SB Nation User Blog: cwhitman412

Halladay/Cliff Lee Supposedly Traded

cwhitman412 — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 21:07:41 -0000

Halladay to Philly, Lee to Seattle. SI.com reports hit. http://twitter.com/SI_JonHeyman/status/6673019520 and http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/baseball/mlb/12/14/phillies.halladay.lee/index.html?eref=BrkNews

Holy shit.

I have nothing else to say.

Filler. Filler. Filler. Filler. Filler. Filler. Filler. Filler. Filler. Filler. Filler. Filler. Filler. Filler. Filler. Filler. Filler. Filler. Filler. Filler. Filler. Filler. Filler. Filler. Filler. Filler. Filler. Filler. Filler. Filler. Filler. Filler. Filler. Filler. Filler. Filler. Filler. Filler. Filler. Filler. Filler. Filler. Filler. Filler. Filler. Filler. Filler. Filler. Filler. Filler. Filler. Filler. Filler. Filler. Filler. Filler. Filler. Filler. Filler. Filler. Filler. Filler. Filler. Filler. Filler. Filler.

Community Prospect List - Cubs

cwhitman412 — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 20:45:42 -0000

Onto the cubs for Toonster. I've been very behind with things, even with my spreadsheet losing data, so I kinda slacked off a bit. I"ll put the cubs up, but the finalized list won't be for a while, if ever, for the entire NL Central. If a team is request I will be more than happy to post that list. 130 AB, 50 IP Limits

1. Starlin Castro

2. Josh Vitters

3. Brett Jackson

4. Jay Jackson

5. Kyler Burke (He performed extremely well, he's still young, he was a high draft pick, and he finally turned his tools into skills. it wasn't out of no where)

Other names are Cashner, Carpenter, Lee, LeMahieu, Flaherty, and Colvin.

Community Prospect List - Reds

cwhitman412 — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 21:50:35 -0000

Up to the Reds. Another pretty low system, with even more quality traded to Toronto. There really aren't many players in this system with much upside as far as I know. Maybe I'll learn otherwise.130 AB, 50 IP

1. Yonder Alonso

2. Leake

3. Brad Boxberger (Very Very high on him)

4. Todd Frazier

5. Juan Francisco

Other names that should be considered for the list are Cozart, Heisey, Sulbaran, Yorman Rodriguez, and Wood.

Controversial Prospect - Kyle Drabek

cwhitman412 — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 17:40:30 -0000

Drabek is a prospect I've been extremely high on from the beginning of the year. One of my bold predictions coming into the year was Drabek leading the minors in K's. Well...

Season	Team	W	L	ERA	G	GS	CG	ShO	SV	BS	IP	TBF	H	R	ER	HR	BB	IBB	HBP	WP	BK	SO

2009	Phillies (A+)	4	1	2.48	10	9	1	1	0		61.2	249	49	19	17	0	19	0	2	2	1	74
2009	Phillies (AA)	8	2	3.64	15	14	0	0	0		96.1	405	92	40	39	9	31	2	1	2	3	76

Season	Team	K/9	BB/9	K/BB	HR/9	AVG	WHIP	BABIP	LOB%	FIP

2009	Phillies (A+)	10.80	2.77	3.89	0.00	.220	1.10	.329	72.9 %	1.82
2009	Phillies (AA)	7.10	2.90	2.45	0.84	.253	1.28	.298	75.4 %	3.83

By May it looked like a legit possibility. He was averaging 6+ innings a start, averaging 10.8 K/9. His K total projected if he stayed that same rate over the entire season would be 189 K's, which would have led to him winning the K title. Instead he got promoted to AA as a 21 year old in his first full season back from TJ surgery. From there, his K total plummeted, which worried many observers. But as stated in the line above, he was a 21 year old in his first season back from TJ surgery. These results should have pleased many people. Instead, he's being drastically underrated. He still kept very good control as well. The only concern is that along with the loss of K's, his hit rate went drastically up, a concern with his lower BABIP in AA. He did not allow a single homer in high A, surprising with him not being a groundball pitcher. Coming into the year his stuff was as followed as reported by BA:

Strengths: Drabek is on his way to having three average-to-plus pitches. His fastball has reached 95 mph during his comeback and sits in the low 90s, though he hasn't had to carry it deep into games yet. His hard curveball is rounding into above-average shape more consistently. The work he did in instructional league improved both his mechanics and his changeup.

