SB Nation User Blog: Threepwood XX

Moneyball Movie Moves Forward.

Threepwood XX — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 15:01:11 -0000

Dark Horizons is reporting a Variety story that the long in "development hell" movie adaption of Moneyball has finally moved forward.

Here is a bit of what Dark Horizons had to say:

Steve Zaillian ("Braveheard") has signed on to adapt Michael Lewis' nonfiction bestseller "Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game" for Sony Pictures reports Variety.

David Frankel is attached to direct the project which is being lined up as a potential starring vehicle for Brad Pitt. Michael De Luca and Rachael Horovitz are producing.

I'm not a huge personal fan of Brad Pitt's acting (or lack there of it) but I'm excited for this project to fianlly get off the ground.

Here's to the next Jerry McGuire!

Argument for trading Matt Cain

Threepwood XX — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 18:33:50 -0000

To quote Billy Beane, “If you are going to rebuild you don’t just need good players, you need lots of good players.” The Giants problem is they have a few good players coming down the pipeline like Villalona and Posey, but a lot of them wont be in the big leagues until 2010 at the earliest, and even then it will take a couple years of playing time to get good production out of them. And when they do finally make the show there aren’t enough of them coming to fill all the holes the Giants have from years of mortgaging their future on ill-advised trades and keeping veterans with value (like Schmidt) even though the Giants had no hope of contending.

What the Giants really need to do to get better faster is trade Matt Cain.

Also, there are just WAY too many holes in the roster to fill via free agency (an outfield of average bats gets you no further then .500), and even if you bring in a free agent like Teixeira before you know what holes your system has, you risk blocking people like Villalona or hurting your ability to sign players like Lincecum long term in the future due to too much money tied up in Zito like contracts.

What the Giants need to do is get as many good young players as possible, and their best trading chip is Matt Cain. He’s got the potential to be a poor man’s ace or a really good #2 pitcher, his cheap long term contract give him added value and is being waisted on this rebuilding team, and the Giants would be dealing from a position of organizational strength with tons of good prospects like Alderson and Bumgarner waiting to take Cain's place.

When Beane traded Dan Haren, not only did he get a future ace in Brett Anderson, but get got two more middle of the rotation starters in Smith and Eveland, a future all-star center/right fielder in Carlos Gonzalez, one of the best power prospects in the minors in Chris Carter, and an Aaron Rowand clone in Cunningham.

That’s the kind of massive talent infusion the Giants need to their system if they want to compete in 2010, and the only guy with the kind of value to get that haul (and can be replaced with players already in the system) is Matt Cain.

A's Go Over Slot (3 new draftees sign)

Threepwood XX — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 16:21:50 -0000

There were three new draft signings I haven't seen talked about here. For reference, and a complete list of the 2008 draft, here is Baseball America's draft list.

The big one is Dusty Coleman. He is a Shortstop from Whichita State and the people on the Scout.com boards have been comparing him to Bobby Crosby (without the detachable arm and leg action-figure battle damage). The college sophomore was the A's 28th round pick in the 2008 draft, and here's the kicker: the A's finally flipped the bird to Selig and promised him a $700,000 dollar signing bonus. That's comparable to a second round draft pick. He is currently heading to Arizona for a physical and if everything goes right will sign soon.

The second big signee, according to an insider story on Scout.com, is the A's 2008 11th round pick Chris Berroa. He can do a 6.4 in the 60, hit .500 in 2006, and plays centerfield. No word yet on what he signed for, but when we find out I'll post it.

The final new player to sign was the A's 2008 29th round pick, right handed pitcher Justin Murray from Kansas State.

Sharks Acquire Brian Campbell

Threepwood XX — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 19:02:52 -0000

Today GM Doug Wilson traded Steve Bernier and their 2008 first round pick for three time allstar blue liner Brian Campbell

Here is what the San Jose Sharks website had to say about Campbell:

In 2007-08, Campbell has 43 points (5 goals, 38 assists) in 63 games and is third among NHL blueliners in assists and seventh in points. In 2006-07, Campbell set a career high with 48 points and a +28 plus/minus rating.

and

In the past two seasons, Campbell has played an amazing 34 playoff games and posted 13 points.

Future Athletic Roundup 2.1: A look at the Stockton Rotation

Threepwood XX — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 01:53:13 -0000

Future Athletic Roundup #2.1 – 2008 Stockton Rotation Edition.

