A fond farewell to both Memphis and Springfield as their seasons came to an end. Quad Cities will move on to face the Clinton LumberKings in the first round of the Midwest League playoffs. Check out how the players ended their season below!
- Mark Hamilton hit cleanup and went 2-4 with a double
- Adron Chambers led off and had a triple in 5 at-bats. He also committed a throwing error
- Matt Carpenter went 2-3 to finish his season with a .300 average
- Pete Kozma, Nick Punto, Nick Stavinoha, and Freddie Bynum went hitless in 4 at-bats
- Brian Broderick gave up 5 runs (4 earned) off of 7 hits, 1 walk, and just 1 strikeout in 7 innings
- Matt Adams went hitless in 4 at-bats but finished the season with a .300 average. The Texas League Player of the Year finished with the highest isolated power in the Texas League by nearly 20 points.
- Ryan Jackson also went hitless, but he walked once
- Zack Cox went 2-4, both singles
- Jermaine Curtis was 2-3 with a walk
- Deryk Hooker gave up 5 runs (3 earned) off of 6 hits and a walk in 5 innings. He threw 2 wild pitches and struck out 2 batters.
- Jordan Swagerty pitched a perfect 9th inning and struck out a batter
- Oscar Taveras finished up an incredible regular season going 2-3 with a double and walk. He committed an error on the night, which was just his 2nd of the season. He finished the season ranked 1st in both wOBA, wRC+, and OPS for batters who qualified with at least 300 at-bats in the Midwest League.
- Kolten Wong, whose name we’ve been used to hearing next to Taveras since being drafted, went 1-2 with a double after pinch-hitting for Mike O’Neill. For 2nd basemen who qualified with at least 190 at-bats in the Midwest league, Wong was first in wRC+ by 15 points. Both Wong and Taveras could start next season in Palm Beach.
- Cody Stanley went 1-5 with a double
- Ronny Gil led off and had a hat trick in strikeouts. He also had a single
- Geoffrey Klein was 2-4 with a double
- Nick Longmire stole his 10th base and finished 1-4
- Joey Bergman had a single and walk in 4 at-bats
- Ryan Copeland gave up just 1 run off of 3 hits and a walk in 4 innings. He struck out just 1 but had a groundout : flyout ratio of 8:2
- Hector Hernandez relieved Copeland to the tune of 4 strikeouts in 3 innings. He gave up 1 unearned run off of 3 hits and no walks.
Entries (RSS)
Memphis and Nashville played a sloppy game, one could tell season was over or….. just an early game? The scoreboard said 6 but there were actually 7 errors between the 2 teams.
You guys did an awesome job this season (best so far I think) with the DFR, thank you.
And…Adron Chambers got the call up, way to go Adron!
Hector Hernandez with a nice first appearance in quad cities..i expect him to start there next year or maybe even palm beach
Quad Cities could be another very exciting rotation next year. Both Hernandez and Tyrell Jenkins should be there to start the year, I would think. Hernandez could see an in-season promotion, but I don’t think they would leapfrog him over Low A entirely.
I think Wong should get the Matt Adams treatment and start next season in AA.
Jake – I agree on wong to aa. Does anyone think that taveras – as young as he is – could skip palm beach with a good showing in the AFL?
Alternately, either or both could start @ PB with the expectation that they’d only stay a few months.
It’s possible Taveras could, but I kind of get the feeling he’ll start at Palm Beach even with a strong AFL. As you said, start him out there, then consider a move after a couple months if he continues to overmatch the league. Jumping over High A entirely, though, feels a little too aggressive to me for this organisation.
Now Wong it wouldn’t surprise me to see him jump Palm Beach in much the same way Matt Adams did. He’ll be 21 and is already pretty well along the maturity curve. Taveras will still be 19 when the season starts and has more to learn than Wong. Gun to my head, I say Wong with a good AFL goes straight to Springfield to start 2012, while Oscar starts off at High A either way.
Wong’s not going to the AFL though.
Oops, you’re right. My mistake. Seems a little weird he isn’t getting the invite.
Both go to AA IMO.
