Colorful owner and promoter Joe Engel once traded a shortstop for a 25-pound turkey for a nefarious reason...
Joe Engel was the colorful owner of the Chattanooga Lookouts, a farm club of the Washington Senators from 1932 to 1959. Engel, who played most of his 102 major league games for the Sens in the teens, was also a scout for Washington, signing Joe Cronin for the club as he was wiling away in Kansas City. Probably most famous for allowing Jackie Mitchell, a 17-year old from the local woman's team, to pitch against the Yankees in an exhibition game—she went on to strike out both Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig and is still considered the first woman to play in professional baseball—Engel did whatever he could to get fans to pay to watch his games.
Effectively Wild Episode 86: Should the Commissioner Have the Ability to Overturn a Trade?
Ben and Sam discuss whether MLB's Commissioner should have the power to block a trade, as Bud Selig considered doing to the Marlins-Blue Jays blockbuster.
Ben and Sam discuss whether MLB's Commissioner should have the power to block a trade, as Bud Selig considered doing to the Marlins-Blue Jays blockbuster.
Episode 86: "Should the Commissioner Have the Ability to Overturn a Trade?"
Only a few baseball games going on around the world on Monday so some of the prospects on this list are fringier than usual. The most interesting game was in the World Baseball Classic qualifying round as Brazil knocked off Panama, a team with major leaguers Carlos Lee, Carlos Ruiz, and Ruben Tejada, and former big leaguers Ruben RiveraandRamiro Mendoza. Twenty-six year-old Rafael Fernandes, who allowed 10 ER in 12.2 innings with nine walks and four strikeouts for the Yakult Swallows in Japan last season, tossed two-hit ball over six shutout innings for the Brazilians while their lone big leaguer, Yan Gomes, knocked in Royals minor leaguer Paulo Orlando with an RBI single to account for the only run scored in the 1-0 victory. One other note of importance -- Brazil is being managed by Hall of Fame shortstop Barry Larkin. Who says baseball season is over?
Angel Cuan, LHP, Mets (Panama-WBC): 4 IP, ER, 8 H, 0 BB, 6 K. His WBC outing seems to match what you'd already know about Cuan by looking at his career minor league stats. The 23 year-old gives up slightly more hits than innings pitched throughout his career (9.4 H/9), doesn't walk many batters (1.8 BB/9), and keeps the damage to a minimum (3.53 ERA in 462 career innings in Hi-A and below). He's likely to reach Double-A at some point next season.
Darren Ford, OF, Pirates (Caracas-VWL): 1-for-4, HR (1), 4 RBI, BB, SB (10). The former San Francisco Giants pinch-running specialist is tuning up for a spring competition for a backup outfielder job with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Ford delivered a grand slam on Monday, his first homer of the season, but his value lies in his speed. In eight minor league seasons, the 27 year-old has 332 stolen bases.
Juan Gutierrez, RHP, Royals (Caracas-VWL): IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 0 K, Sv (8). The former Diamondbacks closer is healthy once again after undergoing Tommy John surgery in September 2011. The 29 year-old signed a minor league deal with the Royals last offseason and returned to the mound in mid-2012. While he wasn't very effective (24 ER in 20.2 innings between Triple-A, Double-A, AZL), he's been very good in Venezuela and, after re-signing to another minor league deal, gives the Royals a hard-throwing veteran who could possibly help at some point in 2013.
Victor Larez, RHP, Tigers (Caracas-VWL): IP, 0 R, H, 0 BB, 0 K. Although he's 25 years of age and has yet to pitch above Hi-A ball in seven minor league seasons, Larez has been really good out of the bullpen in 2012. After posting a 1.72 ERA while holding opponents to a .200 batting average in 68 innings with Hi-A Lakeland, he's been even better in Venezuela. Another scoreless inning on Monday lowered his ERA to 0.42 with 6 walks and 17 strikeouts in 21.1 innings.
Junior Lake, 3B, Cubs (Oriente-DWL): 3-for-4, SB (6). Lake continues to rake down in the DWL, boosting his batting average to .363 with a three-hit game on Monday and extending his lead in the batting race. If the 22 year-old can improve his plate discipline in 2013 -- he has a career 4.01 K/BB ratio in the minors and in 25 games with Oriente -- maybe he could be the Cubs' "Third Baseman of the Future" after all.
Leonardo Reginatto, 3B/SS, Rays (Brazil-WBC): 3-for-4. He may be a fringe prospect in the Rays' farm system, having posted a .653 OPS in the New York-Penn League as a 22 year-old last season, but he's a hero in his homeland after a three-hit performance in Monday's victory over Panama. Reginatto also had three hits in Saturday's win versus Colombia.
Jean Segura, SS, Brewers (Cibao-DWL): 2-for-5, RBI. It's still early in the offseason and the Brewers could very well land a starting shortstop in the next few weeks. But Segura is giving them something to think about after another two-hit game, a very common occurrence for the 22 year-old down in the Dominican Winter League. At the least, the Brewers have to feel comfortable knowing Segura could probably hold his own in the majors if they fail to bring in a veteran stopgap.
