Minor League Discussion & Boxes 8-15-2006

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Mesa wins it 7-4.

 

- Jake Fox gave my wife the eye and I think she liked it.

 

Haha, awesome.

[Laura]

Mesa wins it 7-4.

 

- Jake Fox gave my wife the eye and I think she liked it.

 

Haha, awesome.

 

We'll be posting his Q&A soon, tell her to check it out! :mrgreen:

[Laura]

I don't believe that Gallagher will be up this year. But next year, who knows. 40-man considerations work against, but big-league needs trump. If Gallagher is pitching well and the big-league rotation continues to flounder, they'll try anybody.

 

Maybe on winter paper Gallagher may look about 13th on their intended paper depth chart: (1 Z 2-outside pickup 3-outside pickup 4-Prior 5-Miller 6-Marshall 7-Hill 8-Marmol 9-Guzman 10-Mateo 11-Ryu, 12-Rusch 13-Gallagher). But the way things go with the Cubs, injury and ineffectiveness can knock those guys off the ladder pretty fast.

 

My concern is the high walks. >6 walks/9 IP, and he's got the pitch counts and low innings totals to match. Hard to see much success with that degree of control trouble.

 

 

I don't think Gallagher will get the call this year. He needs to improve the control, and, as Nathan has mentioned, the Cubs will likely try to forestall having to roster him until 1) he needs rostering, or 2) they need him.

 

The BB rate is definitely a concern. On the plus side, his K rate has been creeping up and his hit rate creeping down. He pitched 151 innings last year, his first full season in pro-ball, and as of tonight has pitched 139 innings. He's had some extra rest upon occasion, which isn't unusual, but he has never missed a start.

 

Both this year and last year, he started out by flat-out dominating. He's a strong starter. Last year, he hit a wall right after the all-star break and had to pitch through it. It may be that the promotion this year happened about the same time that he has to start pitching through fatigue (plus adjusting to the better hitters).

 

He's still succeeding as a young player in the Southern League. As of about a month ago, he was the 3rd youngest of all players according to MiLB rosters behind Homer Bailey and Yovani Gallardo -- pretty good company. That's probably changed by now (I don't know a site where you can easily sort players by league & age?) because everyone's been promoted recently. He's the youngest Cubs pitcher in full-season ball.

 

I'm biased, I think he's been under-rated. As always, we'll wait and see what happens.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

On Deck Baseball Prospects[/url]"]RHP Sean Gallagher blew away 10 batters in 6 innings of 3-hit, one-run ball to earn his 6th Double-A victory and help lead West Tennessee (CHC) to a 2-1 home win over Mobile (SDP). Gallagher continues to excel in the SL despite struggling with his control. The 20-year-old right-hander has a strong 2.70 ERA after 12 starts with the D-Jaxx despite issuing 46 walks in 66.2 innings. He’s been able to navigate around the walks because he’s served up just 2 homers and has fanned 69 batters. Gallagher’s fastball has shown more zip this season and his curveball remains a big-time strikeout pitch, making him a potential #3 starter in the majors. He’s one of the Cubbies’ best prospects.

[KaiserCesar]

On Deck Baseball Prospects[/url]"]RHP Sean Gallagher blew away 10 batters in 6 innings of 3-hit, one-run ball to earn his 6th Double-A victory and help lead West Tennessee (CHC) to a 2-1 home win over Mobile (SDP). Gallagher continues to excel in the SL despite struggling with his control. The 20-year-old right-hander has a strong 2.70 ERA after 12 starts with the D-Jaxx despite issuing 46 walks in 66.2 innings. He’s been able to navigate around the walks because he’s served up just 2 homers and has fanned 69 batters. Gallagher’s fastball has shown more zip this season and his curveball remains a big-time strikeout pitch, making him a potential #3 starter in the majors. He’s one of the Cubbies’ best prospects.

 

:evil: :evil: