2/24/10

Mike Jacobs, Eddie Kunz, The L Word, Angel... and BA Top 100

Mike Jacobs:

Unless Jacobs beats out Daniel Murphy for the starting first base job this spring, and that is about as likely as Ollie Perez losing his erratic ways, he will be the primary competition for the left-handed pinch hitter job with Catalanotto. He offers pop as we all know. That can be valuable. However, he is either home run or strikeout every time he steps to the plate, and in this ball park, that may not be the way to go. Unless he is on fire this spring, I believe he will have a hard time making the club. That might mean playing in Triple A until someone gets hurt, and we know that is going to happen anyway. The other possibility is that he and The Cat make the team together if there are not better options otherwise. - link

Eddie Kunz:

According to the NY Daily News, Eddie Kunz could be used as a starter in the minor leagues this season.
The former 2007 first round pick of the Mets was first told of the idea on Tuesday by minor-league field coordinator Terry Collins.The 24-year year old Kunz worked exclusively as a reliever in college and in his time thus far in the Mets organization. According to Rubin, the belief is that it will force Kunz to become more developed as a pitcher. - link

The L Word:

I talked yesterday about how leadership helps keep everyone on the same page. The Yankees always had accountability during their championship runs, they didn’t care if you were a star or a ten day call up. You either were on the program or out and the players made sure those who had other agendas were dealt with swiftly. I can see Alex Cora being one of those types with this team, and if so, he will be worth the $2 million dollars given out this winter. Obviously this type of behavior is more complementary to the big keys: Runs, hits, defense, and solid pitching. Without that, we are talking about a harmonious, but bad, baseball team. Don’t discount leadership, however intangible, especially with this ballclub. They will be tested early without Beltran and they will need to believe in the cause if things get rocky. - link

Angel:

Aside from Pagan's past production under Manuel, one reason he may have an edge over Matthews is because of an ability to lead off, since Jose Reyes likely will hit third until Beltran returns. Pagan has started 79 career games in the leadoff slot, more than double any other spot in the order. He has a career on-base percentage of .331, and posted a career-high of .350 last season 









BA Top 100:

01 Jason Heyward, of, Braves


02 Stephen Strasburg, rhp, Nationals

03 Mike Stanton, of, Marlins

04 Jesus Montero, c, Yankees

05 Brian Matusz, lhp, Orioles

06 Desmond Jennings, of, Rays

07 Buster Posey, c, Giants

08 Pedro Alvarez, 3b, Pirates

09 Neftali Feliz, rhp, Rangers

10 Carlos Santana, c, Indians

11 Dustin Ackley, of/1b/2b, Mariners

12 Alcides Escobar, ss, Brewers

13 Justin Smoak, 1b, Rangers

14 Madison Bumgarner, lhp, Giants

15 Domonic Brown, of, Phillies

16 Starlin Castro, ss, Cubs

17 Martin Perez, lhp, Rangers

18 Jeremy Hellickson, rhp, Rays

19 Aaron Hicks, of, Twins

20 Logan Morrison, 1b, Marlins

21 Ryan Westmoreland, of, Red Sox

22 Aroldis Chapman, lhp, Reds

23 Tyler Matzek, lhp, Rockies

24 Casey Kelly, rhp, Red Sox

25 Kyle Drabek, rhp, Blue Jays

26 Jacob Turner, rhp, Tigers

27 Brett Wallace, 3b/1b, Blue Jays

28 Chris Carter, of/1b, Athletics

29 Michael Taylor, of, Athletics

30 Michael Saunders, of, Mariners

31 Lonnie Chisenhall, 3b, Indians

32 Freddie Freeman, 1b, Braves

33 Christian Friedrich, lhp, Rockies

34 Wade Davis, rhp, Rays

35 Matt Moore, lhp, Rays

36 Jarrod Parker, rhp, Diamondbacks

37 Josh Bell, 3b, Orioles

38 Derek Norris, c, Nationals

39 Mike Montgomery, lhp, Royals

40 Aaron Crow, rhp, Royals

41 Jason Castro, c, Astros

42 Tanner Scheppers, rhp, Rangers

43 Todd Frazier, of/2b/3b, Reds

44 Nick Hagadone, lhp, Indians

45 Yonder Alonso, 1b, Reds

46 Dee Gordon, ss, Dodgers

47 Casey Crosby, lhp, Tigers

48 Chris Withrow, rhp, Dodgers

49 Zack Wheeler, rhp, Giants

50 Shelby Miller, rhp, Cardinals

51 Julio Teheran, rhp, Braves

52 Grant Green, ss, Athletics

53 Donavan Tate, of, Padres

54 Reid Brignac, ss, Rays

55 Jared Mitchell, of, White Sox

56 Jennry Mejia, rhp, Mets

57 Simon Castro, rhp, Padres

58 Wilson Ramos, c, Twins

59 Brett Lawrie, 2b, Brewers

60 Tyler Flowers, c, White Sox

61 Kyle Gibson, rhp, Twins

62 Ike Davis, 1b, Mets

63 Zach Britton, lhp, Orioles

64 Jason Knapp, rhp, Indians

65 Alex White, rhp, Indians

66 Dan Hudson, rhp, White Sox

67 Tim Beckham, ss, Rays

68 Alex Colome, rhp, Rays

69 Arodys Vizcaino, rhp, Braves

70 Josh Vitters, 3b, Cubs

71 Jhoulys Chacin, rhp, Rockies

72 Mike Leake, rhp, Reds

73 Jiovanni Mier, ss, Astros

74 Brett Jackson, of, Cubs

75 Josh Reddick, of, Red Sox

76 Austin Jackson, of, Tigers

77 Fernando Martinez, of, Mets

78 Chad James, lhp, Marlins

79 Tony Sanchez, c, Pirates

80 Mike Moustakas, 3b, Royals

81 Travis d'Arnaud, c, Blue Jays

82 Jaff Decker, of, Padres

83 Adam Moore, c, Mariners

84 Hank Conger, c, Angels

85 Mike Trout, of, Angels

86 Austin Romine, c, Yankees

87 Lars Anderson, 1b, Red Sox

88 Wilmer Flores, ss, Mets

89 Mat Gamel, 3b, Brewers

90 James Darnell, 3b, Padres

91 Jordan Lyles, rhp, Astros

92 Drew Storen, rhp, Nationals

93 Phillippe Aumont, rhp, Phillies

94 Miguel Sano, ss/3b, Twins

95 Andrew Cashner, rhp, Cubs

96 Thomas Neal, of, Giants

97 Peter Bourjos, of, Angels

98 Jay Jackson, rhp, Cubs

99 Jake Arrieta, rhp, Orioles

100 Noel Arguelles, lhp, Royals   -  link

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