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It took me a while to find the stadium but thankfully I made it in time for the National Anthem. USD, for some reason, had a bunch of relievers going the entire game. No one went more than 2 IP. Denault, the starter for USD, threw some wicked breaking balls (side arm) and held SDSU in check in the first. I thought he was pretty impressive but he didn't last too long.

Strasburg looked intimidating on the mound. He was tall but not scrawny and looked like his entire body was coming at you as he pitched. Strasburg works VERY quickly. I mean VERY quickly. He looked like he was having trouble warming up as his first two warm up pitches missed the plate by about 4 feet and reached the backstop. He settled down and retired the first 3 batters rather easily by recording 2 Ks and most importantly, hitting 101 MPH, his top speed for the outing (I was sitting next to the gun dude).

The next inning, he gave up a long double and a single immediately following it. It looked as if he was frustrated with himself and he showed it as he walked the next batter. USD's coach kept trying to slow him down and advised his hitters to do the same.

Third inning was key for USD, getting their last run on a HR by their catcher, McCoy. Stras was clearly not happy and settled down after this. If I recall correctly, he retired every batter and recorded at least 2 Ks each IP for the rest of the outing.

The gun hit 95+ for every fastball he threw, reaching 100 a few times. However, I was more impressed with his breaking ball. He was throwing a 80-84 MPH slider that even fooled the umpire multiple times. He had excellent command of the pitch and it seemed like every slider wound up on the same spot. USD hitters were sitting on his fastball and had zero chance to hit the slider.

The most impressive thing was how he worked McCoy, who hit a HR off him in his previous AB. He threw him nothing but sliders, basically saying "go ahead and sit on my fastball". I got a good chuckle as McCoy didn't even lift the bat off his shoulder and K'd looking.

Stras got stronger as the game went on. Working quickly and making it look easy. I don't think each subsequent inning he pitched lasted more than 10 minutes. Hopefully he can keep his head on his shoulders and stay healthy because he looks like he could be the real deal.

Side note: I saw a glimpse of tony Gwynn as he walked through the dugout. He is big and you can't miss him but he kept in the shadows the entire game. :-D

OK so what is the deal on these kids? Looks like both are on their way to win a spot in the rotation to start the season.

Cueto against DET today (no Irod, Grandy):
4 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 4 SO

His Spring ERA is not at 2.08. What kind of pitcher is he? His minor league numbers are impressive for his age especially his command. I've heard some grumblings about his workload but he's been great everywhere he's pitched. Is he this year's Gallardo as in not as much hyped but quietly put up great numbers?

As for Volquez, it seems like he finally got his control down in 07.

What type of stuff do these guys have and also any projections for them?

10 team, 5x5, C, 1B, 2B, 3B, CI, MI, OF, OF, OF, OF, OF, U, keep 6:

Pujols
Santana
BJ Upton
Granderson
Sabathia
Hamels
Kazmir
Phillips
Hart
Braun
Holliday
Rollins

Leaning towards Pujols, Santana, Upton, Braun, Holliday and Rollins but not sure with Pujols's injury. Do I bite the bullet and keep him or replace him with someone else?

Obviously it is impossible to predict a breakout season like Braun's 2007. However, it seems like more and more teams are aggressively advancing their youngsters to the big leagues. It also seems like the top consensus prospects like Delmon, Gordon, etc are not the ones that make the most immediate impact.

The top names I see going into the season are Rasmus, Bruce, Upton, Longoria, Maybin. Which of these youngsters (or anyone else) do you think will make the biggest impact in 2008 and why?

5x5 league, keep 6 players...

C-McCann
1B-Fielder
2B-Weeks
3B-Wright
SS-Lugo
CI-Pujols
MI-Phillips
OF-Hunter
OF-Holliday
OF-Taveras
OF-CBYoung
OF-Granderson
U-Upton
-------------
SP-Gregg
SP-Kazmir
SP-Lincecum
SP-Haren
RP-A.Reyes
RP-Nathan
P-Isringhausen
P-Soriano
B-Sheets
B-JSantana
B-Escobar
B-Ollie Perez

I am getting offered Bonds/Chipper/Zito for Wright/Escobar. Wright is the only keepable player here and I could certainly use more pop in my offense. Just not sure if I want to take on both Bonds and Chipper but I doubt I'll get a better offer from this guy. Thoughts?

Our keeperleague draft is this Saturday and I could use some good insight. 10 teams, H2H (5-8 starts per week), 5x5, C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, OF, OF, OF, OF, OF, U, SP, SP, SP, SP, RP, RP, P, P with 4 bench spots. We keep 6 and I have the #3 overall pick.

