General Discussion – Week of 9-3-2013 – Call-Up Edition

Weekly Discussion

I mentioned it in the other thread, but here’s a good place to discuss the call-ups and other big league items. Enjoy!

105 thoughts on “General Discussion – Week of 9-3-2013 – Call-Up Edition”

    2. Granted, I really do like Susdorf – he reminds me a lot of Spidale, a true gamer who appears to love the game and can flat out hit in the minor leagues.

      However, for a guy like him he needs everything to break right and really needs to capitalize on any opportunity (however limited it may be) in order to advance. His play when called up earlier this year didn’t help him any. 7 PA’s, .143 avg and an absolutely horrible play in LF. That might have sealed his fate – completely unfair, but it is what it is.

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    1. Rasmussen is 24 5’9″ 160 LB Lefty. Decent but not great K/9 probably nothing there. Nefi Ogando 24 6’2″ 185 LB Righty another one that looks like he struggles with control but does have some swing and miss stuff.

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      1. Rasmussen was listed in the Dodgers top 20 prospects this past winter, was with Houston and was a high pick of the Marlins. He is probably destined for a bullpen role which could be helpful.

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  3. Is it me or do most of our pitching prospects end up with command issues ala May, Biddle? I know May hasn’t changed as I have followed him and he is still toiling away in AA. Are we craft Ng guys with control issues or what? I am rather confused…

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    1. If you draft late you aren’t going to get perfect guys. The players you take are going to either be lacking command with stuff, lacking a pitch to start, or lack fastball velocity. The Phillies tend to take guys in the first category and try to work on control because the pay off is large. Other orgs are better at teaching command or 3rd pitches, or they churn out low upside back of the rotation guys (which the Phillies actually do as well)

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      1. I’m going to disagree with both of you on May. May was a great pick. The guy was a 4th rounder and gave a ton more upside than the typical 4th rounder. His control isn’t great, but it’s not awful. He’s just under 4 BB/9. Last season at Reading, where he was near 5 BB/9 is really his only poor year out of the last several. He’s only 23 in AA, so he’s got a chance yet. I’d be happy to have him back in our org.

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        1. Great. He can play out his 7th season in the minors without reaching triple A, with the team that drafted him.

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      2. I sure we arent the only organization, with pitchers with control problems. I think that is the biggest issue with a lot of these higher drafted kids, most have decent velocity, its control and secondary pitches, and not only control not to walk guys, but control in the strike zone. with you fast ball, hitting corners, not leaving the ball over the plate.

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      3. Phillies really have done well with Happ, Worley, Pettibone, Kendrick in flashing #3 starter stuff with #5 floor. Cost-controlled starters are valuable and Phillies have leveraged a couple of these guys already.

        I am very curious what Phillies do with Kendrick and Halladay this offseason. Due to performance issues both are huge risks for the money they might command.
        Phillies have options to QO Halladay at $14M which is a huge sum.
        And arbitration for Kendrick could be $8M. I am sure another team would sign him for less but then Phillies again ‘lose’ an asset (like Schierholtz) who could help them next year.

        Other than Garza (who will not cost a draft pick), who else would be better choices for the rotation?

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        2. Hamels, Lee, MAG, Pettibone and __________. I think Halladay would sign for a cheaper deal. I’d do it and hope that when/if he breaks down midseason or isn’t effective, Morgan or Biddle would be ready to step in.

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          1. Morgan’s future is on hold for now. If Morgan isn’t right again by mid to late April, in my view, he becomes a very secondary prospect. Serious shoulder problems are just hell on pitchers – they usually don’t get over them and emerge with the same stuff. We just don’t know how serious Morgan’s problem is right now.

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  4. Could Have Been Team (team that could be on the field without playing being traded away or not signed, just for fun). Thought of this bc of Gio Gonzalez and Cosart both pitching tonight.

    1. Ben Revere CF
    2. Jimmy Rollins SS
    3. Chase Utley 2B
    4. Ryan Howard 1B
    5. Jayson Werth RF
    6. Domonic Brown LF
    7. Brandon Moss 3B (1B/OF but for the sake of this I’m using him a 3B where he’s played).
    8. Travis d,Arnaud C

    You could obviously put Ruiz as the starter and d’Arnaud or Bourn and Revere and several others.

