3/31 Spring Training Report

Posted by Jeremy on April 1, 2009 under Uncategorized | Be the First to Comment

Sorry for the delay, I have been busy over the last couple of days writing some news blurbs for the Cardboard Connection.  Yesterday’s spring training action saw top pitchers Joba Chamberlain and Rick Porcello each throw 5 quality innings en route to wins.  Chamberlain is a perfect 4-0 this spring and has given every indicator that he will be able to shoulder the load of a full season workload in ‘09.  Travis Snider belted his 4th HR and Pablo Sandoval, Brett Gardner, Blake DeWitt, Wladimir Balentien, and Kendry Morales continued their solid springs with multi hit games.  The youngster of the day, though, is Nick Adenhart.  The 22 year old Angels hurler tossed 6.2 innings of two run ball striking out 5 to earn his 3rd win of the spring.  Adenhart entered this spring as a bubble guy to make the Halos’ rotation, and he has responded by posting the best spring of his career.

Youngster of the Day—NICK ADENHART

Other Notable Performances:

• Joba Chamberlain—5.1 IP 5H 2 ER 3 BB 6K W(4)
• Phil Coke—IP 2K
• Brett Gardner—3-4 RBi
• Jay Bruce—2-4 RBI
• Chris Dickerson—1-5 R 2B
• Matt Moses—3-5 2B 2R RBI
• Juan Portes—1-1 2 RBI
• Jim Negrych—2-2 3 RBI
• Quincy Lattimore—2-2 3B 2R RBI
• Felix Pie—2-5 2B
• Matt Joyce—2-4 HR(1) 2 RBI
• Justin Masterson—2.2 IP H ER 3K W(2)
• Rick Porcello—5 IP 2H UER BB 2K
• Daniel Murphy—1-3 2 RBI R
• Jonathan Malo—1-1 HR(1) 2 RBI
• Emiliano Bonifacio—1-3 R SB(4)
• Travis Snider—2-3 HR(4) RBI
• Jarrod Saltalamacchia—1-3 R
• Elvis Andrus—1-3 R
• Pablo Sandoval—2-5 2B 2 RBI
• Eider Torres—2-5 HR(2) RBI 2R SB(5)
• Emmanuel Burriss—2-5 3R
• Wladimir Balentien—3-4 2B 2R 2 RBI
• Chris Jakubaskas—5 IP 4H ER 4K W(2)
• Blake DeWitt—3-5 HR(2) 2B 2 RBI 2R
• Chin-Lung Hu—2-5 R
• Josh Outman—5.2 IP 5H 2 ER BB 6K W
• Travis Buck—1-3 2B R 3 RBI
• Chris Getz—2-4
• Micah Hoffpauir—1-4 HR(6) 2 RBI
• Kendry Morales—2-3 2B R
• Nick Adenhart—6.2 IP 8H 2 ER BB 5K W(3)

3/23 Spring Training Report

Posted by Jeremy on March 24, 2009 under Uncategorized | Be the First to Comment

As prospects continue to be shipped to their minor league destinations, the list of young performers grows smaller and smaller.  In today’s action, Chris Carter of the Red Sox and Pablo Sandoval of the Giants continue to hit the snot out of the baseball, each gathering 3 hits and a HR (for Carter his 5th and Sandoval his 3rd).  Jake Fox and Micah Hoffpauir continue to be two of the undersung heroes of the pre-season for the Chicago Cubs and slow starters Cliff Pennington, Wladimir Balentien, and John Raynor are all heating up at just the right time.  Today’s youngster of the day was a real slow starter, but his recent tear has raised his batting average from just .105 a week ago to a much more respectible .242 today.  Florida Marlins 2B in waiting Chris Coghlan went 3-4 including his 1st HR of the spring, 3 RBI and 2 runs scored.

Youngster of the Day—CHRIS COGHLAN

Other Notable Performances:

