Category: baseball
AFL Mesa at Peoria 10.21.15
Notable Performances:
— After a strong 2015 campaign, Reds No. 6 prospect Nick Travieso didn’t disappoint in his Arizona Fall League debut.
The right-hander was nearly perfect as he walked one and struck out four in three scoreless innings. The former first-round pick threw 16 of 24 pitches for strikes and showed off good command throughout his start. Read more about him on MLBpipeline.com.
Best Play:
— Reds prospect Phillip Ervin showed off his throwing arm in center. After catching a medium-depth fly ball, Ervin fired a strike to third base and nearly threw the runner out trying to advance from second. However, Peoria appealed and insisted the runner left the bag early. Following the appeal, he was called out.
Worth Mentioning:
— Left-handed pitcher Sean Manaea was really impressive in his Fall League debut last week and through two innings Wednesday it was more of the same.
But then came the third. After a pair of strong innings to start the game, Manaea lost some command in the third as he walked one, hit a batter and gave up four hits in that fateful frame.
While the third inning was disappointing, Manaea finished four innings having allowed three runs on five hits. Take away the third and he had a trio of 1-2-3 innings.
Although Manaea lost command in the third, his slider looked really good in the other innings and it’s easy to see why the Oakland organization wanted to acquire him.
— After Manaea left, a pair of A’s relievers came in and both looked good. Aaron Kurcz tossed a 1-2-3 inning with one strikeout and was followed up by Kris Hall and Brendan McCurry, who did the same.
— Cubs prospect Willson Contreras had a good day at the plate with a pair of doubles. Contreras doubled off the wall in left-center in the fourth and hit one to the warning track in right field in the seventh. He also hit a game tying two-run homer in the eighth.
— Marlins shortstop prospect J.T. Riddle had an RBI double off the right-field wall. Riddle is really starting to drive the ball as he doubled and homered in Tuesday night’s game.
— Braves prospect Mauricio Cabrera was clocked at 102 MPH on the radar gun. Of course, when you throw that hard, you’re susceptible to a long home run, which Cabrera gave up to Contreras.
AFL 10.19.15 Surprise at Salt River
Notable Performance:
Left-handed pitcher Ian Clarkin, the Yankees No. 7 prospect got the start for Surprise and allowed one run in four innings. Clarkin was a first-round selection in 2013 (33rd overall) and although he has plenty of talent, his young career has been hampered by injuries. The 20-year old appeared in just three games in 2013 because of a sprained ankle and missed all of the 2015 regular season with elbow troubles. In 2014, pitching for both Class-A Tampa and Class-A Charleston, he went 4-3 with a 3.12 ERA in 17 games – 16 starts. Read about Clarkin’s performance on MLBpipeline.com.
Best Plays:
— Cardinals shortstop prospect Aledmys Diaz made a nice play in the second inning as he fielded the ground ball up the middle, did a 360 turn and then threw to first for the out. Not the most challenging play in the world, but not an easy play either.
Later in the inning, Diaz made another nice play as he ranged to right to field a ball in the hole and was still able to start the 6-4-3 double play.
*Diaz did commit a throwing error in the sixth.
— Lewis Brinson, a Rangers prospect, made a terrific diving play in center to end the seventh.
— D-backs prospect Daniel Palka has impressed me multiple times with a strong arm in right. The clubs’ No. 29 prospect made another strong throw Monday afternoon on a flyball as he threw home and kept the runner at third.
Worth Mentioning:
— Brett Phillips hit leadoff for Surprise and after drawing a walk to start the game he stole second one batter later. Phillips, the second-ranked prospect in the Brewers’ organization, got a tremendous jump and stole the bag easily – despite a small stumble after taking a few steps. He stole 17 bases in the regular season.
Phillips later doubled and finished 1-for-3. He also made a strong throw from right to retire a runner trying to go from first to third on a single.
— The Mets’ Dominic Smith continues to impress at the plate. Smith has a really smooth swing and came through with a pair of singles and an RBI on Monday. Smith finished Monday’s game 3-for-3 and is now 6-for-8 in the Arizona Fall League.
AFL 10.15.15 Salt River at Peoria
Notable Performances:
— Jason Garcia, the 16th ranked prospect in the Orioles organization, impressed with a strong start. The right-hander threw two scoreless innings, allowed one hit and struck out five.
Garcia got some good experience after making his Major League debut this season and is hoping to build on that in the Fall League.
