Kershaw promoted to....

by npurcell on Aug 6, 2007 10:29 PM EDT Comment 19 comments

AA Jacksonville!
------------------------------------------
Ace pitcher Clayton Kershaw was promoted Monday to the Jacksonville Suns, the Los Angeles Dodgers' Double-A affiliate

Parrish realizes that Kershaw, who the Dodgers have on the fast track to the major leagues, is ready for the new challenges that Double-A ball will bring.
"Obviously, (the Dodgers') goal was to get him out of here and give him a taste of Double-A before the season was over," said Parrish. "I think he is ready for that. (Is he) completely ready? I don't know. He still needs to get better command of his pitches.
"He certainly has the stuff. Maybe moving up to a team in first place and being able to pitch against Double-A hitters will help him focus a little better," added Parrish.
Loons' pitching coach Glenn Dishman agreed.
"At this level, he knew that he could sit there and throw fastballs by people, and (he) sometimes didn't have command of his fastball the way he needed to," said Dishman. "(At Jacksonville), he will rise to the challenge and know that he needs to hit his spots and still throw a 96 mile-per-hour fastball when he needs to."
------------------------------------
http://www.ourmidland.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18670011&BRD=2289&PAG=461&dept_id=576269& amp;rfi=6

i dunno what they are doing but whatever.

0 recs | Comment 19 comments

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

wow skipping him over A+

Lets see if he is the real deal. I think they are trying to get him in the majors next year a la Rick Ankiel in 99 at age 20.

by Bravesin07 on Aug 6, 2007 10:24 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

current 2008 rotation outlook

Penny
Lowe
Billingsley
???
???

Tomko's going to be gone. Kuo and Schmidt are question marks as they are currently recovering from their respective surgeries. Hendrickson is probably going to be back as a swingman. Wolf has a 9mil team option, I don't know how the Dodgers feel about exercising it.

Down in the minors, James Mcdonald has emerged as a top pitching prospect in the org, he could be ready by mid 2008. Elbert is a question mark because of surgery as well.

by npurcell on Aug 6, 2007 10:29 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

well if he dominantes AA he has a shot

Did Ankiel ever pitch in AAA?

by Bravesin07 on Aug 6, 2007 10:33 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

sites you can use to answer questions like this

thebaseballcube.com

firstinning.com

fangraphs.com

and boom goes the dynamite.

by Mean Dean on Aug 6, 2007 10:54 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I think...

...they just want to keep him away from the California League.

"Free Jason Botts" -Grrrranderson

by uga007 on Aug 6, 2007 10:53 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

bingo

my thoughts exactly

by fewgoodcards on Aug 6, 2007 10:58 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

not sure about that

Sending Kershaw there would actually give Ned, Logan White, Dodger medical staff, and anyone else in the front office an easier chance to see Kershaw or react if something like an injury did happen. This was a large part of the justification in moving to Inland Empire in the first place. I think he was promoted there because they feel he is ready.

by count sutton on Aug 6, 2007 11:09 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Response

There's something I don't think people have ever gotten about the Cal League. It's something that I'm going to use a comparison to describe.

Question: What is a more difficult assignment for a young pitcher?

A) Pitching in a very hitter-friendly environment against a lineup consisting of A ball batters
B) Pitching in a neutral environment against, say, the San Diego Padres

In other words, I think the Cal League is a great place to send young pitchers. It puts them into an environment where they can't afford to give free passes to batters and they can't afford to let too many balls get hit up in the air. It seems to me that this actually forces young pitchers to learn good habits that will help them to succeed at higher levels. The only people who really are opposed to this sort of learning experience are sabermetrically-inclined individuals who hate to see a good pitching prospect do anything but dominate their competition, no matter where it happens to be.

In any case, no matter how bad pitching in the Cal League might be, it will never, ever compare to facing upper level competition in a neutral environment. There's a reason these guys are in A ball, after all.

by mrkupe on Aug 6, 2007 11:26 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

disagree

You do make some very good points. And for a ground-ball pitcher that probably is more valid than the point I'll make.

Or maybe some mix in between.

But let's say you throw a solid pitchers pitch that the hitter hits for a fly to right. That ends up being a cheap homer. What does the pitcher do? Does he totally ignore results and keep pitching that way knowing it will bring success at the higher levels? I doubt many young players can do this.

If your argument was correct than why do so many pitchers struggle badly in PCL but are fine in the majors? Sometimes their style of pitching can't handle adverse conditions but can handle slightly better hitting.

by pedrophile on Aug 7, 2007 12:07 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I Agree

Bravesin07 is so damn reactionary. I bet when his mother took him to the Dr., his leg kicked before the Dr. hit his knee with the reflex hammer. --slurve

by Dfarth on Aug 7, 2007 8:18 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Double A

Look at James McDonald: he had an ERA close to 4.00 in the California League, but now that he is in Double A his ERA is under 1.50. Even though the Southern League is Double A and the California League is high A, I think that pitching in the Southern League can be easier than pitching in the California League. It's counter-intuitive, but that doesn't make it untrue.

by CanuckDodger on Aug 6, 2007 11:19 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Here's his chance

to make himself the top pitching prospect in baseball going into next season. If he dominates in AA, he might do just that.

Check out MVN.com/mlb-braves for the best Braves coverage

by was385 on Aug 6, 2007 11:19 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Response

Just like when half of the prospect-watching community swooned after Andrew McCutchen hit pretty well in a 2 week stint at AA last year?

Beware small sample size, especially when you're talking about a kid with Kershaw's stuff. If he has a couple of good nights, his stuff can play against almost anyone. But it's usually not the good nights that tell you whether or not a player is ready for their level of competition . . .it's how they look on their bad nights.

by mrkupe on Aug 7, 2007 3:21 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Women.

"it's how they look on their bad nights."

by daveh33 on Aug 8, 2007 12:56 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Color me skeptical

Kershaw is no doubt an outstanding young talent. That being said, I'm not sold on this being the best move for him. Why? The walks. He seems to give out free passes like they are going out of style, and it worries me a little. His K rate is through the roof, but if he doesn't learn to throw more strikes he'll get knocked around quite a bit.

I personally think he needs to solve the BB issue before ever thinking about having him in the major league rotation.

by guru4u on Aug 7, 2007 12:17 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs