Player updates

[tensixdad]

Hmmmmm, only half the post showed up. I'll try again.

 

.430/.611/.733, 6 2B, 4 3B, 4 HR, 40 BB & 14 K in 86 ABs, 13 steals, and defensively has thrown out 13 of 16 attempts. Most of his stats have come from the left side but he has bounced a few off of some 412' fences from both sides on occasion.

[950opsLHcatcher]

Second or third round pick? Excellent. Screw my dream of picking up Bakker in the second round. I'm now a Saltalamacchia guy all the way because what Callis says is as good as gold. Not looking forward to the potential of having to type his name over and over, tho.

[colbyjack]

Catchers with Saltalamacchia's skills don't fall out of the 1st round. I'm not sure how he goes from a legitimate 1st rounder to a 2nd or 3rd rounder given his performances so far this year. I've also been told that he has been making opposing pitchers pay by working around him so much by stealing bases & showing some impressive speed.

 

He's a switch-hitting catcher with pop from both sides of the plate, tremendous athleticism & great potential both offensively & defensively. If he somehow falls to our 2nd round pick, I can say quite confidently that Saltalamacchia will be the Brewers' pick pick without blinking. I will be very surprised & extremely pleased to see that happen.

 

2 more things, I think Bakker could very well fall to the 4th or 5th rounds, and you don't have to worry about spelling Saltalamacchia's name all of the time, as most affectionately refer to him at "Salty."

[SoCalBrewfan]

The track record of HS catchers in the first round is abominable. Everybody nowadays is joining the Beane cult and looking for college guys. We could well see some top flight prep guys available at #40...though the Braves do have two supp picks before that so they'll pick off some prep arms or toolsy bats. I wouldn't be stunned if Salty and Stewart were there (since I obsess over C and 3b)...I also wouldn't be stunned to see the Brewers go elsewhere...they never listen to what I want, which is probably a good thing.

[colbyjack]

One name: Ted Simmons.

 

And while the track record for HS catchers is pretty poor, HS OFs taken in the first round since 1965 actually have the worst track record in making it to & succeeding at the MLB level. Worse than HS RHPs & catchers.

[colbyjack]

Marc Cornell faced only one batter last evening & was removed from the game. No word as to the problem, but that is not a good sign, even if it is precautionary. Last week he was removed after 2 innings due to some discomfort in his arm, even though that wasn't believed to be serious.

 

As fast as Cornell shot up the charts, he may be on his way back down. I'm sure a healthy contigent of scouts, scouting directors & general managers left with a sour taste in their mouth.

[OhioScout]

Mollekan is supposed to have a good arm. Not the type of prospect that Cornell is/was, though! He's a Canadian guy and his lack of exposure isn't going to help him go highly in the draft.

[colbyjack]

I think Wake Forest was rained out over the weekend, unless they just haven't updated their site for the past couple of days. Sleeth sits with a 2.71 ERA.

 

Sullivan went another 8 IP with 12K, 4 BB, 9 H & 2 ER throwing 125 pitches. His pitch counts have been pretty high all year long, and may be best holding out the first half if not the entire summer just to give his arm some much needed rest.

 

Tim Stauffer has his ERA at 1.63. His 113 K & only 7 BB in 83 IP is one of the most impressive splits in all of college baseball.

 

Hopefully Southern's site will have updated stats by tomorrow. Chipola's regular season has been over for a week now, and the playoffs don't start until either this weekend or next.

[colbyjack]

Weeks keeps on hitting, and Southern has been named SWAC champs. Here's his updated line:

 

.500/.619/.987, 158 ABs, 13 2B, 8 3B, 16 HR, 17 K & 46 BB, 27 for 27 in stolen base attempts, he also was hit by pitch 15 times

 

The walk numbers really shot up over the last 4-6 weeks as teams obviously started working around him. He seemed to add a few stolen bases during that time, making teams pay for putting him on. Pretty incredible numbers, regardless of the level of competition.

[colbyjack]

Sleeth, Stauffer & Sullivan continue to be less than impressive as we approach the draft.

 

Sleeth: 2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 K, 2 BB-no word as to why his outing was so short. It's not like he was hit THAT hard.

 

Stauffer: 6 IP, 7 H, 6 ER, 4 BB, 7 K-vs. North Carolina, probably his toughest opponent all season. Not a good outing when you need to prove your worth vs. your best competition.

 

Sullivan: 7.1 IP, 3 H, 4 ER, 12 K, 4 BB-Sullivan sets Houston's all-time K mark, but gives up too many runs even while limiting the baserunners against.

 

Given Cornell's rise & fall, none of the true college starters seem worthy of a top 2-5 pick. We might see more high school players taken early than originally thought.

[colbyjack]

T1 rated Justin Barnes as the #3 prospect at the Florida Juco playoffs behind Adam Loewen & Steven Doetsch.

 

3. Justin Barnes, SS/3B/RHP, Manatee JC (SOPHOMORE)

Barnes is under control by the Milwaukee Brewers (15th round in 2002) and has signed with Florida Southern. Some scouts like him better on the mound, but I?ve taken to him more as an infielder at this stage. Barnes has a live body at 6-2, 200, and despite only average speed he shows good agility and body control at shortstop. Barnes?s arm will play anywhere and he has the potential to become a power hitter with wood. He still needs to get his bat started a little quicker to hit his way through pro ball though it has picked up since high school. Barnes is most likely a third baseman, where he could become an above-average defender. On the mound, Barnes isn?t as polished but has low-90s arm-strength and the makings of a big curve.

[cressj]

still in the playoffs or can we negotiate with Barnes? It will be interesting in the next two weeks to see if we sign any of our DFE's.

[colbyjack]

Manatee knocked off Chipola, so I'm assuming they're still in it.

[igor67]

Saying for the moment that we do manage to sign Barnes that would be a pretty sweet follow-up on the DFE front to Manny last year. Is the team making an effort to use DFE to try and uncover more pitching gems then they could do within current roster limits or has it just worked out that way?