Batter's Box Interactive Magazine - 2011 Minor League Players

2011 Minor League Players - Outfielders

The final hitting position in our series is outfielders. We are not writing a story on designated hitters, in the minor leagues the DH is usually filled by rotation. Sometimes you have two good players at a position, for example last season Dunedin had Travis d'Arnaud and Yan Gomes, both catchers who were hitting well. The DH position could be used to get extra at-bats for both. The DH position also allows a team to get at-bats for the reserves.

Outfield is not considered a position of strength for the Jays but there are several outfielders whose 2011 performance will be closely watched. Can Darin Mastroianni handle AAA? Same question for Adam Loewen? How will Moises Sierra return from an injury filled year? Will Anthony Gose improve his hitting? Those are some of the more interesting story lines for 2011.

Toronto

Travis Snider, Rajai Davis and Juan Rivera appear to be the front runners for the outfield spots in Toronto. Jose Bautista looks to be headed for third base but if the Jays find a third baseman Bautista could head back to the outfield. Corey Patterson is in line to be the fourth outfielder. All of this is subject to change if, as I said above, the Jays find a third baseman; if the Jays trade Rivera; or if the Jays sign Scott Podsednik; all of which have been rumoured recently.

Las Vegas

Last year's AA outfield appear to be headed to AAA. Eric Thames led New Hampshire in offense last season and he will get the left field job. Darin Mastroianni also produced well in AA and added to that with a very good winter league performance and he should be the centre fielder. Adam Loewen had an up and down 2010, some of which was blamed on his acclimating to playing a full season. Loewen is a year-to-year free agent so the Jays should send him to AAA to see if he has major league potential.

Others in the mix include Adam Calderone who bounced between AA and AAA last season; and free agents Jason Lane; Richard Nanita and Danny Perales.

New Hampshire

The Jays expect Moises Sierra to make the New Hampshire opening day squad. Sierra had a brief stay in AA at the end of 2009 but injuries derailed his progress in 2010. Assuming he is back to his old form I expect Sierra to be in right field for the Fisher Cats.

Anthony Gose is a longer shot to make AA. In 2010 his hitting was not great and he struck out too much. If the Jays believe his hitting has improved he could be sent to AA but I think he will get another three months in Dunedin. Gose is just 20 so he has time.

The rest of the New Hampshire outfield could be filled by minor league free agents such as Danny Perales and Richard Nanita.

Dunedin

Assuming Anthony Gose returns to Dunedin we will have two spots to fill. Kenny Wilson was promoted to Dunedin late in the season last year. Wilson has spent two years in Lansing and while he hasn't conquered A ball he probably needs a change of scenery. I believe Wilson will make the team and his playing time will depend on performance. Brad Glenn hit well for Lansing in 2010. He did have some injuries that impacted his performance but he deserves a shot at Dunedin as well. There are several players in the mix for the fourth outfielder and DH positions including hold-overs Brian Van Kirk; Chris Hopkins; Brad McElroy and Concepcion Rodriguez.

Lansing

Jake Marisnick and Michael Crouse were promoted to Lansing in August of last season. Both will be 20 years old on opening day and they will fill two thirds of the outfield. Marcus Knecht, drafted by the Jays in 2010, will take the third spot. The only issue is who will play right field, both Crouse and Knecht can play there.

The backup roles will fall to Steve McQuail and Jonathon Jones, both 2010 draftees who played in Auburn.

Extended Spring/GCL

Last years GCL outfield of Melvyn Garcia; Angel Gomez; Dalton Pompey; Ronald Melendez and Carlos Ramirez will return for another year.

Posted by Gerry on Thursday, February 10 2011 @ 07:00 AM EST.

2011 Minor League Players - Outfielders | 47 comments | Create New Account

The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.

rtcaino - Thursday, February 10 2011 @ 08:14 AM EST (#230114) #

Thanks for the reports Gerry and Dave!

I guess the real leg work comes soon with the picthing depth! Can't wait to see your thoughts on the young arms!

