ChiefsVoice

Not sure how they do the AB's but Jackson had 24 more here than in Boise (112-88). Vitters will be 1 or 2 with Jaff Decker in the other slot. Gordon and Castro should also be top 5. I think Burke is top 10. Carp and Flash are fringe 15-25 guys. Don't forget about Harrison... If I was ranking our guys for BA I would rank: Vitters Jackson Burke Carpenter Flaherty Antigua LeMahieu Archer Huseby Ridling You can make NWL's list with fewer at bats since it's a short season league. I think you need ~200 at bats to qualify for the full season leagues. Antigua is another guy who won't qualify despite playing more in Peoria than Boise. Nathan, what did you think of what BA said about Antigua's stuff yesterday? Is this a fair assessment of Antigua: Yeah pretty fair. I saw him as high as 93. but on average was 90-91. His changeup was the best on our roster. When he struggled it was with locating the slider. He made guys look stupid with the change. Was almost like that old Bugs Bunny cartoon where you swing and miss 3 times at the same pitch.

Not sure how they do the AB's but Jackson had 24 more here than in Boise (112-88). Vitters will be 1 or 2 with Jaff Decker in the other slot. Gordon and Castro should also be top 5. I think Burke is top 10. Carp and Flash are fringe 15-25 guys. Don't forget about Harrison... If I was ranking our guys for BA I would rank: Vitters Jackson Burke Carpenter Flaherty Antigua LeMahieu Archer Huseby Ridling

He didn't have any trouble turning the DP in Peoria this season. Made very few errors as well. I like him better at 2nd long term but he was fine at SS here (didn't give us all a heart attack every time the ball was hit to him like Lake did). And he isn't going to slot at 3rd with Vitters ahead of him.

He was cleared by the medical staff on the off day and put on the roster for the playoffs but limited to 1 inning per outing with a rest day in between.

Yeah, his shoulder was so hurt that his fastball was 84-86 last night instead of 90-92 and just couldnt find the arm slot for his slider. Shouldn't have been out there...Still a great season. Bad ending, but a fun year where we accomplished a lot.

no kidding. I think our dugout fell asleep when we tied the game. Not sure why he and DeLeon werent getting ready. After Rosa tied it we had a double, a 2 minute pinch hitting gap....and then an out...plus the 2 minutes between innings and NO ONE was getting ready. I was very confused. i thought you guys were saying there were some shoulder problems that he was dealing with. That was the case last weekend but he was cleared and put on the playoff roster. Was a hypothesis but turned out that he was ok. Apparently we scored too quickly and out of no where to get anyone ready....

no kidding. I think our dugout fell asleep when we tied the game. Not sure why he and DeLeon werent getting ready. After Rosa tied it we had a double, a 2 minute pinch hitting gap....and then an out...plus the 2 minutes between innings and NO ONE was getting ready. I was very confused.

Austin Bibens Dirkx (7-2) vs. Will Smith (10-5) Listen live at peoriachiefs.com. Thanks! Nathan

Jackson back on DL - out for first round of the playoffs at least Rundle activated Playoffs will go: Bibens-Dirkx, Antigua, Bristow (Shafer will throw one relief inning today instead of starting so he can be used as a long guy if either Antigua or Bristow struggle early in an elimination game)

Jackson didnt play cause of a sore right wrist that has been nagging him. Hatley will see the doctor tomorrow but he is going to hear those two words that pitchers never want to hear (T.J.). Whitlock joined us from Boise today.

Cedar Rapids is already in the playoffs. They took the wild card in the first half. Our magic number is 6 over Burlington who is currently in the WC spot. Its super confusing. We will likely play Cedar Rapids in the 1st round. and we meet them Friday-Monday up there this week to see how we stack up.

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/events/page.jsp?ymd=20080715&content_id=432783&vkey=events_l118&fext=.jsp&sid=l118 it's very confusing, but from what i can understand the chiefs would have "home field advantage" in their first series (which is best of 3) and they have the option of either playing game 1 at home, or game 1 on the road and then games 2/3 at home. No. Here is how it works. The teams from the 1st half automatically get home field. So if we make the playoffs we will be at home for Game 1 on Sep 9, then on the road for games 2 and 3... If we make the second round, whoever has the best overall record gets the choice. We would take games 2 and 3 at home. Finals is a best of 5 and it alternates. This season the West has home field so we would host Games 3 4 and 5. ON Jackson he was dizzy after playing the field another inning and also cramped a bit. Passed the concussion tests, but is going to doctor tmw morning but probably wont play a day or 2. Collision was his fault and he took the worst of it

Maybe I saw him have two bad games in a row or something but from what I saw his defense was pretty bad. you saw two bad games in a row. Apparently. Not sure where you saw us. but as I indicated earlier in this thread, this award doesn't surprise me at all...

