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Hamels Vs Drabek, Not Hamels Then Drabek

Wednesday, March 10th, 2010

drabekIf you asked the Phillies last June about their 2012 starting rotation, they might well have said that right at the top would be Cole Hamels and Kyle Drabek, two former BlueClaws. But of course, things change. First, the team brought in Cliff Lee at the trade deadline last year, and then, Lee was shipped to Seattle to make room for Roy Halladay. To bring in Halladay, Drabek was sent to Toronto.

Now, the two will pitch today in Dunedin as part of a big league Spring Training game, as the two continue to get ready for the 2010 season.

Hamels will be #2 behind Halladay with Philadelphia, and Drabek is likely headed to Triple-A Syracuse to open his 2010 season.

Dave Murphy of the Daily News asked Tuffy Gosewisch, another former BlueClaw, to talk about Halladay and Drabek. He has caught Halladay in the bullpen this spring and caught Drabek last year at Double-A Reading.

“It’s pretty disgusting,” he said. “You’ve got Roy, who has proven what he can do, probably the best pitcher in the game right now, and you’ve got Kyle, who’s got enough talent to probably do the same thing.”

Then you have Hamels, who is working on a new cutter. So far so good. From Todd Zolecki on MLB.com.

“I’ve watched guys like Andy Pettitte, Cliff Lee, [Jon] Lester have so much success with that pitch, that I think it’s something if I’m able to add that in with the type of changeup that I have, it can only make me that much better,” Hamels said.

Hamels will start for the Phillies and Drabek throws second for the Blue Jays.

Posted in Cole Hamels, General Baseball, Kyle Drabek, Past BlueClaws, Phillies, Spring Training | No Comments »

Former BlueClaws Fantasy Baseball Guide

Sunday, March 7th, 2010

Getting ready for your fantasy baseball draft? Back for a second year is the Former BlueClaws Fantasy Baseball Guide, featuring several former BlueClaws that are currently either on a big league roster or in big league camp (click here for list from non-Phillies, click here for Phillies list). Here goes:

  • Ryan Howard: Model of consistency has hit at least 45 home runs and driven in 136 runs over the last four years. Can’t ask for more than that. Probably your third or fourth first baseman with Albert Pujols, Mark Teixeira and Price Fielder right there. Was a BlueClaw in 2002.
  • Cole Hamels: Buster Olney tweeted last week that his big fantasy recommendation was to draft Cole Hamels. He’s been working on a cut fastball with Steve Carlton. We’ll go a little deeper statistically here…last year, his strand % (pct of runners that reach and are left on base) was far lower than it has been (69 vs 76, 77 last two). There are some that believe that a sudden drop or uptick in this stat is luck-related, and if that holds for Hamels, a bounce back would serve him very well. His Ks/9 and Ks/BB were right in line with what he has done historically, good signs for a return to a high-end fantasy starter. Remember, he is only 26 (late-developing lefty theory), and sometimes it’s easy to forget that. We’re buying.
  • JA Happ: Happ, who played in Lakewood in 2005, two years after Hamels, is actually older (Happ pitched three years for Northwestern). The Sporting News Rookie of the Year was very impressive, going 12-4, 2.93 last season, and 7-4, 2.88 in the second half, where he improved his Ks/9 and Ks/BB ratios. How he has a spot given to him in the rotation, which he earned last year, and will not be yo-yo’d in and out of the rotation like he was at times last season. While a sub-3 ERA is probably unrealistic in that ballpark, he is still a valuable fantasy option playing on a very good team and gaining more experience. While some youngsters hit a wall after a big year innings pitched wise, Happ threw 166 last year, which was actually just one less than 2008.
  • Lou Marson: Sometimes lost in the shuffle from the 2006 BlueClaws, Marson remember was sent to Cleveland in the Cliff Lee deal in July and has a chance to be the Opening Day catcher with the Indians this year. FanGraphs has a writeup on Marson from January. Top prospect Carlos Santana hasn’t played above Double-A and had off-season hand surgery, so Marson will have a chance to win the starting job. He’s considered a contact hitter , who hit .246 with the Indians in September. You could take a flyer on him in deep AL only leagues. He’s ready and excited to have a chance.    “Absolutely,” Marson said. “You look and see that they just gave Ruiz that 3-year deal. And he definitely deserves it. He’s done a great job over there. But getting an opportunity here is all I can ask for. Now it’s going to be all up to me and how I perform during spring training.”
  • Carlos Carrasco: A member of the 2006 ‘Claws with Marson, he’s competing for two spots with three others in Goodyear, Arizona at Indians camp. “We do have a number of guys competing for that spot so we’ll have to see how camp takes shape,” Indians AGM Chris Antonetti said. “But we’re very encouraged by what we saw developmentally with him last year when he came over and pitched for us in Columbus. He pitched deep into games a number of different times and showed some really good stuff.” His Ks/BB ratio was almost three last year, and even though he had an 8.87 ERA in September last year with the Tribe, sometimes it pays to be careful off of a very small sample like that. Ron Shandler’s Fantasy Baseball Guide says the upside for Carrasco is: Rookie of the Year. That seems like a stretch. He’s likely to open at AAA, but still keep an eye.
  • Michael Taylor: Obviously, he can hit (stats here). Now, he has a chance to show it at the highest level. That said, he has less than two-months at AAA and probably needs a little more time there before coming up. He is not listed on today’s Athletics depth chart, for what that’s worth. So what does it mean fantasy wise? He’s a late-round buy-low type of player this year with a chance to be very good. The comparisons have been to Jermaine Dye, but it takes some time. I think he’s a safe investment late in a draft, and if you stash him on your bench for a few months, and then keep him into 2011, you could have yourself a real nice player for a few years.
  • Domonic Brown: This was Phillies beat writer David Murphy in a BlueClaws Blog Q&A from before the Winter Meetings: People in the organization we talk to like Domonic Brown. They view him as a future star, a Carl Crawford type impact guy. Brown, of course, is the best prospect left in the system after the Cliff Lee & Roy Halladay trades. Is he ready for the big leagues and your fantasy team just yet? No, he hasn’t yet played an inning in Triple-A. But could he debut late or if there is an injury? Absolutely. Phillies people think he is going to be a star, and if Jayson Werth doesn’t come back, he’s probably why. But from a fantasy perspective in 2010, it’s best to wait, or draft late and stash. His time is coming.

