SB Nation User Blog: t ball

Feliz to Frisco?

t ball — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 12:26:32 -0000

Mike Hindman is reporting over at the DMN blog that Feliz might be headed to Frisco:

I received several unofficial tips overnight that the Rangers' top pitching prospect -- and that's saying something these days -- will make the unusual jump from Class-A Clinton to Double-A Frisco, bypassing Advanced-A Bakersfield.

I'll be going to a Roughriders game soon. Perhaps this makes room for Main in Clinton, but I still think Holland needs to move up to Bakersfield.

Link:

http://rangersblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2008/07/neftali-feliz-to-frisco.html

Minors 6/27

t ball — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 03:50:16 -0000

Frisco 5, Springfield 1 - Tommy Hunter went 6 shutout innings, 8 Ks, 1BB nice. Andrus is hitting .311 with a .367 OBP in his last 10 games and was 2 for 5. Ben Harrison needs a promotion. Manny Pina is in Frisco?

In Bakersfield they're currently tied up at 1. Reed has 6 IP, 1ER, 1H, 1BB, 4 K. Only run scored on a sac fly.

Neftali Feliz finally looked human. 6 ER and 8 H in 4.2 IP. His night included a wild pitch, a balk, and a 2-run HR.

Why you should root for the A's

t ball — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 15:26:08 -0000

I know we all hate our division rivals, but I think we should all be rooting softly for the A's (and to a lesser degree, the Angels) on any night they're not playing the Rangers.

Most people (including me) expected the A's to be in rebuilding mode this year with little or no hope on contending. Furthermore, they have some very attractive players they were expected to deal this summer to get another great haul of young players to build with, in addition to the hauls they got this winter in the Haren and Swisher deals.

But here they are just a few games out of the wild card, and 4.5 out of first place. And we should root for them to win. Why? I don't want to see what the A's can get for Harden if he stays healthy, and I don't want some desparate contender to offer up a cornucopia for Blanton. I don't want the A's to be able to further reload their healthy minor league system with the kind of prospects Beane is so adept at getting.

I want the A's to be buyers. I want them to be so close to first place that they must buy, even if it only means they buy small without dealing away much in the way of prospects. Anything that keeps them from acquiring a lot more young talent is a good thing for 2009 and beyond, when the Rangers will be in a much better position to contend.

Of course, Beane might somehow swing a deal for a young stud that can help them greatly now and in 2009. Dammit, forget I said anything.

Minors 6/10 - 15 draft picks signed

t ball — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 01:15:00 -0000

According to the DMN blog the Rangers have signed 15 picks so far:

Actually they've signed or agreed to terms with 15 of the 50 picks (pending physicals). That includes third rounder LHP Tim Murphy, fourth rounder RHP Joseph Wieland and sixth rounder LHP Richard Bleier.

Here are the others that have either agreed to terms or signed:

Joey Butler, OF, University of New Orleans (15th Round)
Doug Hogan, C, Clemson University (18th Round)
Eric Evans, LHP, Radford University (23rd Round)
Adam Cobb, OF, Louisiana Tech (24th Round)
Tanner Roark, RHP (25th Round)
Chris Dove, OF, Elon University (26th Round)
Justin King, RHP, Jacksonville State (30th Round)
Kyle Higgins, SS, Monmouth University (31st Round)
Ryan Schlecht, RHP, Mount Olive College (34th Round)
Cody Eppley, RHP, Virginia Commonwealth University (43rd Round)
Kevin Torres, C, Puerto Rico Baseball Academy (45th Round)
Erik Morrison, SS, University of Kansas (46th Round)

Clinton and Kane County are currently locked at 0-0 in the 4th with Holland throwing a 2-hit shutout so far, and the other guy no-noing Clinton through 3 IP.

Frisco is up 3-2, Ramirez drew a bases loaded walk.

Mendoza has 4 shutout innings right now in OKC. Perhaps he's righting himself.

May in OKC

t ball — Sat, 24 May 2008 20:08:59 -0000

Team Overview Oklahoma is 30-25, in first place in the American South by 3.5 games, although as I type they are getting killed by Omaha. The offense is about league average in AVG (.270), OBP (.354), and SLG (.433). They lead the league in triples with 26, and are 2nd in walks.

