Questions on the Farm...

[TucsonDevil]

I apologize to most of you upfront, my questions will be rather basic, since I have limited knowledge of our Farm system. However, I am looking for some answers and I thought some of you might be able to share your opinions/insights...

Question #1, Who is our highest rated CF in AAA and/or AA? Is there a chance he could be brought up to replace that mistake Jose Cruz Jr.? Or is Luis Terrero still a better option?

Question, #2 - How is Koyie Hill coming along? Is he going to be any good any time soon?

Question #3 - Can Andy Green play 3rd base at all? I believe he is an infielder, but not sure if he had every played 3rd base.

Thanks for your help on these questions. It is becoming increasingly frustrating to watch the Diamondbacks - although lastnight was a breath of fresh air (but be honest, didn't you about turn off the TV when Alamza walked and hit to start the bottom of the 9th, thinking, "ah crap, here it comes again."). Troy Glaus just seems to be about as passionate as a walnut. Jose Cruz looks like he doesn't believe he will hit again in his lifetime. He swings the bat with the enthusiasm and confidence of a 6th grader who was the last pick on the softball team.

I'm Glad to see the calendar shows it is the 2nd half of the season, so Sean Green can continue to give me hope and smiles - and I'm glad to see Alex Cintron on the field and Royce Clayton taking some time off to think about things. Alex played great lastnight.

I just found this board a short time ago, I hope to add my 2cents worth when the opportunity presents itself.

 

[coyoteshockeyfan]

Question #1, Who is our highest rated CF in AAA and/or AA? Is there a chance he could be brought up to replace that mistake Jose Cruz Jr.? Or is Luis Terrero still a better option?
At AA/AAA, there really isnt any. Scott Hairston has moved to CF and can certainly hit, but I dont know how comfortable he has been out there. Otherwise, it is Terrero. None of the other CFs are any where near big league quality.

Question, #2 - How is Koyie Hill coming along? Is he going to be any good any time soon?
He is in Tucson right now, and not having a bad season there. However, I think he wont be able to take the starters role from Snyder, so he is looking more like a trading piece.

Question #3 - Can Andy Green play 3rd base at all? I believe he is an infielder, but not sure if he had every played 3rd base.
I think so, but somebody else would need to confirm that.

 

[Espo]

Question #1, Who is our highest rated CF in AAA and/or AA? Is there a chance he could be brought up to replace that mistake Jose Cruz Jr.? Or is Luis Terrero still a better option?
At AA/AAA, there really isnt any. Scott Hairston has moved to CF and can certainly hit, but I dont know how comfortable he has been out there. Otherwise, it is Terrero. None of the other CFs are any where near big league quality.

Question, #2 - How is Koyie Hill coming along? Is he going to be any good any time soon?
He is in Tucson right now, and not having a bad season there. However, I think he wont be able to take the starters role from Snyder, so he is looking more like a trading piece.

Question #3 - Can Andy Green play 3rd base at all? I believe he is an infielder, but not sure if he had every played 3rd base.
I think so, but somebody else would need to confirm that.

Question # 1- The highest rated CF Marland Williams in double-a tennesee. He won't be ready for another year becuase he still strikes out to much but he is the fastest guy in the organization. Hairston down here in tucson has been playing mostly LF and has played very very limited time in center and isn't ready to play there in the bigs.

Question # 2- Koyie has been playing alright for us in Tucson but is down here to work on his defense which hasnt made any dramatic improvments.

Question # 3- Green doesn't really play 3B. He has played there but isnt very sound defensively at the hot corner and is a much much better 2B. The future of 3B would be Brian Barden. He is one of the best defensive 3B I have ever seen play the game and his bat is starting to pick up.

 

[AZZenny]

#1. Which is why some folks still believe when they sign Justin Upton they will start him at SS per his desire, but he may quickly realize that he could be here by 2007 as a CF - and maybe not for 3-4 years as a SS, if Drew stays at SS.
Oh - get this - they are starting Kata at CF occasionally in Tucson.

#2. Hill's future with the team probably depends more on how Miguel Montero does in AA ball than anything Hill can do for himself. If Montero's hitting continues strongly in a less batter-friendly park (they don't call Lancaster 'The Launching Pad' without reason) then it is likely Hill will be used as a fairly valuable trade piece.

Keep in mind, guys' numbers in Tucson are also a bit inflated by the park and the league, although not as much as Lancaster. South Bend is the most neutral, and Tennessee in the middle somewhere.

#3. Green plays corner outfield, 2nd, SS, and 1B. Best at 2B. He's your new Craig Counsell, basically.

 

[nathan]

Question # 1- The highest rated CF Marland Williams in double-a tennesee. He won't be ready for another year becuase he still strikes out to much but he is the fastest guy in the organization. Hairston down here in tucson has been playing mostly LF and has played very very limited time in center and isn't ready to play there in the bigs.

