SB Nation User Blog: Ienpw

BA's AZL Top 20

Ienpw — Wed, 20 Sep 2006 17:34:37 -0000

Hank Conger, c, Angels
Jeremy Jeffress, rhp, Brewers
Cedric Hunter, of, Padres
Marcus Lemon, ss, Rangers
Brent Fisher, lhp, Royals
Matt Sweeney, 3b/1b, Angels
Sharlon Schoop, ss, Giants
Kyler Burke, of, Padres
Jason Taylor, 3b, Royals
Vladimir Veras, rhp, Angels
Brent Brewer, ss, Brewers
Gerardo Avila, 1b, Mariners
Luis Durango, of, Padres
Jose Ceda, lhp, Cubs
Manuel Cabez, rhp, Giants
Derrick Robinson, of, Royals
Nick Van Stratten, of, Royals
Carlos Peguero, of, Mariners
Warner Madrigal, rhp, Angels
Felix Carrasco, 3b, Padres

Where's Alex Liddi?

How would you rank 05 and 06 HS arms

Ienpw — Fri, 09 Jun 2006 03:11:14 -0000

in the draft, as their status BEFORE the draft occured. I think they're something like this

Volstad
Pawalek
Kershaw
Jeffress
Willems
Kiker
Anderson

Im sure I'm forgetting a guy from last year's. This years draft seemed to have a little more depth but not the high side. I could also be a moron and completely wrong.

KCTV: Lincon to the Royals

Ienpw — Tue, 06 Jun 2006 04:45:58 -0000

Frank Boal (KC's FOX) reported that according to Lincoln's advisor that he had been assured that his client would be the overall #1 pick in the draft tomorrow.

I dunno I am torn. I keep telling myself everyone but me thinks that Andrew Miller is the best pitcher in the draft, but the more I read up and check out Brad Lincoln, I think he's better. Either way the Royals win as I think their value is about the same and Miller is much more expensive. Maybe those darned Miller 8 figure demands are true and he can fall to my Cubs, but I'm smoking the biased train.

David Price's Struggles.

Ienpw — Sun, 07 May 2006 07:21:49 -0000

Anyone know what's happened to David Price of late? A few weeks ago it looked like he was the best college prospect for the 07 draft - right up there with Joe Savery and a few others.

4/14 - 5.2 IP, 8 H, 5 ER vs UGA
4/22 - 6.1 IP, 10 H, 8 ER vs Bama
4/28 - 6.0 IP, 10 H, 4 ER vs UK
5/5 - 3.1 IP, 9 H, 8 ER vs Tenn

Granted, this is the SEC but Price is a talentled lefty with three good pitches and good command. Is he hurt or something? Or is he doing his best Ian Kennedy impersonation. His ERA was like 1.70 a month ago.

I know this is not minor league related, and not even 2006 draft related but I do know we have some avid college baseball fans across the country who visit here.

Angel Guzman called up.

Ienpw — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 18:42:54 -0000

Oh what a 6.61 ERA in 3 AAA starts can do for Guzman. His ERA was inflated by a bad start where he allowed 3 HR in Albequerque, but he had a fabulous 23:3 K:BB in 16.1 IP. Jerome Williams was sent down after a horrible start. Guzman is in the bullpen for todays game, so it is unknown whether or not Guzman will make the start on Wednesday.

I kind of think Rich Hill will end up with the Wednesday start. He's back to rolling in Iowa, but who knows about him. As a Cubs fan, I am ecstatic. Angel Guzman is FINALLY here.

Sean Marshall likely to start in the Cubs rotation

Ienpw — Thu, 30 Mar 2006 01:54:11 -0000

A bit of a shocker. He's made a grand total of 10 starts in AA and zero in AAA not to mention just 22 above the Midwest league. Oh well, the Cubs are agressive promoters. He's also never made more than 16 starts in a season (sounds like a lot of Cub starters), but a couple of the injuries are more freak in nature.

Sean Marshall came into the Spring with about a 10% chance of getting 1 start before June, at best. He made just 4 starts in West Tenn last year and was seventh or eigth on the Cubs depth chart. Since then Jerome Williams forgot how to strike out people. While it's true he was never good, but 2 K's in 18 innings is flat out awful. Williams may have pitched himself to Iowa for the start of the season, maybe longer. Mark Prior continued to be glass, and who knows when he will back. Kerry Wood's been hurt, but who knows. Rich Hill struggled mightily with the command of his duece in early spring, although he's been a bit better. Voros McCracken be damned, Sean Marshall has given up 3 hits in 10.2 IP, with a 9:6 K:BB and 0 runs allowed.

