And while I was incorrect about how big of a risk it was, the point remains…Toronto knew how bad Carpenter’s shoulder was (some gave him a 25 percent chance of returning) and had already experienced several injury-related seasons from a starting pitcher who was no longer a prospect. The idea that Toronto was stupid to release Carpenter doesn’t hold much water for me. Only in retrospect does it seem like a bad idea.

Missed this…The Blue Jays cut Carpenter loose because he had a torn ladum in his shoulder, which can cut a pitcher’s career short, and even if he returns to pitch, that pitcher loses velocity, control, and stamina (which is why a vast majority of pitchers who return after ladum surgery don’t pitch more than two or three seasons). In his last season with Toronto, Carpenter spent the majority of it on the disabled list, missing most of April, all of May through late June, and from August until the end of the season. Carp had shoulder surgery in September, and wound up missing the entirety of the 2003 season. You say the Blue Jays let him go “for nothing.” Well, duh…the man was damanged goods and had absolutely no trade value. What did you expect?

Also not true–Carpenter was no prospect; he was a 27-year-old veteran with 135 starts and about 869 innings pitched over 6 mostly injury-plagued seasons. He was cut loose because the Blue Jays did not want to commit a roster spot and a guaranteed salary to a guy who may or may not be toast (they offered him an incentive-laced, minor league deal). Letting Carpenter go had nothing to do with his talent or money; it had everything to do with committing a guaranteed major league deal to a pitcher who hadn’t proved he had recovered from an injury that could radically change his ability to pitch, if he returned from it at all.

When the Cardinals gave him his contract, they were gambling, and they actually lost part of that gamble–they were banking on the idea that Carpenter would be able to return by mid-season, which he didn’t. That contract was regarded as a huge risk at the time, and it only looks good now because it mostly has worked out. Unlike the Mark Mulder contract, which the Cardinals commited two years and a chunk of the payroll to a guy who startered a grand total of 3 games.

Blaming the Blue Jays for not taking the same risk doesn’t seem like a valid criticism to me.

Jason Grey:
I’ve seen a couple of games of his thus far. He takes ferocious hacks at the ball, but his hand-eye coordination allows him to get away with that.

Keith Law:
It’s an unusual swing, and I’m not sure I could name a big leaguer, present or in the recent past, who had a swing like this. Max effort swings like this don’t often work out, but so far his hand-eye coordination has been more than enough to overcome it, and if he has a hole at all it may not be exposed until the upper levels or the majors.

2011
1. Eric Hosmer, 1B (5)
2. Wil Myers, C/RF (8)
3. Mike Moustakas, 3B (23)
4. Mike Montgomery, LHP (28)
5. John Lamb, LHP (41)
6. Danny Duffy, LHP (98)
7. Chris Dwyer, LHP
8. Jake Odorizzi, RHP
9. Christian Colon, SS
10. Yordano Ventura, RHP

1) As mentioned by others above could it be that since he wasn’t a bonus baby he isn’t getting the love? Well let me turn it back around and say aren’t many bonus babies/1st Rd draft picks overhyped? So it could be that Taveras is adequately hyped but so many others are overhyped that it impacts his rankings. Just a different way to look at it.

2) Taveras does have incredible ability to square of the ball that is pitched anywhere and hit to all fields. To a lesser extent kind of reminds me of a Vlade type of hitting style (not trying to compare talent but approach).

3) His stance and swing should at least be a small concern as he faces more advanced pitching. I personally believe his impeccable hand-eye coordination outweighs is slightly awkward swing. But I can see the point that he might need to make swing adjustments in the upper minors.

4) I personally think his speed is slightly underrated. He had a few hammy issues in 2011 so he wasn’t 100% from a speed perspective. I wouldn’t say he has blazing speed but I’ve always thought he had above avg speed which will only enhance his ability to play RF assuming he moves…though I am one of the few people that thinks he has a chance to stick in CF.

Overall I would say Taveras might be slightly underrated by the masses but its not extreme. I will say to leave him out of a Top 100 prospect list is baffling to me though. He wouldn’t be in a Top 50 for me but he would certainly be in that 60-75 range.

Clemens was so hopped up on steriods his numbers were totally inflated. Carpenter stole nothing from the ego-manical cheater.

I will say this in Keith Law’s defense. Him and I went toe-to-toe on this subject a couple years back and he firmly denies having anything to do with releasing Carp. He claims it was totally Riccardi’s decision. I find it hard to believe that Riccardi would not have consulted his top people before making the call.