Rookie Watch | The Baseball Zealot

Some Rookie Catchup

Carlos Marmol: I asked a co-worker who is a Cub fan what he felt about Marmol. He said he would be like “another Hill, Guzman, Wuertz.” That was before Marmol’s first major league start on Sunday when he allowed one run in six innings. “The first pitch, I was nervous,” Marmol said. “After that, it … Continue reading “Some Rookie Catchup”

Carlos Marmol:
I asked a co-worker who is a Cub fan what he felt about Marmol. He said he would be like “another Hill, Guzman, Wuertz.” That was before Marmol’s first major league start on Sunday when he allowed one run in six innings.

“The first pitch, I was nervous,” Marmol said. “After that, it was like pitching in Double-A. It was exciting.”

Don’t know if that changed the mind of Mr Co-worker. Not that should necessarily. Much is made of a rookie’s first MLB start with the thinking that it steers the rest of his career. Much was/is being made of Cole Hamels first start on May 12 where he threw five shutout innings. Since then, he’s done ok. He’s maintained a 3.68 ERA and 22 Ks in 22 innings, certainly decent stats for a incoming rookie.

But my point, before we get too excited about Marmol (I know, with the Cubs pitching the way it is, the temptation is there), let’s see some more. Fortunately for Marmol, the opportunity is there.

The LA Dodgers New Crop of Rookies:
I ran across this USA Today article published today about the Dodger class of 06. The list of Russell Martin, Matt Kemp, Willy Aybar, and Andre Ethier was more than familiar to me having read Teddy Ballgame’s Boys of Summer, Indeed article. Since then, I’ve noticed those boys more and more in the Dodger box scores.

The Dodgers also have 21-year old Jonathan Broxton who throws fire and slugger Joel Guzman.

6’6″ Guzman is a natural shortstop but with his pure hitting ability, the Dodgers are moving him to left to give him time to develop. Of all the Dodger rookies, Guzman has probably the least playing time but probably the most potential.

As for Broxton, he’s gotten more playing time in the bigs than Guzman. And faring pretty well at that. With 21+ innngs under his belt, he’s got a 2.95 ERA. And that part about throwing fire?? He’s got 28 strikeouts so far.

Draft picks with issues

That’s Not Exactly How It Works

Scott Schafer, who was the New York Mets’ sixth round draft choice, is being investigated by the organization because of statements on his myspace website.
Schafer is using the Mets logo and is claiming to be a member of the team.
While he has been dropped by his agent, the Mets eventually decided to stick with Schafer barring any other incidents.

Perhaps He Should Work on his Phone-Answering Motion

Highly touted draft pick Brandon Morrow, who was picked 5th overall, has run into a bit of bad luck. He has suffered an injury to his pitching elbow while picking up the phone when answering a call from the Seattle Mariners.. Ironically, that was the call to tell him he was the 5th pick.

Mariners’ GM Bill Bavasi:

“We know a little bit about pitching injuries, and there’s always a possibility it’s just a cramp,” Bavasi said. “He told us he can’t pick up a can of soda without severe pain. But you know how kids exaggerate.”

Put all the spin you want on it. But it still doesn’t sound good.

Correction: I found out that the above Morrow story by Art Thiel is a satire and not true. Many shows and media outlets believed it though. Apparently, Morrow’s voice mailbox has been quite full.

Thanks to Conor for pointing this out!

2006 MLB Draft Wrapup: High schoolers make a comeback

Well, after everything was said and done, it seems that those prospects from high schools made a resurgence in the second day of drafting. So much so that the 36% from high schools was actually higher than the average.

Still, there were more college players taken this year (900+) than in any other year. Add to that the fact that many of the high profile college players were picked in the higher rounds.

MLB.com has a listing of relatives picked in the 2006 MLB Draft. Interesting maybe, but relevant? I’ll let you decide.

Who is Hochevar’s agent? Would it surprise anyone to find out it was Scott Boras? Luke H. says:

“I’m going to bust my tail to make them [the Royals] extremely happy,” Hochevar said. “That [his contract] is in [agent] Scott Boras’ hands and obviously mine as well. We want to be treated fairly and the Royals are a great organization and they’re willing to get it done, so we’re excited to proceed and move forward with this. It sounds like the Royals are ready to get it done and get me out playing.”

I keep going back to The Baseball Analysts for draft analysis but that’s because they do it so well. This one is by Bryan Smith.

2006 MLB First Player Draft- Today’s Wrapup

The Tigers were happy that Andrew Miller lasted till their pick. Well, after 18 rounds and 556 picks, things have gone as expected on one hand but there have been plenty of surprises on the other. The #1 choice of Luke Hochevar by KC wasn’t a big surprise in retrospect. He is said to be … Continue reading “2006 MLB First Player Draft- Today’s Wrapup”

The Tigers were happy that Andrew Miller lasted till their pick.

Well, after 18 rounds and 556 picks, things have gone as expected on one hand but there have been plenty of surprises on the other.

The #1 choice of Luke Hochevar by KC wasn’t a big surprise in retrospect. He is said to be the best arm overall in the draft. Here is his opening statement to the press.

Speaking generally, it was said for days that this was a pitcher’s draft. This was borne out as six of the first seven and nine of the first twelve were hurlers.

It was generally an “older” draft. Only 28% of today’s picks were high school players. Monsignor Edward Pace High in Florida didn’t suffer from this trend though. Four of their players got drafted.

As I said, there were surprises, Andrew Miller who was predicted to go #1 in the draft, lasted until #6 when he was happily picked by the Tigers.

Local Interest:
For those interested if any local guys got picked up, William Benson from Joliet Catholic Academy was picked by the Twins in the 2nd round (64th overall). Benson is a leftfielder.

