Morning Notes: April 19, 2010

by John Sickels on Apr 19, 2010 1:36 PM EDT

Daily Notes, April 19, 2010

**My main focus right now is draft research, currently focusing on college pitchers. I am also thinking about taking a scouting trip sometime soon.

**Coming up later today, Not a Rookie for Franklin Gutierrez.

**Aroldis Chapman and Stephen Strasburg have both made their second starts and were a little more human. Chapman threw five innings on the 17^th and allowed just one hit and one run, but he also fanned just one guy while walking four. Strasburg allowed a run on two hits in a rain-shortened two-inning outing on the 16^th, though he did fan three.

**Twins catching prospect Wilson Ramos had struggled in his first look at Triple-A pitching, hitting .212/.235/.333 in his first eight games with one walk and nine strikeouts. Yes, the sample size is too small to worry about just yet, but I remain concerned about his plate discipline, which was also poor last year in Double-A. If he's going to move Joe Mauer to third base or be used as tasty trade bait, Ramos has to do a much better job controlling the zone than he's done in the last year.

**Mets prospect Kyle Allen, one of my key pre-season sleepers, has made two starts at High-A St. Lucie with mixed results. He's pitched 10 innings and allowed four runs for a 3.60 ERA, but his 4/8 K/BB ratio is quite poor and shows serious command issues. His command was inconsistent last year in the Sally League, and while it hasn't hurt the bottom line yet this year, he's got to get the walks down to live up to his potential.

**Arodys Vizcaino has been so-so in his first two outings for the Low-A Rome Braves in the Sally League, giving up 13 hits and seven runs in 10 innings, with a 7/4 K/BB. Again, too early to mean anything, but we will track it. Teammate Julio Teheran, meanwhile, has been more impressive, with a 12/4 K/BB in his first 9.2 innings, allowing three hits and one run. Both have excellent stuff but need to prove their command against full-season hitters.

**Top Royals catching prospect Wil Myers is struggling at Low-A Burlington in the Midwest League, hitting .186/.250/.302 in his first 11 games, with three walks and 12 strikeouts. Burlington is a difficult place to hit: it ate up Eric Hosmer last year, and at age 19 it is not surprising that Myers is off to a slow start. As for Hosmer, his Lasik-correction vision seems to be working well at Wilmington: .444/.512/.583 in his first 10 games, with five walks and four strikeouts in 36 at-bats. That's a lot closer to what the Royals expected when they drafted him. Let's see if he can keep that up.

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Kyle Allen

John,

I’m also somewhat concerned with Allen’s beginning. He’s got tremendous movement on his fastball so I can understand the walks, but the four strikeouts is a bit more puzzling for me. I think the command will come in time but the strikeouts will, IMO, determine his upside.

by WrenFGun on Apr 19, 2010 1:40 PM EDT reply actions

I want to ask you your views on this?

I saw this over at MLB Trade Rumors, an its an interesting read. I had not even heard about the controversy in the Dominican about it.

What are your thoughts about the possibility of adding the Dominican Republic to the MLB Draft, or just going with an International Draft period, and the repercussions for Baseball and the countries involved? We see how the Dominican feels, what about Venezuela? Japan and Korea? China? Australia?

Toothball.com

by Zonis on Apr 19, 2010 1:40 PM EDT reply actions

Terrible

The draft has pretty much killed baseball in Puerto Rico and it’ll do the same for any other international country. I absolutely hate what Bud Selig is doing to the draft; hard slotting, when it’s implemented, will be a disaster.

by Jeff Reese on Apr 19, 2010 2:13 PM EDT up reply actions

Org Notes

The last note about the two Royals prospects makes me think that it would be cool to do some organization-specific posts. You could provide updates on a few choice players and fit them within the context of the organization’s philosophy and needs. Call it, “Checking in with the Royals Org” or something.

Your take on the Mets organization, for instance, would be fascinating given the relievering of Mejia, the coming promotion of Davis, the ups and downs of FMart, the number of upside latin players at the lower levels, and the GM/coach pressure. Is the system up? the system down? Are they still rushing guys? Scaling back? What will they be looking for in the draft, etc.? Just an idea.

by randymilligan on Apr 19, 2010 1:52 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs