the site, and what are your rankings based on?

Adam Foster: We've evolved to put a lot of weight into a prospect's floor, which typically frustrates fantasy owners. Prospecting has been largely about ceiling over the past decade. We believe than an average big leaguer is very valuable, so we don't shy away from guys who don't have star potential.

I've had dozens of great writers make contributions to the site over our 3+ year history. They've all made an impact on how we rank prospects.

Our first few years, we largely ranked off of numbers. We weren't going out and seeing guys play regularly at that point, so we didn't have much else to work with. We've made a major effort to see guys play this year. I'd be surprised if any publication has been to more 2009 minor league games than Project Prospect - I've travelled thousands of miles to attend Minor League Spring Training, California League games, Pacific Coast League and the Arizona Fall League. We have contributors all over the country who pride themselves on going to games, too. Our goal is to become a community scouting department. Even if we aren't professionally trained scouts, we know a lot about the game and we're getting so many opinions that our information winds up being pretty good.

We've also benefitted from the fact that most prospect media members don't put much energy into quantitative analysis. For some reason, many of the big dogs still are attached to batting average, win-loss totals, ERA and countable stats.

We continue to hone our statistical approach, but we're trying to stay up-to-date with advanced applications of college and minor league baseball statistics. We've communicated with professional front offices about how they utilize numbers. And I think we're on the right track.

Fake Teams: Your site is up against some heavyweights in the prospect/scouting industry, how does your site differ from how the others do their rankings?

Adam Foster: We've put a lot of energy into peer review. On top of going back and figuring out what we could have done better, we also analyze the strengths and weaknesses of other publications. We're constantly making efforts to improve our work...we're hungry.

For example, many of the prospects who have been missed over the last 10 years are guys without high ceilings. That brings us back to the appreciation for guys with high floors. We tend to be higher on that type of player than most publications.

But again, I think our biggest strength our hunger. I know how other publications create their lists. And I know there's room for improvement across the board in media prospect coverage.

Fake Teams: I see you recently attended some Arizona Fall League games. What prospects impressed you the most? The least?

Adam Foster: Josh Bell really impressed me with his defense at third base. He could be above-average all around there. Jonathan Lucroy, Brandon Snyder, Jose Tabata, Starlin Castro and Mike Leake also impressed me.

Casey Kelly and Grant Desme looked lost at the plate more often than not. I also walked away with less confidence in Brandon Allen than I had a few months ago - pitchers were picking him apart. And I didn't realize that Casper Wells is too thick to be a center fielder and such a poor contact hitter.

Fake Teams: How much weight do you put into AFL performances, as it appears to be more of a hitter's league every year?

Adam Foster: Not only do the AFL parks favor hitters, but the pitching is well behind the hitting overall. Guys put up crazy power numbers. Fly balls float out of the park. And while the hitters do typically see 4-5 pitchers a game, I doubt the pitchers really have much info on the hitters they're facing.

I've primarily been looking at strikeouts and walks in the AFL. But yeah, a 75-125 PA/TBF sample can only take you so far. If you take one thing away from reading this transcript, it should be to be careful about giving up much value for Grant Desme right now.

Weekend Prowl: Hendry Wants Grandy, What Dombrowski Wants, Arizona Fall League, and the Tiger of the Year

Ian Casselberry — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 14:00:27 -0000

The Chicago Tribune's Phil Rogers heard from a source close to the Cubs that said general manager Jim Hendry is "absolutely" interested a package full of prospects to the Tigers for Curtis Granderson. (And really, if he wasn't, would Hendry be doing his job?)

The key word in Rogers' second paragraph, however, is "if." If Dave Dombrowski is willing to trade Granderson, Hendry wants a shot at him.

(via MLB Trade Rumors)

At The LoHud Yankees Blog, Sam Borden doesn't think Granderson is necessarily a fit for the World Series champs. And if the Tigers want Phil Hughes or Joba Chamberlain in a deal, he believes the Yanks should pass.

That kind of pitching might be exactly what Dombrowski is looking for, judging from what Brewers GM Doug Melvin told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel about conversations regarding Edwin Jackson.

As Jason Beck points out, that's more than just seeing what other teams have to offer. But it might also indicate that these trades aren't being considered simply to reduce payroll.

The Detroit Tigers Weblog posted some Arizona Fall League updates. Reliever Robbie Weinhardt and outfielder Casper Wells continue to be standouts. (Wells left Thursday's game after legging out an infield hit, but turned out to be fine.)

