SB Nation User Blog: jparks77

Ask Professor Parks: Final Edition

jparks77 — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 15:24:31 -0000

Ask Professor Parks: Final Edition

I'm stepping away from the plate.

The Magnus Effect: Why Pitches Move

jparks77 — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 16:42:58 -0000

The Magnus Effect: Why Pitches Move

Excellent article from Trip Somers over at www.texasleaguers.com

Keith Law Rangers Q&A

jparks77 — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 14:39:01 -0000

Link

Q: In your opinion, who are the most overrated and underrated prospects in the Rangers' system? Why?

Keith Law: I don't know that there's anyone who's overrated in the Rangers' system; I suppose you could say [Taylor] Teagarden, who didn't hit at all this past year and whose arm problems might be a permanent issue. By my count, he only caught on back-to-back days 31 times all season, across all three levels.

Underrated ... [Michael] Main, certainly. [Kasey] Kiker. [Robbie] Ross. All three are dinged because they're not tall, but Main's a great athlete with huge stuff, and all three are excellent competitiors with Kiker and Ross showing good feel for pitching.

Q:You rank Martin Perez as the number 13 pitching prospect in all of baseball. The buzz on Perez among Rangers fans is heavy, but you're the first to key on him to that extent nationally. You suggested he has a chance to "shoot up the system" -- at age 17, what sort of track would you put him on if you were calling the shots?

Keith Law: It really depends on his performance -- I doubt anyone suggested last winter that [Neftali] Feliz should finish 2008 in AA, but his performance clearly merited it. Perez should start 2009 in Low-A [Hickory], and if he's dominating, there's merit in skipping him over the [High-A] California League, especially if he's showing great command.

Rangers Mini-camp Wrap-Up

jparks77 — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 15:25:52 -0000

Link

Kasey Kiker on throwing off the mound at RBIA:

Let me try to explain this. It was a great feeling. My spikes really dug in the dirt. It was weird because I would throw all of my pitches and I would look down and there wouldn't be a hole. I'm not used to that. I'm used to something being wrong. I'm usually looking for something to be wrong like a rock or a huge hole. I looked down and it was like I had just started. It was perfect.

Michael Main on new Rangers pitching coach Mike Maddux:

I thought he was a great guy. He was really funny and he told a lot of jokes. Very personable guy. I know that I'm a young guy and not really close to the big leagues, but I felt like I could talk to him about things. He is a really good fit for the organization.

Martin Perez Interview

jparks77 — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 12:42:58 -0000

Link:

Q: What was it like playing in the Unites States, separated from everything that was familiar to you?

Perez: Its not easy if you don't know the language. If you come from Venezuela, like me, you have to get used to how difficult it can be here in the States. You are alone and bored, but that's what you have to do if you are going to be here for years without family, without friends, without anyone. It is hard, but it's worth it.

Q: How do you deal with that isolation at such a young age?

Perez: I left my house at the age of fifteen and I am the youngest of my family, so I felt really alone. Little by little you realize that without your family around you, you have to develop another kind of attitude. You have to focus on other things. But it's something you have to work at little by little, to get used to being alone.

Martin Perez Interview

jparks77 — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 12:31:09 -0000

Link

Q: What was it like playing in the Unites States, separated from everything that was familiar to you?

Perez: Its not easy if you don't know the language. If you come from Venezuela, like me, you have to get used to how difficult it can be here in the States. You are alone and bored, but that's what you have to do if you are going to be here for years without family, without friends, without anyone. It is hard, but it's worth it.

Fixing Third Base: Part 2

jparks77 — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 17:47:51 -0000

Fixing Third Base: Part 2

Joey identifies some of the 3B alternatives for the '09 Rangers.

Check it out!

The Nine in '09: Wrap-up

jparks77 — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 18:42:20 -0000

Link

Over the past nine days I profiled the prospects that I believe have a chance to take a big step forward in 2009. Some on the list will no doubt blossom into top prospects in our system, while others will inevitably take a step back in their development.

The beautiful thing about following prospects is that it allows for the opportunity to witness the emergence of hope. Last season that hope came in the form of the meteoric rises of Derek Holland and Neftali Feliz, but also the less-heralded climbs of prospects such as Mitch Moreland and Tim Murphy.

My Nine in '09:

Who are your nine in '09?

Kevin Goldstein Q&A: Part 2

jparks77 — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 13:58:39 -0000

Updated link

Esteemed Baseball Prospectus author Kevin Goldstein, widely regarded as one of the foremost experts in the field of prospect evaluation, was generous enough to devote some of his valuable time to answering reader-submitted questions pertaining to the Texas Rangers' electric minor league system late last week.

Read on for Goldstein's takes on Engel Beltre and Michael Main, as well as his sleeper breakout candidate for '09. His answer is going to surprise you.

Goldstein on whether or not Engel Beltre's ugly K/BB ratio will spell doomsday for him as a prospect:

Strikeouts to walks are not in the tools. They are not tools. He's a five-tool prospect. [Greg] Golson is a five-tool prospect. The problem is that [Beltre] has such a bad approach. It's a huge red flag. Beltre will swing at anything. There is no question about it. It's going to have to get refined or he's going to turn into Golson. But if he has one thing on his side, it's time. He was just so young in '08, playing in full-season ball, and he clearly belonged on a talent level. He's never going to be Rickey Henderson and draw 100 walks a year, but obviously he needs to become more selective or it's going to be a problem.

Kevin Goldstein Q&A: Part 1

jparks77 — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 08:36:22 -0000

Link

Esteemed Baseball Prospectus author Kevin Goldstein, who is widely regarded as one of the foremost experts in the field of prospect evaluation, generously devoted some of his valuable time to answering reader-submitted questions pertaining to the Texas Rangers' electric minor league system earlier this week.

Goldstein on Elvis Andrus:

I'm a guy who just isn't an Andrus believer, and there's a reason for that. Offensively, he's a guy without secondary skills. He doesn't work the count very well and he doesn't have any power. He's a very good defensive shortstop, but he's not a crazy great defensive shortstop; he's not a Gold Glove-caliber shortstop, he's a really good shortstop. I feel the guy is going to hit .280 or .290 and steal some bases, but at the same time he's going to draw 30 walks and hit four home runs for you. He's an everyday shortstop that is going to hit 7th for you. That's not an All-Star, that's a regular shortstop. I mean, what has he really done? He's not just going to find it. It's not there to find.