Good luck!

Posted in Carlos Carrasco, Cole Hamels, Domonic Brown, General Baseball, JA Happ, Lou Marson, Michael Taylor, Ryan Howard | No Comments »

Sunday Links and Coffee

Sunday, March 7th, 2010

Welcome back to another edition of Sunday Links and Coffee, a series of links to stories from around the baseball world to enjoy with your Sunday coffee. We start in Clearwater:

  • Andy Martino in the Inquirer has a lengthy piece on Cole Hamels that covers a lot of ground…from his new role as a father, the World Series, 2010, statistics, and more. Good read.
  • Paul Hagen in the Daily News on 47-year old Jamie Moyer trying to win the 5th starter’s job after a shaky season last year.
  • From Friday, Andy Martino on the start of the Halladay/Hamels era.
  • Scott Lauber in the Delaware News-Journal on former BlueClaw Freddy Galvis, who flashed some leather yesterday in Bradenton. Said Asst. GM Chuck LaMar: “He has such good feet and such good hands. Not an outstanding arm — Jimmy Rollins has an outstanding arm — but he plays the hitter so well and has such good instincts in the middle infield. He’s one of those young guys that can make an acrobatic play.”
  • Good note in the last article on Galvis: he was just the 11th teenager in the 43 years of baseball in Reading.

And from around baseball:

  • Mike Lupica in the NY Daily News on Jose Reyes, his thyroid problem, and the Mets.
  • Bill Madden, also in the NY Daily News, on Bobby Cox beginning his final season as Braves manager…Cox at one time was a manager in the Yankee system:“When I was at Syracuse, George would call me all the time,” Cox related. “We had to phone in our reports after every game and George listened to all of them. He’d call me and start screaming, ‘What the hell is wrong with (Terry) Whitfield (a top Yankee outfield prospect at the time)? Why isn’t he hitting?’

    “Another year, they wanted me to make a second baseman out of our top prospect Otto Velez, even though he was an outfielder. Yeah, I had my share of confrontations with George. Who knows what would’ve happened if I hadn’t gotten hired by the Braves after ‘77? It just wasn’t meant to be.”