— Rowdy Tellez is a bit of a free swinger – he struck out three times Thursday – but he’s still fun to watch hit. The Blue Jays’ prospect had both a two-run single and a two-run homer in Thursday’s game and has eight RBIs in his first two AFL games.
— Nationals prospect Chris Bostick was the star of the game with two go-ahead homers. The former 44th round pick got a lot of carry on the first home run, but the second was a no-doubter. Read more about him here.
— Reds No. 11 prospect Phillip Ervin came through with a game-tying RBI double in the seventh and showed good range in centerfield.
AFL 10.14.15 Salt River at Scottsdale
Notable Performances:
— Tigers No. 10 prospect SS JaCoby Jones hit a three-run homer in the first and a solo shot in the third. Jones was really impressive at the plate Wednesday night. You can read more about him in my article on MLBpipeline.com.
— Indians No. 2 prospect Clint Frazier went opposite field with a two-run homer in the first. Frazier hit 16 homers this season and has plenty of power.
— Twins No. 13 prospect Taylor Rogers had a nice night on the mound. The left-hander made one mistake – which Guerrero hammered for a homer – but was otherwise in complete control.
Rogers allowed one run on two hits in four innings of work. He also struck out five.
Best Play:
— Indians prospect Todd Hankins made a nice play at second base as he leapt and snared a screaming liner in the second. Off the bat it looked like an easy hit on a hit-and-run, but instead it turned into a highlight reel double play.
— Not to be outdone, Sam Travis also made a nice play on a liner just past the bag at first. The ball appeared to be by Travis for a double into the right-field corner, but he was able to snag it at the last minute for the out.
Best At-Bat:
— Scottsdale scored 13 runs on 16 hits, so I’ll leave this category open for their entire lineup.
Worth Mentioning:
— Boston’s No. 11 prospect Sam Travis drove in the first run of the game with an RBI double down the left field line in the first. However, the second round pick from a year ago didn’t do much in his other at-bats and finished 2-for-6.
— D-backs prospect Gabby Guerrero, nephew of former MLB All-Star Vladimir Guerrero, reminded everyone of his uncle with a big home run to left-center. Gabby hit just seven home runs during the regular season, but hit 18 in 2014 so seeing him flash some power is not a complete surprise.
AFL 10.14.15 Glendale at Mesa
Notable Performances:
— Athletics prospect Sean Manaea got the start for Mesa. The left-hander, ranked as the No. 3 prospect in Oakland’s organization, was a big piece in the trade that sent Ben Zobrist to the Royals at this year’s Trade Deadline.
Manaea missed the first half of 2014 with injuries, but over the second half of the year he showed why expectations are so high. In 14 starts, Manaea posted a 2.66 ERA and struck out 51 batters in 42 2/3 innings.
On Wednesday, the left-hander got off to a bit of a shaky start — allowed one run on two hits in the first — but set down 10 in a row to finish his outing. Manaea finished four innings and allowed one run on two hits.
Best Play(s):
— Angels prospect Eric Aguilera made a diving stop at first base to take away a hit in the first inning. He also had two hits and two RBIs.
— Pirates No. 2 prospect Austin Meadows made an impressive throw from right field to home plate. The throw was right on line and one-hopped the plate. On the 20-80 scouting scale, one scout gave it a 55, another a 60. However, later in the game he had a similar opportunity and the throw wasn’t nearly as impressive.
The arm strength is there, the consistency needs some work.
Worth Mentioning:
— Angels catching prospect Stephen McGee hit just two home runs in 68 games this season, but he tapped into that power in the second inning with a home run to left. The prospect later doubled and caught a runner stealing with a real quick pop and perfect throw to second.
— Cubs No. 19 prospect Jeimer Candelario two well hit singles to right in first two at-bats. Then showed a little bit of pop with a ground rule double to right-center in his third trip to the plate.
AFL Opening Day: Mesa Solar Sox at Glendale Desert Dogs 10/13/15
The 2015 Arizona Fall League is officially underway and in addition to the articles I will be writing for mlb.com and mlbpipeline.com, I’m going to be adding some additional tidbits to the blog. These will be trends/players/plays that stood out, but that didn’t make it into any articles for one reason or another. This will also be a spot where I answer questions sent to me that I don’t get to on Twitter.