I could see Wong going AA, but Tavares probably not. A midseason promo would seem about right if he keeps his pace up
I’ve been out of contact for about two weeks and may have missed some things, but: would someone explain to me why, with Memphis and Springfield wrapping up, a mediocrity like Robinson got called up to the expanded major-league roster, while Carpenter, to name one, was not? What am I missing here?
Anyway, congrats to Adron Chambers, who (according to BP) becomes the first player in the history of the MLB draft to be drafted in the 1153rd slot and make it to the Show. Now if he can just get into a game…
The basic reason Robinson was called up is that he is a right-handed hitting centerfielder – that is Tony’s logic.
BTW, a hearty THANK YOU to all the DFR writers this year. Great job. I really like being able to easily keep up on the minors by visiting this site every day.
I also think it’s a major mistake not to call Carpenter up.
Also thanks to all for the DFR’s. I’ll be in withdrawl by tomorrow.
that is really weird. i didn’t even notice that.
it would seem to make sense no matter what your plans are: if you want to trade him, then showcase him; if you want to try him out as a utility man or even a starter at third, give him the playing time. refusing to play him seems much more ominous. i guess they might just wait till he hits spring training to give him a look? seems like a missed opportunity.
i fail to see the downside of having another third baseman when we already have 57 second basemen.
My theory for not calling up Matt Carpenter is the tin hat variety.
If you have a qualified left handed third baseman available, he could spell and protect Freese.
That may seem like a good thing, but it would free up Descalso to play second base which he is trained to do.
That may seem like a good thing, but if people saw how good Descalso is at Second base and realize that his hitting, despite playing only sporadically is practically equivalent with Schumaker’s would lead people to question why Schumaker was at second all season.
Worse, it would lead people to question why Schumaker will be at second all next year.
A mullethead curmudgeon has to make certain that everybody takes him at face value. To do that, he must make certain they never have the opportunity to gather evidence.
Does anyone know where you can find a list of signees from the draft, namely Aramis Garcia?
He didn’t sign. You can find the list at Baseball America’s site. Click on Draft and follow it from there.
Congratulations to Johnson City for winning the Championship. Hopefully Quad City will do the same. Sad to see the season
End for Memphis but happy to see Robinson and Chambers get called up.
Springfield lost there last game. Surely they missed having Castellanos in there lineup. Maybe things would of been different if he was still there. Heard the kid has continued to hit well with avg over 300 as a dodger. Good job, I always liked watching him play.
Palm Beach what can I say, it was hard on the coaching staff to win when so many of there players got promoted to Springfield. Scruggs congrats on breaking the record.
There’s always next year. Go cards.
One more thing, I want to thank are writers for all you’re hard work and dedication in keeping us informed on FR. You did an outstanding job.
So Wong wound up with roughly 200 AB’s, and Taveras 300. That’s basically 1/3 of a full season for K.W., and half a year for Oscar. So let’s project their numbers.
Wong’s season, tripled: .335 with 45 doubles, 6 triples, 15 homers, and 27 steals.
Oscar Taveras, doubled: .386 with 54(!) doubles, 10 triples, and 16 longballs.
Wow and doublewow.
By the way, anybody happen to see Keith Law’s ESPN chat from last Thursday? Asked about Oscar Taveras, Keith responded with this:
“Reports I’ve got on him all point out that it is a crazy max-effort swing, with some skepticism about that holding up at higher levels—or whether he’ll continue to rake if they quiet him down. So I’m reserving judgment now that I know I’ll see him (in the Arizona Fall League).”
Hmmm. So Taveras swings too hard. Talk about grasping at straws. Someone as smart as Law oughtta be able to understand without seeing a hitter in person, that ANY batter banging out a .370+ average, with power, in the Midwest League as a freakin’ teenager, has a swing that WORKS. Period. Lower levels, higher levels, any level.
If anything, this talk about a “max-effort swing” simply cements my confidence in Oscar’s ability to dominate all pitchers going forward.
Law could’ve surprised us by citing some misgivings about O.T.’s pitch recognition…or bat speed…or his “load” with his hands…or his plate coverage, etc., etc.