• Chris Carter (Sox)—3-4 HR(5) RBI 2R
• Dusty Brown—1-3 2 RBI 2B
• Chris Coghlan—3-4 HR(1) 3 RBI 2R
• John Raynor—3-5 2B R SB(2)
• J.R. Towles—2-3 2B 2R
• J.A. Happ—5 IP 5H ER 3 BB 3K
• Ricky Romero—5 IP 7H 2 ER 2 BB 5K (L)
• Chris Dickerson—2-2 2R SB(6)
• Zack Cozart—2-2
• Ubaldo Jimenez—6 IP 3H 2 BB 2K (W)
• Dexter Fowler—1-1 2B R
• Wladimir Balentien—2-3 HR(3) 3 RBI
• Rob Johnson—2-3 2 2B 2R
• Pablo Sandoval—3-4 HR(3) RBI
• Erick Aybar—2-2 HR(1) 2 RBI 2R 2B
• Trevor Reckling—2 IP H BB
• Mike Aviles—2-4 2B R
• Billy Butler—1-2 2B 2 BB
• Kyle Blanks—2-3 2B 2 RBI 2R
• Chase Headley—3-5 HR(2) 3 RBI 2R
• Jake Fox—3-5 3R HR(2) 3 RBI 2R
• Micah Hoffpauir—2-4 2 2B 2R RBI
• Bo Scales—2-6 3 RBI 2R
• Cliff Pennington—2-2 2B 2R 2 RBI
• Corey Wimberley—1-4 2B R SB(5)

8/22 AAA Minor League Report

Posted by Jeremy on August 23, 2008 under Market Watch, Minor League Ball today | Be the First to Comment

I hope you all enjoyed my post about the ‘08 Bowman Chrome case break.  I apologize for slacking off with the minor league reports.  I am going to do my best to get 4 posts in today covering AAA-Full Season Low A.  Starting from the top…

Max Ramirez

• 2-4 2R 3 RBI 2B—Nice 1st game at Oklahoma

Kila Ka’aihue

• 2-4 HR(35) 2 RBI—Look for him to be wearing Royal blue in the next couple of weeks!

Chris Lubanski

• 2-3 HR(14) 3 RBI 3B—.233 14 HR 49 RBI (days as a top prospect are over)

Rob Johnson

• 2-5 2R 2 RBI—4th straight multi-hit game

Brandon Morrow

• 4.2 IP 2H 2ER BB 10K!—Quest for M’s rotation spot nearly complete

Micah Hoffpauir

• 4-6 2B 4 RBI R SB(2)—.371 23 HR 92 RBI 33 2B 58 R in 64 games

Delwyn Young

• 3-5 3R 2B—1st hits of the his injury-marred season

Blake Dewitt

• 2-6 2B 3B 2 RBI 2R—Departure of Andy LaRoche bodes well for Dewitt’s Dodger future

Xavier Paul

• 2-4 RBI R—Oft overlooked athletic OF (.424 2 HR 7 RBI last 10 games)

Chin-lung Hu

• 3-4 2B 2 RBI—.299 0 HR 12 RBI in 34 AAA games

Ben Copeland

• 3-4 2B 2R RBI BB—.367 22 H 12 R in 15 games with Fresno

Jordan Brown

• 2-4 3B 2 RBI R SB(3)—.282 5 HR 45 RBI

Phil Hughes

• 3.1 IP 10H 8ER BB 6K (L)—Back to back nausea-inducing outings with Scranton

Drew Stubbs

• 2-2 2R BB SB(32)—.316 2 HR 7 RbI 7R in 9 games with Louisville

Phil Humber

• 9 IP 5 ER 8K (W)—5-1 2.56 ERA 50K/53 IP last 10 games

Daniel McCutchen

• 7 IP 4H 2 ER 7K (W)—10-11 3.48 ERA 137K/160IP

Brent Lillibridge

• 3-4 3 RBI 2B R BB—Disappointing season (.215 4 HR 32 RBI 21 SB)

BUY/SELL Analysis

100 MPH heater will warm up Safeco soon

For once I will not be talking out of an orifice other than my mouth when evaluating a prospect, as I have  been privy to many first hand evaluations of former Seattle Mariners set up man Brandon Morrow.  Morrow was recently sent to AAA Tacoma to stretch out and become a starter.  This maneuver was initially supposed to be implemented after the conclusion of last season, allowing Morrow to compete for a rotation spot in spring training of this year.  A preseason trade for Erik Bedard caused the M’s to lose then set-up guy (now All-Star closer) George Sherrill, relegating Morrow back to the bullpen.

Morrow’s stuff is electric.  He regularly pumps in fastballs at 96-98 MPH and throws a tight 84-87 MPH slider that leaves many hitters swinging at air.  He compiled 10 saves as temporary closer while striking out 47 in just 37 innings.  His 1.72 ERA and 0.90 WHIP were vast improvements over last season as well.  Mariners fans lauded Morrow’s transition to the rotation, however, I think that it is a mistake of Joba-like proportions.  Morrow’s fastball will likely lose 3-4 MPH in velocity and, suffice it to say, his ball does not have much movement on it.  His slider is a fine complimentary pitch, but he mainly throws it early in the count and does not have much command of it to throw it late in counts (especially if he is behind a hitter).  Finally, he does not have a MLB calibur 3rd pitch, which is essential for starting pitchers to have.  Combine those factors with the fact that he has a history of being fragile (the M’s were often forced to limit his workload) and is a diabetic and you are left with a player that is a huge risk to become the latest briliant flash in the pan.  Morrow has 1st year cards peppered throughout several 2007 products with varying prices.  His best autographs can be found in the 2007 Fleer Ultra set selling on Ebay for $20-25, but many other products feature his autos at $7-10 each. 