Notable Performances:
– Chad Pinder, Athletics No. 7 prospect, hit a pair of homers and finished 3-for-5 with four RBIs. Oakland’s organizational hitting prospect of the year and the Texas League Player of the year hit 15 homers this season and neither of his homers were cheapies. Wednesday was a strong start to the Arizona Fall League for Pinder as he hit the ball hard all afternoon.
– Dodgers No. 24 prospect Kyle Farmer didn’t show a lot of power during the year, so it was a bit surprising to see him pop one over the 380’ sign in left-center. Farmer also had a walk-off single. You can read more about him here.
Best Play:
– Renato Nunez, the sixth ranked prospect in the A’s organization, is still developing as a defender, but showed some flash in the second inning. Nunez, playing third, dove to his left and made a great stop on a hard-hit ground ball, but then rushed and made an errant throw across the diamond.
Nunez redeemed himself a bit in the fifth as he had to back up to field a big hop behind the bag and made the long throw with ease.
Worth Mentioning:
– Phillies 16th ranked prospect Andrew Knapp was named Philadelphia’s organizational hitting prospect of the year and showed why with a booming double off the left-center field wall.
– Brian Holmes, selected in the 13th round of the 2012 Draft by the Astros, isn’t on the club’s top-prospect list, but flashed some potential in his two innings of work. The left-hander struck out 115 batters in 101.1 innings this year so he has strikeout stuff, but struggled a bit with command in his two scoreless innings Tuesday.
– Phillies top prospect J.P. Crawford went 1-for-4 and wasn’t all that impressive at the plate, but made a few athletics plays defensively. Pretty easy to see what all the hype is about.
– Corey Black, the No. 18 prospect in the Cubs organization had 101 strikeouts in 86 innings of AA this season so it’s obvious he has the stuff necessary to put hitters away. Black threw one inning Wednesday and struck out a pair.
What a year for top prospects
Admittedly in the past I haven’t paid much attention to prospects so I’m not going to try to compare those making their Major League debuts in the first half of 2015 to what may have happened in any previous years.
What I am going to do, is simply say, wow.
In regards to prospects and rookies, the first two and a half months of the baseball season have been spectacular.
Joc Pederson (he played 18 games in 2014, but is still considered a rookie) is on a tear in Los Angeles, Kris Bryant and Addison Russell have performed well in Chicago, Joey Gallo nearly hit for the cycle in his debut and that’s just the beginning.
Noah Syndergaard, Carlos Correa and Carlos Rondon have also debuted, while Byron Buxton and Francisco Lindor are set to get on the field Sunday.
While that’s already an impressive list of prospects, it doesn’t even include those that came to MLB internationally such as Jung Ho Kang, whom the Pirates signed from Korea and Yasmany Tomas, who the Arizona D-backs signed as a free agent out of Cuba.
Oh and don’t forget Giants right-hander Chris Heston who threw a no-hitter last week.
The amount of top prospects that have already been called up this season is remarkable and assuming they remain in the Majors and play at – or at least close to – expectations, it’s going to be a lot of fun to watch all these youngsters develop.
It’s never as far as it seems
I realize now you’re never as far from the Major Leagues as you may think.
Attend an Arizona Fall League game and other than the fact that the games are held in the Spring Training homes of the Major League clubs, they don’t feel like Major League games.
There’s hardly anyone in the stands, the games can end in a tie after 10 innings and the vast, vast majority of the players are anonymous to the casual fan.
However, the 2014 Arizona Fall League offered me the opportunity to watch Addison Russell, who made his Major League debut on April 21, as well as Byron Buxton and Francisco Lindor, both of which are expected to debut today.
Russell, Lindor and Buxton were all regarded as top prospects within their organizations so looking back on it, it’s not necessarily a major surprise that they have all been called up this season.
After watching the work that the trio – along with many others — put in work under the Arizona sun, it is nice to see them rewarded, accomplishing their goals and showcasing their talents on the big stage.
The AFL may be different from the MLB, but the first half of the 2015 season has shown us that those players playing in the half full stadiums, are just one phone call away from the show.
2 outs and no one on, a quick look at pitching efficiency in the NL West
The Jackson 5 may have sang “Easy as 123” but for a pitcher on the mound things aren’t quite as simple.
The goal is certainly to retire the side in order every time, but it doesn’t always happen that way and often that can be what separates a good pitcher from a great one.
Earlier this week, while watching the Atlanta Braves and Arizona Diamondbacks from the Chase Field press box, a colleague and I were discussing how many batters reach base with two on and no outs.
