The Major League Baseball Off-Season Post Vol. 24 days until Opening Day 2009

[Bend_The_Knee]

rangers farm system is stacjed, but that ballpark kills pitchers...

crazy cuz i just spent the last 2 hours lookin at international prospects (especially the dominican prospects) and the giants got a nice group of prospects..

glad to see other teams like the brewers are opening camos down there as well

 

[N41D]

Originally Posted by GotHolesInMySocks

rangers farm system is stacjed, but that ballpark kills pitchers...

I think to an extent that's true, but at the same time, I think it's important to remember the Rangers have NEVER had a real bevvy ofpitching talent in their system like they do right now... I think that's always been part of the problem... It's not that the park has killed all theirgood pitchers... They've never had good pitchers, at least not like they do in the pipeline right now... To havegood pitchers you have to develop them... The Phillies have good pitchers. The Reds have good pitchers. The White Sox have had good pitchers... All those parksplay hitter-friendly, too...

Keith Law's Top 100...

1) Matt Weiters, C, BAL
2) David Price, LHP, TB
3) Jason Heyward, RF, ATL
4) Neftali Feliz, RHP, TEX
5) Travis Snider, OF, TOR
6) Madison Bumgarner, LHP, SF
7) Lars Anderson, 1B, BOS
8 ) Buster Posey, C, SF
9) Tommy Hanson, RHP, ATL
10) Rick Porcello, RHP, DET
11) Tim Beckham, SS, TB
12) Colby Rasmus, CF, STL
13) Carlos Santana, C, CLE
14) Josh Vitters, 3B, CHI
15) Justin Smoak, 1B, TEX
16) Fernando Martinez, OF, NYM
17) Eric Hosmer, 1B, KC
1 Andrew McCutchen, CF, PIT
19) Brett Wallace, 3B, STL
20) Brett Anderson, LHP, OAK
21) Derek Holland, LHP, TEX
22) Carlos Triunfel, SS, SEA
23) Logan Morrison, 1B, FLA
24) Trevor Cahill, RHP, OAK
25) Desmond Jennings, OF, TB
26) Tim Alderson, RHP, SF
27) Matt LaPorta, 1B, CLE
2 Brian Matusz, LHP, BAL
29) Cameron Maybin, OF, FLA
30) Dexter Fowler, CF, COL
31) Mike Stanton, OF, FLA
32) Jose Tabata, OF, PIT
33) Wade Davis, RHP, TB
34) Angel Villalona, 1B, SF
35) Jarrod Parker, RHP, ARI
36) Gordon Beckham, SS, CWS
37) Martin Perez, LHP, TEX
3 Pedro Alvarez, 3B/1B, PIT
39) Elvis Andrus, SS, TEX
40) Chris Tillman, RHP, BAL
41) Jordan Walden, RHP, LAA (My dude...

)
42) Jordan Zimmerman, RHP, WAS
43) Brett Cecil, LHP, TOR
44) Mike Moustakas, 3B, KC
45) Alcides Escobar, SS, MIL
46) Austin Jackson, CF, NYY
47) Jeremy Hellickson, RHP, TB
4 Jason Donald, SS, PHI
49) Jeremy Jeffress, RHP, MIL
50) Daryl Jones, OF, STL
51) Tyler Flowers, C, CHI
52) Michael Bowden, RHP, BOS
53) Michael Inoa, RHP, OAK
54) Kyle Blanks, 1B, SD
55) Wilmer Flores, SS, NYM
56) Aaron Hicks, OF, MIN
57) Aaron Poreda, LHP, CHI
5 Adam Miller, RHP, CLE
59) Christian Friedrich, LHP, COL
60) Carlos Corrasco, RHP, PHI
61) Nick Weglarz, LF/1B, CLE
62) Nick Adenhart, RHP, LAA
63) Ben Revere, CF, MIN
64) Michael Main, RHP, TEX
65) Freddie Freeman, OF, ATL
66) David Huff, LHP, CLE
67) Jordan Schafer, OF, ATL
6 James McDonald, RHP, LAD
69) Matt Latos, RHP, SD
70) Taylor Teagarden, C, TEX
71) Angel Salome, C, MIL
72) Chris Nelson, 2B, COL
73) Matt Dominguez, 3B, FLA
74) Jhoulys Chacin, RHP, COL
75) Daniel Schlereth, LHP, ARI
76) Yonder Alonso, 1B, CIN
77) Max Ramirez, C, TEX
7 Reid Brignac, SS, TB
79) Andrew Lambo, OF, LAD
80) Chris Perez, RHP, STL
81) Nick Hagadone, LHP, BOS
82) Kyle Skipworth, C, FLA
83) Jesus Montero, C, NYY
84) Dominic Brown, OF, PHI
85) Julio Borbon, CF, TEX
86) Mat Gamel, 3B/1B, MIL
87) Ethan Martin, RHP, LAD
8 Gorkys Hernandez, OF, ATL
89) Drew Stubbs, OF, CIN
90) Junichi Tazawa, RHP, BOS
91) Gerardo Parra, OF, ARI
92) Jake Arrieta, RHP, BAL
93) Greg Halman, OF, SEA
94) Daniel Bard, RHP, BOS
95) Andrew Brackman, RHP, NYY
96) Jason Castro, C, HOU
97) Jeff Locke, LHP, ATL
9 Jay Jackson, RHP, CHI
99) JP Arencibia, C, TOR
100) Michael Taylor, OF, PHI

