Dempster Traded to Texas for 3B Villanueva & RHP Hendricks

[mookie]

Solid deal. Interesting that Texas pulled the trigger for Dempster instead of Garza. I don't think that will help their cause come playoff time, but whatever.

 

Adios Demp. It's been a tremendously mixed bag.

[CubColtPacer]

Kyle Hendricks wasn't ranked in the Rangers top 30 this season according to Baseball America, but there is this from the Prospect Handbook...

 

2011 Draft - Best Pro Debut - (8) RHP Kyle Hendricks used a 90-93 MPH fastball, solid changeup and two breaking balls to strike out 38 and post a 2.02 ERA in 36 IP, including a start at AA

 

This report has him at 87-89 on his fastball, but he's added a cutter to his already deep repertoire.

 

http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/prospects/2012/07/kyle-hendricks/

 

Seems like a guy who will have to prove himself as he moves up the ladder because of the inability to overpower hitters, but the level of control he's shown so far is pretty special. Could move up the rankings quickly if he could repeat anywhere near that level of control at the higher levels.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

Jon Heyman @JonHeymanCBS

scout says christian villanueva, young 3b who went to #cubs in rangers deal is quite good. top 100 prospect in baseball.

 

 

Also, keep in mind that Myrtle Beach is among the most extreme pitchers parks in the minors. .285 .356 .421 are pretty good numbers considering that. As others have mentioned, he's barely 21 and a string bean who hasn't filled out yet. i think he looks pretty promising.

 

Myrtle Beach is hitting .245 .306 .343 as a team.

 

I'm starting to like Villanueva more and more than more I learn. I'm guessing Hendricks will look good until I find out he throws 87 or something.

[Theo]

Right, but not because of poor performance or a lessened ceiling on Vizcaino's part.

 

Are you implying TJS has no bearing on a prospects value?

[Guest]

I'm really intrigued by Hendricks. If his walk rate is a function of having incredible control, they could really have something with what I understand of his stuff and the results thus far. It could also be a college pitcher pumping the zone with decent stuff that gets shelled at higher levels too, but I'm curious to find out. He seems like a thoughtful kid from the piece BA had about his repertoire(and he's from Dartmouth), so I'm hopeful that he'll be a winner.

Yeah, I'm very hopeful on him, too. Wasn't my first pick (or close to it) from the Rangers system, but I understand the appeal.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

This report has him at 87-89 on his fastball

 

Yep, there it is.

 

Don't care about him now. Still think Villanueva looks very intriguing.

[CoolHandLuke]

If this is the best Theo could get for Dempster after getting the Yankees and Rangers involved, you gotta wonder what kind of garbage the Dodgers were offering.

 

My honest guess is they stuck with Gould and Withrow.

 

I don't mind Villanueva and Hendricks but I would have definitely preferred Gould and Withrow.

[davell]

If this is the best Theo could get for Dempster after getting the Yankees and Rangers involved, you gotta wonder what kind of garbage the Dodgers were offering.

 

My honest guess is they stuck with Gould and Withrow.

 

Would you take this trade or Gould/Withrow?

 

As much as I wanted pitching(and I like Gould), I'd take this. Villanueva is the best prospect in either deal.

[mookie]

Right, but not because of poor performance or a lessened ceiling on Vizcaino's part.

 

Are you implying TJS has no bearing on a prospects value?

 

Who cares about his value? It was a great trade, and a great gamble.

[Guest]

BA's #9 prospect this offseason for the Rangers (really #8 since Yu Darvish was #9):

 

 

Background:  Rangers international scouting director Mike Daly saw Villanueva star for Mexico at the 2008 Junior World Championships, and Texas signed him two weeks later. Coming from a family of baseball players, he always played shortstop as an amateur but moved to third base after injuring his knee in 2009 and starting to fill out.

