I didn't see that on Jimenez, but that makes a lot of sense. Hill doesn't need to hit a ton, given his defensive tools and speed, but he has to hit better than this. If he can hit .260ish with an OBP in the .330 range, I think he can be an every day CF down the road. Not sure how likely that is, but he'll be 20 years old all season and has dealt with 4 trips to the DL in his first 1.5 years in WM. I think Alexander's stuff a tick below Smyly's, but he might have better command. Will be interesting to see how he does in AA and AAA when stuff matters more.
Subtract everybody from the Cespedes and Price deals from the major league and minor league rosters and assume they kept and lost both.
It's really scary to think about. Especially with a few of the kind of presentable arms going down like Ziomek and Turnbull.
Why did they have Boyd pitch for Zimmerman instead of skipping him and pitching Pelfrey and Verlander on regular rest.
I'm starting to think all our hitters who are in a slump should just have Anibal pitch them BP to get their confidence back
$14 mil a year for Lowe and Pelfrey. Could. Have done so much more with what money. Especially Lowe who had 2 good months in his career. Anyone could see he was a fluke. Norris should be in rotation next week.
This Fulmer guy is going to be good. Sucks that our bullpen will probably allow these two runners to score.
Yeoman effort from Frankie tonight. Fulmer is the real deal. He pitches to bad contact for a while, then strikes people out when it gets real.
glimmer of hope for a quick rebuild if we wanna go that route. like what Boyd has done, expect that Norris will be a top 3 rotation guy. or can still try to go for broke for a couple more seasons, which might be the thing to do considering JVs resurgence ...
It is only a glimmer this year, considering what sort of inning limitations these guys will be on and their general youth, but there is certainly reason to be believe that Verlander, Zimmerman, Fulmer, Norris and Boyd/Greene can be a playoff rotation from '17-'19. We've essentially gone for broke already for next year, so we'll have to see where it takes us.
Keith Law mock draft 3.0: Spoiler 1. Philadelphia Phillies A.J. Puk, LHP Florida The Phillies still haven't decided on the first pick, and they could go in another direction (Kyle Lewis, Corey Ray, Mickey Moniak) here, but if I had to bet on one of them versus the field, it would be Puk. Meanwhile, the list of names they'd like to overpay at pick 42 keeps growing, including Wentz and Blake Rutherford. 2. Cincinnati Reds Kyle Lewis, OF Mercer If Puk gets here, I think the Reds take him; otherwise it's likely Lewis or Nick Senzel. Delvin Perez now appears to be out of the mix here. 3. Atlanta Braves Jason Groome, LHP Barnegat (New Jersey) HS It's likely Groome, Lewis or Corey Ray here, though there's an outside shot they'd take Senzel. 4. Colorado Rockies Riley Pint, RHP St. Thomas Aquinas HS (Overland Park, Kansas) There's a strong sentiment that the Rockies will take an arm -- Pint, Groome or Dakota Hudson -- but also a strong sentiment that they really like center fielder Mickey Moniak. I don't know which sentiment is stronger, but I think this is a pretty rare opportunity for the Rockies to acquire an arm like Pint's. 5. Milwaukee Brewers Corey Ray, OF Louisville It's Ray, Delvin Perez (maybe) or Josh Lowe here. Lowe would have to be at a steep discount, but I know the Brewers scouted him heavily late in the spring. 6. Oakland Athletics Nick Senzel, 3B Tennessee I think the A's are in on the guys I have projected to go in the top four as well, plus perhaps Braxton Garrett and Zack Collins. Ray and Perez appear to be out for them. 7. Miami Marlins Braxton Garrett, LHP Florence (Alabama) HS I've heard the Marlins connected to a handful of prep arms, including Garrett, Pint and Forrest Whitley, but they're out on Groome. 8. San Diego Padres Matt Manning, RHP Sheldon (Sacramento) HS The Manning to the Padres rumor has been around for a while but keeps popping up. They're also on Perez, who seems to be sliding right now. 9. Detroit Tigers Dakota Hudson, RHP Mississippi State Hudson is in the mix for any of these next four picks (through the Red Sox), though I hear the Tigers would take Pint if he gets here. 10. Chicago White Sox Zack Collins, C Miami I've heard them on Hudson, Robert Tyler and suddenly on Collins, but less on high school guys. 11. Seattle Mariners Justin Dunn, RHP Boston College All college players here, hitters or pitchers, which is in line with the Angels' drafts when new M's GM Jerry Dipoto was their GM. 12. Boston Red Sox Mickey Moniak, OF La Costa Canyon HS (Carlsbad, California) I had them with Nolan Jones in my last two mocks and still think that's a real possibility. I've also heard Collins likely stops here. 13. Tampa Bay Rays Delvin Perez, SS International Baseball Academy (Puerto Rico) The Rays seem like one of two potential stopping points for Perez, along with Cleveland (the next pick), as his stock seems to be sliding right now. The Rays are also one of the teams heaviest on Lowe. 14. Cleveland Indians Blake Rutherford, OF Chaminade College Prep (West Hills, California) This is a bit of a guess, as the names I've heard linked to Cleveland, including Perez and Dunn, might be taken ahead of them, and I think Cleveland is opportunistic enough to take Rutherford if he gets here. He has been floated as someone who might slide into the sandwich round for an overslot deal, however. Kyle Muller might be a long shot here as well. 15. Minnesota Twins Forrest Whitley, RHP Alamo Heights (San Antonio) HS I've heard them linked to college and high school arms. Manning's name keeps coming up, but he might not be signable here. I had Muller here last time, and I think he's still a possibility. 