2010 Chiefs Q & A with Nathan Baliva

[NCCubFan]

With Spring Training underway, Nathan Baliva, announcer for the Peoria Chiefs (low-A), has once again graciously agreed to have a thread where he will answer some questions about the Chiefs throughout the 2010 season! This will be a great opportunity to not only get to ask questions to a first hand source, but to get to know Nathan over the course of the season.

 

Please note that Nathan is being very gracious to interact with us. With that being said, please understand that Nathan may or may not be able to get to your question right away and that there may be times where he is limited in regards to what he can say on certain issues.

 

This session will be in accordance with the NSBB Q & A Guidelines. Thank you to Nathan for taking the time to visit with us here at NSBB. In addition, thank you to all of you for making NSBB such a wonderful posting community!

[NCCubFan]

Transferred from the 2009 thread:

 

Nate, are you going to Arizona this Spring?

 

Unfotrunately I'm not. That was a budget cut last year that didn't get back in this year and I'm not able to pay it out of pocket either. So I'm stuck watching on TV like the rest of you guys!

[ChiefsVoice]

I'm gonna go first with a question for all of you, the Cubs and Chiefs fans.

 

I just started a blog (it isnt really public til our new look website launches next Monday...BUT for you, my friends its at http://peoriachiefs.mlblogs.com). IN addition to news, lineups and player profiles, I designed it with the intentions of giving a behind the scenes look. What movies we watch on the bus, what we do to kill time during rain delays, etc.

 

So my question is.....What do you want to know? What will drive you back to the blog to find out about the 2010 Peoria Chiefs...not just the players, but me, the coaches, the front office, promotions, etc??

 

All input is greatly appreciated. Keep following us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, 96.5 ESPN Radio free streaming and of course the website at http://www.peoriachiefs.com. Thanks for your continued support of the Chiefs and I hope to hear from you all during the season.

 

Nathan

[TruffleShuffle]

nathan, you know anything about why the in-game box scores are gone on MiLB.com? this is a big letdown for those of us who like to follow the cubs' prospects.

[ChiefsVoice]

nathan, you know anything about why the in-game box scores are gone on MiLB.com? this is a big letdown for those of us who like to follow the cubs' prospects.

 

No I was confused and pissed when I tried to pull up one from our league about 20 min ago on air. I'll a few emails tomorrow and see what I can find out!

[TruffleShuffle]

do they have radar at the ballparks in the mwl? if so, i'm wondering what sort of velocity jon nagel is showing in his start tonight.

[ChiefsVoice]

do they have radar at the ballparks in the mwl? if so, i'm wondering what sort of velocity jon nagel is showing in his start tonight.

 

Yep. Not all are accurate. This one tonight had him between 89-94. mostly sitting at 91-92. I'll try to confirm.

[toonsterwu]

To partly answer your above question Nate, I would be interested to know about Casey Kopitzke's interactions with the kids. It feels like he's being fast-tracked, and it'd be interesting to find out little things. How hands on is he? What sort of rapport? The small stuff in some respects.

 

To ask you a question, is it possible to get some information on McNutt's start last night? Velo? Swings against him? Did he seem to have some juice left (could he have gone longer if this was later in the season?)

[ChiefsVoice]

To partly answer your above question Nate, I would be interested to know about Casey Kopitzke's interactions with the kids. It feels like he's being fast-tracked, and it'd be interesting to find out little things. How hands on is he? What sort of rapport? The small stuff in some respects.

 

To ask you a question, is it possible to get some information on McNutt's start last night? Velo? Swings against him? Did he seem to have some juice left (could he have gone longer if this was later in the season?)

 

Thanks Toonster I'll get on that with Casey...

 

Beloit doesnt post radar numbers. I'll get you more tomorrow in Cedar Rapids. I believe he was 92-94 lot of swings and misses and yes he had more left in the tank it appeared.

[toonsterwu]

Thanks for the answers Nate. Sorry I hadn't checked this in awhile.

 

Real quick, any insight on the Jovan Rosa release? Was he not developing fast enough? Did the slow start offensively, do him in? Not that shocking, I guess, considering he was demoted last year, but I thought the reports had been decent (considering the move was last fall) on his defensive ability behind the plate. I was fascinated by the potential of Rosa's bat behind the plate. That said, not the biggest loss, although considering the hitter he was 2 years ago in Peoria, a bit disappointing.

