Ask Baseball America By James Bailey
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- July 25, 2000
July 27, 2000We finally had a chance yesterday to update our Top 100 Prospects Update. We originally had intended to do that around the first of each month during the season, but sometimes things don't work out quite like you plan them and we kind of missed the beginning of July. Anyway, the list is as current as we can make it right now and if you have questions about anyone on the Top 100, I'd advise you to turn there first. And, no, we still don't know when Nick Johnson is coming back. Apparently neither do the Yankees. So just sit tight and he'll play when his wrist feels better. Speaking of injured Yankees on the top 100, here's a question on Wily Mo Pena. Do you have any information on the injury to Yankees' prospect Wily Mo Pena, who was playing at Staten Island? Why is he listed on the Yankees 60-day DL if he was in short-season A-ball? Gavin, Redding, CT Pena injured his right knee in a collision with right fielder Tommy Winrow on July 12. He is out for the season, though the long-term prognosis looks good. He was sent to the Yankees' minor league camp in Tampa to begin his rehab and arthroscopic surgery is a possibility but they will not have to reconstruct his knee as was originally feared. Pena went on the major league 60-day DL because he is on the major league 40-man roster. That was part of the deal when he signed last year. Judging by the way he hit this season, I would not be surprised if he is not ready for the big leagues by 2003, when he runs out of options. With 114 strikeouts (and 20 walks) in 322 at-bats this year, he's got some work to do. Speaking of strikeouts . . . Greenville third baseman Michael Hessman is striking out at a rate that would make Preston Wilson blush (2.53 AB/K versus Wilson's 3.02). What is the minor league record for strikeouts in a season, and does Hessman have a legitimate chance of breaking this record? Kevin Feasel Not only does Hessman have no shot at the record, he's also unlikely to finish the season as the minor league leader in whiffs. Hessman's 131 (in 331 at-bats) rank third behind Clinton outfielder Samone Peters (150 in 324 at-bats) and Greensboro outfielder Andy Brown (134/331). Not to be overlooked is Lynchburg outfielder J.J. Davis, (130/347). None of them are likely to match the all-time mark of 220, set by San Jose's Wes Kent in 1984. Clinton has just 38 games remaining, which means Peters would have to strike out nearly twice a game to get there and I don't think he can do it. I was hoping that you could explain the Cubs move to trade Ismael Valdes for Jamie Arnold and Jorge Piedra. Jamie Arnold has never really done anything and has more walks than strikeouts in the minors. Jorge Piedra is in low A and the cubs have had a lot of outfielders with similar stats to his in the past that have never turned out. Maybe you could shed some light on why they wanted Piedra and Arnold. Mike Basically the Cubs' interest in this deal was saving $1.5 million by moving Valdes. He's a free agent at the end of the year and he obviously wasn't helping them in their quest for World Series glory. So they shaved something off the payroll and picked up a couple of players. Arnold is a fringe guy who could see some time on the big league staff, while Piedra has a chance to develop into an everyday player down the road. Check out Jim Callis' trade analysis for more on the deal. Please talk me off the ledge. Andy MacPhail recently said he's not looking to rebuild like the White Sox and has also said that one of his biggest goals is to get an extension done with Sammy Sosa. Where have I heard this before. Looks like 2001 will be another season of stopgaps and has-beens in the hopes of backdooring it into the playoffs to serve as warmup for the Braves. Is there any hope for this organization? Their Latin development has come a long way, but considering Jose Hernandez is the only name that comes to mind as far recent Latin players developed by the Cubs, they have a lot of ground to make up on the Dodgers, Expos, etc. I understand that Cubs scouting staff is about 33 percent smaller than some of the more successful teams like the Braves, etc. Will anyone in the Trib Towers ever understand what it takes to build a winner? Help! I'm about ready to purchase a Magglio Ordonez jersey! Shannon_Jaronik@cch.com The Cubs have a handful of nice prospects in the pipeline, starting with Corey Patterson, Hee Seop Choi, Ben Christensen, Carlos Zambrano and Mike Meyers. That's not bad, but they are not quite the White Sox. If I lived in Chicago and winning were an important criteria in the choosing of my favorite hometown team, I'd probably follow the Sox. If winning is what you're concerned about, buy that Magglio jersey today. If you like sitting in the sun at Wrigley, then stick with the Cubs. But please don't jump, whatever you decide. Is an electric/laser/computer strike zone feasible? It would make the game much more exciting. Pitchers would have a much easier time with pitches that break down in the zone if the rules were interpreted literally. Currently, an overhand curve has a 6 to 8 inch vertical margin of error, or it is a ball. Jim White No. It's not feasible. And I don't think it would be popular even if it were. I