Since we hear so much about Stockton's rotation being so good this year, I wanted to write up a projected line-up. Also, since it’s a new season with lots of new players and a new site, so I took the opportunity to choose a new name (I got bored with the last one). Hopefully, unlike last year, I’ll do more than 6 of these this year, but that really depends on my schedule.

With all the hype over Stockton’s rotation this year I wanted to make a list and find out more about the pitchers A’s fans might see in the rotation; when I was done the length of the list surprised me. My take on the situation is that the A’s system was always middle to bottom heavy to begin with. When Beane traded for a glut of mid-level pitchers in the Swisher, Haren, and Scutaro trades, he created a bubble in the system at the A+ level. It’s causing pitchers in A- Kane County or 2007 draftees that might have been a shoe in for an A+ rotation spot in any other year, to repeat their previous level. It’s the only way to explain a pitcher like James Heuser, who had a very good year at Kane County last year but could very well end up repeating the entire year there this year. I also expect the A’s will go with a 6 man rotation in Stockton to try to fit in all the talented pitchers who need starting time to develop. These aren’t ranked by pitching ability, but rather the speed at which I feel the pitcher will graduate from Stockton. Enjoy the list and tell me your opinions when you are done.

Future Athletic Power Rankings: Projected Stockton 2008 Rotation

Brett Anderson (SP/LHP) – The 20 year old’s amazing control (he only walked 21 batters in over 120 innings last year) will make him the most advanced pitcher on the Stockton staff and, given the crowded Stockton staff, could start in AA if he has a good spring training. The left hander ended last year playing for the Diamondback’s A+ affiliate, throws in the low 90’s, has an average fast ball, a changeup, a large breaking curve; and a hard thrown slurve .
Fautino de los Santos (SP/RHP) – De los Santos is the second pitcher that, although slated to start in A+ Stockton, could be quickly pushed to AA Midland given a good spring training. He throws in the mid-90’s (he can reach 97 if he needs to) , has a plus power slerve-ball, and a developing change-up. Both his fastball and power slerve can be considered out pitches giving de los Santos the highest upside of any pitcher in the system since Rich Harden.
Trevor Cahill (SP/RHP) – After an excellent 2007 season with the A’s that saw him win Organizational Pitcher of the year; Cahill is all but guaranteed to start in A+ Stockton. Cahill is a lot like Brett Anderson, but--even without Anderson’s control--he strikes out more people and gets more ground balls. He has a changeup, slider, and a knuckle curve ball to complement his fastball, and he throws in the low to mid 90’s; he also walked 40 people in 105 innings last year. This will be his first time in A+ Stockton and he will likely stay longer then Anderson or de los Santos do, to give him time to work on his command and off-speed pitches.
Vince Mazzaro (SP/RHP) – Mazzaro, one of the “little three” high school aces drafted in 2005, is likely to start the year repeating A+ Stockton. He pitches with an above average fastball with sink, a power knuckle-curve ball, and an inconsistent but developing change-up. If Mazzaro wants to get the bump up to AA, the A’s will be looking for him to be more consistent this year. Last year, although some up his strike-outs were up to 155 (from 81 in 2006), his walks were also up to 71 BB’s in 153 innings (from 42 BB/in 119 in 2006).
Arnold Leon (SP/RHP) – The only thing you need to know about Leon (who signed this winter with the A’s out of the Mexican summer league) is that the A’s want him to start his major league career in Stockton—as a 19 year old. The baby of the young staff has a fastball in the low 90s, has two plus off-speed pitches, and had a 1.94era and .217 average against while pitching in the Mexican summer league last year. Already he’s impressed A’s manager Bob Geren, who listed his name along with players like Gio Gonzolez (the minor league 2007 strikeout leader). Leon will be an interesting player to watch this year.
Henry Rodriguez (SP/RHP) – You know you are going to have a deep rotation when the number six guy on your list throws 100mph. He had the best arm in the A’s system until the Swisher trade brought in DLS. He pitches with a high 90’s two and four seam fastball, a solid change up, and a developing slider. He has the upside of a staff ace, but he’ll have to work on his command and off-speed offerings to get there. He tends to overthrow his pitches and last year it cost him when he walked 58 people in 99 innings of work.
Jared Lansford (SP/RHP) – Two years ago Jared Lansford was throwing perfect games and considered one of the best pitching prospects in the A’s system. Last year he was given the A+ Stockton opening day start, but ended up missing most of the 2007 season because of detaching a muscle from a bone in his chest. This year he’s a borderline candidate to make the Stockton rotation. He pitches with a low 90’s sinking fastball, a knuckle curve, a slider, and a developing change-up. If he wants to keep moving through the system and make up for lost time he’s going to have to improve his strike-out totals. (Although in all fairness, part of his K problem is rumored to have stemmed from not being able to use his curve or slider in Kane County/2006) Lansford being the 7th man in this 6 man rotation is the main thing leaving me to believe that Anderson or DLS will start the year in AA Midland.
Graham Godfrey (SP/RHP) – Godfrey, who came over in the Scutaro trade, is in a bit of a predicament. He’s too good for A- Kane County, not good enough to AA Midland, and has seven guys ahead of him for a spot in the A+ Stockton rotation. My prediction is that he’ll start in the Stockton bullpen and move to the rotation as a spot opens up. He throws in the low 90’s and has a developing change-up and slider.
Jason Fernandez (SP/RHP) – Fernandez came out of nowhere last year to become one of the A’s more interesting pitching prospects. He pitched well in A- Kane County, and depending how badly the A’s want him to be a starter or reliever, he could ether start the year as the ace of the Kane County staff, or start in the Stockton bullpen and battle for a rotation spot as it opens up. Fernandez throws at a Joe Blanton like 88 to 91mph and has a good curveball and slider.
Travis Banwart (SP/RHP) – This 2007 draftee put up a sub 3 era after being aggressively promoted to A-Kane County out of college. He has a low 90’s fastball, an above average change-up, a slow curveball, and a developing slider. He’ll likely start the year in A- Kane County, but at 22 years old is a strong candidate for a mid-year call up to Stockton if he continues to pitch well.
Ryan Webb (SP/RHP) – Webb should start in A+ Stockton again given his performance last year, but Stockton’s glut of pitchers could very well force Webb onto the AA Midland staff. Webb, a four year veteran of the A’s system, is an intelligent pitcher with a low 90’s fastball, a slider, and a curve ball. He almost had a break-out year last year, but after giving up 10 homeruns in four games after being promoted to AA, he floundered after the demotion back to A+ that followed.
James Heuser (SP/LHP) – Heuser is a victim of his own success. He did well as the solid but unspectacular innings eater of the A- Kane County staff last year (you could almost say the Joe Blanton of the staff), so well in fact that the A’s could want to keep him as a starter and, in my opinion, won’t consider him for Stockton’s bullpen. Because he doesn’t yet have the ability/experience of the eleven people ahead of him on this list he’ll likely start in Kane County again. Any other year and he’d go straight to Stockton, but because of the system rebuilding he’s a mid-year call-up at best.

