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Tuesday, January 31, 2006 |
Pickoff Moves
An Indians Scout Likes The Angels Prospects
So, I'm sure, do a lot of other teams' scouts, but it's kinda fun to listen to the praise these kids are generating:When asked about a few of the bigtime bats in the minor leagues, the former Division I college coach immediately jumped in with the game’s top slugging prospect.“Wood,” said the scout, referring to Los Angeles Angels’ shortstop Brandon Wood. “What he did this year was pretty amazing. Considering his relatively moderate numbers from last year, you could call that an explosion. A break out season.”
...
“I think he’s the best power prospect in the game,” said the scout. “I would even take his power over Young’s (Delmon, Tampa Bay) and especially since Wood can play shortstop.
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Do you have a favorite minor league hitter, other than Wood or Hermida, outside of your organization?: “I really like what Kendrick (Howie) can do. Being on this coast and seeing him quite a bit, he’s going to be a very good second baseman for a long time. He looks to hit for some power and nobody has found a way to get him out yet. He’s a few years from Anaheim, but he’s sensational. Kotchman (Casey), too. I think Alex Gordon is going to be an all-star.”
Travs' Hot Stove Report
The Travs' annual hot stove dinner didn't go so well: new manager Ty Boykin couldn't make it thanks to a delayed flight from Connecticut. But we did manage to learn that Brandon Wood will start the year in AA Arkansas, and thanks to the Aybar/Collaspo blockage at Salt Lake, Howie Kendrick may repeat there, too.Jaffe On The Yankee Stadium III Costs
Normally such stuff puts me to sleep, but Jay Jaffe has a piece up about the fighting between Baseball Prospectus' Neil deMause and professor Andrew Zimbalist, both of whom believe different things about Yankee Stadium III; Zimbalist most publicly has stated the Yanks will end up paying for most of the contruction costs, but deMause has deconstructed his argument and concluded that, thanks to tax breaks, the citizens of New York -- and baseball teams generally, through misguided revenue-sharing -- will end up paying for much more of the park than the Yanks. Normally such stuff puts me to sleep, but it's appalling that revenue sharing is being used in this case to make the rich even richer.This Must Be Some Definition Of "Shut Down" I Was Previously Unaware Of
When I read that Stephen Smith was going to shut down FutureAngels, I had to wonder just how serious he was; in fact, while I don't expect to see him or his Canon 1D at any minor league games this year, he has announced that he's launching a project to acquire a complete set of Angels minor league stats.We've already found some fun facts. On May 4, Statesville forfeited a game to Lexington. Why? We don't know, but [local Statesville, North Carolina historian Bill Moose] is researching. The player with the top batting average was Jack Hiatt at .325; Hiatt is now the San Francisco Giants' farm director. Owls' outfielder Dick Simpson led the league with 15 homers. Statesville finished with an overall record of 63-39-2 -- yep, two ties! -- the second-best record in the league.Heh, this should be interesting, at least.
Comments:
I'm bummed that Stephen Smith is shutting down futureangels.com. Perhaps he'll revive the site at a later date. He was often the best source of information/opinions about Angel prospects. In the meantime, you can sometimes read his takes on said prospects in the comment strings at John Sickels' wonderful site minorleaguebaseball.com
# posted by 
: 1/31/2006 08:43:00 AM
: 1/31/2006 08:43:00 AM
I don't know why everyone is so bummed that Wood is starting at Arkansas. Remember, in 2004, Kotchman leapfrogged SLC and replaced Erstad at 1b following Ersty's injury. So if a need arises, Wood might see some time with the big club next year. It's possible.
# posted by : 1/31/2006 01:20:00 PM
: 1/31/2006 01:20:00 PM
Also, Ervin Santana bypassed AAA ball in making his debut in the big leagues last year. Although very conservative in promoting minor leaguers, Stoneman has shown a willingness to promote the best qualified prospect, even if the prospect has yet to play at AAA.
# posted by : 1/31/2006 01:25:00 PM
: 1/31/2006 01:25:00 PM
Exactly, the organization will promote to the big club who is most qualified. Players need to prove themselves at each level of the minors. Single A ball basically is fastball pitchers, Double A ball has pitchers who can rely more on breaking stuff.
No reason to rush Wood to the big show. The kid is not even 21 I believe, and has only 2 years in the minors, so the Angels do not even have to put him on the 40 man roster yet.
As Morales showed last year initially on his call up to AA, players sometimes struggle with a jump. Granted Wood performed well at the end of last year with SLC's push for the playoffs, yet things will work themselves out on their own.
Being conservative with promoting minor league players is a solid baseball decision. Most of these prospects are still finding out who they are as a person, they are between 18 and 22 years old, much less what kind of ballplayer they will be. To rush a kid and have his confidence severely damaged if he does not live up to all the hype that surrounds him is pretty stupid IMO.
No reason to rush Wood to the big show. The kid is not even 21 I believe, and has only 2 years in the minors, so the Angels do not even have to put him on the 40 man roster yet.
As Morales showed last year initially on his call up to AA, players sometimes struggle with a jump. Granted Wood performed well at the end of last year with SLC's push for the playoffs, yet things will work themselves out on their own.
Being conservative with promoting minor league players is a solid baseball decision. Most of these prospects are still finding out who they are as a person, they are between 18 and 22 years old, much less what kind of ballplayer they will be. To rush a kid and have his confidence severely damaged if he does not live up to all the hype that surrounds him is pretty stupid IMO.
# posted by : 1/31/2006 02:20:00 PM
: 1/31/2006 02:20:00 PM
i'm not bummed because i want him to advance quickly.
i'm just bummed because i'm just anxious to see us do the intelligent thing and get him, Aybar, and Kendrick all in the same line up somehow, and i'm just anxious to see them do it.
yes, Wood's still a skinny little kid and i don't want him rushed, and you make a good point about the past history of players jumping from AA to Anaheim lately.
i think Kendrick can play in Anaheim later this summer, but certainly not Wood.
i'm just bummed because i'm just anxious to see us do the intelligent thing and get him, Aybar, and Kendrick all in the same line up somehow, and i'm just anxious to see them do it.
yes, Wood's still a skinny little kid and i don't want him rushed, and you make a good point about the past history of players jumping from AA to Anaheim lately.
i think Kendrick can play in Anaheim later this summer, but certainly not Wood.
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