Results tagged ‘ American League Central ’
No need to worry, but a rough start for Royals’ Starling
By Brendon Desrochers
We just wrote about Bubba Starling in this space, focusing on his fantastic defense in anticipation of his first full season of Minor League ball. In doing research for his piece on Starling, Andrew Pentis learned from a Royals official that “Bubba has respectfully decided to go silent this spring in order to concentrate on the field.” What’s surprising about his silence, though, is that it has translated to his bat in the first week of the 2013 season.
Starling is now 2-for-26 on the young season with 11 strikeouts after his 1-for-4, two-strikeout performance in Lexington’s 6-1 defeat to Asheville on Wednesday morning. He also committed his second error of the season, a throwing error in the top of the second.
A high strikeout rate should not come as a surprise to folks who followed Starling last season in Burlington. The center fielder, who turned 20 during his short-season campaign, fanned in 30.2 percent of his 232 plate appearances. This season, in a notably small sample, Starling has struck out in 39.3 percent of his 28 PAs. Two things he did show with the B-Royals were pop (eight doubles, two triples, 10 home runs) and patience (12.1 percent walk rate), but through seven games in 2013, Starling has no extra-base hits and two walks (7.1 percent walk rate).
Bubba Starling hit 10 home runs for Burlington in 2012 but is without an extra-base hit so far in 2013.
“Small-sample size” should be flashing through your brain right as now as you read, particularly with a player who won’t turn 21 until August, but the early-season performance does back up the scouting consensus that his swing is too long and flat and the statistical consensus that he strikes out too much.
Baseball America noted in its prospect handbook that Starling was just one of three high schoolers drafted in the 2011 first round who did not advance to a full-season club in 2012. He was always going to be a project, and the path was always going to be a long one — particularly for his hit tool — so hopefully Starling and Royals fans can take these early issues in stride.
For as long as he stays in Lexington (likely at least a few more months and perhaps for all of 2013), Royals fans can see all of Starling’s home games and a good chunk of his road games on MiLB.TV.
Emptying My Notebook: Royals’ Official, Coach Discuss Bubba Starling
(Dano Keeney/MiLB.com)
Royals player development director Scott Sharp on Starling’s defense:
- “He may be one of best center fielders I have ever seen, certainly at the Minor League level.”
- “[Pointing out his defensive deficiencies] would be nitpicking. Like all our players, he needs continued game play. He’s really polished, very little I would say that needs to improve.”
- “Defensively, he’s really superior, but he doesn’t neglect it. He works hard at it.”
- “Do I think he can play defense in the Major Leagues right now? Sure, I do. I didn’t play outfield or in the Major Leagues, but they say the third deck [in stadiums] messes with you a little, but that’s an adjustment. It would be more nuanced type stuff, scouting reports on players and what pitchers are doing to hitters, that kind of thing.”
- “We ask our center fielders, ‘If you’re moving, make sure your [corner] outfielders are moving with you.’ Being a quarterback, I think it comes natural to him. He’s used to moving guys around the field, and he’s vocal and has leadership skills, so it comes naturally to him.”
- “He’s made a lot of over-the-head catches when it’s behind him. He just drops his head, turns around and puts his head up and looks up at the right time.”
Royals Rookie-level Burlington coach Tommy Shields on Starling’s defense:
- “He has an innate sense of where to be.”
- “His throwing arm from an accuracy standpoint will continue to improve as he gains experience, but when he has to make a throw, he seems to be his most accurate anyway.”
- “I don’t know that his routes can get any better.”
- “From coaching staff standpoint, you have to monitor and move ‘em [positioning-wise]. You spend a lot of time looking at them from the dugout, moving guys, but we didn’t because he would drag the left fielder or push the right fielder.”
- “All the center fielders I played with and managed have not been 6’4” 215 pounds, so he’s definitely a little different breed. I’ve heard the Dale Murphy comparison.”
- “We were playing Toronto’s club [Bluefield in July 2012] and Dennis Holmberg, a longtime manager of Blue Jays affiliates, and Bubba went back toward the fence and caught a ball over the shoulder like Willie Mays, and Dennis immediately spun around and looked to our dugout and said, ‘Holy [expletive].’”
Royals official on Starling’s interview availability:
- “Bubba has respectfully decided to go silent this spring in order to concentrate on the field.”
Emptying My Notebook: Quotes of Note from Tigers’ Bruce Rondon, and about Reds’ Tony Cingrani
I have had two stories on MiLB.com this week. Below are significant quotes that did not make it into either story.