  • Interesting article from ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick: a series of umpire errors during the post-season forced a shake-up of umpire supervisors for this season.

Posted in Freddy Galvis, General Baseball, Phillies, Spring Training | No Comments »

Sunday Links and Coffee (Snow Melting Edition)

Sunday, February 28th, 2010

Welcome back to another edition of Sunday Links and Coffee, a series of links from around the baseball world to enjoy with your Sunday java.

  • Andy Martino in the Inquirer writes about the Phearless Phour, a nickname given to the Phillies infield by 3rd base coach Sam Perlozzo, who said: “They don’t back down off of any play, so I call them the Phearless Phour.”
  • Matt Gelb on former BlueClaws pitcher Mike Zagurski, who is looking for a shot in the big league bullpen after two long years (08 he was injured, 09 he was recovering from the Tommy John surgery and trying to work his way back up the ladder). Zagurski said: “I think I can help them,” he said. “Hopefully, they’ll see that.”
  • Dave Murphy of the Daily News on the ultimate cost cutting maneuvers the Phillies will have to undertake: they have $130 million committed to 15 players in 2011. Their Opening Day payroll in 2008 was $110 million.
  • Lifelong Phillies fan Gerard Sheilds: Hope is eternal, even for Phillies fans.

Elsewhere in baseball…

  • Bill Madden in the Daily News on the never-ending Johnny Damon drama.
  • While he is a Met, Adam Rubin in the NY Daily News has a good one-on-one with David Wright worth reading.
  • A statistical look at some of the big name upgrades this year around the league, by Cliff Corcoran on SI.com.
  • While he is one of the best managers in baseball, with two World Series titles in the last six years, Terry Francona oversees a team in transition, writes Tony Massarotti in the Boston Globe.
  • Joe Torre and Sandy Koufax tell stories and an LA gala to raise money for Torre’s Safe at Home Foundation. Great stuff in here. When did the lightbulb go on for Koufax (at one point in his career he was 36-41, believe it or not)? It was Gil Hodges telling him he’d have to go eight innings after two pitchers missed the plane for a B-team spring training game.Koufax decided to ease up on what had been an uncontrollable fastball to be sure he made it the eight innings, which he did, without allowing a hit.

Posted in General Baseball, Mike Zagurski, Phillies, Spring Training | No Comments »

Former Claws at Other Camps

Monday, February 22nd, 2010

10springtraining1We’ve already looked at (here) the 16 former BlueClaws in Phillies big league camp, but there are 20 other former BlueClaws in 12 big league camps around baseball.

The most heavily populated team with former ‘Claws? No surprise, the Toronto Blue Jays.

  • Travis d’Arnaud (2009): starting catcher on the 2009 SAL champion BlueClaws (.255-13-71), and was sent to the Blue Jays as part of the Roy Halladay trade. A non-roster invitee for the 21 year old who had never been above Lo-A is significant and impressive.
  • Kyle Drabek (2007): more on Drabek here, but the 2007 BlueClaws pitcher is considered one of the top 20 prospects in the sport. He could debut in Toronto later this summer or early 2011. He is another non-roster invitee.
  • Jesus Merchan (2005): Now in his 6th organization, Merchan played 25 games with the BlueClaws in 2005 and is a non-roster invitee here. Hit .339 with Arizona in AAA durign the 2008 season.
  • Randy Ruiz (2004): Hit 27 home runs with the BlueClaws, debuted with the Twins in 2008 and is now on the Jays 40-man roster. He homered in Yankee Stadium last year.

(more…)

Posted in Adrian Cardenas, Carlos Carrasco, Gavin Floyd, General Baseball, Jason Donald, Josh Outman, Kyle Drabek, Lou Marson, Matt Maloney, Michael Bourn, Michael Taylor, Past BlueClaws, Travis d'Arnaud | 1 Comment »

Checking in on Kyle Drabek

Sunday, February 21st, 2010

Kyle Drabek is one of three (Travis d’Arnaud, Randy Ruiz) former BlueClaws in Blue Jays camp this spring, as the 2007 BlueClaw was sent to the Jays as part of the Roy Halladay trade in December. The right-hander, considered the top pitching prospect in the organization and one of the top arms in the minor leagues, found out about the trade while watching ESPN at home in Texas.

