Trevor Bauer’s
specialty
is his ability to miss bats. He struck out over 13 batters every nine innings,
and accumulated an amazing 203 strikeouts in just under 137 innings of work at
UCLA. That K-rate actually understates Bauer’s performance. Because he allowed
so few hits for reasons mentioned earlier (fastball movement, deep repertoire
of pitches, ability to change speeds), that means he faced fewer hitters. So if
you look at his strikeouts as a percentage, Bauer struck out an astounding
45.5% of all batters he faced. Bauer has no problem throwing strikes and his
command is improving. However, it is still inconsistent and he can go through
stretches where he struggles to hit his spots. His stuff is good enough to make
up for any mistakes in location http://www.baseball-intellect.com/arizona-diamondbacks-top-prospects-2012/
A right-hander from the
Jersey Shore town of Belmar, Anthony Ranaudo passed
up signing with the Texas Rangers out of high school in 2007 and went on to
dominate for Louisiana State University, leading the Tigers to the College
World Series in 2008 and '09. An arm injury his junior year saw his Draft stock
slip slightly, and it was the Boston Red Sox that selected him 39th overall in
2010 (he found out he was drafted when an LSU teammate tipped him off while on
an airplane on his way back from Omaha). A towering 6-foot-7 righty, Ranaudo
made his professional debut last April for the Red Sox's Class A affiliate at
Greenville before moving up to Class A Advanced Salem for the second half, ftinishing
9-6 with a 3.97 ERA and 117 strikeouts in 127 innings. Both Ranaudo and Boston
fans hope the 22-year-old continues progressing this summer at Double-A and
beyond, but for now, the righty is only focused on getting ready for Spring
Training. http://www.milb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120112&content_id=26329042&fext=.jsp&vkey=news_milb&tcid=tw_share
The Pirates
organization entered the 2011 amateur draft in an enviable position with the
first overall selection. The club had its pick from a number of high-ceiling players
and ultimately chose Gerrit Cole. It’s easy to
see the move working out well for the organization as long as the right-hander
can stay healthy (and there are no red flags… or even yellow for that matter).
Cole, who has been a top prospect since his prep days and actually turned down
the Yankees as a first rounder in ’08, has the chance to develop into a No. 1
starter and could get to Pittsburgh in short order. The California native’s
repertoire includes two strikeout pitches: a 92-97 mph fastball and a slider.
He also features a solid changeup. Expect Cole to open 2012 in either high-A or
double-A and he could reach the Majors by year’s end – unless the club wants to
be cautious with his service time http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/top-15-prospects-pittsburgh-pirates/
Giants signed SS Ryan Theriot to a one-year contract. The deal was
reported earlier and has now been confirmed by the club. CBSSports.com's Jon
Heyman reports that the contract is for $1.25 million, with $750,000 more
possible in incentives, but it's interesting to note that the deal is not
guaranteed. But, barring something unforeseen, Theriot should make the Opening
Day roster and is probably the favorite to start over Brandon Crawford. He
produced an unimpressive .271/.321/.342 batting line with one home run, 47 RBI,
four stolen bases and a .662 OPS over 483 plate appearances in 2011 for St.
