Minor league update

[AZZenny]

Tucson has been playing poorly for the last ten or so games. I went and looked at El Paso - not doing too badly. I saw that last year's El Paso hitting coach (when they outhit everyone) Scott Coolbaugh, was made their manager this year - well, what a waste of a promotion - bring him up here NOW to replace Murph. Mark Davis, our new bullpen coach, was the El Paso pitching coach last year, and they were lights out pitching, and our pen is looking better than the rest of the team...hmm. Let's see.... 2 + 2 =.....

 

[unc84steve]

Originally posted by AZZenny
Chad Tracy suddenly turned butterfingers - in the last week he went from 0 errors to 6 - apparently three of them last night. His BA has dropped from over .400 to about .370 as well in a matter of 2-3 games. That's OK, but the sudden glut of Es is not pleasing, since that was the knock against him before and he was looking good. Since both things coincided, maybe he's just not feeling up to par or something. Meanwhile, Cintron and Terrero keep chugging along very well. Tim Olson was bumped (I guess by the addition of Swindell maybe) to El Paso to get daily play, and they are trying to make him also a super-utility guy rather than just 2nd Base. Robby Hammock sits up here getting splinters in his butt. Play the kid! He can't hit worse than the regulars.

We all like playing computer-chair manager & GM, so I'll share some more thoughts. First, I like Bob Brenly's use of different lineups, especially when you are making a transition to new players. You can call a player up and start him on the bench. Then he can get a spot start when a "Geezerback" needs a rest (easy to find). You find the ideal spots (platoon matchups, a strikeout/flyball hitter). Thus to work Chad Tracy, you could bring him up as a LH-pinch hitter (I know, not a shortage). Then start him when Curt is pitching (not a ton of grounders) against a RH-pitcher who Matty & Junior have trouble against. You then have an infield of Tracy, Womack, Counsell & Overbay (all LH).

But you need roster spots. We can get them without "losing" Tony Womack or Mark Grace. Honestly, no other MLB team is going to pick them up, please think about it. Where would they go besides Tucson (for Tony Womack) or "unspoken temporary" coach (Mark Grace)? They could return to the roster if the kids don't do the job.

Actually, my argument isn't exactly true. If we think through Tony Womack's case, the implications are a bit interesting IMHO.

 

[AZZenny]

Just an update - Cintron has 94 AB in 23 Games. BA= .404, SLG= .606, OBP = .446, has 4 E. Sigh!
Chad Tracy has 109 AB in 26 games, and is .367, .523, .420, with (urk) 8 E.

Cervantes and Capuano are doing well as starters and there are 2-3 bullpen guys looking pretty decent.

 

[mark1]

Capuano, will be called up before the years out. He's only about a year from Tommy John, but has made remarkable progress. His last game, 8 innings pitched 4 hits.

 

[AZZenny]

Mike Gosling (1-4) surrendered nine runs -- eight earned -- and 12 hits over 3 1/3 innings to take the loss for the Sidewinders, who had their winning streak halted at three games.

Gosling is not Triple-A material yet. He may just be overrated, but he is clearly in over his head, and he probably ought to go to El Paso.

 

[mark1]

Edgar Gonzalez made his triple A debut last night for the Sidewinders. 7 innings 5 hits 1 run 5 K's 1 walk. Considering this guy is only 20 years old, it looks like the D-Backs have another good young pitcher.

 

[AZZenny]

Last night, in a 6-4 loss to the Area 51s, Edgar had 3 ER - but the defense behind him made more errors (and non-called miscues) in the first inning or two than I think I've ever heard...dropped it, booted it, lost in the lights, between the legs, bounced off his chest and couldn't find it, another boot, a misthrow... LOL - the announcer, who is very good, said, "Pedrique going to the mound...just to talk Edgar down off the cliff...this had to rattle him." Chad Tracy had his flurry of 4 or 5 in a row a few weeks back and since has been holding steady, but he's got 3 or 4 guys vying for the distinction of most errors, and the 'Winders lead the Pacific Coast League. They may pitch, they may hit, but these kids don't play much defense. tsk

 

[mark1]

Patterson has pitched great his last two starts. He is learning how to throw a change up to go along with his 12 to 6 curve ball and fastball. It seems he is throwing the change up for strikes. His walk totals have gone down and his strikeouts are up. I still think Patterson is going to be a very good major league pitcher some day. Once his pre surgery velocity comes back, he could be dominant.

 

[mark1]

We have some impressive minor league players.