Most Cub radio stations have pretty much pegged him in as the #4 starter. Jerome Williams has appeared to have been demoted to having a chance to get the #5 spot when needed. If he can't get his act together Guzman or Hill will burn ahead of him. Now it looks as if Marshall will making his debut against Pujols, Edmonds, Rolen, Carpenter and the St. Louis Cardinals at Wrigley Field. Yeah, let's throw into the dogs. Dunno if LaRussa will pitch Carpenter on normal rest skipping Ponson.

Matsuzaka II

Ienpw — Tue, 21 Mar 2006 05:45:37 -0000

Last week Daisuke Matsuzaka had a solid outing against the Mexican National Team. I wrote up a simple scouting report on it. For the championship game I did the same thing. Even though he had a 95 pitch count to work with, Dai-san only went 4 innings. Shunsuke Watanabe was brought in after, and deservedly so.

No. of Pitches: 62
Fastballs: 37 (60%)
Sliders: 12
Splits: 10
Curves: 3

Like last time, it's very hard to differentiate between the slider and the curve. They are about the same on the radar gun, one is a hard downer, the other is a short slider. He mixed up his pitches a bit more than he did against Mexico, but he was still a primarily a fastball pitcher.

Fastballs: 37
92 MPH: 6 (16.2%)
93 MPH: 9 (24.3%)
94 MPH: 17 (45.8%)
95 MPH: 3 (8.1%)
96 MPH: 2 (5.4%)
Average: 93.6 MPH
Strikes: 27 (73.0%)
Balls: 10 (27.0%)
Swings at Strikes: 22 (81.5%)
Misses: 8 (36.4%)
Foul: 8 (36.4%)
In Play: 6 (27.3%)

Compared to the last outing, he had a little more velocity on his fastball. He hit 94 twice in that start, and sat there most of the day. He was typically at 93-94 with good command. He didn't have the same command he had last outing, but it was still well above average. He stayed up in the zone with his fastball most of the night, simply overpowering the Cuban hitters. 9 batters ended their AB against him on fastballs. 3 of them struck out. 3 hits 2 fly outs and a grounder. 3 of them were what I would define has a linedrive, not a bad rate considering they swung at 22 pitches. His fastball seemed to have an extra gear, just exploding to the plate. It certainly didn't look like a flat one, but it's hard to grade that stuff off a TV screen. I think the ratings I gave him last time are fair, and seem about right.

Velocity: 65
Movement: 40
Control: 65
Overall: 65

He had a lot more consistency on his sliders tonight. He threw them 81-84 MPH. He didn't strikeout a batter on one, and the HR to Eduardo Paret was on the slider. He only threw 4 hard curves, these had a little more downard movement than the sliders. They're so similar it could probably classified as the same pitch. Again, I think the ratings from last time are about right, although the slider was a little better.

Hard Slider
Movement: 55
Control: 50
Overall: 55

Hard Curve
Movement: 55
Control: 35
Overall: 45

They both have plus movement at times, but the consistency has not been there for either pitch. The splitter he threw today was excellent. It may have been a straight change but it had excellent movement and was a lot better than anticipated. He threw a hard one around 80 and a soft one, which was probably the forkball. The hitters were way out in front and had very good movement. Matsuzaka did not throw enough last game to let me grade the pitch, but I liked it.

Movement: 50
Control: 50
Overall: 50

He showed excellent control with the pitch and I don't think he uses it enough. He exclusively used his breaking pitches against righties, he did not throw any to lefties. He exclusively threw his splitters and changes to lefties, he didn't throw any righties. This is provided that my eyes don't suck. Most of this was expected. Daisuke Matsuzaka threw a very good fastball, with good breaking pitches that were inconsistent. He has 3 or 4 solid major league pitches. The only thing I'd like to see him do more is have consistency with his offspeed breaking pitches.

Stamina: 80
Pitchability: 65
Durability: 70

Again, no surprises there. He still reminds me a lot of Prior with the multiple hard breaking pitches and the command of an explosive 93-94 MPH fastball with good control on it. His final line was: 4.0 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 5 SO.

Daisuke Matsuzaka Scouting Report

Ienpw — Thu, 16 Mar 2006 02:56:52 -0000

We can all read his linescore, but I decided to look at what he did from a pitch to pitch level.

No. of Pitches: 73
Fastballs: 51 (70%)
Curves: 10
Sliders: 5
Forks: 3
Change: 4

His offspeed pitches were inconsistent today, and with the pitch count rules being enforced he probably knew he had to challenge hitters with his fastball, which was quite good:

Fastball: 51 overall
87 MPH: 2 (3.9%)
88 MPH: 0 (0.0%)
89 MPH: 2 (3.9%)
90 MPH: 4 (7.8%)
91 MPH: 10 (19.6%)
92 MPH: 16 (31.4%)
93 MPH: 15 (29.4%)
94 MPH: 2 (3.9%)
Average: 91.7 MPH

Balls: 17 (33%)
Strikes: 34 (67%)

Swings at strikes: 26 (76%)
Misses: 8 (31%)
Foul: 9 (35%)
In play: 9 (35%) Only one real line drive, a line out to center. 0 hits allowed.