his last 10 games: 33 AB, 13 R, 16 H, 5 2B, 2 HR, 12 RBI, 12 BB, 3 K. that's a BA near .500 and a terrific OBP. his overall line is .307/.402/.496/.898... even if this his third crack at the MWL (i really don't count the first try, there was no way he'd be able to handle MWL pitching as a raw 19 year old) that's very impressive. he may be our best prospect without anyone really knowing it. in my biased opinion he is also the best defensive outfielder in the league too. Great arm. Strong and always accurate. deceptive speed. Takes great routes. Smart. Can also play CF or the corners. Can he play an adequate center or a good one? Because if he'll be able to continue playing a good cf after adding bulk to his frame as he matures he goes up a whole lot in my mind. He played a good center for us for a good chunk of the season until Jackson got here. Jackson is faster but we don't lose much with Burke in center. The coaches love him out there too. I wouldn't be surprised to see Burke in a lot of top 10's this off season.

his last 10 games: 33 AB, 13 R, 16 H, 5 2B, 2 HR, 12 RBI, 12 BB, 3 K. that's a BA near .500 and a terrific OBP. his overall line is .307/.402/.496/.898... even if this his third crack at the MWL (i really don't count the first try, there was no way he'd be able to handle MWL pitching as a raw 19 year old) that's very impressive. he may be our best prospect without anyone really knowing it. in my biased opinion he is also the best defensive outfielder in the league too. Great arm. Strong and always accurate. deceptive speed. Takes great routes. Smart. Can also play CF or the corners.

Burke has had 2 walks in each of our last four games. That's quite a stretch. And his OF assist was on a GREAT catch at the wall in right center. The base runner from first was already around second...

1. Jackson 2. Burke 3. Flaherty 4. Ridling 5. LeMahieu 6. Brenly I'm glad to see Perez is finally starting to figure a few things out too. 2-4 was very close for me. I love the double from Kyler though and you have to think that once he gets to AA some of those are gonna start flying out the park. Flaherty uses the opposite field better than any lefty I've seen here and Rebel has shown huge strides from last season.

Thanks for the question Toonster. I think both of these guys have legit deliveries. They both really only have one issue and that is throwing strikes. I believe Archer has the best stuff on our roster with Antigua right behind him now. But Chris has struggled with his command and that held him back last year and limits his innings this season. Beliveau is a strong kid who throws harder than most people expect. He can also go as a starter and a reliever though he has better stats out of the pen and seems to prefer that as well when given a chance. I think both have great upside as long as they throw strikes (I know you can say that about alot of guys and its exactly what I said about Veal when he was here and either guy would take his spot right now in a heartbeat if you asked them) Thanks for the question. NB

thats exactly what happened. strike 3 almost hit the batter and went to the backstop. First run allowed by Huse since July 5. 11 games, 15 2/3 innings.

Yeah Ungs was in the MWL in 2002 when the Marlins were in Kane County and I was an intern here. I know he spent some time for the Marlins in AAA before going to the Brewers system. And he pitched at Northern Iowa so he has to be 29 or 30...

Having seen the MWL best tools list from our league's managers, it is gonna be fitting for this discussion on this thread...

I wouldn't even put his ceiling at Jake Fox. Ridling's never played any position but 1B and, as mentioned above, he doesn't play it particularly well. Plus, Fox actually has some semblance of patience at the plate. That's not entirely true. He played a handful of games (id say 7-10 off the top of my head) in Left last season when we had Bautista DHing and Rosa at first. He is a better defensive first baseman IMHO than Rosa. I wouldn't be surprised to see him in LF during instructs this September. The Cubs have done the same with Russ Canzler in the past. And I disagree with the other post. Rebel is fine at first. he goes to his right with range. He scoops it above average (has saved Lake probably 10-15 errors this season, and a few for Vitters too). Starts the 3-6-3 double play well. For those that have played 60 or more games this season at first base in the MWL he is 5th in fielding pct at first. Of his 12 errors, one was a horrid call at Beloit, two were on throws to a pitcher covering and two were on throws either to third or home rushing on bunts. He is a doubles machine with HR power. I think Rebel will see time in Tennessee next year and surprise some people. I'm a fan of Ridling, beyond his name, which is awesome, and while he has a real solid MWL season line, I'm wondering if you could offer your take on why he's been so streaky this year, since you see him on a regular basis. He's got power that the system could really use, and part of me would like to see him sacrifice some of that power for more average. It's good to hear that you think he's at least an average first baseman, as there were mixed "reports" out there about that. I think part of that was that, last year, he came in with Ryan Keedy, who was better defensively, and Rebel sort of got lost in the shuffle. Well that is the million dollar question. Our whole offense has been streaky all season, even when Vitters was here. In fact the only real consistent player we had from day 1 was Harrison. Rebel does get pull hungry every once in a while and thats when his strikeouts tend to come. When he works on going the other way, then his hitting is solid. He is right around .290 so I'm not sure his average is going to go much higher. But the power is definitely there.