The Washington Nationals could have an opening at shortstop (they'd like to move Cristian Guzman over to second base), and one of the guys on their wish list to fill it is Adam Everett, according to Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi. The note makes it sound, however, as if the Nats' first choice is Alex Gonzalez.

For all those Tigers fans who hope Placido Polanco doesn't end up with the Minnesota Twins next season, maybe you shouldn't read this post at Twins Target. Andrew Kneeland is another Twins blogger who thinks Polanco would be a great fit for them, giving them a #2 hitter they've rarely had.

Speaking of Everett, Jeff Zimmerman at Beyond the Box Score projects him to be the leader in UZR at shortstop for 2010.

(via @MackAveTigers on Twitter)

This is a few days old, but if the Tigers are truly interested in trading Jackson, Bucs Dugout wants the Pirates to get in on that action (and thinks closer Matt Capps, along with a couple of prospects, could do it).

At The Spot Starters, Blake VandeBunte has been ranking the Top 109 Seasons in Detroit Tigers history. Team 92 on his list is the 1999 Tigers. Reading through Blake's post, I recalled quite a bit of affection for that squad. Maybe because it was the last team to play in Tiger Stadium?

ESPN.com's Keith Law made his picks for five of the six postseason awards (Insider). (He passed on the NL Cy Young, because he actually cast a ballot in that vote.) Tigers fans will probably agree with his choice for AL Rookie of the Year.

Lost in all the trade rumor and speculation that unexpectedly exploded this week? Justin Verlander was unanimously voted Tiger of the Year by the Detroit chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America.

Jayson Stark wonders if Cliff Lee was the greatest trade deadline starting pitcher acquisition ever (Insider). If he was listing the worst, where might Jarrod Washburn rank?

Arizona Fall League: Wednesday's Roundup

raygu — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:00:38 -0000

Getting back to the AFL action as the MLB trade rumors kept me busy yesterday. Let's take a look at Wednesday's action in Arizona:

Trayvon Robinson, OF, LAD-1-4, RS, BB. K, 2 SB (.273)

Andrew Lambo, OF, LAD-2-4, 3 RS, 3 RBI, BB, K (.353)

Casper Wells, OF-2-4, 4 RBI (.362)

Chris Heisey,OF, CIN-0-3, SB, BB, K (.320)

Yonder Alonso, 1B, CIN 0-3, BB, 2 K (.273)

Brandon Laird, 3B, NYY-2-5, 2 RS, HR, 2 RBI (.321)

Ike Davis, 1B, NYM- 2-4, RS, HR, 4 RBI (.348)

Taylor Teagarden, C, TEX-0-5, 2 K (.182)

Daryl Jones, OF, STL-1-3, 22, 2 K (.194)

David Cooper, 1B, TOR-3-4, RS, 2B (.294)

Ryan Kalish, 1B, BOS-2-4, 2 RS, HR, 3 RBI (.291)

Josh Vitters, 3B, CHC-2-5, RS, RBI (.364)

Jose Iglesias, SS, -4-4, 2 RS, SB, RBI (.269)

Ian Kennedy, SP, NYY-4.1 Inn, 7 H, 4 ER, 4 K (4.74)

Andrew Cashner, SP, CHC-3 Inn, 7 H, 4 ER, 5 K (4.32)

Nevin Ashley, C, TB-3-5, 3 RS, 2B, 2 3B, RBI (.400)

Danny Espinosa, SS, WAS-1-5, HR, 2 RBI (.306)

Josh Bell, 3B, BAL-2-5, 2B, RBI (.317)

Jose Tabata, OF, PIT-2-4, RBI, BB (.355)

Domonic Brown, OF, PHI-2-4, 3B, 2 RBI (.266)

Brandon Allen, 1B, ARI-1-4, 2B, 3 K (.166)

Willin Rosario, C, COL-0-4, 3 K (.250)

Buster Posey,C, SFG-1-3, BB, K (.230)

Morning Prowl: Arbitration Dilemmas, Free Agent Predictions, and Gibby's Managerial Aspirations

Ian Casselberry — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 13:00:54 -0000

The Tigers face quite a dilemma with their free agents, in regards to offering arbitration. Kurt Mensching tries to predict what decisions the team will make on Placido Polanco, Adam Everett, Fernando Rodney, and Brandon Lyon at Mack Avenue Tigers.

