Daily Farm Report – 8/8/08
Posted on August 8th, 2008 by erik in Bryan Anderson, Daily Farm Reports, Francisco SamuelI missed on my last chance seeing the Walrus in person tonight. It happened to be fireworks night at my local ballpark. Not knowing that, I got to the park a tad late only to find the parking lot completely full and the overflow parking nearly full, so I just gave up. Maybe I’ll just have to make the 2 hour trip to Davenport. Meanwhile, AZ is in Memphis for the weekend, so I’m sure he’ll have all kinds of goodies for us when he gets back.
Watching Chris Perez and Jeff Samardzija work the latter innings in yesterday’s game was fun stuff. If I had my choice between the two coming into the season, I would’ve taken Perez over the Shark any day of the week. Jeff’s mind bogglingly low 3.77 K/9 rate honestly made me wonder if he missed his true sport, but apparently something’s clicked, because at least the two times I’ve seen him on TV, he’s toyed with big league hitters. Now I’d say give me Samardzija. His velocity + freakish movement on his sinker is a sight to behold in and of itself, and then you throw a nasty splitter and a nice slider on top of that and wow. I like Perez quite a bit, and he’s been very good since being recalled, but Samardzija made my jaw drop.
No Cardinal made BA’s Hot Sheet this week, but Francisco Samuel was mentioned in their “Helium Watch”.
…if you’re looking for the reliever with the league’s scariest stuff, it’s Samuel. The righthander features a 95-96 mph fastball and an 87 mph slider, a combo that leaves him unhittable at times. He’s struck out 13.8 batters per nine innings, and he’s been especially deadly on righthanders, holding them to .170/.278/.240 averages. Samuel could still sharpen his control, but opposing managers say his two-pitch mix will continue to dominate as he climbs the ladder.
Palm Beach wins one in a doubleheader and Johnson City wins. L’s everywhere else.
- I think the Cards are rushing things with Adam Wainwright. It took him 27 pitches to retire just two batters in his first rehab assignment and he got knocked around-0.2 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 HR. Goold has more details.
- Blake Hawksworth followed up and was decent his third start back since returning from the DL. 5.2 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 5 K, 1 HR. Hawkworth’s had no troubles striking batters out this season but has struggled with control and keeping the ball in the yard. His K/9 is 8.8, HR/9: 1.5, BB/9: 4.1.
- Weird stuff happening in the Memphis lineup thanks to the Felipe Lopez signing. Brendan Ryan played some SS/2B and went 0-for-5 in the leadoff spot. D’Angelo Jimenez had 2 AB, Tyler Greene had 3 AB and Jarrett Hoffpauir sat and watched.
- Nick Stavinoha went 3-for-4 with a double.
- David Freese went 2-for-4.
- Mark Worrell had a walk and a K in 1.1 innings.
- Jess Todd still will destroy us all. He threw 7 innings of 1-hit ball. He had 3 K, 2 BB and 10 ground outs.
- Luis Perdomo allowed no baserunners in his 1 inning of work and struck out two. Meanwhile, Anthony Reyes threw 6.1 innings on one run ball with 4 K’s and a walk. After the game, Reyes said, “I felt I didn’t fit in. It was hard trying to make people happy there. It made for some long years.” and “There’s more communication here.” But take comfort, we still have Joel Pineiro and they are moving our best starter into the bullpen.
- Luke Gregerson went splat. He allowed 4 ER and recorded only 2 outs in the 9th.
- Josh Dew allowed his inherited runner to score, which happened to be the winning run.
- Brandon Buckman was the offense. He went 2-for-4 with a HR. Mark Shorey had the club’s only other hit.
Palm Beach 1, Jupiter 0 (7 innings, Game 1)
- The enigmatic Brad Furnish threw a complete game 2-hit shutout. He struck out four and walked two.
- Pete Kozma went 2-for-3 with a double.
Palm Beach 0, Jupiter 4 (7 innings, Game 2)
- Eddie Degerman, AKA Captain Quirk, threw 3.2 innings, allowed 1 ER on 5 hits and 3 walks with 2 K’s.
- Pete Parise struck out the side but not before he allowed 2 solo HR.
- Jupiter’s P’s returned the favor; Aaron Luna and Antonio DeJesus had Palm Beach’s only two hits.
- I guess I didn’t miss much. Brett Wallace went 0-for-3 with 3 K and 1 BB.
- Carlos Pupo went yard.
- Ross Oeder doubled.
- Soft-tossing Nick Additon allowed 3 ER on 4 H and 1 BB over 7 innings, w/5 K’s. He had 12 fly outs and allowed a HR. His low velocity coupled with his extreme flyball tendencies makes it hard for me to see him replicating his current success at the higher levels.
- Kenny Maiques allowed a run on a hit and struck out 2 in his one inning of work.
- Chris Swauger doubled and homered.
- Shane Peterson went 0-for-2 but drew 2 walks.
- Brett Lilley went 2-for-4.
- Scott Gorgen allowed 4 ER on 4 hits and 1 BB over 5 IP. He recorded 6 K’s. I wouldn’t put too much stock in Gorgen’s recent struggles, he’s thrown 152.2 innings combined between college and pro-ball this year. He’s probably just gassed.