Louis. http://www.rotoworld.com/headlines/mlb/348399/baseball-headlines?r=1
Trevor Bauer, D-backs: Bauer
spent most of his college career in Gerrit Cole's shadow, but he's ahead of his
UCLA teammate on this list and should get to the big leagues faster. He made it
to Double-A in his first summer, and there was even some talk of him getting a
September callup, though cooler heads prevailed. Using an unorthodox delivery
and conditioning methods (he's a big proponent of long-tossing), the somewhat
undersized right-hander elicits comparisons to Tim Lincecum. As interesting as
that all is, his stuff is even more exciting. He'll throw as many as five
pitches, grading out from average to plus across the board. He should get a
very long look in Spring Training and will be a part of the D-backs' rotation
for years to come. http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120112&content_id=26330142&vkey=news_mlb&c_id=mlb&tcid=tw_article_26330142
Matt Moore, Rays: It's
always a shame when a young player with a ton of talent reaches the big leagues
and struggles with the bright lights of the highest level. All Moore did was
pick up his first Major League victory at Yankee Stadium in September, then
toss seven shutout innings to beat the Rangers in the American League Division
Series. That was after he struck out 200 batters in the Minors for a second
season running. No wonder the Rays locked him up with a long-term deal this
past offseason. A great scouting find in 2007, Moore has evolved from a thrower
to a complete pitcher with three above-average-to-plus pitches. He has nothing
more to prove in the Minors and it will be interesting to see if he can break
through and into the Rays' young rotation in what will be his first big league
camp this spring. http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120113&content_id=26339048&vkey=news_mlb&c_id=mlb&tcid=tw_article_26339048
SS Joe Panik–Panik
was viewed as a reach as the 29th overall pick in the draft, but he’s already
improved his stock tremendously after hitting .341/.401/.467 in the Northwest
League and showing well in the AFL. At the same, he projects more as a solid
regular than a star, and it’s tough for me to rank a guy with that sort of
B/B+-grade upside in the top 100 when he has no full-season experience. A nice
credit to the Giants’ scouting staff, regardless of where I place him. http://seedlingstostars.com/2012/01/18/top-100-prospect-snubs-nl-west/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
A career .273 hitter, Jorge Posada
racked up 275 home runs, a .374 on-base percentage, a .474 slugging
percentage, and a respectable .848 OPS. Posada collected 936 walks which is
good enough for 15th place among active players and swatted 379 doubles. Yet,
Posada also managed to strike out 1,453 times (58th most all-time and 13th most
among active players). The 40-year-old catcher’s Wins Above Replacement (WAR)
stands at 44.7, which means he has consistently made himself an asset to the
Yankee starting lineup. Among active players, Posada ranks 27th in Runs Created
(RC) with 1,100. Defensively, he provided a career 7.49 Range Factor per 9
innings (RF/9 is a statistic used to measure how many outs a player is involved
with, thus allowing a more comprehensive evaluation of one’s defensive play),
which ranks 24th all-time among catchers. Also don’t forget Posada’s 2007
season, he remains the only catcher in history to hit at least .330 with 20
homers and 90 RBI. http://baseballreflections.com/2012/01/16/a-retrospective-on-the-career-of-jorge-posada/
Mike Baxter:
Buffalo had a horrible night last night, but they might have found themselves a new outfielder. Mike Baxter was signed a few weeks ago and has hit .438 at St. Lucie while getting the kinks out. He played his first game for AAA-Bisons last night and hit a two-run homer (Josh Satin on base after doubling)on his first at bat. The Queens born Baxter is only 26 and easily could be a AAA mainstay in the future.
Akeel Morris:
7-26-11: - http://mets.scout.com/a.z?s=228&p=2&c=1089454&ssf=1&RequestedURL=http%3a%2f%2fmets.scout.com%2f2%2f1089454.html - The Mets' pursuit and eventual selection of Akeel Morris in the 10th round of the 2010 Draft is an atypical story. But in a little more than a year, the hard-throwing teenager has opened eyes throughout the system with his repertoire and his quick growth. Inside Pitch caught up with Morris and the K-Mets coaches to find out more about his story.
George Springer:
MLBTradeRumors.com reports that Houston Astros first round pick George Springer met with the Long Island Ducks of the Atlantic League on Saturday. Springer was selected with the 11th overall pick in the 2011 MLB Draft after an outstanding career at UConn where he led the Huskies to an appearance in the Super Regionals. He hit .343 with 12 homers and driving in 77 runs on the year. - http://www.collegebaseballdaily.com/2011/07/26/uconns-springer-looking-to-play-independent-baseball
Trevor Bauer:
The Diamondbacks today signed Trevor Bauer, the No. 3 overall pick in the draft, to a four-year major league contract worth a guaranteed $4.45 million. The deal includes a $3.4 million bonus and a potential value of slightly over $7 million. MLB's recommended bonus for the third overall choice is estimated as $3 million. Bauer is the first player from among the top nine selections in this year's draft to have come to terms. - http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/draft/2011/07/diamondbacks-sign-bauer
Boras on Carlos:
"This decision for Carlos is about the select group of teams where he feels he has a great chance to win," agent Scott Boras told ESPN.com Tuesday. "That's what this thing is about. Looking for more information on your Mets? ESPNNewYork.com has you covered. "We've given Carlos a complete dossier on this. He's a veteran player. He really understands which teams have the metrics for winning and why. If a team came to him and they were not on his short list, I don't think he would go there. I think he has a very clear vision of what he wants to do." - http://espn.go.com/new-york/mlb/story/_/id/6804972/new-york-mets-carlos-beltran-go-where-chance-win-agent-scott-boras-says?campaign=rss&source=MLBHeadlines
