Friday, December 31, 2010
Aaron Thompson
The Pirates claimed LHP Aaron Thompson, 23, off waivers from the Nationals last week. To claim him, they had to DFA Wil Ledezma. That shows either how much the FO thought of Thompson or how little they thought of Ledezma.
Thompson was born in Sante Fe, New Mexico, and raised mostly in Beaumont, Texas, graduating from Houston's Second Baptist High in 2005. At Second Baptist, he went 8-3 with two saves and 0.84 earned run average in 14 games as a senior, with 133 strikeouts and 35 walks in 66 innings.
The book on him was that he'd be a tough sign in the draft because of a commitment to Texas A&M, but the Aggies fired their coaching staff, and so Thompson willingly entered the player pool.
He was drafted by the Florida Marlins in the first round (22nd overall) of the 2005 draft, and got a $1.225M bonus. Lefties that strike out two batters per innings, even at the prep level, don't exactly grow on trees.
He jumped right into the Gulf Coast rookie league after signing. Thompson was 2-4 with a 4.50 ERA and a 1.63 WHIP in eight starts, but averaged 11-1/2 K's per game.
That got him promoted to Jamestown, the Fish short-season club, later in the season. Thompson went 1-2 in five starts and lowered his ERA to 3.10. His K rate dropped drastically, though, and would hover around seven per 9 innings from that time forward.
He moved up to Class A Greensboro in 2006, going 8-8 with a 3.63 ERA in 24 starts. Thompson was the Marlins' Minor League Pitcher of the Month for May, going 4-0 with 0.53 ERA in five starts (6 BB, 34 K in 33-2/3 IP). Thompson also was the Sally League's Player of the Week in mid-May, and was a member of the South Atlantic League All-Star Team.
At the end of 2006, Thompson was ranked as Florida's #6 prospect, according to Baseball Prospectus, which called him “a solid but unspectacular left-handed starter.”
In 2007, he took the next step and pitched for High Class A Jupiter, where Thompson logged a 4-6 record and 3.37 ERA. His walks, hits, and WHIP were all getting in line, too, and Thompson continued on his journey, going to Class AA Carolina.
But Thompson would struggle mightily there. He dealt with shoulder issues in 2008 that cost him two months of the season, and when he was healthy, opposing batters teed off on him. Thompson's record was 2-5 with a 5.26 ERA, and his peripherals were even worse - 12 hits, 4 walks and just 6 K's per nine, with a WHIP of 1.849.
In 2009, he regained his mojo. Thompson was 5-9 with a 4.11 ERA in A Jacksonville before being dealt to the Nats at the deadline for Nick Johnson. In the remaining month, he would go 0-3 with a 3.31 ERA in six starts for Washington's AA club, Harrisburg.
Thompson also had to get himself into a new pitching groove. While the Marlins stressed working the outside half of the plate, the Nationals wanted their guys to pitch inside.
He was assigned to Harrisburg again in 2010, where he went 4-13 with a 5.80 ERA. In 26 starts, he set several negative career marks: his BB/9 ratio of 5.40 walks/9 innings, HR's allowed (16), walks issued (53), runs allowed (88) and ERA (5.80). Not too surprisingly, the Nat's waived him, and the Bucs couldn't resist claiming him.
The million-dollar question is: has Thompson hit the wall at AA, as some evaluators believe, or was 2010 just a bad year as he tried to convert from the Marlin philosophy of working away to the Nat's system of pitching in?
There is some potential upside to Thompson. He's young with a four-pitch arsenal: a low-90s fastball that rises, a plus change-up, a good curve and a workable slider. He's unafraid to attack the strike zone.
Thompson also boasts a good pick-off move and is effective overall at holding runners. His home run rate is an excellent 1 every 14 innings of work. He's said to have the potential to become a #3 or 4 starter in the show as a finesse left-hander.
But he hasn't been able to pitch his way out of Class AA yet, showing no consistency at that level. His career strikeout rate of 6.9/nine innings is a marginal red flag. And he may be another case of a hot-shot high-school pitcher whose future projection was more optimistic than his talent.
Apparently the Pirates liked some of his peripheral numbers, at least enough to overcome the negatives, and plan to add him to Altoona's rotation. After all, a team never does have enough pitching, and being a lefty is an added bonus.
And hey, he'll fit right in, joining Joel Hanrahan and Scott Olsen. If you can't make it in DC, the Pirates are always ready to give you a another chance.
Thompson was born in Sante Fe, New Mexico, and raised mostly in Beaumont, Texas, graduating from Houston's Second Baptist High in 2005. At Second Baptist, he went 8-3 with two saves and 0.84 earned run average in 14 games as a senior, with 133 strikeouts and 35 walks in 66 innings.
The book on him was that he'd be a tough sign in the draft because of a commitment to Texas A&M, but the Aggies fired their coaching staff, and so Thompson willingly entered the player pool.
He was drafted by the Florida Marlins in the first round (22nd overall) of the 2005 draft, and got a $1.225M bonus. Lefties that strike out two batters per innings, even at the prep level, don't exactly grow on trees.
He jumped right into the Gulf Coast rookie league after signing. Thompson was 2-4 with a 4.50 ERA and a 1.63 WHIP in eight starts, but averaged 11-1/2 K's per game.
That got him promoted to Jamestown, the Fish short-season club, later in the season. Thompson went 1-2 in five starts and lowered his ERA to 3.10. His K rate dropped drastically, though, and would hover around seven per 9 innings from that time forward.
He moved up to Class A Greensboro in 2006, going 8-8 with a 3.63 ERA in 24 starts. Thompson was the Marlins' Minor League Pitcher of the Month for May, going 4-0 with 0.53 ERA in five starts (6 BB, 34 K in 33-2/3 IP). Thompson also was the Sally League's Player of the Week in mid-May, and was a member of the South Atlantic League All-Star Team.
At the end of 2006, Thompson was ranked as Florida's #6 prospect, according to Baseball Prospectus, which called him “a solid but unspectacular left-handed starter.”
In 2007, he took the next step and pitched for High Class A Jupiter, where Thompson logged a 4-6 record and 3.37 ERA. His walks, hits, and WHIP were all getting in line, too, and Thompson continued on his journey, going to Class AA Carolina.
But Thompson would struggle mightily there. He dealt with shoulder issues in 2008 that cost him two months of the season, and when he was healthy, opposing batters teed off on him. Thompson's record was 2-5 with a 5.26 ERA, and his peripherals were even worse - 12 hits, 4 walks and just 6 K's per nine, with a WHIP of 1.849.
In 2009, he regained his mojo. Thompson was 5-9 with a 4.11 ERA in A Jacksonville before being dealt to the Nats at the deadline for Nick Johnson. In the remaining month, he would go 0-3 with a 3.31 ERA in six starts for Washington's AA club, Harrisburg.
Thompson also had to get himself into a new pitching groove. While the Marlins stressed working the outside half of the plate, the Nationals wanted their guys to pitch inside.
He was assigned to Harrisburg again in 2010, where he went 4-13 with a 5.80 ERA. In 26 starts, he set several negative career marks: his BB/9 ratio of 5.40 walks/9 innings, HR's allowed (16), walks issued (53), runs allowed (88) and ERA (5.80). Not too surprisingly, the Nat's waived him, and the Bucs couldn't resist claiming him.
The million-dollar question is: has Thompson hit the wall at AA, as some evaluators believe, or was 2010 just a bad year as he tried to convert from the Marlin philosophy of working away to the Nat's system of pitching in?
There is some potential upside to Thompson. He's young with a four-pitch arsenal: a low-90s fastball that rises, a plus change-up, a good curve and a workable slider. He's unafraid to attack the strike zone.
Thompson also boasts a good pick-off move and is effective overall at holding runners. His home run rate is an excellent 1 every 14 innings of work. He's said to have the potential to become a #3 or 4 starter in the show as a finesse left-hander.