wouldn't want to see the human element taken out of umpiring, even if there is the chance the humans will make a mistake. July 25, 2000We're still trying to figure out who'd win in the Celebrity Deathmatch of Bob Feller and Pete Rose. Rose might be younger, but I think Feller is tougher and meaner. One thing's for sure: It would make great television. With any luck their comments won't be what everyone remembers from this weekend. This was Bid McPhee's time to shine and nothing Pete Rose can say or do can take away from that. With all that the Yankees are giving up in trades, has their system in your opinion slipped down a few spots? Gerald Paradine The Yankees have now traded four of the players from their Top 10 Prospects list (No. 3 Drew Henson, No. 5 Jackson Melian, No. 6 Ed Yarnall and No. 10 Jake Westbrook) and two others (No. 1Nick Johnson and No. 4 D'Angelo Jimenez) haven't played all season due to injury. That's a significant hit to the system. The Yankees, however, continued their aggressive approach in the international market, adding Cuban righthander Adrian Hernandez and Taiwanese righthander Chien-Ming Wang to the organization this year. Hernandez has climbed to Triple-A Columbus after starting at Class A Tampa and Wang is pitching at short-season Staten Island. Both are likely to appear on next year's Top 10 for New York. Shortstop Deivi Mendez, who signed last July, made his pro debut this summer and is hitting .298 with 13 doubles and two homers in 114 at-bats in the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League. He's only 17 and is several years away from New York, but he's got a chance to become a Top 10 guy. Lefthanders Randy Keisler and Alex Graman have had strong seasons, as has righthander David Walling. That the Indians didn't choose Keisler in the Justice deal speaks to how much they like righthander Zach Day. If it were me picking. If Johnson and Jimenez are able to come back strong, this is still an organization with a lot of talent. It's not where it was before all of the trades, but the Yankees should still be somewhere near the top when we rank the minor league talent next spring. My question involves Mariners prospect Juan Silvestre, currently playing for the Class A Lancaster JetHawks. I knew quite a bit about Pineiro, Chris Snelling, Bloomquist, etc., but had never heard of this guy. How good is he and what do you see in his future? Summerland22@aol.com Silvestre is a 22-year-old Dominican who has always shown good power but was viewed as a defensive liability until this season. Over the winter he worked a lot on his play in the outfield and the Mariners have seen a vast improvement. He's progressed with the bat as well, and has already surpassed last year's total of 107 RBIs (at Class A Wisconsin). This season at high Class A Lancaster, Silvestre is hitting .325 with 23 homers and 109 RBIs, all in 90 games. The outfield is a definite weakness for the Mariners and Silvestre should get a shot in Seattle eventually. The organization seems content to let him move at a level per year for now and he'll most likely move to Double-A New Haven next season. Where does a player like the Tigers' Adam Bernero come from? Why wasn't he drafted? Can he be considered a prospect? Rick Kaufman Bernero was drafted--twice, in fact. Once out of high school and once out of Sacramento City College, in 1996. But he didn't sign either time and went on to Armstrong Atlantic State (Ga.) College. He missed a season due to injury and was passed on in the draft in 1997 and '98. The righthander then signed before the 1999 draft as a fifth-year senior eligible. The 23-year-old Bernero is a guy who doesn't throw real hard, which means he doesn't light up the guns for scouts. He reminds you of the adage that stuff can get a guy signed, but it takes performance to move up. He just keeps performing well at every stop because he knows how to pitch. There are three important components in pitching: location, movement and velocity. Most pitching coaches would probably rank them that way in order of importance. A guy who tops out at 88-89 mph might not seem sexy, but if he gets batters out he's getting the job done. Bernero is getting batters out. It's not uncommon for an injury to cause a player to slip through the draft. If scouts don't have a chance to see someone in the spring, they're not likely to turn them in as a draft prospect. Naturally, the teams want to see how a player looks when he's healthy before they sign him. Once he is healthy he could be just as much of a prospect as most of the drafted players. Bernero has proven that he should be considered a prospect at this point. If you're interested in reading more about him, we just happen to have a story on Bernero in the new issue. Arizona State had a senior lefthanded pitcher this year named Will Waldrip. He may have been hurt this past season, because he threw a ton more innings last year than this year. He was a great high school player in my hometown of Flagstaff, Ariz., and we always thought he would definitely play pro ball. But I could not find him drafted anywhere this year. Can you tell me if he signed with any team after the draft, or if I missed him on some team's list? Dave King Waldrip has not signed with any pro team. 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