Thyago Vieira, RHP, Mariners (Brazil-WBC): 0.2 IP, 0 R, H, 0 BB, 2 K, Sv (2). After allowing a single to Ruiz to put runners at the corners with just one out in the ninth inning, the 19 year-old struck out Lee and Rivera to seal the 1-0 victory and put Brazil into the WBC. Vieira posted a 6.05 ERA in 13 Venezuelan Summer League starts with unimpressive peripherals last season. He'll never make it stateside with those types of numbers but the kid definitely showed something on Monday that's not easily measured by statistics. Here at Baseball Prospectus, we call it "want". Combine that with a low-to-mid 90's fastball, and I have a feeling we haven't heard the last of Vieira.
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BP adds an accomplished author and a valuable resource.
I enjoy announcing additions much more than I do dealing with departures, so I'm thrilled to have only two exciting additions to announce today:
Starting November 27th, Zachary Levine will be writing regularly for Baseball Prospectus. Here's his origin story:
Zachary Levine comes to BP off three years covering the Astros for the Houston Chronicle, including the last two on a full-time basis, giving him a nice view of most of the 111 wins and 213 losses. When the annual trips to the highly underrated NL Central ports of Milwaukee, Pittsburgh, and Cincinnati were snatched away in favor of the AL West's suburban hellscapes, he took shelter as BP's newest hire for major-league coverage. You can also follow him on Twitter @zacharylevine.
Before joining the Chronicle, Zachary was at the University of Pennsylvania, where he graduated in 2007 with a degree in mathematics. He currently maintains a fairly nomadic existence concentrated in Albany, N.Y., Houston, and maybe your couch.
He is left-handed.
Jason Martinez, whom you already know from his work with the Minor League Update, will be expanding his role with Baseball Prospectus by bringing all the functionality from his website, MLBDepthCharts.com, to BP in January 2013. I asked Jason to write a few words about the move:
In case you're not familiar with MLBDepthCharts.com, let me take a minute to explain the concept. I launched the site in February 2009 with the intention of showing readers what each team’s projected roster looked like “on paper,” as well as a snapshot of each organization's farm system. It has become an important resource for baseball fans, fantasy baseball enthusiasts, journalists, scouts, and front office executives. The move to Baseball Prospectus makes MLBDC even more user-friendly, since the statistics and analysis available at BP will be only one click away, helping readers make sense of the non-stop stream of roster moves and transactions. Other MLBDC staples, including the “How Assembled” charts, Tommy John surgery tracker, Designated for Assignment tracker, and regular features such as “Knocking Down the Door” and “Under the Radar” will all continue to be accessible through the MLBDC-related pages.
Effectively Wild Episode 85: Manny Acta and the Blue Jays' Managerial Job
Ben and Sam discuss whether Manny Acta's lousy career win-loss record has any bearing on his likelihood of success if he becomes the Blue Jays' manager.
Ben and Sam discuss whether Manny Acta's lousy career win-loss record has any bearing on his likelihood of success if he becomes the Blue Jays' manager.
Episode 85: "Manny Acta and the Blue Jays' Managerial Job"
Notes from the weekend games in the DWL, VWL, PRBL, WBC, and AFL.
There were plenty of standouts in Saturday's Arizona Fall League Championship and I've already wrote about most of them since I started on the Minor League Update a few weeks back. Rymer Liriano,Nate Roberts, and Mike Zunino each had three hits for Peoria, who beat Salt River 4-3 to win the AFL title. Instead of writing about them again, do yourself a favor and scroll down the Twitter timeline of former big league scout Bernie Pleskoff, who was tweeting lots of informative scouting notes during the game and throughout the entire season.
Here are some of my notes from the Caribbean Winter Leagues and even a few on some prospects playing in the World Baseball Classic.
Cheslor Cuthbert, 3B, Royals (Nicaragua-WBC): 4-for-8, HR (1), 2B, RBI. His team was eliminated from the World Baseball Championship after losses to Panama and Colombia, but Cuthbert had a pair of hits in each game, including a homer on his 20th birthday on Friday. A return to Hi-A, where he struggled as a 19 year-old, is very likely to start the 2013 season.
Jae-Hoon Ha, OF, Cubs (Aragua-VWL): 3-for-9, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 K, 2 SB (6). The 22 year-old out of South Korea has solid skills across the board, although he profiles as a big league reserve. He has just 26 home runs in four minor league seasons since signing with the Cubs in 2009 but I did witness Ha hitting an impressive opposite field home run in the Futures Game off Pirates prospect Gerrit Cole.
Sugar Ray Marimon, RHP, Royals (Colombia-WBC): 5 IP, ER, 4 H, 0 BB, 4 K. The 24 year-old pitched his team to victory on Friday against Nicaragua before Colombia was knocked out when they lost on Saturday and Sunday. Marimon allowed just one run on a solo homer to Royals teammate Cuthbert.
