Minor League Notes, May 6th, 2011

by John Sickels on May 6, 2025 2:00 PM EDT

Minor League Notes, May 6^th, 2011

The two big news items yesterday were the promotion of Eric Hosmer, and Manny Machado's knee injury.

Obviously a serious knee injury to Machado would be a big blow to the Orioles, but we'll just have to wait and see. He was off to an outstanding start for Low-A Delmarva (.333/.450/.611, plus strong defense) and is a clear Grade A prospect if all is well. He could be in the majors within two years if his knee injury isn't a problem.

Other items:

**Texas Rangers outfield prospect Engel Beltre was suspended for 15 games last week after getting involved in an "altercation" that involved him throwing a trash can at some fans. Before this, he was hitting .253/.286/.316 in 18 games with a 3/18 BB/K ratio in 79 at-bats for Double-A Frisco.
Beltre is basically in the same position he was in last summer: he's an excellent athlete with terrific tools and is still just 21 years old, but he remains very raw, doesn't control the strike zone, and has a swing that doesn't translate his strength into power. He's strong enough to throw a trashcan at fans though. Beltre is way too young to give up on, but I get questions from Rangers fans asking when Beltre will be ready for the majors, and the answer is still the same: not any time soon, and throwing trash cans doesn't do a lot for your reputation.

**Another tools player of interest is Pittsburgh Pirates prospect Starling Marte, currently hitting .306/.343/.418 in 23 games for Double-A Altoona. He's also stolen seven bases in eight attempts. He has outstanding speed and is already a strong defender, and he's made good strides learning to use his speed more effectively on the bases this year. He has wiry strength and some scouts project solid distance power as he matures, though it hasn't happened yet and most of his offensive value is tied into his batting average right now.
He's a consistent .300+ hitter, but he is also quite impatient and draws few walks. Marte should usually have a high BABIP due to his speed, but obviously he'll have more value at the top of the order if he can draw at least a few more BBs. Scouts like his makeup. He could see Pittsburgh late this year but he strikes me as a one-level-at-a-time guy and might not be ready for full-time play until 2013.

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Read More: Engel Beltre (CF - TEX), Starling Marte (LF - PIT), Eric Hosmer (1B - KAN), Baltimore Orioles, Texas Rangers, Pittsburgh Pirates

Comments

BABIP

Marte should usually have a high BABIP due to his speed, but obviously he’ll have more value at the top of the order if he can draw at least a few more BBs. Scouts like his makeup.

Haven’t studies found that BABIP is more related to power then speed? I believe PT posted something about this.

Big Sexy

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by King Billy Royal on May 6, 2025 2:06 PM EDT reply actions

got a link?

That sound familiar but I don’t remember specifically.

by John Sickels on May 6, 2025 2:12 PM EDT up reply actions

Paul Thomas was the one who mentioned the study

I don’t recall where he got the information from unfortunately.

Big Sexy

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by King Billy Royal on May 6, 2025 3:27 PM EDT up reply actions

Fangraphs explored BABIP a while back

I believe while it’s proven there’s a correlation between speed and higher BABIP rates - http://bit.ly/lFn054 - it’s not a tremendous advantage.

At the end of the day, high BABIP rates are mostly tied to hit type on batted balls. Since 2008, Joey Votto leads MLB in BABIP. That’s mostly because BA on line drive’s are around .700.

by Avi_A on May 8, 2025 1:07 PM EDT up reply actions

I got this from a BP study in 2010

“Hitters who are able to square up on the ball better will hit more line drives and make more contact in general, so they will have higher BABIPs. Hitters who swing on more of a downward plane will have higher BABIPs, since ground balls are hits more often than outfield fly balls, and those hitters will also hit fewer pop-ups. Similarly, hitters who hit the ball harder in general will have higher BABIPs, and faster players will have higher BABIPs, too, particularly if they hit a lot of ground balls.”

by John Sickels on May 6, 2025 2:16 PM EDT up reply actions

BABIP and Speed

Faster players have a higher BABIP because they get more hits on GBs.

