Results tagged ‘ National League East ’
Photos: Checking in on some top talent
By Danny Wild
As the photo editor for MiLB.com, it’s an annual mission to get the latest, freshest images of baseball’s top prospects with their new teams. Some of MLB.com’s top prospects were promoted to new levels for Opening Day 2013, like Jurickson Profar, Oscar Taveras and Jose Fernandez, a Marlins right-hander who made the jump from Class A Advanced Jupiter to Miami.
Others, like Wil Myers, moved from one Triple-A team to another (Omaha to Durham, following his trade) and some, like Pirates No. 2 prospect Jameson Taillon, stayed right where they were.
Above, Profar helped the Round Rock Express turn a double play against the Omaha Storm Chasers on April 4, 2013 (Photo by Robert Backman). Baseball’s No. 1 prospect, who missed the cycle by a double on April 12, is batting .265 with a homer, six RBIs, three steals and a .432 on-base percentage in 10 games since joining his Pacific Coast League affiliate.
Taveras (I have a Minor League hold on him in fantasy) had a four-hit night on April 12 and is batting .289 with a homer, four RBIs and one steal in 10 games. Allison Rhoades of the Memphis Redbirds snapped this image on April 10.
Some anticipated Myers would begin the year in Tampa Bay, but the Rays are showing patience (some may term it otherwise) with the young outfielder — at Durham, he’s batting an even .300 with 11 RBIs and three extra-base hits (no home runs) in his first 13 games. Myers hit 37 homers last year but hasn’t gone deep yet, although he owns a .393 OBP. Thanks to Carl Kline for the snapshot above.
Taillon is back in Curve, Pa., as they call it, for his second season at the Double-A level. The Altoona 6-foot-6 right-hander (photographed above by Mark Olson) has been really sharp so far with 20 strikeouts and just two earned runs allowed in 18 innings over three starts. Taillon, ranked below No. 1 overall Draft pick Gerrit Cole, is 2-1 with a 1.00 ERA (not a typo).
I spoke with Taillon last week after his 10-strikeout effort against Harrisburg, a start in which he faced two of Washington’s top prospects in Anthony Rendon and Brian Goodwin.
“I felt good, felt strong,” Taillon said. “The last strikeout was the best fastball coming out of my hand all night. They were pretty competitive walks, they were all real close pitches on 3-2 counts. [Nationals top prospect Anthony] Rendon and Souza, I wasn’t going to let those guys beat me.”
Taillon has some interesting stuff to say about scouting reports and how much attention he pays to them. In a time where video and analysis is looked over constantly by fans and players alike, Taillon had a throw-back approach to pitching.
“I was talking to my [pitching] coach, we had a general idea how we’d want to attack them,” Taillon explained. “But I don’t like scouting reports — when it comes down to it, it comes down to my gut, whatever I feel. I see what the hitter does and I throw my pitches and keep going from there.”
To close, I made it out to Citi Field two weeks ago to photograph Jose Fernandez’s Major League debut against the Mets. Citi Field is a nice place to shoot with the secondary photo wells behind home plate, and Fernandez looked pretty composed in his first start.
Here’s some more photos of Fernandez’s big league debut.
Interview Outtakes: Marlins Pitching Prospect Andrew Heaney Answers Four Questions
MiLB.com will publish my Q&A with Andrew Heaney this week or next. In the interim, the No. 5 Marlins prospect — and baseball’s 81st-ranked farmhand (bio, stats here) — shared four throughts (below) that didn’t make it into the story. Enjoy.
Dano Keeney/MiLB.com
On his first Major League camp, before being sent down to rehab his lat strain: “It was really good. The coaches were really good to me. The guys were really good to me. Got to go play golf, get to know them on a more personal level and soak up some knowledge. Obviously, I wish I could stay a little longer. In baseball, injuries happen. I just have to work through it.”
On who among the Marlins he spent time learning from: “I got to know some of the guys I met last year who were in their first Major League camp [Jake Marisnick among them]. I got to know [fellow starter and former top Tigers prospect Jacob] Turner pretty well. I appreciated the guys understanding that not only was this my first big league camp, but my first camp ever.”
On his goals for 2013: “I haven’t really thought about it. I’m just focused on finishing Spring Training, seeing [what team] I break with, depending if I have stay back in extended. Once the season starts, I’ll set some goals.”