Rergarding the outfeild: Gose and Marisnick are the guys I'm really looking forward to following these year. (Coincidently, two of the highest rated guys that most Jays fans will also be following, lol.)

cybercavalier - Thursday, February 10 2011 @ 09:17 AM EST (#230119) #

Thanks for the reports. Applaud Gerry and Dave.

Questions about the outfield at AAA and AA:

1) Loewen 's K/BB is 144/66 over 537 PA; that's one strikeout over 3.729 PA, which roughly equals to 1 strikeout every game he would be a starting outfielder. He strikeouts more often and Thames and hits less HR. The reasoning of testing him at AAA based on his age (26) is sound but would he bounce between AA and AAA just like Calderone of last year. The whole scenario relies heavily on baseball minds within the organization, so let us see how they will play the game out. I am wondering how other view that scenario.

2) Richard Nanita or Ricardo Nanita had played in the Mexican League, and played pretty well in 2010. I wonder how the stats or performance of the Mexican League translate into the minor league of MLB. A predecessor of Nanita is Luis Terrero, so Nanita would be playing just fine based on history. I am wondering how other view that scenario.

3) Any news to Aaron Matthews?

Maldoff - Thursday, February 10 2011 @ 09:31 AM EST (#230121) #

Great worrk Gerry! Any thoughts on where Eric Eiland and Markus Brisker may end up?

Mike Green - Thursday, February 10 2011 @ 09:44 AM EST (#230122) #

A note on Gose. I have no idea where the Baseball Cube gets its speed ratings from, but Gose gets a 99. For reference, Mike Trout gets an 89. And going back in time, Vince Coleman got a 99, Willie Wilson a 97, Rickey Henderson a 93 and Tim Raines an 89. Plus he throws 95 off the mound, and when he moved over to Dunedin, walked plenty and hit for punch.

If he consolidates his offensive performance in Dunedin (and maybe improves his stolen base efficiency), he will be quite a package.

Gerry - Thursday, February 10 2011 @ 10:21 AM EST (#230124) #

Adam Loewen does not appear to get much respect from scouts but he shows flashes of being able to hit at the higher levels. He has lacked consistency so far as a hitter. I think he will go to AAA, but I could be wrong.

I don't know what happened to Aaron Mathews, he is a free agent and I didn't see that he signed anywhere.

Marcus Brisker and Eric Eiland have been disappointing so far, although they are both still young. They could be reserve outfielders with Eiland apparently more highly regarded by the Jays than Brisker.

92-93 - Thursday, February 10 2011 @ 10:27 AM EST (#230125) #

Reports had Gose up to 97 on the mound, so at the very least he should be a capable MLB CF. It doesn't take much to get positive value out of the position if you start with plus defence.

bpoz - Thursday, February 10 2011 @ 10:30 AM EST (#230126) #

Now that we have most of the ML position players on board, how does the 2011 offense stack up to the 2009 & 2010 offenses.

I know that it is a guessing game but does anyone have an opinion.

cybercavalier - Thursday, February 10 2011 @ 11:10 AM EST (#230127) #

Just a suggestion, if Tolisano's future is in the outfield, why not playing him out in New Hampshire and mix and match him with Loewen, Nanita and Perales? Such move kills two birds with one stone: clearing bits of the corner IF logjam and indirectly at the catching logjam, and starting off an experiment of his ability as a future MLB utility and more.

cybercavalier - Thursday, February 10 2011 @ 11:15 AM EST (#230128) #

And also mix and match with Scott Campbell at the IF, so creating lots of flexibility for Fasano. By the way, is Sal's nickname something related to "Horseshoe moustache"? I am just interested to know.

Mike Green - Thursday, February 10 2011 @ 11:51 AM EST (#230129) #

If there are no other changes (and this is far from certain), the 2011 offence is likely to produce many fewer runs than the 2009 offence (which scored 798 runs and had 3 players with .370+ OBPs-Overbay, Rolen and Scutaro). As for the comparison with the very unusual 2010 offence which scored 754 runs by bashing all those homers and posting a poor team OBP of .312, it is more difficult. If everyone is healthy, the OBP should go up somewhat, the slugging percentage should go down quite a bit and runs scored would be off probably just a bit from 2010. However, as it stands today, the club is very vulnerable to injury to its offensive players, and if the club is unlucky, the offence could collapse. The decision to build up bullpen depth rather than offensive depth (if no other players are added) would be very risky from a 2011 performance perspective. It does seem that the club's interest in maximizing its 2011 performance is not high, despite the protestations to the contrary.