My keepers:
Pujols
Santana
Wright
Holliday
Sheets
Fielder

Best available (lots of pitchers):
McCann
Cano
Atkins
Furcal
Dye
Damon
Kazmir
Lackey
Smoltz
Felix
Bonderman
Matsuzaka
Cain
Haren
Myers
Young
Harden
Schilling
Krod
Nathan
Rivera
Wagner

I just counted 14 pitchers being kept that include Olsen and Sowers (rookie keepers) so we are looking at only 12 legitimate pitchers being kept. One closer is being kept, Ryan.

My initial thinking is to go pitching with either Nathan or Felix (although Harden is looking really good right now). I would like to get a good backup for Sheets, someone with a ridiculous upside. I don't think either will make it back to me as Nathan will be the first closer taken. Felix is young and his upside is high so I expect him to go with the first 15 picks.

Is my offense good enough that I can go with pitching right away? Or do I have too many corners and I should grab someone like Furcal or Damon who are very safe bets? Or McCann? OF is always a tough position to fill.

Thanks!

5x5, keep 6 players. I am leaning towards Sheets at the moment but I'd hate to throw back Kazmir. I have the 3rd overall pick at the draft so I may be able to get one back at the draft. My keepers:

Pujols
Santana
D.Wright
Holliday
Fielder

Which should I keep and would you try to get the other back at the draft?

Is Hamels a top 100 keeper? There were questions about his youth, inexperience, control, health, durability... Here are the hard numbers:

Minors:
36 GS, 1.43 ERA, 201 IP, 117 H, 3 HR, 74 BB, 276 K, 0.00 HR9, 3.31 BB9, 12.36 K9, 0.95 WHIP

Majors:
23 GS, 4.08 ERA, 132.1 IP, 117 H, 19 HR, 48 BB, 145 K, 1.29 HR9, 3.26 BB9, 9.86 K9, 1.25 WHIP

Facts: 22 yo rookie with limited minor league experience (only 6 G above A before joining MLB). Had numerous non pitching related injuries throughout his career which limited his experience and development. Made 31 starts in 06 starting at A ball and MLB.

Cain is on a tear since the AS break. Felix has been much better in the second half but still can't seem to string together good starts like Cain has. Their current results are very similar.

I know that Felix is 1 year ahead in development but at this stage of their career, which one do you like better?

Although I've seen a lot of posts re: young phenoms like Verlander, Liriano, Bonderman and other minor league prospects this season, I haven't seen a lot of talk about Scott Kazmir.

Here is a 22 yo hard throwing lefty on one of the worst teams in baseball.

League Rankings: 10th in VORP, 3rd in ERA and ERA+ behind only Santana and Halladay, 9th in PRC, 2nd in SO9 only behind Liriano.

He will most likely be shut down for the season due to his recent shoulder worries but what can we expect from 2007 and beyond?

Are you able to do an analysis on foreign players like Seung Yeop Lee and Daisuke Matsuzaka?

Both will most likely make their way over here in the next couple of years and I wanted to know if there is any way to project their future based on what they've done in Korea/Japan.

If not, then does anyone else do this type of analysis?

Thanks.

So another pair of high profile pitching prospects are getting called up this weekend.

Both are tearing up the minors and while I think Garza probably could have used more than 5 starts at AAA, they are pretty much ready to face some real hitters.

Based on tools and experience, which do you think will be more successful for the balance of 06 season?

Liriano to the DL... now they are saying it is his elbow. Started as soreness in his forearm 2 weeks ago and now pain in his elbow.

http://www.rotowire.com/roto_to_gnews.htm?ID=198808&sport=mlb

So what is everyone's take on Garza's callup? I think it is premature but probably the right move. I think he will hit some rough patches though.

http://www.centredaily.com/mld/centredaily/sports/baseball/mlb/philadelphia_phillies/14546016.htm

It's official. As reported in The Inquirer today, prized lefthander Cole Hamels is making his highly anticipated major-league debut Friday in Cincinnati.

The Phillies announced this morning they will move righthander Ryan Madson, who had been scheduled to start Friday, into the bullpen. The Phillies also said they will make a roster move before Friday's game to make room for Hamels on the 25-man roster.

Hamels, 22, is 3-1 with a 1.04 ERA in seven combined starts for triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and single-A Clearwater. He has 65 strikeouts in 43 1/3 innings, and has held opponets to a .168 average.

He is the team's first-round pick in 2002.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Contact staff writer Todd Zolecki at 215-854-4874 or tzolecki@phillynews.com.

1.1 IP, 6 H, 6 ER, 3 BB, 3 SO... Hamels widens the gap among the best pitching prospects in the minors.

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Today's pitching line:

Hamels (W, 2-0) 9.0 IP 2 H 0 R 0 ER 1 BB 12 K 0 HR 0.00 ERA

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