1/17/12

Baseball: Julio Teheran, Micah Owings, Jose Arredondo, Jamie Moyer




Julio Teheran, Braves: At the start of the 2010 season, Teheran was at the lowest full-season rung, the South Atlantic League. He made his Major League debut in May, then spent more time in Atlanta in September, speeding through the Braves' system to get there. He was dominant in Triple-A during the 2011 season, using outstanding stuff and mound presence to excel. He has three above-average-or-better offerings -- with his fastball, curve and changeup -- and commands all of them well. He'll still be just 21 for all of the 2012 season, and he should continue to add strength to his frame. The Braves have a ton of good young pitching, and Teheran has a chance to lead them all. http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120112&content_id=26330142&vkey=news_mlb&c_id=mlb&tcid=tw_article_26330142

On the surface, Micah Owings had a great year in 2011, as he went 8-0 with a 3.57 ERA. But his peripherals paint a different story. His FIP was 4.47 and his xFIP was 4.51 indicating he was quite lucky last season. The big two areas where Owings was fortunate was with his balls in play and his strand rate. He had a .258 BABIP and a 77.4 LOB%. Those give a glimpse of why the Diamondbacks non-tendered him in the offseason. Owings could fill the long man spot in the bullpen and be ready to step in if Santana isn’t ready to go or if Gee continues pitching like he did after the All-Star break last year. Another upside with Owings is that he’s one of the best hitting pitchers in the majors today. In 217 PA in the majors, Owings has a .286/.313/.507 line with 9 HR. If he’s in the game as a long man, or pitching well as a starter, he gives his manager more flexibility because you do not have to pinch-hit for him when his spot in the lineup comes to the plate. http://mets360.com/?p=9029&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Mets360%2Ffeed+%28Mets360+Feed%29

The Cincinnati Reds are close to signing righty reliever Jose Arredondo to a two-year deal, according to Jon Heyman. A two year deal would cover two of his four arbitration seasons. Arredondo, 27, had an impressive debut in 2008 and pitched 61 innings of 1.62 ERA baseball for the Los Angeles Angels, but struggled in 2009 with a 6.00 ERA. He then missed all of 2010 following Tommy John surgery, but bounced back in 2011 with a 3.23 ERA over 53 innings (and still had a couple DL stints) with the Reds.

The Rockies are also awaiting word to see if ageless veteran free agent Jamie Moyer will accept their minor-league contract proposal.  Multiple major league sources confirmed that the Rockies are trying to finish up a minor-league deal with the 49-year-old Moyer, who last pitched with the Phillies.  The left-hander debuted in 1986 with the Cubs and went 9-9 with a 4.84 ERA with Philadelphia in 2010 before undergoing elbow ligament surgery that forced him to miss last season. He threw in winter ball and auditioned for scouts, including a representative from the Rockies.  Moyer would be brought in to compete for a rotation spot and help tutor the young pitchers on staff. He is known for possessing one of baseball's best changeups. http://mlb.sbnation.com/2012/1/16/2712024/rockies-jamie-moyer-minor-league-deal

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