#2JBrumfield - Thursday, February 10 2011 @ 12:09 PM EST (#230130) #

One signing of note today, the Blue Jays have signed 25 year-old pitcher Steve Raburn out of indy ball. Here's his bio from the Frontier League.

Marc Hulet - Thursday, February 10 2011 @ 12:20 PM EST (#230131) #

Raburn actually signed a few months ago... and this was a pretty poorly written commentary on the signing by whomever did it. Refencing his value based on a "mediocre" W-L record. And talking about how he might get cut... and then congratulating him on the signing.

85bluejay - Thursday, February 10 2011 @ 12:37 PM EST (#230132) #

I think the AAA outfield is very intriguing and will be following their spring training performances closely. Even though Adam Loewen is a long shot, I'm very impressed that he went from his AA season to the AFL then to the DWL - shows to me a real commitment and his improved plate discipline along with more power intrigues me and I will be rooting for him more than any other jays prospect this year.

Moises Sierra, I'm more skeptical about - A broken hamate bone if I recall takes time for power to return and lack of power was Sierra's weakest component during his decent 2009 season and I'm disappointed he managed to only get 11 at bats in the DWL when he badly needed playing time - I will be grateful if someone can file a report on what type of shape he arrives at spring training in.

I'm also curious that Michael Crouse is not getting as much buzz as Jake Marisnick and Anthony Gose - all 3 seem to be boom/bust type prospects worth getting excited about.

Mike Green - Thursday, February 10 2011 @ 01:06 PM EST (#230135) #

Crouse was a 16th round pick who has not put up any kind of performance numbers except in Rookie ball through his teens. Gose has already put up better than league average numbers in the FSL at age 19, and was a 2nd round pick. Marisnick is 5 months younger than Crouse, also dominated Rookie League. and was a 3rd round pick. The scouting report on Marisnick is presumably better than the one on Crouse.

cybercavalier - Thursday, February 10 2011 @ 01:15 PM EST (#230137) #

Re Hulet:

I don't aim at anyone but am just interested in what a pretty well written commentary on such a signing on Indy player would like. As a matter of fact, Scott Richmond and Daniel Nava show that Indy league signing could be successful at ML for Raburn.

Re Green:

It does seem that the club's interest in maximizing its 2011 performance is not high, despite the protestations to the contrary.

I agree with you there, which prompt me to think why the likes of Chris Lubanski was not resigned. Lubanski is a young lefthanded hitter for power and had been developed to the extent of almost arriving at the ML.

eudaimon - Thursday, February 10 2011 @ 01:33 PM EST (#230138) #

I think this team could surprise. However it does depend on players making steps forward. Snider needs to improve, I would consider an OPS around .825 about right. Davis is a quite the sparkplug if in the lineup, given his speed. His defence is also better than Wells. Rivera is a big question mark. Lind and Hill need to improve, and Encarnacion has to be more consistent. (Maybe Encarnacion can take all of Lind's ABs vs lefties, which would help Lind and the team). A few of the young pitchers have to step up. But, I don't think any of these are impossible, and even if we only get some of the above it should be an entertaining season.

As for Lubanski, count me as unimpressed by his mediocre K/BB ratio, and slightly below 900 OPS in one of the best hitting parks. I think we have to trust the GMs judgment here.

Also, don't mean to beat a dead horse but I think it's high time someone changed that picture up top. We have an exciting future as a team. It's time to stop holding on to the past. Maybe get Joey Bats up there with Romero, or take it a completely new direction and put AA and Farrell on one side with a couple of guys on the other.

Mike D - Thursday, February 10 2011 @ 02:22 PM EST (#230140) #

I agree with Mike Green. This year's team is extremely vulnerable to injuries of position players. They have basically no big league offensive depth.

