Eric Arnett, RHP, Indiana University; Mike Leake, RHP, Arizona State University
Just a quick note to college coaches: Stop it! In the never-ending debate over pitch counts, I’m actually more than a bit liberal, feeling that most are far too cautious when it comes to pitcher usage, and gleefully welcoming Nolan Ryan taking the Rangers a step back to work their pitchers more than has become the norm. That said, the world of college baseball continues to be one where winning takes precedence over anything else. Arnett and Leake could both go in the first round of this June’s draft, and both aces took the mound this Friday for their respective teams. They did their jobs well, delivering complete games, but a closer look at the box scores show 138 pitches for Leake and 141 for Arnett. The NCAA needs to establish some rules here, say a 120-pitch limit for starters, in order to prevent careers from being ruined by coaches who are only focused on wins, instead of also accepting some responsibility for these kids’ futures. But then, has the NCAA done anything smart… ever?
Homer Bailey, RHP, Reds (Triple-A Louisville)
After striking out a career-high 15 in his last start, Bailey was more efficient on Saturday night, delivering a seven-inning five-hit shutout against Buffalo. Much of his success can be attributed to mechanical changes, or, more accurately, his reverting to his former delivery, which puts more downward bite on both his fastball and breaking ball. There’s no immediate, obvious opening in the Reds’ rotation right now, but when one does arise, Bailey could finally be ready to step in and live up to his once mighty promise.
Devaris Gordon, SS, Dodgers (Single-A Great Lakes)
Tom’s kid arguably has the best set of tools in the system, but he is also among the most raw talents in the organization, so it wasn’t a big surprise to see him hitting just .259 a week ago. Heck, that was almost an encouraging number for a player in the Midwest League, the lowest-scoring league in the minors, and even more so during this April’s brutal weather. The thing about tools-oriented prospects is that sometimes they just begin to click, and Gordon is doing just that lately. A three-hit game on Sunday was his second with as many safeties in a row, and his fourth of the past week, giving him 10 runs and 16 hits over that span, and thereby raising his triple-slash numbers to .326/.363/.463, with his plus-plus speed adding four triples and nine stolen bases. The rawness is still there, as evidenced by 10 errors and just five walks in 95 at-bats, but at the same time, his ceiling is extraordinarily high.
Cyle Hankerd, OF, Diamondbacks (Double-A Mobile)
A third-round pick in 2006, Hankerd made a massive splash after signing that summer, hitting .384 in the Northwest League and then slugging eight home runs in just 18 California League games. Since then, he’s all but fallen off the map, hitting just 13 home runs over 228 games in the past two seasons-not nearly enough for a player whose bat is his only ticket to the big leagues. Suddenly, he’s now the hottest hitter in the minors, slugging a pair of home runs on Friday, adding three doubles on Sunday, and going a ridiculous 14-for-20 over his last five games to raise his averages to .388/.450/.627 in 21 games. The 24-year-old has not quite transformed himself into a massive prospect, but he’s at least made his blip on the radar visible once again.
Luke Hochevar, RHP, Royals (Triple-A Omaha)
For the Royals to not begin the year with Hochevar in the rotation was a bit baffling. His 5.51 ERA in the big leagues was obviously nothing to write home about, but it did serve as a valuable lesson for the former first overall pick. The team thinks that he needs to learn something at Triple-A, and that makes sense, but to do it so that you can keep Sidney Ponson and Horacio Ramirez in the rotation? That’s just confusing. Now, a month into the season, the American League Central looks even more wide open than initially predicted, and the Royals are right in the middle of it. With a seven-inning, two-hit shutout on Sunday, Hochevar has a 1.13 ERA in five starts for the O-Royals, with a ground-ball ratio of three grounders to every fly-ball out. If the Royals want to stay in first place, they might be best served by getting Hochevar back in the big leagues.
Mat Latos, RHP, Padres (Single-A Fort Wayne)
After missing the first month of the year recovering from an ankle injury, the Padres’ top prospect returned to action on Saturday with six shutout innings, allowing just two hits and a walk to the 19 batters he faced while striking out six. Latos’ fastball was as good as ever, featuring above-average velocity and location, and while he threw few breaking balls, that’s not uncommon for a pitcher in his first game back. The only bad news was the roster move related to Latos’ activation, as 2007 first-round pick Nick Schmidt headed to the DL with elbow soreness, this after missing all of 2008 recovering from Tommy John surgery.
