Archive for the “Francisco Samuel” Category

Matt Bakers covers the S-Cards for the Springfield News-Leader, and has stepped right in where Kary Booher has left off in putting together some great coverage for the team. You just don’t get the sort of coverage he brings from most AA teams, and he was kind enough to take some time out of his schedule and answer some of my questions about the team and his impressions of the players.

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Check them out at Bird Land.

Interesting blurb on each pitcher:

Salas had a season in Class AA last season that had results “parallel to Kyle McClellan,” Mozeliak said. And while the Cardinals don’t see a McClellan like leap to the majors this spring for Salas, Mozeliak added: “We wouldn’t be afraid to bring him up to the big leagues.”

Salas throws strikes.

Samuel throws hard.

The lithe Dominican Republic native has an easy delivery and instant velocity. His speed appears to pop from an effortless arm swing. “Electric,” said one official.

Pitchers and catchers have reported. The world just feels right. No more hiatus. I’ll be back in the saddle tomorrow.

Francisco Samuel ends up being the only Cardinals who ranked in the FSL Top Twenty. A travashamockery, I say!!

Control is the only thing keeping Samuel from rocketing through the Cardinals system. His stuff was generally unhittable—Vero Beach pitching coach R.C. Lichtenstein likened it to Jose Valverde’s—but patient hitters found they could work him for walks.

The Jose Valverde comparison is pretty interesting, and obviously it would have to be based only on stuff, as Papa Grande has a hundred pounds or so on El Mosquito. You also have to wonder if he will add even more to his 94-98 MPH fastball as he fills out. There’s a lot to dream on with Samuel, you just hope that he gets his control to at least a passable level.

In a chat, Jones was said to have just missed the list.

He was the toughest guy to leave off the list…Jones doesn’t really have an overwhelming tool, although his arm is his only really below average one. There are a lot of 50s and 55s there on the 20-to-80 scouting scale, as he’s an average hitter and has average power. He’s a very solid player and the fact that he didn’t sneak on to the back of this top 20 doesn’t mean he’s not a prospect. He was No. 21 on this list.

No overwhelming tool? Wha? I don’t get this. BA has been trumpeting Jones’ tools year after year, and when he finally puts them together into game usable skills, they downplay them. Even if what he says about his hit tools is true, he has well above average speed, so to say he has no overwhelming tool is just not true.

This is absurd.

I 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.

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