My problem with the lineup, in addition to Bautista playing at 3B with his RF throwing arm, is that Lind, Snider, Encarnacion and Rivera ALL have to play every day -- or put differently, there is no way to shelter any of them from tough lefties/righties by inserting a hitter with different splits. Molina/McDonald/McCoy/Patterson offers plenty of late-inning defensive replacement options, but is a simply dreadful offensive bench. The team's run production will be severely compromised in the event of injury. I hope that at least one more MLB-calibre hitter is added before the season starts.

Ken Rosenthal's theory is that the Jays want to move Rivera and then sign Podsednik. Assuming for argument's sake that Podsednik would help, there would seem to be more than enough bench and payroll space to sign Podsednik without having to jettison Rivera first.

eudaimon - Thursday, February 10 2011 @ 02:37 PM EST (#230142) #

That's quite true too, the bench doesn't look particularly impressive or strong a this time. Maybe AA has some tricks up his sleeve.

Marc Hulet - Thursday, February 10 2011 @ 02:57 PM EST (#230143) #

Sure, here are my concerns with this particular article�

The Toronto Blue Jays front office doesn�t limit themselves to the usual resources to find talent; MLB, MiLB, NCAA, or the draft. This time their experts directed them to the new North American Baseball League.

The odds are really against Raburn who, will more likely be sent down Vancouver or Bluefield, unless he is released before than. Personally, from experience, you are not on the team until after that final cut, no matter how good you perform!

Raburn compiled a mediocre 5-3 record for three teams in 2010

<Why is 5-3 mediocre? If we multiply each number by three we get: 15-9, which would likely be considered a darn good record. Plus, win/loss is a horrible indicator of personal success.>

Gerry - Thursday, February 10 2011 @ 03:13 PM EST (#230145) #

Breaking news from BA.... Chuck Huggins has retired. Michael Kelly ,a lefty reliever drafted in 2010, has been released. Mike MacDonald who pitched in the Jays system a few years ago has been re-signed along with 3B Craig Stansberry and OF Leonard Davis.

John Northey - Thursday, February 10 2011 @ 03:40 PM EST (#230147) #

Did a google search for Raburn and found this which appears to match him and shows high schools stats.

It appears he had a good arm and decent bat (400 averages in high school are not unusual). 3 runs allowed over 32 IP, 45 K's and 14 walks. The wildness would've cost him a shot at a pro-deal that had a good bonus I suspect. Probably a guy who decided after college that he wanted a shot and now has his chance. Checking his Frontier League game log I see his 8 games with the Normal CornBelters had just one where a run was scored (3 runs in 3 innings that day). For the United League he had more trouble. His game log there shows lots of crooked numbers - 4 times allowing 5+ runs. One wonders if the Jays scouts were at his big game where he K'ed 13 and walked just 1 over 7 innings. He lost his only playoff start while K'ing 4 in 6 2/3 IP with 2 walks.

Eh, he probably is just filler but it is fun to see how much one can find out about someone who hasn't been in the standard minors.

Kelekin - Thursday, February 10 2011 @ 03:48 PM EST (#230148) #

Marc: You nailed it. It's just a shoddy piece of writing no matter how you look at it. Most of the writing on fansided though is on the weak side.

Mike MacDonald back as organizational filler, interesting. Surprised Huggins retired. While his numbers were average and below-average when his age is taken into consideration, it's still a surprising move.

TamRa - Thursday, February 10 2011 @ 04:19 PM EST (#230152) #

I'm not sure where the uncertainty concerning Loewen at AAA (and the lust for Lubanski) comes from.

At his age and experience, along with his contract situation, you HAVE to put Loewen at AAA. To have him repeat AA is tantamount to giving up on him. if you are giving up on him, why re-sign him?

On the other hand, if he was re-signed as filler, no more or less so than, say, Jason Lane, then he still obviously fits in at AAA and having him there, or having Lubanski, or Matthews...is irrelevant. He might have been the one signed for no other reason than his enthusiasum for playing for the Jays.

If his being in Vegas impeeded some other guy you consider a more legitimate prospect, then there's cause for complaint but i don't see that guy about.

cybercavalier - Thursday, February 10 2011 @ 07:40 PM EST (#230154) #

Thanks Marc.