South Bend SilverHawks
Nippert, Dustin 2- 2 2.00 45 innings pitched, 29 hits, the league is hitting .178 against him
The guy is 6'7 and a power pitcher with good control. He just turned 22

Rosario, Adriano 2- 2 3.30 46 innings pitched, 47 hits, and the league is hitting .266 off him.
This kid just turned 18 years old

Smith, Sam 5- 1 2.29 55 innings 47 hits and the league is hitting .229 off him. He recently threw back to back shutouts. He will be 24 in August.

Doyle, Jared 2- 3 2.68 47 innings, 39 hits, and the league is hitting .231 against him. He is 22 years old

The hitting at South Bend is nothing to brag about, only a .235 team batting average.


Lancaster JetHawks

Dan Uggla 2B This guy is hitting .331 with 10 home runs and 32 rbi's, he is 23

Josh Kroeger RF This guy is hitting .341 with 5 homers and 37 rbi's, I couldn't find his age.

Sergio Santos SS, is hitting .297 with 5 home runs (He hit 3 yesterday with 6 rbi's) and 30 rbi's

Williams, Marland, CF this guy is hitting .295 with 25 stolen bases, been caught only four times.

Lance Cormier P, is 5 and 3 with a 3.50 era,

El Paso Diablos

Ansman, Craig C, is hitting .326 with 12 homers and 38 rbi's. This kid is one of the few minor leaguers we have with some pop in his bat. He is in the top five in all power categories in the Texas league. He is 25 years old.

Hairston, Scott , 2b is hittng .321 with 4 homers and 25 rbi's. He'll be 23 on may the 25th. Hairston and Santos might be our double play combination for the next several years to come. I can see Jr moving to the outfield when Scott is ready for the big club. I've heard scouts say Jr would make a great centerfielder.

Barden, Brian, 3b, is hitting .319 with two homers and 27 rbi's. He also has stolen 7 bases and been caught only once
He is 22 years old. I would think either him or Tracy are going to be our 3rd baseman of the future.

Bruney, Brian P, This guy intrigues me. He has been almost unhittable. His era is 1.27 and the league is only hitting .171 against him (and the texas league is considered a hitters league). He has 11 saves, 21.1 innings pitched, with only 13 hits and 3 earned runs given up. He is a good sized kid at 6'3 and 220 lbs, and only 21 years old. How long before this kid is our closer? Maybe Mantei and his 7 mil a year needs to be traded.

Although he has struggled with his control, another name we should look out for is Phil Stockman. He is 23 years old from Australia. He is 6'7 and 230 lbs, and throws gas. 49 innings and 56 strikeouts. He has had a couple of games already this year with 10 K's

Also, Victor Hall is hitting .357, but has an alarming 8 errors already as an outfielder. 3 SB caught 8 times.

Tucson Sidewinders

I won't bother with them because most people know whats going on down there, although

Chad Tracy at .363 and Robby Hammock at .351 need to be with the big club. Tommy Jones said that Robby plays a very good 3rd base. I would sit Matt Williams so fast his head would spin, and bring either Tracy or Hammock up to play 3rd.


All in all, this team has some quality minor league talent. The only thing that they really lack is outfielders with some pop. If Curt is traded before the deadline, I would hope they will address that issue then.

 

[AZZenny]

Thanks for the update - you don't think Terrero will be a hitter? I think he might. He's not ready yet, by any means. Also, it's possible Gordon, Devore, or Little (his numbers are a surprise! to me at least) may pan out.
I totally agree we need Hammock up here, and I say, let's give Tracy a run and see how he looks. Somehow Joe has to find some roster space.

 

[mark1]

You're probably right about Terrero. He is only 22 and has 5 tool talent. I just worry about him because he has only hit 1 home run in 167 at bats, but at 22 he has time to develop.

 

[Matrix31]

Sergio Santos is of course our first pick last year. He is only 19, turns 20 in a month and a half. Its pretty impressive he is batting cleanup in high A. People were talking last year that he could possibly move to third because he would outgrow short, there was also worries about his defense. He must of worked pretty hard over the offseason though because he committed just his 6th error last night.
Kroeger is 20, turns 21 in 3 months. We picked him out of highschool a couple of years ago. He has showed promise but it looks like he is finally starting to blossom. Both Kroeger and Santos appear to have good plate dicsipline for their ages, with both having OBP of aver .400. Santos has 25 walks and 31 strikeouts and Kroeger has 19 walks and 31 strikeouts.

Im pretty impressed with Uggla too. We took him after Hairston a couple of years ago, he always did well in college but i seem to remember him struggling quite a bit. He is old for the league but it looks like he could have a future with the Dbacks. Lancaster is of course a very friendly hitters park, but its still impressive what Kroeger and especially Santos are doing there.