As you can see, he sat at 92-93 MPH most of the day. He topped out at 94. Both 94 MPH fastballs were with 3 balls on Jorge Cantu. They were both up and the zone and blew right passed him for the strikeout. Most of Daisuke's 93 MPH fastballs were at the tail end of the 2nd when there was a runner on third. The 87 ones were probably 2 seams. Matsuzaka has spent a lot of the offseason and preseason working on the pitch because it is such a large part of the American game. They could have also been his cutter. There were three things I really liked about what I saw. He was not afraid of challenging peple with his fastball. It was his go to pitch. Secondly, he had great control with the pitch. He could put it where he wanted it. Only one of the fastballs thrown missed the target completely. Everything else was right about where he wanted it. He also did not leave it down the middle. From mlb.tv, it's very hard to see the kind of movement he had on the pitch. They had problems getting good looks on it despite him throwing it most of the time. Finally, he was not afraid to come in with it. About half of the fastballs went to the inner portion of the plate. He was fearless. He went up in the zone when he was ahead. They knew the fastball was coming, but his command was the difference.

Velocity: 65
Movement: 40
Control: 65
Overall: 65

I've watched Daisuke Matsuzaka in the past. These are things he does a lot. He sits at 150 KPH in Japan (93) touching 155 most starts (96). He topped out at 100 MPH in the Olympics.

Daisuke's offspeed pitches were all similar. His curveball and slider had good movement, but the control was weak last night. His forkball is real slow and is very rare. My guess is that this is the pitch some people call the gyro, it kind of breaks down and away like a cutforkball (?). He also used a few changeups, pretty much a show me pitch.

His slider was 80-83 on the gun. All but one had excellent movement. He threw a backdoor one once to get Luis Garcia (L) to poke to third. One of them hung and was lined foul. The hitter was way out in front of it respecting his fastball. It might have been a cutter that missed, it was the one pitch at 83.

Movement: 55
Control: 50
Overall: 55

It's a good pitch. He did not use it much last night. It's probably the pitch he uses most often after his fastball during the season. I've seen him just dominate with it in the past.

His curveball and slider are similar. The curve is a power curve, the two pitches are similar to Mark Priors'. His slider is a short hard one. His curve is about the same velocity 79-82 and has very good downward movement. He used it in two ways. He started a few hitters off with it as a get me over pitch. The rest of the time he'd throw it as a wipe out pitch. It's a very good pitch but his control on it was not there. The one hit was off a hanging curve. It was a looping liner to LF.

Movement: 55
Control: 35
Overall: 45

Like I said his power curve was inconsistent last night. All of his offspeed pitches were last night and he still got by on fastballs. Like I said earlier, he's been a little better with it in the past.

His change and forkballs are used to the same effect. They are used as a show-me pitch as something soft. Everything else in his repetoire is a hard pitch. His forkball was very inconsistent and he had little control on his change. These are feel pitches and he has been complaining about the MLB baseballs being used. It probably if anything affected his confidence in the pitch so he decided to use them sparingly.

Stamina: 80
Pitchability: 65
Durability: 70

He has excellent stamina, everyone knows that. His durability in the past has been limited to one injury. Who knows if the pitch counts will get to him. Most of the time he pitches every 6th day, not 5th because Japan has at least 1 offday a week and sometimes back-to-back ones. I really like Matsuzaka's pitchability. He knows what he is doing with his fastball. He can throw it in any count to any spot. He also has the same arm action for most of his pitches. He reminds me a lot of Prior with a little less consistency on the breaking pitches. The thing they both do well is command a low 90s fastball that is hard to pick up.

Remember, all of his teams home games in Japan are available for free to watch on the Internet. The most impressive Japanese starter I've seen is Sugiuchi (scheduled to pitch after Watanabe tonight). He's got electric stuff from the left side. An excellent change. A good curve and a low 90s fastball. He's a better strikeout pitcher than Matsuzaka.

Matsuzaka not to start against the US?

Ienpw — Sat, 11 Mar 2006 05:23:11 -0000

It doesn't look like he'll get a chance to face the United States at all, in Round 2 or even the semis if both teams make it there.

This saddens me, I wanted to see him face the US. He pitched on Thursday against the Rangers. He pitched 4 innings but it is highly unlikely for him to come back on 2 days rest.

I'd would have also like to have seen Koji Uehara pitch against the Americans. He pitched 5 innings on Wednesday against the Mariners, which would put him on 3 days rest if he were to face the US.

