BP Podcast

Episode 93: Miniature Donkeys Are Great

After a brief hiatus, we return with an action-packed show (ok, we just talk a lot). After going on an email-inspired rant about the current state of baseball content on the internet, we delve into the game itself and discuss everything from Josh Hamilton's crazy run to Stanford righty Mark Appel to the lack of power prospects to the current state of the Arizona and Colorado systems. Then it's special guest time and a serious discussion about baseball and race with Doug Glanville in what is one of my favorite interviews in the history of the show. As always, we end with the goofy stuff, and as always, we thank you for listening and hope you enjoy.

After a brief hiatus, we return with an action-packed show (ok, we just talk a lot). After going on an email-inspired rant about the current state of baseball content on the internet, we delve into the game itself and discuss everything from Josh Hamilton's crazy run to Stanford righty Mark Appel to the lack of power prospects to the current state of the Arizona and Colorado systems. Then it's special guest time and a serious discussion about baseball and race with Doug Glanville in what is one of my favorite interviews in the history of the show. As always, we end with the goofy stuff, and as always, we thank you for listening and hope you enjoy.

Note: We do alert you to the presence of the occasional adult language and subject matter. Don't say we didn't warn you.

Up And In Episode 93: "Miniature Donkeys Are Great"

Download Here (104 MB; 1:54:29) 
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Contact Information

Email Us: podcast@baseballprospectus.com
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Table Of Contents

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Future Shock Blog

Minor League Update: Games of May 15

A crazy game in the California League and notes from around the day in the minors.

Visalia 26, High Desert 11 (High-A California League).

I could list all sorts of line from this game, but one almost wants to act like it didn't count. High Desert is crazy enough, but with winds officially at 20 mph and increasing to over 30 mph during the game according to Kyle Glaser of Victorville Daily Press, conditions were right for this kind of insanity. Some fun facts:

• Visalia led 22-5 after FOUR innings, scoring two in the first, five in the second, eight in the third and seven in the fourth.
• The combined pitching line for the three High Desert arms over that period: 4 IP, 25 H, 22 R, 2 BB, 4 K.
• Offensively the two teams went 50-for-107 with ten doubles, three triples, and six home runs.
• Beyond the 50 hits, the game also featured five walks and six errors, yet somehow all of this was done in a swift three hours and 22 minutes.

Others Of Note:

• Jeremy Barfield, OF, Athletics (Double-A Midland): 3-for-3, 2 R, BB. 10-for-19 in last five games and .320/.360/.504 in 33 on the season; change in swing mechanics paying off.
• Dellin Betances, RHP, Yankees (Triple-A Empire State): 3.2 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 6 BB, 7 K. The best word at this point is inconsistent; 104 pitches, 50 strikes.
• Jorge Bonifacio, OF, Royals (Low-A Kane County): 4-for-5, 2B, 3 R. Hitting .329/.406/.445 in 37 games and plenty of reasons to think there will be power down the road.
• Corey Brown, OF, Nationals (Triple-A Syracuse): 2-for-4, HR (7), 2 R, 2 RBI, BB, 2 K. Three home runs in last four games and combines power with patience and good defense; .281/.400/.500 in 39 games.
• Nick Castellanos, 3B, Tigers (High-A Lakeland): 3-for-5, 2 R, RBI, K. Back over .400 and this is 143 at-bats we're talking about; .406/.453/.552 in 36 games.
• Garin Cecchini, 3B, Red Sox (Low-A Greenville): 3-for-5, HR (1), 2 R, RBI, 2 SB. Hitting .347 in May and .298/.366/.427 overall, but the most shocking part of the line is the 14 stolen bases.
• Tyler Cloyd, RHP, Phillies (Triple-A Lehigh Valley): 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K. Not a ton of stuff, but great location and ability to change speeds; 0.69 ERA in four Triple-A starts with 12 hits allowed over 26 innings.
• Gerardo Concepcion, LHP, Cubs (Low-A Peoria): 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 3 K. First good start lowers ERA to 8.10. Commanding an upper 80s fastball very well.
• Matt Davidson, 3B, Diamondbacks (Double-A Mobile): 2-for-4, HR (9), R, RBI, K. Four home runs in last five games and .317/.431/.590 overall; all that while showing defensive improvements as well.
• Corey Dickerson, OF, Rockies (High-A Modesto): 2-for-3, HR (7), 2 R, RBI, BB, K. Fifth straight two-hit game while adding three doubles, a triple and three home runs in the process; .363/.415/.650 overall.
• Grant Green, OF, Athletics (Triple-A Sacramento): 2-for-2, R, 3 RBI, 2 BB. 15-for-34 (.441) in last nine games and up to .294/.333/.456 overall; playing both center and left field and needs to stay up the middle to have star value.
• Billy Hamilton, SS, Reds (High-A Bakersfield): 0-for-2, BB, K, CS; 2-for-4, 2B, 3B, 2 R, 3 RBI, K. With a pair of caught stealings in the past two days he's down to averaging one stolen base per game (35 in 35); .345/.413/.521 overall.
• Jose Iglesias, SS, Red Sox (Triple-A Pawtucket): 3-for-5, HR (1), 2 R, 2 RBI, K. Hitting .388 (19-for-49) in last 12 games and .262/.322/.315 overall; defense remains other-worldly.
• Corban Joseph, 2B, Yankees (Double-A Trenton): 3-for-5, 2B, HR (1), R, 3 RBI. Hitting .344 in eight games since late start to season; scouts believe in the bat.
• Junior Lake, SS/3B, Cubs (Double-A Tennessee): 3-for-5, 2B, R, 3 RBI, K. On base 19 times in his first nine games; .344/.475/.594 overall.
• Francisco Lindor, SS, Indians (Low-A Lake County): 2-for-3, 2B, R, RBI, BB, K. Earned his first intentional walk of the year during his fourth straight multi-hit game; .319/.368/.486 overall with just four errors.
• Shelby Miller, RHP, Cardinals (Triple-A Memphis): 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 5 K. Best Triple-A start in eight outings; 3.79 ERA with 48 strikeouts in 40.1 innings.
• Telvin Nash, OF, Astros (High-A Lancaster): 3-for-4, HR (12), R, 3 RBI, K. Huge power, huge strikeout rate, and hitting .244/.315/.573 in 34 games.
• Jurickson Profar, SS, Rangers (Double-A Frisco): 3-for-5, R, RBI, SB. Second three-hit game during the streak; .291/.341/.500 overall.
• Anthony Ranaudo, RHP, Red Sox (Double-A Portland): 4 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 3 BB, 2 K. Season debut.
• Ben Revere, OF, Twins (Triple-A Rochester): 3-for-5, CS. Hitting .373 in 15 May games and deserves another shot.
• Anthony Rizzo, 1B, Cubs (Triple-A Iowa): 3-for-4, 3B, HR (13), R, 2 RBI, K. Six home runs in last eight games and up to .359/.420/.704 overall; it's getting close to the time for the Cubs to find a way to get him in the lineup.
• Trevor Rosenthal, RHP, Cardinals (Double-A Springfied): 6 IP, 1 H, 1 R (0 ER), 3 BB, 4 K. Two-level jump to Texas League has not slowed him down; .199 opponents average and 39 Ks in 41 innings.
• Josh Sale, OF, Rays (Low-A Bowling Green): 1-for-2, HR (3), R, RBI, 2 BB, K. A potential great story in the system if 2010 first-round has really turned it around; .318/.500/.773 in nine games.
• Matt Skole, 3B, Nationals (Low-A Hagerstown): 4-for-4, 2B, 2 HR (8), 4 R, 5 RBI, BB, SB. College product belongs at higher level; .302/.448/.569 in 34 games.