But he hasn't been able to pitch his way out of Class AA yet, showing no consistency at that level. His career strikeout rate of 6.9/nine innings is a marginal red flag. And he may be another case of a hot-shot high-school pitcher whose future projection was more optimistic than his talent.
Apparently the Pirates liked some of his peripheral numbers, at least enough to overcome the negatives, and plan to add him to Altoona's rotation. After all, a team never does have enough pitching, and being a lefty is an added bonus.
And hey, he'll fit right in, joining Joel Hanrahan and Scott Olsen. If you can't make it in DC, the Pirates are always ready to give you a another chance.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Garrett Atkins
Garrett Atkins, 31, signed a minor league deal with an invitation to camp with the Bucs last week. Three years ago that would have been huge news; now he's just another comeback kid trying to grab a spot on a MLB bench. If he makes the roster, he’ll earn $800K.
Out of baseball since the Orioles DFA'ed him on June 27th in 2010, Atkins batted just .214 with one homer and nine RBIs in 44 games for Baltimore. But Atkins had been all that at one time, and enjoyed his best years under Bucco skipper Clint Hurdle while playing in Colorado.
Atkins first made a name for himself at University High School in Irvine, California. He hit .557 with 13 home runs as a senior, and was recruited by Pepperdine, USC, Oklahoma State, Cal State-Fullerton and UCLA. He was even drafted out of prep school by the Mets in the tenth round of the 1997 draft, but decided to play for the Bruins instead.
At UCLA, Atkins became the first three-time All-America in school history. The first baseman kept some pretty fast company on campus, too - his roomie was teammate Chase Utley. From the time they stepped on campus, he and Utley started every game for UCLA.
On the field, Atkins put together a 33-game hitting streak and finished his career with a .369 batting average, 40 home runs, 56 doubles and 167 RBI. He honed his wooden bat skills, too. Atkins was the Cape Cod League Playoff MVP and on the All-Star West Squad MVP in 1999; the season before he hit .383.
So it was no surprise when the junior was drafted by the Rockies in the fifth round (137th overall) in 2000 and signed in June. Playing in Low Class A Portland, Atkins was named the 2000 Northwest League Co-MVP after batting .303 with seven homers.
During the 2001 pre-season, the Denver Post and TeamOne Baseball anointed him as the Rockies' top first base prospect (he would switch to third in 2002 thanks to a certain Mr. Todd Helton), as he advanced to High A Salem.
There, he finished second in the Carolina League in batting average (.325) in 2001, losing the title on the final day of the year. Atkins did lead the Carolina League in doubles with 43, on base percentage (.421) and in OBS with a .892 mark.
It was quite a season for Atkins. He had a 20-game hitting streak and was named the Carolina League Player of the Month in August when he hit .349. Atkins was the starting first baseman for the CL All-Star Game and homered.
He was named as the Colorado Rockies Minor League Player of the Month in April, and by season's end, he was the 2001 Colorado Rockies Minor League Player of the Year. After the season, Atkins was ranked as the Rockies' No. 3 prospect, and top position player.
In 2002, Atkins batted .271/12/61 for the Class AA Carolina Mudcats, and after the season, he batted .354 in the Arizona Fall League.
In 2003, he nearly broke camp with the Rox after batting .525 with a dozen RBI in spring training. It carried over, and Atkins hit .319/13/67 for the Class AAA Colorado Springs SkySox. He got an August call, but didn't do much with it, hitting .159 in 69 at-bats.
Atkins spent 2004 at Colorado Springs, where he hit .366 with 15 home runs and 94 RBI. He led all of minor league baseball in batting average, and the Pacific Coast League in doubles (43) and OBP (.434). The third baseman got his September cup of coffee with Colorado, and this time hit .357, though with only 28 at-bats.
Atkins started the 2005 season on the DL with a strained hamstring, but after a quick rehab stint at Colorado Springs, he took off. He batted .287/13/89; his RBI total led both the Rockies and all MLB rookies. Atkins was selected as the NL Rookie of the Month in June, finished fourth in Rookie of the Year voting, and earned a spot on the Topps Major League Rookie All-Star Team.
At 26 years old and in his second full big league season, Atkins hit .329 with 29 homers, 120 RBI, and 117 runs in 2006, with a slash line of .329/.409/.556 and an OPS+ of 136. He was fourth in the NL in average and fifth in RBI. Atkins was the NL Player of the Week after the first week of the year and finished 15th in MVP voting.
He helped lead the Rockies to 14 wins in their last 15 regular season games in 2007, pushing them into the playoffs and World Series. During that stretch, Atkins batted .414.
Overall, he hit .301, with 25 homers and 111 RBIs from the fifth/sixth hole hitter, and .349 with 12 home runs and 58 RBI after the all-star break. But a couple of cracks were beginning to show. Atkins batted .349 at Coors Field, but hit only .254 in away games. He had 13 fewer doubles, and his K's jumped by 34%. But that was of little concern then; his monster 2006 season would be tough for anyone to replicate, and 2007 was a fine year with the stick for Atkins by mortal standards.
Atkins spent much of the season playing his original position, first base, in 2008 because of an injury to Helton. He hit .286/21/99, having another solid season. But his eye was beginning to wander. In 2006, he actually drew more walks than he had K's; in 2008, he walked just 40 times and whiffed 100. His OBP dropped nearly 40 points, and after four strong seasons, his run of offensive excellence was about to end.
During the off-season, Atkins inked a one-year $7M contract with the Rockies for 2009. But he struggled mightily, becoming a part-time player and putting up a line of .226/9/48. Ian Stewart and his 25 dingers made Atkins expendable, and he was non-tendered, becoming a free agent. In his seven seasons with the Rockies, Atkins hit .289 with a .354 OBP, 98 homers and 479 RBI in 773 games.
He signed with Baltimore in 2010 for a guaranteed $4.5M and expectations of being their full-time first baseman. But Atkins got only 140 at-bats and hit .214 with seven doubles, one homer and nine RBI before the O's gave up on him. He was DFA'ed in June and released in July. No one picked him up, even though his salary would be on Baltimore's dime.
Now Atkins will get another chance to play in the big leagues in 2011 with the Pittsburgh Pirates and his old boss Clint Hurdle.
Does he have a good shot at breaking camp with the Bucs in 2011? Well, perhaps Hurdle can help him regain some of his old thunder. And he might be in line for a break from the baseball gods; in the past two years, his BABIPs have been .246 and .266, way under the league average.
Could he become the next Pat Burrell and rediscover his mojo? Maybe, but his average, homers, doubles, OBP and ISO have all declined each and every year over the past five years, and that's not an easy trend to reverse.
Also working against him: he's considered a product of hitter-friendly Coors Field; his batting splits are fairly even, so platooning won't be much help; no one took a chance on him last year, even for minimum wage; he's a below average fielder at both 1B and 3B, and conditioning is not his strong suit.
Hey, even with all that, Atkins is worth the price; after all, he's going head-to-head with Steve Pearce, Josh Fields and Andy Marte, not Joey Votto and Albert Pujols. But we don't see him coming north with the Pirates this spring, although it would be a good story if he could.
Out of baseball since the Orioles DFA'ed him on June 27th in 2010, Atkins batted just .214 with one homer and nine RBIs in 44 games for Baltimore. But Atkins had been all that at one time, and enjoyed his best years under Bucco skipper Clint Hurdle while playing in Colorado.
Atkins first made a name for himself at University High School in Irvine, California. He hit .557 with 13 home runs as a senior, and was recruited by Pepperdine, USC, Oklahoma State, Cal State-Fullerton and UCLA. He was even drafted out of prep school by the Mets in the tenth round of the 1997 draft, but decided to play for the Bruins instead.
At UCLA, Atkins became the first three-time All-America in school history. The first baseman kept some pretty fast company on campus, too - his roomie was teammate Chase Utley. From the time they stepped on campus, he and Utley started every game for UCLA.
