Morning Report – July 21st – Scouting, Lucas Duda, Newark Bears, Ali Sanchez, Danny Goodwin

Polo Grounds 

                                                                                                                                            

Coming Later Today –    

            10 00 am –Stephen Guilbert - Shortstoptions: Javier Baez is not a Shortstop

            12 00 pm – Craig Mitchell -

              2 00 pm - Baseball America - Highest Draft Bonuses of All-Time

            4 00 pm - 2015 Draft Profile - SS  -  Brendan Rodgers  -  Lake Mary (FL) HS - UPDATED 7-9-14

In his last 4 starts, Steven Matz has throwing 23.1ip w/ 25 K's & 5 BB's, allowing only 4 ER.

The best offenses in #MLB over the past 14 days, by wRC+:

1. #Indians

2. #Mets

3. #Tigers

4. #Rays

5. #Angels

6. #Cardinals

There’s a story I want you to read (http://nypost.com/2014/07/17/the-pitching-prospect-whos-hailed-as-yankees-best-in-a-decade/) that Joel Sherman wrote… about a scout talking about a Yankee prospect. The name of both the scout and player are not important. What is are steps and factors this scout used and found to determine he had found what you and I call a ‘prospect’… the velocity of the fastball… the location on the edges of the zones the ball wound up in… the fact his changeup gave the pitcher ‘a special combo of arm strength, easy of delivery, fastball command, and quality to the breaking ball’. He was describing two + pitches like they were the second coming of Christ.

What next impressed the scout came after a hitter got on base. The side-stepping and getting the ball to the plate from the stretch was extremely fast, yet the velocity and command remained intact. Read the article. It will teach you a little about the scouting game. You will also notice that there was no emphasis on the stats being generated for that game either.

  

Fangraphs on Allan Craig and Lucas Duda –

  On May 26, the Mets, frustrated in the midst of what clearly was becoming the franchise’s sixth straight losing season, fired hitting coach Dave Hudgens, replacing him with Lamar Johnson. You can’t fire an entire team, so the baseball cliché goes, so you settle for cosmetic solutions in the hopes of demonstrating to your disillusioned fanbase that yes, measures are being taken to right the ship.

I can’t speak to whether Johnson possesses magical abilities, but the team has played .500 ball since he was tapped as hitting coach, averaging slightly more runs a game. And whether it’s been Johnson’s tutelage or just the way the moon and the stars have been aligned, Duda has become a different player.

What’s changed? He’s been much more successful hitting offspeed pitches, and almost everything about his approach at the plate has turned around for the better. He’s swinging less often at pitches outside the strike zone while making better contact on the pitches he can hit. In doing so, Duda has seen his line drive rate spike, while also seeing an increase in fly balls, to the point where he now leads qualified National League hitters in fly ball percentage. That’s great to see, because as Duda, 28, has gotten older, his batted ball distance has steadily increased each season. http://www.fangraphs.com/fantasy/dropping-allen-craig-for-lucas-duda/

            The author went trying to come up with a reason to trade Duda for Alan Craig. Look… as I have said a number of times this past month. There are far more pressing issues than who is playing first base in 2014. Leave Duda alone. He’s having a career year.

Marty asked –

         The Newark Bears of the Independent League shut down operations this year. The ballpark in beautiful, unoccupied and a stone’s throw to New York City. I don’t know if the International League would expand, or is limited to its resident cities with teams playing merry go round every year with major league affiliations, but it seems like a great fit.

           Any thoughts as to the politics of making this work? – Marty

                        Mack – You know, this is a great idea. Now someone just has to sell it to the powers to be in the International League… and… get the Yankees to approve it. Herb/MMS pointed out earlier this week that the Mets really pissed off the Yankees when they blocked a similar regional move. Consider this a real long shot. Maybe give them one of out minor leaguers for the rights.

BA’s ‘Not So Hot’ on Thor –

Noah Syndergaard, rhp, Mets. Despite throwing 98 mph seemingly without effort while collecting the save at the Futures Game, Syndergaard has had a rough go at Triple-A Las Vegas since June. In that time he’s logged an 8.71 ERA in seven starts, while allowing opponents to hit .351. His other peripherals look fine—8.7 strikeouts and 2.0 walks per nine innings in that span—so don’t hit the panic button just yet. The 21-year-old needs to mix his pitches better and not catch so much of the plate with his fastball, which is true for many power pitching prospects. http://www.baseballamerica.com/minors/prospect-hot-sheet-july-18/?sm_id=social_20140718_28074616

  

John (Chicago): Ben! I'm so glad you're the one fielding questions because we might get some DSL insights. Do you have any thoughts on catcher Ali Sanchez, a July 2 signing from last year who has put up great numbers so far?

            Ben Badler: He was one of the best catchers on the international market last year and just made the DSL all-star team. It's an extremely short, inside-out swing that helps him make a lot of contact with mostly gap power, although he's shown some surprising sock at times this year. Very good catch-and-throw skills too with a strong, accurate arm and a quick release, with ability to control the running game well beyond his years. Looking like one of the better international signings from last year.

By the way… Danny Goodwin (1971) and Tim Belcher (1983) were the other two household names that were drafted #1 overall and didn’t sign with their team.

            Goodwin wound up at Southern University for two years and was then drafted first overall again, this time by California. He went on to a meh 7-yr MLB career where he hit .236.

            Belcher enrolled in the east coast powerhouse Mount Vernon Nazarene University, but was signed by Oakland. He pitched for eight teams over 14 years, going 146-140, 4.16.

            You sometime get one shot at the big headlines and none of them guarantee a successful career.