    Bench
    Michael Bourn OF
    Darin Ruf OF/1B
    Carlos Ruiz C
    Hunter Pence OF
    Jonathan Villar INF
    Shane Victorino OF

    Rotation
    1. Cole Hamels
    2. Cliff Lee
    3. Gio Gonzalez
    4. Ryan Vogelsong
    5. Jarred Cosart.

    Bullpen
    Jason Grilli
    Ryan Madson
    Jonathan Papelbon
    Antonio Bastardo
    Jake Diekman
    Brett Myers

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    1. You are correct. Forgot Cosart was in the deal for Pence. What still bothers me about that trade is the fact Domingo Santana was in the deal as PTBNL . . He was already giving up 2 top 100 prospects and he threw in Santana on the PTBNL list?!?’ Wow.

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      1. Glad to see you finally realized how bad that trade was. I’m not sure what the point of your post was – that you want Michael Bourn, Carlos Ruiz, and Hunter Pence pinch hitting? Would also be nice if Babe Ruth was still alive and playing for the Phillies

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        1. Finally realized it was a bad trade? I always thought it was a bad trade . . When did I EVER say it was a good one ? I’ll wait . . .

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  7. The “prospects” we traded away

    CF – Anthony Gose
    RF – Michael Taylor
    LF – Matt Spencer
    2B – Adrian Cardenas
    ss – Jason Donald
    C – Lou Marson
    3B – Matt Constanzo
    1B – Matt Rizzotti

    SP:
    J.A. Happ
    Vance Worley
    Kyle Drabek
    Carlos Carassco
    Jason Knapp

    Bullpen:
    Josh Zeid

    I can’t think of anyone else and I know Rizzotti wasn’t a prospect

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    1. CF: Gose
      RF: Taylor
      LF: Santana
      1B: Singleton
      2B: ?
      SS: Villar
      3B: ?
      C: d’Arnaud

      All but 2 (TDA and Taylor) were Astros at one point.

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    3. Players we got in return – Blanton (helped win WS), Cliff Lee, Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt (dominant in 2010). Overall, advantage Phillies.

      The problem isn’t that the Phillies get the short end of the stick on most trades. The problem is that there was no balance. We traded a bunch of young guys to get older and then didn’t replace any of the older guys BY DESIGN. I will write a piece on this at some point, but, aside from the Pence deal (a dagger in the heart), this team has done just fine in trade value. That’s not the problem.

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      1. Same story, That was the time when they should have been looking in latin market for young talent, imo. but they just ignore the latin market, after getting all those older guys, and losing first round draft choices, That is the downfall we are experience right now, there lack of vision.

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        1. “They just ignore the latin market.”

          Hate to break this to you, but the org’s pitcher and hitter of the year — Severino and Franco — are both Latin signings. So are Cesar Hernandez and Freddy Galvis, the two prospects in closest proximity to the big club. So was Jonathan Villar, an important chip in the Oswalt trade, Carlos Carrasco (Lee trade) and Domingo Santana, who … well we all know that story. Oh, and among the system’s highest upside prospects right now? Yeah. Tocci, Pujols, Grullon, Mecias, Encarnacion.

          Your definition of “ignoring the latin market” is “they didn’t sign Jurickson Profar.” And as much as that would have been nice, there were 28 other teams that also failed to do so.

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          1. they didnt ignore the market, they just didnt spend as big as the many other teams that are currently reaping the rewards for doing their do diligence , the Phillies always signed LA players just not the high end ones until recently. They would sign a bunch of 100k guys instead of 1mil player , so you get lower end talent not allstars

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            1. But they spent, and they got — and continue to get — quality prospects for their efforts. The idea that the Phillies sit on their hands in Latin America is absurd and repeated far too often by certain posters on this site.

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  8. You are missing the biggest ones. Singleton, d’Arnaud, Gio Gonzalez Villar, Santana (he was young but had a boat load of potential, I still think he’ll be the biggest name in that trade).