But no. No “technical” problems with Taveras’ swing, approach, or even his attitude. He just maybe swings too hard.
If that’s the best (only?) criticism that other teams’ scouts can come up with, then I dare say Oscar has nothing to worry about. ;)
I’ve never seen OT play and have no stake in any of this. But there’s a pattern here among the people who have seen him most often. He wasn’t voted to the MWL all-star team. He didn’t show up on BA’s “best tools” list.
People who seek out day to day information about prospects are fascinated by the numbers he puts up. But people whose job it is to see the big picture don’t put him into the top tier of prospects.
I don’t know why that is, but I doubt if it’s because they aren’t aware of his performance.
Maybe it has to do with his age. Being only 19 you don’t expect those kind of numbers! Maybe they think he’s a flash in the pan so to speak. Time will tell!
i’m optimistic generally on oscar, but i remain concerned about his low ISO and less than tremendous walk rate.
Interesting comment… But, I wonder just how aware they are of OT. When compared to other players, there were comparison references which were clearly inappropriate. He was accused of being age appropriate to the MWL…clearly he is not. It was said that Cheslor Cuthbert had more power which is absolutely ridiculous.
I have my doubts after seeing some of these “informed” appraisals.
I think this is an excellent point, and not one to be discounted simply because we’re fans of his parent organization. Given that he is going to be in the spotlight with other high-caliber prospects this fall it doesn’t seem that we will have to wait long for more extensive feedback from scouts and data.
That’s a great point. Whatever doubts some observers may have (if indeed they have doubts), OT and Matt Adams can settle it on the field. It’s a hitter’s league, so let’s see if they hit.
The AFL is probably more important to Adams than Taveras. OT is jumping up from the MWL to AA-level competition; if he doesn’t do well, it’s just a couple of weeks of a career that so far has been spectacular. Adams, I would think, comes into this with higher expectations.
And really, what observers think of OT at this stage doesn’t matter. The Cards aren’t counting on him for next year or the year after, and they aren’t about to trade a potential impact player. It’s all just development and maturity.
I’ve seen in in person for abotu 6 or 7 games this year. He’s the best hitter I’ve ever seen at single A level and that is quite a bit. He’s a great pure hitter. He also has great tools. Who doesn’t put him as a top prospect? Only those that haven’t seen him much. The fact he came out of nowhere is the reason he’s not a top tier prospect.
Don’t be nonplussed by Oscar’s ISO, Tom. A hair over .200 last year as the youngest regular in the Appy, and a hair under .200 this year as one of the 3 or 4 youngest MWL regulars bodes VERY well for the future.
Bear in mind, this is a wiry kid listed at 6′ 2 and 180 lbs., who also happens to spread his extra base hits all over the field—and those XBH’s are *not* sharp groundballs that zip inside the 1st or 3rd base bags. Trust me, I read the play-by-plays pretty thoroughly.
Moreover, Taveras isn’t padding that unbelievable batting average with a flock of Ichiro-style infield hits.Shoot, based on the recaps I saw, O.T. had far more lineouts than infield hits.
So, given that he regularly slashes the ball to right, left and center, and given that he has plenty of room to add strength, the most reasonable expectation (objectively) is that the kid is going to actually *add* power over the next few years. Not that he has to, anyway—’cause an MLB corner outfielder who hits .330 with an ISO of .200 is gonna make some All-Star games.
Speaking of .330, I dare say that if Taveras had batted “only” .330 this year, he might be getting MORE love from the so-called Scouting Community and their media conduits like Baseball America, Kevin Goldstein, Keith Law, et. al..
Who can really wrap their head around a teenager batting .380+, with power, in the Midwest League? Numbers like that HAVE to be a fluke, right? And since the numbers must be a fluke…no one *really* knows how good Taveras is or isn’t.
Or so the bad logic goes. Good logic, on the other hand, says it’s better to hit .350 than .330, better to hit .370 than .350, and better to hit .386 than .370.