As for the discussion on Loewen and Lubanski, let me sum up the arguments.

Against Lubanski in AAA:
Unimpressive K/BB (94/40) for 402 PA and .899 OPS in one of the hitter friendly parks in the PCL. Based on previous posts here, a hitter needs to hit at least over .330-ish at Vegas before being considered for ML promotion. Jarret Hoffpauir was the counter example despite his "impressive" K/BB: 58/34. Sometimes I felt hard to quantify the "impressiveness" on players stats, especially when ballparks affect them greatly. For instance, 94/40 is unimpressive, 58/34 is impressive. Then what is the average? Maybe we just trust the management (in AA, we trust). Chuckles.

For Loewen in AAA;
He needs to be promoted due to age and experience and he is not much of a filler anyway, given his enthusiasm. So AAA seems like his natural home for the 2011 season. Thames, Calderone and Mastroianni are more of prospects than Loewen and played better at AA. So Adam is not blocked.

ayjackson - Thursday, February 10 2011 @ 11:47 PM EST (#230155) #

Marisnick is 5 months younger than Crouse, also dominated Rookie League. and was a 3rd round pick.

Small point of order, but Marisnick did nothing similar to what Crouse did in Rookie League this year. His OPS was 134 points below Crouse`s. I otherwise agree.

brent - Friday, February 11 2011 @ 12:07 AM EST (#230156) #

http://www.minorleagueball.com/2011/2/10/1987108/toronto-blue-jays-catching-prospects#storyjump

GabrielSyme - Friday, February 11 2011 @ 02:18 AM EST (#230157) #

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't Michael Crouse eventually look to be a centrefielder? If so, I hope Marisnick proves himself sufficiently to move to Dunedin and leave Crouse with some playing time in Centre.

TamRa - Friday, February 11 2011 @ 04:55 AM EST (#230158) #

Thames, Calderone and Mastroianni are more of prospects than Loewen and played better at AA. So Adam is not blocked.

Thames (especially) and Mastroianni for sure but Calderone?

Calderone is almost exactly the same age (about 3 weeks older)
Calderone's AA OPS is .005 higher than Lowen's and he's had almost 1800 professional at bats as opposed to Loewen's not-quite 800

I'm not saying loewen is anything other than a long shot dark horse (though I think he is legitimately a drak horse to at least have SOME major league career) but Caldarone is not half that even. Aaron Matthews is as much a a prospect as Caldarone and he still doesn't have a contract (as far as I can tell)

Mike Green - Friday, February 11 2011 @ 10:32 AM EST (#230169) #

AYJ, Crouse had 4 homers, 9 walks and 32 Ks in 96 at-bats in the GCL. Marisnick had 3 homers, 13 walks and 18 strikeouts in 122 at-bats in the GCL. It's a very minor point, but I don't pay that much attention to OPS over that kind of sample. I tend to look at the elements of batting- power and strike zone control. Crouse displayed more power; Marisnick displayed a lot more strike zone control.

cybercavalier - Friday, February 11 2011 @ 11:33 AM EST (#230174) #

Re TamRa:

I think the issues need to be discussed separately for sake of discussion only.

1) Cause: Calderone's AA OPS is .005 higher than Loewen's and he's had almost 1800 professional at bats as opposed to Loewen's not-quite 800. Loewen has MLB pitching experience while Calderone had never played in MLB.
Effect: Loewen is more of a prospect than Calderone.
2) Cause: Aaron Matthews is similar in prospect status to Calderone and yet he doesn't have a job.
Effect: So Loewen ranks higher in prospect status than Matthews and Calderone.

In a nutshell, Loewen have MLB pitching experience, better hitting potential than Calderone based on minor league hitting stats. Based on prospect status Loewen ranked ahead of Calderone. These are supporting arguments.