Story: “Prospect Q&A: Inside Rondon’s head“
Quotes:
Bruce Rondon on his interactions with ex-Tigers closer/current free agent Jose Valverde: “He has been like a father to me. When I was in the Minors, he reached out to me, he would take me out to places. He became like a motivation to me. He would tell me that I could do it. He would tell me that he wanted me to be like him, to get to the big leagues like him. He wanted me to establish myself. And wherever he is now, I’d really like to thank him for that, for giving me that confidence and that good advice because it was really great on his part.
On the Valverde-inspired key to being a good closer: “Confidence. More than anything, confidence. If you don’t have confidence, you will not get anywhere.
On being counted on to save the game: “When I come out, everyone has that confidence in me. If they said I’m the one closing out the game, then they confided in me and that’s when I get going and tell myself I’m the best.”
Story: “Odorizzi, Cingrani make it look easy“
Quotes:
Tom Brown, Tony Cingrani’s Double-A Pensacola pitching coach, on Cingrani’s pickoff move: “His pickoff move is very good because his mechanics are a little bit different, his delivery is a little bit different and his delivery to the plate and to first are very similar, so it’s tough for a guy to read. He’s got to learn when to throw over and when not to, but he’s going to pick guys off just because of his athletic ability and funny delivery. … He does step at a 45 degree, but his move is perfectly legal. He deceives the runner because he’s got a long arm delivery and a lot of bounce and movement in his delivery and, as he bounces and moves, he actually moves toward the plate, [so] it looks like [that] to the guy at first base. Then he plants his foot at 45 and is right on the money.”
On Cingrani’s athleticism: He’s a real good athlete. Nobody is in the weight room more, no one runs more, he’s really athletic and no one is better conditioned. That plays an important role in having such strong legs and quick reactions.”
On Cingrani’s work ethic: “He came in polished in a lot of ways, but he’s basically just a really hardworking, dedicated player. I’ve been [coaching] for over 25 years, and he’s about as dedicated and hardworking as anyone I’ve ever seen.”
Interview Outtakes: Tigers Prospect, Could-be-closer Bruce Rondon Answers Eight Extra Questions
MiLB.com will publish our Q&A with Tigers could-be-closer Bruce Rondon in the next week or so. In the interim, the MLB.com’s No. 92 prospect (bio, stats here) shared eight thoughts (below) that didn’t make it into the story. Thanks to Detroit official Aileen Villarreal for translating Rondon’s Spanish. Enjoy.
(Charlie Neibergall/AP)
- On his favorite 2012 season highlight: “Saving 29 games. It was amazing because my goal was to save 20 and I saved 29. I couldn’t believe it. It was a real blessing.”
(Charlie Neibergall/AP)
- On how he spent his offseason aside from playing in the Venezuelan Winter League: “I spent a lot of time with my family. I took them shopping, we went to the beach a lot. My workouts were early during the day, so I had the whole rest of the day to spend with them so it was great. Baseball isn’t easy because sometimes your family needs your support and love even when you’re far away. I always miss them a lot and it isn’t easy, but like I used to tell my mom, this is what I wanted and I was going to accomplish it.”
- On his first big league Spring Training: “It has been the best thing in my life so far, being next to all these big leaguers that I had never even dreamed of being next to. They talk to you like you’re the same as them,and I tell myself, ‘Wow, I haven’t even pitched a game in the Majors yet.’ They talk to you like you’re their equal, and it is really special and I give them many thanks for that.”
- On what he has learned from veteran Tigers pitchers during camp: “You know pitching in the big leagues isn’t just about pitching. Sometimes it’s about your character, sometimes about talking to the media, when things are going bad, when they’re good. In the clubhouse with the rules, that you have to respect to be respected. All those things, how to go dressed to the stadium, being prompt to practice, et cetera. Those are some of the things they’ve helped me with, and I’d like to thank them because sometimes you get to a team and nobody helps you with anything — you kind of have to learn on your own. This team is united. It is like a family, and that is a great thing.”
- On his scouting report of teammate/friend/fellow prospect/countryman Avisail Garcia: “Him and I have played a lot together. He’s always been with me and helped me with different things. I’d like to thank him for that because he’s been a great friend to me and to a lot of other guys on the team. I have nothing bad to say about him because he has been a great guy.”
(Paul Nelson/Toledo Mud Hens)
- On his best friend in the Tigers organization: ”Since I came to the United States, actually since I was in Venezuela, Jose Ortega. We’ve come up together from the bottom. We’ve both been working very hard for our families, and now we’re both here trying to accomplish what we’ve been working hard for.”