The Astros almost got shut out entirely...

Nine Rangers...

Four of them pitchers with #1/2 upside...

Atlanta's system is SILLY with outfielders...

 

[marionthebarberian]

nowitness, what do you think of elvis?

 

[mez 0ne]

16) Fernando Martinez, OF, NYM


...and still only 19 years old, his swing is a thing of beauty.

 

[N41D]

Originally Posted by marionthebarberian

nowitness, what do you think of elvis?

Good player, not gonna be a star... Gold Glove defense... Tons of stolen bases... Maybe somewhere along the lines of Orlando Cabrera with the bat?

I think that's probably a likely comp at the plate... He's never gonna hit for a ton of power, but he should develop the ability to get the ball in thegaps and run for days... Plate discipline needs to continue to improve, and if it does he'll be a serious weapon on the base paths...

I'd assume with Vizquel signed, The King (too obvious

) will start the season in AAA and come up in June or July... But don't expect him to hitearly on, though... He's still going to need some serious development when he hits the big leagues this year...

 

[osh kosh bosh]

Props Nowitnes

You think you could post the profiles of ;

J.P. Arecibia, Kyle Blanks, James Mcdonald, Brett Cecil, Cameron Maybin and Junichi Tazawa?

 

[sohi 23]

2 Giants in the top 10

Angel V. and Tim Alderson are dope too

 

[N41D]

Here ya go, OshKosh ...

Cameron Maybin
Maybin still has huge upside and youth on his side, but his problems making contact aren't going away with experience, even after Florida slowed him down and let him spend an entire year at one level. Maybin has plus raw power, and when he makes contact the ball takes off. The problem is with the frequency of his contact: He has a long and inconsistent swing with a tendency to glide, and struck out in 27 percent of his plate appearances in Double-A an increase from his rate in 2007. He hit a robust .375 on balls in play in Double-A, but only .277 overall. When Maybin gets a fastball or mediocre offspeed pitch, he's dangerous. But he can be beaten with better offspeed stuff or by a pitcher who can expand the zone on him. These aren't uncommon problems, but for Maybin, they're not dissipating over time. He may turn out to be more of a Mike Cameron type of player: low average and contact rates, but power, speed and plus defense, with a better arm than Cameron's. Cameron has been a good and valuable (if underappreciated) player for a decade now, so that's a good outcome for Maybin, but if his pitch recognition improves -- which is still possible since he turns 22 in April -- he has the potential to be much more.

Brett Cecil
Cecil was a dominant closer at the University of Maryland, but the Blue Jays saw his three-pitch mix and starter's build and moved him to the rotation, with outstanding results so far. Cecil reached Triple-A in his first pro season after having little trouble dispatching high-A and Double-A hitters. He's a four-pitch pitcher with at least two above-average offerings in his boring low-90s fastball and a knockout, late-diving 83-86 mph slider. His curve is solid-average with good depth, while his changeup (the newest of his offerings) has made progress and projects as average, although right now he's better off mixing up his breaking balls to get right-handers out. His biggest obstacle remains workload, as the Jays continue to build his arm strength to transition him from relief to starting, and his slightly long arm action may not hold up over the long term. If it does, he's a potential No. 2 starter and should be in the Jays' rotation by Labor Day.