I wouldn't even put his ceiling at Jake Fox. Ridling's never played any position but 1B and, as mentioned above, he doesn't play it particularly well. Plus, Fox actually has some semblance of patience at the plate. That's not entirely true. He played a handful of games (id say 7-10 off the top of my head) in Left last season when we had Bautista DHing and Rosa at first. He is a better defensive first baseman IMHO than Rosa. I wouldn't be surprised to see him in LF during instructs this September. The Cubs have done the same with Russ Canzler in the past. And I disagree with the other post. Rebel is fine at first. he goes to his right with range. He scoops it above average (has saved Lake probably 10-15 errors this season, and a few for Vitters too). Starts the 3-6-3 double play well. For those that have played 60 or more games this season at first base in the MWL he is 5th in fielding pct at first. Of his 12 errors, one was a horrid call at Beloit, two were on throws to a pitcher covering and two were on throws either to third or home rushing on bunts. He is a doubles machine with HR power. I think Rebel will see time in Tennessee next year and surprise some people.

Any concern that Flaherty has been playing in leagues that last two seasons that he's a bit too old for? Obviously, of course, absolutely, many. There's a fair chance he'll get promoted and do fine; but a fair chance he'll get promoted, and not be any good. It's hardly that uncommon for college hitters to do a lot better in A- than once promoted from there, particularly if promoted to AA. Or to have their HR output drop off seriously. We saw Guyer lose his power and get waxed in AA this year. He didn't improve to the degree that the pitching did. Some names I remember from the past, Eric Patterson hit for huge average in A- as an old guy, but then was not special in AA. Ryan Gripp was a montster in A-, lot of HR's; but he never got any better and his numbers, HR's especially, fell off the table thereafter. And guys like EPatt and Gripp had much better A- batting averages than Flahrty has shown. There's a good likelihood that he won't improve enough as he moves up to make the grade, since the bar is a lot higher at higher levels. And many guys his age may not be that far from their ceiling already. But my perception is that he's commonly forgotten, written off as an afterthought, since he's currently a 23-year-old hitting .258 in low-A. I just think I'd tend to be a little more optimistic about him if he was hitting .295 with an .840 OPS. And if next year he's a 23-year-old who is able to sustain his present HR-pace, and hit with both better luck and better average in a higher league, whether A+ or perhaps even AA, he might get more discussion. He's not likely to work out. But he's got a chance. I don't really get this age thing and never have. I've been in the MWL for six years now and while there are a few teenage standouts (Moustakas, Barton, Vitters) most of the successful hitters in this league are 22-23. The best hitter I have seen in this league was Ian Kinsler who was 22 when he hit .402 for half a season here in 2004 and I think he has worked out OK. and Patterson might not have "lit up" AA in 2006 but he is a career .320 AAA hitter and would be fine at the MLB level if given a consistent chance. 22 at the start of a season and turning 23 during it is not too old for this league but just about right. As long as teams draft college players, they are going to play in the MWL at the age of 22. It's that simple. Heck Great Lakes has 3 25 year olds and a 26 year old. And Kane County is always loaded with 22-23 year olds. I'd be more concerned over a pitcher at the age of 23 in this league, but nobody is putting an asterisk next to Chris Carpenter's (23) stats from this season. It isnt the players fault, all they can do is produce at the level they are sent to. But from what I have seen first hand the pitchers succeed in this level at a much younger age than the hitters. As for Flaherty specifically, he can handle the bat which he has shown a lot more the 2nd half. He got screwed up in the 1st half on 2 fronts, 1 trying to pull the ball and 2, Marty hit him in a different spot every day, usually 6-8. He has settled into the 2 slot now and is using the whole field. Most of his homers/doubles go to left-center. I think he will be fine next year at the FSL using that approach and going in instructs to keep working on it. His number one question is position. second, short, third? Who knows. That will be the biggest issue for Ryan in the years to come. Just my opinion, thanks for following the Chiefs and talking about the minors on this board, i love reading these forums every day and seeing everyone's input and opinions. Its what makes this the best game in the world!

I think we all are. :) Nathan, if you get a chance, can you tell us how Antigua looked tonight? Sure, Antigua was great. His changeup is probably the best on the team (Shafer has a plus change as well). Located the fastball well until the 5th. Slider was better than on Sunday. He got squeezed BIG time by the home plate ump in the fifth with 2 straight walks with two down. Threw a 2-2 slider for strike three twice in a row but both were called balls for the first walk. 2nd walk put him over 75 pitches so he was lifted and Beliveau got hit hard on the next two batters with both runners scoring charged to Antigua. If I had to rank our starters now id put him 2nd behind Bibens-Dirkx and just ahead of Archer and Bristow.