16. Los Angeles Angels Alex Kirilloff, OF Plum HS (Pittsburgh) I haven't heard them linked with a specific class of player, but they've scouted Kirilloff heavily, and it seems they are very open to drafting high school players under the new regime. They had a big contingent at the SEC tournament, including GM Billy Eppler, for Dakota Hudson's start, but I doubt he gets this far. 17. Houston Astros T.J. Zeuch, RHP Pittsburgh I've heard the Astros linked to prep arms (Whitley in particular) and college arms, so I guess you could say they're looking for a pitcher. 18. New York Yankees Ian Anderson, RHP Shenendehowa HS (Clifton Park, New York) Options here include Anderson, Kevin Gowdy, Taylor Trammell and possibly Muller. It seems like they're going with a high schooler, likely a high-ceiling type. 19. New York Mets Will Craig, 3B/1B Wake Forest College bat all the way here, as I haven't heard them linked to anything else. Craig impressed with his arm strength in a relief-pitching stint at last week's ACC tournament. 20. Los Angeles Dodgers Cody Sedlock, RHP Illinois Sedlock seems a fair bet to go in the 15-23 range, with the Dodgers a possible floor depending on how the board plays out. 21. Toronto Blue Jays Kyle Muller, LHP Jesuit College Prep (Dallas) I don't know that Muller stops here per se, but I have heard the Blue Jays on a bunch of higher-ceiling high school guys. 22. Pittsburgh Pirates Zack Burdi, RHP Louisville I had the Pirates taking Burdi the last time around as well, though I don't think it's a lock they take him or even take a pitcher. Burdi's market is somewhere in this range, however, no worse than the 20s. 23. St. Louis Cardinals Josh Lowe, 3B/RHP Pope HS (Marietta, Georgia) Well, if everyone keeps comparing Lowe to Colby Rasmus -- I've heard that comp from three different teams -- maybe the team that originally took Rasmus will take version 2.0. Compensation picks With the first round being unusually short this year, I'll also predict the sandwich-round selections, the 11 picks awarded to teams that lost free agents who declined qualifying offers. 24. San Diego Padres Cal Quantrill, RHP Stanford As I've mentioned a few times, I think Quantrill has a deal, or at least an understanding, with some team, which is why he's not pushing to return from Tommy John surgery. It might not be the Padres, but I doubt he takes the entire spring to rehab without an insurance plan in place. 24. San Diego Padres Dane Dunning, RHP Florida Dunning boosted his stock quite a bit last week at the SEC tournament with a very sharp relief outing. He has been both a starter and reliever for the Gators this year but profiles as a big league starter. 26. Chicago White Sox Gavin Lux, SS Indian Trail Academy (Kenosha, Wisconsin) Lux's market seems to be in this range, with the Dodgers and Blue Jays also heavy on him. The White Sox also have been linked to Robert Tyler. 27. Baltimore Orioles Eric Lauer, LHP Kent State I've heard them on everything here, meaning it's probably a best-player-available situation rather than any specific player or type. 28. Washington Nationals Robert Tyler, RHP Georgia The industry seems to like Tyler a bit more than I do -- I see reliever risk in his delivery and a lack of an average breaking ball -- but he's a big, hard-throwing pitcher who appeared to be a future top-10 pick as a freshman at Georgia. 29. Washington Nationals Drew Mendoza, SS Lake Minneola (Florida) HS Mendoza has been linked to the Nats, who like this sort of boom-or-bust position-player prospect, having taken a somewhat similar player in Drew Ward a few years ago. 30. Texas Rangers Taylor Trammell, OF Mount Paran Christian (Kennesaw, Georgia) The prevailing belief is that the Rangers will do what they did two years ago when they didn't have a first-rounder but picked 30th overall: take a high-ceiling high school player. The guy they took in 2014, right-hander Luis Ortiz, is now pitching in Double-A at age 20. 31. New York Mets Anthony Kay, LHP Connecticut If the Mets land a college hitter they like at 19, look for them to open up to the idea of taking a pitcher here, high school or college. 32. Los Angeles Dodgers Jordan Sheffield, RHP Vanderbilt Some scouts think the Dodgers take Sheffield at 20, but (1) I think that's too rich; and (2) the board might actually play out where Sheffield, who may have hurt his draft stock at the SEC tournament, gets to this second pick. I do think if they get a college arm at 20, as I have them doing, they'd be more open to taking a high school player here. 33. St. Louis Cardinals Matt Thaiss, C Virginia The Cavaliers catcher isn't a great bet to stay at the position, but he's one of the better contact hitters in the draft class. 34. St. Louis Cardinals Jon Duplantier, RHP Rice University The Owls right-hander missed all of 2015 because of a shoulder injury, so of course Rice coach Wayne Graham decided to work him extra hard on short rest in the Conference USA tournament. Duplantier struck out 143 in 106 innings this year for the Owls.