- On the best hitter he’s faced in the Minors: “Like I say, there aren’t small or big enemies because everyone is batting against you. All of them to me are difficult. If I get too comfortable with one, he can hit a homer off me. That’s why I come out and see all of them as the best hitter and come out to pitch the way I come out to pitch because you can’t get too comfortable in the ninth inning. That’s when the errors come. You have to come out aggressive like always and not get too comfortable or overconfident whether he’s small or big, strong or skinny, it doesn’t matter who it is, I see them all the same.”
- On his goals for the 2013 season: “My goal is to work hard, to keep working hard, and not stop working hard. If you ease up and take thing for granted, that’s when the problems come. I don’t want to stop working. I know things right now aren’t as I would want them, but I know I’ll get through it.”
Prospect Q&A: Royals Righty Yordano Ventura — MLB.com’s No. 59 Farmhand — on Being Pequeño Pedro, Más
Yordano Ventura sat at home in Samana, his town in the baseball-crazy Dominican Republic, and watched every start made by Pedro Martinez, the countryman gone on to fame and Cy Young awards. So it’s no wonder Ventura, a Royals farmhand and MLB.com’s No. 59 overall prospect (bio, stats here) entering the 2013 season, welcomed the moniker Pequeño Pedro.
Now that Ventura has filled out his 5-foot-11 frame and throws a fastball that hits triple digits on the radar gun, however, he implies that you can alter his nickname to Grande Pedro. Simply Yordano will do fine, too. The way he pitches at age 21, he could be one of the few ballplayers who goes by one name only. That’s what happened with his idol anyway.
I caught up with Ventura on Thursday afternoon. He is in Arizona, on the Major League side of Spring Training, getting ready for his fifth pro season. Here’s what he had to say his native language. (Thanks to the Royals’ multilingual Bruce Chen, one part veteran left-hander one part stand-up comic, for interpreting Ventura’s Spanish.)
(Jeff Roberson/AP)
On his Spring Training highlights so far: “The quality of the players that I have been facing, and the older, experienced players that I have learned from and been around. I have been watching the older pitchers, [Ervin] Santana and Bruce Chen., and learning from the way they have been pitching.”
On his mindset competing for a spot /ending up at Double-A Northwest Arkansas: “I just want to keep working hard so that when the Royals when give me the opportunity to be in the big leagues, I can a very good job.”
On his two scoreless innings last Sunday: “I was very happy because I got to face some really good hitters, Joey Votto and Jay Bruce, and that gave me a lot of confidence to keep working hard to keep getting better. When I got on the mound, the first batter I faced was Joey Votto, so I said to myself, ‘God help me.’”
On the development of his pitches in camp: “I feel like my repertoire has been very good. I have been trying to keep the ball down. My breaking ball has been very good, and I’m working on a sinker, which I think is coming along very well.”
On how long he’s been learning the sinker: “I have been throwing the sinker for two months now. Whenever the batter is waiting for a four-seam fastball and throw it, I can get the batter to break his bat, [induce] a ground ball or get him out instead of going all four-seamers.”
Interview Outtakes: White Sox Prospect Carlos Sanchez Answers Nine Questions about Playing Three Infield Positions
MiLB.com will publish the fifth part of my nine-part series on top-ranked prospects who are also top-rated defenders on Tuesday morning. The piece will focus on versatile White Sox infielder Carlos Sanchez (bio, stats here), the fifth-ranked second base prospect in all of baseball. In terms of interview extras — answers that didn’t make it into the story but are significant nonetheless — see below. Enjoy.
(Steve Orcutt/Charlotte Knights)
- On what position he played growing up: “I was always a shortstop.”
-
(Steve Orcutt/W-S Dash)
On his best skill as an infielder: “I feel like turning a double play — the turn — has always been my strongest skill playing the infield.”
- On what he is improving upon in big league camp: “Now playing third base, I have had to learn some things to help me with my range, help me with my reaction time. I have learned how to stand up taller when playing the position and how to work on my range. I have had to work on the last couple weeks some mechanics.”
- On how he has improved as a defender: “I just try to be really attentive to the direction and advice that coaches give me. But more than anything, it’s the experience that I have had at every level and now the experience playing behind a guy like Brent Morel and seeing how they go about their business and play the position — more so than anything, that experience is what has helped me get better.”
