BP Unfiltered

Daily Draft Video: Trey Masek

Daily exclusive video series designed to familiarize you with the names you need to know leading up to the 2013 amateur draft.

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BP Unfiltered

Rockies Must Regain Home Edge Under Weiss

The Rockies teams of the last few years made a talent gap worse by failing to take advantage of Coors Field. It's a priority for new manager Walt Weiss to change that.

The “best home field advantage in baseball,” as Walt Weiss calls the situation he is taking over as new Rockies manager, isn’t given out as a perk of the job, as if the edge were crowd noise. It is taken, and Weiss seems to understand that.

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BP Daily Podcast

Effectively Wild Episode 95: Switch-Hitters Who Shouldn't Switch-Hit/What We Learned from The Book/Dan Haren vs. Edwin Jackson/The Yunel Escobar Trade and the Yankees

Ben and Sam answer listener emails mostly (but not entirely) about things that happened on day two of the Winter Meetings.

Ben and Sam answer listener emails mostly (but not entirely) about things that happened on day two of the Winter Meetings.

Episode 95: "Switch-Hitters Who Shouldn't Switch-Hit/What We Learned from The Book/Dan Haren vs. Edwin Jackson/The Yunel Escobar Trade and the Yankees"

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Minor League Update

Games of December 4

Notes from around the Caribbean Winter Leagues

The chances that the Atlanta Braves can acquire a starting left fielder may have taken a hit on Tuesday when Shane Victorino was signed to a three-year, $39M contract by the Red Sox, a pricey deal for a 32 year-old outfielder who only had a .704 OPS in 2012. Not only is there one less free agent outfielder available, but the price might not be right for the Braves to land any of them if Victorino can get that kind of deal. They could just allow Martin Prado to remain in left field, instead of moving to third base, and Juan Francisco would be the beneficiary of regular playing time at the hot corner. The 25 year-old celebrated by hitting two homers on Tuesday with 6 RBI's as the Tigers del Licey, led by five no-hit innings from Francisco's Braves teammate Julio Teheran, shut out the Gigantes del Cibao in Dominican Winter League action. 

• Jose Ramirez, 2B, Indians (Este-DWL): 3-for-5, RBI, K. He may not be the same caliber of prospect as Francisco Lindor or Dorssys Paulino -- he's 10th in the Top Prospect Rankings, Lindor and Paulino are one and two, respectively -- but all Ramirez has done is hit since arriving stateside. The 5'9" switch-hitter posted an .800 OPS in the AZL in 2011 and then followed that up with an .869 OPS between the short-season New York-Penn League and the Lo-A Midwest League in 2012. His .342 batting average, .383 OBP, and 29 stolen bases over his two seasons is impressive, although his lack of power makes it an absolute necessity that he keeps that up throughout the minors in order to be viewed as a future big league second baseman. The Dominican Winter League hasn't proven to be much of a challenge for the 20 year-old, as he boosted his average to .344 with three hits on Tuesday. His next test will come with Hi-A Carolina in 2013. 
• David Vidal, 3B, Reds (Mayaguez-PRBL): 2-for-4, 2B, BB. The Reds currently have a hole to fill at the hot corner, which has to be frustrating for Vidal, a third base prospect still likely two years away from the big leagues. While he's put up big numbers in three different leagues (Hi-A, Lo-A, AZL) since being drafted in the 8th Round of the 2010 draft, Vidal must take the next big step and produce above-average numbers in Double-A. He did reach Pensacola of the Southern League as a 22 year-old early in 2012, and managed 11 homers and 21 doubles in 97 games, but he also struck out 90 times and had an OBP under. 300. He'll get another shot at the level in 2013. The Reds aren't expected to sign a third baseman long-term this offseason, so if Vidal can continue to impress, he could earn the 'Third Baseman of the Future' tag. 
• Zach Walters, IF, Nationals (Ponce-PRBL): 2-for-4, 2B, RBI, K. Two versatile rookies, Steve Lombardozzi and Tyler Moore, made significant contributions to the Nationals' 98-win season in 2012. There may not be a need for another one in 2013, but Walters could at least start preparing for a similar role while in Triple-A next season. Acquired from the Diamondbacks for pitcher Jason Marquis in July 2011, the 23 year-old switch-hitter has spent most of his time at shortstop but has also played second and third base over the past few years. He can hit, as evidenced by his .775 OPS in 322 minor league games. Now if he can continue to hit, while starting to show an ability to play adequate defense at three or four different positions, he could be ready to contribute to the Nats by September. 
• Henry Wrigley, 1B/OF, Free Agent (Caracas-VWL): A minor league free agent after spending seven seasons in the Rays' system, the 26 year-old Wrigley is probably fortunate to still be playing professional baseball. Primarily a first baseman who has played some third base and corner outfield throughout his career, Wrigley didn't post an OPS higher than .676 in any of his first four pro seasons. The Rays must've seen something in him because he remained with the organization, finally showing some life in his bat with a big 2010 season in Hi-A. He ended up hitting .275 with 58 homers over the past three seasons between Hi-A, Double-A, and Triple-A., which is probably enough to land him a minor league deal with a big league invite to Spring Training. Just for good measure, though, he's hitting .311 with 10 homers and 34 RBI in 43 games for Caracas.
• Joseph Colon, RHP, Indians (Santurce-PRBL): 5 IP, 0 R, 4 H, 2 BB, 6 K. A Midwest League All-Star in 2012, Colon tossed five shutout innings on Tuesday as Santurce defeated Manati 10-0. He's been impressive since returning from an elbow injury that knocked him out of action in 2010, posting a 3.46 ERA in 203 innings over three levels. The 22 year-old sinkerballer was knocked around in three starts after a promotion to Hi-A Carolina, but he'll get another shot there to start the 2013 season.