On the field, Atkins put together a 33-game hitting streak and finished his career with a .369 batting average, 40 home runs, 56 doubles and 167 RBI. He honed his wooden bat skills, too. Atkins was the Cape Cod League Playoff MVP and on the All-Star West Squad MVP in 1999; the season before he hit .383.
So it was no surprise when the junior was drafted by the Rockies in the fifth round (137th overall) in 2000 and signed in June. Playing in Low Class A Portland, Atkins was named the 2000 Northwest League Co-MVP after batting .303 with seven homers.
During the 2001 pre-season, the Denver Post and TeamOne Baseball anointed him as the Rockies' top first base prospect (he would switch to third in 2002 thanks to a certain Mr. Todd Helton), as he advanced to High A Salem.
There, he finished second in the Carolina League in batting average (.325) in 2001, losing the title on the final day of the year. Atkins did lead the Carolina League in doubles with 43, on base percentage (.421) and in OBS with a .892 mark.
It was quite a season for Atkins. He had a 20-game hitting streak and was named the Carolina League Player of the Month in August when he hit .349. Atkins was the starting first baseman for the CL All-Star Game and homered.
He was named as the Colorado Rockies Minor League Player of the Month in April, and by season's end, he was the 2001 Colorado Rockies Minor League Player of the Year. After the season, Atkins was ranked as the Rockies' No. 3 prospect, and top position player.
In 2002, Atkins batted .271/12/61 for the Class AA Carolina Mudcats, and after the season, he batted .354 in the Arizona Fall League.
In 2003, he nearly broke camp with the Rox after batting .525 with a dozen RBI in spring training. It carried over, and Atkins hit .319/13/67 for the Class AAA Colorado Springs SkySox. He got an August call, but didn't do much with it, hitting .159 in 69 at-bats.
Atkins spent 2004 at Colorado Springs, where he hit .366 with 15 home runs and 94 RBI. He led all of minor league baseball in batting average, and the Pacific Coast League in doubles (43) and OBP (.434). The third baseman got his September cup of coffee with Colorado, and this time hit .357, though with only 28 at-bats.
Atkins started the 2005 season on the DL with a strained hamstring, but after a quick rehab stint at Colorado Springs, he took off. He batted .287/13/89; his RBI total led both the Rockies and all MLB rookies. Atkins was selected as the NL Rookie of the Month in June, finished fourth in Rookie of the Year voting, and earned a spot on the Topps Major League Rookie All-Star Team.
At 26 years old and in his second full big league season, Atkins hit .329 with 29 homers, 120 RBI, and 117 runs in 2006, with a slash line of .329/.409/.556 and an OPS+ of 136. He was fourth in the NL in average and fifth in RBI. Atkins was the NL Player of the Week after the first week of the year and finished 15th in MVP voting.
He helped lead the Rockies to 14 wins in their last 15 regular season games in 2007, pushing them into the playoffs and World Series. During that stretch, Atkins batted .414.
Overall, he hit .301, with 25 homers and 111 RBIs from the fifth/sixth hole hitter, and .349 with 12 home runs and 58 RBI after the all-star break. But a couple of cracks were beginning to show. Atkins batted .349 at Coors Field, but hit only .254 in away games. He had 13 fewer doubles, and his K's jumped by 34%. But that was of little concern then; his monster 2006 season would be tough for anyone to replicate, and 2007 was a fine year with the stick for Atkins by mortal standards.
Atkins spent much of the season playing his original position, first base, in 2008 because of an injury to Helton. He hit .286/21/99, having another solid season. But his eye was beginning to wander. In 2006, he actually drew more walks than he had K's; in 2008, he walked just 40 times and whiffed 100. His OBP dropped nearly 40 points, and after four strong seasons, his run of offensive excellence was about to end.
During the off-season, Atkins inked a one-year $7M contract with the Rockies for 2009. But he struggled mightily, becoming a part-time player and putting up a line of .226/9/48. Ian Stewart and his 25 dingers made Atkins expendable, and he was non-tendered, becoming a free agent. In his seven seasons with the Rockies, Atkins hit .289 with a .354 OBP, 98 homers and 479 RBI in 773 games.
He signed with Baltimore in 2010 for a guaranteed $4.5M and expectations of being their full-time first baseman. But Atkins got only 140 at-bats and hit .214 with seven doubles, one homer and nine RBI before the O's gave up on him. He was DFA'ed in June and released in July. No one picked him up, even though his salary would be on Baltimore's dime.
Now Atkins will get another chance to play in the big leagues in 2011 with the Pittsburgh Pirates and his old boss Clint Hurdle.
Does he have a good shot at breaking camp with the Bucs in 2011? Well, perhaps Hurdle can help him regain some of his old thunder. And he might be in line for a break from the baseball gods; in the past two years, his BABIPs have been .246 and .266, way under the league average.
Could he become the next Pat Burrell and rediscover his mojo? Maybe, but his average, homers, doubles, OBP and ISO have all declined each and every year over the past five years, and that's not an easy trend to reverse.
Also working against him: he's considered a product of hitter-friendly Coors Field; his batting splits are fairly even, so platooning won't be much help; no one took a chance on him last year, even for minimum wage; he's a below average fielder at both 1B and 3B, and conditioning is not his strong suit.
Hey, even with all that, Atkins is worth the price; after all, he's going head-to-head with Steve Pearce, Josh Fields and Andy Marte, not Joey Votto and Albert Pujols. But we don't see him coming north with the Pirates this spring, although it would be a good story if he could.
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Bucco Bits
-- The Pirates' potential shopping list: here's FA starting pitchers who are still unsigned and would fit into Pittsburgh's rotation - Jeff Francis, Chris Young, Bruce Chen, Ben Sheets, Justin Duchscherer & Kevin Millwood. Some back end relievers remaining are Chad Durbin, Kevin Gregg, Brian Fuentes, Jon Rauch, and Hiroyuki Kobayashi.
-- Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated tweets that the Bucs, along with half of major league baseball, have interest in Brian Fuentes.
-- Tim Dierkes of MLB Trade Rumors takes a look at the needs of the NL Central teams; his take on Pittsburgh is that they're short a starter, a veteran reliever, and need a taker for Ryan Doumit.
-- RJ Anderson of Fangraphs has the tale on new Bucco Garrett Atkins.
-- Ben Nicholson-Smith of MLB Trade Rumors has a piece on the "New Look Pirates". Well, new look bench, anyway.
-- Jen Langosch of MLB.com has an article on the Top Five Pirate stories from the 2010 season.
-- John Dreker of the Pirates Prospects blog interviewed Pirates' prospect Evan Chambers on his first full professional season.
-- According to John Paul Morosi of Fox Sports, "...the Toronto Blue Jays have finalized a one-year, $3.5 million contract with reliever Octavio Dotel...The contract includes a $2.75 million salary in 2011, followed by a $3.75 million club option — with a $750,000 buyout — for 2012."
-- LHP Sean Burnett and the Washington Nats agreed on a two-year, $3.95M contract with a mutual option for 2013, avoiding arbitration. Burney went 1-7 with three saves and a 2.14 ERA in 73 appearances in 2010; he's 9-16 with four saves and a 3.80 ERA in four major league seasons.
His deal pays $1.4M next season and $2.3M in 2012. There is a $3.5M option for 2013 with a $250,000 buyout. The contract also includes potential bonuses up to $500K each season based on games finished.
-- Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated tweets that the Bucs, along with half of major league baseball, have interest in Brian Fuentes.
-- Tim Dierkes of MLB Trade Rumors takes a look at the needs of the NL Central teams; his take on Pittsburgh is that they're short a starter, a veteran reliever, and need a taker for Ryan Doumit.
-- RJ Anderson of Fangraphs has the tale on new Bucco Garrett Atkins.
-- Ben Nicholson-Smith of MLB Trade Rumors has a piece on the "New Look Pirates". Well, new look bench, anyway.
-- Jen Langosch of MLB.com has an article on the Top Five Pirate stories from the 2010 season.
-- John Dreker of the Pirates Prospects blog interviewed Pirates' prospect Evan Chambers on his first full professional season.
