Two tidbits

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Kevin Goldstein published a column today at BP featuring positive comments from scouts on various prospects. He quotes a scout on Drabek;

One scout who recently saw him there walked away impressed, observing, “He’s significantly smoother now, and I really like him; he’s going 95-96 mph in the first inning, and that curveball is a big-time hammer with a great arm stroke.” Drabek’s smallish frame and injury history contribute to the trouble many have figuring out exactly which direction his path will take him, but the scout saw him succeeding in a variety of roles. “He really could be anything,” the scout surmised, “I could see him starting, I could see him relieving… he could have a lot of different careers, but they’re all good ones.”

Also, as noted in the comments of the draft picks discussion, Aroldis Chapman, the best prospect in Cuba, has defected. Its a million to one shot that the Phillies would sign him, but he’d be worth every penny.

Also, I guess you can use this space to post all of your random comments that don’t belong in other places.

28 thoughts on “Two tidbits”

  2. Sorry, didn’t finish the post – pepper him with questions about Drabek and his future and who will sign Chapman.

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  3. I would love Chapman. He showed he can pitch at a big level in the WBC. It’s all money at this point, but do Rube and the owners have enough creativity to make it happen?

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  5. Eh, it’s a little soon to say he’d be worth every penny isn’t it? Don’t think the Yanks would say Contreras was worth their every penny, although for stretches his dominant talent has shone through

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  7. I don’t know why we don’t try to make bigger splashes internationally. If we did, we could sell the farm and not lose too much of the farm. In essence and can go to win it now AND not mortgage away our entire future.

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  8. If this kid is going to get between $30-$50MM (and I’ve read in several places that he is), how is it not fair for Strasburg to get a similar deal? I’d be curious to see if anyone has a logical case for why 21 year-old young man is able to work for whomever he chooses for a salary that he feels is commensurate with his abilities while the other 21 year-old young man is forced to play for the Nationals at whatever amount they deem reasonable.

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  9. Aroldis Chapman has me excited as a baseball fan in general. Style wise, he is reminiscent of what Lefty Grove must have looked like. Lanky, lefty frame and high heat.

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  10. I agree with Boras that the MLB Draft is broken and is a joke…however the way to fix it is to have a fully international draft. Maybe the next CBA will remedy it…along with a firm slotting system w/ no exceptions.

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  11. G Tang….its risk management…our FO tends to be risk adverse as the Phillies are a sound investment for them. Middleton is the only one of the bunch that seems to be a true fan of the game (his role in the Thome deal supported that as well as other expansions in payroll that he’s supposedly pushed for behind the scenes). Risking $30-50 million on a guy that has never thrown an MLB pitch is a huge huge risk. The Yankees can handle such a loss whereas it would handicap our roster for several years while the team recouped the loss. I’d love to see us make a huge splash, I really would. I’d love to see us play in the $2-5 million range signings instead of the Carrasco type deals we currently focus on. I can’t complain too much as our MLB club suddenly has a payroll of $130 million is the defending WS champs. But it basically boils down to the risk of it all.

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  12. Lefty Grove references? I love it!!! How often do you see someone compare anyone to Lefty Grove?

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  13. NEPP,

    Its not that I Think we should go for Chapman, I just want us to stop being jokes internationally. I mean sure we are dominating in countries like Australia… But we are missing on a vital pipeline of talent.

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  14. FWIW, I agree with you completely. I’d love for us to invest far more money in the international market. For example, would it have made more sense to invest $24 million in Adam Eaton or on Int’l Signings?

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  15. Who will be the first father son combo to win the Cy Young
    Doug and his son Kyle Drabek

    John and his son Benny Denney

    Fernando and his son Argentino Valenzuela

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  16. Nepp when u put it like that ,u do have to wonder what the hell were they thinking.

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  17. Will it be Benny Denney, or one of his brothers, Lenny, Kenny, or Rennie Denney?

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  18. was curious if anyone knew the amount of latin american signees that are currently in the top 100s of BP abd BA…just tryin to get a feel of american draftees vs latin america….obviously i know it will be heavily tilted towards the american draft for sheer volume discrepancies alone but curious nonetheless

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  19. Domingo Santana hit another home run today.

    Julio Rodriguez throw another dominating game.

    Dugan went 1/4.

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  20. Of a more current theme, any idea on what is happening with unsigned draft picks? I guess the deadline with the former high school guys is late August before college class starts, right?

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  22. That’s right, Kruks. Santana certainly seems to have intriguing power potential. 7 strikeouts in 14 at bats thus far, though, so let’s see if he’ll be able to make the adjustments to make enough contact so his raw power will prove useful.

    And as you mentioned, Ryanhoward 06, another impressive start from Julio Rodriguez. That’s a 14:0 K:BB and 0 ER in 11.0 IP. He doesn’t turn 19 until late August, so he’s still age appropriate for the GCL despite being a 2008 draftee. That 2008 draft just keeps looking better and better, huh?

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  23. So far so good. He was a project when they took him. Here’s his scouting report from PGCrosschecker.com

    SCOUTING REPORT (3/1): Rodriguez could be the top pitching prospect from Puerto Rico this spring. He has a pro-profile body at 6-foot-4 and 200 pounds, and looks to be still growing and getting stronger. Rodriguez attends the Puerto Rico Baseball Academy, where many of the top prospects from the island have trained and gone to school in recent years, so scouts will have a good chance to fully evaluate him. Rodriguez has a long, loose arm action and little effort to his delivery. His fastball has been up to 91 mph and his breaking ball gets good spin and depth but will need to be speeded up from its current upper-60s velocity.—DAVID RAWNSLEY
    UPDATE (5/15): Rodriguez has had persistent low grade elbow soreness all spring and hasn’t been able to consistently throw or show his previous velocity. His size and arm strength stand out, but there are still many questions to be answered.—DR

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  24. I just wish the Phillies would sign some more guys from this year’s draft to take my mind off of the troubles that the big club is having right noqw

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  26. Little early but the Williamsport staff looks as strong as any of our other clubs. And how about every club having a winning record so far

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  27. So Chapman may very well be at his peak as opposed to a good young prospect…interesting.

    Jack Curry of the New York Times reports that Cuban lefthander Aroldis Chapman may be 26 years old rather than the 21 he was believed to be.

    “[Chapman’s] age was reported Thursday as 21, but reports in March at the World Baseball Classic said he was 26.”

    Chapman defected on Wednesday while in the Netherlands, and is considered the best lefthanded pitcher in the world not pitching in the Major Leagues. Obviously the age issue could affect Chapman’s payday. But he still figures to draw plenty of interest, as did Jose Contreras at age 30.

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  28. I know they won’t sign him, but what are the thoughts of the commentors:

    1. Sign chapman and spend $0 in FA the next few years.
    2. Trade Taylor, CC, and Marson for pitching and save the money for FA.

    I know it isn’t that simple but I wanted to hear the thoughts of others.

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