Other Candidates: Scott Deal (A control pitcher with a slider, developing change-up), Brandon Dewing, Jose Guzman, Luis Ramirez (Had a good winter league).

Candidates who were cut from the minors: Michael Rodgers, Trent Peterson

Poll

Which pitcher are you going to be most excited to see pitch in Stockton this year?

Brett Anderson

19 votes

Fautino de los Santos

151 votes

Trevor Cahill

29 votes

Vince Mazzaro

3 votes

Arnold Leon

32 votes

Henry Rodriguez

21 votes

Jared Lansford

7 votes

262 votes | Poll has closed

Future Athletic Roundup (Prospect Gambling Edition)

Threepwood XX — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 00:01:30 -0000

Future Athletic Roundup #1.6 – Prospect Gambling Edition

Sports writers are boring. Every year we have to put up with a bunch of safe prospect lists, and by that I mean top 50, top 25, or top 10. I really think Baseball Prospectus had it almost right when they went with a top eleven. Eleven is an interesting number because it, for once, doesn’t go by the "must be divisible by five" rule most top prospect lists use, but I wanted to take it further. More so then any sport, baseball prospects are a gamble (you can be the next Curt Schilling when you are drafted, and be organizational filler the next), and the number I felt best represented this "hit or miss" mentality was Black Jack’s own 21.

Future Athletic News (Prospect Reloading Edition):

Minor Trade: In a small, almost under the radar trade, the A’s traded some unknown pitcher named Danny Haren for six scrubs. None of them are any good and have crappy projections like hitting only 30 home runs a year, or doing useless things like striking people out. If I feel omnipotent, I might stick a few of them in my top 21.

International Signings: Billy Beane must not have been feeling well. He went out and signed three international prospects to six figure signing bonuses. Both Shortstop Omar Castillo and Pitcher Franklyn Contreras are from Venezuela and will most likely spend another year there. Right handed pitcher Arnold Leon, from Mexico, not only will get a non-roster invite to spring training this year, but is also projected to start for A+ Stockton this year. I’m happy to see Beane is finally opening up the pocket book to pump some depth into the A’s shallow development system.