In that particular game the starting pitchers retired the first two batters faced in each of the first two innings, but in all four half innings the third batter reached (two of them scored).
Not only does allowing the third batter to reach open up the potential for a run to score, but it extends the inning.
If the pitcher retires the fourth batter of the inning, it may look like a “no harm, no foul situation,” but that’s not exactly the case.
The pitcher now has to throw more pitches, which if this situation happens of couple of times in a game, will certainly add up.
Those extra base runners could be the difference between a starter going five innings vs six or six vs seven, which then puts extra stress on the bullpens.
It’s a compounding problem and the more I thought about it the more curious I was so I looked up some numbers in the National League West.
It should come as no surprise the when there are two outs and none on the Los Angeles Dodgers, in first place in the division, have allowed opponents to hit just .229 (with an on-base percentage of .309).
Also to no surprise, Dodgers starters have pitched the most innings in the division with 337 1/3. Of course, having Clayton Kershaw in the rotation helps that number as well.
As for how the rest of the division pitches with none on and two outs …
| Team (in order of standings) | Opponent batting avg | Opponent on-base % | Starters innings pitched |
| San Francisco Giants | 270 | 334 | 339 2/3 |
| San Diego Padres | 243 | 313 | 338 |
| Arizona D-backs | 251 | 315 | 310 |
| Colorado Rockies | 249 | 335 | 289 |
The numbers don’t align perfectly with the standings, but with the exception of the Giants it’s clear that the better teams are the ones that do a better job of getting out of innings as soon as possible.
George Martinez RIP
One of the beautiful things about baseball is that no matter how many years pass, the game remains the same.
Sure, adaptations of the rules and tweaks to strategy have occurred over time, but overall the game that was developed and created a long, long time ago is roughly the same as the game played in front of millions today.
As time progressed and everything around it changed, baseball stayed the same.
A perfect analogy for George Martinez, who passed away on March 31, 2015, from multiple forms of cancer.
While Martinez, my grandpa, ultimately lost his battle with cancer he never lost his spirit or his identity.
Just as the game of baseball has remained constant through centuries, my grandpa remained a constant through his struggle.
As his health dwindled and mortality stared him, and his family, in the face, he remained the fun-loving grandpa I will always remember.
My grandpa always loved spending time with his family, eating a thick cut of meat, sipping on a nice glass of wine or telling a dumb, corny joke.
There are many memories of my grandpa that will forever live in my heart and a lot of them revolve around baseball (and the aforementioned corny jokes).
My grandpa viewed baseball as many things. It served as a hobby, a past time, a bonding experience between generations and in the final years and months it provided an escape – an avenue of relaxation.
My grandpa was a lifelong baseball fan, often telling me stories about growing up and watching the early days of the Pacific Coast League.
Over the past couple months we’d talk about once a week and the conversation would always conclude with a spring training update.
Yes, my grandpa was proud of me and wanted to know what I was working on and how everything was going. But as an avid, lifelong fan, he also wanted to know what was going on with his beloved Oakland A’s and if they were going to contend again in 2015.
My grandpa won’t get the chance the see the A’s play a regular season game in 2015, but he did celebrate his 78th and final birthday with a present from the team and that gesture, to me and my family, may be bigger than any other victory the A’s have this season.
A month ago I wrote a blog titled “More than just a hat” and briefly, I want to share that story once again.
Sensing that it would be her father’s final birthday, my mom sent an email to the Oakland Athletics, telling them about my grandpa’s condition and how he had been a lifelong fan of the organization.
Sending a note to a generic team account can result in any number of things and frankly I expected the email to go unanswered as the team – and all teams – probably receives tons of similar requests.
However, that was not the case.
The A’s took the time to put together a special birthday package that contained a schedule, a hat, baseball cards and several other items.
It wasn’t anything extravagant. But it meant everything.
At the time, my grandpa was still in the hospital and when I spoke to him – and he told me about the package – the excitement and the joy in his voice was evident.
He was surprised to receive a gift from his favorite team and most importantly, he was happy.
He told me he put the hat on as soon as he opened the box. A few days later I spoke to him again and the hat was still on.
Even while lying in a hospital bed baseball once again provided my grandpa with an escape – a sense of joy.
Just as the game of baseball will stay the same, live on and provide me with many memories and smiles, so will the memories of George Martinez.
Rest in peace Grandpa. I love you.
Boor on Baseball 