Down on the Farm - 2007 edition

[azfan]

I don't think it had as much to do with his head and his arm being worn out from abuse at U of A. He's different but I don't think that's bad in a pitcher. He was known as a "free spirit" at Uof A. Most of the interesting pitchers are quirky. We'll just have to see what happens next.

 

[coyoteshockeyfan]

New BA blog post on the Diamondbacks

http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/prospects/?p=113

 

[coyoteshockeyfan]

Ask BA lists their "Top 10 pitchers in the world," which includes Webb.

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/askba/263626.html

 

[coyoteshockeyfan]

Jason Neighborgall us up to his usual tricks, 3 BB and an ERA of 27 after his appearance which he got all of one out.

 

[coyoteshockeyfan]

First BA hot sheet:

Hot - Jamie D'Antona (#3)
Not - Justin Upton

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/hotsheet/263717.html

 

[devilfan02]

I really hope Upton makes significant improvement this year. The attitude/drive issues really worry me

 

[coyoteshockeyfan]

Early impressions from around the farm...

Tucson - the long forgotten member of the Three Amigos, Jamie D'Antona is crushing the ball in AAA (.490/.567/.796) after a couple disappointing seasons in the lower levels of the minors. Its still very early but he's one to watch. The good news is Chris Carter is hitting .448, the bad news is he still can't take a walk (3 BB in 58 AB) and he has 5 errors already at first base. Bill Murphy is putting up solid numbers as a reliever (2.35 ERA and 1.04 WHIP in 7.2 innings), while Casey Daigle's outings have been a mess (17 hits given up in 6.2 innings, 13.50 ERA).

Mobile - Mark Reynolds is off to a decent start at third base, hitting .296/.345/.537, where as Carlos Gonzalez has been in a slump batting just .218 to start the year. Matt Green who was a second round pick just a few years ago has kind of been flying under the radar but has pitched well as a starter, going 2-1 with an ERA of 1.20 in 15 innings. He's one of my candidates to have a breakout year in the Dbacks farm system. Matt Elliot and AJ Shappi have also started the year well in the pen for Mobile.

Visalia - All eyes are on Justin Upton for the Visalia Oaks (High A), but he hasn't really performed as of yet, batting .255/.371/.314 so hopefully we will see some improvement soon. Brooks Brown, who the Dbacks took in the supplemental first round last year has been pitching well so far, with an ERA of 1.80 in 15 innings (3 starts). On the other hand, Matt Torra's (another supplemental first rounder in 2005) continued rehab has not been going well, he currently has an ERA of 11.68 in 12.1 innings.

South Bend - the only guy I'm really keeping track of in Low A is Brett Anderson, and he hasn't disappointed. He has gone 17.2 innings with an ERA of 1.02 and a tiny WHIP of 0.91. He is a candidate to be pushed up to high A relatively soon, maybe before the all star break if he continues to do well.

 

[boondockdrunk]

South Bend - the only guy I'm really keeping track of in Low A is Brett Anderson, and he hasn't disappointed. He has gone 17.2 innings with an ERA of 1.02 and a tiny WHIP of 0.91. He is a candidate to be pushed up to high A relatively soon, maybe before the all star break if he continues to do well.

There was recently an article on BA about Anderson:
http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/prospects/?p=210

As Advertised

Posted Apr. 26, 2007 6:29 pm by Chris Kline
Filed under: Daily Dish

Diamondbacks lefthander Brett Anderson has been impressive at low Class A South Bend this season . . . even more so when you consider he just turned 19 in February.

A second-round pick last year out of Stillwater (Okla.) High, Anderson is 2-2, 1.59 with a 26-5 strikeout-walk ratio in 23 innings in the Midwest League. Perhaps most impressive though, Anderson’s two wins were South Bend’s first two of the season. The Silver Hawks now stand at 5-11 in the MWL’s Eastern Division.

“He’s been as advertised,” Diamondbacks farm director A.J. Hinch said. “Coming out of high school he was touted as a guy with good feel and had good polish. He’s shown us he can step in and give a team the chance to win every time he steps on the mound.”

Anderson tops out at 90 mph with his fastball, usually sitting in the 87-89 mph range. But he’s got a plus changeup and mixes in a curveball and slider to complete the repertoire.

