I just came across this guy thanks to a list preparred by Project Prospect of youngest A+ guys.  Then I found he has been in AA for about 2 weeks already.  The guy is 19, held his own in a tough pitcher's league (FSL), and has a few hits and no k's in AA so far.  He is dominican, so maybe he's 21, sh_t who knows.  Anyways, his bio says he is 6' to 6'1" (i.e. 5'11").  As a SS for the Cubs, with no insurmountable road blocks at the position, I am wondering who has seen him and what do you guys think.

John had him down as a sleeper with a C+ score.

The cubs sure seem to be fast tracking him.

Trevor is 22 and has been tough to hit in both AA and AAA.  The Texas League is a hitters league from what I gather as well.  Ground ball pitcher with a lucky BABIP so far this season.  The 2.5 to 3.5 K:BB ratio is not poor, rather its at the minimum of what most of us find acceptable.

So far this season he has been pitching into the 7th + inning; this along with a decline in BB:9 indicate he is becoming more efficient.

Trevor has never really been a touted prospect in recent years, although he was a suppy pick when drafted out of highschool.

K:9 is weak

So are we looking at a solid #4 starter here?

Dominguez has to be one of the early dissapointments as far as offensive production  in the early going as far as pre-season top 50-ish guys go, but he is hitting .333 in his last 10 games with 2 dingers in the last 4 days.

I am interested to see where this little hot streak ends up.  We all remember that he started slow last year, albeit with mono.

has anyone watched him lately, any have any observations?

http://razzball.com/20-risky-pitchers-for-2009/

Here is a link to Razzball's web site which has some very nice, possibly original, research on injury risk pitchers for 2009.

It should be worth your while as we wait to get the ball rolling on 2009.

Its interesting that the vast majority of guys on this list are flashy up and coming pitchers, most of the veterens on this list have had arm problems

I was interested in Alexi Casilla.  Why, you wonder?  I am in a 20 team dynasty league, and we all love finding the next bargin.

He had a nice average last year.  Not the best at taking a walk, OB% is a little weak, but this was his first regualar season.

From a fantasy perspective, the SB potential is what I am looking for.  Nice SB track record in the minors 89 for 116 in 3 seasons, and good success in the bigs 18 for 21.

I don't watch the Twins that much, but I think Guardenhire (SP?) is a very measured manager.  Does anyone out there think Guardy will green light him 20-30 times this year?

Bill James has him at 20SB this year.

So, will Casilla develop some value next year from a fantasy standpoint?

I have been looking at some of the Bill James projections for 2009; I have never really used them before.  It seems like they are a little more on the liberal side as compared to Marcel and Chone.  I think I would give him credit for at least trying to incorporate some common sense rather than just spitting out numbers.

What are your opinions on the Bill James projections?  Some projections will be off, I realize this, but from past years does he seem excessively optimistic or in the ball park?

Listen,

Ok  I know he isn't 18, and I know we all love to talk about top draft picks....but Raynor looks like he is going to be a major leaguer to me, possibly a very exciting one offensively.

No, he isn't going to hit 30, but is there any reason he can't hit .290 95 -13 -50 - 45?

Smells like Victorino/Damon type numbers.  At 6'2", he might even top out with more power for a few years.

 I read that the Marlins are even going to give him an extra sniff this spring.  Florida is one of the few spots where a guy like this can crack the lineup too.

This kind of player is far more interesting to me than a light hitting 18 year old shortstop, or a pitcher who throws 98mph ball 4.

What am I missing?  any info would be appreciated.

Does anyone have a link to some Hanson video?  I can't find anything!

 much appreciated

a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a aa a a a  a a  a a a a a a a a aa a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a

I have read that Eric Young Jr. would most likely top out as a utility player.  I haven't seen him play, but I was wondering if you guys can shed some more light on why he is not getting more sniffs from the community?

from what I see stat wise, he has produced at every level.  He is a little old to make ultra propecters drool, but he has game changing speed, leadoff caliber OBP and walks, and a very respectable BA.  He K's a little too much, and the glove needs work.  He is capable of hitting a homerun.

From what I read, he has the drive to refine his skills and keep improving on the little things to help the team.

I just get the feeling that he could be an everyday player, which to me would mean that he should be a reasonable prospect (yet he really gets no attention in here).

Fantasy guys should be hoping he gets a shot after some time in AAA.

I think he improved with the glove this year...can someone reference a website where I can check fielding stats please?

Your thoughts?!

Maybe this won't be popular, but I am now a believer that instant replay should be used in Playoff games for MLB from now on.  I don't think there is enough attention on regular season games to warrant instant replay.

Also, I learned from the broadcast last night that the umpires selected for the game are from a rotational pool of umps, not the best selected.

