Around the Minors, 5/1
by biggyv on May 1, 2010 9:09 PM EDT
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PrintAnother West Coast game, so here's another minor league thread.
Indy trailing Lehigh Valley 10-4 in the 7th. Donnie Veal struggled, giving up 7 runs (6 ER) in 5.2 IP. He walked 4 with only 1 K. Pedro is 2-3 with a triple and two RBI, and was caught stealing.
Altoona leads Harrisburg 3-0 in the 6th. Derek Hankins has pitched 5 scoreless, giving up just two hits, with 2 Ks and 2 BBs. Alex Presley is 2-2 with 2 RBI.
(FYI, Stephen Strasburg is starting for Harrisburg tomorrow, and it will be his last start for the Senators, as he is being promoted to AAA Syracuse after the game.)
Bradenton trails Charlotte 7-6 in the 8th. Jeff Locke gave up 4 runs (2 earned) in 5 IP on 4 hits (one homer). He struck out three and walked one. Diego Moreno continues to eviscerate FSL hitters. He pitched two perfect innings and struck out four. His line for the year: 15 IP, 1 ER, 5 H, 23K, 1 BB. That's absurd. You have to think he'll be in Altoona soon. Jeremy Farrell, Eric Fryer, and Calvin Anderson each have two hits for the Marauders. Starling Marte is back in the lineup and is 1-4.
WV leads Greenville 4-0 in the 8th. Nathan Baker pitched 6 scoreless, giving up 3 hits, striking out 4 and walking one. Jesus Brito and Evan Chambers have homered for the Power (Brito's second consecutive game with a homer).
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While I was writing this post
Pedro homered to lead off the 8th. He’s 3-4, a double short of the cycle, and has his average up to .247.
Very encouraging game for Pedro....
I love games where he doesn’t strike-out about as much as when he goes yard. His power is truly plus-plus, so I don’t seem to worry about whether he will hit one as that power will always be there. But, the games that he shows patience at the plate, along with no strikeouts on offspeed stuff, are just as necessary.
It looks like Locke pitched well again tonight as well. 5 IP, 2 ER, 3 K, 1 BB. He seems to be coming along nicely.
Diego Moreno looks like he may have possible back-of-the-bullpen stuff just by going by his peripherals, including an awesome K/BB ratio and a very good Oppos. Batting AVG and ERA. What is his ‘plan’ for the next year or so, in terms of moving up/arriving in big leagues if this pace is continued? I would think we would like to move him along pretty soon….
Walker had another nice night as well, making his OPS even more impressive tonight. If he can maintain that patience at the plate, increase his walks, and maintain the gap-power with some dingers, he may end up coming up and sticking this time. Pretty encouraging stuff from the former 1st RD’er.
by CabreraKilledMyChildhood on May 1, 2010 9:52 PM EDT up reply actions
Moreno
Well, he’ll be 24 in July, so he’s a bit old for A+, but not super old. He split last year between State College and WV, but you’d imagine that with the way he’s pitched, he’ll be in Altoona at some point this year. Not sure how much more he has to prove in the FSL.
just curious
why havent we tried moreno as a starter? He seems to go multiple innings more than a few occasion, and given the rate at which he s striking people out, that would be a natural thing to do. Has he had injury issues? Any other issues?
According to WTM
“His velocity was as advertised, consistently in the mid-90s or higher. He also throws either a slider or a hard curve that registers in the low- to mid-80s. That and the fact that he throws from a 3/4 angle probably account for his success against RH batters. "
WV wins 6-5
Nate Baker goes 6 scoreless, with 3 hits, one walk, and 4 Ks. Evan Chambers hit his second HR of the year, and Jesus Brito homered for the second time in two games. Jarek Cunningham left the game early – not sure why. It seems, though, that he was removed an inning after being hit by a pitch.
Hey, an out is an out - unless you're Mario, in which case it's probably two outs. -UtesFan89
Hard work always beats talent if talent doesn't work hard.
What are the general impressions of Evan Chambers thus far/potential?
His OBP is really high, even with his average currently being around .200 (his OBP is nearly .400). As he did in State College, he has gotten a lot of walks already, with more than his K’s. Does his power project? Anyone have a good breakdown of his strengths/weaknesses?
Seems pretty selective at a young age, that is for sure.
by CabreraKilledMyChildhood on May 1, 2010 10:03 PM EDT up reply actions
He's striking out a lot...
…for a guy in the low minors. Some of that is probably a function of him going deep into counts, but even so, it’s a problem.
Guys with low-to-moderate power and high walk rates sometimes have trouble retaining those walks with promotion. After pitchers realize that the hitter can be challenged without repercussions, they start throwing a higher percentage of strikes.
I’m expecting a big month from him. I told you guys I’m not worried at all about his slow start, and I can’t wait to see him in Pittsburgh. I wonder if him starting slow is going to be a trend throughout his career. Let’s hope not.
The only thing I'm worried about RE Pedro . . .
is his 8:25 BB:K ratio. His K rate, while high, would be less concerning if it was accompanied by a high number of walks. I believe there is 0 doubt Pedro has serious power, but it will seriously dampered if he Ks too much and walks too little to put up a good OBP.
It’s early yet, a very small sample size, but it is one of the things I’ll be watching.
If Pedro doesn’t improve his K rate, he can still be a very productive Troy Glaus/ Carlos Pena/ Ryan Howard type. At this point I think those types of players are more reasonable projections than Miguel Cabrera or Evan Longoria. And that’s fine; those are very productive players at the plate. He seems like a perfect cleanup hitter to rake in the HRs and RBIs. And with Cutch and Tabata likely hitting ahead of him, I think 35 HR/110 RBI seasons are very obtainable in a few years.
And when Pedro does get called up
Hopefully we can put Cutch in the leadoff spot where he belongs and keep him there for 5+ years.
You're assuming . . .
his current BB:K rate translates the same at the ML level. However, that’s not usually the case. I would suspect if he was called up now, his BB:K rate would not be the 1:3 it is in AAA, but more 1:5ish, and that’s problematic.
Consideing Alvarez appears to be a slow starter
I think Alvarez’s K rate would be much lower over a large sample size (even if he didn’t improve skill-wise.)
As I've noted on other occasions...
…I’m not sure it’s legitimate to just blithely write off Pedro as a “slow starter”, given his limited track record as a pro. We’re only talking about two seasons here, including the current one. If you flip a coin twice and it lands heads both times, that doesn’t mean that it’s a magic quarter, y’know?
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