Minor League Discussion & Boxes 4-22-12

[Guest]

Taiwan Easterling was down to .100 on the dot but he got a single to bump his BA up to .122. Which means Marco Hernandez' .107 is now the lowest batting average on that team.

[craig]

..

 

As for Francescon, he's a "rotation" guy who isn't getting a full-workload (whereas Jensen is averaging 6). That is, he doesn't have a set piggyback partner (Wells/Burke). I mean, betting money on most of these arms is "reliever", so yeah, he might be a reliever, but if the change develops into a plus pitch, that's a mid-rotation ceiling (fastball/curve being average projections), along with his solid command.

 

The other note is that, despite my intrigue with the arms in Peoria to start the year, some of them haven't gotten off to good starts/developed. Liria occasionally comes in early (he came in for Francescon in the 4th in Francescon's first start), but he still doesn't show command, by most accounts. Cruz is still mostly in the high 80's. The one non-starter/piggyback guy throwing fairly well is Yao-lin Wang.

 

I think Francescon's gotten a full workload, he just hasn't been as consistently pitch-efficient as Jensen. Jensen's allowed few walks and few hits, and he hasn't worked lots of long-count K-AB's either.

 

Francescon as gone relatively deep in three of his four starts. 7 innings today when he was cruising ala Jensen. 4.2 his first outing, despite 9 K's. That's pretty full under their opening pitch count. 5.2 his second start, again pretty long given pitch counts. It was really one start 3 which was short, but I'm guessing with three walks and three hits, he was laboring and probably exhausted his count before finishing the 4th. I'm also speculating that his 3rd start was also subject to the early-April unexpanded pitch count limits.

 

Wang has been excellent. 1 hit and 1 walk in 8 innings. Cruz has been terrible, as wild as always and his velocity seems to be declining rather than improving. And Liria, as you say, seems to be wild and unimproved. Rosario hasn't been much either.

[Guest]

At this point, I would like to see Wang stretched out a bit more and start/piggyback. 8 innings is far too few.

[Guest]

Per BA, Ronald Torreyes is the youngest player in the FSL and Arismendy Alcantara is the 7th youngest. Jae-Hoon Ha is the 8th youngest in the SL.

 

And Starlin is the 2nd youngest in the NL.

[TruffleShuffle]

I would like to see Wang stretched out a bit more

[TruffleShuffle]

brett jackson has struck out only twice in the last 5 games... only has 3 hits during that time though.

[davell]

Hernandez probably needs to be given another 10 games or so and if he's not showing true progress at that point, go ahead and send him back to EXST. It just doesn't look like he's ready for full season ball right now.

[ctcf]

Ronald Torreyes has one hell of a mole.

[toonsterwu]

Hernandez probably needs to be given another 10 games or so and if he's not showing true progress at that point, go ahead and send him back to EXST. It just doesn't look like he's ready for full season ball right now.

 

Problem is, who do you call up? Baez has been in a slump, and there seems to be indications that this year is a very long-view oriented focus, so I'm not all that sold anymore that we'll definitely see him in Peoria before Boise starts. Amaya? You have to call someone up to take his spot, and I'm not sure who that option is. To be fair, I did say earlier that I thought early May was probably the point at which a decision should be made if he is still struggling, but who do you go to to give the AB's? I guess you could give them to a guy like Soccorro, but nothing personal against Kenny, he doesn't have much prospect value, and in that situation, I'd rather just give Marco a bit more time and see how he does as the weather warms up.

 

Long run, I still feel Rosario is better off in the pen with his fastball/slider, but I'm happy they are giving him a look as a starter. He was ... decent the first start, ran into a bad 4th in the 2nd start, and then simply wore down last time out.

 

______

 

What I'd like to see, but I doubt it'll happen this early, is Burke shifted into Cruz's spot, have Cruz piggyback off of Wells. I'd like to see what Kyler can do with an extended workload, because considering his age and minor league FA status after this year, we have to find out soon. If he can't hack it with longer workloads, then you can ponder fast-tracking him as a pen arm.

[toonsterwu]

Ronald Torreyes has one hell of a mole.

 

I'm assuming you are talking about the MiLB picture? He looks awfully old in that picture.

[ctcf]

Ronald Torreyes has one hell of a mole.

 

I'm assuming you are talking about the MiLB picture? He looks awfully old in that picture.

 

Yeah he looks crazy old for 19.

[TruffleShuffle]

Ronald Torreyes has one hell of a mole.

 

I'm assuming you are talking about the MiLB picture? He looks awfully old in that picture.

 

Yeah he looks crazy old for 19.

 

also known as "greg oden disease"

[TruffleShuffle]

is loosen being kept on a short leash or something? came out after two relatively uneventful innings for daytona.

[Guest]

is loosen being kept on a short leash or something? came out after two relatively uneventful innings for daytona.

 

Probably because it's his first outing in 17 days.

[toonsterwu]

Exciting day. Szczur and Easterling with a hit! Next thing you know, Vitters will start hitting homers, and Marco Hernandez will start getting on base. One step at a time!

[davell]

Baez is in a 13 at bat hitless streak, but I feel pretty confident that he will be out of it inside of two weeks. I hope Hernandez breaks out and makes this a non discussion honestly, because he IS our best shot at finding a guy that moves Castro off SS.

[Guest]

Torreyes with a triple and a walk thus far this evening.

[CubColtPacer]

Torreyes with a triple and a walk thus far this evening.

