The Jarrod Parker/Rick Porcello Man-love Diary

This thread is dedicated to the guy minor league players that will keep me paying attention in 2008.

What're their upsides? Who do you compare them to? What are their flaws? Do you like their mechanics or do you not like their mechanics? Do you think they'll be fast tracked or not?

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All I know is

Porcello is lonely :(

by ajohnst1 on Dec 6, 2007 2:52 PM EST reply actions

Both Possible Aces?

I have just really started digging into the latest draft class as prospect trades pick trades start flying in my league.

From everything I have read on Porcello he could be the next truely dominant starter to hit the bigs in a couple years...is there any reason to believe otherwise?

Parker also seems to be getting pumped as an arm as possible "Ace" material...

targeting both in my draft in the spring..although I am not sure how far to let Parker drop..

by SoCal @ Minor League Ball on Dec 6, 2007 3:41 PM EST reply actions

why?

would this be a "gut feeling" or do you have anything to support the prediction?

by SoCal @ Minor League Ball on Dec 6, 2007 3:47 PM EST reply actions

Parker

Is the man. I really wouldn't have minded taking him at #2 in the draft, even though I believe taking a bat is a better risk.

by doublestix on Dec 6, 2007 4:22 PM EST reply actions

top 2 HS arms

From all I've read, these are the crown jewel of the HS picks and 2-3 behind Price. Check out Carlos Gomez's work at Hardball Times. He's excellent at writing about pitching mechanics.

The Dodgers won't win a playoff series until the Cool-a-Coo returns.

by mckeeno on Dec 6, 2007 4:23 PM EST reply actions

top 2 HS arms

From all I've read, these are the crown jewel of the HS picks and 2-3 behind Price. Check out Carlos Gomez's work at Hardball Times. He's excellent at writing about pitching mechanics.

The Dodgers won't win a playoff series until the Cool-a-Coo returns.

by mckeeno on Dec 6, 2007 4:25 PM EST reply actions

Throw Bumgarner on the list too

He's Andrew Miller part 2, IMHO.

Vogt early, Vogt often.

by Brickhaus on Dec 6, 2007 9:22 PM EST reply actions

well

That may or may not be a good thing..

But, I wouldn't quite throw him into that group. Not yet, anyways.

by doublestix on Dec 6, 2007 9:30 PM EST up reply actions

Porcello

First, I am a Tigers fan and I was overjoyed when Dombrowski and Ilitch ignored the league and went out and got the best talent. However, the following is just my honest, unbiased opinion.

That said, I believe that Porcello is Verlander 2.0, just with an even better upside and better mechanics. I think that two years from now he will have an even better fastball with at least one plus breaking pitch and at a minimum a servicable changeup. I expect to see him as a successful late season callup in 2009, ala Bucholz and then entrenched in the rotation for the next 10 years. Add in the fact that he will not be rushed with the Tigers and I really think that he has the chance to be a superstar, the best chance of anyone from the 2007 draft.

I also love Parker as a talent, but do have some serious concerns with his body type (and body type does matter, it's physics). People can go ahead and compare him to Oswalt, but he does not utilize his legs nearly as well as Oswalt, and he doesn't throw over the top (Lincecum is a much better comparison to Oswalt, nearly identical mechanics). I have serious doubts that he is going to have the longevity to make it to the show with the stress that he places on his arm.

by Sage Sam on Dec 7, 2007 12:32 AM EST reply actions

Porcello

is a god in my eyes for two reasons:

He's from Jersey.
I saw him, and he is filthy.
He's probably the best HS pitcher in recent Jersey memory.
He's a better prospect than Clayton Kershaw, and anyone who saw my posts on Clayton Kershaw know that I also thought he was a god.

The mechanics...the size...the stuff...the command...the mechanics.

Parkers mechanics are fluid, but I agree that theres alot of arm in there. It's one of the quickest arms you'll see, but sometimes he tries to do too much. You can really tell when he's trying to snap off a nasty pitch instead of just letting happen.

by SenorGato88 on Dec 7, 2007 3:21 AM EST up reply actions

Are you high

or on pain meds?? That's 4 reasons.

by Tyler on Dec 7, 2007 8:01 AM EST up reply actions

Oops.

I probably wasn't paying attention to what I wrote for reasons unknown.

by SenorGato88 on Dec 7, 2007 12:39 PM EST up reply actions

Just giving you a hard time!

Hope your rehab/recovery's going well

by Tyler on Dec 7, 2007 1:39 PM EST up reply actions

Just imagine the beating you'd take

if you'd posted that on JI :)

-doggin

by Locke000 on Dec 7, 2007 1:58 PM EST up reply actions

Lol

Man in the sky bless that website.

Banned for calling out the ignorance of a mod after giving scouting reports and even a video that he chose to laugh at and toss aside because he KNEW.

Only thing I miss is the draft board.

by SenorGato88 on Dec 7, 2007 5:23 PM EST up reply actions

Porcello

what is his stuff? And why did scouts say his slider was only 80 when his fastball is low to mid 90's?

by pedrophile on Dec 7, 2007 9:46 AM EST up reply actions

Offspeed

They said tight curve at 74-76 and a harder, sharp breaking slider at 80-82. Don't know why it's not a little harder, but everything I've read says they're both plus pitches and he has a great feel for both of them. To go along with his fastball that sits in the 93-95 mph range touching 98.

It also says he finishes across his body slightly and if he gets more extension, it will create more life on his fastball making him even more devastating. I also trust the Tigers scouts/coaching staff. They fixed Justin Verlander really, really quickly. He was supposed to be pretty raw and need work, but he found his control almost instantly.

by Tyler on Dec 7, 2007 10:30 AM EST up reply actions

nice to know

ps: I think a large part of what the Tigers did was tell him he could throw the fastball down the middle if he wanted. I think he improved his control (ie BB's) than his command.

I do think the velocity is weird and to me a bit of a red flag. The first comment that set me off was that it was a good two strike pitch. This typically is not a glowing endorsement.

The next red flag was his other breaking pitch is a slurve. Too close to the slider IMO.

And of course his change is meh.

After hearing all this Morrow sounds like the better bet to me. But then again I haven't seen them pitch.

by pedrophile on Dec 7, 2007 4:57 PM EST up reply actions