It’s Monday, that means it’s time to find out who the hottest and coldest players were for last week’s games. Also, if you notice, there is a display problem with the category tags on the left side of the page. This is a WordPress issue and should be fixed sometime today. So, onto the list, and this week, I’ll add a small blurb with each player.
Hot….
Jason Jaramillo: 10/21, 2 BB, 6 R, 4 RBI
It’s been an interesting 6 months or so for Jason. Thought of as a highly touted defensive catcher who wouldn’t hit much, he drew mixed reviews on his defense after last season, and we started to wonder what kind of prospect he’d really be if his defense wasn’t great. Now, he’s tearing up the International League, and looks like an offensive asset. It’s only 3 weeks, but this is certainly a promising start. I hate to get ahead of myself, but the thought of a Ruiz/Jaramillo major league catching tandem next year, for the league minimum, is a really great prospect.
Pat Overholt: 13.2 IP, 0.68 ERA, 12 H, 2 BB, 10 K
The “Overholt to starter” experiment looks like a winning bet thus far. When talking about starters and relievers, generally a starter is more valuable than a reliever, unless you’re talking about a fungible 5th starter/longman versus a closer. If Overholt proves to be more capable of being a #3 instead of a #5, then this move is fine. He’s generated a ton of groundballs but is still striking guys out, and that bodes well going forward.
Carlos Carrasco: 7.0 IP, 1.29 ERA, 6 H, 1 BB, 4 K
I put Carlos on the “Cold” list last time after 1 bad start, so I felt I should give him a fair shake and put him on the “Hot” list after one good start. The 1 walk is a promising sign, the 4 K is a tad low, but you can’t have your A+ stuff every time out. The key for Carrasco is handling aversity and learning how to battle when you don’t have your best stuff. That’s easier to do in Low A than High A, so this is a valuable learning lesson for an immensely talented prospect.
Gus Milner: 6/20, 2 BB, 2 2B, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 4 R
I wrote this about Milner, in giving him a C+ grade a few months back…
“Milner despite being HUGE, (6′5, 240 lbs), played CF in college, and apparently played it well, which means that when he moves, he might move to RF, not automatically to 1B. Milner is a great athlete with great size, but based on his offensive numbers, is far from a finished product. He did log 6 triples in 70 games, but only stole 4 bases in 7 attempts. I like the upside on Milner, but he was 22 and will be 23 in 2007, so he needs to have a big year at Lakewood, along the lines of Jeremy Slayden’s 2006, in order for him to improve his grade.”
So far so good….
Anderson Garcia: 3.1 IP, 0.00 ERA, 4 K
The inclusion of Garcia as the 5th name is more an indication of the general struggles of the offense and the lack of another great pitching performance. I could have given the nod to Carlos Monasterios for his last start, but I went with Garcia. A waiver pickup in the offseason, he’s thrown his mid 90’s fastball by just about everyone so far. He still doesn’t appear to have a reliable offspeed pitch, or at least he hasn’t shown he needs it yet. He’s a fringe prospect right now, but with a huge campaign in Reading, could earn his way into a possible late season callup when the rosters expand.
Not…
Adrian Cardenas: 5/24 (.208), 2 2B, 1 R, 3 RBI
Adrian really hasn’t gotten it going yet. He’s been kind of up and down, which is certainly to be expected. In a recent article I linked, he mentioned how much tougher it is to make adjustments in pro ball, whereas in High School, he really didn’t have to adjust and everything just happened. It’s a long season, and the mental part is just as tough as the physical part. He seems capable, he understands at an early stage what it takes, and I think given time this season, the results will be there. To put up a great season in a full season league at age 19 takes a lot of talent, both physically and mentally, and I’m convinced it’s going to click into place. Also remember, this is his first exposure to playing in cold weather. The Jersey shore is a bit different than sunny Florida in April.
Carl Henry: 2/13 (.154), 1 HR, 2 RBI
New name, same results. The home run is nice to see, but there’s little else there. Henry is still young, the tools are still there, but it’s time to turn on the jets and go on a 2 or 3 week tear.
Jeremy Slayden: 3/24 (.125), 5 BB, 1 HR, 4 RBI
Slayden is off to a slower start than one had hoped, considering many of us felt he should have been double jumped to Reading because of his age and experience. The walks and plate discipline are nice, the lack of extra base hits is a tad troubling, but he should get it going.
Greg Golson: 6/30 (.200), 1 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 4 RBI
Golson hit for the “weekly cycle”, but hit little else. Complete lack of plate discipline still appears to be a problem, and one that, at this point, we shouldn’t wait around and hope to see fixed.
Mike Costanzo: 5/22 (.227), 1 HR, 1 2B
A cold list regular, Costanzo makes a re-appearance this week. Another home run, but another truckload of strikeouts, and just as alarming, more errors. The most disturbing Costanzo stat; through 15 games, he has more than twice as many errors (7) as walks (3), and has struck out 26 times in 53 at bats. That’s just….well….the opposite of good.
As always, feedback is welcome.
Phuture Phillies 