 

Torreyes is another guy who is showing increased walks so far. He only had 15 walks in the U.S. the last 2 years in 386 AB's (he had 23 in Venezuela). Now he has 6 already this year with 45 AB's. He also has 6 K's, which is way up for him too. Plus he's already had 5 extra base hits compared to only 17 last year.

[A New Era]

I would like to see Wang stretched out a bit more

 

Lol good catch.

[PriortoTheoIhadWood]

I haven't been paying close attention to the game, but it sounded like Francescon's slider was really fooling the Lugnut batters early.

 

It better be at 23.

 

Anyone remember who the bigger signing was between Cruz and Liria? Who's got the changeup between the two? Which one doesn't have a crappy breaking ball? WHY have I been convinced Liria is LH for a year now? I pretty much have no faith in either as long term starters either...Neither is big, neither gets ARL points (which are worth alot), neither throws a ton of strikes...OTOH, they might be the next wave of interesting relief arms...Even then, looks like Burke is the most interesting there considering his velocity and IIRC he has a good slider.

 

I ended last year pretty optimistic on the position players in the system, and I'm still there. OTOH, there just aren't alot of guys I like who project to SP, and if they do its as a very low upside one. Really hoping Simpson picks up as the year goes on, because the next most interesting arm after McNutt is Wells 2-3 levels below him.

[Little Slide Rooter]

Matt Szczur has officially crossed the Mendiza Line, or at least he'd standing on it at an even .200.

 

Oliver Zapata has certainly been a bright spot in the ocean of blah at best that has been the hitters of the lower levels thus far.

[toonsterwu]

I haven't been paying close attention to the game, but it sounded like Francescon's slider was really fooling the Lugnut batters early.

 

It better be at 23.

 

Anyone remember who the bigger signing was between Cruz and Liria? Who's got the changeup between the two? Which one doesn't have a crappy breaking ball? WHY have I been convinced Liria is LH for a year now? I pretty much have no faith in either as long term starters either...Neither is big, neither gets ARL points (which are worth alot), neither throws a ton of strikes...OTOH, they might be the next wave of interesting relief arms...Even then, looks like Burke is the most interesting there considering his velocity and IIRC he has a good slider.

 

I ended last year pretty optimistic on the position players in the system, and I'm still there. OTOH, there just aren't alot of guys I like who project to SP, and if they do its as a very low upside one. Really hoping Simpson picks up as the year goes on, because the next most interesting arm after McNutt is Wells 2-3 levels below him.

 

I don't think either Cruz or Liria were top foreign signings. Cruz is more fastball/breaking ball. Change-up is still in development. Liria has a change-up that he uses on occasion. I have no idea why you thought Liria was left handed.

 

If Liria ever gained command, he would be an interesting starting pitcher prospect, as he has a fastball that, last summer, topped out in the mid-90's, had a breaking ball that showed potential, and had a usable change. The command, though, is simply not there. I don't know if they think he's purely a pen arm now or if they are simply trying to work with him on things.

 

This was supposed to be the first wave of pitching hitting full season ball, with another "wave" next season, but like the "wave" that hit Peoria this year, it's a lot of raw arms. There's Jose Arias, who I did not realize was so big, Starling Peralta, Amaury Paulino. All three were relatively more well-regarded than Liria, so there's a chance one or two of them breaks through, but at least with Peralta and Paulino, I believe AzPhil has indicated that they occasionally have issues with command as well (not 100% sure, though). Carlos Martinez was over-hyped by Phil Rogers I think (Rogers said he was hitting 94 and throwing a good change, AzPhil seems to disagree with that assessment). I really don't recall what Brian Smith throws right now, but I recall thinking that, if everything was perfect for him, maybe a mid-rotation ceiling. Then, there's Scott, Maples, Maltos-Garcia, Elias, Urban, and a couple more, some really raw kids.

 

I expect the next draft some focus on pitching and pitching ceiling. At least, I'm hoping. There's a fair amount of mid-rotation ceiling guys in full-season ball.

[PriortoTheoIhadWood]

My thinking Liria was LH was the only thing that made him truly interesting to me.

 

What do you know about Arias, Paulino, and Peralta? Youngest? Best stuff? Best size? Athleticism?

 

Man do I hope they land Gausman...I'm fine with a few of the bat options but I want an upside arm that can move quickly really bad.

[davell]

At this point, I like where we are with position players, especially if we wind up getting Soler. But, after McNutt, who has serious question marks himself, I hate our pitching. Wells and Maples are a long ways away and Concepcion is an unknown. I really hope we spend at least 3 of our first 4 picks on pitchers.

[PriortoTheoIhadWood]

At this point, I like where we are with position players, especially if we wind up getting Soler. But, after McNutt, who has serious question marks himself, I hate our pitching. Wells and Maples are a long ways away and Concepcion is an unknown. I really hope we spend at least 3 of our first 4 picks on pitchers.

 

I don't even like Maples...He's got raw tools with the proper size and athleticism, but I completely agree with everyone who hates how he throws the ball. The good thing? He's not terrible up until his foot lands...oh, and obviously that he's young and athletic enough to do an overhaul.

 

It really is bothersome that Wells is the SP prospect I have the most confidence in...

 

Another thing to consider with the draft this year is that the pitching next year isn't as strong at the top, but there will be Austin Wilson (OF Stanford) as a bat.

 

Edit: Oh, and Soler is a must.