On his preferred jersey number in the Majors: “I wore No. 5 in high school, and when I got to Oklahoma State we had a senior that was leaving, and they were like, ‘Yeah, you’ll get No. 5 when he leaves. And then one of the guys that was older than me was like, ‘No, I’m getting No. 5. I’ve been waiting for it.’ So I changed to 8, and since then I haven’t had a specific number, so honestly should I get [to the Majors] whatever number got me there, I will be sentimental to that number or try to get 5 or 8, but it really doesn’t matter. I don’t have any tattoos with my number or a chain with my number.
Dano Keeney/MiLB.com
Prospect Flashback: The Braves’ Jason Heyward in Rome, Myrtle Beach, Mississippi and Gwinnett
MLB.com has a nice feature on Braves slugger Jason Heyward (see below). Before Heyward reached the bigs for good in 2010, he was a career .318 hitter in 238 ballgames in the Minors.
Here is a gallery of Heyward when he was merely a prospect. Click on any picture to begin the slideshow. For all past editions of Prospect Flashback, head here.
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — It was easy to understand why Jason Heyward escaped a frustrating 2011 season with motivation to alter his swing and dedicate himself to an intense conditioning program. His decision to remain dedicated to this rigorous program after an impressive 2012 season simply enhanced visions of him living up to his tremendous potential.
“I think Jason knows what he wants and what he wants to do,” Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. “He wants to play this game a long time and be successful. You can really see over the past years the maturity that he has gained. It wouldn’t surprise me if he emerged as one of the leaders of the clubhouse, if he’s not already there.”
Two weeks after the Braves suffered their season-ending loss to the Cardinals in the National League’s one-game Wild Card playoff, Heyward resumed the running and lifting programs that helped him shed 20 pounds between the 2011 and ’12 seasons. His efforts this past winter simply added some muscle to an athletic frame that would certainly draw the attention of football’s talent evaluators.
When Hank Aaron arrived at Braves Spring Training and saw the 6-foot-5, 235-pound Heyward, he said, “My God. Whew!”
It seems sacrilegious and ridiculous to compare any 23-year-old player to Aaron. But as Heyward rises toward greatness while occupying the same right-field position Aaron manned for two decades with the Braves, it is impossible not to draw a link.
Through their first three full seasons, Heyward and Aaron totaled an identical 428 games.
To continue reading MLB.com’s story, head here.
Prospect Flashback: Marlins Slugger Giancarlo Stanton When He Went Simply By ‘Mike’
In case you missed it Wedneday, the No. 1 Marlins Major Leaguer, slugging outfielder Giancarlo Stanton, was struck in the helmet by a pitch from No. 1 Marlins Minor Leaguer, right-handed starter Jose Fernandez. (See the video with MLB.com’s article.)
Things move so fast here in 2013 that it’s easy to forget that Stanton was, like Fernandez is now, a top prospect — but an unproven one at that — as recently as three years ago. Stanton, who went simply by Mike back then, played just 324 games in the Minors and all below the Triple-A level. He hit 81 home runs as a farmhand, or one ever 14.75 at-bats, portending his MLB power potential.
Here is a gallery of Stanton in every Minors uni he donned 2007-2010. Click on any picture to begin the slideshow. For all past editions of Prospect Flashback, head here.
Prospect Uniformed: Braves Lefty Starter Sean Gilmartin in Every Minor League Jersey He’s Worn
When the Braves pried All-Star-caliber outfielder Justin Upton from the D-backs late last month, they gave up two pitchers but neither was among their top four pitching prospects: right-handers Julio Teheran, Lucas Sims, J.R. Graham and a lefty by the name of Sean Gilmartin. I was somewhat surprised Arizona didn’t insist on one of the quartet heading westward.
Gilmartin, 22, may be the most sure thing in that group. The 2011 first-rounder (bio, stats here) excelled in 20 Double-A starts in his first pro season in 2012, then acquitted himself well at Triple-A down the stretch. He’s likely back at Gwinnett this spring, but it may not be long before he becomes a solid No. 3 or No. 4 starter in a Major League rotation — the Braves’, not the D-backs’.
Here is a gallery of Gilmartin 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.