Jenrry Mejia, RHP, Mets (Licey-DWL): 5 IP, ER, 3 H, BB, 4 K. Is he a reliever or a starter long-term? The Mets will have to cross that bridge at some point. Whether they sign R.A. Dickey long-term could have some effect whether Mejia has a chance to be part of a future rotation that would include Matt Harvey and Zack Wheeler. It wouldn't surprise me one bit, though, if he's closing out games for them in 2014. As of now, he's a starter for los Tigres del Licey in the DWL, where he has a 2.65 ERA in 17 innings pitched over four starts.
Francisco Peguero, OF, Giants (Cibao-DWL): 4-for-7, 3 2B, 2 RBI, BB, K, SB (1). After an exciting end of the season spent with the eventual World Champion Giants, though not on the playoff roster, Peguero finally joined los Gigantes del Cibao on Friday. That San Francisco Giants magic apparently hasn't worn off as the 24 year-old had three doubles, a single, and a walk in eight plate appearances.
Yasiel Puig, OF, Dodgers (Mayaguez-PRBL): 2-for-8, HR (1), 2 RBI, 3 K, SB (1). Puig didn't waste any time showing off his speed and power, homering and stealing a base in his PRBL debut on Saturday. The 21 year-old Cuban, who signed a seven-year, $42 million major league with the Dodgers in late June, could be on the fast track to the big leagues. He'll run into a roadblock, however, with outfielders Carl Crawford, Andre Ethier, and Matt Kemp all signed to long-term deals.
Bruce Rondon, RHP, Tigers (Magallanes-VWL) IP, 0 R, H, BB, K, Sv (4). Reportedly a candidate for the Tigers' closing job in 2013, Rondon now has his 2012 save total up to 33 between the VWL, Triple-A, Double-A, and Hi-A. The 21 year-old has had control problems throughout his career but has shown much improvement this year. With a fastball that can reach triple digits, he's a very uncomfortable at-bat for hitters, as evidenced by their .172 batting average against him in 2012.
Sandy Rosario, RHP, Red Sox (Cibao-DWL) IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 3 K. He'll be competing for a spot in the Red Sox bullpen next spring after they claimed him off waivers from the Marlins in October. It's not too early to make a good impression, though. The 27 year-old, who had a 1.04 ERA with two walks and 24 strikeouts in 26 innings for Triple-A New Orleans in 2012, struck out the side in a 1-2-3 7th inning on Saturday.
Darin Ruf, 1B/OF, Phillies (La Guaira-VWL): 4-for-12, HR (11), 2 RBI, 2 BB, 4 K. The man they call "Babe" Ruf after he hit 41 homers in 2012 (38 in Double-A, 3 in MLB) continues to mash down in the Venzuelan Winter League. The 26 year-old has now rounded the bases 52 times on the year after he hit his 11th homer on Sunday. His RBI total is now up to 28 in 33 games.
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Kansas City Royals Job Posting - Systems Architect
Kansas City Royals looking for Systems Architect, Baseball Analytics
The Kansas City Royals are looking to hire a Systems Architect for their Baseball Analytics department. You can apply for the position by going to Team Work online. A copy of the job description is below. Let the Royals know you read about the opening at Baseball Prospectus.
JOB SUMMARY:
The Kansas City Royals Baseball Club is seeking a highly motivated data architect and systems developer to deliver analytics solutions to both baseball and business operations. While primarily working with baseball operations, this individual will also support projects for broader business operations. The ideal applicant will be able to manage multiple concurrent projects that expand the overall Royals’ information architecture and analytics capabilities.
ACCOUNTABILITIES:
Develop interfaces, data imports, and/or other ETL processes for identified data sources
Apply database design and warehousing best practices to enterprise environment
Support gathering and implementing data definitions and relationships, analytics requirements and reporting needs from the organization
Develop organizational collaboration and information delivery tools
Manage data lifecycle based on retention and storage requirements
Ensure jobs and processes execute successfully, and ensure accuracy of data
Understand data and be able to explain data structures and relationships to other members of baseball and business operations
Ensure that systems and solutions are in line with organizational objectives
Interface with analysts and staff on creation of optimal data structure for analytical purposes
Other related duties as assigned
REQUIREMENTS:
4 year degree or equivalent experience is required. Specialized training or certifications are a plus
Ability to work evening, weekend, and holiday hours during the baseball season is a must
Excellent interpersonal and communications skills and ability to interact and work with staff at all levels
Ability to recognize and maintain confidentiality of work materials and issues as appropriate
Experience with the following tools, platforms and business data:
o SQL server 2005 or newer – required (SQL server 2008 preferred)
o SSIS ETL development - required
o Ruby on Rails, AJAX, HTML5 or equivalent technologies - required
o Development of portable platforms (PC, mobile) - required
o Statistical performance data – preferred
o Business intelligence experience is a plus
o Baseball knowledge and exposure to baseball statistics is a plus
Minor League Update
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