However,
1) As noted from previous posts, Loewen could be signed for his enthusiasm to play Jays' baseball and would be assigned to AAA. Calderone is a 23rd rounder batter and Loewen is a 1st rounder pitcher when they were drafted. However sometimes prospect status is unreliable, Lubanski is one example as a first rounder but showing mediocre K/BB in a hitter friendly park.
2) We don't yet know why Matthews doesn't have a job. Given the rise of Thames and Mastroianni and signing of Lane, Shealy et al., Matthews could have no place in AAA becasue he is not better than these other players. Or AAA team is loaded with outfielders (Lane, Thames, Mastro, Nanita). Matthews doesn't stand out among the group and can't play other positions so he was let go. Matthews could also be so low in prospect status (19th rounder) that Loewen is more worthwhile to be kept based on prospect status than Matthews, thus sharing no relationship to Calderone. Or Matthews is older than Loewen, Loewen is getting the chance with the preference to youth.

Lastly, I meant 34/58 for Hoffpauir's K/BB.

Shane - Friday, February 11 2011 @ 11:50 AM EST (#230177) #

I'm off topic (if there is one here) but gentleman, without reprinting Keith Law's ESPN content, did any of y'all ESPN Insiders read a column this week where Keith wrote about Brett Wallace ? I'm quite curious what the gist was. Thanks. From February 10th's chat:

Jason(St. Louis)

How were so many people wrong on Brett Wallace's bat?

KLaw

My theory is that we were all so wrapped up in discussing his position, defense, and body type that we took the bat question for granted. And he did perform as an amateur even against good pitching.

And....

Greg (DC)

Did I miss the memo saying it's time to give up on Brett Wallace as a hitter after 144 MLB ABs?

KLaw

You may have missed what I wrote about him earlier in the week, though.

cybercavalier - Friday, February 11 2011 @ 11:53 AM EST (#230178) #

The Jays have signed Steve Raburn and I think they would take a flyer on these players, especially Blake Gailen, Josh Short and Matty Johnson.

John Northey - Friday, February 11 2011 @ 12:25 PM EST (#230179) #

Matty Johnson does look good in some respects but the complete lack of power (from how it reads) puts a big time * beside him. Which is how it is with indy league guys.

I'd be seeing which indy leaguers have succeeded (such as Scott Richmond) with that being defined as making the majors and performing at or above replacement level and then find out who was best at finding those guys and keep that person hunting.

The level of talent is so variable in those leagues that a gem could easily be hidden by the rough. The low quality of umpires, the low quality of fields, the poor coaching would all contribute to it. I list all of those as poor as the best groundskeepers, umpires, and coaches would be trying to get into 'organized' ball with rare exceptions, and most of those exceptions would go for college ball (more chance of recognition, higher pay potential). Still, one or two guys a year seem to make it from those leagues thus you need to keep watch on them.

MatO - Friday, February 11 2011 @ 02:12 PM EST (#230183) #

Someone posted the earlier Law comment somewhere around here. The gist was that scouts now think that Wallace can't turn on the inside pitch and that it's not fixable.

wacker - Friday, February 11 2011 @ 05:10 PM EST (#230186) #

Wasn't a jeminez a center fielder at one time? With the " logjam" at catcher and his speed..... What do you think?

Jdog - Friday, February 11 2011 @ 05:56 PM EST (#230187) #

I don't think he was. I think his speed is below average and I think the thing making him an intriguing prospect is the fact that he is a good defensive catcher. Just because we have a few Catcher prospects doesn't mean he won't have value in a trade if he proves himself to be a big leaguer.

ayjackson - Friday, February 11 2011 @ 07:16 PM EST (#230189) #

Jiminez had 17 steals and 4 CS last season.

ayjackson - Friday, February 11 2011 @ 07:26 PM EST (#230190) #

I`m pretty excited about the Lansing outfield of Knecht-Marisnick-Crouse. Good athletes, good prospects. I think BA said Knecht might have the best raw power in the organization.

I`m also curious to see who impresses more with their arm in New Hampshire - Gose or Sierra.

And rounding out the interesting outfields is the 51`s Thames-Mastro-Loewen. With sicknotes Rivera and Snider manning the corners in Toronto, the 51`s triumverate will have every opportunity to impress.

Jdog - Friday, February 11 2011 @ 08:17 PM EST (#230192) #

SB's in Low A ball do not really indicate speed, it tells us he is not a Molina, but i doubt he projects for even average speed as a major leaguer...although his speed as a catcher would would most likely be above average. But why on earth would you want to move a catcher who threw out over 50 percent of attempted runners, its not like his bat is knocking the door down its the other way around where his defence appears more advanced than his approach at the plate.