Legacy of the Giants: The A’s signed Todd Linden (OF) and Justin Knoedler (C), two ex-Giant minor leaguers. Linden was an AAA MVP and Knoedler used to be considered the Giants catcher of the future. Both these guys spent years being jerked around AAA and the majors by the Giants and if given a Jack Cust kind of chance, could be sleeper picks to make the team. I’d like to see Linden be given a chance for the centerfielder job in spring training.

Minor Cuts and Scratches: The A’s recently made five cuts to their minor league rosters. Some were hopeless prospects, and others had some potential...just not much potential. The biggest names were 27 year old reliever Shawn Kohn, who struggled in AAA Sacramento after a strong start in AA Midland, and 24 year old T.J. Franco Jr. who had a 2.67era in A- Kane County but struggled in A+ Stockton. With the increased relief depth in the system, my take is these guys were just too low on the totem pole to be babied along with only a slim hope of ever getting a cup of coffee.

Future Athletic Power Rankings: Top 21 prospects

When I wrote this list I didn’t want to have to same 21 people everyone else has, so I tried to make a few interesting choices at the expense of some safe picks. If you will, take notice of the lack of any 2B/SS/3B prospects and pray that Crosby has a healthy year and the A’s resign Ellis. If you don’t like your favorite minor leaguer being left off...well...that’s what the comments are for; I can take a little criticism.

Daric Barton (1B/DH) – Out of all the A’s prospects he’s the most likely to succeed. Somewhere Dan Johnson is crying.

Carlos Gonzalez (CF/RF) – One of the scrubs from the Danny Haren trade. He can hit for average, punt 30 home runs a year, has the best outfield arm the A’s have seen since Mark Kotsay was healthy, and given a good spring training could be the A’s 2008 starting centerfielder.

Trevor Cahill (SP/RHP) – The A’s organizational pitcher of the year throws in the low 90’s and will likely start the year in A+ Stockton.

Brett Anderson (SP/LHP) – Another scrub from the Haren trade. He’s been described as a left-handed Trevor Cahill and some people think his ceiling could be Mark Mulder. He’ll likely start the year in Stockton’s rotation.

Landon Powell (C) – I wanted to write more about Powell, but I tore my ACL while typing this and had to stop.

Javier Herrera (CF) – The poster boy for the A’s injury plagued minor league system. If he could stop injuring himself he would be the A’s center fielder by ’09 and has the tools to be an All Star.

Corey Brown (OF) – He had the most home runs in short season Vancouver since Dan Johnson. Let’s hope that’s not a sign of things to come.

Chris Carter (DH) – Man, these "Danny Haren" prospects keep infesting my top 21. You’d almost think this might have been a good trade. Carter has the best power bat in the A’s system but he profiles as a future DH.

Henry Rodriguez (SP/RHP) – He’s surpassed Craig Italiano as the best power arm in the system. His control issues keep him from being on the same developmental level as Cahill and Anderson, but he should start in A+ Stockton anyway (I’m really starting to like this rotation.)

Greg Smith (SP/LHP) – Soft tossing scrub from the Haren trade who’s known for his intelligent pitching tactics. He could top out anywhere from Lenny DiNardo to Jamie Moyer.

Vince Mazzaro (SP/RHP) – The only pitcher of the "little three" who managed to stay healthy last year. He has the stuff to be good if he can fix some control problems.

Sam Demel (RP/RHP) – The top relief prospect on this list throws in the low 90s and has the stuff to be a future closer.

Jared Lansford (SP/RHP) – The son of A’s third baseman (and Giants hitting coach) Carney Lansford, went from pitching shut outs in 2006 to detaching a muscle from a bone in his chest and sitting out 2007. Could start in A+ Stockton.

Sean Doolittle (1B) – Could be a future gold glover at first. The biggest knock on him was his lack of power for a first baseman, but after some adjustments to his stroke he showed more power in the instructional league.

Craig Italiano (SP/RHP) – This 97 mile-an-hour right hander lost his 2007 season to a concussion after trying to catch a come-backer with his head.

Jerry Belvins (RP/RHP) – Pitched well for team USA this year. He is a candidate to start the year in the A’s bullpen.

James Simmons (SP/RHP) – He has the best control of any pitcher in the A’s system, but the development of some plus off speed pitches will be the difference between developing into Joe Blanton or Jason Windsor.