I don't expect much from him. He's hitting .243/.300/.375 after hitting .257/.315/.390 in El Paso last year. Plus he frequently plays LF with Jarred Ball (supposedly only an average defender) in CF. Ball is hitting .272/.389/.393 but did hit 15 HR last year in Lancaster.

 

[Ryanwb]

Montero went 3-3 in his first game in AA

 

[AZZenny]

...and 0-5 in his second game. Let's give him time.

 

[CronosCard]

As far as CF goes,

Most people "in the know" around minor and major league baseball, Our #1 scout Rizzo, and Baseball America, say that after being given a true shot, SS Justin Upton [Who is 18-19 I believe] just like his brother, is having major mechanics difficulties even his last years in HS baseball. That said the fastest way for him to become a diamondback will be to move to CF, where these experts say by 2007 he could be starting there for the D-Backs. He was the #1 player in this years' draft in almost everyone's book. His Brother BJ Upton was selected #2 2-3 years ago and is in AAA now. The team that drafted him also moved him to the outfield because of his mechanics.
www.baseballamerica.com look up 2005 draft
Our SS of the future could very well be Stephen Drew[yeah that Drew's little brother] One of the beat writers for BA said the D-backs moved from 13-15 in minor league talent to the top ten because of these 2 players, and that as soon as Stephen Drew was signed, he jumped to#1 as far as our top ranked prospect, ahead of Quentin, and Jackson..

 

[AZZenny]

After a solid 5-inning start the last time out, Jason Neighborgall reverted to his old wildness by giving up 5 runs in 2 innings despite allowing just a hit. He gave up 4 walks, hit a batter and threw 4 wild pitches.
Ramon Sanchez was worse, giving up 4 runs in just 1 1/3 innings.

But the bullpen put in a great effort, holding Casper to just a run on 5 hits in the last 7 2/3 innings. Eddie Baeza picked up his first win with 3 1/3 shutout innings while Dan Pohlman reached double figures in saves with a scoreless 9th inning.

I love reading Neighborgall's lines. They MUST play 'Wild Thing' every time he walks out to the mound. If he's still doing this in 2007, of course, then it won't be amusing. (Pohlman is , I believe, a recently converted Catcher.)

 

[boondockdrunk]

I love reading Neighborgall's lines. They MUST play 'Wild Thing' every time he walks out to the mound. If he's still doing this in 2007, of course, then it won't be amusing. (Pohlman is , I believe, a recently converted Catcher.)

Hopefully he can put it all together, or atleast some of it. Perhaps he can learn that throwing 100mph to the backstop is less affective than throwing 92-93mph in the strike zone.

 

[AZZenny]

On a bright note:
The South Bend Silver Hawks dominated the Midwest League postseason All-Stars with 3 players selected to the team and winning all 3 awards.
The team, selected by all the 14 managers of the league, included South Bend RF Carlos Gonzales, 1B Cesar Nicolas and closer Matt Elliott.
Gonzales was also named the MVP and the top prospect of the league.
Gonzales has always been on the prospect radar for his tools and young age but this year the 19-year-old Venezuelan has finally put those tools into action. He is 2nd in the league in hits, 3rd in RBIs and OPS, 5th in runs, 9th in average and slugging.
Nicolas’ first season was hampered by a broken hand he suffered when hit by a pitch that caused him to miss more than a month. The time that he has been on the field though, he has shown tremendous power potential, hitting 20 homers in just 80 games. That is good for 2nd in the league, 2 behind the leader Ryan Harvey despite having 137 less ABs. His .605 slugging percentage leads the MWL. And he is not just a swing for the fences slugger as he has a .299 average and has walked (53) more than he has struck out (52). The 23-year-old should move quickly through the system.
21-year-old RHP Elliott has been one of most pleasant surprises of the season. He had a solid but not spectacular debut with the Missoula Osprey in 2004 where he went 3-1 with 6 saves in 12 games. He had a 3.12 ERA and a 22/14 K/BB ratio. This year he has been almost lights out, saving 31 of 33 opportunities with a 2.09 ERA. In 51 2/3 innings, he has struck out 65 with 20 walks. Opponents are hitting just .191 against him.
Manager Mark Haley who has guided the team to an MWL best 76-52 record as well as the 1st half championship, was named the Manager of the Year.

 

[AzJc]

#1. Which is why some folks still believe when they sign Justin Upton they will start him at SS per his desire, but he may quickly realize that he could be here by 2007 as a CF - and maybe not for 3-4 years as a SS, if Drew stays at SS.
Oh - get this - they are starting Kata at CF occasionally in Tucson.

#2. Hill's future with the team probably depends more on how Miguel Montero does in AA ball than anything Hill can do for himself. If Montero's hitting continues strongly in a less batter-friendly park (they don't call Lancaster 'The Launching Pad' without reason) then it is likely Hill will be used as a fairly valuable trade piece.