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    1. I think Singleton will be a better player, but both have a good future. Santana still K’s at a high rate but is young yet.

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    2. The Gio/Gavin Floyd for Freddy Garcia was an unmitigated disaster and one of the worst in the history of the Phillies, but we can’t blame that on Amaro – that was Pat Gillick’s trade. Not helpful, however.

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    3. Eric, were you complaining about these trades when they were made? Please stop crying over spilled milk and using hindsight to justify your position. Just move on and adapt to what we have and what the Phillies need to do in the future.

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  9. the lineup started tonight by sandberg might be the worst i’ve ever seen in a major league game. the only major league regular is ruiz. absolutely stunning. and then you start ethan martin to top it off.

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      1. definitely, lol. although i can’t figure out for the life of me what possible need there is to evaluate mini mart, who’s proven repeatedly he’s not even a borderline major leaguer.

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    2. What is so wrong with playing young kids, they arent going any where. I dont understand the people on the radio, and on this site, this is the time to lose, not one reason that jimmy or utley should be in lineup, getting higher pick, is critical, in signing free agents, and getting better talent. other teams do it, why can;t we, are we better than others??

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  10. santana hit 25 hr’s in 2A as a 20 year old this year and would be a top 5 prospect in our system for sure. I hate he was just a throw in!

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      1. True – it seems to me the PTBNL was reported at the time as “Any position player in A Ball except Valle” or something of that nature. Wade was given his choice of talent, essentially. Amaro didn’t “throw in” Santana. It was part of the deal that Wade was getting another prospect, he was just given time to decide who.

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        1. I recall a post , one of my first , that said , ill be ok , with this trade ,which i still was not but at least the player to be named later was Santana , and then it turned out to be and I was like well Pence will be good for us for like a few years, and know I live in SF and he is here and we got Sqaunto , Natta , Bumpkis. Cosart is pitching well and Singleton is probably gonna be at the very least a 280 25 hr, wait I rambling , it was a bad trade and im upset they took Santana instead of that pitcher turned CF, Oh well it is the past now and we can be happy because the Phillies will have a top 10 pick to look forward too.

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  11. I’ve liked Rob Rasmussen since his UCLA days. Despite standing only 5’9″, he’s proven durable, throwing a lot of innings, with an aggressive, bulldog mentality. Prior to his ill-fated AAA promotion, he was out-pitching Zach Lee in Chattanooga. His fastball runs 89-92, occasionally touching 94, with an avg to above-average curve, fringe-avg change and plus slider, which seems to be his out pitch. Over the past several seasons, his walks have decreased as his strikeouts continue to increase. Although the bullpen seems an inevitable destination for pitchers of his stature, his stamina and durability improve his chances to stick in the rotation.

    That same aggressive mentality, durability and stamina could make him a reliable part of the bullpen for many years. His fastball could tick up to 92-94, which mixed with his breaking pitches, could make him a viable lefty middle reliever. Essentially, I’m bullish on this kid and think he’ll have a long big league career, whether its as a 5th starter, middle reliever or most likely, some of both.

    He’s young, left-handed, durable, throws strikes and has average stuff. If he wasn’t 5’9″, he’d easily be a top 10 prospect. Not a bad pickup, for a guy who no longer served any purpose on this team.

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    1. Phillies are acquiring young arms over the last 13 months. Have to hope one or two of Martin, Rosin, Simon, Rasmussen, Orgando, Robles or who else I am missing, work out.

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      2. right now rosenberg , bastardo, pap, diekman, are looking like a nice group for next year. put martin in bullpen, not too bad.use cloyd as long man, or 6th inning, cant believe i am saying use cloyd but he looks like that type of pitcher, long man.

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      3. I think the Phillies are Quantity not Quality unfortunately, Sad enough to say most of those names will be never will be or almost has beens, however hope springs eternal with prospects so mr Anonymous ive got my fingers crossed

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  12. Yep. IMO the FO views him as a bullpen piece. Couldn’t hurt. Orgando also seems headed to the pen tryouts. One moderate step toward building a better pen than rthis season’s disaster.