Mike Mitchell (RP/RHP) – Would have started 2007 in the A’s bullpen if it wasn’t for a season ending injury.

Arnold Leon (SP/RHP) – Signed by the A’s for six figures in the Mexican League. He’ll likely join a crowded but good rotation in A+ Stockton this year.

Jermaine Mitchell (OF) – He’s the best 5-tool outfielder the A’s have this side of Javier Herrera. Will finally escaping from the hitter’s purgatory that is Vancouver and Kane County help his bat?

J.D. Pruitt (OF) – He broke all sorts of records for OBP (and being hit by pitches) in Vancouver last year. He had two really good months in June and August where he posted a 1.055 and .895 ops, and two bad months in July and September where he posted a .605 and .222 ops. Despite the inconsistent play he still ended the year with a .460obp.

Poll

Who Will Be the 2008 Starting Centerfielder?

Mark Kotsay

97 votes

Chris Denorfia

63 votes

Todd Linden

159 votes

Carlos Gonzalez

53 votes

372 votes | Poll has closed

Joe Thornton Facts (Part 1)

Threepwood XX — Sun, 09 Dec 2007 00:29:52 -0000

Here are some Joe Thornton facts I found on boards for opposing teams (Cnucks and Stars). Feel free to add your own.

Joe Thornton Haiku:

Thornton comes to town,
not Sturm, Primeau, or Stuart
Go to hell Bruins

Joe Thornton Facts:

Joe Thornton never loses the puck. The puck occasionally realizes that it is not worthy of being in the presence of Joe Thornton.

The only reason Chris Pronger is alive is because Joe Thornton finds his futile efforts amusing.

San Jose is the safest metropolitan city in the United States. Criminals know better than to mess with Joe Thornton.

The reason it's warmer during the summer is because the sun can finally get help from Joe Thornton. Joe Thornton doesn't care what the weather is like outside a hockey arena until the offseason.

Joe Thornton once won a swimming competition by freezing the pool and skating across. The judge thought about disqualifying him, until he saw Joe Thornton winding up for a slap shot.

Scientists found a much more efficient way to search for intelligent life in the universe. They simply attach a post-it note with the word "Sup" to a hockey puck, and a Joe Thornton wrist shot launches the puck, with pinpoint accuracy, to every planet out there. The scientists know there's intelligent life on a planet if they see red goal lights flashing.

Every time Joe Thornton loses a faceoff, a baby dies in the womb.

When a Tree falls in the woods, and nobody is around, Joe Thornton hears it fall.

There is no such thing as "disabled" people, only people who have been checked by Joe Thornton.

Joe Thornton is the only person in the world who has permission to touch MC Hammer.

Joe Thornton could stop global warming, but he decided that polar bears are overrated.

Time is divided into two eras: B.C. (Bruin Confinement) and A.D. (After Deal).

The only things certain in life are death and taxes. When the IRS asked Joe Thornton to pay, they became the same thing.

Joe Thornton's playoff beard cannot be shaved by any razor on Earth.

Wayne Gretzky is called "The Great One" because all other positive adjectives are reserved exclusively for Joe Thornton.

Someone once told me "nothing is impossible." Obviously, he had never tried to intercept a pass from Joe Thornton.

The Ice Age occurred because Joe Thornton couldn't find an adequate hockey rink.

Joe Thornton once counted to infinity. He still couldn't find a number big enough to count his total number of assists.

Meyer Called Up!

Threepwood XX — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 23:20:22 -0000

Dan Meyer, the final hope from the Tim Hudson trade, has been called up to the A's

Scout.com is reporting that Dan Meyer has been called up to the Oakland A's.

According to sources close to the situation, River Cats' left-hander Dan Meyer has been called up to the Oakland A's.

At this time, it is not known who Meyer will replace on the A's roster, although left-hander Dallas Braden and right-hander Ruddy Lugo are candidates to be sent down.

This is exciting, but will he be replacing Gaudin, Braden, or DiNardo in the rotation? My guess is Braden will get sent to the pen to work on his pitching and become a long-man (the lack of which became apparent today), while Ruddy Lugo will get sent back to AAA after his below average performance since being called up. I just think Beane likes Braden too much to send him back down just yet.

Meyer has been pitching much better in AAA lately. He's gone 6 innings or longer in 5 of his last 6 starts. Also, during those games he's only given up 5 earned runs, struck out 34, and walked 14.