Prospect Uniformed: Phillies Catcher Tommy Joseph in Every Minor League Uniform He’s Worn
Tommy Joseph is not the next Buster Posey, but at least now he’s no longer blocked by Buster.
If you recall, Joseph — the No. 3 Phillies prospect and the No. 8 overall catching prospect in baseball entering the 2013 season — was involved in last summer’s Hunter Pence-to-the-Giants trade. As a result, the 21-year-old backtop merely switched Eastern League clubs, going from Richmond to Reading. And after a full year at Triple-A Lehigh Valley beginning this spring, he could be ready for a full-time, big-league job in ’14. That would never have occurred had he stayed in the Giants organization and behind Posey, one of the game’s greats.
Here is a gallery of Joseph (career bio, stats here) 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.
Prospect Uniformed: Phillies Right-hander Ethan Martin in Every Minor League Jersey He’s Worn
Dodgers-turned-Phillies pitching prospect Ethan Martin (bio, stats here) emerged in MLB.com’s new Top 100 Prospects list, which was released on Wednesday. Martin, a 23-year-old right-hander, checked in at No. 80. If you recall, he was traded from Los Angeles to Philadelphia, in a Nonwaiver Trade Deadline deal on July 31, 2012 for veteran outfielder Shane Victorino. Originally a first-round pick of the Dodgers four years earlier, Martin has now pitched for five Minor League teams in his career. Based on his success with his first Phils affiliate, Double-A Reading, last fall (5-0, 3.18 ERA in seven starts), he could begin 2013 with a sixth in Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
Here is a gallery of Martin, 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.
How to Strike Out Bryce Harper, Part 3 of 3: Picking The Brain of The Mets’ Matt Harvey
Last season, I worked on a story that never came to fruition. That story was this: Only a handful of Minor League pitchers could one day tell their grandkids that they struck out teenage Bryce Harper phenom twice in one ballgame. Three of these hurlers, like Harper, just happened to be elite prospects as well. And each member of that trio, also like Harper (Nationals), were and still are in National League organizations – Jesse Biddle (Phillies), Drew Pomeranz (Rockies) and Matt Harvey (Mets) — meaning that one, two or all three could provide intriguing hitter-pitcher battles for years to come.
I spoke with each of these pitchers in 2012, before Pomeranz and Harvey joined Harper in the Majors. (Biddle, the No. 1 prospect in Philadelphia’s system at the end of ’12 and baseball’s fourth best LHP entering ’13, will likely begin next spring at Double-A Reading and is the only Minor Leaguer left.) For the first time, I will share those how-to-strike-out-Harper discussions with readers.
Part 1 on Wednesday: Picking The Brain of The Phillies’ Jesse Biddle (Class A Matchup)
Part 2 on Thursday: Picking The Brain of The Rockies’ Drew Pomeranz (Double-A Matchup)
Part 3 on Friday: Picking The Brain of The Mets’ Matt Harvey (Double-A/Triple-A Matchup)
(Glenn Gaston/Syracuse Chiefs | Matt Burton/MiLB.com)
Background: Right-handed starting pitcher Matt Harvey struck out Harper twice swinging – on seven total pitches and induced one Harper groundout on July 28, 2011. (Video highlights here.) Harvey was then pitching for the Double-A affiliate of the New York Mets, Binghamton, and against Nationals’ affiliate Harrisburg, which hosted the game. Harvey, another top prospect, was drafted six slots after top pick Harper in the 2010 First-Year Player Draft. In their all-time matchup, including two more Ks in three hitless bats with both at Triple on April 20, 2012, Harper is 0-for-6 with four strikeouts against Harvey. Both earned their first Major League callups during the ’12 season and are expected to spend the entirety of ’13 there.
Harvey on his plan of attack: “You got to keep the ball down – a lot of power hitters like the ball up – and just go after him like you do every other guy in the lineup. You just got to concentrate on making your pitch, hitting your spot and keeping the ball down. He’s a tremendous athlete, he’s a great hitter – I mean, he’s on his way to being great. You can’t really think about that when you’re on the mound. You just have to execute your pitches and go about it the same way as anybody else. I’m not saying that trying to knock him because he’s a tremendous player, but he’s somebody that, maybe throughout the game, you get extra locked in and try to execute your pitches a little better. Go after him, maybe a little more attention to whatever pitch it is you’re going to throw and put all you have into each pitch. It’s always fun to face a guy from the same draft and especially someone of his caliber as high of a prospect as he is. It gets your adrenaline pumping a little extra.”
