SB Nation User Blog: hperl345

Main in the Orlando Sentinel

hperl345 — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 04:01:57 -0000

I came across this over the weekend:

Ex-DeLand pitcher Michael Main needs a little luck in the Texas Rangers organization
--------------------

Andrea Adelson
From the Press Box

June 10 2008

Michael Main sits around a lot these days. Takes lots of naps, plays lots of video games. Not exactly the way he envisioned starting his second pro baseball season.

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/columnists/orl-adelson1008jun10,0,3183961.column

Gammons 5/30/1999

hperl345 — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 06:02:41 -0000

Unfortunately all i have access to is an abbreviated summary-- pretty entertaining though:

Draft? It's becoming the hidden ballplayer trick; [City Edition]
Peter Gammons. Boston Globe. Boston, Mass.: May 30, 1999. pg. C.7
Abstract (Summary)

In a draft this Wednesday without predetermined or projected stars, there are scouts who will tell you that a kid from Whitinsville, Mass., named Rick Asadoorian is the best pure talent in the pool. "Add up everything against Josh Hamilton {the Raleigh high school OF who may go No. 1}, and Asadoorian is far better, especially when you mix in family and makeup," says one National League scout. "Vs. J.D. Drew? Thank you. I'll take Asadoorian, but he's a Massachusetts kid who may take 5-6 years." In case you're wondering, never have the Red Sox prayed for a local kid to get to them more than they're hoping that the Expos, Pirates, Orioles, and Reds pass and give Boston a shot at this five tool "Little Tony C."

Some believe this draft is thin, because they look and see that along with (Keith) Reed and Asadoorian, Auburn's Mike Paradis, Clemson's ace, and Pioneer Valley HS RHP Brad Baker also are projected as first- or sandwich-round picks. "That's not right," says Padres GM Kevin Towers, whose team has five high picks. "There's a lot of pitching, it's deep, it's essentially high school. It's a scouts' draft."

Hamilton, Texas, HS pitcher Josh Beckett or USC 1B-DH Eric Munson will be the first pick, but Baker could win more games than Beckett. Asadoorian could be Tony, Billy, or Richie Conigliaro. Those who have watched the Cape League think UCLA's Barry Zito will be an All-Star despite the gun and scouting reports, and if heart and soul are as important as most of us believe, Northeastern's Greg Montalbano could win more big league games than any college lefthander.

afl-harrison

hperl345 — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 20:09:09 -0000

greg golson lead off and reached on a bunt single in the first. He's the fastest guy I've seen out here. Andrus turned 2 on the next hitter and then harrison got a fly to left. Teagarden is behind the plate and just flew out to left in the top of the 2nd. .555555555555565555 yyyyyyyyyyyy ggggggggggggg gggggggggggggg ggggggggg ggggggggg gggggggg gggggg ggggg gggggg

AFL

hperl345 — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 00:19:46 -0000

I've seen 5 Rafters games in the past 10 days and thought I'd offer a report.

Today I saw Andrus get a start at SS for the 2nd time. He's really smooth defensively and has plenty of arm. He seems to do a good job of playing within himself and getting in good position to throw. By this I mean that unlike MY, who often plants in the hole in order unleash a laser, Andrus glides to the ball and seems to let his momentum do the work.

From a speed standpoint, I've seen him try to beat out a couple of grounders and he's not quite as fast as I imagined him to be. I was unrealistically hoping for Reyes type speed, but he moves down the line a lot like Jeter, which is certainly adequate.

At the plate he takes a lot of pitches for strikes. He's been seeing a ton of curve balls and early in the count he tends to watch them go by, which makes me think he's sitting fastball on pretty much every pitch right now. With 2 strikes, I've seen him strikeout swinging on 3 curveballs low and away in the 8 at bats that I've seen.

Today he faced hard throwing Cardinals prospect Jason Motte in the 8th inning. I saw Motte in Mesa last week and a Cardinals scout present was particularly excited about Motte's chances of taking on a setup role in the near future. Motte was sitting at 96 today according to the guns near me. On the 2nd pitch, Elvis ripped a fastball off of the center field wall for a double. Similarly, he ripped a ground rule double over the 400 foot sign last Wednesday during a game. Looking at his minor league numbers I didn't think he'd have nearly the bat speed that he clearly does.

As far as other AFL observations. Evan Longoria has the best bat speed of anyone I've seen out here (I'd put Andy Laroche second). He's also got an unbelievable arm. He wasn't quite as disciplined at the plate as I thought he'd be. He looked terrible in his first 2 at bats before ripping, and I mean ripping, doubles in his next 2 appearances causing scouts to start smiling at one another. If he's in the bigs for a full year next year I don't think he'll have any problem hitting 25 homers.

Teagarden has really bulked up since his college days. He has arguably the biggest forearms on the team. He's coached first base a few times, but I've only seen him get one start. From the limited throwing I've seen, his arm looks solid, but not spectacular. He looked a little slow down the line on the one chopper that I saw him hit, but he also ripped a double with a lot of authority in a game last week.

Duran has been very impressive. I've been pleasantly surprised by how quick his hands are defensively. His range appears to be average at best, but he's turned a couple of impressive double plays and has handled every chance that he's been able to get to.

At the plate, he has a short and compact stroke. He hits everything hard and has ripped a few balls back up the middle. Scout's sitting around me have been impressed with him.

Finally, Jr. Mayberry looks awfully good in a uniform. He's been solid in right field and has a little more speed than I thought he would. His legs are very skinny. His arm is definitely playable out there. He hits the ball hard when he makes contact and impressed scouts with his homerun in Mesa last week.

To me, his swing is just too long right now. On multiple occasions he's been late on seemingly pedestrian fastballs. Following one of these swings a Yankees scout sitting in front of me in Scottsdale last week shook his head and muttered something to Steve Stone who was sitting next to him. I'm worried that he'll never hit for enough average to be an above average corner outfielder.