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 17th 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 16th, 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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