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  13. If the Mets, Mariners, Padres, Twins and Giants would only get hot these last three weeks, the Phillies could be picking 6th in June 2014’s Rule 4 Draft.

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    1. The fact that they’re all in the position they are in tells me that all of those teams getting hot in the last three weeks is highly unlikely.

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    2. The Phils are only at most a game and a half ahead of those teams. So just two (three) more losses over the next 23 games will do the trick.

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  14. I was looking at the obp of the cardinals and cincinnatti. some impressive numbers, votto over 400. I really have to believe that the cardinal especially, draft and teach, to really bear down with runners on, just seems they are one of the best at clutch hitting.

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  16. BJ Rosenberg made a couple of minor adjustments in the time he spent in the minors after May, adding a tap step on his delivering from the windup and heeding bullpen coach Rod Nichols advice on altering the grip on his slider. “It’s huge,” Rosenberg said the minimal change to his slider grip. “It is really unbelievable [how much it] affects how the ball comes out.”
    ………..so one little change in the grip makes a difference!
    ………..so one little change in the grip of the bat by Domo from Wally Joyner makes a differnce!
    …………so why are not the coachs doing more individual instructions with struggling players when they are coming through the minors ilo of waiting until they struggle at the major league level.
    I ask you!

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    1. Bingo – there is a serious, serious problem with the minor league instruction, especially with the pitchers. This year, essentially all of the team’s young pitchers not only did worse in AAA, they did much, much worse in AAA than the majors and did much better again after being promoted. It is a glaring, neon, waving in the wind red flag. Unfreakingbelievable.

      Don’t crush the hitting instruction, they completely retooled Dom Brown’s swing, which was no small feat.

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      1. Understand Wally Joyner was the key in Domo’s resurgence with the grip change he suggested in March.
        Gordon H.’s contract was not renewed, also other org changes are to occur in October.
        Listened to Adam Morgan in an interview yesterday.
        Got no feedback or even contact from anyone in the org other then those times the pitching coach at LHV had with him during his rehab on the DL this summer.
        Do other org’s do the same type of pitching development with their youngsters?

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  17. ‘Tis very important that JRoll gets two more HRs before the end of the year. Then we can trade him in the off-season and he will oblige since he reached one of his key Philly milestones with 200 HRs.

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    1. If we had someone to step in I could understand the sentiment but we don’t. Very disappointed in Galvis.

      I expect a bit of a bounce back year next year from Rollins – not to his former level, but probably better than Galvis. Players do not often exhibit a straight line decline, and I don’t expect Rollins to do so. Still a better hitter and base runner than Galvis, and I don’t see Galvis’ edge as a fielder making up for that. Even if I’m wrong, trying make a regular out of Galvis just seems like a second division strategy. It would be one thing if the money saved on Rollins would make a difference, but, given the team’s current payroll and situation, I don’t think it will.

      I do agree that Rollins needs to be “rested” regularly, to the point that his 2015 option doesn’t vest. And probably be dropped lower in the lineup,

      Obviously if Galvis performs better than expected – and I hope he does – Rollins could be benched. It’s not like they would get much for him in a trade at this point anyway.

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      1. A lot of Rollins’ peripherals are right in line with career averages. His K and BB rates are fine, his line drive rate is one of the best of his career, GB, FB and IFFB rates look normal. His HR/Fly ball rate is way off and that’s his biggest difference. So I agree that he’ll have somewhat of a bounceback year.

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        1. Yes, that was my logic exactly (aside from general patterns – even at his age, significant declines are usually followed with partial bounceback seasons), Thank you. 🙂

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        2. He leads the team in PAs every year he plays a full-season or close to it, however the last few years his OBP has declined. And when he gets approx 20% of his PAs every year as a lead-off hitter, it would be desirable to have a higher OBP then .320, whcih he has had once in the last 5 years. OTOH, Galvis’ bat, at this time, does not play as being any better then JRolls, and probably would be lower.

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  18. Rollins needs over 100 more hits until he passes Mike Schmidt as our all-time hits leader. Once he hits that goal he might consider a trade.