[Guest]

Nate will be on the B-Squared show today, so you can ask him questions there

[Guest]

Nate, how has Larry Suarez looked thus far?

[ChiefsVoice]

Nate, how has Larry Suarez looked thus far?

 

Sorry I slacked on getting this answered. Suarez has been outstanding. He throws strikes, throws hard and doesnt get rattled with runners on base. I've been very impressed so far in his few weeks on the team.

[Guest]

Nate, how has Larry Suarez looked thus far?

 

Sorry I slacked on getting this answered. Suarez has been outstanding. He throws strikes, throws hard and doesnt get rattled with runners on base. I've been very impressed so far in his few weeks on the team.

 

That's great to hear! Do you think there's a chance he could start down the line?

[sandbergcubs]

Does anyone know what has happened to searle? he was highly thought of in daytona last year, now seems to be going down hill

 

 

Also whats his attitude/personality like, i remember it was accused of being questionable

[ChiefsVoice]

Does anyone know what has happened to searle? he was highly thought of in daytona last year, now seems to be going down hill

 

 

Also whats his attitude/personality like, i remember it was accused of being questionable

 

Not exactly sure why he was sent down although his numbers for the 2nd half last season were not good and he struglled ina couple outings last season. Maybe some one who is more into Sabremetrics than I am can tell us if he was just getting lucky the 1st half of last season (kinda like Jung this year in April) and the numbers just evened out.

 

The thing I do like about him is that he isn't afraid. Runners on base don't bother him like they do some pitchers at this level. He also changed some mechanics in working with our pitching coach after he arrived in Peoria and saw immediate results with a quicker delivery. Two outings ago he developed a blister on his middle finger and got shelled.

 

As for the attitude issue, I've always heard the exact same things both last year and this year. He and I get along fine when I've talked to him. Ryan has been approachable and friendly and surprisingly doesnt have an Australian accent.

[Guest]

Does anyone know what has happened to searle? he was highly thought of in daytona last year, now seems to be going down hill

 

 

Also whats his attitude/personality like, i remember it was accused of being questionable

 

Not exactly sure why he was sent down although his numbers for the 2nd half last season were not good and he struglled ina couple outings last season. Maybe some one who is more into Sabremetrics than I am can tell us if he was just getting lucky the 1st half of last season (kinda like Jung this year in April) and the numbers just evened out.

 

The thing I do like about him is that he isn't afraid. Runners on base don't bother him like they do some pitchers at this level. He also changed some mechanics in working with our pitching coach after he arrived in Peoria and saw immediate results with a quicker delivery. Two outings ago he developed a blister on his middle finger and got shelled.

 

As for the attitude issue, I've always heard the exact same things both last year and this year. He and I get along fine when I've talked to him. Ryan has been approachable and friendly and surprisingly doesnt have an Australian accent.

 

I saw him at Fitch in March and the lack of accent really stood out.

 

To be fair to Searle, one really bad outing with Peoria has skewed his stats. He also wasn't getting many ground balls at Daytona this season for whatever reason but the GO rate is back with Peoria (along with a lot more walks).

[sandbergcubs]

Does anyone know what has happened to searle? he was highly thought of in daytona last year, now seems to be going down hill

 

 

Also whats his attitude/personality like, i remember it was accused of being questionable

 

Not exactly sure why he was sent down although his numbers for the 2nd half last season were not good and he struglled ina couple outings last season. Maybe some one who is more into Sabremetrics than I am can tell us if he was just getting lucky the 1st half of last season (kinda like Jung this year in April) and the numbers just evened out.

 

The thing I do like about him is that he isn't afraid. Runners on base don't bother him like they do some pitchers at this level. He also changed some mechanics in working with our pitching coach after he arrived in Peoria and saw immediate results with a quicker delivery. Two outings ago he developed a blister on his middle finger and got shelled.

 

As for the attitude issue, I've always heard the exact same things both last year and this year. He and I get along fine when I've talked to him. Ryan has been approachable and friendly and surprisingly doesnt have an Australian accent.

 

I saw him at Fitch in March and the lack of accent really stood out.

