Link Roundup: Kyle Bloom Dominates in Hawaii

by Charlie Wilmoth on Oct 25, 2008 3:49 PM EDT

-P- Starting pitching prospect Kyle Bloom is kicking his race to make the 40-man roster into high gear:

After issuing a leadoff walk to Shintaro Masuda in the bottom of the first, Bloom (2-0) retired the next 14 batters...

Bloom lowered his Hawaii Winter Baseball ERA to 1.80 and ranks third in the league with 21 strikeouts. He has allowed more than one earned run just once in five fall starts after going 5-8 with a 4.19 ERA in 28 games, including 22 starts, for Double-A Altoona.

Bloom struck out eight in five innings and allowed only one hit. Overall, he has 21 strikeouts and has allowed just seven walks and no homers in 20 innings. Barring a big collapse in the next couple weeks, I think he's made the roster. Also in Hawaii, Miles Durham has an .800 OPS, Jim Negrych is in the low .700s and Brian Friday has been very bad.

-P- Jose Tabata is off to a good start in the Venezuelan Winter League.

-P- I didn't know that Jayson Werth is Ducky Schofield's grandson. From the same article, there's an interesting story about former Pirates GM Syd Thrift, from his time with the Orioles:

A former No. 1 pick of the Baltimore Orioles as a catcher in 1997, Werth was dealt to the Jays for left-handed pitcher John Bale at the 2000 winter meetings.

We remember at the time asking Syd Thrift, then the Orioles general manager, what he saw to move a first-round prospect like Werth for Bale.

"Son, I had a vision," Thrift said with conviction, "John Bale is going to win 15 games for the Baltimore Orioles baseball club in 2001."

He "had a vision"? Yikes. That's not something I ever want to hear a Pirates executive say before pulling the trigger on a trade.

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Comments

Roster moves

Salas and Herrera outrighted to AAA, probably to make room for Dumatrait and Gorzelanny to come off the 60-day DL.

by WTM on Oct 26, 2008 7:40 AM EDT reply actions

FYI

Jayson Werth’s mother is Kim Schofield, daughter of “Ducky” Schofield who in her own right was an excellent athlete. Dennis Werth is his adopted father who married Kim after she gave birth to Jayson. I’m not sure who he biological father is but it’s not Dennis Werth. In addition, “Ducky’s” son, Dick, also played SS for the Angels in the 80’s which makes the entire family excellent athletes. They all live here in Springfield, IL which is why I know this.

by Illinois Pirate Fan on Oct 27, 2008 2:55 PM EDT reply actions

Downstater!

:-)

When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro. -- HST

by cocktailsfor2 on Oct 29, 2008 10:27 PM EDT up reply actions

Kyle Bloom

Wait, why do you think Kyle Bloom has just suddenly figured out how to be a good pitcher? I understand the Pirates have some junk on the 40 man roster, but Bloom has a pretty unimpressive minor league track record.

by wickethewok on Oct 27, 2008 6:39 PM EDT reply actions

He’s always had good stuff, but his command wasn’t that good. Pitchers do take sudden steps forward sometimes, although I wouldn’t jump the gun and start calling him a good prospect just yet.

by WTM on Oct 27, 2008 7:10 PM EDT up reply actions

He was excellent down the stretch last year, though, after a poor start. And he’s a starting pitching prospect, which the Pirates just don’t have a whole lot of. I don’t think he’s a great prospect or anything.

by Charlie Wilmoth on Oct 28, 2008 12:48 PM EDT up reply actions