The pitching ranks a bit higher, 4th in WHIP at 1.38, and 4th in ERA at 4.19, half a run above league average. The staff has allowed the fewest walks in the PCL, and maintains a 2.61 K/BB ratio.

Hitters

Taylor Teagarden C .265/.412/.412 in OKC; .220/.353/.362 overall Teagarden has a .950 OPS as a pro in 4 minor league seasons. After a slow start in Frisco, has excelled in OKC, with a terrific walk rate, a little pop, and a 15-game hitting streak that ended Tuesday. He's probably going to drop back to earth a bit, but that would still leave him with solid numbers. A defensively stout catcher who gets on base 40% of the time is very nice to have around.
Joaquin Arias SS Ugh. Still not throwing well, still has nothing except batting average on offense. If he doesn't show dramatic improvement in health and numbers by the end of the year it may be hard to justify a roster spot for him.
Travis Metcalf 3B .227/.277/.295 in 47 PA's. I hope he plays over his head in Arlington.
John Mayberry OF .268/.322/.512 in Frisco (most of April); .318/.378/.551 Has Mayberry figured something out? He is walking a little more, 8% of PA's. His K rate, however has suddenly dropped to about half of what it was at every other stop in the minors while his line drive rate has doubled. I seem to remember discussions of the changes in his swing after he got drafted, and how some figured it might take up to 1500 AB's for him to really get going from that. He currently has 1493 AB's as a pro. Cross your fingers.
Jason Botts 1B/DH Looking back, I think the Rangers should have just traded Botts last year. The organization seems to be centering on more versatile players with defensive chops unless they hit like Bradley. Botts is a square peg in a round hole here.
Nelson Cruz OF April - .380/.537/.785; May - 286/.350/.593 I'd like to think Cruz has also finally figured it out, but his season numbers now look eerily close to what he did in OKC in 2007, except for a higher walk rate. Given his defense I'm fine with the org giving him one last shot at the big time before dumping him, but I'm not much more hopeful now than I was in March. Someone here claimed to have seen a difference in Cruz. I searched for the post but could not find it...anyone here want to claim that or add to it?
Chris Davis 1B April - .304/.350/.554; May in Frisco - .362/.402/.681 In one week in OKC, his line is just .222/.300/.389, but I doubt anyone is worried.

Pitchers

Eric Hurley 2-4, 5.49. Hurley has apparently been reworking his mechanics a bit, and someone here mentioned the filling out of his maturing body as a good reason for being a little out of sorts there. Let's hope that bears fruit, and since I'm an optimist I'll say that I think the struggles, and adjustments made because of them, will be good for him in the long run.
AJ Murray 2-2, 4.00 in OKC, 1-0, 3.38 in TX. Transition to starting seems to be going fairly well, and he's had some real solid outings.
Robinson Tejeda 1-1, 2.18 Tejeda is having his best minor league season thus far, with personal bests in BB rate, K rate, hits per 9, and WHIP. His bullpen numbers were uninspiring, but in 4 starts he pitched 24.1 innings, with 28 K's, 6 BB's, and a .158 avg. against. I doubt he gets another shot at the rotation if Mathis does well, but who knows.
Warner Madrigal 1-0, 1.72 10 saves in Frisco; 0-0, 5.40 with 2 saves in 8 appearances in OKC. Madrigal was stellar in AA, and is now adjusting to AAA where he's had some solid outings around a couple of rougher ones. He has 28 K's in just 24 IP, but also 12 BB's. He needs to become more efficient, but he looks to be coming along nicely.
Yukinaga Maeda 1-2, 4.97 I just found out that The Baseball Cube lists all the Japanese seasons for players from there. Maeda, therefore, has 19 "minor league" seasons. His peripherals were better than his numbers, but he pretty much obliterated that tonight with 5 ER in .2 IP.
Paul Kometani 2-1, 6.10 in April, 1-1, 1.80 Kometani halved his BB rate in May, and lowered his BAA from .263 to .189. His BABIP, however was more than 100 points below his usuals, suggesting that's not going to last.