“We might take away one of the breaking balls, but he’s having tremendous success so we’re not going to tinker with something that’s working, obviously,” Hinch said. “He’s been outstanding. To do what he’s doing at 19 years old . . . he’s done what we expected in some respects. But in other respects he’s exceeded those expectations.”

Another arm to watch on the South Bend staff is righthanded reliever Ramon Sanchez. Signed out of the Dominican Republic in 2002, the 22-year-old righthander struggled mightily with his command in 2006 with the Silver Hawks, going 1-10, 7.66 in 67 innings.

But he’s gained consistency with his mechanics–most notably his arm slot and has been impressive so far this season. In 10 innings, Sanchez is 0-1, 0.87 with a 10-1 strikeout-walk ratio and has already notched a pair of saves.

A power arm, Sanchez’ fastbal sits in the 92-94 mph range and tops out at 95. he still needs to command his hard, 84-86 mph slider better however to keep up his current string of success.

“He’s repeating that level, but he’s a high arm strength guy,” Hinch said. “He just needs to maintain his delivery with a little more authority and consistently harness the command of both pitches.

“The performance has been there and we hope he continues to build on that.”

 

[Mulli]

If Anderson is 19, can they increase his velocity?

 

[nathan]

I really hope Upton makes significant improvement this year. The attitude/drive issues really worry me

He's homered in 5 straight games and is now hitting .366/.443/.622

 

[devilfan02]

He's homered in 5 straight games and is now hitting .366/.443/.622

Good news, keep it up Justin

 

[boondockdrunk]

We really should have a Jason Neighborgall thread... this guy is just a mess:
Article

GENEVA, Ill. – He remembers what it felt like to be in control. It was a long time ago. But that kind of euphoria never dies.

"It's like trying to describe an ice cream sundae," Jason Neighborgall says, "to someone who has never tasted one before."

Neighborgall leans against the railing along the third-base line at Elfstrom Stadium, where his team, South Bend, the Arizona Diamondbacks' low-A affiliate, is about to play host Kane County. He is tall, 6-foot-5, and lean, with sandy blonde curls hanging like weeping willows over his forehead. Neighborgall shakes his right arm, and you half-expect nuggets of gold to fall from his shirt or a thunderclap to roar. Because that arm … well, that arm might be the greatest in all of baseball, if only he had any idea what to do with it.

April 5 IP H R ER BB K WP
Neighborgall 1/3 1 1 1 3 0 1

Jason Neighborgall makes Nuke LaLoosh look like a control pitcher. With a pitcher's objective being fairly simple – get guys out – one who doesn't put the ball over the plate should have no business trying to professionally.

Only when scouts see the radar gun flash 100 mph on Neighborgall's fastball, or when they see his nose-to-knees curveball break, they blink their eyes just to make sure they actually saw what they think they saw. Scouts have a scale to rate players' attributes. The low end is 20, the high end 80. Joel Zumaya's fastball is an 80. Johan Santana's changeup is an 80. Francisco Liriano's slider is an 80.

Neighborgall's fastball and curveball are 80s.

"When I got him the first year," says Mel Stottlemyre Jr., Neighborgall's pitching coach for two seasons, "I said, 'That stuff is as good as I've ever seen on the side in rookie ball.' It's ungodly stuff."

Since Neighborgall entered high school in Durham, N.C., it has been. He threw back-to-back no-hitters as a sophomore and another as a senior. With his bonus demands too high, he went to Georgia Tech instead of signing with the Boston Red Sox. He pitched there for three years, walking 113 and striking out 115 in 101 innings, before the Diamondbacks drafted him in the third round in 2005 and signed him for $500,000.

Arizona thought it could fix Neighborgall. Everyone does. When you're handed a raw 10-carat diamond, you don't shoehorn it into a setting. You clean it, polish it and do everything you can to make it shine, even if its cut, color and clarity are disappointing.

"The difficult question to a guy in my position," Diamondbacks farm director A.J. Hinch says, "is if you would rather have the overachieving kid without major league stuff or shoot the moon a bit with a kid who has two 80 pitches?"

Hinch didn't have to answer.

April 9 IP H R ER BB K
Neighborgall 0 0 2 2 2 0

Neighborgall doesn't understand what happened. Now 23, he never had great command over his pitches. He never watched them soar in all different directions, either.