Jeff Locke, LHP, Braves (High-A Myrtle Beach)
Locke is one of those players who some scouts tend to like and some tend to love, but his performance has usually fallen firmly in the good-not-great zone. His performance may finally be catching up with the reports, as Locke has taken no-hitters deep into each of his last two starts, including seven shutout innings on Friday while allowing two hits, two walks, and striking out six. He has solid velocity for a lefty, touching as high as 93 mph with a fastball that features outstanding late life, and his curveball and changeup both project as plus pitches down the road. He’s generating a lot of buzz in the Carolina League so far this year, and this could be the beginning of a breakout.
Andy Marte, 3B, Indians (Triple-A Columbus)
Once one of the top prospects in the game, Marte has spent the past three years disappointing both at Triple-A and in the majors, and when the Indians took him off of the 40-man and passed him through waivers before the season, nobody bit. This is hardly the long-awaited “he’s back” entry, but it is notable that after going 0-for-4 in his first game of the season, he’s gone on an eight-game hitting streak, including his first home run of the year on Friday followed by two more on Saturday, for an overall batting line of .344/.389/.719. He’s still just a relatively reasonably young 25 years old, so color me slightly interested.
Fernando Martinez, OF, Mets (Triple-A Buffalo)
During last week’s daily reports, I took a shot at Martinez during a 1-for-18 slump, saying simply that at some point the guy has to start performing as opposed to living off of his reputation. It’s great that this early in the season it only takes a few games’ worth of production to turn around your numbers, and Martinez has done just that, delivering a double and a home run on both Friday and Sunday; in the last four days his OPS has risen 161 points, with a line of .287/.330/.529. It’s hard to argue with the upside his tools represent, and he still may be lined up for a real look in 2010.
Pat Venditte, RHP and LHP, Yankees (Low-A Charleston)
On the surface, he appears to be more of an entertaining distraction than anything else. A 20th-round pick last June out of Creighton, Venditte is truly ambidextrous, attacking hitters from the right with his right arm, and lefties with his left, where he utilizes a different motion that is very low three-quarters and almost sidearm. He’ll never light up a radar gun, rarely touching 90 mph from the right or even the upper 80s from the left side, but his control is immaculate, and his breaking stuff is solid enough. So far he’s been untouchable, delivering perfect saves on Friday and Saturday to keep his ERA at zero. In 10
Thank you for reading
This is a free article. If you enjoyed it, consider subscribing to Baseball Prospectus. Subscriptions support ongoing public baseball research and analysis in an increasingly proprietary environment.
Subscribe now
Maloney is a fly-ball pitcher with an OK-but-not-great K rate. I don't think he throws much more than 88 or 90 from what I've read.
I'm afraid that is a BAD type of pitcher to be in GABP.
Would you agree, Kevin?
And, secondly, given his apparent ability to sustain this extreme ground ball rate, is it time to start thinking that he could possibly be more than just a 4th starter or so? I realize he doesn't have the K rate to be Webb or Halladay, but this kind of ground ball rate is almost more of an innate ability than a learned one, and it sure seems that Hochevar has it. Could he be a solid 2 or 3 starter?
Thanks.
They should just rename the Ohio school "Fake Miami."
Of course, I should mention my parents are both Alums of the Florida school...
Has a super bowl winning quarterback ever played for Miami (FL)? Has a US President ever graduated from Miami (FL)? I think we know who the "Fake Miami" is... :)
(thank you for listening to me rant)
Miami, Florida, on the other hand, is named after the unrelated tribe of Mayaimi Native Americans.
"Miami was the name of two towns located in Erie County and Lucas County; however, the exact location of either is unknown."
My original point was made jokingly, anyway. Besides, I said "MAJOR American city." Major was the important part...
Since it doesn't detract at all from my point, I hardly think that my error of referencing the non-existent city of Miami, Ohio compares with yours.
You really, really need to work on your reading comprehension.