 

[AZZenny]

Yeah, but Terrero's one homer was a walk-off grand-slam. Pressure didn't faze him, that's a good sign. They were saying in ST the maturity difference (head and body both) between last year and this was quite impressive, though he started a bit slow at Tucson and has been gradually picking up. Was he hurt briefly maybe? I picture Terrero ready about the time we wave a (hopefully) fond farewell to Finley.

 

[mark1]

One thing they have Terrero doing almost exclusively is hitting leadoff. I don't know if the D-Backs consider him a future leadoff hitter with the big club or not. The organization needs to develop a future leadoff hitter. He is supposed to have great speed. He has 11 out of 18 steals so far. I know he already plays a very good centerfield. Brenly bragged about him alot in the spring. .345 OBP, and only 10 walks in 167 at bats.

 

[schillingfan]

D-Backs minor leagues sure have improved even if nobody else seems to realize it. None of the major publications rated Brandon Webb highly and look what he's doing.

Have the D-Backs been drafting well and/or is it good minor league instruction and operations. Don't know much about who is in charge of the D-Backs minors. Does seem they do a terrific job of Latin American scouting/signing with Junior Noboa, but the drafting seems to have really improved as well.

 

[AZZenny]

Tommy Jones runs Minor League Operations, and I think he is just GREAT. I love to hear him on radio or TV - he seems to be a very sensible, balanced guy, sound judge of player strengths and weaknesses, knows what motivates guys, what they need to work on, etc. LOL- he was joking that one of our El Paso pitchers is engaged to Jenny Finch (world class softball pitcher), which is "way over his skiis" and said that "she seems to have improved his pitching."

We have some good infield and a couple good outfield - and several very good pitching prospects - in the pipeline over the next couple years. It's been a mix of drafts and many non-draft signings. I agree, Junior Noboa is very astute.

There are times lately I can hardly wait for AZ Fall League. Guys who play with unbridled joy and enthusiasm.

 

[mark1]

I agree about the unbridled joy and enthusiasm. The players on the Diamondbacks just seem like they are going through the motions. I know what they tell the media but, they are playing like they believe the season is lost. They make every opposing pitcher look like Cy Young.

This team had better decide soon if they are going to make a run this year or rebuild. If they decide to rebuild, then Schilling , Mantei and Kim are the most tradable commodities (and it chops 20 mil or so off the payroll). If they decide to make a run, they better go out and get a power cleanup hitter, at the least. It will be interesting over the next month what this team decides to do. I would be surprised if they do anything with Kim until Randy comes back healthy. My opinion is that even if they do add a 4 hole hitter, they still won't win the west or a wild card.

If I was Joe Jr or Jerry, I would start the wheels in motion for rebuilding this team. They had a fantastic run, but it's over. This team reminds me alot of the old Detroit Tigers. In 67 they lost out on the last day of the season to the Boston Redsox for the american league pennant. (The Redsox eventually lost to the Cardinals in the series) In 68 they beat the Cardinals in the World series. And then their team started getting old and injured fast. Al Kaline, Willie Horton, Norm Cash, guys like that were getting old and couldn't get it done anymore.

Unfortunately for the Tigers they didn't have the minor league system to rebuild, and it wasn't until 84 that they returned to the series. (Don't ask me what they've done since 84) That's not true with the D-Backs. They do have the minor league system to rebuild. With Guys like Tracy, Cintron, Hairston, Santos, Terrero, and all their young pitchers, it might be ugly for only a couple years until these guys develop.

When Jerry gets back from Europe, things should start to get interesting.

I hope they have a plan. You know what they say.....The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Rebuild or make a run? Either way, this team is in for a major shake up.

 

[Skkorpion]

You speak for me Mark1.

 

[mark1]

Last year was a potentially productive draft year for the Diamondbacks. Their first 4 picks are all doing well in the minors this year. Brian Barden in round 6, Dustin Nippert in round 15 and Sam Smith in round 19 were steals. The Diamondbacks have two first round picks this year.


Diamondbacks Draft List

Signed players indicated in bold.

