Ask Baseball America By James Bailey
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- Brad Baisley, rhp, Phillies (Clearwater).
- Hee Seop Choi, 1b, Cubs (Daytona).
- Adam Dunn, of, Reds (Dayton).
- Jason Jennings, rhp, Rockies (Salem).
- Jeff Austin, rhp, Royals (Wichita).
- Ben Broussard, of, Reds (Chattanooga).
- Eric Ireland, rhp, Astros (Round Rock).
- Jason Marquis, rhp, Braves (Greenville).
- Carlos Pena, 1b, Rangers (Tulsa).
- Scott Sobkowiak, rhp, Braves (Greenville).
- Eric Valent, of, Phillies (Reading).
April 20, 2000Trekked over to Zebulon, N.C., again last night with a few other Baseball America staffers to take in the Corey Patterson show. We had the pleasure of seeing him slam out his first two home runs of the season last night against the Carolina Mudcats. He drove in seven runs in a doubleheader, after coming into the series with just two. He was fun to watch. If he comes to a ballpark near you, I suggest you take advantage of the opportunity. Getting back to our discussion of pitchers playing the field, reader Kevin Feasel wrote in to say that the last pitcher to play a position was Chuck McElroy, who played an inning in left field for the Mets last year. Feasel reports that McElroy actually made a fine grab on his watch. Thanks for the input, Kevin. For today's column, I didn't start out planning to write so much on one question, but I did. So you only get two questions, but I think the tradeoff is worth it. Last year Vernon Wells was the big mover through the minors and to the majors. If you had to list a dozen or so players that might make unexpected jumps to the majors, who would make the list? Jack Cust seems to have picked up right where he left off last year, posting an OPS of over 1.200 through the first dozen games. What are the odds that he keeps pounding the ball and forces Arizona to bring him up in September? Is it impossible to believe that injuries and bad defense on the major league level could convince the Devil Rays to speed Josh Hamilton through the system if he tears it up again this year? Andy Wiesner Sun Prairie, WI If you want to use Wells' season as the barometer, then I'm going to focus this list of "unexpected jumpers" on Class A players. I think any player who starts the season at Double-A is a candidate to finish the year in the big leagues if he performs, so I think the odds are good Cust will see Arizona by September. That won't be unexpected. Neither will Patterson's jump to Chicago. As for Hamilton, I think his timetable has nothing to do at all with what's going on in the big leagues. The Devil Rays have shown they are willing to move players at their own pace and I think they'll definitely apply that logic to Hamilton. Of course, he could be ready for Tampa Bay by some time next year, regardless of their needs. But they're going to want to make sure when they call him up that he won't have to go back down later. As great as he looks at times, he did strike out 57 times against 14 walks last season. And he's off to a similar start in the strikeout-to-walk department this year. So he's got a few things he needs to work on. Anyway, here's my list of potential "unexpected movers." :The No. 3 prospect in the Marlins organization, Anderson is a 1997 draftee who didn't begin playing until '98 because he signed late. He quietly posted strong numbers in Class A Kane County last year after a slow start. Brad Baisley, rhp, Phillies (Clearwater). Baisley, the Phillies' No. 2 prospect, has yet to allow a run in 18 FSL innings this season. He allowed just 116 hits in 148 innings in the Sally League last year while going 10-7, 2.26. Willie Bloomquist, 2b, Mariners (Lancaster). Bloomquist is off to a good start for Lancaster and is a fundamentally sound player who could move fast despite having just 178 at-bats under his belt prior to this season. He's the Mariners' No. 10 prospect. Hee Seop Choi, 1b, Cubs (Daytona). A native of South Korea, Choi hit .321-18-70 in his pro debut last year at Class A Lansing. The No. 2 prospect in the Cubs organization, Choi received a $1.2 million bonus last March. Ben Christensen, rhp, Cubs (Daytona). Christensen, the Cubs' No. 5 prospect, has a 0.95 ERA after three FSL starts. He was projected as one of the closest pitchers to the big leagues from last year's draft class. Adam Dunn, of, Reds (Dayton). Dunn is back in the Midwest League only because the Reds don't have a high Class A team. The Reds' No. 2 prospect, he showed he knows the strike zone last year, drawing 46 walks against 64 strikeouts in Class A Rockford. This year he's already walked 11 times and owns a .578 on-base percentage and a .406 average. He won't be in Dayton long. Jason Jennings, rhp, Rockies (Salem). Our 1999 College Player of the Year, Jennings is off to a good start at Salem, with a 2.65 ERA in three starts. The Rockies are always looking for pitching. Jason Standridge, rhp, Devil Rays (St. Petersburg). The Devil Ray's No. 