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    1. Yep. I think that’s the milestone he’s most interested in. Being the all-time hits leader for a franchise is a nice feather in your hat.

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  19. He might consider a trade, wow. is rollins running the team???? if we can get some value and want to move him. then he either goes or sits. I am now thinking that with galvis not showing he could hit, and the lack of power on t his team. and not many options in fa. rollins will be here one more year; But as a owner he wouldnt tell me what I can do. if trading him will improve t he team he goes.

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    1. Yes, I think we can conclude that he has earned the starting 3B job in Philly for next season. He’s passed the 100 AB mark and has been hitting about as well in the National League as he did in the International League, while playing good defense. He has both outhit and out-fielded Michael Young. RAJ must not make the mistake he did last winter, by bringing in D Young to ‘compete’ with Ruf. Just as Ruf should have been deemed to have earned the job off of his 2012 minor league season and his September in Philly, Asche should be deemed to have earned the 2014 starting job in Philly. Bringing in a vet to ‘compete’ makes no sense — it puts undue pressure on the rookie, wastes money, and delays the needed team transition. We should go into this winter with Ruf and Asche written in, in ink, as starters for 2014.

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      1. I agree with you on Asche but I don’t agree at all with you on Ruf. The main difference is Ruf was up here for a much shorter time and his OF defense was still in progress. Ruf has been pretty solid this year in about 200 PA’s but he hasn’t actually been all that game changing especially with his recent slump. Of course he’s better than Young now but I still don’t think he should be considered a lock to start next year. It’s not like it would be impossible to upgrade him. I wouldn’t bring in a veteran bounce back candidate to supplant him but if you could find a genuine upgrade at a price you can live with I would go for it if you’re trying to win.

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      2. As much as I like Ruf, he just wasn’t ready to play OF out of spring training. I do see him being a full time player for the next 5 years.

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    2. There should be a discussion thread just for our thoughts on Asche =) I’m extremely impressed by him so far. Dreaming of a good fielding, .280/.350/.450 15 homerun 3B for us for years to come and Franco manning first. I never got to really watch him in the minors but I can see how he draws Utley comparisons. Runs out balls, seems to work hard, improves quickly

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      1. Well, there’s a reason you need to see guys in person before drawing firm conclusions and this is certainly the case with Asche. I think Asche will at least be an average regular, but more likely above average over time. He works like crazy, has good physical tools, more than sufficient plate discipline (which appears to be growing) and appears to be a very smart player. The biggest plus is his swing. It’s hard to find a short, nice swing with fewer moving parts than the one Asche has. He’s extremely short and quick to the ball. There’s no loop, no wind up, and his set up is perfect for optimal plate coverage. It’s a damned near perfect baseball swing for a line-drive hitter with moderate power, which is what he is. Get used to seeing his face, as he’s going to be around for a while and rightfully so. While it’s still unlikely he grows into stardom, he’s the type of solid, dependable, hard-working player that championship ball teams always rely on. And I think there’s still more than a chance that he ends up at second – not next year, but perhaps in 2014 or 2015. If he could play an average second base, his bat would play up there in a huge way and it would allow the Phils to keep Franco at third, where his value is maximized.

        What a great 4th round pick!

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  21. Interesting (and encouraging) article on Biddle in the Inquirer. Appears Biddle was diagnosed with Whooping Cough early in the year and it persisted throughout the year. I opined a month or so ago that I didn’t think Biddle did anything to lose a no. 1 prospect ranking, though I wouldn’t necessarily make a counter argument for anyone placing Franco ahead of him. Something I’ll be giving some thought to as we approach off-season rankings but as of now I still have Biddle as no. 1 followed by Franco and Crawford.

    http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/phillies/20130908_Jesse_Biddle_battled_through_illness__injury.html

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    1. Steve, I read that article also and despite his inconsistency Jesse Biddle was 3rd in Strikeouts and 9th in Earned Run Average for the Eastern League in 2013. The Eastern League is known as a hitters league so we should not be too harsh on Biddle. Lehigh Valley should be a fairer test for him in 2014.