MLB Trade Rumors listed their Top 50 Free Agents for 2010, and Tim Dierkes forecasts where each of them will end up. He sees the Tigers being in on a couple of guys (you'll have to scroll down the list), and he has an interesting destination for Placido Polanco. (And if his Yankees predictions come true, I might just be disgusted.)

Will Detroit's effort to fill its shortstop vacancy be made more difficult by the Red Sox now also cruising the market after declining Alex Gonzalez's option for next year? Might they be interested in Adam Everett, or do they want more offense at that position? (Boston tried to get J.J. Hardy before the trade deadline, as well.)

The Freep's John Lowe exchanged e-mails with Brewers general manager Doug Melvin, who said he never contacted the Tigers about Hardy because they didn't have what he was looking for in return.

At The Detroit Tigers Weblog, Bill Ferris takes a look through The Bill James Handbook and lets us know how the Tigers stacked up in a variety of categories and stats.

More from Lowe: Did we know Kirk Gibson interviewed for the Cleveland Indians' manager job? I don't recall reading that anywhere else, but apparently he did. Gibby wants to be a major league manager, and feels his six years working as a bench coach (between the Tigers and Diamondbacks) have taught him plenty that he'd use in that role.

How did the two Tigers prospects do in Saturday night's Arizona Fall League Rising Stars Showcase? Casper Wells went 0-for-3, and Andrew Oliver allowed three baserunners in one inning of work, but didn't give up a run. (Here's the boxscore.)

Staying in Arizona for one more item, Lynn Henning reviews the performance of four Tigers prospects playing out there, including the aforementioned Wells and Oliver. (Cue your sad trombone for Cale Iorg.)

The Oakland Press' Pat Caputo thinks that Comerica Park (or its field) should not be named after Ernie Harwell.

Oh, the bonds that develop between baseball players and the beat reporters who cover them. MLB.com's White Sox beat writer Scott Merkin laments Chris Getz getting traded to the Royals, depriving him of someone to discuss University of Michigan football and basketball with. You can e-mail me, Scott.

Former future Tigers superstar-in-the-making Cameron Maybin is having shoulder surgery this offseason. Maybin has a partially torn labrum in his left shoulder. ("Always a Tiger," as Old English D says.)

And this is self-indulgent, but in our farewell post to Marcus Thames, rook34 mentioned his favorite Thames moment. It's one of my favorite memories of 2006, as well, and here's what I wrote about it in my pre-BYB days.

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)

AFL Rising Stars Game Rosters

raygu — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 14:15:11 -0000

The 2009 AFL Rising Stars game rosters are listed below for those of you who get the chance to see some of the best prospects in MLB in one game tonight at 8:15 on the MLB Network. Unfortunately, the Nationals pitching prospect Stephen Strasburg will not be making the start in this one with a "sore neck". What timing. But you will get the chance to see Buster Posey, Starlin Castro, Josh Vitters, Domonic Brown and Tanner Scheppers among others.


2009 AFL Rising Stars rosters
East Division						West Division

Position players

POS.	PLAYER	TEAM	ORG	POS.	PLAYER NAME	TEAM	ORG
C	Hank Conger	Mesa	LAA	C	Jason Castro	Saguaros	HOU
C	Buster Posey	Scottsdale	SF	C	Lucas May	Javelinas	LAD
IF	Brandon Allen	Scottsdale	ARI	IF	Yonder Alonso	Saguaros	CIN
IF	Josh Bell	Phoenix	BAL	IF	Zack Cozart	Saguaros	CIN
IF	Starlin Castro	Mesa	CHC	IF	Ike Davis	Surprise	NYM
IF	Chase d'Arnaud	Scottsdale	PIT	IF	Daniel Descalso	Surprise	STL
IF	Matt Dominguez	Mesa	FLA	IF	Carlos Rivero	Saguaros	CLE
IF	Brandon Snyder	Phoenix	BAL	IF	Mike Moustakas	Surprise	KC
IF	Josh Vitters*	Mesa	CHC	IF	Lance Zawadzki	Saguaros	SD
IF	Jemile Weeks	Phoenix	OAK	OF	Dustin Ackley	Javelinas	SEA
OF	Domonic Brown	Scottsdale	PHI	OF	Jordan Danks	Javelinas	CWS
OF	Grant Desme	Phoenix	OAK	OF	Chris Heisey	Saguaros	CIN
OF	Bryan Petersen	Mesa	FLA	OF	Daryl Jones	Javelinas	STL
OF	Jose Tabata	Scottsdale	PIT	OF	Casper Wells	Javelinas	DET
OF	Rene Tosoni	Mesa	MIN
Pitchers