I still miss Benny Hill sometimes.

t ball — Sat, 31 May 2008 04:39:44 -0000

I still miss Benny Hill sometimes.

Max, er, I mean May in Frisco

t ball — Sat, 24 May 2008 20:04:59 -0000

Team Overview Frisco has bludgeoned the opposition to a 34-18 record, best in the league, and leads the South Division by 7 games. The offense ranks 1st in avg., slg. and OPS, and is 2nd in OBP. They're also 1st in HRs, TBs, and K's. They're scoring more than a run per game above league average (6.20/5.14).

The pitching staff thanks the offense profusely. Frisco pitchers allow 5.33 runs per game, and their 4.75 ERA is about 1/4 run above league average. The team WHIP (1.53) is a hair below league worst, and they rank worst in BB's allowed, and 2nd lowest in K's.

Hitters

Max Ramirez C April - .357/.444/.643; May - .389/.467/.700 Even Josh Hamilton rises when he enters the room.
Ben Harrison OF April - .355/.400/.613; May - .330/.443/.617 If it weren't for his teammates he might the talk of the system. He's 26 so it's real nice that he's showing what he is capable of when healthy, especially in a system weak in corner OF.
Elvis Andrus SS April - .260/.302/.310; May - .278/.343/.322 Last month I wrote that due to his youth we should be more concerned with progress month to month than overall numbers. The numbers improved a tic across the board, and he was 14 of 15 in stolen base attempts in May.
Steve Murphy OF April - .337/.378/.551; May - .253/.275/.453 Streaky Steve was not able to sustain his hot April. 4 years and 4 months older than Andrus, he does not have the luxury of time.
Craig Gentry OF Will he lose his spot to Borbon soon?

Pitchers

Matt Harrison 3-1, 3.15 After returning from a stint on the DL with arm fatigue, Harrison threw a no-hitter (7 IP). Oddly enough, 6 of his 14 BB's came in that game. His overall numbers reflect a couple of rough outings right before he went on the DL. Since returning: 2-0, 1.59 with a measly .185 BAA, and a 1.06 WHIP.
Tommy Hunter 6-5, 3.84 overall, 1-1, 5.25 in Frisco. 11 starts, 11 decisions, I'll bet he's one of Nolan Ryan's favorites. This guy is not afraid to throw strikes, a 4% walk rate overall, and a nearly 5-1 K/BB ratio. Lots of ground outs. The Rangers will want to improve on defense before calling him up sometime in 2009.
Thomas Diamond 1-0, 6.52 One of the most heartening things I saw when watching Hunter's first AA start was Thomas Diamond standing with his teammates for the national anthem. He'll probably resemble a roller coaster for a while getting going again.
Michael Schlact 2-4, 4.97 I keep waiting for his numbers to reflect some of the nice things said about his stuff by some. Very inconsistent.
Andrew Laughter 1-0, 0.66 overall; 0-0, 1.64 in Frisco That ERA looks nice, but Laughter has had some trouble adjusting to AA. 10 BB's in 11 IP, and a BABIP of just .172... His ground ball rate is still healthy, though, so if he can get the walks under control he'll be doing well even when the luck evens out.
Brennan Garr 1-0, 6.00 A 2.35 ERA in May, has been much better since returning from the DL.
Brian Gordon 2-0, 0.47 We don't normally get too excited about 29-yr. olds, but Gordon is a converted outfielder who didn't pitch until 2007. 15 K's, 2 BB's in Frisco since joining them a month ago after the Rangers signed him. Hat tip to Scott Lucas for bringing him to notice this morning.

May in Bakersfield

t ball — Sat, 24 May 2008 20:01:02 -0000

Team Overview The Blaze are 31-23, in 3rd place in the North Division, 3.5 games behind the San Jose Giants (and half a game back of the Stockton Ports of the hated A's). The league is scoring 4.98 runs per game, with Bakersfield at 5.15. 4th in avg. (.271), 4th in OBP (.342), 6th in slg.(.392), team OPS is about league average at .734. The bats are in the middle of the pack in most counting stats.

