Ask Baseball America By James Bailey
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April 13, 2000I looked in my newspaper this morning and saw the Marlins and Expos atop the NL East. I know it won't last long, but still, it's kind of fun to see the underdogs get off to a quick start. I think the Expos could be a pleasant surprise this year and they might not be the lock for fourth place that most people assumed before spring training even opened. I hope by now everyone has had a chance to check out the rosters. They took a bit longer to process than anticipated, but yesterday were posted for all 30 major league and 120 minor league teams. Before we could begin formatting them for the Website, numerous discrepancies had to be diagnosed, so all the teams would be at the proper roster limit, etc. Hopefully all of those were caught and they're all accurate now. We've got five good questions for you today. They seem to come in waves. Something has inspired people to send good questions this week. Could you help me sort out the Vargases in the Indians' farm system. First, there is Martin, formerly Bautista, who was added to the 40-man roster and is now pitching relief at Akron, although still listed as Bautista in box scores. Then there is Jose, who was at Columbus last year and was No. 11 on the BA prospect list, and doesn't seem to be pitching anywhere currently. The Indians like Martin's fastball. What makes Jose a prospect? Where is he now? Elliot Legow Youngstown, Ohio What made Jose a prospect was that we confused him with Martin. That really should have been Martin Vargas on the Indians list, not Jose. But Martin's name change came this offseason, before the new media guides, etc., came out. When Jim Ingraham submitted his Top 10 list for the Indians with a mysterious Martin Vargas on it, it was incorrectly assumed that he had the first name wrong, because according to our records there was only one Vargas in the entire organization, and that was Jose. A 23-year-old righthander, Jose struck out 103 batters and walked just 29 in 85 innings at Class A Columbus last year, so at a glance it seemed plausible that he could be the guy. But he wasn't. He's not listed on any roster currently because he's out with soreness in his pitching shoulder. The Indians don't believe it's serious and expect he'll be back in action shortly. Dear Ask BA, I can easily think of current minor league prospects from North and South America, Europe, Asia and Australia, but draw a blank on any players from the continent of Africa. Are there currently any players from that part of the world in the minors, and what are the chances of ever having a major leaguer from that continent? On an unrelated topic, since the Betemit case is still up in the air, has the Braves' punishment in terms of scouting in the Dominican begun, or is it still in limbo until the court case is settled? Thank you, Paul
I can't think of another African player in the minor leagues. Perhaps there could be more on the way, though. South Africa will be fielding a team in the Olympics in Sydney this summer. You can be sure there will be plenty of scouts on hand, so if someone stands out there, maybe they'll get signed to a contract. The Betemit court case has no relation to the sanctions imposed by Major League Baseball, so it didn't affect the starting date for those penalties. In a game I attended last year, I saw a closer (Jones?) throw almost only changeups and still got all three batters out. Before, I've always thought that only 95-plus mph fastballs can be used exclusively and still be effective. What really surprised me is the fact that the changeup is only suppose to complement a fastball because you want the hitter to think fastball. It's easy to see how a hitter can't hit a Billy Wagner fastball, which is basically his only pitch, because the hitter has less location guessing time. But a hitter who sits on a changeup should easily get a hit. Can you explain how a pitcher can get away with only changeups? Mark I'm guessing that was Doug Jones you saw. He has made a living off his changeup, posting 301 career saves entering this season. What makes him effective is what makes any other pitcher effective when they throw a changeup. It's not the actual speed of the pitch, it's the variation in the speed from pitch to pitch. He doesn't throw all of his changeups at the same speed. So some of them are 70 mph, some 75, some 80 (maybe that's his fastball). All he's doing is messing with a hitter's timing. And he's one of the best at it. As for Wagner, he throws a tremendous slider in addition to his fastball. The addition of that second pitch is really what vaulted him into the upper echelon of closers. What is the story with righthander Chris Reitsma? He was drafted as a first-round sandwich pick and later broke his elbow twice. He was taken by the Devil Rays in the Rule 5 and it sounds like he almost made the Rays out of spring training after never pitching above A ball but was returned back to the Red Sox and assigned to Triple-A Pawtucket. Now I see he is back in Class A with Sarasota? Is he no longer in the Sox plans and is he still a legit prospect. Melvin Reitsma is still a prospect, though he's not back in the class he was before he first broke his elbow. He came back to the Red Sox on the Pawtucket roster, because that was the roster he was on when he was drafted away. But he still needs to master Class A before he makes that jump. That's why many people were surprised to see him stick with the Devil Rays until the end of camp. Reitsma went 4-10, 5.61 at Sarasota last year with 116 hits allowed in 96 innings. It was the first time he had thrown more than 50 innings in a season. Because of the injury problems, he's thrown only 185 innings in four seasons. He's a guy whose development almost surely would have been stunted by a year in the big leagues, pitching sporadically. Though the way things are going for the Devil Rays so far, they might have been able to find him plenty of work in blowouts. I have a question concerning the Rule 5 Draft and how it relates to a former Dodger prospect, Damian Rolls. After Tampa Bay chose him, he was placed on the DL, and is assumed out for the season. It seems to me that a team could just take a low level prospect and stash him on the DL for the season, as to not lose him. What's the rule on matters such as this? Matthew Bring The rule book says "The restrictions shall apply until the end of the season in which the player has been on the Active List for an aggregate of 90 days during one or more championship seasons." What this means is that a team cannot simply stash a player on the DL. He must spend at least 90 days on the active major league 25-man roster during the season before a team can send him to the minor leagues without waiving him and offering him back to his original organization. If he's on the disabled list all year this year, then the same restriction will apply next year. If the Devil Rays want to keep Rolls long term, they will have to either activate him for at least 90 days, or work out a deal with the Dodgers (the team he was selected from, though he came to Tampa Bay via the Royals, the team that drafted him). Directory: mlb mlb -> By Ken Gurnick mlb -> Los angeles dodgers clips mlb -> 2010 – What’s the name of the umpire whose errant call cost the Tigers’ Armando Galarraga a perfect game in 2010? (Jim Joyce) gabp mlb -> Wednesday, September 23, 2015 headlines: Verrett stumbles in the fifth as Mets lose to Braves 6-2 mlb -> All-Star History In what city was the first All-Game played? (Chicago, 1933) Baseball & Pop Culture mlb -> Los angeles dodgers clips mlb -> Los angeles dodgers clips mlb -> Los angeles dodgers clips mlb -> The Impact of Television Revenue on Major League Baseball mlb -> Los angeles dodgers clips Download 1 Mb. Share with your friends:
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