-- According to John Paul Morosi of Fox Sports, "...the Toronto Blue Jays have finalized a one-year, $3.5 million contract with reliever Octavio Dotel...The contract includes a $2.75 million salary in 2011, followed by a $3.75 million club option — with a $750,000 buyout — for 2012."
-- LHP Sean Burnett and the Washington Nats agreed on a two-year, $3.95M contract with a mutual option for 2013, avoiding arbitration. Burney went 1-7 with three saves and a 2.14 ERA in 73 appearances in 2010; he's 9-16 with four saves and a 3.80 ERA in four major league seasons.
His deal pays $1.4M next season and $2.3M in 2012. There is a $3.5M option for 2013 with a $250,000 buyout. The contract also includes potential bonuses up to $500K each season based on games finished.
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Josh Rodriguez
The FO stated that upgrading shortstop was on their radar this off-season. Well, scratch that. JJ Hardy, Jason Bartlett and Brendan Ryan were all available, and all went to other teams. Orlando Cabrera leads the free agent crop, so we won't go there. All in all, this wasn't the season to go SS hunting; there wasn't much for the taking.
So they brought in Pedro Ciriaco last season, Corey Wimberly during the off-season, and used the Rule 5 draft to toss Josh Rodriguez into the mix. Brian Friday, Chase d'Arnaud, Jordy Mercer and company are on the way. And ya know what?
After Luis Rivas, Chris Gomez, Ramon Hernandez and Bobby Crosby, some young bench infielders look awfully good. And just maybe the Bucs will catch lightning in a bottle and find out one of them can challenge the up-and-down, focus-challenged Ronny Cedeno.
Will that player be Josh Rodriguez, the 26 year old (his b-day is 12/18) who the Pirates took from the Cleveland system in the Rule 5 draft? Probably not. But he does have a good chance at sticking on the roster; he's played the middle infield, third base, and the corner outfield and has a little pop to go with his versatility on the field.
The South Houston High grad spent his college days playing shortstop at Rice, where he was named the 2004 Western Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year after hitting .306.
2005 was even better; Rodriguez had a line of .345/11/54 and made All-America (American Baseball Coaches Association, third team); All-NCAA Regional (Baton Rouge), and All-Silver Glove squads. He also hit .326 with a wooden bat for the touring US National team.
Rodriguez was considered the top shortstop available in preseason draft rankings for the Class of 2006, but his stock took a dive when he suffered a serious elbow injury in the fall of 2005.
He was limited to DH'ing most of the year, and played a little hot corner toward the end to ease his elbow back into action. In fact, current Indy prospect Brian Friday took over the SS job after Rodriguez's injury, and rode it to becoming the Pirates' third round pick in 2007.
His bum wing didn't deter the Indians; Rodriguez hit .344/11/64. The Tribe made him a second-round pick and paid him a hefty $625K bonus. Neal Huntington was the special assistant to the general manager at Cleveland then, and so would have the full monty on Rodriguez's background.
They sent him to short season Mahoning Valley, where in 45 games he hit .268/4/24. He skipped a level in 2007, movin' on up to High Class A Kinston.
All Rodriguez did was lead the Carolina League in runs scored (84), rank second in total bases (227), triples (nine) and walks (68), third in home runs (20), fourth in RBI (82) and games (133) and fifth in extra-base hits (49). His line was .262/.351/.460, and he was named to the CL post-season All-Star Team.
Next, it was off to Class AA Akron, where he butted heads with reality. His first season there ended up with a disappointing line of .241/7/49, not what he or the Tribe was looking for but still good enough to take home Eastern League All-Star honors.
Rodriguez was limited to 33 games during the 2009 campaign because of a right hamstring strain. He would be destined to begin his third straight season at AA Akron, not exactly a good road map to Cleveland. But it would become his launching point.
He hit .297/13/57 with 60 runs scored in 107 games split between Akron and Class AAA Columbus while playing a key role in the Clippers' International League title. He hit .317 with Akron before finishing the year with Columbus, where he batted .293. It was the breakout season he was looking for.
The season didn't seem to impress Cleveland that much; he didn't rate so much as a September cup of joe. But the Indians' western affiliate in Pittsburgh did take notice, and made Rodriguez the top pick of the 2010 Rule 5 draft.
Rodriguez has a career minor league average of .266 with 87 doubles, 24 triples, 44 home runs and 224 RBI in 455 games. He's averaged roughly 13 home runs and 70 walks per 500 at-bats as a pro. Most impressively, he's compiled an OBP of .356.
Most scouts believe his bat will play in the show. He's not a fast guy nor does he hit for a high average, but he has gaps power, can hit the occasional long ball, and has a good eye and the discipline to get on base via the walk.
Defensively, the elbow problem from college didn't linger, and he's supposed to have a rifle. His range (Rodriguez has average or perhaps a bit below average speed) has been called into question, and reports about his ability to play SS are all over the board.
We'll take the middle ground. Rodriguez should be a perfectly acceptable major league defender at second and third, and can play SS or the corner OF if needed. That's pretty much the definition of a utility fielder, no?
He does come with question marks. There have been some reports regarding attitude problems, but none seem to relate to a specific incident that we could find. The issue seems more like a "it's time to change scenery" situation than anything of real concern.
There's also the question of whether he was a one-hit wonder last season. Rodriguez hasn't spent a full season in AAA yet, and hasn't faced a MLB pitcher when it counts. So that's an unknown, too.
It should be interesting when Rodriguez, Wimberly, and Ciriaco get it on in the spring. They may not be replacing Cedeno, but one of them should become 2011's Delwyn Young/Argenis Diaz rolled into one roster spot. And if one of them can replace that 2010 pair, then Clint Hurdle will have the extra bench flexibility that JR never had available.
So they brought in Pedro Ciriaco last season, Corey Wimberly during the off-season, and used the Rule 5 draft to toss Josh Rodriguez into the mix. Brian Friday, Chase d'Arnaud, Jordy Mercer and company are on the way. And ya know what?
After Luis Rivas, Chris Gomez, Ramon Hernandez and Bobby Crosby, some young bench infielders look awfully good. And just maybe the Bucs will catch lightning in a bottle and find out one of them can challenge the up-and-down, focus-challenged Ronny Cedeno.
Will that player be Josh Rodriguez, the 26 year old (his b-day is 12/18) who the Pirates took from the Cleveland system in the Rule 5 draft? Probably not. But he does have a good chance at sticking on the roster; he's played the middle infield, third base, and the corner outfield and has a little pop to go with his versatility on the field.
The South Houston High grad spent his college days playing shortstop at Rice, where he was named the 2004 Western Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year after hitting .306.
2005 was even better; Rodriguez had a line of .345/11/54 and made All-America (American Baseball Coaches Association, third team); All-NCAA Regional (Baton Rouge), and All-Silver Glove squads. He also hit .326 with a wooden bat for the touring US National team.
Rodriguez was considered the top shortstop available in preseason draft rankings for the Class of 2006, but his stock took a dive when he suffered a serious elbow injury in the fall of 2005.
He was limited to DH'ing most of the year, and played a little hot corner toward the end to ease his elbow back into action. In fact, current Indy prospect Brian Friday took over the SS job after Rodriguez's injury, and rode it to becoming the Pirates' third round pick in 2007.
His bum wing didn't deter the Indians; Rodriguez hit .344/11/64. The Tribe made him a second-round pick and paid him a hefty $625K bonus. Neal Huntington was the special assistant to the general manager at Cleveland then, and so would have the full monty on Rodriguez's background.
They sent him to short season Mahoning Valley, where in 45 games he hit .268/4/24. He skipped a level in 2007, movin' on up to High Class A Kinston.
All Rodriguez did was lead the Carolina League in runs scored (84), rank second in total bases (227), triples (nine) and walks (68), third in home runs (20), fourth in RBI (82) and games (133) and fifth in extra-base hits (49). His line was .262/.351/.460, and he was named to the CL post-season All-Star Team.