- Miguel Tapia allowed 1 ER on 2 H and 3 BB with 1 K.
- Deryk Hooker was good tonight. Really, really good. No seriously. He was really stinkin’ good. Hooker allowed just 1 hit over 5 innings and struck out 11. Hooker has a sterling 12.46 K/9 rate over his two seasons between the GCL and the Appy. He’s just 19.
- Catcher turned reliever alert: David Carpenter struck out 1 in his perfect inning of relief.
- Nico Vasquez went 2-for-4 with 2 doubles and I’m sure Hardcore Legend will fill us in on anything else interesting Nico experienced today.
- Curt Smith went 3-for-4 with a HR. For what it’s worth, Smith is 3rd overall in the Appy in OPS.
- Alex Castellanos went 1-for-3 with a double and was HBP.
Entries (RSS)
I think Wainwright will be ok. His mechanics looked about right, his curve looked right, his fastball was about the velocity he throws it at. He just doesn’t have any command right now, but that’s the point of the rehab.
Seemed that he was just leaving too many pitches too fat, moreso than not having the stuff like when Mulder got ripped here. I think being ready next weekend is probably a little too optimistic, but it’s not out of the question.
I’m opposed to using him as a reliever, but I think we can all agree that’s been debated ad nauseum.
BTW, screw this website for not letting you post if someone else has posted while you were typing. I have to retype this whole da#$ thing.
Tonight in Greeneville, the Astros organization hired Mike Woolfe, a renowned Bald Eagle trainer. The hometown fans and visiting team were so impressed by the aerial show that, not to be outdone, Niko Vasquez captured a stray robin that had landed on the field during warmups. Vasperillo, the name he gave the bird, and Niko would wow the local children as they re-enacted Niko’s favorite scene from the Disney Classic ‘Snow White’ during the 7th inning stretch. Truly epic stuff.
HL–I’ve never heard of that problem before but I’ve been having all sorts of issues with my hosting company lately. And it’s not like I went cheap, so I’m not sure what he deal is but it’s hackin’ me off. Let me know if it persists.
Oh, and I think it’s time we start archiving these Nico adventures.
Sorry for that HL
What can’t Nico do?
What I can’t do is spell his name right.
Erik-
I get the same error that HL is talking about. Next time it comes up I will copy the text.
BJM
For the draftniks out there, the Aflac high school all-american game will be played today at 2 PM central time on FSN.
Here are the rosters for both teams:
http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/high-school/events/aflac-all-american-classic/2008/266646.html
The game will likely feature several early round draft picks for next June’s draft. Last year players such as Tim Beckham, Kyle Skipworth, Aaron Hicks and Eric Hosmer played in the game.
Alot of talent on that list, my fav is of course Donovan Tate who leads a class that seems like an upgrade from last years team.
On a side note as a white kid from the burbs…its nice to see a little diversity on the team. I could careless about color, its all about talent and production….but having diversity is best for the sport we all love.
A fun day, Olympics, Aflac, Cards game and then the Rams….I might gain 10lbs today from not leaving my coach. But dont worry I bought some depends, have Pizza Hut and the Wing shack on speed dial, along with the mini fridge next to the lazy-boy!
I am set!
I’m interested to see a lot of the arms in that game. If I had to pick a fav that could be around when the Cardinals pick(and thats pretty much impossible) I might go with Zack Wheeler. It sounds like he has all the makings of a top 10 pick but is getting rated more around 10-15th in the high school class. There’s a video of him on Takkle and he does look mighty impressive. Love the mechanics.
That was David Carpenter’s first apperance for Johnson City he got promoted from the Gulf Coast League recently
i want to see jacob turner. sounds a lot like tim melville. hopefully he won’t have the same senior season collapse.
the one thing i do like about this class is that there seems to be a lot of lefties. hopefully between them and college guys like andrew oliver and mike minor there will be a stud lefty available when we pick.
zach wheeler wow. 95 mph
turner not too bad himself with 5 K’s in 2 innings.
tyler matzek is ridiculous. brian matusz part 2.
the talent level this year is just unreal. i haven’t seen a whole lot of the game since the cardinals started, but matt purke was just putting on a show. 93 mph from the left side and throwing a nasty slider in the low-80′s for strikes. you don’t see many major league lefties with that kind of stuff. i don’t think i have ever seen this much heat in the aflac game before. wow.
I’d still have to say Zack Wheeler is one of my favs for the 09 draft. He looked extremely impressive. Great fastball/slider combo. I can’t see him falling out of the top 10 if he keeps throwing like that.
And Matt Purke looks like the next Scott Kazmir.
The 2009 high school class looks great.
This pitching crop is unreal…..the 2 LHP’s can probably pitch in the Pro’s right now.
Turner looks so much like Mark Prior in his setup and delivery…luckily he doesnt seem to do the inverted W though.
add this high school crop to stephen strasburg, alex white, and kyle gibson and you have one heck of a pitching draft.
