Community Prospect Report 5-17-07
by The Gottfather on May 17, 2007 2:16 PM EDT
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PrintI saw no one else doing it yet, so I figured I'd use my break to get this started.
Clay Buchholz threw early today in game 1 of a doubleheader. Final line- 5.2 3 1 1 3 7 0
Garza (2-2, 3.75) looks to be scheduled for tonight as is Van Benschoten(3-2, 1.82)
What other prospects are you guys keeping an eye on?
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Miller
by brewerfan84 on May 17, 2007 2:21 PM EDT reply actions
I'm checking into it - thanks for letting me know!
Off the top of my head, I don't know why, but I'm asking around. I do know that LHP Aaron Laffey got the start today after being promoted to AAA Buffalo, due in part because RHP Brian Sikorski was sold to the Yakult Swallows of the Japanese League. [On an unrelated note, RHP Jake Dittler was promoted to AAA Buffalo a day or two ago because 3B/INF Jake Gautreau was traded to the NY Mets for a PTBNL.]
Right now, my guess is is that Miller is fine, and I'm guessing, will probably make his start tomorrow. I haven't seen anything on the Bisons' website about him being injured, nor in the recap of the Bisons' game today - maybe this is the Indians' way of keeping his innings down and giving him extra rest - if Miller does make the Majors later this year and stays up with the Indians, and the Indians do make the postseason, if Miller is part of that postseason roster, he'll have the chance to pitch deeper into the year than he ever has before; combine that with his elbow injury in the past, I'm guessing the Indians are thinking ahead with him, plus gave the chance to Laffey to pitch on his regularly scheduled day.
Speaking of Laffey, he didn't do badly in his first career AAA start:
6.0 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 1 HB; 15 G/0 F; 63 S/36 B, L (0-1) (6.00)
He took the loss, but settled down after giving up the 4 runs in his first 2 innings; he didn't give up a run the final 4 innings he pitched. I just realized he got all of his outs via GOs - pretty impressive and a rarity to see, even by extreme groundball pitchers. I'll mention him again in my Indians' Overview report later on this evening.
I'll keep you updated on Miller, so stay tuned!
Take care and have a great day!
Question about
Hi indiansfan,
I'm curious what you know about Max Ramirez and his defense behind the plate. I've been a fan of his since before he was dealt to Cleveland last year, and I'm curious if he can stick at catcher. His bat reminds me so much of V-Mart at the same age and level, with Ramirez showing nearly identical plate discipline as well. Ramirez hasn't hit for average quite as well as Martinez, but his IsoD has been higher so far in the minors than V-Mart's. If Ramirez can stay at catcher, he definitely could be a top hitter at the position.
On a side note, if a long term deal can't be worked out with Hafner, do you think it's likely he would be traded at the deadline next year? V-Mart could slide to the DH spot or share that and 1B with Garko, with Shoppach taking over behind the plate.
Any info on either topic or both will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Info. on both questions!
Ironically, we were just talking about Max Ramirez yesterday at LetsGoTribe in a Minors Recap - you can see that here - there are still some questions about his defense, which is probably why he'll probably won't be promoted to AA right away, even though it looks like he could probably handle AA offensively right now.
From what I've seen from the Kinston boxscores, he hasn't done that badly behind the plate; his biggest problem seems to be passed balls (he has 6 of them.) Without doing extensive research on it, I think Ramirez has also had a bit of trouble throwing out runners, though how much that is attributable to him, I can't say for sure.
I know Ramirez is splitting time with Chris Gimenez (another position player-turned catcher,) and to a lesser extent, Chao Kuan Wu (22-YO Taiwanese catcher who's mostly catching Sung Wei-Tseng, a 22-YO Taiwanese pitcher.) Ramirez is getting more of the playing time behind the plate than Gimenez (probably because Ramirez is only 22-YO, whereas Gimenez is 24-YO, plus the fact that Ramirez arrived at Kinston first before Gimenez, and Wu as well.)
Therefore, I think Ramirez will get some more time to iron out his defense, but he'll probably get promoted to AA Akron by the second half of 2007 if he continues to produce offensively at this pace, regardless of where his defense is at. If he can make solid enough progress with his defense, I could see where he could be similar to Victor, with perhaps a bit more arm strength, though maybe not as solid in the other areas of catching, areas where Victor is solid to above-average in (game-calling, blocking balls, etc.)
