Box Score Recap – 4/9/2013

Box Score Recap

Nick Hernandez is the story of the night – all the way back from shoulder issues that have kept him off the mound for all of the last two years.  It’s been so long I had to look at his bio to remember that he’s a big lefty, (listed 6’4″, 216), and that he was having a really nice year (albeit as a 21-soon-to-be-22 yr old) in the SAL in 2010, with Ks at 20.8% and BBs at 6.2%.

Here’s the affiliate Scoreboard from MiLB.

 http://www.milb.com/scoreboard/index.jsp?sid=milb&org=143&ymd=20130409

4-9-13 boxscores

51 thoughts on “Box Score Recap – 4/9/2013”

    1. Here’s the clip of the inside the park homer, god this guy has speed, just needs to quit crying about playing SS.

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      1. Thanks for posting! That was my first thought when I saw the box score, if it was inside the park or not. Wow, standing up without a throw. It looked like the outfielders were getting to it as he rounded second.

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        2. I actually would have preferred it be “outside the park” mostly because at this point I have more questions about his power then his speed.

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          1. speed and experience on the bases does in a sense “increase” his power (taking extra bases).

            shane victorino did a very good job at this in 2011 (.212 ISO despite only 17HR’s)

            for instance bj upton is praised for his raw power (hit 28 HR’s last year) but had a lower ISO (.208) than victorino did in 2011.

            taking extra bases adds another dimension to a player.

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            1. I agree with your above point in entirety. But, I would rather see him have truely plus plus speed AND have him average 20 out of the park home runs each year. With the hopes that he could hit 25 in his age 27-29 years. That would give him an iso of about .230 or so given he has suprior speed to vic. My fear is that he’ll only ever be a 10-12 HR guy which would adversely affect his value.

              At this point, barring an unlikely injury, we can reasonably project plus to plus plus speed in the majors. What we can’t project nearly as confidently is the above mentioned power, and that’s why I want to see it.

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            2. I think you guys are being a little overly critical. By any standard, that was a pretty awesome display of speed on Quinn’s part, let’s just enjoy it for a day before we get back to picking apart our best positional prospect.

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            3. Asking for 20-25 homers might be asking for A LOT. Jose Reyes only averages 12 home runs a year but he absolutely wreaks havok on teams when he’s healthy. I think he’s the kind of max ceiling we could expect for Quinn.

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            4. My thought exactly, Joe. If you’re asking for 20-25 from Roman Quinn, you’re asking him to do things his game is not best suited for. He needs gap power, the ability to occasionally hit one out, and the ability to get on base. He’s supposed to be a facilitator, not a run-producer.

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            5. In the current offensive context, 20-25 HR per year, with his other tools, if he can stick at short and be average there (big ifs) is a top ten all time SS. That is indeed asking a lot. I’d be thrilled if he his Jose Reyes with more speed (10 to 15 HR per year). (Realizing that, as much as I like Quinn, even that is an upside unlikely to be reached).

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            6. I completely agree, it is highly unlikely he’ll ever approach that total, and I agree he’s still a valuable player regardless. All I was trying to say was that before seeing this inside the park home run, i had zero doubts about his speed/baserunning ability. In short, I didn’t learn anything new. New would be power. And as to LarryM’s point below, I do have concerns about him sticking at short. To me he’s going to be a CF’er, where you can reasonably expect a bit more power then 10-12 HR’s. (All other things equal, which I’m sure they are not in Quinn’s case since he’d have plus defense). While even in center, given his speed both defensively and offensively, he wouldn’t need 25 HR’s to be an All-Star, I would like to see 15-20.

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            7. My point was it’s one thing to know Quinn is fast intellectually, it’s another thing to see him round the bases in that video in something like 15 seconds.

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  4. Sorry if I missed this in another thread, but any word on Ruf being at 1B the past couple games? Is the experiment trying him in LF over?

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        1. Cheap, short term, injury insurance to Howard is exactly what Ruf offers to the big league team. He isn’t a prospect that the team is pinning any hopes. They know he is fan favorite, so they measure everything they say about his situation.

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  5. Cesar continues to impress in LHV. And Cameron Rupp seems to be handling the jump from High A to AA rather well. Someone remind me again why he profiles as a backup?

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    1. I think what I’ve seen others say on here is that he does everything pretty well but has no real plus tools and the fact that he is already 24. (Though if the power starts developing that would certainly change things.) His plate discipline looks pretty good to me…especially for a catcher. Definitey a guy to keep/start paying attention to.

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    2. I am about as high on Rupp as anyone, and I think his reasonable ceiling, with as big a body as he has, is a starting catcher for a couple of years, (I generally think his prime 3-5 yrs). He’s oldish already, and behind the plate is where his bat plays, but also where his body will deteriorate fastest. He could also get lucky with injuries and stick behind the plate for longer. Maybe his big body will give him durability and not be a liability. But essentially, his power will be the catalyst to him starting. If he could hit 20 HR in 450PA, then that’s a starter pretty much anywhere, but projecting him to those numbers is not reasonable. I think based on his progress last year, he might be able to do something in the low-mid teens for HR and get on base a fair amount. With good receiving, that’s a starter. But is it a guarantee, at this point, that he can do that kind of offense? Absolutely not. He’s going to start seeing more big league caliber breaking stuff this year, and we’ll see how he does.

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          1. I guess my point was less that his prime was 3-5 yrs, (most guys prime is probably about that long, except perennial all-star/superstar kind of guys), but that his ceiling as a starter wasn’t going to last very long. Kinda muddled the point by calling 3-5 his “prime” as opposed to anyone else’s.

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      2. Seems catchers who get to the MLB at an older age tend to be more prepared, ready and consistent, though maybe not spectacular. Of course, every decade you will always have the Johnny Benchs and Buster Poseys of the world who are destined for HoF careers..

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    3. He does a lot of things pretty well but he is not great at anything. The biggest thing to remember is his upside is essentially tapped out, he may get better as he learns to play the position but the physical tools are fully matured. He have a year here and there as a shaky starter for a team but he doesn’t do anything good enough to be a starter.

      Just compare him to Joseph who profiles as a regular and has done better at every level despite being 4 years younger at every stop along the journey.

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      1. We need to see how Joseph does standing in place for a year, which is why I would have liked to see him at Reading this year. He is very young for AAA, but his numbers in AA didn’t pop. His OPS about the same as Valle, and a lot are very down on Valle. Valle catches better, while Joseph throws better. Joseph walks more, but Valle still gives about the same OPS. Joseph may well improve as he approaches Rupp’s age, but for now there isn’t a lot of difference in the performance of our three upper level catchers. Joseph really needs to up his game generally and his receiving in particular to be ready to be a starting major league catcher next season. A repeat of AAA would benefit him. Perhaps an awkwardness on Ruiz contract schedule, but there it is. Joseph has the most potential of the three, but how long will it take to fulfill that potential and will he do so at all?

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        1. He is always going to be a poor receiver, he is an extremely hard worker (he is the one guy that comes up with everyone you talk to when it comes to a guy working harder than anyone else) so it may get better. He is going to be one of the best in the majors at throwing out runners and he is going to hit for plenty of power. The average is not going to be more than .260-.270

          As for the Valle vs Joseph argument this is where OPS breaks down as a stat. OBP and SLG are too entirely different scales (one is a straight average and the other is weighted). Getting on base and not making outs is a much more sustainable and important skill especially in making the jump from minors to majors. But the Valle/Joseph debate has been beaten into the ground.

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          1. I guess I’m a believer that it’s easier to walk in the minors than in the bigs, if you don’t have a fair amount of power to force the pitcher to treat you with a lot of respect. Also, while it’s important not to make outs, unless you’re a basestealer, extra-base hits translate to runs scored and driven in. Extreme SSS, but of our 3 catchers, only Rupp is not off to an awful start on the season.

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      2. ‘He does a lot of things pretty well but he is not great at anything’…same could have been said about Carlos Ruiz 10 years ago when he was at Reading. So hope bounds eternal.

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        1. Ruiz hit quite well and played good defense at Reading. Prior to Reading, he didn’t look like much at all. His 17 HR in 350 Reading AB gave a foretaste of his major league power. His nicely balanced .822 OPS was really good for a catcher who played the good D. For Mattwinks, I’ll add that Marson had a better .849 OPS in his Reading year, but the power wasn’t there and the OPS was fueled by an outlandish .433 OBP, which he never came close to repeating, although he did again have a very high walk rate in 2012.

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            1. No, actually in 2005 at age 25. Before that, Ruiz was not even a starting minor league catcher and he did not open the 2005 season as Reading’s starting catcher, despite being at Reading at thet tail end of 2004, when he did not hit all that well (.658 OPS). Ruiz is definitely an example of a late-developing bat at catcher — 2005 was his sixth year in pro ball and his fifth year state-side. So, from starting his 6th season as Reading’s backup catcher to being the Phillies indispensable starting big-league catcher is quite a transition which provides hope to a lot of guys in the minors.

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  6. It’s early yet, I know, but it’s discouraging to look at these boxes every day and see Gillies’ line right at the top.

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      1. Agreed. Him making it through a full season would be quite nice to see.
        Him having a great year while doing it would be even better.

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    2. I advocated heavily for him. Frustrrating as hell seeing him succeed. It’s actually even more retarded of amaro now to have failed to sign him. He should have dumped 15 million into the minor leagues the last 3 years (prior to the CBA change) knowing the core was aging with hopes to replace. In light of the fact that he didn’t, you’d think a one time shot at soler for 20 million would offer some redemption, but no, guess not. I actually don’t hate the man, but this is one decision of his that really rubs me wrong.

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  9. He ran into the Clearwater dugout last night swinging a bat and reportedly was slamming it against the wall……..he’s played a few dozen games in the minors and something as outrageous as this has already happened, that $30 million investment looks very risky right now…..look at Delmon Young, he still has issues and he has never come close to becoming the player most thought he would be.

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    2. Imagine seeing that dude coming at you holding a bat? Players learned a lot about their teammates yesterday by who was ready to exchange blows versus those who were lying in a fetal position in the back of the dugout

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  10. Low on the radar is Joe Savery who appearst to be polishing his craft at AAA. Savery throws quite a bit harder than Horst now (Savery seems to sit between 89 and 93 – Horst barely touches 90), so if he can hang in there and work on his pitches, he may yet have a major league future. Nice to see DeFratus settling down. It’s hard to see how DeFratus or Stutes would be worse than Durbin – our suspicions were correct; there was no material benefit to signing Durbin and, in fact, it is detrimental because it results in poor performance and it retards the development of the young relievers. I guess he could right the ship, but for now, it doesn’t look good for him. Also, Valdes is a freaking waste of a roster spot if you ask me.

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    1. I really liked DeFratus for the OD roster and I think he’s going to be a very reliable reliever in the majors for a lot of years. Maybe not a closer, but surely a 7th/8th inning type.

      I’m not ready to start shuffling the BP just yet but I think Valdes may be most vulnerable. He should get a couple more appearances in the next week and with his multi-inning outings he could reestablish himself in just a few appearances. I think Durbin has a long leash. Think Qualls-like

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    2. Durbin started very slowly for Atlanta last year also before righting the ship. I went to Saturday’s IronPigs game and only Stutes was impressive out of the group you mentioned . DeFratus and Diekman almost cost the Pigs the game with walks and control issues.

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