Next, it was off to Class AA Akron, where he butted heads with reality. His first season there ended up with a disappointing line of .241/7/49, not what he or the Tribe was looking for but still good enough to take home Eastern League All-Star honors.
Rodriguez was limited to 33 games during the 2009 campaign because of a right hamstring strain. He would be destined to begin his third straight season at AA Akron, not exactly a good road map to Cleveland. But it would become his launching point.
He hit .297/13/57 with 60 runs scored in 107 games split between Akron and Class AAA Columbus while playing a key role in the Clippers' International League title. He hit .317 with Akron before finishing the year with Columbus, where he batted .293. It was the breakout season he was looking for.
The season didn't seem to impress Cleveland that much; he didn't rate so much as a September cup of joe. But the Indians' western affiliate in Pittsburgh did take notice, and made Rodriguez the top pick of the 2010 Rule 5 draft.
Rodriguez has a career minor league average of .266 with 87 doubles, 24 triples, 44 home runs and 224 RBI in 455 games. He's averaged roughly 13 home runs and 70 walks per 500 at-bats as a pro. Most impressively, he's compiled an OBP of .356.
Most scouts believe his bat will play in the show. He's not a fast guy nor does he hit for a high average, but he has gaps power, can hit the occasional long ball, and has a good eye and the discipline to get on base via the walk.
Defensively, the elbow problem from college didn't linger, and he's supposed to have a rifle. His range (Rodriguez has average or perhaps a bit below average speed) has been called into question, and reports about his ability to play SS are all over the board.
We'll take the middle ground. Rodriguez should be a perfectly acceptable major league defender at second and third, and can play SS or the corner OF if needed. That's pretty much the definition of a utility fielder, no?
He does come with question marks. There have been some reports regarding attitude problems, but none seem to relate to a specific incident that we could find. The issue seems more like a "it's time to change scenery" situation than anything of real concern.
There's also the question of whether he was a one-hit wonder last season. Rodriguez hasn't spent a full season in AAA yet, and hasn't faced a MLB pitcher when it counts. So that's an unknown, too.
It should be interesting when Rodriguez, Wimberly, and Ciriaco get it on in the spring. They may not be replacing Cedeno, but one of them should become 2011's Delwyn Young/Argenis Diaz rolled into one roster spot. And if one of them can replace that 2010 pair, then Clint Hurdle will have the extra bench flexibility that JR never had available.
Monday, December 27, 2010
Corey Wimberly
The Bucs just added another infielder/outfielder to the camp mix before Christmas when they traded for 27 year old Corey Wimberly from the Oakland A's. He joins Pedro Ciriaco and Rule 5 pick up Josh Rodriguez in the back-up middle infielder sweepstakes to be held in Florida a few weeks from now.
His calling card is his legs; the diminutive (he's listed at 5'8"; caveat emptor with that) Wimberly can flat-out fly, and is on the short list of the fleetest minor league burners. He's a product of Alcorn State, and the Pirates have some familiarity with Southwestern Athletic Conference. Pittsburgh took Marcus Davis from Alcorn in the 2007 draft and Calvin Anderson from Southern in the 2008 lottery.
Wimberly wasn't just good at Alcorn; he owned the SWAC. He hit .420/.508/.527 with 52 runs in 42 games as a freshman in 2004, and won the SWAC Newcomer of the Year Award. The infielder was named to the All-Conference Team at second base. He was ninth in NCAA Division I batting and tenth in swiping bases with 40 steals. As scary as it may seem, Wimberly got better the next season.
In 2005, his line was .462/.571/.606. Wimberly was on the All-SWAC team, named the conference's Outstanding Hitter and its Player of the Year. He led all NCAA D-1 players in average and OBP, and he stole 42 bases to finish fifth in the nation in that category. Wimberly was named to the Collegiate Baseball Magazine's All-America team as its second baseman.
That season, he was selected by Colorado Rockies in the sixth round (177th pick overall) of the 2005 draft. The infielder signed quickly for $145K and was assigned to Casper in the rookie Pioneer League.
In 67 games, he hit .381 with an OBP of .427. He began his career miscast by playing mainly at the power position of third base because Eric Young Jr. held down second base.
But Wimberly made the PL All-Star team at second base and was rated the #18 prospect in the league by Baseball America, right behind Mat Gamel. Of course, he was a 21 year old college player and fairly high draft pick, so a flying start was to be expected.
He skipped a level in 2006; his first full pro year of ball was spent at High A Modesto, where he hit .325 with a .404 on-base average and 50 steals in 87 games; he missed a couple of lengthy stretches with a pulled hammy.
Wimberly moved up to the AA Tulsa Drillers in 2007, hitting .268 with an OBP of .323 while leading the Texas League with 36 steals; Baseball America rated him the league's fastest runner. He again had hamstring woes, and it certainly wasn't the kind of season he needed to boost his stock.
He did restore a bit of his luster when he won an off-season batting title by hitting .407 in the Arizona Fall League, and he followed up with a .291 BA and .370 OBP to go along with 59 stolen sacks during his second year at Tulsa in 2008, even with groin problems. His last game was on August 7th, when he left with a nagging wrist injury that would eventually require hamate surgery after the season.
His run with the Rox was over after that. The surgery not only cost him a possible spot on the 40-man roster, but during the off season, Wimberly was traded from Colorado to the A's for Matt Murton.
Oakland, a team that lives and dies by data-driven projections, got a player in Wimberly with blazing speed and great on-base numbers, but who was injury-prone throughout his Colorado career. The 108 games he played at Tulsa in 2008 was his minor league high water mark after four years of pro ball.
2009 was no different. Wimberly was OK for the first 70 games at AA Midland, then he broke his thumb stealing a base. It cost him the remainder of the season; ring up another victim of the headfirst slide syndrome.
But he managed to keep himself in one piece for the 2010 season, getting into 135 games for AAA Sacramento. Wimberly hit .284 with a .373 OBP and 56 swiped sacks, his usual fare. In the field, he was a Chone Figgins clone. He played 89 games in center and left, 31 at SS, 17 at the hot corner, and eleven at his original position, second base.
His base stealing ability should actually step up a notch; one advantage of the Oakland years was that Wimberly got a couple of seasons to get in some work with Rickey Henderson.
Now it's the Pirates' turn to see if Corey Wimberly has what it takes to play in the show.
Wimberly is what he is at the dish, a Punch-and-Judy slap hitter; his lifetime OBP of .373 is higher than his slugging percentage of .363. But hey, he's a little guy with fast feet, so what would you expect? He's a switch-hitter, and his career stats aren't bad: a .302 average with 72 doubles, 17 triples, 10 home runs, 191 RBI, 412 runs scored and 259 stolen bases (76%) in 2,215 at-bats.
So if you need a long fly to get back into the game, fuggedaboutit. But if you're a run down and looking for a guy to lead off an inning with a walk (or pinch run) and steal second, he's your man.
Wimberly has good range to go with his speed, which allows him to be versatile. His hands aren't reputed to be the best, but he does help stretch a bench with his ability to play just about anywhere on the diamond. Over his minor league career, Wimberly has appeared in 253 games at 2B, 105 games at SS, 83 games at 3B, 59 games in CF, and 58 games in LF.
Wimberly will attend spring training as a non-roster invitee. And his enthusiasm at switching scenery is more than apparent. Heck, he announced the trade on Twitter before the teams did. He tweeted "all my hard work paid off someone wanted me now I'm with my new favorite team the Pirates."
He's an easy guy to root for, and been a fan favorite throughout his farm stops. He ends his pregame routine with backflips, wears old-school stirrups, and has been a team leader and role model everyplace he's been. Wimberly wears his enthusiasm for the game on his sleeve.
As for the Bucs, they see a guy with wheels that has all three options, with six years of control when and if he hits the show. He can cover the whole outfield, the middle infield, and offer a jolt of speed to the attack. He - or Ciriaco or Rodriguez, for that matter - has to be an upgrade over the usual Ramon Vazquez or Bobby Crosby veteran back up plan.