Future Athletic Roundup 1.4

Threepwood XX — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 08:30:34 -0000

Future Athletic Roundup for Saturday, June 23 2007. – Catcher Edition

Now even longer...but weekly instead of twice a week! Why? Because I need a life! As always this is an interactive medium so fan-scouting reports on any mentioned player and differentiating opinions are encouraged.

Future Athletic News:

Futures Game and Call-ups: Midland ace Mike Madsen, the 21st pick in the 2005 draft, will be doing some traveling in the next couple weeks. First he and Landon Powell have been promoted and will be playing for Sacramento. Secondly Madsen will be visiting "iPhone" (ATT) Park for the Futures game. He won’t be representing the A’s alone, as legendary Sacramento manager Tony DeFrancesco will be joining him as a coach.

First 2007 Full Season Debut: Matt Smith, a 2007 14th round pick, became the first player from that year to debut for a full season team. (James Simmons has yet to join the AA roster). So far he has hit .222/.263/.278/.541 in 18 at bats.

Minor League Rehabilitation: Mike Mitchell, the reliever who helped make Marcus McBeth expendable, made his first rehab start for the Arizona Athletics Tuesday June 26th. He threw one scoreless inning and struck out one. He’ll be joined in Arizona by Danny Putnam also starting his rehabilitation. I’m excited about this, Mitchell’s stuff if arguably better then McBeths’ and if he rehabs quickly he could be another strong Santiago Casilla type promotion for the A’s when healthy. Also, we will finally get to see just what Danny Putnam can do in AAA.

Future Athletic Scouting Report: Anthony Recker

Anthony Recker is one of the top catching and top power prospects in the entire A’s system, and 18 months ago almost no one even knew he was drafted. Recker was drafted 18th in the 2005 draft, two spots after the notorious Justin Smoke. You could almost say Recker was drafted under the radar, because people were so busy worrying about the elite prospect that could have been and wasn’t signed, they never noticed a catcher from the small Alvernia College put up a decent .702ops in short season Vancouver.

Then something strange happened, that catcher from nowhere who was drafted in the shadow of a prospect many considered to be a future all-star...started to look like a future all-star himself. Playing for low A Kane County in 2006, Recker quickly turned heads as he played himself into the starting Catcher role and put up a respectable .358 on-base percentage, .822ops, and 14 home runs. In 2007 he has been even better leading the A’s minor league system through June with 13 home runs and putting up a .319avg/.402obp/.609slg/1.010ops line in high A Stockton before being promoted to AA Midland; the catcher drafted in the shadow of a top prospect has become one himself.

Currently Recker has been off to a slow start in AA putting up a .172/.226/.207 line in 29 at bats for Midland, but system leading power doesn’t just disappear and should return. The area he currently needs to work on most is his defense; it’s average at best, but Recker has a big frame, is agile, and has a decent arm, so he has a shot at being an above average to excellent defender down the road if he works hard. He has an interesting future too; with Powell’s re-emergence as a top defensive catching prospect (also with power), Recker could have to challenge him for playing time in AAA and even the majors. One possibility is the A’s might decide to move Recker to a different position to keep his power in the lineup on a regular basis. The obvious place to move him would be first, but with Daric Barton there for the foreseeable future (and Jack Cust at DH) where could he move? It will be fun watching him progress no matter what happens to him.

Future Athletic Power Rankings: Catcher

This was an interesting one to write given that it is probably the position the A’s have the most depth in right now. Kurt Suzuki is not on the list because...well...if he stays on the roster for the rest of the year 2007 will be considered his rookie year and he won’t be a prospect. But if for some reason (cough Mike Piazza cough) Suzuki is sent down there will be a space waiting for him.

Landon Powell – Where else do you put the player that could be considered the best defensive catcher in the Texas league while he was there, but also has been putting up some VERY nice offensive numbers too. He has more power and (arguably) better defense then Kurt Suzuki, also he is off to a hot start in AAA. He could very easily be in the mix for the starting catcher position sometime next year.

Anthony Recker – Currently the best power prospect in the A’s system, but his defense is a work in progress. His slow start in AA hurt his chances of securing the number one spot over Landon Powell.

JD Closser – Picked up by Beane earlier this year Closser turned around a sub-par year when he played for the Brewer’s AAA affiliate (.682ops) and is now showing off a shiny .859ops in AAA Sacramento. He also has some power and had a 2 home run game last Tuesday (26th).

Jeremy Brown – The blue-jeans model from Moneyball is actually having a really great year. He has a .292/.385/.513/.898 line which, if it wasn’t for Kurt Sazuki, Landon Powell, and JD Closser, might be good enough for a major league back-up catching position for a stat orientated team; but probably not with the A’s.