2 prospect, Standridge finished last season at St. Pete and is a good bet to move to Orlando by midseason. These guys are all longshots to reach the big leagues this year, but their arrivals wouldn't be "unexpected" if they weren't. If we want to take a look at some players whose arrivals might not be so shocking, we need to drop our standard of comparison from Vernon Wells to Gil Meche. Overlooking the obvious candidates, like Patterson, Cust, Sean Burroughs etc., let's take a look at some players who could make the jump from Double-A this year. I'll include only players who do not appear on our Top 100 Prospects list, so as to keep an element of the unexpected. Jeff Austin, rhp, Royals (Wichita). I'm not just saying this because he's one of our Player Journal guys. I think the long layoff Austin had due to his holdout attributed to his less than dominating numbers last year. But he's off to a great start this season, at 1-1, 1.64 and has struck out 18 and walked just two in 22 innings. Ben Broussard, of, Reds (Chattanooga). The hitting star of last year's draft has kept it up this season. He's leading the Southern league with a .412 mark. Jeremy Dodson, of, Royals (Wichita). Dodson isn't off to a great start at Wichita, though he does lead the team with four home runs. I saw him hit last spring in minor league camp and was impressed by his swing. The Royals challenged him with a jump from short-season Spokane to Wichita and he struggled, predictably, hitting .257-21-58. This year they took a more conservative approach and I think he'll start hitting like he can soon. Eric Ireland, rhp, Astros (Round Rock). Mr. Perfect Game struggled in a brief Double-A trial last year, but he owned the Florida State League in '99. He's always moved a level a year, so that's working against his jump, but if he pitches anything like he did last year, he'll have earned a September reward. He's second in the Texas League with 20 strikeouts, despite an unsightly 6.75 ERA. Jason Marquis, rhp, Braves (Greenville). Marquis is another historically methodical mover, but he seems to be putting it together at this stage. And for once, the Braves actually need a little help on their pitching staff. Mike Meyers, rhp, Cubs (West Tenn). Meyers didn't allow a run until his 17th inning of work this season, but more impressively he's surrendered just four hits in his 17 innings. Carlos Pena, 1b, Rangers (Tulsa). Pena struggled last year at Charlotte, but he's off to a hot start for Tulsa and is looking more like the first-round pick the Rangers envisioned in 1998. Juan Pierre, of Rockies (Carolina). Pierre skipped right over high Class A Salem and still looks like he belongs. He's got terrific speed, plays great defense and can bunt for a base hit. Look out Tom Goodwin. Scott Sobkowiak, rhp, Braves (Greenville). Sobkowiak has already drawn comparisons to Braves righthander Kevin Millwood. He can create another parallel if he reaches Atlanta this season. Millwood began the '97 campaign in Greenville, moved to Triple-A Richmond and finished in Atlanta. Eric Valent, of, Phillies (Reading). If the Phillies can't find playing time for Pat Burrell then there's really no hurry to get Valent to Philadelphia. But he still could be on course for a September arrival with another solid season. I'm very interested in Mark Teixiera at Georgia Tech. Is he exclusively at first base now or is third base still a possibility? Is that where he projects in the majors? Could you provide more info on him? I hear he's a switch hitter and supposedly the "next Mickey Mantle." How do you pronounce his last name? Thanks, Bruce
Minneapolis, MN As is standard practice with the college questions, this one got handed off to John Manuel. Here's what he had to say: Mark Teixeira (pronounced tuh-SHARE-uh) plays third base for Georgia Tech now and split time between third and first base in the Cape Cod League last summer, where he was unanimously voted the league's top pro prospect. Scouts and farm directors, not me, will determine once he's at the pro level whether or not he can stay at third. I'm not a scout, but the reports of his "dead lower half" that surfaced before the '98 draft don't look true to me. Teixeira is an average runner who leads Tech in stolen bases. He looks to have enough arm and decent enough hands for third base. It's a matter of not letting himself get too stiff to play third. His upper body is well developed; patting him on the back hurt my hand, he's just rock solid. As far as calling him the next Mickey Mantle, let's not get carried away. That comparison is made because he is a switch-hitter with great power potential and one of the sweetest strokes you'll see, college or pro. I think Teixeira is the single best player in college baseball right now. His future is unlimited as long as he works hard and stays healthy. 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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