 

To be fair to Searle, one really bad outing with Peoria has skewed his stats. He also wasn't getting many ground balls at Daytona this season for whatever reason but the GO rate is back with Peoria (along with a lot more walks).

 

ok thanks guys, maybe the walks goes along with the change in mechanics?

[Guest]

Hi Nate,

 

What's the scouting report on Frank Batista - what pitches does he throw and how hard does he throw? What's been the reason for his success thus far this season?

[Guest]

And while I'm asking you questions...did you get a chance to see Brett Wallach when he was pitching with Great Lakes this season? Any thoughts on him?

[craig]

While Cal is asking, I'll pile on.

 

Struck has had a number of effective outings. Batista has been K'ing tons of guys. Jung, after few K's early, has really turned it around lately. And Whitenack has an ERA under 3 over his last 10 starts. And of course Antigua struggled often, and missed time.

 

Could you comment on each of their stuff and velocity?

 

Perhaps I'll guess:

 

Whitenack typically 88-91, pretty good control of fastball, has some sink. Breaking ball erratic and not very advanced, but has been better over the last two months than was true the spring. At the Peoria level, though, he has really lived on his fastball primarily. Composure and personality, I have no idea.

 

Long-term potential could be good if: his velocity increases as he fills out (he's pretty skinny around the middle although his shoulder aren't thin), and his breaking stuff gets better.

 

Struck: Fastball is pretty decent, 88-92 typically. His control is inconsistent. Throws a slider and a change. Is he as short as the 5'11" listing suggests? And is he stocky or just a slim little guy? Composure and personality, I have no idea.

Long-term potential could be good if: his command is consistently good, and if he can fairly consistently be at or above 90 mph with his fastball.

 

Batista: Is he as short as his 5'10" listing suggests? And if so is he fairly slim, or is he pretty stocky and strong at this point? Throws harder than Struck and Whitenack, I'm thinking? Probably gets into the 92-94 range fairly often? The best velocity among the rotation guys? His second pitch is a slider that he can use for K's. Changeup is very unrefined, he can't control it very well and doesn't throw it very often. Can he communicate OK in English, or is that pretty rough at this point? Any personality input at this point?

 

Long-term potential could be good if: his velocity can hold up long-term, his slider command improves, and if his changeup comes along as a 3rd pitch versus lefties especially. given how short he is and given his fastball/slider combo, may profile better as a reliever than a starter at the big-league level?

 

Jung: Throws around 88-91, with both slider and change? Fastball velocity has been a little better/more consistent lately, and command of all of his pitches, slider especially, has improved during his recent good outings. What kind of English and get-along-with-the-team profile does he have at this point? How big is he? Does he look like he could fill out more and perhaps get somewhat stronger?

 

Long-term potential: He'll need to be a pitcher, but if his control improves some more and his velocity ticks up a little bit further, he could become pretty good.

 

Antigua: Throws 86-93 fastball, has a change and a breaking ball. Inconsistent control. What happened with his being out of action? Elbow, shoulder, oblique, discipline, what happened? Before the injury he maybe wasn't throwing that well, but has looked better since. Personality and communication skills? Minorleague baseball still lists him at 6'1 170, but I think he's a lot bigger than that now? Maybe 6'2" and 215? When he wasn't feeling right he wasn't throwing very fast, and had some fat fastballs and some hanging breaking pitches which got bopped over the fence.

 

Long-term potential: Arm needs to be healthy, and it's a question of control. Needs to be able to throw hard enough and command the fastball so that he's not giving up HR's all the time. And needs to throw change and curve for strikes so that he can mix everything up.

 

If you were rating right now:

 

Fastball velocity: Batista > Antigua > Struck > Jung = Whitenack Close, or how would you revise?

 

Fastball effectiveness at present (considering movement and location as well as velocity): Whitenack = Batista > Jung = Struck > Antigua? Close, or how would you revise?

 

Overall big-league potential at present? I have no idea how to rank these five! If you were Jim Hendry, which would you probably be most willing to trade, and which the least?

[Guest]

Craig...a few weeks ago, Nate said that Antigua had a shoulder injury and that's how he landed on the DL.

[Bear Cub]

Thanks for another great summer of Chiefs baseball. You do a great job.