Kyle Blanks
Blanks is a big human being -- he's listed at 6-6, 270 pounds, and it wouldn't shock me to hear either figure was low. The size means two things: he has a huge strike zone, and he has raw power. Blanks has defied the odds on a guy his size by making contact and hitting for average, reducing his strikeout rate and raising his batting average two straight years despite moving up a level each year; he has good hand-eye coordination and his swing is less long than you'd expect from a 6-6 hitter. He has a simple approach at the plate, but because he doesn't stride into the ball, he doesn't make maximum use of his bulk, and has less raw power than a hitter his size should have. In the field, he's limited to first base but should be no worse than average there; he moves around well and it's obviously hard for anyone this side of Chuck Knoblauch to throw one over his head. His home run output hasn't been bad -- San Antonio's a tough place to hit -- but it should be better; if the Padres can get him to use his whole body better, he'll have a chance to be a star, but it'll probably be somewhere else with Adrian Gonzalez standing in front of him.

James Mcdonald
McDonald continues to miss bats despite his lack of a big fastball. His velocity is just average and he'll often sit at only 88-89, but a plus-plus change and an above-average slow curveball have fooled minor-league hitters since McDonald returned to the mound full-time in 2006. He'll pitch backwards when needed but is aggressive -- perhaps too much so -- with the fastball, which lacks movement, resulting in a lot of fly balls. His command and control are both above average. While this can often be overblown, he's a "competitor" -- meaning (at least to me) that he goes after hitters rather than trying to work around them. He'll have to modify his pitching plan in the majors, using his off-speed stuff earlier and even in hitters' counts, or else he risks giving up enough home runs to overcome everything else he does well.

Junichi Tazawa
Tazawa isn't quite big-league ready, but he's fairly close and could start in Double-A and appear in the majors by year-end. His stuff right now is reliever material -- a low-90s fastball and a plus splitter with big bottom -- and his fastball command needs improvement, while his slider is fringe-average at best. He's comfortable spotting his off-speed pitches, but he'll need to command his fastball better in the upper half of the zone, something that has in general been an issue with Japanese pitchers who've moved from their major league to Major League Baseball. Tazawa pitched in an industrial league in Japan rather than their professional system, so he comes to Boston without years in a Japanese pro team's system and the player development ideas that come with it. With improved fastball command and development of the slider (or his curve), he projects as a mid-rotation starter, which would put him toward the middle of this list rather than toward the back.

J.P. Arecibia
Arencibia is a solid defensive catcher with an average or slightly above-average arm whose value is limited by his impatience at the plate. His calling card as a hitter has become his power; he's strong with a pull-oriented swing and gets his lower half involved, but his hands are a little sloppy and he doesn't have great bat control. His plate discipline is the main problem; he drew just 16 unintentional walks in more than 500 at-bats this year, and while the Blue Jays have tried to get him to show more patience at the plate -- even sending him to the Arizona Fall League specifically to work on it -- it hasn't shown up in games. Arencibia is probably a fringe-average to average regular in the big leagues, although any improvement in his walk rate would make him at least an average regular due to his power.

 

[N41D]

Keith Law's "Ten That Just Missed" ... No specific order, and he seems to suggest these aren't necessarily 101-110...

Philippe Aumont, RHP, Seattle Mariners: Aumont has a mid-90s fastball with wicked sink but has difficulty with his arm slot. His lack of a solid second pitch and time on the disabled list this past season with arm trouble left him off the list.

Dellin Betances, RHP, New York Yankees: Betances has a great frame and big fastball, but poor command and control and iffy secondary stuff hold him back. He's all upside, but there's a lot of development between where he is now and where he could be if it all clicks.

Hank Conger, C, Los Angeles Angels: Would have made the list if not for the chronic injuries that have kept him on the DL for half his pro career. He has an above-average arm and very good power for his age, but his poor pitch recognition isn't going to improve unless he plays more regularly.

Dan Cortes, RHP, Kansas City Royals: Has the raw stuff -- notably a 91-94 mph fastball and an upper-70s curveball with good depth -- to be on the list, but is limited by 40 command, 40 control and a tendency to leave the ball up in the zone.

Vin Mazzaro, RHP, Oakland A's: A sinkerballer with good feel for pitching and above-average control, Mazzaro's margin for error isn't high; he gets ground balls, but not at an extreme rate, and doesn't have a swing-and-miss pitch among his secondary offerings.