Matt Smith – Matt Smith must have his head in the clouds. He’s a 14th round pick and he’s already playing for full year team. He’ll have to get his stats up in the next few weeks if he wants to avoid a "Matt Sulentic" like demotion back to Vancouver.

Notables—Future Athletics Who Throw Stuff:

Henry Rodriguez: 6.0 innings, 4 hits, 3ER, 0HR, 2BB, and 7K's

The Kane County pitcher who can hit 100mph on the radar gun had another good game...no, not the one who is out indefinitely after being hit in the head with a comebacker, the other one...you haven’t heard of him? Good because until recently nether have I. He was brought up to Kane County the same time as (And has put up better numbers then) Trevor Cahill. Here’s a prospect I’ll be keeping a better eye on in the future.

Michael Madsen: 7.2 innings, 4H, 0ER, 0HR, 2BB, 6K's

Another boring 4 hitter thrown by Madsen in his AAA debut. He better watch out, a few more outings like this and Madsen might find himself starting for the A’s sometime after the All Star break. DiNardo who?

Scott Deal: 9.0 innings, 9H, 1ER, 0HR, 0BB, 2K

Deal pitched a complete game for Kane County on the 26th. Although he allowed nine base runners, the important number that allowed him to keep his runs down is the zero walks.

Notables—Future Athletics Who Hit Things:

Daric Barton: .329avg/.418obp/.495slg/.913ops
Dear Billy Beane,

Every day Daric Barton hits .500 in AAA while Dan Johnson clogs up the base paths a fairy dies. Why do you hate fairies Mr. Beane?

Sincerely, Fade

P.S. Clapping won’t help.

Vasili Spanos: .293avg/.345obp/.454slg/.800ops
Spanos is a good Samaritan. His day started out innocently enough; he was filling in at third base for good friend (and injured A’s prospect) Jeff Baisley. To start the game he popped out to third base to, in typical A’s fashion, strand Cliff Pennington on the base paths...then all hell broke loose. Spanos hit three consecutive home runs in his next three at bats and ended up with 5 rbi’s. The sad thing is, even with the home runs, his May was still better than his June.

Matt Sulentic: .276avg/.432obp/.448slg/.881ops
Sulentic went 9 for 26 with two doubles and a home run in his first full week back at Vancouver. Now if he could only hit like this in Kane County...

Poll

Who is the A's Starting Catcher of the Future?

Kurt Suzuki

75 votes

Landon Powell

36 votes

Anthony Recker

17 votes

Jason Kendall

2 votes

130 votes | Poll has closed

Future Athletic Round-up 1.3

Threepwood XX — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 08:25:26 -0000

Future Athletic Roundup for Saturday, June 23 2007. (One day late due to a sluggish internet connection slowing my research)

That was close! I was almost traded to the Kansas City Royals, but it turns out when I was typing the last issue of Future Athletics Roundup my keyboard strained its enter key on the last sentence so here I am. As always this is an interactive medium so fan-Scouting reports on any mentioned player and differentiating opinions are encouraged.

Future Athletic News:

Call-ups: With the class of 2007 starting to sign "en masse," there have been call-ups galore (and one very notable but expected call-down) in the A’s minor league system. Some of the more notable call-ups include: high batting average (and low power) infielder Gregorio Petit called up to AAA from AA (and off to a slow start batting .000/.083/.000 in 11 at bats), power hitting catcher Anthony Recker called up to AA from high A (and off to a slow start batting .214/.313/.214 in 14 at bats), 2005 first round pick Cliff Pennington called up to AA from high A (more about him later), and hyped outfield prospect Matt Sulentic demoted to short season Vancouver from low A Kane County (and off to a slow start batting .143/.250/.143).

First round picks debuted: 2007 first round picks first baseman Sean Doolittle and outfielder Corey Brown made their debuts in Low A Vancouver this week, and both are off to good starts. Doolittle is hitting .313 with little power and Brown is hitting .333 with a .500 slugging percentage.

The Curse of Bradley: Midland’s power hitting third baseman Jeff Baisley was placed on the AA DL for his knee. This is a huge blow to him and the A’s; considering that he’s blocked by Eric Chavez and is an older prospect, he needs all the time he has to move through the system and increase his trade value.