His calling card is his legs; the diminutive (he's listed at 5'8"; caveat emptor with that) Wimberly can flat-out fly, and is on the short list of the fleetest minor league burners. He's a product of Alcorn State, and the Pirates have some familiarity with Southwestern Athletic Conference. Pittsburgh took Marcus Davis from Alcorn in the 2007 draft and Calvin Anderson from Southern in the 2008 lottery.
Wimberly wasn't just good at Alcorn; he owned the SWAC. He hit .420/.508/.527 with 52 runs in 42 games as a freshman in 2004, and won the SWAC Newcomer of the Year Award. The infielder was named to the All-Conference Team at second base. He was ninth in NCAA Division I batting and tenth in swiping bases with 40 steals. As scary as it may seem, Wimberly got better the next season.
In 2005, his line was .462/.571/.606. Wimberly was on the All-SWAC team, named the conference's Outstanding Hitter and its Player of the Year. He led all NCAA D-1 players in average and OBP, and he stole 42 bases to finish fifth in the nation in that category. Wimberly was named to the Collegiate Baseball Magazine's All-America team as its second baseman.
That season, he was selected by Colorado Rockies in the sixth round (177th pick overall) of the 2005 draft. The infielder signed quickly for $145K and was assigned to Casper in the rookie Pioneer League.
In 67 games, he hit .381 with an OBP of .427. He began his career miscast by playing mainly at the power position of third base because Eric Young Jr. held down second base.
But Wimberly made the PL All-Star team at second base and was rated the #18 prospect in the league by Baseball America, right behind Mat Gamel. Of course, he was a 21 year old college player and fairly high draft pick, so a flying start was to be expected.
He skipped a level in 2006; his first full pro year of ball was spent at High A Modesto, where he hit .325 with a .404 on-base average and 50 steals in 87 games; he missed a couple of lengthy stretches with a pulled hammy.
Wimberly moved up to the AA Tulsa Drillers in 2007, hitting .268 with an OBP of .323 while leading the Texas League with 36 steals; Baseball America rated him the league's fastest runner. He again had hamstring woes, and it certainly wasn't the kind of season he needed to boost his stock.
He did restore a bit of his luster when he won an off-season batting title by hitting .407 in the Arizona Fall League, and he followed up with a .291 BA and .370 OBP to go along with 59 stolen sacks during his second year at Tulsa in 2008, even with groin problems. His last game was on August 7th, when he left with a nagging wrist injury that would eventually require hamate surgery after the season.
His run with the Rox was over after that. The surgery not only cost him a possible spot on the 40-man roster, but during the off season, Wimberly was traded from Colorado to the A's for Matt Murton.
Oakland, a team that lives and dies by data-driven projections, got a player in Wimberly with blazing speed and great on-base numbers, but who was injury-prone throughout his Colorado career. The 108 games he played at Tulsa in 2008 was his minor league high water mark after four years of pro ball.
2009 was no different. Wimberly was OK for the first 70 games at AA Midland, then he broke his thumb stealing a base. It cost him the remainder of the season; ring up another victim of the headfirst slide syndrome.
But he managed to keep himself in one piece for the 2010 season, getting into 135 games for AAA Sacramento. Wimberly hit .284 with a .373 OBP and 56 swiped sacks, his usual fare. In the field, he was a Chone Figgins clone. He played 89 games in center and left, 31 at SS, 17 at the hot corner, and eleven at his original position, second base.
His base stealing ability should actually step up a notch; one advantage of the Oakland years was that Wimberly got a couple of seasons to get in some work with Rickey Henderson.
Now it's the Pirates' turn to see if Corey Wimberly has what it takes to play in the show.
Wimberly is what he is at the dish, a Punch-and-Judy slap hitter; his lifetime OBP of .373 is higher than his slugging percentage of .363. But hey, he's a little guy with fast feet, so what would you expect? He's a switch-hitter, and his career stats aren't bad: a .302 average with 72 doubles, 17 triples, 10 home runs, 191 RBI, 412 runs scored and 259 stolen bases (76%) in 2,215 at-bats.
So if you need a long fly to get back into the game, fuggedaboutit. But if you're a run down and looking for a guy to lead off an inning with a walk (or pinch run) and steal second, he's your man.
Wimberly has good range to go with his speed, which allows him to be versatile. His hands aren't reputed to be the best, but he does help stretch a bench with his ability to play just about anywhere on the diamond. Over his minor league career, Wimberly has appeared in 253 games at 2B, 105 games at SS, 83 games at 3B, 59 games in CF, and 58 games in LF.
Wimberly will attend spring training as a non-roster invitee. And his enthusiasm at switching scenery is more than apparent. Heck, he announced the trade on Twitter before the teams did. He tweeted "all my hard work paid off someone wanted me now I'm with my new favorite team the Pirates."
He's an easy guy to root for, and been a fan favorite throughout his farm stops. He ends his pregame routine with backflips, wears old-school stirrups, and has been a team leader and role model everyplace he's been. Wimberly wears his enthusiasm for the game on his sleeve.
As for the Bucs, they see a guy with wheels that has all three options, with six years of control when and if he hits the show. He can cover the whole outfield, the middle infield, and offer a jolt of speed to the attack. He - or Ciriaco or Rodriguez, for that matter - has to be an upgrade over the usual Ramon Vazquez or Bobby Crosby veteran back up plan.
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Josh Fields
Josh Fields, who just turned 28 less than two weeks ago, was a two-sport athlete at Oklahoma State University, playing both baseball and football.
He earned three letters as the Cowboy's QB, and the Ada, Oklahoma native was pretty good behind center. Fields owns the school mark for most TD passes with 55, went to two bowl games, and even set the Cotton Bowl record with 307 yards passing.
More importantly to this tale, though, is that he was a Big 12 All-Star at third base in 2003 and compiled a career BA of .364. Fields showed enough potential with the stick that he was the first round pick (18th overall) of the 2004 draft, taken by the Chicago White Sox.
Aggressively placed with High A Winston-Salem that year, he put up a line of .285/7/39 in 66 games. Entering the 2005 season, Fields was ranked as the fourth-best prospect in the White Sox organization and the #95 pro prospect by Baseball America.
Now with AA Birmingham, he hit safely in 14 straight games and had a line of .252/16/79. It was good enough to keep his spot in the Sox minor league hierarchy although he did drop out of BA's Top 100 Prospects. But Fields would rectify that in a hurry.
Now one step away from the bigs at AAA Charlotte, he hit .305/19/70 and homered in four consecutive games in May. The ol' QB played in the All-Star Futures Game at PNC Park, and got a September call-up from Chicago.
Fields made his MLB debut at the plate on September 18th and drilled a pinch-hit home run off Detroit's Jamie Walker. He became the third player in White Sox history to hit a home run in his first major league at-bat, joining Carlos Lee and Miguel Olivo.
The only real area of concern in his rapid rise through the minors was his whiffs; he struck out 352 times in 1,195 at-bats, a 29% rate. Even with that, Fields started 2007 season ranked as the number two farmhand of the White Sox and BA's #45 prospect.
He started the 2007 season with the Charlotte Knights, but was called up to the White Sox in June after a season-ending injury to Joe Crede. Fields got into 100 games and hit .244/23/67 in 373 at-bats. It got him a vote (3rd place) for ROY, but among the signs of promise were two worrisome Sabermetric snags - he struck out at a 34% rate, and had an OBP of just .308. Still, it was a nice rookie year for a corner player.
After that showing, it was thought that Fields would keep the third base job in 2008 and develop while in the majors. But the White Sox couldn't find a taker for Crede after he recovered, and he kept the hot corner job while Fields returned to AAA.
Fields struggled some with injuries in the minors, and in 75 games had a line of just .246/10/35. In late July, he was called up after Crede paid a visit to the 15-day DL, and did very little with the stick. His achy knee was scoped after his injury-plagued 2008 season.