1. Sergio Santos, ss, Mater Dei HS, Hacienda Heights, Calif.
2. Chris Snyder, c, U. of Houston.
3. Jared Doyle, lhp, James Madison U.
4. Lance Cormier, rhp, U. of Alabama.
5. Mark Rosen, lhp, Salisbury (Conn.) Prep.
6. Brian Barden, 3b, Oregon State U.
7. Matt Henrie, rhp, Clemson U.
8. Ryan Mahoney, c, Carmel HS, Patterson, N.Y.
9. Klent Corley, rhp, Grand Canyon U.
10. Mike Pierce, c, Clovis (Calif.) HS.
11. Nebasset Brown, 2b, Oklahoma State U.
12. Mitch Douglas, lhp, Augusta State (Ga.) U.
13. Adam Haley, ss, U. of Louisville.
14. Jay Garthwaite, of, U. of Washngton.
15. Dustin Nippert, rhp, West Virginia U.
16. Bryan Johnson, 1b, U. of Washington.
17. Donnie Saba, of, U. of Utah.
18. Matthew Morgan, ss, Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) College.
19. Sam Smith, rhp, U. of South Alabama.
20. Jeffrey Stanek, 1b, Southern Illinois U.
21. Dan Callahan, of, Tufts (Mass.) U.
22. Kenneth Parker, 1b, Henry Foss HS, Tacoma.
23. Jared Bonnell, rhp, U. of Nevada-Las Vegas.
24. Matt Incinelli, rhp, U. of North Florida.
25. Bookie Gates, 2b, Washington State U.
26. Wes Gilliam, lhp, U. of Illinois-Chicago.
27. Joshua Kranawetter, rhp, Polk (Fla.) CC.
28. Sean Luellwitz, 1b-c, Vanderbilt U.
29. Mike Buss, rhp, Wellington (Fla.) Community HS.
30. Anthony Isabella, cf, Chemeketa (Ore.) CC.
31. Clint Goocher, lhp, San Jacinto (Texas) JC.
32. T.J. Large, rhp, Chipola (Fla.) JC.
33. Donta Warfield, ss, Riverview HS, Sarasota, Fla.
34. Jesus Albino, rhp, Northwest Mississippi CC.
35. Jake Hanen, of, Scottsdale (Ariz.) CC.
36. Nicholas Richardson, c, Elgin (Ill.) CC.
37. Kirk Gross, rhp, San Ramon Valley HS, Danville, Calif.
38. Matt Falk, rhp, Dana Hills HS, San Juan Capistrano, Calif.
39. Grady Symonds, c, U. of Hawaii.
40. Billy Biggs, rhp, West Virginia U.
41. Keith Whatley, lhp, U. of Houston.
42. Michael Ridgway, lhp, Tacoma (Wash.) CC.
43. Kris Krise, rhp, Crescenta Valley HS, La Crescenta, Calif.
44. Conor Lalor, rhp, Houston HS, Germantown, Tenn.
45. Jon Crosby, rhp, Christian Brothers HS, Germantown, Tenn.
46. Ryan Gloger, lhp, U. of South Florida.
47. Robert Ferns, rhp, Darton (Ga.) CC.
48. Ronald Lowe, lhp, Ridgewood HS, New Port Richey, Fla.
49. Matthew Raguse, rhp, St. Louis CC-Forest Park.
50. Kyle Reynolds, ss, Second Baptist HS, Houston.


The draft is June 3rd and fourth
Here is the draft order

1.

Devil Rays


2.

Brewers


3.

Tigers


4.

Padres


5.

Royals


6.

Cubs


7.

Orioles


8.

Pirates


9.

Rangers


10.

Rockies


11.

Indians


12.

Mets


13.

Blue Jays


14.

Reds


15.

White Sox


16.

Marlins


17.

Red Sox


18.

Indians

Phillies

Jim Thome (A)

19.

Diamondbacks

Mariners

Greg Colbrunn (B)

20.

Expos


21.

Twins


22.

Giants

Astros

Jeff Kent (A)

23.

Angels


24.

Dodgers


25.

Athletics


26.

Athletics

Giants

Ray Durham (A)

27.

Yankees


28.

Cardinals


29.

Diamondbacks


30.

Royals

Braves

Paul Byrd (B)

 

[AZZenny]

Do we have any clues who the DBacks are looking at? I find it a little odd that with the football and basketball drafts way over-hyped, the baseball draft seems to slide by without any fan curiousity. Guess its because no one is expected to show up in the bigs the next season. I know the names of a couple good college players (mainly from around here) but otherwise - nada. Is there a website to study up a bit, and to follow what happens on draft days?

 

[mark1]

The only one I know of is www.baseballamerica.com, but they charge you.

 

[schillingfan]

Ditto TeamoneBaseball. Several of my Phillies guys subscribe to this. Those are the two biggies in terms of top 100 lists. Here is their site Team One Baseball