Pitchers are pretty close to league average, allowing 4.92 runs per game, with a team WHIP of 1.38 and an ERA of 4.24, good for 4th. The staff is in 2nd place with 406 K's, but in the middle of the pack with 185 BBs in 468.2 IP.

Hitters

Julio Borbon OF April - .282/.305/.346; May - .362/.427/.495 Borbon is 5th in the league in batting avg. at .330. His walk rate doubled in May, and he hit 11 doubles and his first HR to go along with a 83% SB success rate in 23 attempts. May be on his way to Frisco soon. Now those who are skeptical of his value can see for themselves. I'm on the fence right now, but it's been an encouraging month.
John Whittleman 3B April - .261/.358/.457; May - .287/.408.416 Whittleman consistently walks 15-18% of his PA's which is nice. But few think he's going to stay at 3B and I don't see enough power to move to a corner OF position. Not sure what we've got here, a future Mike Simms?
Manuel Pina C April - .213/.290/.262; May - .313/.470/.438 Future backup Pina had probably his best month ever as a pro.
Marcus Lemon SS April - .293/.431/.366; May - .289/.426/.447 I like a middle infielder who has 25 BB's and only 16 K's. And, not much power, but his ISOP has ticked gradually upward over the last year and two months. And he's still one of the youngest players in the league. Plenty of time for his defense to come around. Out of all the position players in Bakersfield right now, I might put my money on Lemon as the one who has the best chance of reaching the big leagues as at least a role player.
Grant Gerrard OF April - .308/.365/.471; May - .230/.264/.437 I got slightly hopeful about Gerrard in April, but he slid a bit this month. At 24 in high A-ball he needs to do very well this year to be considered a prospect.
Jose Vallejo 2B April - .333/.379/.500; May - .255/.323/.464 After a torrid April, Vallejo slumped badly in early May, but has picked again of late. In addition to solid plate discipline (18/24 BB/K) he is 19 of 22 in SB attempts.

Pitchers

Evan Reed 6-2, 3.86 overall; 4-2, 5.15 in Bakersfield. Reed has been inconsistent, allowing too many walks and a .303 BAA. The hitter-friendly Cal league has something to do with this but we'd like to see more ground balls and fewer walks.
Kasey Kiker 3-1, 5.09 These numbers aren't sexy but I'm not real worried. His walk rate is a solid 5.1%, and his K rate nearly doubled in May. Put him in a less hitter friendly environment and that ERA is probably in the mid 4's. I think we'll see his number gradually improve this year, with some bumps along the way.
Zach Phillips 4-3, 4.99 Phillips also pines for Clinton. His walk rate is up a bit, and he's allowing extra base hits at twice the rate as 2007. The ground ball rate is still strong, though, and I doubt he'll continue to allow HR's at 3 times the rate of his last two seasons.
John Bannister 2-4, 4.41 overall; 1-4, 3.72 in Bakersfield. Good news: A stellar 2.06 GB/FB ratio overall, and not many extra base hits. Bad news: 40 BB in 49 IP thus far (23 in 36.1 Cal league innings).
Ryan Falcon 3-2, 3.38 Bullpen lefty Falcon has maintained a solid K/BB ratio (4-1) though not quite as good as 2007 in Spokane, where he K'd 1 out of every 3 batters faced. Not bad for a 29th round pick. Anyone know what he throws?
Omar Poveda 0-0, 4.11 Still on the DL, get well soon.
Beau Jones 1-3, 5.30 Also still on the DL.

May in Clinton

t ball — Sat, 24 May 2008 19:52:37 -0000

As I said last month, these posts are not going to provide any revelations or much new information. They're just a way to step back and look at the month gone by. Bakersfield, Frisco, and OKC coming soon...

Team Overview How are the Lumberkings awesome? Let's count the ways. Clinton is 35-12, in first place in the Western Division by 7 games (in front of Oakland's affiliate Kane County). The offense is scoring 5.81 RPG, 2nd place West Michigan scores 4.71 and the league average is 4.16. The team batting line, .282/..355/.429 is tops in all three categories, and their OPS is in front by .068. Other league leading categories include runs, hits, HRs, RBI, and total bases.