POS.	PLAYER	TEAM	ORG	POS.	PLAYER NAME	TEAM	ORG
RHP	Andrew Cashner*	Mesa	CHC	RHP	Phillippe Aumont	Javelinas	SEA
RHP	Brandon Erbe*	Phoenix	BAL	LHP	Michael Dunn	Surprise	NYY
RHP	Reidier Gonzalez	Phoenix	TOR	RHP	Josh Fields	Javelinas	SEA
RHP	Matt Gorgen	Phoenix	TB	RHP	Javy Guerra	Javelinas	LAD
RHP	Andrew Johnston	Scottsdale	COL	RHP	Danny Gutierrez	Surprise	TEX
RHP	Tommy Mendoza	Mesa	LAA	RHP	Craig Kimbrel	Saguaros	ATL
LHP	Danny Moskos	Scottsdale	PIT	RHP	Mike Leake	Saguaros	CIN
RHP	Toru Murata	Scottsdale	N/A	LHP	Mike Minor	Saguaros	ATL
LHP	Blake Parker	Mesa	CHC	LHP	Andrew Oliver	Javelinas	DET
LHP	Matt Reynolds	Scottsdale	COL	RHP	Mark Rogers	Javelinas	MIL
LHP	Dustin Richardson	Mesa	BOS	RHP	Tanner Scheppers	Surprise	TEX
RHP	Drew Storen	Phoenix	WAS
RHP	Stephen Strasburg*	Phoenix	WAS

Morning Prowl: Tom Brookens, Clete's Jersey Retired, Rising Stars, and Yesterday's Trades

Ian Casselberry — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 13:00:31 -0000

Double-A Erie manager (and former Tigers third baseman) Tom Brookens says he'd be interested in a major league coaching job if one was offered. Will the Tigers offer him the first base coach position vacated by Andy Van Slyke?

Clete Thomas had his high school jersey retired on Wednesday. Thomas wore No. 3 at Mosley High School in Lynn Haven, FL. (I'm sure Gary Sheffield would've given that up willingly.) It's the first baseball number the school's ever retired. (You can see a list of his prep achievements here.)

Here's more on the ceremony, including video, from a local news station. (via 1baseball34 on Twitter)

If you want to get a look at prospects Casper Wells and Andrew Oliver, MLB Network is broadcasting the Arizona Fall League's Rising Stars Showcase Saturday night at 8:15 p.m. ET. (via MLive.com)

On his blog, Jason Beck shared some projections from the Bill James Handbook. And they look pretty kindly on Ryan Raburn next season. (Curtis Granderson and Magglio Ordonez are also viewed favorably, which would make a huge difference for next year's lineup.)

More minors: At Fangraphs, Marc Hulet looks at five Tigers minor leaguers (current or former) who are worthy of mention, but probably won't be listed among the team's top 10 prospects.

Jarrod Washburn says he'd "be surprised" if the Tigers offered him a contract for next season. Washburn sounds like a smart guy. If they were interested, Detroit has exclusive negotiating rights with Washburn, who says his knee feels better after surgery, until November 20.

If you'd like to look at who will join Washburn in free agency, here's a complete list of free agents for 2010 from MLB Daily Dish.

Anybody else look at the deal for Jeremy Hermida the Red Sox made with the Marlins, and wonder if the Tigers could've (or should've) gotten in on that action? Or would that have just added to a logjam in Detroit? (Over the Monster is a bit baffled by the trade, wondering where Hermida will play in Boston.)

Meanwhile, Mark Teahen had reportedly been traded to the White Sox for Chris Getz and Josh Fields. Or was he? As of last night, Teahen was still a Kansas City Royal.

The Big Lead has three ideas to improve the MLB playoffs. Mostly, we're linking to this because the writer called the Tigers-Twins tiebreaker "the most exciting baseball moment this season."

Those who believe the Tigers should pursue a trade with the Brewers for shortstop J.J. Hardy (unless he's non-tendered) will likely enjoy this Fangraphs article about Hardy's defense.

Have some time to kill at work today? Check out this optical illusion based on the break of a curveball. No wonder Wilkin Ramirez can't hit that thing. (I probably shouldn't have said that.)

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)