For the last several years, umpires have been affecting the game with blown calls.  With super slow motion replay, the time for baseball to evolve has come.  ten years ago, we were sitting on our couch arguing with each other over a questionable call, and because there was no super slow motion replay, nobody won the argument.

today is different, we now know when the umps make the mistake.  Beleive me, I am often impressed with how the umpires make the calls on split second plays.

But the last several years have had terrible game changing calls, and I am fed up.

I propose that the instant replay be used on everything besides balls and strikes (although the balls and strikes called lastnight were very biased.

I understand that many will disagree, so I will leave you all with one thought/opinion.

In football instant replay reduces the idea of crooked game calling since the most critical plays are overturnable.

In basketball, replay is not used and the referees are under total scrutiny, not to mention the horrible home court bias which has rendered the NBA playoffs almost unwatchable for me.

With umpires  being proven wrong on TV, I believe the league has to make an effort to get the call right.  Otherwise the MLB could become the NBA.

In a mini all-star AFL game, Hughes and Hanson squared off. 

Hanson dominated his 3 innings with 7k's 0H, 2BB.

Hughes 3 inn with 3H, 4R, 1ER, 2BB, 3K, 2 HR; errors always suck, but that was a bad inning.

One could even argue that Hanson faced better hitters.  It is going to be interesting to see what Atlanta does with him. 

filler filler filler filler filler filler filler filler filler filler filler

I am currious on the what the next couple of years will hold for Hochevar?  Seems like a reasonable topic for the community since he was a prospect, has ace type tools, and had a dissapointing season for the most part.

I watched several of his games, and I have to say that dispite the poor outcomes, I still see the tools of an ace available to him.  The 2 seam and 4 seam fastball have lots of pop and movement, the slider has lots of bite, the curve is reasonable along with the change up.

Its no secret, he had very poor location which I feel led to most of his problems. 

One thing I noticed is that I believe he has a very competitive makeup.  Fought his way out of a lot of jams.  I think he has mental toughness, but  and lacks maturity and polish.

Besides Hochevar's own issues, I am working on a theory/observation about how well pitchers can develop if they have a good catcher leading/teaching them or not.  I doubt John Buck is helping to shape and mature Hochevar.

Pierzinski/Danks; Pierzinski/Floyd; Schneider/Pelfrey; Bako/Volquez; these are some pitching combos where the young pitcher flourished with a new veteran catcher.

Bottome line is I could see the second half of 09 being very good for Luke if he devotes himself to finding that polish he so desperately needs.  What are the thoughts of the community?

Just an update for those that missed this brief debut by McDonald.  James pitched the 8th in a blowout loss: 1IP, 2k, 0H, 0W. 

He busted off Doumit on a 91mph fastball, and struck out Adam Laroche, and Moss.

For LaRoche he pushed the fastball up to 93, threw him a nice change at 72mph, then stuck him out swinging on a 75mph curve that was a dandy.  Don't take my word for it, after the umpire signalled the out on the swing the ump went to the mound to look at the ball for scuffs or pine tar. Nothing there.

For Moss, he went to 2-2 with the 92-93 mph fastball and then dropped the same curve for the K.

The trip to the mound by the umpire confirmed what I thought was at least above average stuff.  This was a nice little outing.

Is anyone else out there a little concerned about Jhoulys Chacin's increased workload from 2007 to 2008?

2007 = 92 IP

2008 = 177.66

Is there something I am missing? 

There are some pretty strong coorelations that when you increase 75+ innings from one year to the next that you increase the likelihood of breaking down.

I tried to find his pitches thrown this year, but was unsuccessful...anyone out there know?  filler filler filler      

hey guys,

what are some sources for minor league injury reports?  there are two guys that I like to follow and I am having trouble getting updates on them:

Eric Young has not played a game with Tulsa AA in about a week

Greg Reynolds only went two innings today.

I was wondering if they are hurt.

Any suggestions on where I can be self sufficient at seeing if these are injuries?

thanks very much

What are some of the websites you guys out there are using to track players breaking out during the season in the minors?  I am mostly interested in learning about places I can go to review stats of minor leaguers during the season for fantasy purposes.

I want to find Joey Votto or Wade Davis during the season while they are breaking out rather than wait until they come out on a list.

My biggest challenge is tracking players that are moving up through the systems.

Are there efficient techniques that are being used by you guys for example "look for players who just got promoted to AA and research them?" or something similar? If so, would you mind sharing?

For the last couple of years I have found some nice players (that I had never heard of) before they hit fantasy mainstream, so I know what I like in a stat line when I see it.  I have mostly been reviewing MiLB.com stats during the season for High A, AA, and AAA.  

suggestions??!!