 

Scouting Report:  Villanueva has a short, compact swing with a balanced load and good bat control. He has an advanced approach at the plate, though he can get pull-happy at times. There are mixed opinions on his power, as he presently has line-drive sock but some scouts see at least average potential. He doesn't project as a basestealer, but he has sneaky quickness and instincts that allowed him to swipe 32 bases last year. Villanueva is equally as impressive at third base as Mike Olt. A plus defender, Villanueva has soft hands and easy actions. Despite average speed, he has a solid range thanks to his first-step quickness and instincts. He has above-average arm with good carry and accuracy.

 

The Future:  Scouts compare Villanueva with countryman Vinny Castilla. With Adrian Beltre in Texas and Olt ahead of him in the system, Villanueva spent time during instructional league at second base, where there would be reduced pressure on his bat. He'll play in high Class A in 2012.

[Guest]

This is just a kick in the nuts compared to Delgado. Again, thanks Dempster.

 

we may have gotten nothing good for maholm/johnson if dempster went to atlanta. it still sucks because delgado is clearly the best of the bunch, but this seems like a decent haul.

 

I could care less about the pieces maholm/johnson got us, the big catch in this was Delgado. I'm for quality over quanitity.

 

if you could care less, then why don't you?

 

anyways, i'm not sure why you wouldn't care about the fact that we got a guy who was top 50 before the season. not really all that concerned about the tjs. would be more concerned with long-term durability issues and whether he could stick a starter, but even if he becomes a strikeout reliever, thats still a win.

[El Duderino]

Villanueva is the centerpiece here, and better than Gould or Withrow.

[dew1679666265]

I'm starting to like Villanueva more and more than more I learn. I'm guessing Hendricks will look good until I find out he throws 87 or something.

 

CCP just posted he's been sitting 87-89.

[mookie]

This report has him at 87-89 on his fastball

 

Yep, there it is.

 

Don't care about him now. Still think Villanueva looks very intriguing.

 

Considering Villaneuva is the reason this deal went down, who really cares about Hendricks?

[dew1679666265]

If this is the best Theo could get for Dempster after getting the Yankees and Rangers involved, you gotta wonder what kind of garbage the Dodgers were offering.

 

My honest guess is they stuck with Gould and Withrow.

 

Would you take this trade or Gould/Withrow?

 

As much as I wanted pitching(and I like Gould), I'd take this. Villanueva is the best prospect in either deal.

 

Thanks.

[El Duderino]

7. Christian Villanueva, 3B

DOB: 6/19/91

Height/Weight: 5-11/160

Bats/Throws: R/R

Drafted/Signed: 2010, Mexico

2011 Stats: .278/.338/.465 at Low-A (126 G)

Tools Profile: Plenty of them in a non-traditional physical package.

 

Year in Review: After impressing last year in the complex leagues, Villanueva was a Sally League All-Star in his full-season debut.

The Good: Villanueva has outstanding bat speed and impressive power for his size, projecting to hit for average with 15-20 home runs annually. He's an impressive athlete with average to slightly-above-average speed; he has improved his defense at third base, and has good hands with a strong arm.

The Bad: Other than the bat, Villanueva is not exceptionally toolsy. His approach could use improvement. He's filling out and getting stocky, and will likely lose some of his speed down the road.

Ephemera: Villanueva was used in six different spots of the Hickory batting order in 2011, but had the most success in the six-hole, hitting .357/.410/.629 in 20 games.

Perfect World Projection: Above-average third baseman.

Fantasy Impact: A good batting average with some power and more speed than your average third baseman.

Path to the Big Leagues: Villanueva is buried in Texas at the hot corner, and the Rangers have experimented with him at other positions. He'll begin the 2012 season at High-A Myrtle Beach.

ETA: 2015

[Guest]

If this is the best Theo could get for Dempster after getting the Yankees and Rangers involved, you gotta wonder what kind of garbage the Dodgers were offering.

 

My honest guess is they stuck with Gould and Withrow.