Juan Ramirez, RHP, Seattle Mariners: Ramirez has a live, loose arm, sitting in the low 90s and missing bats with the fastball. His secondary stuff is improving but still is below average, and his ultra-thin build is not a great sign for future durability.

Wilson Ramos, C, Minnesota Twins: One of the more underrated prospects in the minors … and I went and underrated him some more by leaving him out of the top 100. Strong kid with a good arm (he nailed 32 of 74 runners this past season) and some power potential, but his mediocre plate discipline is a red flag.

Josh Reddick, RF, Boston Red Sox: Strong kid with a plus arm, great plate coverage and line-drive power. He takes a very short path to the ball and whips the bat through the zone, so when he makes contact, it's hard. His lack of plate discipline was his undoing in Double-A, unfortunately, despite everything else he brings to the table.

Dayan Viciedo, 3B, Chicago White Sox: Viciedo has a sweet swing and plus raw power, but too many questions surround him, including his position, his weight and his declining performance while he played pro ball in Cuba.

Sean West, LHP, Florida Marlins: West's stuff is most of the way back after a year lost to shoulder surgery; he pitched 90-94 mph in the Arizona Fall League with a hard-tailing changeup and an average slider at 79-82 mph. His walk rate this past season was very high, and he cuts himself off slightly in his delivery.

Also, he'll have a list of 30 guys (one from each team) that he feels is most likely to make the jump from unranked this year to Top 100 next season...I'll throw that up as soon as I can...

 

[tbone95860]

Man I can't wait for spring training.... and then the regular season to start!!!

 

[osh kosh bosh]

I think Keith is dead wrong with the Maybin Mike Cameron comparison, Maybin has much better plate discipline and as he gets an idea of MLB pitchers it'sonly get better, I can see him put him some BJ Upton walk numbers especially if he develops into a real power threat.

 

[wildkycat]

Fielder, Brewers reach agreement

MILWAUKEE -- First baseman Prince Fielder and the Milwaukee Brewers reached a preliminary agreement Thursday on an $18 million, two-year contract.

Fielder

The agreement is subject to a physical, Brewers general manager Doug Melvin said.

Melvin declined to discuss the contract's value.

"There's things you have to do to get to that point to finalize deals," Melvin said. "We won't have anything tonight, but there's a good possibility we could have something tomorrow."

Milwaukee renewed Fielder's contract last year for $670,000, and Fielder was eligible for arbitration for the first time. He asked for $8 million and the Brewers offered $6 million when figures were exchanged Tuesday.

He can become a free agent after the 2011 season.

"We'd know his salary for the next two years and still have him the following year when he goes back into the arbitration pool," Melvin said. "He's still our player, but there's an undefined salary for the third year."

In 2007, Fielder became the youngest player to hit 50 home runs, and he batted .288 with 119 RBIs. The 24-year-old hit .276 with 34 homers and 102 RBIs last year as Milwaukee reached the postseason for the first time since 1982.

 

[joe twenty1]

Villalona being that much higher than Montero is ridiculous seeing as how Montero out hit him last year and was probably the best hitter in his loge at 18.Montero is easily a top 50 prospect regardless if he has to move from catcher.

 

[wildkycat]

Cubs decide on Ricketts family

CHICAGO -- The billionaire Ricketts family has been selected by Tribune Co. as the winning bidder for the hard-luck Chicago Cubs, according to several reports.

The bid is worth about $900 million, according to the Web site of the Chicago Tribune, which also is owned by Tribune Co. The sale would include Wrigley Field and a 25 percent interest in a regional sports network, the Chicago Tribune reported.

The selection of Tom Ricketts, a member of the founding family of TD Ameritrade Holding Corp., and chief executive of InCapital LLC, was first reported by the Chicago Sun-Times' Web site.

Both reports cited an unidentified source.

Tribune Co. purchased the Cubs from Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co. for $20.5 million in June 1981. It put the team on the market on opening day 2007, when real estate mogul Sam Zell agreed to buy Tribune Co.

Cubs chairman Crane Kenney said last week that the team hopes to have a new owner in place by opening day, April 6, but many steps must happen before a sale can be completed.

Ricketts must reach an agreement with Tribune Co., which filed for bankruptcy protection last month. While the Cubs and Wrigley Field were not included in the bankruptcy filing, a sale likely will have to be approved by the creditors' committee.

In addition, a sale must be approved by baseball owners.