As for Hafner, I think many Indians' fans, myself included, thought Hafner would be signed by now, as most thought he would be an easier sign than Sabathia, but to this point, talks are on hold until the offseason (though something could happen around the ASB like it did with Cliff Lee last year.)
At any rate, if the Indians can't sign Hafner to a long-term extension by this time next season, I suppose they would listen to all offers that came their way regarding Hafner, but unless they're blown away with an offer, I suspect they'll probably keep him through the 2008 season, then try to resign him in the offseason; if they can't, they'll just take the 1-2 extra draft picks he'd net for them. That's what they'll probably do with Sabathia as well if they can't resign him before the end of the 2008 season - listen to all offers, but unless they're blown away, they'll likely try to resign him in the offseason and take the 1-2 extra draft picks they get for him if they can't resign him.
If Hafner does leave the Indians after 2008, I could see where Victor might play more 1B/DH with Garko, while either Shoppach or Wyatt Toregas, a catching prospect at AA Akron who averages 1.8 seconds on his throws to 2B and who has a decent bat, could play the majority of time behind the plate (or maybe they'd both split the catching duties - Shoppach the starter and Toregas the backup.)
Just my 2 cents.
Hopefully, this helps to answer your questions; if you have any more, please feel free to ask and I'll do my best to answer them. :-)
Take care and have a great day!
One more note about Laffey!
One more note about Laffey that I wanted to make sure about before mentioning it - Laffey has become more of an extreme groundball pitcher:
2006 at AA Akron - 2.55 GB/FB ratio
2007 at AA Akron - 2.77 GB/FB ratio
Today at AAA Buffalo - 15 GB/0 FB ratio
Laffey was a 16th-Rd. 2003 Draft pick from Alleghany HS in Cumberland, Maryland. I know Laffey doesn't throw all that hard (upper-80s to around 90 from what I've heard,) but I've heard his offspeed stuff is solid and his command especially improved last year after improving a bit in 2005:
- Burlington (Rookie) - 3.97 BB/9 IP in 34.0 IP
- Mahoning Valley (NY-Penn) - 2.06 BB/9 IP in 43.2 IP
- Lake County (SAL) - 5.42 BB/9 IP in 73.0 IP
- Lake County (SAL) - 3.29 BB/9 IP in 142.1 IP
- Akron (EAS) - 3.60 BB/9 IP in 5.0 IP (1 start)
- Kinston (CAR) - 1.31 BB/9 IP in 41.1 IP
- Akron (EAS) - 2.64 BB/9 IP in 112.1 IP
- Akron (EAS) - 1.80 BB/9 IP in 35.0 IP (7 BB in 5 starts.)
Miller has a bruised middle finger, but it doesn't
Hello again brewerfan84,
mcrose of LetsGoTribe made this post during the Indians' game thread. I hadn't heard anything about it before that post, but it might explain why Miller missed today's start.
Take care and have a great day!
Carlos
As for Buchholz's game today, looking at his game today, it looks like he completely lost his control in that one inning, even walking one batter on 4 pitches, which is uncommon for him. Even then, a very nice start. His strikeouts came on a variety of pitches, which is great. Let's look at them
- Unsure (Swinging)
- Unsure (Swinging)
- Fastball (Swinging
- Breaking Ball (looking)
- Curve (swinging)
- Fastball (Swinging)
- Circle Change (Swinging
Here's a general question: does the nature of the strikeout tell us something about the pitcher's style, and thus his likely progression? In other words, if a pitcher gets a lot of K's swinging, that tells us his stuff is good and might translate well as he moves up, vs K's where the batter is caught looking telling us more about late movement, deception, finesse, etc?
Just a question that I haven't seen discussed before and I thought it would be curious to get some thoughts.
Fernando Martinez
on a side note
Clippard to get called up to the show
YES pregame suggested clippard would start sunday, and (unofficially) i've read its a definite at this point
by nyybaseball99 on May 17, 2007 2:37 PM EDT reply actions
Forecast...
Alan Horne
2.89 ERA and 11.4 k/9, 1.92 BB/9, 1.77 GB:FB in 46.2IP in the Eastern League
turned 24 this year, should see AAA soon i would think, depending how the rosters work out
by nyybaseball99 on May 17, 2007 2:43 PM EDT reply actions
Tyler Norrick
Jay Bruce
He is hitting .338 and slugging .643, in the FSL. Kids unreal.