I live in Bloomington and it's practically free to see a baseball game and about a 15-minutw walk from my house. IS Arnett (or any IU player) worth checking out, or do you know of any Big 10 players worth seeing when they come here? I know you're not the college guy, but thought I'd ask.
Also, the University of Indiana is in Pennsylvania. Really!
I have to wonder what Jonathan Hovis has to do to be promoted. He's old for his level (25 years old, in his second year of High-A), and probably has mediocre stuff, but if a sub-2.00 ERA doesn't get you promoted, I don't know what can.
Just checked milb.com: RHBs have a .353 BA against him this year so far. Ouch.
SInce an ambidextrous pitcher is so unique, I doubt there's any rule covering how often one can switch hands, but I bet that will change if Venditte ever makes the majors.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PiqLaWFufms
1. The pitcher must visually indicate to the umpire, batter and runner(s) which way he will begin pitching to the batter. Engaging the rubber with the glove on a particular hand is considered a definitive commitment to which arm he will throw with. The batter will then choose which side of the plate he will bat from.
2. The pitcher must throw one pitch to the batter before any “switch†by either player is allowed.
3. After one pitch is thrown, the pitcher and batter may each change positions one time per at-bat. For example, if the pitcher changes from right-handed to left-handed and the batter then changes batter’s boxes, each player must remain that way for the duration of that at-bat (unless the offensive team substitutes a pinch hitter, and then each player may again “switch†one time).
4. Any switch (by either the pitcher or the batter) must be clearly indicated to the umpire. There will be no warm-up pitches during the change of arms.
5. If an injury occurs the pitcher may change arms but not use that arm again during the remainder of the game.
p.s. One of my roto teams this season is named "Homer Bailey and the Bailouts" :-)
http://clevelandtribeblog.blogspot.com/2007/07/lazy-sunday-with-franchise.html
Ok, Neftali Feliz. ok, well, since there aren't any other 20 year olds at AAA then its pretty much a strawman. But age and level do not make the only determination of prospect quality. People are down on Martinez because he doesn't walk alot, strikes out a ton, doesn't hit for power, and doesn't field well. Plus, since he doesn't steal a whole bunch of bases, field well, or hit alot of triples, he probably doesn't run that well. (if he does run well, then he's not being coached well.)
People were down on Chris Davis (and still are) because he strikes out alot even though his walk rate is decent, and he hits for tremendous power and has no speed. But he's a first baseman, not a centerfielder. And Martinez is closer to Corey Patterson than Chris Davis. But he'll probably be a major leaguer by age 21, though he'll never be as good a major leaguer as Smoak, or Beckham, or Wallace, or Anderson.
Smoak, btw, will be in AAA by the end of this year and would probably already be in Arlington if it were not for the aforementioned Chris Davis, as there's kind of a log-jam at first right now in Texas. (move Davis to DH? well, Blalock is kinda hitting and he's still under contract, so burying him isn't the best option. and even then we still have Max Ramirez to deal with, and his perennial .300/.400/.500 production, and limited catching ability).
Beckham? well, he's also being moved slowly but will probably face AAA pitching by the end of this year or early next year. Many even predict a cup of coffee for him this September. But Alexi Ramirez is doing fine right now, so there's no rush.
Brett Wallace hits a ton, but his fielding is a bit suspect, and again he'll move to AAA fast, but for the moment Brian Bardon and Joe Thurston are doing fine.
Lars Anderson can also hit, but for some reason (Kevin Youkilis) they aren't in much of a hurry there either.
any questions?
Yeah. You seem to be agreeing with me pretty violently. I said:
"I'm not saying Martinez is better than these guys, but he's holding his own at Triple A at age 20, and that deserves some respect."
Which part of that sentence did you not understand?
Id like to see him actually hit well once, regardless of ARL. Until then he's just a good prospect to me, not a top 50 guy.
http://www.baseballprospectus.com/unfiltered/?p=978
http://www.drivelinemechanics.com/2009/5/6/866567/homer-baileys-turnaround-due-to-a
It's just more confirmation bias, I think. Bailey dominating AAA tells us what we already know: He's good enough to dominate AAA.