The draft stuff is looking like Pint if he's there, Dakota Hudson if he isn't. Both fit our org's history (Pint as the hardest thrower, Hudson as a SEC guy who was great on the Cape last year). Seems like Senzel could be a surprise pick if he's there, but most don't seem to think he will be. No one besides a few people on the Tigers' scout.com site has even mentioned Perez and the Tigers together from what I've seen.
Some rumors on Rutherford (HS OF) and Manning (HS RHP) are that both are going to ask for a ton of money, and could fall to a team in the sandwich/second round for a huge over slot deal with a team that saves cash with a top 5 pick. I've seen that rumor with Manning moreso than Rutherford, but it would be a surprise if we took someone demanding more than slot $$ at #9. The only names I've seen tied to us that would upset me are Zack Burdi (Louisville closer) and Justin Dunn (BC pitcher who has mostly been a reliever).
I'll pass on Perez. Go with the prep/college arms. Seems like high school arms will have more trade value than prep position players. See Derek Hill, who has little trade value now, and has fallen off the prospect map
Prep arms also have the highest bust rate. And, in fairness, Hill has gone on the DL 4x since last April and played a total of 90 games in West Michigan. That hasn't exactly helped.
Cameron Maybin is just a much better baseball player than Andrew Gose. And those Detroit Stars uniforms are just lovely, although I don't love the hats.
Big 2 out double by Upton on a 3-0 count scores a couple and chases Quintana. Has to feel good for him. Maybe the worm is turning.
seriously man ... green/wilson/krod, lose sanchez replace with Boyd/Norris? could be some real improvements all generated internally ...
seriously man ... green/wilson/krod, lose sanchez replace with Boyd/Norris? could be some real improvements all generated internally ...
I still don't love/trust Boyd, but Norris could be a real 3rd starter this year. Boyd is probably better than Pelfrey.
I'm not giving up on Sanchez getting his shit together quite yet. Maybe some downtime will help. The odds of 2 (much less 3) rookies being useful starters this year are slim.
Neither of Boyd and Norris are rookies. Boyd by 1.1 innings pitched last year. ;) But I agree, a rotation of Zimmerman, Verlander, Fulmer, Norris/Boyd and Pelfrey is fraught with peril. Luckily we're a 3rd of the way through the season, so we really only need Norris/Boyd to lock that 4th starter spot for a 3rd of the season apiece, and for Fulmer to not turn into a pumpkin. We can't expect Fulmer to continue to flirt with no-hitters and pitch 7-8 innings of shutout ball, but if his change up success isn't a mirage and he continues to be stingy with the walks, expecting another 18-20 starts at around 3.50 ERA/FIP isn't outlandish. The main question with him will be running into an innings limitation; he's gone from 98 to 124 the last two years, so 175 seems like the most they'd want to him throw. The absolute most. JaCoby Jones was promoted to Toledo.
Toledo Mud Hens @MudHens WELCOME TO TOLEDO! @jacobyjones23 blasts his first HOME RUN in his second at bat as a Mud Hen, 1-1 in the 3rd! #BOOM#MudHensMasherJun 6, 2016, 7:53:34 PM
Probably not good news for us Today's Knuckleball @KnuckleballFRS Sources tell @JonHeyman that #MLBDraft prospect Delvin Perez has failed a drug test -