"I'd ask why," Neighborgall says, "but I don't know if I could ever answer it."

Stottlemyre thinks it's mechanics. Countless tall pitchers have struggled keeping their body parts in sync. Adjusting one thing messes with another. After too much tinkering, the pitcher doesn't know what's right anymore.

The beginning of Neighborgall's delivery is easy enough: He lifts his left leg almost straight up, loading his weight, readying his arm.

From there, it falls apart. His torso leans back at an awkward angle. ("Big front side," Stottlemyre says.) He tilts his head. ("Too far offline.") His stride toward the plate is way out in front of the rest of his body. ("Late arm.") The result is Neighborgall missing high and arm side – or directly at the chin of right-handed batters.

When that happens, Neighborgall begins to compensate, speeding up his arm – usually too fast – and bouncing pitches away against right-handers. They pile up, bad pitch after bad pitch, hundreds of them in his head, and that's where South Bend manager Mark Haley sees the real troubles.

Neighborgall isn't Steve Blass or Rick Ankiel. He didn't lose it instantaneously.

It's been missing for years.

"Anybody who's stood over a golf ball, hit a good one, then followed with 15 bad ones understands," Haley says. "The frustration is that you know what makes a good swing. Well, then why are you missing them all the time?

"He just panics. It's something he's done well, and now, all of a sudden, he's lost that feel. Imagine losing the ability to do what you do so well."

April 18 IP H R ER BB K WP
Neighborgall 2/3 2 3 3 2 2 2

The Diamondbacks won't let Neighborgall throw his curveball anymore. Not until he learns to control his fastball.

"My stuff is good," Neighborgall says. "But you know what? If you're not throwing strikes, it doesn't matter how hard you throw. You're not going to get anyone out. It's not about my stuff anymore. It's about harnessing it.

"It takes time. Believing in yourself. If you do that, you can get over a lot of things. Hopefully, this is one of those cases. Trust yourself before anything can take place on the mound."

That might be the most vexing part of it to the Diamondbacks: Neighborgall is so self-aware, and the problem remains. Taking the curveball away hasn't worked. What, do they steal back his changeup, make him a one-pitch pitcher and expose him to hitters sitting on a fastball that, no matter its velocity, will get smacked around if it's anywhere near the plate?

Back in Phoenix, team executives eagerly await Neighborgall's appearances, checking box scores on the Internet. When they see the unsightly lines – the walks and wild pitches – they wonder if this is just what Jason Neighborgall is, if he is broken beyond repair.

And then they remember that arm.

"We're looking for signs, looking for something," says Stottlemyre, now Arizona's roving pitching coach. "I feel bad. It's been tough. He's a great kid. Great work habits. And he can speak and talk the language of pitching. He gets it. He knows what he needs to do. Understands counts, pitching.

"Physically, he just can't put it together."

April 24 IP H R ER BB K WP HBP
Neighborgall 0 0 2 2 2 0 3 2

Nothing is working, and it's evident even during batting practice. Before he heads to the outfield to shag fly balls, Neighborgall is playing catch with Brett Anderson, a 19-year-old bonus baby.

Anderson is a funhouse reflection of Neighborgall. Doughy, left-handed and with impeccable control, Anderson has struck out 35 and walked five in 29 1/3 innings. And while he tosses the ball into Neighborgall's glove, Anderson flails right and left to catch Neighborgall's returns. Three times, Anderson leaves his feet to keep the ball from sailing over the fence onto a grassy slope.

"It's frustrating," Neighborgall says. "It's why baseball is so difficult. I'm struggling, and it's tough when you're standing up there and can't trust anything. The organization preaches that I have to trust my stuff, so I can't be thinking about mechanical issues on the mound. Hopefully, I can get back on track."

Recently, it has worsened. Neighborgall started hitting batters, and, as Haley says, "He knows how hard he throws. He knows how much it hurts."

The walks are difficult enough. In his first season out of Georgia Tech, with rookie-ball Missoula, he issued 45 in 22 2/3 innings. Last year, still in rookie ball, it was 46 in 13 innings.

Arizona promoted him anyway. Change of scenery. Chance to start over. Less than a month into the season, it's just more of the same, and it's starting to look dangerous for anyone who steps into the batter's box against Neighborgall.