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by JD Sussman on May 6, 2025 6:15 PM EDT up reply actions

So do line drive guys...

because they hit more line drives. A higher line drive %= higher BABIP. Theoretically anyway.

ETHAN MARTIN!!!!

by joegonzo on May 6, 2025 9:00 PM EDT up reply actions

Not theoretically, you're right.

Though, LD% haven’t been found to be a repeatable skill.

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by JD Sussman on May 6, 2025 10:03 PM EDT up reply actions

I was mostly referencing my post below...

about Jarek Cunningham killing the ball and still having a pretty low BABIP. Also, LD% may not be the most consistent, but it is genereally rather easy to tell if a guy is constantly hitting the ball hard.

ETHAN MARTIN!!!!

by joegonzo on May 7, 2025 1:44 AM EDT up reply actions

Hey John you should look in to Brett Lawries numbers,

he has some pretty good ones,

by Jt Malley on May 6, 2025 2:11 PM EDT reply actions

Offensively, yes

Defensively, no

by guru4u on May 6, 2025 4:16 PM EDT up reply actions

yea agreed, but his defense isnt that bad,

but his offense is sickkk…

by Jt Malley on May 6, 2025 4:25 PM EDT up reply actions

That's not what I have heard

He’s gonna be in RF in the end. I know Toronto fans want him at 3B, but his glove seems worse than Encarnacion’s. Dude has a 10% error rate.

No doubt he is going to hit though.

by guru4u on May 7, 2025 5:38 PM EDT up reply actions

How about...

everyone checks out Jarek Cunningham. His offensive numbers are even better than Lawrie’s. I understand Lawrie is at a higher level and is slightly younger, but Cunningham’s numbers are sick considering the development time he has missed because of his ACL. He is also more athletic than Lawrie. BTW, 21 out of 30 hits going for extra bases to go along with his .303 avg, despite his .290 BABIP as a line drive hitter. As John states above, hitters who generally make harder contact should have a higher avg, which makes it seem like Jarek is slightly unlucky at this point in the season. If the BABIP were to go up, you would have a hard time finding a better hitter than Jarek.

ETHAN MARTIN!!!!

by joegonzo on May 6, 2025 4:51 PM EDT up reply actions

On another Rangers note:

Beltre could see some quick competition from new CF prospect Martin, correct?

Not likely to happen, but dreams are the foundation of baseball, so dream away. - JParks

"You know you're from Dallas if the Blue Book value on your truck goes up and down depending on how much gas it has in it."

Eric Prince, Director, Department of the Obvious

by Eric Prince on May 6, 2025 5:26 PM EDT reply actions

There's a few guys in the Mariners system who are having surprising years

but the one I’m most surprised about so far is Jabari Blash.

.259/.500/.407 , 13 BB : 6 SO , 3 SB : 0 CS

For a guy who was supposed to be really raw the BB:K ratio stands out to me as really encouraging. He’s only played in 10 games so the sample size is ridiculously small, but he’s someone to keep your eye on going forward.

by 200tang on May 6, 2025 7:42 PM EDT reply actions

Also...

Is Jabari Blash a great baseball name, or what?

by nwbb on May 7, 2025 1:11 PM EDT up reply actions

i still say Lawrie is one of the best prospect in baseball, as a hitter,

Since we moved Lind to First base and he has done fine it looks like the DH spot has opened up if we could call him up his numbe r in AAA ar amazing not to mention he hit a 3 run shot tonight and went 2 for 5.

by Jt Malley on May 7, 2025 3:11 AM EDT reply actions

JT - chill...

You don’t bring a 21 year old phenom up to DH - AT LEAST until he’s proved to the team what his playing position will be. At this time Lawrie is ALL BAT when he has shown he can be at least average defensively at some position or other - then temporarily he could be brought up to DH as he’s worked into the position he’ll play at.

He has a reasonable chance of being a league average defensive 3rd - with more work and reps. IF - he can’t stick there then give him time in the outfield to learn there.

Anyway you look at it a 21 year old who hasn’t mastered any position yet - regardless of how special his bat is - needs reps in the minors. Be patient!

by Mylegacy on May 7, 2025 7:05 PM EDT up reply actions