Daily Archives: April 29, 2014

10 Names For Draft Day

2014 Draft

In past drafts there are definite tiers of players, often headlined by a true first overall pick who projects as a can’t miss beast.  The 2014 MLB draft offers a little less of that flash at the top, but what it does have is incredible depth, especially among prep pitchers.  I am going to kick off our draft coverage by looking at 10 guys who appear near the top of many boards.  Given the volatility of the draft this year, these names could shuffle many times over the next month plus.

Carlos Rodon (NC State):  Rodon came into the Year as the near consensus 1:1 pick.  He has been very inconsistent so far this year.  The fastball has been anywhere from fringe average to plus and the command has been all over the place.  The slider is still an incredibly nasty pitch, and the changeup has flashed potential.  When he is not on he looks more like a 2/3, but when it is all clicking he is a no-shit monster on the mound. Likely Outcome: Top 3 Continue reading 10 Names For Draft Day →

Threshers; April 28, 2014

Game Reports

Clearwater opened a 3 game series with the Brevard County Manatees last night. They took an early 1-0 lead, fell behind 5-1, and rallied to 5-4 before losing 6-5. Jeb Stefan got the start. He threw an impressive 9 pitch, 8 strike first inning. He was on his way to another good inning in the second when, with one out, he struck a batter on a 3-2 pitch. He lost focus long enough to give up a walk and 2 doubles in a 29 pitch, 3 run inning. A lead off home run in the third, 2 walks, and 2 hits led to 2 more runs. Stefan settled down over his next 2 innings, allowing no further damage. Continue reading Threshers; April 28, 2014 →

Box Score Recap – 4/28/2014

Box Score Recap

(Forgot to mention B.J. Rosenberg when I posted this – he took a liner off the head in the 11th and had to be removed. He walked from the field under his own power, but it sounded like he was having concussion-like symptoms – I’m sure we’ll hear more about it today or tomorrow after testing. I follow @GJoyce9 on Twitter for Pigs’ news, FWIW. I’m sure he’ll have updates around the same time as anyone else).

As much as we’d like to believe Jesse Biddle is an ace, most of us are resigned to the idea that his ceiling is likely a mid-back of the rotation guy. With starts like he had a couple times in a row before this, I understand why some of us, (myself included), get a little excited about him.  But after last night, we’re reminded why no professional is assuming he’ll be an #1 or #2 type starter. He’s young enough to build on bad games like this – he can try to learn to mitigate the damage and fix his mechanical issues on the fly, so hopefully in 2015 or 2016 when he’s a full-time big leaguer, these five and six walk nightmares become three and four walk bummers, and leave his team a little better shot at pulling the game out of the fire for him.

As for Greg Smith, he’s really got it working right now. Gregg (@PhuturePhilz) said on Twitter last night that Smith should be the first man up if you need another starter. I personally wouldn’t go that far, but I think Smith could get a look at some point. He costs you a roster spot, so Jonathan Pettibone makes more sense right now, IMO, but I’d take Smith over David Buchanan at the moment, if only for the fact that Smith can be waived off the 40-man with minimal risk when he’s done in the bigs, and Buchanan would need to stay on or risk losing a young, serviceable arm to a waiver claim.

Also, FTR, I spent three minutes on BRef trying to figure out why I couldn’t find the right “Matt” Smith to link to. I like to think I’m pretty smart sometimes. Other times…

Continue reading Box Score Recap – 4/28/2014 →