The pitching is swell, too, 2nd in team ERA at 2.88, 1st in WHIP at 1.14. The team K/BB ratio is 2.64 and they've allowed the 2nd fewest walks.

Hitters

Ian Gac 1B/DH April - .395/.485/.802; May - .246/.416/.522 He spent a week on the bench after being clocked in the face by a foul ball, and only hit .246, but also has 19 BBs (a 21% walk rate) and a .938 OPS in May. It's time to see how he handles high-A ball.
Engel Beltre OF April - .247/.291/.341; May - .292/.303/.433 Beltre's avg. and slg. show a nice improvement, but he only drew one BB in May (but 4 triples). But for an 18-yr. old in A ball to show that improvement and hold a pretty fair K rate of 16.9% is a very good sign. For contrast, see the next hitter...
Christian Santana OF April - .274/.349/.466; May - .125/.222/.275 Yikes. Last month he was striking out a lot but hitting pretty well when he made contact; now he's just striking out. A stunning 48.9% K rate in May, 42.2% overall. Let's hope that his injury is not too serious, and that it gives him time to reflect on plate discipline.
Jose Felix C April - .333/.383/.444; May - .273/.284/.288 After a hot start Felix has slumped, hitting just .158 in his last 10 games and with just 1 extra base hit in May. Just 1 BB and 5 K's in the month. A lot of singles and ground outs. We may have another Manny Pina here.
Jonathan Greene 3B April - .214/.309/.329; May - .282/.427/.541 Last month I wrote that Greene had a fine walk rate and a low BABIP and would probably pick up soon. (pats self on back) He's walking even more, and his ISOP spiked with over half of his hits going for extra bases. In a system bereft of true 3B prospects we should be praying for reports of his defense coming around.
Tim Smith OF April - .342/.396/.494; May - .208/.300/.281 Smith's BABIP in April: .391, in May: .241. He'll probably come around soon.
Mitchell Moreland 1B April - .357/.386/.476; May - 300/.358/.520 16Ks vs. 10BBs thus far, and half his hits for extra bases in May.
Renny Osuna 2B April - .288/.376/.411; May - .426/.491/.606 Nice OPS from a 2B, and more BB's than K's this year, and 50 BB's vs. 63 K's as a pro. A few months older than Gac (23 in April) he needs to move up the food chain sometime this year to see how he handles the tougher competition.

Pitchers

Neftali Feliz April - 2-1, 4.64; May - 2-0, 0.34. A 3-1 K/BB ratio, 2 ground outs for every fly out, 0 HR's allowed, a .195 avg. against...(drools on keyboard)
Blake Beavan 4-1, 2.90 A 15-1 K-BB ratio. Pretty good for your first 6 starts as a pro. The 1.45 GB/FB ratio and .226 BA against look nice also. His ERA is a little lucky right now, but I predict a gradual rise in his K rate over the next couple months.
Kennil Gomez 7-1, 2.21 Raise your hand if you saw this coming. Mike Hindman spoke highly of him during spring training, but I don't recall anyone else noticing. Twice as many GB outs as FBs. Hitters are managing just a .196 avg., and he sports a 3.5-1 K/BB ratio. I'd like to see the strikeouts get back up to 2007's rate, but this is perhaps the nicest surprise in the entire system. He might be the first to go to Bakersfield from this amazing rotation.
Derek Holland 5-0, 2.47 I doubt Holland is going to be an ace, but the lefty profiles well for Arlington. A nice 1.76 GB/FB ratio, only 1 HR allowed. After walking 11% of batters faced in April he cut that in half in May, and his overall rate now matches that of last year. Another good bet to be in Bakersfiled before the summer is over.
Fabio Castillo 0-1, 2.88 After beginning the year in the bullpen to limit innings, Castillo has two starts. As a starter so far: 10 IP, 1 ER, 5 H, 8 K, 3 BB, 1 HR; a measly .152 BAA, and a 1.5 GB/FB ratio. Small sample, obviously, but there is not a single thing there not to like. He'll have some ups and downs, but I suspect he's going to be less anonymous nationally in a couple of months.

That's Hedley

t ball — Fri, 30 May 2008 01:32:38 -0000

That's Hedley

RIP, Mr. Korman.