Yup
Upton and Gonzalez
In other news, Carlos Gonzalez appears to be getting it together a little bit. He went 2/3 with a 2B and 2 RBI.
Anyone concerned about Brandon Wood
yeah
those strikeouts and his avg have always turned me off, i don't like him and i think he's insanely overrated.
by god allah star on May 17, 2007 11:29 PM EDT up reply actions
Indians' Overview!
Indians defeat the Twins 2-0; Martinez and Garko homered off Santana in the 7th, in the span of 3 pitches. Meanwhile, Carmona outdueled Santana again (first pitcher to beat him twice since the White Sox's Jon Garland did it in 2004,) throwing a 9-inning CG shutout for the first time in his professional career at any level:
9.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K; 17 G/5 F; 76 S/45 B (2.55)
Onto the Minors:
AAA Buffalo - lost to Ottawa (PHI) 4-1:
DH Ryan Mulhern - 2-4, 1 K (.336 - continues to stay hot.)
RF Brad Snyder - 1-3, 1 K (.280 - having a very nice year so far at AAA, outside of the Ks, but his BB rate is pretty solid as well, which helps.)
LHP Aaron Laffey - L (0-1) - 6.0 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 1 HB; 15 G; 63 S/36 B (6.00 - AAA debut; filling in for Adam Miller, who has a bruised middle finger, but may only miss one start. The 16th-Rd. 2003 HS pick from Cumberland, MD. did pretty well for his first AAA start, finishing with 4 shutout innings after giving up the 4 runs in the first 2 innings.)
RHP Jim Ed Warden - 2.0 IP, 2 H, 1 BB (1 IBB,) 2 K; 2 G/1 F; 18 S/16 B (8.15 - command still a problem for him, though he didn't issue any unintentional walks.)
Ottawa:
RHP Kane Davis - S (2) - 2.0 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 6 K; 27 S/18 B (1.80 - part of the trade that brought Bob Wickman to Cleveland back on July 28, 2000, along with Jason Bere, who is the pitching coach at AA Akron, I believe, and Steve Woodard, who last pitched in 2004. The Indians actually resigned Davis from Camden of the Independent Atlantic League on May 19, 2004, but remained at AAA Buffalo all season and was released after the 2004 season. He never was able to sustain consistent command in the Majors, and has walked 12 in 15 AAA innings this season, though he's also given up just 12 H and struck out 25 as well.)
AA Akron - lost to Bowie (BAL) 3-2:
CF Trevor Crowe - 0-3, 1 BB, 1 K (.176 - perhaps that 3-hit night the other day was just a tease?!)
1B Jordan Brown - 0-4, 2 K (.313 - tough night against Liz.)
LF Ryan Goleski - 0-4, 4 K (.264 - really tough night against Liz.)
2B Argenis Reyes - 1-2, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 SB (10-2nd) (.272)
LHP Shawn Nottingham - 6.2 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 3 K; 6 G/11 F (2.68 - another solid outing for Nottingham.)
RHP Randy Newsom - 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 HR (solo); 2 G; 1/1 IR scored (3.38 - first AA earned run given up.)
LHP Mariano Gomez - L (1-1) - 0.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER; 2 G (3.45)
LHP Reid Santos - 0.2 IP, 1/2 IR scored (0.56)
Bowie:
PH-CF Jeff Fiorentino - 0-2 (.192 - having a rough year to this point for the prospect who played with Baltimore for part of 2006.)
RHP Radhames Liz - 7.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 9 K; 3 G/9 F (3.92 - 26 BB/46 K in 41.1 IP.)
High-A Kinston - off today!
Low-A Lake County - lost to Hagerstown (NYM) 3-2:
RF Roman Pena - 1-4, 1 2B, 1 BB, 1 K (.262)
C Matthew McBride - 2-5, 2 2B, 1 RBI (.301)
3B Jared Goedert - 1-5, 2 K (.365 - rough day for him by his recent standards.)
LF Nick Weglarz - 1-4, 3 K (.238 - struggling a bit of late.)
SS Carlos Rivero - 2-4, 1 R, 1 2B (.275)
RHP Steven Wright - L (3-3) - 6.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 2 HR (both solo); 8 G/5 F (4.75 - a QS and another solid outing for Wright, outside of the HRs given up, but was the tough-luck loser.)
RHP Austin Creps - 1.1 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 K; 1 G/2 F (6.75 - professional debut for 22-YO 6th-Rd. 2006 pick out of Texas A&M University.)