Major League Baseball had not been informed by Tribune Co. of the winning bidder as of Thursday evening, a baseball official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because discussions between the team and MLB are not made public.

Other finalists in the bidding included Hersch Klaff, who owns a Chicago commercial real estate firm, and a partnership between two New Yorkers involved in private equity, Marc Utay of Clarion Capital and Leo Hindery Jr. of InterMedia Partners.

Tom Ricketts grew up watching the Cubs on WGN, once lived in an apartment above a bar across the street from Wrigley Field, and met his wife in the bleachers at a Cubs game. His father, J. Joe Ricketts, founded Ameritrade and became a leading online stockbroker, but Tom never worked for that company.

He was a market maker at the Chicago Board Options Exchange and finance executive before starting investment bank Incapital LLC. He has been serving as the family's point man in the bid to buy the Cubs.

If the deal is approved, the Ricketts would acquire a team that hasn't won the World Series since 1908 and hasn't even made it to the World Series since 1945. While the Cubs won the NL Central in each of the last two seasons, they were swept in the first round of the playoffs both times.

Tribune Co. considered selling the team and the famous ballpark separately but rejected a plan from the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority to purchase the ivy-walled stadium. Kenney said recently that the two would be sold together.

 

[N41D]

From ESPN.com's Uni-Watch columns...

ITEM! Less than a month until pitchers and catchers: With spring training just around the corner, the Pirates and Rangers will be unveiling new uniform sets Friday. Uni Watch isn't at liberty to show you the designs before they go public, but let's just say you won't have a hard time figuring out which state the Rangers play in.
Depending on what you read into that last sentence, this could turn out badly...

 

[stringer bell 32]

Oh boy, that doesn't sound good at all

 

[N41D]

Originally Posted by Stringer Bell 32

Oh boy, that doesn't sound good at all

I've got all kinds of terrible, terrible uniformdesigns running through my head...

Some huge Texas flag... Some huge state of Texas outline... TEXAS in gigantic lettering across the chest...

*crosses fingers*

 

[dr 715]

But don't expect him to hit early on, though... He's still going to need some serious development when he hits the big leagues this year...

You're talking about Vizquel, right?

Jeff Kent gets a

from me. He's not a fan favorite by any means,but the dude flat out got it done. (And him getting into it with Bonds bumped him up a notch in my book). Hall of Famer and I'm glad I got to see himplay when I was younger.

 

[N41D]

Originally Posted by Dr 715

But don't expect him to hit early on, though... He's still going to need some serious development when he hits the big leagues this year...

You're talking about Vizquel, right?

Vizquel's new understudy Elvis Andrus... But I wouldn't expect Vizquel to hit much at any point this season, either...

 

[joe billionaire]

Originally Posted by Nowitness41Dirk

Originally Posted by Stringer Bell 32

Oh boy, that doesn't sound good at all

I've got all kinds of terrible, terrible uniform designs running through my head...

Some huge Texas flag... Some huge state of Texas outline... TEXAS in gigantic lettering across the chest...

*crosses fingers*

RED, WHITE, BLUE 5 INCH VERTICAL STRIPES WITH A HUGE TR COMBINED LETTER SCHEME (LIKE THE TWINS) AS THE EMBLEM


sorry for the caps don't feel like fixing it now

 

[dr 715]

I know, I was joking. Vizquel should have batted 9th last season. It was THAT BAD...

 

[tbone95860]

[h1]Mets To Sign Freddy Garcia[/h1]
By Ben Nicholson-Smith [January 22 at 7:32pm CST]

According to Adam Rubin of the New York Daily News,the Mets have agreed to a minor league deal with Freddy Garcia. Rubin heard that the deal could be worth $8-9MM if Garcia makes the team andreaches all his incentives.

Newsday's Anthony Rieber confirms that Garcia has agreed to aminor league deal. Like Danielle Sessa, Rieber writes that the Mets still have themoney to sign a starter like Randy Wolf, Ben Sheets or Oliver Perez. Ken Rosenthal says they stillintend to sign another starter and Perez remains atop the list.

 

[stringer bell 32]

*%#+! I wanted Freddy back

 

[ooiron manoo]

I kind of always liked these:

It looks like what the Angels have now, so they will not go back to that At the time the Angels were wearing these:

They were yucktastic!

,

 

[mez 0ne]

1 year incentive deals FTW!