Mike Green - Friday, February 11 2011 @ 09:12 PM EST (#230193) #

If Knecht has the most raw power in the organization, I sure didn't see it. What I saw was a good prospect with a nice balance of skills- the ability to play good defence in a corner, runs pretty well, medium range pop, and pretty good control of the plate. Lansing's home park is a little kinder to a right-handed hitter than Auburn's, so I wouldn't be surprised at all if Knecht hits 15 homers in full-season ball with 60-70 walks and maybe a .300 average.

ayjackson - Friday, February 11 2011 @ 11:21 PM EST (#230195) #

The first thing evaluators notice about Knecht is his tremendous bat speed. He has plus raw power to all fields. - Baseball America

He was selected as the organization`s best power hitter from the 2010 draft, with honourable mentions to Kellen Sweeney, Chris Hawkins and Art Charles.

raptorsaddict - Sunday, February 13 2011 @ 01:24 AM EST (#230219) #

Let's just hope he doesn't become the next Sergio Santos!

On that note, I would put to the wise minds here at Da Box the following question: why don't more teams try to raise 2-way players? I mean, why not let Gose at least toss the odd minor-league inning to see what he has? I see no reason why an MLB player couldn't be both an every-day CF and an occasional relief arm.

raptorsaddict - Sunday, February 13 2011 @ 02:28 AM EST (#230220) #

92-93 - Sunday, February 13 2011 @ 03:55 PM EST (#230234) #

The training is different at different positions, but I have long wondered why teams don't try to employ two way guys at the end of their roster, where you aren't really compromising the player's ability to excel at his primary position. It seems inefficient to me to not try it. Where's the risk in telling John McDonald to master a knuckleball all spring? It's not like working on his hitting is going to get him anywhere...

Thomas - Sunday, February 13 2011 @ 10:06 PM EST (#230238) #

Where's the risk in telling John McDonald to master a knuckleball all spring? It's not like working on his hitting is going to get him anywhere...

I'd rather have McDonald work with Hechevarria and other shortstops on the fundamentals of infield defence. I don't disagree with the point about the value about a two-way player at the back of a roster, but I think some people are underestimating the amount of time players put into repetitive drills and their importance in keeping players sharp.

Plus, the team only has a certain number of coaches to go around. I'd rather Bruce Walton spent his time working on Rzepczynski maintaining a consistent release point or Litsch's third and fourth pitches rather than spending effort trying to teach McDonald a knuckleball (which is an incredibly difficult pitch to master anyway). Time is a finite resource.

bpoz - Monday, February 14 2011 @ 10:29 AM EST (#230239) #

ST has finally arrived. Yippie!!!

I know J Farrel wants to change the offensive style, so I hope more speed is stressed in the minors as well. With that in mind IMO O Dominguez & J Jackson on the same team or 1 in Dunedin & the other in Lansing added to Gose/Wilson in Dunedin & Marishnick/Crouse in Lansing could be real exciting to follow in our daily BB write ups.

John Northey - Monday, February 14 2011 @ 11:21 AM EST (#230242) #

It is rare to have a player who is A) talented enough and B) experienced enough to have them succeed as a pitcher and hitter/fielder.

Vance Law with the Expos in the 80's was as good a candidate as you'd find, with his dad being a former Cy Young winner iirc. He got into 6 blowouts in 2 years and iirc was once getting ready to pitch in a semi-close game (within 3 runs). Lifetime he threw 8 innings, 9 hits, 3 walks, 2 strikeouts, 3 ER with a 134 ERA+. The games he came into the Expos were down 10, 12, 6, 9, 8, 9 runs. He also came into a game down 10 when he was with the A's. Even there - a guy who showed he could pitch - still didn't get a shot in close games even with a manager who trusted him.

I'm sure there are guys who could do it, but the risk is high to a manager. Easier to get a pitcher who could field/run/hit than a hitter who can pitch I suspect (in the NL a few starters are used as pinch hitters now and then).

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