In 2009, Crede signed with the Twins as a free agent and Fields opened season as starter at third. But his bat didn't come through - he hit .222/7/30 with a 32% strikeout rate - and he lost his job to Gordon Beckham in June. At the trade deadline, Fields was demoted to Charlotte to clear space for Mark Kotsay. There was some speculation that his knee wasn't 100%, and may have been a factor in his dismal season.
In 2010, Fields was traded to the KC Royals with Chris Getz for Mark Teahen. It was a good situation for him to get back into the swing of things; Alex Gordon and Alberto Callaspo were both hurt, leaving him an open road to the hot corner.
But he couldn't stay healthy, either. Fields missed nearly the entire season due to hip surgery. The snake-bitten third baseman had arthroscopic surgery to repair his labrum, the same procedure performed on Gordon and A-Rod the year before.
Fields made a brief appearance in September, and hit three homers in 49 at-bats, perhaps a omen that he was finally healthy and pain free. But KC didn't care to find out.
Mike Moustakas, their third baseman of the future, is on schedule to reach the show in 2011 or 2012, and the Royals non-tendered Fields rather than face arbitration, even though his base pay in 2010 was the league minimum.
The Pirates signed Fields to a split minor league deal for 2011 worth $750K if he makes the club and $350K if he doesn't, and invited him to spring training.
They got a guy that's had 796 at-bats in the bigs with a ho-hum line of .234/.303/.421. He strikes out 33% of the time. His BA isn't likely to improve dramatically; his batted ball average is .289, a bit low but close to the norm. His trouble is putting enough balls in play with that huge whiff rate.
Although he's played three positions - 3B primarily, with some 1B and OF - there's not one that he's earned a positive UZR rating for, not too surprising considering Fields is 6'1", 240 pounds and had gimpy wheels throughout his career.
But his ISO (Isolated Power rating) is an excellent .189 (it's about .145-.150 for corner players), and he homers on 18% of his fly balls, with the league average at about 11%. So Fields is a guy that can lose a baseball or two, something the Pirates sorely lack, especially from the right side.
The Pirates also have a great opportunity to max his strengths. His splits are tilted one-way against LHP, which he rakes (.293/.357/.600), so if Clint Hurdle can pick Fields' spots as a platoon or pinch-hit player, he could have a diamond in the rough.
And he may actually be at 100% physically for the first time since 2007.
The Pirates have invited Fields to camp where he'll fight it out with Steve Pearce and Andy Marte for a corner backup gig. It'll be interesting. All three have much better splits against lefties, a very good thing since the guys ahead of them, Lyle Overbay and Pedro, are lefties. All have different skill sets as fielders both in ability and positions, and that may play into the roster decision, too.
Again, it's another low risk/high reward scenario for the FO. If the stars line up right for Fields, not only do the Pirates have some right-handed thunder but a player under team control for awhile. Fields has three arb years remaining, and won't reach free agency until 2015.
So hey, let the cattle calls continue. There's got to be another Garrett Jones out there someplace.
He earned three letters as the Cowboy's QB, and the Ada, Oklahoma native was pretty good behind center. Fields owns the school mark for most TD passes with 55, went to two bowl games, and even set the Cotton Bowl record with 307 yards passing.
More importantly to this tale, though, is that he was a Big 12 All-Star at third base in 2003 and compiled a career BA of .364. Fields showed enough potential with the stick that he was the first round pick (18th overall) of the 2004 draft, taken by the Chicago White Sox.
Aggressively placed with High A Winston-Salem that year, he put up a line of .285/7/39 in 66 games. Entering the 2005 season, Fields was ranked as the fourth-best prospect in the White Sox organization and the #95 pro prospect by Baseball America.
Now with AA Birmingham, he hit safely in 14 straight games and had a line of .252/16/79. It was good enough to keep his spot in the Sox minor league hierarchy although he did drop out of BA's Top 100 Prospects. But Fields would rectify that in a hurry.
Now one step away from the bigs at AAA Charlotte, he hit .305/19/70 and homered in four consecutive games in May. The ol' QB played in the All-Star Futures Game at PNC Park, and got a September call-up from Chicago.
Fields made his MLB debut at the plate on September 18th and drilled a pinch-hit home run off Detroit's Jamie Walker. He became the third player in White Sox history to hit a home run in his first major league at-bat, joining Carlos Lee and Miguel Olivo.
The only real area of concern in his rapid rise through the minors was his whiffs; he struck out 352 times in 1,195 at-bats, a 29% rate. Even with that, Fields started 2007 season ranked as the number two farmhand of the White Sox and BA's #45 prospect.
He started the 2007 season with the Charlotte Knights, but was called up to the White Sox in June after a season-ending injury to Joe Crede. Fields got into 100 games and hit .244/23/67 in 373 at-bats. It got him a vote (3rd place) for ROY, but among the signs of promise were two worrisome Sabermetric snags - he struck out at a 34% rate, and had an OBP of just .308. Still, it was a nice rookie year for a corner player.
After that showing, it was thought that Fields would keep the third base job in 2008 and develop while in the majors. But the White Sox couldn't find a taker for Crede after he recovered, and he kept the hot corner job while Fields returned to AAA.
Fields struggled some with injuries in the minors, and in 75 games had a line of just .246/10/35. In late July, he was called up after Crede paid a visit to the 15-day DL, and did very little with the stick. His achy knee was scoped after his injury-plagued 2008 season.
In 2009, Crede signed with the Twins as a free agent and Fields opened season as starter at third. But his bat didn't come through - he hit .222/7/30 with a 32% strikeout rate - and he lost his job to Gordon Beckham in June. At the trade deadline, Fields was demoted to Charlotte to clear space for Mark Kotsay. There was some speculation that his knee wasn't 100%, and may have been a factor in his dismal season.
In 2010, Fields was traded to the KC Royals with Chris Getz for Mark Teahen. It was a good situation for him to get back into the swing of things; Alex Gordon and Alberto Callaspo were both hurt, leaving him an open road to the hot corner.
But he couldn't stay healthy, either. Fields missed nearly the entire season due to hip surgery. The snake-bitten third baseman had arthroscopic surgery to repair his labrum, the same procedure performed on Gordon and A-Rod the year before.
Fields made a brief appearance in September, and hit three homers in 49 at-bats, perhaps a omen that he was finally healthy and pain free. But KC didn't care to find out.
Mike Moustakas, their third baseman of the future, is on schedule to reach the show in 2011 or 2012, and the Royals non-tendered Fields rather than face arbitration, even though his base pay in 2010 was the league minimum.
The Pirates signed Fields to a split minor league deal for 2011 worth $750K if he makes the club and $350K if he doesn't, and invited him to spring training.
They got a guy that's had 796 at-bats in the bigs with a ho-hum line of .234/.303/.421. He strikes out 33% of the time. His BA isn't likely to improve dramatically; his batted ball average is .289, a bit low but close to the norm. His trouble is putting enough balls in play with that huge whiff rate.
Although he's played three positions - 3B primarily, with some 1B and OF - there's not one that he's earned a positive UZR rating for, not too surprising considering Fields is 6'1", 240 pounds and had gimpy wheels throughout his career.
But his ISO (Isolated Power rating) is an excellent .189 (it's about .145-.150 for corner players), and he homers on 18% of his fly balls, with the league average at about 11%. So Fields is a guy that can lose a baseball or two, something the Pirates sorely lack, especially from the right side.
The Pirates also have a great opportunity to max his strengths. His splits are tilted one-way against LHP, which he rakes (.293/.357/.600), so if Clint Hurdle can pick Fields' spots as a platoon or pinch-hit player, he could have a diamond in the rough.
And he may actually be at 100% physically for the first time since 2007.
The Pirates have invited Fields to camp where he'll fight it out with Steve Pearce and Andy Marte for a corner backup gig. It'll be interesting. All three have much better splits against lefties, a very good thing since the guys ahead of them, Lyle Overbay and Pedro, are lefties. All have different skill sets as fielders both in ability and positions, and that may play into the roster decision, too.