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    2. As odd as this sounds, I actually find this to be encouraging because the Biddle I saw early in the year was a light-out top of the rotation type of pitcher. If he gains strength over the off season and just turns to his original state of health, he could really be something special. I think, by early next year, he and Franco could be dueling again for the number one slot – and this time they may be challenged by JP Crawford.

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  22. Speaking of developing players – how about that Jake Diekman? I was at the game on Saturday night and he just threw one 97-99 MPH fastball after another. This isn’t LOOGY territory folks, it’s closer stuff and it’s flat out nasty.

    Also, not to be overlooked, it looks like others are keeping close tabs on Mike Nesseth (see Inquirer Sunday Edition with scout evaluations). I’ve heard that when Nesseth drops down and goes nearly side-armed, his velocity is as much as 5-8 MPH greater. Now, when I saw him, he had an arm slot similar to Halladay or Charlie Mortong – a little higher than 3/4, but he was throwing hard with that too – 92-95. I’m not sure if that’s the said arm slot or he can throw it even harder from a close to side-arm position. In any event, the pitches I saw had a lot of movement, and he showed good breaking pitches that he can control and, apparently, also command. He will definitely be in my top 30.

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    1. I am excited by Nesseth’s season. First I’d heard about the arm slot situaiton but I am looking forward to seeing what he does in the AFL. he’ll definately get a hard look in spring training.

      Diekman has been impressive but I’d like to see some sustained success against righties before considering him more than just a loogy (he seems to be doing better against RHs but I haven’t seen the recent splits to back up those impressions and, of course, SSS would apply).

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  23. I believe there is enough talent here to NOT bring in outside free agent of Nixington nature.. While there is always room for a superior player Ruben has only been successful when he brings in TOP LEVEL players (as any GM). That alone should make for a better start. I could see adding Martin to the bullpen to cover more than one inning needs. That leaves SPs (no KK pls)

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    1. What say you…Omar Infante?
      He would not cost a pick I would assume.
      And be a very valued piece in utilitarian mode.

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    2. Being a little daring in 2014, but maybe move Paps for value and take a risk on a closer like Diekmann, Martin, Bastardo, BJ Rosie or DeFratus. Force them to take the challenge. They ain’t wet behind the ears youngsters anymore..all 25 or older. The pressure ios on each to step up in the world.
      I may even also challenge the enigmatic Phillippe Aumont to step up and become da man!

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    3. While I’d hate for RAJ to make yet another awful FA signing. Lets not ignore two major factors with the teams offseason.
      1.) Huge pressure to sell season tickets
      2.) The severe left handed-ness off the 2014 lineup as it would be constructed today . Ruiz, if he’s resigned which I think is a forgone conclusion, and Ruff are the only right handed bats. Jimmy Rollins is basically a leftie at this point based on his numbers the last few seasons.
      3.) The bullpen helped sink the last two seasons and no one has grabbed the reigns really. And so see #1

      So I can only hope that RAJ can pull a trade off for a young BP arm and maybe take a shot on Beltran if he doesn’t cost you a pick. Ruff plays vs LHP at 1B and is the first bat off the bench any other time, maybe also taking some games from Brown or Beltran on occasion (gotta keep him healthy). Just throwing ideas out there at this point. Maybe see if the Dodgers would trade Kemp.

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  24. Right now for some odd reason, Diekman. BJRoseberg. are really coming on. was it charlie not believing in them or sandberg showing more confidence or just experience, but these two kids look like future good relief arms. and possbile closer. I am not so sure, that we could move pap for any value, like romus suggests.

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    1. The problem, of course, is that each of them, and Aumont did the same thing last year. I am, however, strating to become a big believer in Rod Nichols. His group was lights out in AAA that last several years and they’ve done much better this year since being promoted. High likelihood he becomes the pitching coach and I think that’s a very good thing.

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    2. On some level it is the small sample size and volatility of relievers. Every data point is max energy and a small sample size, there is so much time for thing to fall apart in between. More so than Diekman or Rosenberg being good for a stretch is the idea that having live armed relievers (with minor league options) means you can catch lightning in a bottle for stretches and a good pitching coach will find what works for them and make sure they drift back to it over time.