Prospect Q&A: White Sox SS Marcus Semien on Going to Birmingham, Playing with Carlos Sanchez, Hitting off Alex Meyer
Twenty-twelve was a tale of two seasons for 17th-ranked White Sox prospect Marcus Semien. Here are his pre- and post-All-Star break splits from a season ago:
Pre: 45 G — .245/.316/.410 — 45 Ks in 173 ABS — 1 SB
Post: 62 G — .290/.392/.514 — 52 Ks in 245 ABS — 10 SB
I caught up with Semien — a 2011 sixth-round draftee and now a 22-year-old shortstop that’s a non-40-man roster invitee rubbing elbows with Chicago’s mainstays in Arizona — this afternoon over the phone. Here is some of our quick conversation.
(Dano Keeney/MiLB.com)
On his first big league camp: “It’s been awesome. It’s great to be around guys I grew up watching play. I have always loved watching baseball since I was a little kid, and it’s pretty awesome to be around them. I’ve been here about 10 days now, and I’m feeling more comfortable. And on the Minor League season, I’m just trying to get my work in, getting ready for the season and also watch these big league guys and learn everything I can. The first couple days, I was taking ground balls at short with Angel Sanchez and literally just watching him has helped me. I haven’t gotten a chance to be on the same field as Alexei [Ramirez] or [Gordon] Beckham yet, but Angel has been really helpful. He’s played a lot of years, so he’s got a lot of knowledge. I’m just trying to be more of a sponge.”
On what he’s using Spring Training to work on: “I want to put the ball in play a little bit more and use my speed, steal more bases. Second half of last year, I started running more, and I’d like to carry that on to this year. In general, the second half [of 2012] was a lot better than the first half for, so I want to keep that going.”
On his goals this season: “First goal is to make the [Double-A] Birmingham team. Secondly, just cut down the errors wherever I can [24 in 107 games in '12] and make sure that my pitchers feel very confident with me behind them. Offensively, I want to continue what I did in the second half, drive the ball more.”
(Roger Peterson)
On No. 4 White Sox prospect Carlos Sanchez, whom Semien has shared SS/2B duties the past two seasons: “What I love about him on defense is he’s got great feet. He keeps his feet moving, and also another thing: A ball that is a tougher ball to read [where] you might have to drive, he usually catches it. It’s real tough as an infielder to make those diving plays and actually secure the catch. A lot of times, I’ll dive and just miss it, or it will pop out of my glove or something. I’ve noticed I’ve had some — not issues — but I need to practice more on that, and he’s very good at that.”
On playing with Sanchez at Class A Advanced Winston-Salem in 2012: “Shoot, he was awesome at both [shortstop and second base]. I had a little injury, and he was playing short full-time, and I got a chance to sit back on watch him play short, and he was awesome: great range, great arm, great instincts — pretty much everything you want in a middle infielder. When you can have two guys up the middle who are interchangeable, it’s always a plus. We try to push each other to get the best out of each other. Whether I am playing short and he’s at second, or I’m at second and he’s at short, we try to play as best as we can together when the game starts.”
On the best pitcher he’s faced in the Minor Leagues: “Last year, I had a pretty tough game [0-for-3 with three strikeouts] against Alex Meyer from [Class A Advanced] Potomac [on Aug. 12]. He’s probably one of the better ones I have seen. [With Meyer's height, 6'9''], I was not able to pick up the ball. One of worst games of the year was against him. He throws hard and has a good slider.”
Prospect Q&A: White Sox Outfielder Courtney Hawkins on His Breakout First Summer in Pro Ball, Other Stuff
Courtney Hawkins talks like you might think he would. At 6-foot-3, 235 pounds, he has a deep, sure-sounding voice. And at 19 years old, he’s prone to talking like a teen — or at least like a top prospect who has been around the interview circuit. You may notice below his use of “Like I said,” on his first mention of topics, almost like he’s answered the same questions all winter long.
Here’s why I and others want to learn more about Hawkins (aside from his back-flip ability, which he explains below): The Texan was the 13th overall pick in the 2012 Draft and, after a very good first pro season (stats here), he is already MLB.com’s No. 68 prospect and the top-ranked farmhand in the White Sox’s system. (It could be argued that he had the best summer debut of any ’12 draftee this side of the A’s Addison Russell.)
I caught up with Hawkins last week, just after he completed a month-plus of working out in Florida and was driving from his home in Corpus Christi, Texas to Houston — the burly slugger leaves for Minor League camp on Tuesday, Feb. 19. And I heard that deep, sure-sounding voice, or a muffled version of it on his speaker phone, but we talked a lot about listening. Turns out, Hawkins did a lot of that last summer.
