8/1/10

Cutnpaste: - Josh Thole, Harper Back to JUCO, Strasburg’s Mechanics, Matt Harvey... and Zach Lutz

Josh Thole:
link  - So far in his Major League career, all Josh Thole has done has been hit. After batting .321/.356/.396 in his cup of coffee in 2009, the twenty-three year old catcher is killing the ball this season. Thole's .350/.469/.450 batting line in twenty-two games gives him a career .333 average. With Rod Barajas on the Disabled List, Thole may get a chance to stay in the big leagues and prove he's the real deal.










Harper Back to JUCO:



link  - The Nationals and Orioles took Bryce Harper and Manny Machado first and third overall in the 2010 draft, but now the two young prospects are causing Nats and O’s fans’ hearts to skip a beat. Early Friday morning, Harper declared on his Facebook page that he’s, “Probably going back to [the College of Southern Nevada] to win a National Championship!” and Machado quickly joined in by saying he’d like to join Harper there. The deadline for both players to sign with the clubs that drafted them is Aug. 16. Of course, it’s worth pointing out that both players are advised by Scott Boras, who’s notorious for not even beginning negotiations with clubs until hours before that deadline.



Strasburg’s Mechanics:



link  - White Sox pitching coach Don Cooper, speaking to MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM on Thursday, voiced a concern that some pitching gurus previously noted about Strasburg’s manner of throwing a baseball. As he loads the baseball, his elbows raise higher than his shoulders — forming what pitching coaches call an inverted W — and the back of his shoulders pinch toward one another in the “scap loading” portion of the delivery. Such a delivery, some pitching coaches believe, puts him at greater risk of shoulder fatigue.






Matt Harvey:



7-28 from: - http://www.amazinavenue.com/2010/7/28/1592006/mets-farm-q-a-with-baseball - My sense was that of all the guys on the board, the Mets liked Arkansas third baseman Zack Cox the best, but his extra leverage as a sophomore-eligible and his high asking price scared them off. That said, Harvey isn't the typical Mets slot draft pick, as he's advised by the Boras Corp. After an inconsistent first two years in college, he was much more consistent last year and was arguably the best college righthander in the draft. I'm not completely sold on him based on all that inconsistency, and I could see him winding up in the bullpen down the road, but it's nice to see the Mets take a guy based on more than just slotability.






Zach Lutz:


link  - Team: Double-A Binghamton (Eastern) - Why He's Here: .500/.538/1.167 (6-for-12), 2 2B, 2 HR, 5 RBIs, 6 R, 1 BB, 2 SO - The Scoop: After rehabbing a stress fracture in his left foot for about six weeks, Lutz made a triumphant return to Binghamton, hitting a home run in his first at-bat. Lutz made a rehab appearance at high Class A St. Lucie before seeing action in two games at Binghamton this week, but he picked up right where he left off before the injury. Lutz, who missed most of his '07 debut season with a fractured his left foot, has 18 extra-base hits in 37 Double-A games this year, including 10 home runs.

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