RHP Luis Perdomo - 1.2 IP, 3 K; 1 G/1 F; 0/2 IR scored (5.03 - has given up 5 H and struck out 14 over last 10 games.)
Take care and have a great day!
Gallardo
Season: 48.2 IP, 27 H, 16 BB, 66(!) K, 2.22 ERA
I think he's ready.
Unfortunately for Yovani, there are still no obvious openings in the Brewers rotation:
Sheets
Suppan
Capuano
Bush
Vargas
Even if the Brewers tire of Bush's homerific stylings, they have Carlos Villanueva ready to step in as well.
Needs?
by DrBGiantsfan on May 18, 2007 12:24 AM EDT up reply actions
not really
IF: Fielder-Weeks-Hardy-XXXXX
OF: Jenkins-Hall-Mench-Hart-Gwynn-Gross
C: Estrada
Hart is hurting right now, and Mench is in a gigantic slump. But that still leaves four servicable outfielders to use.
by slackerjack on May 18, 2007 12:40 AM EDT up reply actions
not really any needs?
I think it's also hurting his offense.
And even aside from Hall, they have an OF of Mench, Jenkins, Gwynn, & Gross, not guys you'll ever be seeing on All Star teams (or hell, even many fantasy rosters).
There is a clear need for a big OF bat.
by Curtis Pride on May 18, 2007 10:18 AM EDT up reply actions
Early Giants Report
Travis Ishikawa- 2 for 5, 3B. BA= .225. Hitting .333 over last 10 games. Not much power, though. I didn't know Travis could run fast enough to get a triple!
Augusta smacked Hickory 7-0.
Marcus Sanders- 3 for 5, 2B, SB(11). BA= .282. What a boon to the Giants organization if Sanders starts hitting again!
Matt Weston- 2 for 4, 2B. BA= .291. Giants think Weston is the best hitter from their 2006 draft class.
Sharlon Schoop- 3 for 4. BA= .213 Schoop is another guy who would greatly bolster the Giants system if he can hit.
Henry Sosa- 7 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K. Season line: 3-0, 0.48, 37.2 IP, 12 BB, 35 K. Those numbers plus the knowledge he can hit 98 MPH on the gun make me pretty excited about Sosa's future.
An addition to my Indians' Overview!
Sorry, I forgot to mention that I found out that SS Asdrubal Cabrera (AA Akron) ran into Trevor Crowe on a pop-up the other night, resulting in him being taken out of the game and the reason why he hasn't been in the last few games. You can read more about it here.
Take care and have a great day!
GIants Wrapup
Clay Timpner- 2 for 4. BA= .364.
Russ Ortiz- 5.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K. Decent outing, especially the 0 BB's. What is he coming back to? Pretty tough to see him displacing Timmy or any other member of the rotation. Zito is the weak link right now and he ain't going anywhere!
Bill Sadler- 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K's. It would be great of Sadler took it to the next level. Could he be packaged with, say, Jonathan Sanchez for a good hitting first baseman?
San Jose cracked the Nuts(Modesto) 3-1.
Emmanuel Burriss- 1 for 2, HBP, SB(17).
David Maroul- 1 for 3, HR(5). BA= .238. Maroul has some power, but has terrible plate discipline and contact rate.
Joe Martinez- 6.1 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 3 K. ERA= 2.38. Not one of Joe's best games, but not too bad either.
Sergio Romo- 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K. ERA= 0.00. Anyone figure out why he missed the first 6 weeks of the season? Punch a dugout wall again?
Taylor Wilding- 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K.
Another point of interest regarding the Indians!
Sorry - so much information today that I have to keep making more posts in the same day. :-)
It's been decided that 3B Andy Marte will be activated on Friday, in part to allow the Indians to keep from using his option at this point, which is discussed further here. However, because Blake has played so well at 3B in Marte's absence, including hitting .288, Manager Eric Wedge said that Blake will still get some starts at 3B, presumably against tough RHPs.
gatling - I answered your Max Ramirez and Travis Hafner questions here, just to let you know. Hopefully, my reply is helpful! :-)
Take care and have a great day!
Thanks
Thank you for your response, I also checked out LetsGoTribe. Ramirez is a favorite of mine, hopefully he can stick behind the plate.
You're welcome! :-) I hope Ramirez can stick
Orenduff
5IP, 5H, 0R, 2BB, 8K
7 baserunners isn't anything spectacular, but he is coming back and this was a good step forward.
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