Star Trek: Redshirts (via comedy4cast)

Ranking of Star Fleet Officers by Competence:
Grade A: Kirk or Spock
Grade B: Scotty, Sulu
Grade C: Chekov
Replacement level: security redshirts
Grade A prospect ruined by Injury: Matt Decker

Hit and Run, August 4, 2009

**My trip to Springfield has been cancelled. The weather forecast is not promising, and with just a two day trip I can't afford the risk of a rainout. Instead I will go to Omaha tomorrow for a two-day look at the Royals against Las Vegas. I also got about 3 hours of sleep last night, so a better night's sleep is a good plan.

**The newest intriguing prospect promotion is Brian Matusz, expected to start tonight's game for the Orioles. His performance for Double-A Bowie was impeccable: 7-0, 1.55, 46:11 K:BB in 46.1 innings, 31 hits, .189 average against. He held lefties to a .077 mark. It says loads about how much the Orioles like him that he's the guy getting promoted: they are normally more conservative about promoting prospects than this. Prediction for Matusz's first start: 5 innings, 6 hits, 2 runs, 2 walks, 3 strikeouts, no-decision in a 5-3 Orioles win.

**Ron Gardenhire has mentioned publically that he wants to take a good look at Danny Valencia in September. He's actually been mired in a slump lately at Triple-A Rochester, .135 in his last 10 games, hitting .224/.254/.388 in his last 18 games with three walks and 12 strikeouts in 67 at-bats. His overall line is now .296/.315/.486, but note the low OBP: he's often impatient and this could harm him in the majors. He's still the best third base prospect the Twins have had in some time, but strike zone judgment is a weakness. Valencia strikes me as the type of guy that pitchers will challenge with fastballs when he first gets to the majors. He'll handle them well, put up good numbers for a few weeks until the pitchers decide he can handle the heater. Then they'll start throwing him junk and he'll struggle. Just a guess.

**One of my favorites pre-season was J.J. Hoover, RHP in the Braves system. He's 4-5, 3.63 with a sharp 108/16 K/BB in 97 innings for Class A Rome, with 103 hits allowed. He's been more hittable than I'd like to see, but the K/IP and K/BB are outstanding, and he'll rank high on the Braves pitching prospect chart heading into the off-season. The general assumption has been that Hoover would end up in the bullpen eventually, and indeed he has a 1.17 ERA with an incredible 24/1 K/BB in 15 relief innings this year. However, I think I'd leave him as a starter for now. I wouldn't be afraid to jump him to Double-A next year.

**Another favorite of mine is Cubs pitcher Jay Jackson, who was having a pretty solid year in his first full pro season at Double-A Tennessee. However, he was demoted to Class A Daytona last week for "disciplinary reasons" according to the Cubs. He made his first start for Daytona on July 30^th and pitched great, 5.2 innings, four hits, one unearned run, one walk, nine strikeouts. I don't know what the disciplinary reason was, but perhaps the demotion will wake him up. . . certainly the first start went well. Everything I'd heard about his makeup was positive previously.

**Promoted to replace Jackson on the Tennessee roster was righthander Chris Carpenter, who had a 1.44 ERA with a 33/8 K/BB in 25 innings for Daytona. Before that he had a 2.44 ERA with a 60/33 K/BB in 74 innings for Peoria. A third round pick out of Kent State in 2008, Carpenter has great stuff, hitting 95-98 MPH at his best, along with a solid curveball. He also had serious injury problems in college, having Tommy John in 2005, a second elbow surgery in 2006, along with the rheumatiz and the gout. Carpenter's command can be erratic, but he should be on your sleeper lists.