His A+ Ball report at the end of the season:

Between his 93-94 mph fastball that touched 96 mph whenever he needed and a promising changeup and curveball that both project to be plus pitches, Drabek had the three-pitch repertoire to be a future No. 2 starter.

He also has excellent athleticism for a pitcher, no surprise for someone who could have been a top-three-rounds pick as a shortstop. He fields his position well, holds runners and has the ability to make adjustments to his delivery on the fly.

Drabek's biggest flaws are mainly minor issues. He sometimes relies too much on his secondary stuff instead of blowing hitters away with his fastball. Some managers believed he struggled to maintain his composure when he got into jams, but others thought his fiery mound presence worked to his advantage.

His AA report at the end of the season:

The Phillies threw Drabek's name around in midseason trade talks but kept him as he emerged as their top pitching prospect. The son of 1990 Cy Young Award winner Doug Drabek, Kyle overcame Tommy John surgery and threw a career-best 158 innings this season. He tired late as the workload caught up to him, but at his best he showed a tantalizing mix of three plus pitches to go with athleticism that makes him a dangerous hitter and adept fielder.

Drabek's fastball sits in the 90-93 mph range with life, and his curveball and changeup are inconsistent but both have flashed above-average, particularly his breaker. His curveball is sharp and late, but he needs to command both the fastball and curve better. He made great strides with his changeup while going through his Tommy John rehab, as well as with his maturity.

Scouts and managers generally lauded Drabek's competitiveness and fiery mound presence. They also admitted that it gets him in trouble at times. "He loves to compete," Reading manager Steve Roadcap said, "but he will have to learn to dial it back a bit."

He's easily a top 25 prospect, and a top 7 pitching prospect, if not higher.

Community Prospect List - Brewers

cwhitman412 — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 17:28:38 -0000

Sorry for the long wait. School has been a bitch lately, and I'm still trying to catch up. I want to finish up the NL Central however. Brewers time! 130 AB, 50 IP. I guess to be fair I have to include Gamel.

1. Brett Lawrie

2. Alcides Escobar

3. Caleb Gindl

4. Cody Scarpetta

5. Eric Arnett

Other names, Lucroy, Salome, Schafer, Anundson, Braddock, Gamel, Odorizzi, Rogers, Kentrail Davis, and Wily Peralta. Incredibly underrated system after looking at it more. Lots of great players in it. I could easily reorganize 3 through 15 with almost any of those names. I'm really low on Escobar, as well as Gamel. Gindl is one of my favorite hitters, and the pitching really intrigues me.

Community Prospect List - Cardinals

cwhitman412 — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 12:08:25 -0000

Cardinals are next. What a terrible system. Graduates and trades totally wiped out this system. There's some upside here, especially for bullpen arms, but we saw what happened with those this year. Speaking of bullpen arms, Gorgen is in my top 3 for Cardinal bullpen arms, and I'm still deciding if he goes any higher. That change up is NASTY. The pitch f/x for it is insane. Anyways, 130 AB, 50 IP limits

1. Shelby Miller

2. Allen Craig

3. Daniel Descalso

4. Jaime Garcia

5. Robert Stock

Other names are Freese, Hamilton, Daryl Jones, Sanchez, Reifer, Hooker, and Castillo, Lynn.

Community Prospect List - NL West

cwhitman412 — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 12:05:08 -0000

Sorry for the holdup.

	5	4	3	2	1	Total
Padres
Decker	11	3	2			73
Castro	3	4	6	2	1	54
Darnell	1	2	4	4	3	36
Tate	1	4	3	7	0	34
Poreda	0	3	0	0	1	13
Forsythe	0	0	1	1	2	7
Rincon	0	0	0	1	2	4
Williams	0	0	0	1	0	2
Portillo	0	0	0	0	2	2
Carter	0	0	0	0	2	2
Galvez	0	0	0	0	1	1
Sampson	0	0	0	0	1	1
Sogard	0	0	0	0	1	1

Dodgers
Withrow	8	5	1	0	0	63
Martin	1	7	5	1	0	50
Gordon	5	1	5	2	1	49
Lambo	0	1	0	6	3	19
Elbert	0	0	1	2	4	11
Miller	0	0	1	0	3	6
Robinson	0	0	1	0	2	5
Lindblom	0	0	0	2	0	4
DeJesus	0	0	0	1	0	2
Gould	0	0	0	0	1	1

Giants
Posey	15	4	0	0	0	87
Bumgarner	4	14	1	0	0	79
Wheeler	0	1	11	3	2	45
Neal	0	0	6	10	1	39
Rodriguez	0	0	0	3	5	11
Villalona	0	0	1	0	1	4
Adrianza	0	0	0	1	0	2
Kieschnick	0	0	0	0	2	2
Noonan	0	0	0	1	0	2
Stoffel	0	0	0	1	0	2
Crawford	0	0	0	0	2	2
Peguero	0	0	0	0	1	1
Dominguez	0	0	0	0	1	1
Runzler	0	0	0	0	1	1
Pill	0	0	0	0	1	1
Joaquin	0	0	0	0	1	1
Gillespie	0	0	0	0	1	1

Rockies
Freidrich	13	3	0	0	0	77
Chacin	3	8	4	1	0	63
Matzek	0	4	10	2	0	50
Rosario	0	0	0	4	3	11
Brothers	0	0	0	3	4	10
Young	0	0	0	2	6	10
Wheeler	0	1	0	3	0	10
McKenry	0	0	2	0	2	10
Blackmon	0	0	0	1	0	2
Gomez	0	0	0	0	1	1

Diamondbacks
Parker	11	0	0	0	0	55
Allen	0	5	5	1	0	37
Borchering	0	6	4	0	1	37
Davidson	0	0	1	3	3	12
Pollock	0	0	0	2	5	9
Schlereth	0	0	1	1	1	6
Wheeler	0	0	0	1	1	3
Owings	0	0	0	1	0	2
Miley	0	0	0	1	0	1
Harden	0	0	0	1	0	1

Community Prospect List - Pirates

cwhitman412 — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 23:11:19 -0000

I will leave the NL West open for another two days. However I will start the NL Central, our last divison. The Pirates are another team with a great draft this year. Definitely added some depth to the system.

1. Pedro Alvarez

2. Tony Sanchez

3. Tabata

4. Chase D'Arnaud

5. Brad Lincoln

4/5 were tossups for me. Other names to consider are Von Rosenburg, Starling Marte, Colton Cain, Stevenson, Inman, Pounders, Dodson, Black, Grossman, and Alderson.

Community Prospect List - Diamondbacks

cwhitman412 — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 02:00:42 -0000

My apologies. I totally forgot Allen was still eligible. And he makes a pretty big change in lists. So REDO.

On to the D-Backs. Let's just say that if this draft never happened, this would be easily the worst in the league. I have 3 09 draftees in the top 5. And I could have had four. That's how bad this system is. 130 AB, 50 IP

1. Jarrod Parker

2. Allen

3. Borchering

4. Owings

5. Davidson

6. Schlereth

Other names are A.J. Pollock, Helm, Belfiore (yes, three more draftees), Wheeler (another), Cole Gillespie (who I really like), Harden (liked him before this year), Eichhorn, and Nick (yes, another draftee)

Community Prospect List - Rockies

cwhitman412 — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 22:42:21 -0000

On to the Rockies. This system had a great draft this year. Three projected top 30 guys with their first three picks. That's what you call a good draft.

1. Christian Freidrich

2. Jhoulys Chacin

3. Matzek

4. Willin Rosario

5. Rex Brothers

Other names are E.Y. Jr, Blackmon, Gomez, Deduno, Frazier, Rogers, Wheeler, McKenry, Arenado, Balcom-Miller, and Weatherford.

Does anyone know anything about Jordan Pacheco? He looks like a great sleeper prospect.