"You almost want to hug him," Haley says, "and say, 'Hey, you all right?'"

April 29 IP H R ER BB K WP HBP
Neighborgall 0 0 4 4 3 0 3 1

The Diamondbacks called Neighborgall on Wednesday, three days after his worst outing of the season, and asked him to return to extended spring training in Tucson, Ariz.

In his five appearances with South Bend, Neighborgall pitched one inning, gave up three hits and 12 earned runs, walked 12, struck out two, threw nine wild pitches, hit three batters and posted a 108.00 earned-run average.

"I hate to keep talking about a guy who has underachieved, underachieved," Stottlemyre says. "Sometimes, we tend to put too much pressure on guys. You know what? He can't help to go out there and feel pressure, because he's been slated as this guy with unbelievable stuff."

Because of that stuff – and in spite of everything else – the Diamondbacks still believe in Neighborgall. They're going to experiment with his arm angle, dropping him down from his current over-the-top delivery. Perhaps they'll try pitching him out of the stretch exclusively to take away the extraneous movement that plagues him. Maybe some tiny adjustment will make Neighborgall click.

Sometimes, saving a pitcher from himself is more blindfolded darts than science.

"We've invested in him," Hinch says. "He's invested the time and energy as well. At the end of the day, if it doesn't work out, you want to look in the mirror and say you did everything you could to get the best out of him."

Neighborgall isn't giving up, no way. At least not until he can feel it at least one more time.

He talks about being in control like it's a higher state of being, about how it's like he blacks out, becomes someone else almost. He says sometimes he doesn't remember it the next day. And that's too bad, because eventually things go bad again, and he starts thinking, and he starts overanalyzing, and he turns into one of baseball's great enigmas, and its about arm slot and repeating his delivery and throwing strikes and not hitting guys and his two 80 pitches and believing in himself.

"And then, all of a sudden, it's out of control," Neighborgall said. "And I don't know what to do."

 

[coyoteshockeyfan]

BA Hot Sheet:
Hot - Brett Anderson (#3)
Hot - Mark Reynolds (#7)
Hot - Justin Upton (#8)
Not - Matt Torra

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/hotsheet/263902.html

 

[coyoteshockeyfan]

BA Hot Sheet:
Hot - Justin Upton (#1)

He had us at hello. Upton, who's been on the Baseball America radar pretty much since his ultrasound photos were faxed to our offices in the spring of '87, made the transition to Double-A not only seamless, but instantly began the debate as to who is the Southern League's top prospect--Upton or Evan Longoria?

We're kidding about the ultrasound photos, but Upton has seriously been part of the BA coverage since his older brother Melvin (aka B.J.) was 15. And after a subpar pro debut in low Class A last year (Upton batted .263/.343/.413 in 438 at-bats), Upton turned it up in the California League this season, then continued to torch Double-A pitchers with three homers in his first two games after he was promoted.

Sure, Upton had his first 0-for-4 game yesterday, but that wasn't nearly enough to keep him out of the No. 1 spot. He's made Mobile a dangerous team again, and hitting ahead of Carlos Gonzalez is only going to help the struggling Venezuelan outfielder.

“It’s a collision course of top prospects,” Diamondbacks farm director A.J. Hinch said. “They’re going to feed off each other and challenge each other. It’s good for both of them.

“But with Justin, he’s just stepped right into that next level of competition and blended right in. He doesn’t have the wow factor of being in Double-A. He doesn’t want to be just a big leaguer. He wants to be a dominant big leaguer. So he’ll go, compete and dominate. For him, the approach is almost like, ‘This is just another stadium I’m in until I get there.’ And you know he’s going to keep working to get there. That’s the mindset. It’s who he is.”

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/hotsheet/263949.html

 

[coyoteshockeyfan]

Around the farm for May:

Tucson - Chris Carter continues to rake in AAA. Despite only hitting 4 home runs on the year, he has put up a .342 average to go with a .476 slugging percentage. The most promising thing is that he has cut down on the strike outs, as he has a 20:22 BB:K ratio. Unfortunately, errors are still plaguing him at first, as he now has ten of them.

