The Herd:
ProjectProspect.com ranks Fernando Martinez as the 10th top prospect in baseball, saying: Went loco in May (.326 IsoP, 6.1% BB, 12.2% K); likely average or better regular.”
ProjectProspect.com ranks Jon Niese as the 30th top prospect in baseball, saying: “Ground-ball pitcher has 100+ innings of AAA success, decent K% and OK BB rate.”
B-Mets:
ProjectProspect.com ranks Jenrry Mejia as the 41st top prospect in baseball, saying: “One of 2009's biggest breakout arms; GB pitcher with a solid K% and decent BB%.”
Gnats:
ProjectProspect. Com has dropped SS Wilmer Flores from their top 50 prospect list.
Queens:
Lost Weekend: Fielding lineups in which the 2009 edition of Gary Sheffield is the team's best player this side of David Wright, and making errors by the bushel afield, the Mets score just three runs in a three-game sweep by the Yankees at Citi Field. Their season-high five-game losing streak pushes them below .500, and includes such indignities as a three-error inning, a one-hit shutout, and another bum outing from Johan Santana, who's been rocked for a 6.53 ERA while striking out just 4.4 per nine over his last five starts.
http://baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=9166
I'm not here to tell you he's a great pitcher—he has a bunch of Cy Young Awards and pitching Triple Crowns proving that.And that he possesses one of the most devastating change-ups in baseball is old story.What I'm trying to do in this article is give you a feeling of what happens to a batter when he is fooled by a change of pace.To do that, I'll use the help of a great book, the work of some fellow writers (here at THT and elsewhere) and the "Master of Foolers," Mr. Johan Santana.And, obviously, PITCHf/x data.
I'm not here to tell you he's a great pitcher—he has a bunch of Cy Young Awards and pitching Triple Crowns proving that.And that he possesses one of the most devastating change-ups in baseball is old story.What I'm trying to do in this article is give you a feeling of what happens to a batter when he is fooled by a change of pace.To do that, I'll use the help of a great book, the work of some fellow writers (here at THT and elsewhere) and the "Master of Foolers," Mr. Johan Santana.And, obviously, PITCHf/x data.
The fooling pitch
You can't sneak a low-80s pitch without much movement past major league hitters unless you can make them believe something else is coming at them (although Mark DiFelice seems to be trying to disprove the previous sentence). Upsetting time is the whole philosophy behind the change-up; look at the next couple of tables and you will get a feel for what upsetting time is.Scenario: Santana (data from the full 2008 season) is on the mound, a righty is at the plate (the change-up is usually employed against opposite-handed batters) and the at-bat already has gone on for at least three pitches... Here comes the change-up...
ScoutingBook.com returned 1B/DH Mike Carp to the 194th top baseball prospect.
That brings us to Milledge, saved for last for obvious reasons. Yes, Milledge has been disappointing and his behavior has frequently left much to be desired. But against that, you have the fact that people in their early-20s aren't exactly known for their amazing levels of maturity and that turning prospects into players and boys into men is their job. Some of the reports about Milledge in New York and Washington have been ridiculous - at times, you can almost tell that the "unnamed sources" speaking to beat reporters are just straining to not use the word "uppity" when Milledge commits such crimes against humanity like high-fiving fans in a moment of joy and excitement or an interest in rap music. I know that 60-year-old white guys have more important matters, like getting half a billion dollars in corporate welfare from local governments, to attend to, but it would be nice if certain organizations would be able to deal with prospects that aren't either nice, clean-cut white boys who love Jesus and listen to country music or eager immigrants who used milk cartons as gloves and desperately want to send money home to their family overseas.
As a player, Milledge has showed flashes at times, coming back from a groin injury last year to hit 299/355/448 in the second half. 2009 has been a disaster for Milledge, but a disaster essentially consisting of 100 PA. The idea that Milledge is done at 24 because of a bad month and a broken hand is absolutely ridiculous. Yes, Milledge needs to show less indifference with his defense, but it's a two-way street - organizations need to show less indifference towards Milledge's future, as well and do their ####### jobs.
Is Pittsburgh the right destination? I don't really know. At least they have the right idea, get upside for no-upside. But will the organization nurture Milledge as a player, treat him like a valued member of the organization rather than an annoyance every time he does something that may not be Brent Bozell-friendly? That remains to be seen.
No comments:
Post a Comment