Archive for October, 2009

Surprise 3, Scottsdale 7

Surprise: 4-2, 1st-tie

• Daryl Jones was 0-for-3 with a pair of walks.
• Daniel Descalso was 1-for-4.
• Bryan Anderson was inserted at catcher midway through the game and drew 2 walks.

• Jon Jay contiues to play down in the Venezuelan Winter League.  In 37 at bats, he has 13 hits (1 XBH, a HR) good for a .351/.429/.432 line.

Surprise 2, Phoenix 11

Surprise: 4-1

• Daryl Jones was 0-for-3 with a walk, HBP and 2 strikeouts. As has been mentioned in the comments, the one upside we’ve seen from DJ this winter has been the stolen base.  He stole his 4th bag of the brief AFL season on Saturday.
• Daniel Descalso was 0-for-3 with a walk.  He was involved in 4 double plays that the Surprise turned.
• Bryan Anderson was 0-for-3 with a walk and three strikeouts.  He also allowed a passed ball.
• Tyler Henley was 1-for-4.
• Mike Parisi tossed 4 innings allowing 4 hits and 1 walk for an ER.  He struck out 3.
• Scott Gorgen allowed 2 hits and struck out 2 to finish off the 5th.
• Adam Reifer got lit up for 5 runs (4 earned) on 3 hits, 1 walk, a HBP and 1 strikeout in .2 innings.

Wow. Why didn’t anyone wake me up and tell me the news? MLBAM has PITCHf/x camera systems operational at the Surprise and Peoria parks. This is great news for folks like me who can’t afford to fly out to the desert in order to scout some of the Cardinal players participating int he Arizona Fall League.

Here is a look at Scott Gorgen, “it’s just one inning” caveats apply. This is from the 15th.

A little wackiness on a couple of pitches and the way they were classified, but you get the idea.

A 90 MPH fastball out of the bullpen is not so nice, but we know Gorgen’s meal ticket is his circle change-up. It’s a beauty of an offering, coming in 10 MPH slower than his fastball with all sorts fade and sink. This jives with his scouting report from draft day.

Gorgen’s fastball generally scrapes 90 but sits more comfortably in the 86-88 range with excellent command. His circle changeup is a plus pitch he locates at will, and it has late tumble, making it resemble a split-finger fastball. Gorgen’s breaking ball and body are both short but he competes, is athletic and has shown durability, having surpassed 320 innings already in college. On the down side, he has little projection left.

After seeing this change-up in Pitch F/x, I like Gorgen’s future more than ever before.

EDIT: Pitch FX wonk Steve Sommer emailed me some comparisons to Gorgen based on his pitches. Gorgen’s fastball comps with Doug Brocail, Brian Sanches, Alfredo Aceves and Joe Blanton, among others. His change-up compares with Al Reyes, Duaner Sanchez and Joe Nelson (known for his “vulcan” change). His curve compares with Frank Francisco.

Here’s 26-year old Mike Parisi, who is coming back from Tommy John surgery.

This is from Saturday. Parisi went 4 innings, allowed one run and struck out three while inducing 7 ground-outs. What jumps out immediately that Parisi has added a cutter to his arsenal, I don’t remember reading anywhere he was throwing a cutter before. This is a good thing, adding the cutter is a pitch that has helped a lot of otherwise so-so pitchers. His sinker has decent “tail” (horizontal movement) but not a ton of sink. Meh. Parisi topped out at 93 MPH.

We’ll look at Reifer and Daley in a seperate post.

Surprise 7, Mesa 3

Surprise: 4-0

• Daniel Descalso was 3-for-5.
• Tyler Henley was 0-for-4.
• Gary Daley pitched 2 innings allowing 3 hits, 1 ER and striking out 1.

Keep in mind that offense in Arizona will be higher than other environments due to the air among other conditions.  The lack of power from Cardinal prospects thus far (even if they are hitting for average) isn’t a good sign.

Derrick Goold has his annual community prospect ranking going on. It was a bit of a shock to see Jaime Garcia top Shelby Miller for the #1 spot, but I can see the merit of it. Garcia, not far removed from Tommy John surgery,  has the stuff to be a solid #3 starter and could make a meaningful contribution to the big club as soon as next season. Miller has the higher ceiling, of course, but is far from being a finished product.

But in the contest for the #2 spot, stupidity reigneth. David Freese is currently leading Shelby Miller by 101 votes, 675-574! What in the name of the spaghetti monster is happening here?!? Now, I sort of like Freese. I think he has a role to play next year, possibly starting at 3B or more likely off the bench. He has smitten the heart of the manager with his willingness to play catcher on the last game of the regular season. However, he’s probably a 1 win player when it’s all said and done. And then let’s not forget an important fact about Freese. One month into next season, HE’S GOING TO BE 27 YEARS OLD! 27! and still in prospect discussions.

This is absolutely no reflection on Goold, of course, but a large section of  bird-brained voters who think  a 27 year old bench player is a better prospect than Shelby Miller.

Surprise Rafters 12, Solar Sox 5

Surprise: 3-0

• Daryl Jones, playing CF went 2-for-4 with a walk.
• Daniel Descalso was 2-for-4.
• Tyler Henley was 1-for-4 with a walk.
• Scott Gorgen pitched a scoreless inning with a strikeout.
• Adam Reifer allowed a hit, walk and run in his inning of work.

Surprise 6, Peo Javelinas 4

Surprise: 2-0

• Daryl Jones is hitless through his first 7 at-bats adding an 0-for-3 goose egg.  After playing CF on Tuesday he played LF on Wednesday.
• Tyler Henley got the start in RF going 2-for-3 with a walk.

Surprise 17, Peo Javelinas 4

Surprise: 1-0

• Daryl Jones led off going hitless in his 4 ABs. He did collect a walk.
• Bryan Anderson was 3-for-5 with a walk at DH.  Just the position I wanted to see him play . . .
• Mike Parisi and Gary Daley both tossed a scoreless frame.

The AFL begins today and contains several Cardinals propsects — and it appears there have been some changes since the rosters were initially announced.  As  a refresher:

Pitchers:

• David Kopp (Palm Beach)
• Lance Lynn (Springfield)
• Mike Parisi (rehabbing from TJ surgery)
• Adam Reifer (Palm Beach)
• Gary Daley (Springfield)
• Scott Gorgen (Springfield)

Position Players:

• Bryan Anderson (rehabbing from shoulder surgery)
• Daniel Descalso (Springfield/Memphis)
• Daryl Jones (Springfield)
• Tyler Henley (Springfield)

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for amphetamines.

The suspension will commence at the start of the next season.