Future Athletic Power Rankings: Outfield

I was going to start at the catcher position, but with the Bradley DFA I thought it would be nice to take a look at who the A’s have in the pipeline for the outfield. I could have had this list go on ten prospects strong, but for the sake of not scaring away people with a long diary, here’s my top five:

Danny Putnam – He hasn’t played since May, but there’s no one closer to the big leagues with skills better than his. He had a 1.001ops in AA, but only had a .613ops in AAA before he got injured. He’s number one at this point because no other outfielder in the system has put up the numbers or is close enough to the show to justify giving it to them instead.

Richie Robnett – The AA outfielder didn’t start out well this year, but he might be turning it around with a .300/.366/.489 June. He’s shown brilliance before but hasn’t been able to keep it up and become the power hitting outfielder that he has the potential to be.

Jermaine Mitchell – I don’t like putting a low A outfielder up this high, but he had a great June and some of the people ahead of him in the system didn’t. In his first full season of play, Mitchell started out fairly average in his first two months, but has turned it on in June to the tune of .274/.329/.507; pretty good numbers for low A. He could be a candidate for a call-up to high A later this year.

Javier Herrera – I’m being forgiving to the player whose name is often used in the same sentence as "future superstar." Herrera looked like he had found his stroke in May but cooled off again in June by hitting a line of .216/.245/.357. He missed a year and was promoted aggressively by the A’s, so it’s not too surprising to see him struggle; unfortunately he needs to start hitting more consistently soon or he might get passed in the depth charts by Jermaine Mitchell.

Jason Perry – He’s 26 and his stats have fallen considerable compared to his AA and May AAA .900+ OPS, but should the entire A’s outfield gets injured at once—for a second time this year--this is the guy that will probably get the call-up. He’ll have to turn it around soon and start showing the A’s he means business by return to his .900+ OPS hitting; if not he’ll get the AAAA label, and have his name buried permanently beneath the likes of Denorfia and Putnam (if healthy) when the A’s need a call-up this year or choose outfield spots next year.

Notables—Future Athletics Who Throw Stuff:

Dan Meyer: 5.1 innings, 7 hits, 4ER, 3HR, 3BB, and 10K's

Meyer got 10 of his 16 outs with the strike out. It’s frustrating to see someone with such good stuff, a pitcher the A’s desperately need, not be able to put it together. Meyer got 10 of his 16 outs with the strike out, but gave up 7 hits, 3 home runs, and 3 walks, and that is why he isn’t ready for the A’s rotation yet.

Mike Madsen: 6.0 innings, 3H, 0ER, 0HR, 3BB, 3K's

The Midland ace is back to pitching like an ace. He may only have had three strike outs last game, but you have to think it’s only a matter of time before he’s called up to AAA, especially with the A’s rotation troubles.

Mario Ramos: 5.0 innings, 6H, 0ER, 0HR, 4BB, 4K

The lefty pitched a shut-out in his 2007 Sacramento debut, but his numbers suggest he was lucky; next time he allows 10 base-runners in 5 innings, one of them will probably score.

Notables—Future Athletics Who Hit Things:

Daric Barton: .330avg/.420obp/.494slg/.914ops
Daric Barton appears on the "Future Athletics Who Hit Things" List for a record three times in a row! Why you may ask? Well, because there is no one--NO ONE--in the A’s system who is hitting things (mostly balls I hope) better then Daric Barton. On Tuesday I complained about his drop in power and he’s raised it from .433 to .494 in five games. With Barton hitting like this, the only thing that will save Dan Johnson from a trade at the deadline or in the offseason is a prolonged slump by Jack Cust for the rest of the year--because Barton is the A’s first baseman of the future.

Cliff Pennington: .255avg/.348obp/.399slg/.747ops
For most of the A’s prospects, outside of Daric Barton and the Vancouver Canadians, it wasn’t a strong four days offensivly(since my last edition), but Pennington has (sadly) done better than most so I’ll mention him. Since Tuesday Pennington went 4 for 14 with a double and 3 walks. It’s a good start for just being called up to AA, but he’ll need to get that average up eventually.

Walter Correa: .438avg/.474obp/.563slg/1.036ops
The Venezuelan born Correa shared time between second and short in the four game series Vancouver played against Tri-City this week, and he had a great series. He went 6 for 12 with a double and two walks.

Poll

What should the A's do with Daric Barton

Promote him immediatly to replace Dan Johnson

20 votes

Trade Dan Johnson as soon as possible to free room for Barton's promotion.

54 votes

Call-up Barton when the roster expands.

44 votes

Let him season in AAA until 2008.

19 votes

137 votes | Poll has closed