Baseball and Stuff – Austin Woods, Zack Greinke , Manny Machado, Rhiner Cruz

Baseball and Stuff – Austin Woods, Zack Greinke , Manny Machado, Rhiner Cruz

Austin Wood (#30 on the MWAH Top Prospect Rankings) looks like he’s going to be jumping up the prospect lists pretty soon.  On a cold opening night, his fastball was sitting 97-98 with a smooth and effortless delivery.  Contradicting what I’ve previously been told, his slider was a definite strikeout pitch.  He loses his release point often though, and when that happens he’s dangerously erratic.  His fastball tends to miss high more often than not.  Still, 5 IP 1 ER 1 BB and 10 K’s is nothing to sneeze at.  His development reminds me a bit of current Angel prospect Garrett Richards.  Both went to big time college programs (Oklahoma and USC), both were relievers in college that put up awful numbers.  Both are big-bodied pitchers with very good fastballs and both tend to miss up.  Wood’s fastball and slider are better than Richards but Richards has a very good curve and change.  There’s no doubt Wood has “front of the rotation” type of stuff. link  

Buster Olney on Zack Greinke:

"He's got to alter the perception that he can be a troublesome clubhouse presence, a reputation he earned in his years with the Royals. A lot of teammates there thought he was not invested in the rest of them. There are already some teams who won't consider Greinke because of the uneven nature of his exit from Kansas City."

Worst Game Score By A Prospect - We have a four-way tie for last with a game score of 42: Mets Double-A righty Zack Wheeler (3 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 4 SO, 3 BB), Pirates Triple-A lefty Jeff Locke (4 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 4 SO, 0 BB), Diamondbacks high Class A righty Anthony Meo (4 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 SO, 5 BB) and Astros Double-A righty Ross Seaton (5 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 1 SO, 0 BB). link  

Manny Machado Watch: 5-for-15 (.333) thus far with a homer, a double, one walk, and four strikeouts for Double-A Bowie. The BB/K/AB bears watching, especially given this aggressive posting: he didn't hit especially well in High-A last year, and the Orioles are showing exactly how highly they think of him by having him open the season in Double-A. link 

Rangers sign INF Ian Kinsler to 5-year, $75 million deal with option for 6th year:

Today in 1947: Brooklyn Dodgers GM Rickey announces purchase of Jackie Robinson's contract from Montreal Royals.

Dodgers center fielder Matt Kemp was named the National League Player of the Week for the first week of the season 

Rhiner Cruz, RHP, Astros -  Like Castillo, Cruz is another Rule 5 pick with a live arm. Unlike Castillo, Cruz is no newcomer to pitching. Houston plucked Cruz out of the Mets system, where Cruz had spent the past season pitching for Double-A Binghamton. The story on Cruz is a common one: he can throw serious heat, but his command and secondary offerings are lacking. Those who enjoyed Cruz’s major-league debut against the Rockies on Saturday night saw both sides of the coin. Throwing from a three-quarters arm angle, Cruz got a blazing fastball and slider past Michael Cuddyer. On an 0-2 count, Cruz threw a 98-mph fastball that went whizzing behind Cuddyer, who had the wherewithal to get out of the way. Cruz would strike Cuddyer out on another slider. Brad Mills experienced life with a Rule 5 pick last season, when he babied Aneury Rodriguez long enough to keep the righty in the system. This season, the front office is asking Mills to teach two Rule 5 picks (Cruz and shortstop Marwin Gonzalez) how to handle the majors, with the idea being that both can develop into serviceable players. Just hope that Cruz doesn’t maim someone first.  link