Ask Baseball America By James Bailey
Download 1 Mb.
|
February 14, 2000Spring training is finally here! But then, you didn't need me to tell you that, because you've probably been counting down since last October. It's going to be nice to finally have some on-the-field news to digest again. One can only deal with the John Rocker and Bobby Chouinard news for so long. (About four seconds in my case.) We've got a lot of spring training stories coming for you this week, including rosters with spring invites. So be on the lookout for all that shortly. And for now, start your week off with a few questions. I was wondering if you could put up a scouting report on Jake Meyer? Obviously he's a throw-in to the Griffey deal but I would still like to know who he is and what kind of tools he brings. Could he turn out to be a late bloomer? Thanks, Gabe Storm Meyer, 25, is a righthanded reliever with an average fastball and a hard slider. A seventh-round pick of the White Sox in 1997 out of UCLA, he was traded to the Reds last March for catcher Brook Fordyce. He spent the first half of the year at Class A Rockford, basically repeating a level which he had fared well at the year before when he pitched at Class A Hickory in the Sox system. Such things happen in the Reds system where they have no high Class A team. The Reds recognized he wasn't ready for Double-A at the beginning of the year, and their only option then was to send him to the Midwest League. After he went 3-2, 2.54 with 51 strikeouts in 46 innings for Rockford, the Reds moved him up to Double-A Chattanooga. He struggled in the Southern League, going 2-2, 5.96 with 14 walks and 16 strikeouts in 23 innings. Meyer got things going in the Arizona Fall League, where he went 3-0, 1.99 for Phoenix. Still, he walked 13 and struck out just 17 in 23 innings. I wouldn't call him a late bloomer, because he's produced consistently at every stop up until he hit Chattanooga last year. He was ranked as the Reds' No. 15 prospect before the deal and he's a legitimate major league prospect, but he's not quite Scott Williamson. Meyer probably needs to go back to Double-A this April and prove he can get hitters out consistently at that level before anyone thinks about handing him a bullpen job in Seattle. In your current issue, you project Xavier Nady and Ben Diggins as the first two players to go in the June draft. Both these guys were drafted by the Cardinals out of high school. You discuss the reasons why Diggins wasn't signed--the Cards had already signed J.D. Drew and Chad Hutchinson that year, and Diggins was having a poor summer up in Alaska--but never say why the Cards didn't sign Nady the year before. Has Nady ever said why he didn't sign? Have the Cards ever discussed it? Thanks for your answer, Lou Schuler Nady was a fourth-round pick of the Cardinals in 1997, and he says he just wanted to play college baseball. Had he been drafted in the first-round and offered round money, he probably would have signed, but the six-figure bonus he was offered in the fourth round wasn’t tempting enough for him to turn down an opportunity to play for California. Many college coaches in the area thought Nady would turn pro, but he had a cousin who played football at Cal and the college life seemed pretty appealing to him then. Considering what kind of money he’ll be looking at this June, it turned out to be a good decision financially for him as well. Nady’s not the only player from the ’97 draft to increase his stock by going to college. Here’s a look at the players from the first 10 rounds of that draft who were ranked on our Top 100 College Prospects list. Player '97 Draft 1. Xavier Nady, 3b, California 4th, Cardinals 3. Patrick Boyd, of, Clemson 2nd, Mariners 5. Tyrell Godwin, of, North Carolina 1st, Yankees 8. Dane Sardinha, c, Pepperdine 2nd, Royals 11. Justin Wayne, rhp, Stanford 9th, Red Sox 16. Chase Utley, 2b, UCLA 2nd, Dodgers 19. Garrett Atkins, 1b, UCLA 10th, Mets 20. Tim Hummel, ss, Old Dominion 5th, Padres 21. Ryan Snare, lhp, North Carolina 9th, Braves 26. Mike Schultz, rhp, Loyola Marymount 9th, Phillies 30. Kevin McGerry, rhp, St. John's 4th, Giants 58. Miles Durham, of, Texas Tech 7th, Dodgers 65. Chase Voshell, ss, Wake Forest 4th, Diamondbacks 73. Matt Bowser, of, Central Florida 10th, Blue Jays 83. Jason Anderson, rhp, Illinois 6th, Royals 99. Greg Withelder, lhp, Virginia 3rd, Twins Based on their standing on the Top 100, all but Withelder seem to have improved their stock by going to college. And with the inflation in bonuses over the last three years, Withelder could come out ahead as well, even if he's not picked as high as he was in '97. How long normally does it take a college pitcher taken in the first round to be ready for the major leagues. I'm asking specifically about Ben Christensen of the Cubs. Manny43076@aol.com I'd estimate the "average" first-round college pitcher spends two seasons in the minor leagues before reaching the majors. There are guys who move faster, like righthander Kip Wells, who spent less than a season climbing through the White Sox organization, and Tigers righthander Jeff Weaver, who made just six minor league starts before reaching Detroit last April. Then again, you have guys like Marlins righthander Jason Grilli, who was taken with the No. 4 pick in the '97 draft (by the Giants), and A's righthander Chris Enochs, who was drafted with the No. 11 pick that year. Both have yet to reach the big leagues. Christensen has good stuff and could move quickly. It's hard to judge him on last year's numbers (0-2, 5.91 in 21 innings at short season Eugene) because he was a bit rusty after his season ended early following his suspension at Wichita State. He's probably going to start this season at Class A Daytona, and what he does there will give a better indication of how soon he might be pitching in Wrigley. If you want to make a conservative guess, figure sometime in the middle of the 2001 season--which would be about two years after he signed. 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:
|