“It was a total shock,” he told Andy Martino in the Philadelphia Inquirer. “That was the first things that I saw of it.”

2007 saw Drabek pitch well for two months with the BlueClaws, including a 7.2 inning, two hit, one run outing in the second game of a split-double header that year. But he got hurt in June, had Tommy John surgery that basically cost him 2008.

2009, however, was a great year for 21-year old (he turned 22 in December). From Clearwater, where he had 10.8 Ks/9 and earned a spot in the Futures Game, he went to Reading, where he went 8-2, 3.64, though his Ks dropped to 7.2 per 9.

He shot back up the prospect rankings and was in high demand. While the Phillies held onto him at the trade deadline, they sent him to Toronto two months ago.

Tommy John surgery is not considered to be career-threatening anymore, but it’s still surgery. Drabek told us last year, however, the improvements in medicine, and specifically those coming back from this surgery, calmed him down a little bit.

In talking to the doctor he told me that about 90% of the people come back stronger and that was a huge confidence booster because I knew that I could come back nice and strong. When I began to throw it felt great and that also helped my confidence a lot.

He reflected on his time with the BlueClaws this way:

I had a blast in Lakewood. The field was amazing, the atmosphere was awesome and the fans were amazing. I had never played in front of that many fans before and I played with a lot of great guys. I had a lot of fun there.

Now it’s off to Toronto, and adjusting to a new team, new teammates, new uniforms, and a new situation. That’s where it helps to have a father who played for a long time in the big leagues, and Doug was there to help.

“He said, ‘You know what? It’s baseball,’ ” the younger Drabek said. ‘ “This stuff happens, and you just deal with it and try to do your job.’ ”

And we expect that we’ll get to watch him do his job in the big leagues pretty soon.
—
One other note, since Drabek is in big league camp, he won’t be playing the Phillies minor leaguers every third day like they would in the minor league camp, since Dunedin and Clearwater are about five miles apart.

Posted in General Baseball, Kyle Drabek, Past BlueClaws, Spring Training | 1 Comment »

Sunday Links and Coffee (early spring training edition)

Sunday, February 21st, 2010

Welcome back to another edition of Sunday Links and Coffee, a series of links from around the baseball world to enjoy with your Sunday morning coffee. Our first edition now that spring training is underway begins with:

Posted in General Baseball, Kyle Kendrick, Past BlueClaws, Phillies, Spring Training | No Comments »

Recommended Reading

Friday, February 19th, 2010

Not really BlueClaws related but this is a really good and interesting article (from Tyler Kepner in the NY Times) on Ross Ohlendorf, a former Yankee, now a Pirate pitcher, who interned last summer at the Department of Agriculture. Full article here.

It is a safe bet that Ohlendorf is the only [player in spring training] who spends some of his free time finishing a cost-benefit analysis on a program that traces disease in cattle, poultry, swine, goats and sheep, and its effect on farmers.

“If there are things that interest me, and I am interested in a lot of things, I try to make an effort to learn more about them,” Ohlendorf said Wednesday in an interview at a restaurant here after a morning practice in Bradenton, Fla. “If I’m going to do something, I want to put in the time to do a good job with it.”

Ohlendorf, 27, has the unusual combination of superior intelligence, athleticism, curiosity and drive. It helped him become a star at Princeton while earning a degree in operations research and financial engineering. It has helped him develop into a dependable major leaguer who was 11-10 with a 3.92 earned run average in 29 starts for Pittsburgh last season.

[snip]

Ohlendorf had recently caught a ceremonial first pitch from Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack at PNC Park. What if he applied for a 20-hour-a-week job at the department from the end of the Pirates’ season until mid-December, when his throwing program would begin in earnest?

He sent his résumé in an e-mail message to Doug McKalip, the confidential assistant to Secretary Vilsack. McKalip was impressed for reasons beyond baseball.

“Most of our interns just got out of graduate school, or they’ve finished a doctorate and want to work for a federal department as part of their experience,” he said. “But it’s pretty rare to have someone from an outside profession who’s willing to volunteer time and has the kind of background Ross brings. With his G.P.A., with his engineering and mathematics background, and also a direct role in a farming operation, Ross was especially qualified.”

Posted in General Baseball | No Comments »

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