 

Would you take this trade or Gould/Withrow?

This trade.

[treebird]

Villanueva is solid. He's definitely inside our top 10, have to research more to figure out where. Hendricks is kind of interesting, I'm sure he'll fit inside our top 30 somewhere. Not bad at all, just a little bit letdown after yesterday and the Delgado saga, no Garza trade.....

 

We just got over excited from a bunch of last minute talk. Before all of last nights dugout man love, many were beginning to accept that we'd probably send Dempster to the Dodgers at their price and maybe a few PTBNL for guys like Johnson and Camp. We got 2 top 100 prospects and have up 2 guys we pulled off the scrap heap, 1 non tender candidate, and 2 months of Dempster.

 

No, we didn't get 2 Top 100 prospects.

Yes, we did.

 

Vizcaino and Villanueva were both BA top 100

 

vizcaino obviously doesn't count since his elbow exploded. i'm happy to have him, but he's got a lot to do before he's a top100 guy again.

 

the third baseman we got looks interesting. the pitcher looks like a classic "no stuff, dominate with control at low levels, get destroyed at higher levels" guy. overall, a huge step down from Delgado.

 

go to hell, dempster.

[Dirt Dog Sparly]

I'm starting to like Villanueva more and more than more I learn. I'm guessing Hendricks will look good until I find out he throws 87 or something.

 

CCP just posted he's been sitting 87-89.

Holding that velocity through the entire game or starting or end?

[jersey cubs fan]

As much as I wanted pitching(and I like Gould), I'd take this. Villanueva is the best prospect in either deal.

 

Not that I expected them to but I'm glad they didn't get tunnel vision looking for pitching.

[Guest]

Villanueva is solid. He's definitely inside our top 10, have to research more to figure out where. Hendricks is kind of interesting, I'm sure he'll fit inside our top 30 somewhere. Not bad at all, just a little bit letdown after yesterday and the Delgado saga, no Garza trade.....

 

We just got over excited from a bunch of last minute talk. Before all of last nights dugout man love, many were beginning to accept that we'd probably send Dempster to the Dodgers at their price and maybe a few PTBNL for guys like Johnson and Camp. We got 2 top 100 prospects and have up 2 guys we pulled off the scrap heap, 1 non tender candidate, and 2 months of Dempster.

 

No, we didn't get 2 Top 100 prospects. We got a couple of A guys, and no high level pitching, which quite frankly is less than we probably should have got. I can promise you that Theo was expecting to get more out of Dempster when this whole process started. Dempster pretty much screwed us royally.

 

getting 1 even borderline top 100 guy for dempster alone is a good deal.

 

we shouldn't be discussing delgado at all when rating this trade. it's irrelevent. i really wished that was never leaked. we'd be totally stoked by this deadline with the 2 big trades we made.

[Elrhino]

I'm starting to like Villanueva more and more than more I learn. I'm guessing Hendricks will look good until I find out he throws 87 or something.

 

CCP just posted he's been sitting 87-89.

 

Yeah, I'm not really in love with the ceiling of a guy who got demoted down a level from the previous year's.

[dew1679666265]

Considering Villaneuva is the reason this deal went down, who really cares about Hendricks?

 

I'm pretty intrigued by Villanueva, but not to the point that I think we got good value if Hendricks was just a throw-in. If Villanueva was the only quality player we picked up, then this seems like a fairly poor trade.

[Sammys Boombox]

If we pretend the Delgado deal never was on the table how do we feel about the moves Theo actually made?

[davell]

As much as I wanted pitching(and I like Gould), I'd take this. Villanueva is the best prospect in either deal.

 

Not that I expected them to but I'm glad they didn't get tunnel vision looking for pitching.

 

True. They had mentioned a 3B or a C at different points. After concentrating so heavily on pitching in the draft, getting the guys from the other trades, and Paniagua as well, I'm glasd they went BPA too.