Monthly Archives: July 2009

Lehigh Valley Weekend Update

7. Lehigh Valley

An abbreviated update due to the holiday weekend.  After being swept by Syracuse in a day/night doubleheader last Friday, both teams boarded their respective buses for the four hour drive to Syracuse to continue their weekend series in Alliance Field.

7/4/09–An excellent outing by Gustavo Chacin was wasted as the ‘Pigs lost 3-2 to Syracuse in 12 innings.  Chacin went 7.1 innings giving up just a run on 7 hits.  He walked one and struck out five, and left with a 2-1 lead which was blown by Gary Majewski.   Jason Anderson (0-1) took the loss, giving up a 12th inning game winning double.  Both ‘Pig runs were scored in the 4th, the key hit being a Miguel Cairo RBI single. Cairo has 3 hits in the losing cause, while Jason Ellison added two of his own. Continue reading Lehigh Valley Weekend Update →

Phillies Sign Lino Martinez for $325,000

International Signings, Transactions

Hat tip to Ben Badler of Baseball America, who has been all over the international market.  Per BA…

[A] 6-foot lefthander from Venezuela[,] Martinez, 16, throws 86-88 mph with good feel for a changeup. Martinez’s breaking ball is a work in progress, but he has some athleticism and a good delivery.

Have to say I agree with andyb: it’d be great to see the organization make a couple of signings in this price range, as they’ve had some success there over the years.  Domingo Santana was signed for $300,000, and he’s already got 3 HRs in 5 games for the GCL Phillies, so he’s certainly worth keeping an eye on.

Feel free to use this thread to discuss the international market.  And as James said below, enjoy your holiday weekend!

Just a few quick comments

Site Info

As I said a few days ago, there are a number of things Im working on with the site right now to try and make it better. I’ve added a Glossary/FAQ which helps explain some of the more advanced statistics used here, as well as how options and service time work. I also wanted to thank everyone who visits here regularly and partakes in the daily discussion. This year, the three draft days were three of the most active days in the history of the site, with 11,000+ hits every day, and 18,800 hits on June 10th, our busiest day ever. June was also the busiest month in the history of the site, with over 200,000 hits.

I’ve tried to get back in the swing of writing more here, of participating in the conversations. And I’ve noticed that people continue to just post whatever random comments they think of in places where its not appropriate. I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again, its very disrespectful to the people who take time to contribute content for this site for you to just take it off topic with the first thing that pops into your head. So from this point on, I’m just going to delete those comments when I see them. 99% of the people here are respectful, this is just a memo to those who aren’t. If your comments start disappearing, you know why.

And to wrap it up, have a happy holiday weekend, and thanks for continuing to come back.

Lehigh Valley Weekly Report

7. Lehigh Valley

Another good week for Lehigh Valley as they went 4-2 and continue their ascent in the International League standings, and now stand at 39-40, in 4th Place of the Northern Division, six games behind division leading Scranton.  ‘Pig hitting leaders include Rich Thompson who is ninth in both triples (3) and steals (15); Andy Tracy is 3rd in runs (48), 2nd in homers (14), 2nd in RBI’s (55) and leading the league in walks (39).  On the mound, Andrew Carpenter is 4th in wins (7), 8th in innings (88.1) and 10th in ERA (2.75); Carlos Carrasco leads the league in IP (92.) and is second in strikeouts (88). Kyle Kendrick is 9th in innings pitched (88.1). Continue reading Lehigh Valley Weekly Report →

Prospect Q/A with Kevin Goldstein

* Interviews

As many of you frequent readers know, Kevin Goldstein, prospect guru at Baseball Prospectus, has always been extremely generous to this site, contributing lots of insight whenever I’ve asked, and I was fortunate enough to crank out another lengthy set of questions, to which he replied with excellent (per usual) responses. You’ll find his answers below the fold.

Continue reading Prospect Q/A with Kevin Goldstein →

Two tidbits

Other Stuff

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.

Lakewood BlueClaws Report (6/25 – 6/30)

4. Lakewood

Coming back from the All-Star break and already assured of a playoff spot, the Lakewood BlueClaws set off on the second half of their season. They also came back without Tyler Cloyd – one of their two first-half aces – a seven game winner, and the SAL innings leader, who was promoted to the Clearwater Threshers. In their first week back, the Claws posted a record of 3-3, putting them in the middle of the pack in the young second half of the SAL North season.

Note: This will be an abbreviated report this week

Continue reading Lakewood BlueClaws Report (6/25 – 6/30) →

Clearwater Threshers News

5. Clearwater

The Clearwater Threshers have started the second half of the Florida State League hot. The team has won five straight games including four straight extra-innings wins over the Jupiter Hammerheads to sweep the initial series of the half. The team won their opener against the Palm Beach Cardinals on Monday night, and were rained out on Tuesday with a double header scheduled for Wednesday night. Continue reading Clearwater Threshers News →

New glossary/guide

New Site Features

I’m slowly adding some of the things I’ve been meaning to add for months now, and if you look at the top of the site along the page links, you’ll now find a glossary and guide to service time at the right. If there’s anything you want to see added/explained, post it in the comments on that page.

On the international front, don’t expect much

International Signings

Baseball America’s team by team previews

Philadelphia Phillies: The Phillies likely won’t be active for the players at the top of the market in Latin America, though that hasn’t stopped them from finding quality prospects on a budget in past years. They signed Dominican outfielder Domingo Santana for $330,000 in March, and it looks like they’ll try to land players for comparable bonuses this year.

This is what I expected, to be honest.