BP Announcements

BP's New BBWAA Members

Joe Hamrahi and Sam Miller are inducted into the BBWAA, and existing member Zachary Levine is now a BP representative.

Every year at the Winter Meetings, baseball writers take a break from reporting rumors to attend to baseball writer business. (Except for Ken Rosenthal. Ken Rosenthal doesn't take breaks. Seriously kind of worried about Ken.) One of the items on the agenda at this annual BBWAA meeting is always admitting new members. A year ago, I had the pleasure of announcing my own induction. This year, we have more new members to announce: Joe Hamrahi and Sam Miller are now BBWAA members under the BP banner, as is Zachary Levine (who had previously been admitted as a representative of the Houston Chronicle).

Congratulations and welcome to Joe and Sam (and to Zachary, uh, welcome back, but with BP now). More members with press passes means more access and better baseball coverage at BP, so expect more material that benefits from our presence at the ballpark ahead.

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BP Unfiltered

From the Winter Meetings: An interview with Dodgers President Stan Kasten

The public face of the Dodgers now rests with Stan Kasten as their president and co-owner. On Monday we caught up with him at the Winter Meetings and asked him about his new position in LA; how the ownership group was assembled; what Magic Johnson brings to the table, and; how that massive TV deal factors into what the Dodgers do, not only now, but years to come.

Few recent club sales have altered the landscape in Major League Baseball as quickly as that of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Whether it was the unprecedented purchase price of $2.15 billion, the flurry of trades that including taking on over $163 million in contract dollars as part of the blockbuster trade with the Red Sox that included Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Beckett and Carl Crawford, or the media rights deal that the club is on the cusp of completing that is reported to be between $6-$7 billion, the Dodgers have become a juggernaut. The public face of the Dodgers now rests with Stan Kasten as their president and co-owner. On Monday we caught up with him at the Winter Meetings and asked him about his new position in LA; how the ownership group was assembled; what Magic Johnson brings to the table, and; how that massive TV deal factors into what the Dodgers do, not only now, but years to come.

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BP Unfiltered

Daily Draft Video: Dominic Ficociello

Daily exclusive video series designed to familiarize you with the names you need to know leading up to the 2013 amateur draft.

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Minor League Update

The Five Dominican Winter League Prospects Most Likely to Make an Impact in the Majors in 2013

Which Dominican Winter League prospects should we expect to see making major contributions to big-league clubs next season?

Limited action again on the Caribbean Winter League schedules, so I'll take this time to tell you about the five Dominican Winter League prospects most likely to make an impact in the majors next season. No surprises here. These are pretty big names in the prospect world, and all but one spent time in the majors last season. All five maintain rookie status, however, and don't necessarily have clear paths to regular playing time in the majors. So how will this quintet make an impact?

Starling Marte, OF, Pirates (.874 OPS, 8 SB in 24 games for Escogido): Of the five players on this list, Marte easily has the best shot at a starting job on Opening Day. A fantasy baseball stud who can put up numbers in several categories, he can hit for average, steal bases, hit homers and triples, and could very likely be the Pirates' leadoff hitter. So he has to be a lock for 150+ games in the Bucs' outfield, right? Not necessarily. As a young player who hasn't exhibited much plate discipline throughout his minor league career, and during his brief big league stint (8 BB, 50 K), he could be prone to extended slumps as major league pitchers continue to attack his weaknesses.

If he can make adjustments throughout the season, he can stick in the majors. And if he sticks in the majors, he could hit .270 with 90 runs, 15-20 homers, 25 doubles, 10 triples, and 25 stolen bases as a rookie.

Mike Olt, 1B/3B/OF (.814 OPS in 18 games for Licey): Texas' loss of free agent Mike Napoli leaves the team short on right-handed power and Olt could have an opportunity to help fill the void. He won't get many starts at his natural position of third base unless Adrian Beltre gets hurt but he could see significant time at first base, a corner outfield spot, and as the designated hitter against lefties. With rumors that there could be teams interested in Michael Young, who'd have to approve any trade, the 24 year-old Olt could also be the beneficiary of the designated hitter at-bats available against right-handed pitching if Young is moved.

In 95 Double-A games before his call-up, he hit .288 with 28 homers in 354 at-bats. If he can get 300 at-bats in the majors next year, I wouldn't be surprised if he hit 15 homers and knocked in 45 runs.