Of course, Taveras was *probably* better than .386 this year, when you figure that his 9-40 June, with a deeply uncharacteristic 1/13 BB/K, came while he recovered from his 2nd hamstring DL stint.
Remove that micromonth, and here’s the “season” line for O.T.:
.410/.465/.627 (With a cool 31/39 BB/K ratio over 268 AB’s.)
Of course, that might not be enough to land him on the MWL All-Star team, since a .410 would be even flukier than .386. ;)
I like your summary. I think you are right – the higher the performance the less those “in the know” want to accept it – toss in he “only” had a bonus of $100K, you have the proverbial double whammy. If he had a signing bonus of $3 Million, they wouldn’t be able to talk about him enough! BS in my humble opinion…
We saw Taveras and QC yesterday. His first hit, he held his hands behind his body and slapped a hard shot past third (passing the base on the north side by only two inches) and into the corner for a double. Moved the runner from first to third and set up QC to take the early lead.
His second hit was a line drive rapped to right.
Both, well hit, well timed. His swing is quick, not especially powerful (based on only a couple chances to see him) Showed no evidence of overswing. Too hard. Sounds like nonsense to me.
I can’t wait to see him play in the AFL and at upper levels. I would guess that he squares everything, partly because pitchers have less late movement here than at higher levels. The key will be how well he adjusts, just as it is for every other hitter.
But, i think he has talent.
As have many others here in these comments, I want to also tell you how much I appreciate all the work that goes into these DFR’s every day. Thanks.
Fick was selected to pitch for TEAM USA this winter. Nice consolation prize after not being called up after a great season in AAA. Go Chuckie. Represent your country and the Cardinals well like we know you will. Congrats.
Oscar did not get a million dollar bonus, so reporters pooh-pooh his performance. Saying Oscar swings too hard is like saying Nolan Ryan threw too hard.
It didn’t sound like they were saying he swings too hard, but rather that he swings with max effort. Not many scouts complain that pitchers throw too hard, but there are problems associated with max effort deliveries.
Actually scouts observe pitchers who throw “violently” all the time…as they are considered prone to injury. Still, I don’t understand any logic that begins with “sure, he hit .386 but he does so with max effort so I’m going to withhold comment. That is pure B.S. and much more likely explained by a failure to have been a bonafide bonus baby.
I think Law just doesn’t want to be wrong and Taveras against real MLB talent in the AFl could be telling so he is withholding comment until he sees it.
Taveras actually is very compact to the ball and then he finishes very very long on the back side. Exactly as some should. Yes sometimes he takes a huge cut and misses. Most often he doesn’t miss.
Matt holliday swings so hard i wonder if his left arm is going to dislocate, hasnt hurt him
I’m sure some folks here read John Sickels’ outstanding website.
One of my favorite features is when John—whose analyses do the best job of incorporating scouting reports and actual on-field performance— reviews his past prospect lists.
In these retrospectives, he elaborates on why some hitters & pitchers went on to match, exceed, or fall short of expectations. As far as hitters go, the “underachievers” typically stagnate because of plate discipline issues (e.g. Corey Patterson, Jeff Francouer, and many others), injury (Nick Johnson, Jeffrey Hammonds), lack of power development (Sean Burroughs, Mark Kotsay), or inability to find a permanent defensive position.
You’ll have to look a very, very long time to find a comment like: “Hitter X didn’t fulfill his promise because his max-effort swing, although unbelievably successful at lower levels, didn’t translate against better pitching.”
This player doesn’t exist.
If Taveras struck out a lot, that’d be one thing. But he doesn’t. If he generated the vast majority of his power from the pull side, that’d be a minor red flag I suppose. But he doesn’t. If there were platoon issues, I’d be a bit cautious about predicting stardom—but O.T. hit .360/.440/.593 against southernpaws this year…with a firm 11/17 BB/K ratio.
A couple other people said it best: If Taveras had signed for Carlos Martinez money, he’d be a consensus top 10 prospect right now. Maybe top 5. Which is where he belongs. :)
My thanks to the writers and contributors to this publication. I live in Thailand, FR is much valued source of news.
Khapun Khrob!