Jamie D'Antona is also doing well in Tucson, hitting .313/.392/.508. However, his 9 errors at third base are still a big concern. Enrique Gonzalez has been a mild disappointment. He's really one of the few starters down in Tucson with big league potential, and he has an ERA of 4.82 in ten starts with a WHIP of 1.64.

Mobile - Everybody knows that Justin Upton (.333/.385/.792) has been on a tear, but Matt Green and AJ Shappi also deserve praise. Matt Green (second rounder in 2005) has an ERA of 3.38 and a WHIP of 1.16 in 10 AA starts this season. Shappi (9th round, 2004) has been dominant in the Mobile pen with a 1.69 ERA in 26.2 innings.

Unfortunately, Carlos Gonzalez has yet to heat up this season. He is hitting only .233/.255/.341, but the most troubling aspect is the whopping 38 strike outs to go along with just 7 walks. He is a much better prospect than this and I would suspect it will be sooner rather than later that his bat awakens.

Visalia - The trio of Dallas Buck (3rd round 2006), Brooks Brown(supplemental first round 2006), and Hector Ambriz (5th round 2006) has anchored the rotation of the High A Visalia squad and all have performed well. Brooks Brown in particular I believe is a worthy candidate of a move to AA in the not too distant future, he has a 3.17 ERA with a 1.20 WHIP and a 48:18 K:BB ratio in 10 starts (54 IP). On the other side, Matt Torra (supplemental first 2005) has been terrible, 10.67 ERA in ten starts with a WHIP over two. Ouch.

South Bend - Once again I feel the only player worth talking about in Low A South Bend is Brett Anderson (second round 2006) and he has not disappointed. He is currently 6-3 with an ERA of 2.01 in ten starts (58.1 IP) and a 0.99 WHIP to top it off. That is impressive stuff for a player just coming out of high school, I would be real surprised if he wasn't bumped up a level soon this season.

 

[Gaddabout]

Neighborgall needs to see a sports psychologist. Based on everything he's said, it's all in his head. Just ask John Smoltz.

 

[coyoteshockeyfan]

BA Hot Sheet - #2 Justin Upton

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/hotsheet/264130.html

 

[coyoteshockeyfan]

I don't think this has been mentioned yet, Max Scherzer gave up a single run in five innings with eight strikeouts in his debut for Visalia (high A) a few nights ago.

 

[OldDirtMcGirt]

Scherzer just had a perfecto through seven innings.

 

[WO_FAT]

Scherzer

Yesterdays outing brings Scherzer's 2 game stats to 12.1 IP 2 Hits 0 BB's and 21 K's. We still probably overpaid for him but damn, what an amazing start to his career.

 

[coyoteshockeyfan]

BA Hot Sheet:
Hot: Brett Anderson (#16)
"A 2006 second rounder, Anderson continues to roll right along in his first professional season. Anderson struck out seven over six scoreless innings in a June 5 outing against Great Lakes. He is now 7-3, 1.89 ERA in 71 innings."

Helium Watch: Gerardo Parra
"Signed out of Venezuela in 2004, Parra is playing his first full season in the States . . . and hitting. The 20-year-old is batting .323/.361/.425 in 284 at-bats."

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/hotsheet/264256.html

 

[coyoteshockeyfan]

The thing that jumps out the most at me about Brett Anderson -- 80 strikeouts compared to just 9 walks in 77 innings. They're going to have to bump him up to high A sooner rather than later because that's just ridiculous.

 

[Gaddabout]

The thing that jumps out the most at me about Brett Anderson -- 80 strikeouts compared to just 9 walks in 77 innings. They're going to have to bump him up to high A sooner rather than later because that's just ridiculous.

Those numbers seem to warrant a move to Double-A, don't they?

 

[coyoteshockeyfan]

Those numbers seem to warrant a move to Double-A, don't they?

Maybe, maybe not. I have a preference for a cautious approach when it comes to moving prospects, especially considering that just over twelve months ago Anderson was attending his high school graduation. We'll see what the professionals have to say when it comes time to give him a promotion, but I don't think that he will skip over high A. The jump from low A to AA is still enormous, even for a guy with such dynamic ability.

 

[WO_FAT]

RE: Scherzer

Well Max Scherzer had another impressive outing today pitching 5 innings giving up 3 hits with 9 k's. It brought his ERA down to 0.53 over 3 games.