That leaves Toshiya Sugiuchi (18-4 2.11 218/196.2 K/IP) or Shunsuke Watanabe (15-4 2.17 101/187 K/IP) to start. Sugiuchi is a lefty with 3 solid pitches and Watanabe is the submariner. Both guys pitched against Korea last Sunday. Sugiuchi 2 perfect innings and Watanabe got the start with 3.1 IP 1 ER.

However, the way the schedule works out if Japan were to make it through Round 2 and used Koji Uehara and Daisuke Matsuzaka against Korea and Mexico, they both would be unavailable for the semifinal match against the US, and they will be facing Jake Peavy in both games. Watanabe may be able to hold the US down for one game, but whoever starts against the US will more than likely face them twice.

If Japan could pull off the miracle and beat the US in the semis, Uehara and Matsuzaka would be eligible to pitch against the Dominican or Venezuela (who has everything perfectly lined up for them).
Update [2006-3-11 0:25:11 by Ienpw]: Oh started Watanabe tonight in the exhibition game. It looks like it will be Uehara on short rest.

Wow, loaded prospect college game today

Ienpw — Sun, 12 Feb 2006 07:03:06 -0000

And it could not have been better. I went to the Minute Maid Classic today, featuring Rice vs Texas and TCU vs Houston. The UT/Rice game had half a dozen potential first round draft picks. They did not disappoint, that's for sure. I've been to LCS games, but no game I have ever been to had the vibe and atmosphere of this game. Over 27,000 people showed up for the UT Rice game, the 4th largest crowd in NCAA history (includes CWS games). The crowd was split down the middle as well. The game featured 2006 potential first rounder Kyle McCulloch against 2007 potential #1 overall pick Joe Savery.

Because Savery was on the mound, he was not hitting against McCulloch, nor was Texas stud lefties Jordan Danks (2008 first rounder guaranteed) or Kyle Russell (2008 potential first rounder). McCulloch and Savery breezed through the first innings unscathed. McCulloch got through the second with a line drive single to Drew Stubbs (2006 potential #1 overall). Savery gave up a double in the second to Preston Clark (2006 top 5 round pick). The next hitter doubled to CF but on the relay Rice SS Josh Rodriguez (potential 2006 first round pick) gunned out Clark at the plate. Savery got out of the inning without any runs.

In the top of the third Bobby Bramhall led off with a double to CF and was thrown out by Drew Stubbs at third with a great throw.. After an out and a single, Freshman 3rd hole hitter Aaron Luna (more on him later) singled to give Rice an early 1-0 lead. The lead did not last long. Joe Savery run into a little of trouble in the third. With a runner on third, 2 outs and an 0-2 count on Drew Stubbs, Savery threw a wild pitch allowing the tying run to score. The next 3 frames were scoreless and uneventful. McCulloch had settled down, but Savery was having issues controlling his slide piece. In the bottom half of the 5th he gave up 2 consecutive singles to the last two hitters on UT. They were later singled in by SS Chais Fuller, 3-1 Texas. The 6th and 7th innings were dominated by McCulloch and Savery. Both guys were removed before the 8th. Savery was placed into the lineup, he's their best hitter.

And then it got interesting. The last two innings were pure excitement. UT brought in their closer, Kenn Kasparek (2006 potential top 3 round pick). Kasparek got the first two hitters without any problems. Brian Friday (2007 potential top 10 rounder) singled. Savery walked. Danny Lehmann (2006 top 5 round pick) singled. All three batters went to 3-2 counts. With a 3-2 count Bramhall hit a grounder to third, who throws it in the dirt and the 1B cannot pick it up, Friday and Savery score, 3-3 game. UT Freshman lefty Kyle Walker took over for Kasperak. Walker struck out 5 of the 6 batters he faced on Wednesday. He K'd the batter he faced. The UT inning was uneventful.

Walker came out for the ninth. He struck out the first batter, then plunked Aaron Luna and Josh Rodriguez. He struck out the next hitter. And Joe Savery came up, worked the count to 3-2. Then hit a grounder to short, Fuller makes a high throw, Luna scores the go ahead run. Walker K's Lehman.

Rice closer Bryce Cox struck out the first hitter, then walked one, then struck out one. Then potential 2008 first rounder Kyle Russell stepped to the plate. Down 1 run. Runner on. The lefty deposits the second pitch he sees into the Crawford boxes. Walk-off pinch hit HR to win.

Again, the 27,000 fans created an amazing vibe for a college game, and no doubt Texans love their baseball. 27,000 for a college game in February. Wow.

Aaron Luna is making a name for himself. The Corpus Christi product homered in his first three ABs as a Rice Owl. He homered again on Friday to make it 4 in 4 games. With him Rodriguez and Savery the Owls have a torrid middle of the order.