      I don’t think Papelbon is any real value on the open market. I would still trade him for pennies if it cleared the salary. I also think Nuchols is much better with the relievers than Dubee is (I think Dubee is good at developing changeups which benefits starters and has made some decent backend starters out of nothing).

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      1. Agreed on Dubee – he’s excellent at devleoping the change up – it changed Madson’s career and helped Kendrick take several steps forward. I actually don’t think Dubee is all that bad, but I do think it’s time for a change.

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        1. Yeah that is where I am as well. There are so many arms in the org that have struggled in may be time to have a new set of eyes on them at many levels to see if there are tweaks to be made here and there. I also think ending Dubee’s handling of the bullpen moves and letting the new manager (Sandberg or someone else) have someone they trust and want to work with in that role.

          I am sure if Dubee’s contract is not renewed he will end up on his feet with a job somewhere.

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          1. Quite a few young arm have been hurt during the last few years under Dubee. The one that sticks was pitching Worley when he was hurt. Even if you had your heart (not brain)
            set on getting rid of him , all you did is sink his trade value. After all he outpitched every
            except Hamels his first year.

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            1. But aside from, perhaps, overuse with Halladay (too many 120+ pitch starts) and J.C. Romero during the 2007 stretch run (5 consecutive games! Yikes!), I don’t see that the Phillies pitchers were generally misued or overworked. This wasn’t his fault.

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  25. I don’t know where to put this, but BA released a list of all the rookies who made their debuts this year and who signed them and so forth. I was bored and filtered the list by scouting director responsible. Marti Wolever had the 3rd most rookies make their first appearance this year.

    Director: Jeff Luhnow – 9
    Director: Bruce Seid – 7
    Director: Marti Wolever – 7
    Director: Tony DeMacio – 6
    Director: Jason McLeod – 6
    Director: Greg Smith – 6
    Director: Chris Buckley – 6
    Director: Tim Hallgren – 6

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      1. Almost all of Luhnows were with the Cardinals
        Seid – Brewers, DeMacio – Braves, McLeod – Padres/Cubs, Smith – Pirates, Buckley – Reds, Hallgren – Dodgers (was there until 2010, responsible for Ethan Martin, Allen Webster, and others)

        So in other words a lot of playoff bound teams there

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      1. Which is why counting number of rookies to the bigs is fairly meaningless. The cup of coffee, which he wasn’t even allowed to finish drinking, for Susdorf vaults us over a number of organizations. Rupp doesn’t look to get much action, either.

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  26. You know, as we talk about prospects I’m trying to recall a true side-arm pitcher (not a 3/4 guy like Randy Johnson or Billy Wagner) that threw as hard as Diekman does now. He damn near hit 100 MPH the other night and it’s not an isolated incident. His FB is SITTING 97 and 98. Pretty astonishing.

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    1. By the way, Walter Johnson was a true side arm pitcher and all reports are that he probably threw that hard, maybe harder.

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      1. Walter Johnson did not even come close to 100. That’s nostalgia hounds wanting the past to be greater than the present. Someone, bell labs I believe, did a radar reading on Walter Johnson and the reports were around 90. Now, keep in mind that people of the day say Walter Johnson was BY FAR the hardest thrower of his era should give you an idea of how hard pitchers pitched back then. Which explains why they were able to throw like 400 innings a year.

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        1. I think you are underestimating Johnson by an enormous – really enormous – extent and also the players of that era. The great thing about baseball is that, with some exceptions, it a sport where talent generally applies across generations. If you don’t think Ruth and Mays and Feller and Johnson would be among the greatest players if they played today, you are nuts. This is especially true of pitchers. I’m sure some modern training has helped, but a guy can either throw the ball really hard or he can’t – it’s more of a honed natural ability rather than something that is developed by scientific or modern training. Most of the great players who saw Johnson said he was the fasttest pitcher they ever saw. I’d bet money he threw his FB in the mid to high 90s routinely, notwithstanding some rudimentary measuring by Bell Labs which was likely highly inexact and which probably measured the speed of the pitch at the cather’s mitt.

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