Again, it's another low risk/high reward scenario for the FO. If the stars line up right for Fields, not only do the Pirates have some right-handed thunder but a player under team control for awhile. Fields has three arb years remaining, and won't reach free agency until 2015.
So hey, let the cattle calls continue. There's got to be another Garrett Jones out there someplace.
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Yes, Even On Christmas...
-- Dave Gershman of SPANdemonium has an interview with the newest Bucco, Corey Wimberly, a 27 year old burner that plays just about everywhere.
-- The Pirates are in the middle of the pack as far as free agent spending goes, according to the calculations of Major League Trade Rumor's Ben Nicholson-Smith. He figures the median amount spend so far this off-season is $19M per team; the Buccos have lightened their pockets by $17.75M.
-- Andy Martino of the New York Daily News reported that "in an offseason dedicated to finding creative solutions to their dearth of pitching, the Mets might already have signed free-agent rotation help: D.J. Carrasco, who may be used as a back-end starter."
-- The Pirates are in the middle of the pack as far as free agent spending goes, according to the calculations of Major League Trade Rumor's Ben Nicholson-Smith. He figures the median amount spend so far this off-season is $19M per team; the Buccos have lightened their pockets by $17.75M.
-- Andy Martino of the New York Daily News reported that "in an offseason dedicated to finding creative solutions to their dearth of pitching, the Mets might already have signed free-agent rotation help: D.J. Carrasco, who may be used as a back-end starter."
Friday, December 24, 2010
Pellas on the Pirates: The Bottom Line
In an offseason that is shaping up as the best one since the current regime took over, there have been a lot of words written in various quarters about the Pirates and what they're doing. That in itself is rather refreshing, but there's already been a very definite difference of opinion that has emerged amongst the august assemblage of, umm, "experts".
In short, the argument is over whether GM Neal Huntington and to a lesser extent team President Frank Coonelley and even Owner Bob Nutting are in "save my job / please the fans" mode, or whether the moves made will legitimately make the team better when it takes the field at PNC in April.
I've read the arguments from both sides, and have decided I'll split the difference between them but lean in the direction of "the team is legitimately improved".
I agree with some that the Pirates were probably (if not definitely) pressured by the MLBPA to spend more money on their major league roster salaries. To be honest, I could care less who or what pressured them, as long as they actually do it, and provided that the players on whom they spend the money are actual upgrades - even modest upgrades - over the players they replace.
That criterion seems to me to have been met this offseason. Which is to say that while Lyle Overbay, Kevin Correia, and Matt Diaz aren't going to lead us to the promised land, we already knew that and that's not the point here.
The point is that a "major league" organization - quote, unquote, har-dee-har-har - quite simply on principle alone would never let its on field product plunge to the depths of the all time worst (as this regime has done by any measure almost since it took control) if it had any other option. To do otherwise, as this bunch has done, is to demonstrate that you are not a, well, "major league" operation.
This offseason, one in which not great, but definitely noticeable improvement has probably been achieved by acquiring a handful of moderately priced productive veterans, proves beyond all doubt that this team definitely had other options besides sending John Russell as a lamb to the slaughter and otherwise all but ignoring the team on the field right now at PNC.
Which is to say, it was never true to begin with that the Pirates had no other choice but to put one of the all time worst teams in big league history on the field over the past 3 years because, well, you see, all those free agents are just too expensive. Absolutely not true. The team simply chose not to spend even the relatively modest dollars it took to bring players like Overbay, Correia, and Diaz to Pittsburgh before this winter.
But really, whether the current offseason has all come to pass because "Opie" is trying to save his job or because "Bobby" is bowing to fan outrage or because the MLBPA or even the Commissioner (such as he is) is leaning on "Frankie", or---most likely---all of the above, I don't care. I'm just glad it finally happened. Ya know why?
Because I want to see a team that is just mildly interesting, competent, and entertaining while we wait for the supposed "real" team---the one now mostly in the minors---to arrive. I don't believe now, nor have I ever believed, that such an expectation is unreasonable or impossible or unachievable, even in the bottomless well of insanity that is the economics of major league baseball.
I'm not asking for a World Series winner from the roster we see at present. Just a team that has a legitimate chance to beat any other team on any given day while we wait for the harvest to come in down on the farm.
Maybe the Pirates won't win more than they will lose for the time being, but I'm okay with that given the Marlins-Rays model this front office has chosen to implement. Or rather, I'm okay with that as long as we have a team something like the one we figure to have in 2011.
So, the bottom line for me is the bottom line: this team as presently constructed has a chance to win 70-plus games and to win some meaningful contests against the upper echelon of MLB while also providing the added intrigue that will be added later in the year by our next wave of kids from the minors. I can live with that.
I'm still not thrilled, but I'm willing to wait on the kids as long as the here and now product isn't criminally incompetent - which is what it has definitely been up til now.
In short, the argument is over whether GM Neal Huntington and to a lesser extent team President Frank Coonelley and even Owner Bob Nutting are in "save my job / please the fans" mode, or whether the moves made will legitimately make the team better when it takes the field at PNC in April.
I've read the arguments from both sides, and have decided I'll split the difference between them but lean in the direction of "the team is legitimately improved".
I agree with some that the Pirates were probably (if not definitely) pressured by the MLBPA to spend more money on their major league roster salaries. To be honest, I could care less who or what pressured them, as long as they actually do it, and provided that the players on whom they spend the money are actual upgrades - even modest upgrades - over the players they replace.
That criterion seems to me to have been met this offseason. Which is to say that while Lyle Overbay, Kevin Correia, and Matt Diaz aren't going to lead us to the promised land, we already knew that and that's not the point here.
The point is that a "major league" organization - quote, unquote, har-dee-har-har - quite simply on principle alone would never let its on field product plunge to the depths of the all time worst (as this regime has done by any measure almost since it took control) if it had any other option. To do otherwise, as this bunch has done, is to demonstrate that you are not a, well, "major league" operation.
This offseason, one in which not great, but definitely noticeable improvement has probably been achieved by acquiring a handful of moderately priced productive veterans, proves beyond all doubt that this team definitely had other options besides sending John Russell as a lamb to the slaughter and otherwise all but ignoring the team on the field right now at PNC.
Which is to say, it was never true to begin with that the Pirates had no other choice but to put one of the all time worst teams in big league history on the field over the past 3 years because, well, you see, all those free agents are just too expensive. Absolutely not true. The team simply chose not to spend even the relatively modest dollars it took to bring players like Overbay, Correia, and Diaz to Pittsburgh before this winter.
But really, whether the current offseason has all come to pass because "Opie" is trying to save his job or because "Bobby" is bowing to fan outrage or because the MLBPA or even the Commissioner (such as he is) is leaning on "Frankie", or---most likely---all of the above, I don't care. I'm just glad it finally happened. Ya know why?
Because I want to see a team that is just mildly interesting, competent, and entertaining while we wait for the supposed "real" team---the one now mostly in the minors---to arrive. I don't believe now, nor have I ever believed, that such an expectation is unreasonable or impossible or unachievable, even in the bottomless well of insanity that is the economics of major league baseball.
I'm not asking for a World Series winner from the roster we see at present. Just a team that has a legitimate chance to beat any other team on any given day while we wait for the harvest to come in down on the farm.
Maybe the Pirates won't win more than they will lose for the time being, but I'm okay with that given the Marlins-Rays model this front office has chosen to implement. Or rather, I'm okay with that as long as we have a team something like the one we figure to have in 2011.
So, the bottom line for me is the bottom line: this team as presently constructed has a chance to win 70-plus games and to win some meaningful contests against the upper echelon of MLB while also providing the added intrigue that will be added later in the year by our next wave of kids from the minors. I can live with that.
I'm still not thrilled, but I'm willing to wait on the kids as long as the here and now product isn't criminally incompetent - which is what it has definitely been up til now.
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