I also know that the Yanks picked Northwestern Wildcat RHP George Kontos in round 5 (164th overall).

Finally, Illinois State University pitcher Kitt Kopach was picked by the Cubs in round 12 (359th overall).

Followup: For probably the best analysis on the MLB draft, check out The Baseball Analysts take on the whole day.

MLB Draft tomorrow

Don’t forget… the MLB First Player draft begins Tuesday at 1:00pm ET. If you’re interested in following the draft, here are some important links: MLB Draft Central: This is a good place to start if you are interested in getting info about the draft. MLB.com pretty much covers it all plus some useless fluff articles. … Continue reading “MLB Draft tomorrow”

Don’t forget… the MLB First Player draft begins Tuesday at 1:00pm ET. If you’re interested in following the draft, here are some important links:

MLB Draft Central: This is a good place to start if you are interested in getting info about the draft. MLB.com pretty much covers it all plus some useless fluff articles. Most importantly, the site allows for searching on all the players eligible for the draft, team previews, order of the draft and pretty much everything else you want to know.

You can watch the live coverage once it begins. Also, MLB.com has video snips of many of the prospects.

MLB Draft Tracker: A subset of MLB Draft Central but worth mentioning. This is essentially the database of the eligible players which will be updated throughout the draft.

To do a little homework on the hot prospects in the draft, I suggest reading this piece by Bryan Smith on the SI web site. Smith is one of forces behind The Baseball Analysts.

BOYS OF SUMMER, INDEED

The fact the Los Angeles Dodgers are in the middle of a dogfight in the wide open Western Division of the National League shouldn’t surprise anyone. Especially considering every team in the division struggled to reach .500 last year. This season the Dodgers have a record of 31-23 and are right on the heels of the Arizona Diamondbacks. The surprise is just how well the kids have played. Since catcher Russell Martin was called up the Dodgers are 19-4 with him behind the dish. Other youngsters who’ve answered the call are outfielders Matt Kemp & Andre Ethier, and infielder Willy Aybar. And they just called up a 6’6″ 252 pound Dominican infielder/outfielder named Joel Guzman who can mash. Where are they getting them all from? It seems as though the Dodger system is back with a vengeance. This might be the best crop of Los Angeles youngsters to reach the big time since LA brought up Steve Garvey, Davey Lopes, Bill Russell, & Ron Cey. My question for you is who will be the best big leaguer among this group? Cast your vote at the opinion poll off to the left.

Russell Martin
Matt Kemp
Andre Ethier
Willy Aybar
Joel Guzman

CASEY JANSSEN

Toronto Blue Jay Casey Janssen who grew up a stone’s throw away from the Big A in Orange, CA certainly has the Angels number. In two starts against the Halos this season he’s allowed only three hits and one walk in 15 1/3 innings of work, with two victories. Janssen joined the rotation in place of the injured A.J. Burnett. 42 of Casey’s closest friends were at the game on May 17th to witness a no-hitter through 5 1/3 innings, the game ended as a 3-0 Blue Jay win. After eight innings of shutout ball, the 6’4″ former Bruin righthander gave way to B.J. Ryan for the save. Casey Janssen looked like an old pro on the hill, mixing it up from 68 to 89 MPH. He had the hitters off balance all night long.

5/12/06 Linescore of the Day: Cole Hamels, Shane Victorino

Cole Hamels: 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 5 BB, 7 K Shane Victorino: 4 for 4, 2B, HR, 2 runs, 2 rbis, HBP This pair of young Phillies share the honor for good reason. Hamels’ major league debut show he may be ready for the bigs. He struck out seven including his … Continue reading “5/12/06 Linescore of the Day: Cole Hamels, Shane Victorino”

Cole Hamels: 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 5 BB, 7 K

Shane Victorino: 4 for 4, 2B, HR, 2 runs, 2 rbis, HBP

This pair of young Phillies share the honor for good reason. Hamels’ major league debut show he may be ready for the bigs. He struck out seven including his boyhood idol Ken Griffey Jr twice. Control was an issue but that may improve with time.

Victorino has been around for a couple years, playing with San Diego in 2003. But he only has 123 at-bats to his name. With Rowand’s schnozz injury, he’s going to get some playing time and he’s doing his best to make the most of it.

Rookie Watch: Josh Barfield

Josh Barfield is the son of former Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Jesse Barfield and the starting secondbaseman for the San Diego Padres. Interestingly Josh was born in December of 1982 in Venezuela, perhaps Jesse was down there for Winter ball after completing his first full big league season with Toronto. Papa Barfield’s best year was in 1986 when he hit 40 homers, drove in 108 runs, and scored 107 runs, he also had a cannon in RF 22 assists in 1985 & 20 in 1986. Josh is off to a good start, batting .277, with three homers, and six steals, in only 29 games thus far for the Padres.

BABY’S A REAL ACE!!!

Ace Shane Daigle was born May 4th. Agents were present for the delivery as baby Ace is the son of Jennie Finch & Casey Daigle. Jennie Finch is the best pitcher in Woman’s Fast Pitch Softball today. She was a member of the United States Gold Medal Olympic team in 2004. Check her out at … Continue reading “BABY’S A REAL ACE!!!”

casey daigle.jpg jenny finch.jpg Ace Shane Daigle was born May 4th. Agents were present for the delivery as baby Ace is the son of Jennie Finch & Casey Daigle. Jennie Finch is the best pitcher in Woman’s Fast Pitch Softball today. She was a member of the United States Gold Medal Olympic team in 2004. Check her out at her website. Casey Daigle is a pitcher with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Casey was hit on the knee by a line drive against the Cincinnati Reds, let’s hope he’s okay.