Market Advice: After reading my post above, you surely must think that I am a Morrow-hater.  Quite contrarily, I am a big fan of Morrow…as a late inning reliever or even closer.  I would not advocate buying his cards with the intent of holding them for the long haul, but a short term BUY  of some of his lower priced autos may render some positive results in the short run as his card values will increase as he has success as a starter.  Plan to SELL in September as I think that is where Morrow’s card values will apex.  I am intrigued to see how Morrow’s upcoming 1st inning debut goes, but over the long term, I believe the M’s are making a huge mistake, but not as huge as passing over UW alum Tim Lincecum in the ‘06 Draft.

8/9 AAA Minor League Report

Posted by Jeremy on August 10, 2008 under Minor League Ball today | 5 Comments to Read

Light list today, but it is full of top prospects who have been promoted from AA recently.  Which ones will make their MLB debuts this season?  Only time will tell…

Travis Snider

• 2-4 2 RBI—4 RBI in 3 games since promotion to Syracuse (Toronto will be his 4th level this year)

Jason Pridie

• 2-4 3B 2 RBI BB SB(23)—.450 18H 9R last 10 games

Anthony Swarzak

• 7 IP 6H 2ER 3BB 3K—Pitching well in 3 AAA starts (2-0 2.37 10K/19IP)

Wade Davis

• 7 IP 7H 2ER 2BB 4K—3-0 2.32 ERA 27K/31IP at Durham (5 games)

Kila Kaa’ihue

• 1-3 HR(32) 2 RBI—.378 6 HR 10 RBI 12 R 8 BB @ Omaha

Jon Niese

• 6 IP 5H 2ER BB 5K (W)—3-0 2.37 ERA 14K/19IP at New Orleans (3 games)

Jon Jay

• 2-4 2B RBI—.326 HR 8 RBI 6R @ Memphis (11 games)

Micah Hoffpauir

• 4-5 4 HR(19) 4 RBI—.374 19 HR 78 RBI 48 R 29 2B (57 games)

Felix Pie

• 4-6 HR(9) 2 RBI 2R—.299 9 HR 46 RBI 45 R (Remember, he’s still just 23)

Travis Ishikawa

• 5-6 2 HR(24) 5 RBI 2 2B 3R—.305 24 HR 94 RBI 35 2B .972 OPS

Kendry Morales

• 2-4 HR(14) RBI—.332 13 HR 54 RBI @ Salt Lake City

BUY/SELL Analysis

4 levels in '08? We can only hope!

Travis Snider may have as much power potential as any player in the minor leagues.  Built like a beer barrell at 5-11 245, Snider has athleticism that belies his stocky frame.  With a strong arm, and average speed, Snider can play both corner OF positions.  The major tick against Snider is his high strikeout totals.  Last season at Low A Lansing, Snider punched out 129 times in 118 games.  This season, over 3 levels, Snider has increased that total to 143 times in 118 games.  The high K totals have not deterred the Toronto Blue Jays from being aggressive with promoting Snider as he has made the jump from High A to AAA this season, and will likely get a few AB’s with Toronto in September.  Snider is just 20 years old and has ample time to address his issues at the plate.  Snider has first year cards exclusively in the 2006 Bowman Draft and Chrome set that sell for $3.50-5.00 each with his base cards available at 75 cents to $1.00 each. 

Market Advice: I believe that Snider will get the call to Toronto this season and will struggle.  He hasn’t adaquately dealt with his issues at the plate at AA and I think that the Jays are being a tad too aggressive with promoting him.  That said, his cards will get a boost once he gets to Toronto and, if he hits a couple of HR’s, they’ll increase more.  Snider is a strong BUY AND HOLD candidate, unless he gets uber-hot in Toronto and goes on a HR spree to start his career a la Jay Bruce or Ryan Braun. 

Aside: Jay Bruce’s cards might make good acquisitions right now.  His Bowman Chrome Drafts are available at $7.50-9.00 each, his base cards are even better values at $1.50-2.00 each.  I have a funny feeling that he is going to get hot again in September, giving people hope for a breakout in ‘09.