It wouldnt surprise me to hear after the game from PG and BA that the radar gun on TV was 2 to 3 MPH fast.
Still impressive stuff, but I think we are seeing some inflated MPH numbers.
i was thinking the same thing. there is no way this many kids can be throwing 94, but if it is accurate this is unbelievable.
I was ok with it until I saw Kroll throwing 92mph and Givens throwing 98mph
Kroll is almost always reported at 87 to 90 and Givens 95mph.
I do think we are all in agreement that his pitching crop is much better then last year, when it seemed like Melville and DeVall were the class of the HS draft.
Not many hitters standing out, but cant blame them fresh power arms, a huge MLB stadium and Eric Gregg calling balls and strikes behind the plate.
Yeah not too many hitters had a great day at the plate but I saw a lot of good ABs taken. Not a lot of hitters were chasing fastballs or breaking balls out of the zone. Most of them did a good job working the count.
Donovan Tate was guy that really didn’t shine hitting the ball in play but he looked good fouling off several good curves and fastballs. He didn’t look overmatched at all.
Slade Heathcott may have looked the best at the plate. He hit a liner to left for a single his first AB then drilled one to the track in center in his second AB. He also looked pretty good on the mound despite giving up 4 runs. Good fastball/curve combo with good control. Only gave up one solid hit.
Matt Davidson was another guy that looked good. He hit the ball hard a couple of times including a double and showed a good arm and hands at 3rd base.
Jonathan Singleton may have had the worst day at the dish. He had some rough ABs.
The story of this game was definitely the pitching. I can’t really think of any pitcher that didn’t impress.
Always love MLB comps and we already have a couple pretty obvious ones in my eyes with Purke = Kazmir and Slade Heathcott = Trot Nixon.
What else do you guy see as comps?
One other thing to note…this a very good Catcher crop with some very impressive defenseive guys, could see 3 or 4 HS catchers go in the top 50 picks…you dont see that very often.
Wasnt though very impressed by the middle infielders, didnt see the flashy tools guy outside of Givens.
If someone could rank the three big Latin American relievers (Samuel, Salas, Perdomo), how would you rank them? I tend to like Samuel because Luhnow and Co. hinted that a season like this could be coming, but he’s a bit smaller than Salas. Either way, I think we have three really talented relievers that could make their way to Memphis sooner rather than later.
i taped it and need to watch it again to focus on the hitters, but i thought maddox looked like a stud out there. very good behind the plate and he looks like a hitter. i only remember the at bat where he chased some low ones and struck out, but reading reports david nick sounds like a luhnow player. solid all-around tools, great make-up, very good defensively. we may not go for another prep shortstop early, but this guy definitely fits the mold.
as for the relievers, i would rate them samuel, perdomo, salas. samuel is tops for me b/c he has the most potential b/c he has two big time out pitches. salas may be a safer bet than perdomo, and i liked what i saw in the futures game but i am going on the report i read on perdomo that said he threw in the mid-90′s and his slider may be his best pitch. if that is true he could be a good one. salas has pretty good stuff, but his high home run total scares me off a little.
Erik you didn’t miss to much at the game. I was very suprised when I saw Wallace. Much shorter and thicker than I had imagined. He has a very nice looking swing, fouled off a couple straight back. I’m not sure who was pitching against him, but he had a very nice offspeed pitch. No one in the Quad City lineup could handle it. Lots of very bad swings on that pitch. Edwards definately passes the large outfield slugger look test, but seemed to be over trying to hit the ball out of the park and kept popping it up, but he did have one good hit. I was not impressed Additon did not impress me at all. He wasn’t helped out by his defense all to much early on, but he had alot of hard hit outs.
Watching the River Bandits on TV. Jon Edwards has gone yard. Twice. Both hit a good distance, landing about 15 feet past the fence. Fick is having a nice game but I don’t see a lot special. Decent sinker, decent curve.
Pickle, a couple of other comparisons I saw besides the Purke-Kazmir one
Tyler Matzek-Mark Mulder
Chad Thompson-Aaron Harang/Chris Volstad
Michael Heller-Zach Greinke
Ian Krol-Oliver Perez (haven’t seen Perez for awhile so maybe not)
I thought Wheeler looked a little like Tim Hudson minus the splitter and Donavan Tate looked somewhat like Alex Rios but shorter.
Also Chris Jenkins looks like a taller Octavio Dotel but I always draw that comparison with guys who reach way back and sling the ball like Jenkins does.
I’ll rewatch the game and see what other comparisons I can draw but those were the ones that I thought of as I watched the first time through.
As for the middle infielders, Few I thought the exact same thing about David Nick being a Luhnow guy. He sounds like Peter Kozma/Niko Vasquez.
And Pickle, you’re right about there not being a great crop of SSs and 2Bs in the game outside of Givens. I thought Jiovanni Mier was one of the weaker hitters in the game although he is supposed to be good defensively. He might be a guy that follows in the footsteps of Miami SS Ryan Jackson. Jackson was a flashy defensive player coming out of high school but wasn’t consider a pro hitter back then. He has improved his approach at the plate and has become a much better hitter the past two years and should be a first rounder this year with a good season.