“Don’t rush stuff. Take it day by day,” he says of the constant advice from fellow Chicago farmhand Jared Mitchell, who just happened to be Prospect Uniformed earlier today. “I’ll say something like, ‘Man, I’m ready to go.’ And he’ll say, ‘You just need to relax and play the game.’”
Mitchell, of course, was in 2009 where Hawkins is today: highly-touted outfielder with loads of potential yet to be realized.
(Matt Burton/MiLB.com)
On his Draft-day back flip: ”Everyone always asks me this, and I love telling the real story: I was sitting there, celebrating with my friends and, I forgot her name, but the lady who was there [interviewing me] came up to me and asked, ‘Can you do a back flip?’ I was like, ‘Whaaat?’ She was like, ‘If I ask you to do a back-flip [on-air], can you do it?’ I was like, ‘Uhhh, I guess. Really?’ It wasn’t me just doing it. It was her asking, and I was like, ‘Sure, no problem.’”
On his offseason: “It’s different. Like I said, normally, it’s year-round baseball for me, and now I’ve finally got a chance for a little break. I have been lifting hard, and working out hard. I’m in a lot better shape than when [the winter] started. The goal is to get bigger, better, stronger, faster — that’s everything. I got stronger. I toned up. I lost some bad weight and put on some good weight. I was 225 [pounds]. I’m about 235 now. I’m still able to move pretty good.”
Prospect Uniformed: White Sox Outfielder Jared Mitchell in His Every MiLB Jersey, Plus More on His Strikeouts
Jared Mitchell is fast, so naturally people expected him to move fast … through the White Sox’s system. That hasn’t happened due to injuries and stunted development. Mitchell, the 23rd overall pick in the 2009 Draft, is now 24 and Chicago’s fifth-ranked prospect entering his fifth season of pro ball, what he hopes will be his third full season of pro ball.
The sheer speed and athleticism that helped Mitchell (bio, stats here) excel as a college football receiver has shown up in Mitchell’s outfield defense, baserunning ability and, occasionally, his gap-to-gap power at the plate. He remains a mystery as a hitter, however. In 259 games spread over three clubs — Class A Advanced Winston-Salem, Double-A Birmingham and Triple-A Charlotte — the last two seasons, he has batted .230 and struck out a whopping 362 times. Those are not ingredients of an everyday Major League outfielder.
Mitchell is too good at too many things, however, to not ultimately reach and contribute in the bigs. If the Sox think his bat will never fully develop, they could make him a fourth or fifth outfielder as early as Opening Day. Could he have already played his last day in the Minors?
Here is a gallery of Mitchell in every uni he’s donned to date. Click on any picture to begin the slideshow. For all past editions of Prospect Uniformed, head here.
(On a related note: Ashley Marshall, my MiLB.com colleague, has been teasing his LSU baseball products-turned prospects story — a story that involves Mitchell — over @AshMarshallMLB. Look for it on MLB.com next Wednesday, Feb. 20).
Prospect Uniformed: Indians’ Trevor Bauer in His Every MiLB Jersey, Plus More on The Montero Kerfuffle
(John Amis/AP)
Like or dislike him, Trevor Bauer is his own man. He’s shown that with his pitches, his preparation and his preaching. Since being the third overall pick in the 2011 Draft, whether he’s been at Class A Advanced Visalia or Double-A Mobile or Triple-A Reno, Bauer has been, well, himself.
The 21-year-old right-hander (bio, stats here) was also authentic in his first try at the Majors — a four-start stint in Arizona last summer. Which explains why he didn’t exactly get along with everyone in the D-backs clubhouse. In case your Spring Training coverage hasn’t included the Bauer-Miguel Montero duel, this story ought to send you down the worm-hole.
I covered Montero on a near-daily basis in 2010 and found him to be a smart, genial interviewee as well as a fiery, not-always-aware competitor. (He also had a run-in with the even-keeled Ian Kennedy that season.) I’ve also interviewed Bauer nearly a dozen times and have found him to be highly intelligent and, yeah, ultra-competitive and perhaps a little stubborn.
So that’s what I chalk the former battery mates’ battle up to: two guys who both want to be the best at what they do but have different ideas about how to do it. Luckily, they’re now in opposite leagues and no longer teammates. With the offseason deal that sent Bauer from the D-backs to the Indians, the unique if not eccentric righty could begin the season in Cleveland. Triple-A Columbus is also a possibility. In case he’s gone from the Minors for good…
Here is a gallery of Bauer in every uni he’s donned to date. Click on any picture to begin the slideshow. For all past editions of Prospect Uniformed, head here.
Recent Comments