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BP Unfiltered

Three-Hit Night

Albert Pujols' three-hit night

Albert Pujols: 

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Wezen-Ball

MLB's Broadcast Dispute

A minor league team once tried to stop Boston games from being broadcast in a 50 mile radius of Springfield, MA.

It was announced last week that a group of fans from around the country are suing Major League Baseball and its partners over the way broadcast rights are enforced, alleging an abuse of monopoly power. From the AP report:

A small group of baseball fans is suing Major League Baseball, its clubs and some television broadcast entities, claiming that they collude to eliminate competition in the showing of games on the Internet and television. … The lawsuit said the defendants possess monopoly power over the market for video presentations of major league baseball games and have used the power to exclude or limit competition.

As Craig Calcaterra of Hardball Talk points out, this lawsuit doesn't have much of a chance in the courts today. Things were a bit different in 1950, however, when the Springfield Cubs, in their first year as part of the International League, tried to enforce territorial rights granted them by Major League Baseball.

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Tater Trot Tracker

Trot Times for May 14

The tater trots for May 14: Bryce Harper's first career home run, plus trots from Hanley Ramirez, Placido Polanco, and Gregor Blanco.

The big news last night was that Bryce Harper, in his fifteenth game, finally hit his first career home run. He then proceeded to race around the bases in a decidedly "Old School Baseball"-type of way, finishing with the second fastest trot of the season so far. There are more details about it here. Harper wasn't the only player to hit a home run last night (in fact, he wasn't the only player to even hit his first career home run last night), so let's get right to the trots!

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Future Shock Blog

Minor League Update: Games of May 14

More thoughts on Wil Myers and notes from around the day in the minors.

Will Myers, OF/3B, Royals (Double-A Northwest Arkansas): 2-for-5, 2 HR (13), 2 R, 3 RBI, 2 K.

BP Unfiltered

Brandon Morrow and Things That Happen

Brandon Morrow can pitch from the stretch now

2010:

• .222/.325/.338 with bases empty
• .280/.351/.451 with runners on

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Tater Trot Tracker

Bryce Harper's First Career Home Run

Bryce Harper finally hit his first career home run Monday night, and didn't waste any time getting around the bases.

Ever since Bryce Harper's Sports Illustrated cover story at the age of 15, there's been a lot of talk about the phenom—and two topics especially: how good is this kid really going to be? and how cocky can he be? From obnoxious tweets to scary eye-black to a few blown kisses during a minor league tater trot, the second question seemed like it might be the more controversial one.

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