Keep in mind, guys' numbers in Tucson are also a bit inflated by the park and the league, although not as much as Lancaster. South Bend is the most neutral, and Tennessee in the middle somewhere.

#3. Green plays corner outfield, 2nd, SS, and 1B. Best at 2B. He's your new Craig Counsell, basically.

wasnt Kata traded to Philly in the trade that brough Worrell here?

 

[AZZenny]

Yep - right after that was posted 5 weeks ago.

 

[AZZenny]

From a couple days ago:

The good news of Neighborgall’s outing was that he got through an inning with just 2 walks and 2 wild pitches.

 

[AZZenny]

Last night:

In a risky (some would say foolhardy) move, Jason Neighborgall was brought in to pitch with the team trailing 3-2 in the 5th inning. Neighborgall pitched through 2 scoreless but troubled innings, escaping a bases-loaded jam in the 5th and stranding a runner on 3rd in the 6th.

YAYYY!!!!

 

[nathan]

Last night:

In a risky (some would say foolhardy) move, Jason Neighborgall was brought in to pitch with the team trailing 3-2 in the 5th inning. Neighborgall pitched through 2 scoreless but troubled innings, escaping a bases-loaded jam in the 5th and stranding a runner on 3rd in the 6th.

YAYYY!!!!

You're right he started with two scoreless innings, but he pitched a total of four innings, which is amazing considering he hasn't even gotten out of the 1st inning in some of his starts. I am not sure how much progress he's made as he still walked 5 and threw 3 wild pitches.

 

[Kolo]

From today's Daily Dish on baseballamerica.com:

Assuming he gets a September callup, Carlos Quentin ended his minor league season in style. The Diamondbacks outfielder was 3-for-5 with a double and his 87th RBI of the season. Quentin has been playing center field almost every day since early July and should land there in the big leagues as the Diamondbacks are currently playing Shawn Green in center. On the season, the 23-year-old is hitting .308/.428/.534 with 21 homers for Triple-A Tucson.

 

[AZZenny]

Error in box score from minorleaguebaseball.com that showed Jason Neighborgall pitching 4 innings when in fact he only pitched 2 -


From Babybacks: The Next Generation site.

 

[Kolo]

BA on Dustin Nippert--and AZZenny, any idea what happened to Matt Torra? He hasn't pitched much this summer, and not at all in weeks.

Nip Of Time

Nippert started thinking about his elbow last June, when he had three straight poor starts for Double-A El Paso. He felt he was leaving too many balls up in the strike zone and felt something was wrong with his arm.

He was right. A torn ligament in his right elbow required surgery. Nippert had Tommy John surgery, the ligament-replacement procedure that's become common enough that hard-core baseball fans know it by name. Invented in the mid-1970s by Dodgers team surgeon Frank Jobe and essentially perfected by Jobe, Dr. Lewis Yocum and Dr. James Andrews among others, Tommy John surgery has a proven track record for getting pitchers back on the mound.

Pitchers know about it too, and Nippert knew that if he was diligent and smart about his rehabilitation, he could come back in 10-12 months from a procedure that used to require 12-18 months before a pitcher could come back.

Nippert had surgery last July 8, and made his 2005 debut on May 29. And in his return to Double-A, he's gone 7-3, 2.40 for the Smokies, throwing in a pair of complete-game shutouts despite strict pitch counts for good measure.

"My first couple of starts, I had to knock a little rust off," said Nippert, 24. "But right now, I feel pretty much back to where I was before. I topped out at 98 (mph) before I got hurt, and I've topped out at 97 this year. My changeup has that late sink like it should, and my fastball's exploding out of my hand.

"My arm feels unbelievable. It's feeling like I'm back to 100 percent."

Nippert stayed confident throughout his rehab. He'd already dealt with a cancerous tumor in his back (it was removed in 2003), and he knew Tommy John surgery was fairly common. He was aware of the procedure's track record and had plenty of pitchers in and out of the organization he could go to for support. A pair of righthanded relievers were able to help him with Arizona, as Jason Bulger had it in the past, and Matt Wilkerson had his surgery a month after Nippert.

"Matt and I pretty much were doing everything together in rehab, and it helps to get your mind off it a little," Nippert said. "He picked me up on days when I needed it, and I tried to do the same for him. He was my teammate for rehab."

Now, in an organization full of impact hitters such as Conor Jackson, Carlos Quentin, Stephen Drew and Carlos Gonzalez, Nippert has re-emerged as an impact arm. His healthy return is a crucial element of Arizona's future, for he remains the organization's top starting pitching prospect.

And at the very least, he's another successful case study for Tommy John surgery.

 

[nathan]

BA on Dustin Nippert--and AZZenny, any idea what happened to Matt Torra? He hasn't pitched much this summer, and not at all in weeks.

He was shut down because of "biceps tendinitis" in his pitching arm.