On his ’11 pitch selection: “I couldn’t tell you what I threw him, but I struck him out his first two at-bats – on a curveball in the first at-bat – and then he hit a pretty hard ground ball to first his third at-bat.”
On the so-called ‘Harper hype’:“It’s really something you can’t avoid. If you try to do that, it’s going to stump you up. Try and block all that out because if you let that affect you, then you’re not going to perform to the best of your abilities. I’m sure it goes the same way with him. I’m sure he’s doing the best he can to block all that stuff out and just play the game… It was one of those games where I blocked out everything. I was able to really concentrate, and it was one of my better games throughout all of last season.”
On Harper’s future: “I saw him in Spring Training [in '12] – I think I walked him – and I saw a big adjustment from him as a hitter and a player compared to last year, and he’s got much more of an approach and he looks a lot more comfortable in the box. He’s going to be a great player.”
AP
Three Woulda-Coulda-Shoulda Braves Trade Packages for Justin Upton and His Former D-backs
Here is what I thought the D-backs could get from four teams for Justin Upton on Dec. 3.
Here is what the D-backs actually got from one team, the Braves, for Upton on Jan. 24.
Scout-turned-scribe Keith Law of ESPN.com wrote this of the trade today: “Arizona’s return boils down to this: One year of Martin Prado, six years of a fifth starter in Randall Delgado, two fringy prospects and one non-prospect. If that sounds like a good deal to you, I have some beachfront property in Phoenix to sell you.” An ESPN baseball editor by the name of Matt Meyers then Tweeted: “In anticipation of Willie Bloomquist’s eventually [sic] retirement, the D-backs have acquired Nick Ahmed, his minor league equivalent.”
Of all the expert opinions you may see today on this seven-player, yet-to-be-official trade, I think those two are the most illuminating. The D-backs just didn’t get very good ballplayers (even if you think the world of Prado, who is signed only through 2013). In addition to Ahmed, Arizona also received right-handed starter Zeke Spruill (a No. 4 or 5 starter) and first baseman Brandon Drury (the aforementioned “non-prospect”). It’s very likely that none of the three will be impactful, everyday big leaguers, in my education opinion.
That explains why I’ll quickly propose three woulda-coulda-shoulda ARI-to-ATL proposals. Let me know in the comment section or on Twitter what you think.
Proposal One: Upton and shortstop Cliff Pennington for shortstop Andrelton Simmons, third baseman Martin Prado, starting pitcher J.R. Graham and infielder Joe Terdoslavich.
Analysis: If you’re going to trade a star like Upton, you SHOULD acquire a potential star like Simmons. And Graham (or the further-away Lucas Sims) is a better prospect than Spruill, and Terdoslavich, who can play first or third base, can do something Ahmed can’t: develop into a very good hitter.
Teheran would have been a good get (Mark LoMoglio/MiLB.com).
Proposal Two: Upton and third baseman Chris Johnson for starter Julio Teheran, Prado, Graham and Spruill as well as Terdoslavich.
Analysis: OK, if Simmons was truly untouchable in Atlanta’s mind, the centerpiece of the deal COULD have been Teheran, who despite his Triple-A struggles, will end up being a better starter than Delgado.
Proposal Three: Upton and Johnson for Delgado, Prado, catcher Christian Bethancourt, Graham and Terdoslavich.
Analysis: OK, if Simmons and Teheran were both off the table, I would recommend walking away from said table. The D-backs, however, backed themselves into a corner, and therefore WOULD have insisted on the inclusion of Betancourt, an outstanding defensive catching prospect.
How to Strike Out Bryce Harper, Part 1 of 3: Picking The Brain of Top Phillies Prospect Jesse Biddle
Last season, I worked on a story that never came to fruition. That story was this: Only a handful of Minor League pitchers could one day tell their grandkids that they struck out teenage Bryce Harper phenom twice in one ballgame. Three of these hurlers, like Harper, just happened to be elite prospects as well. And each member of that trio, also like Harper (Nationals), were and still are in National League organizations – Jesse Biddle (Phillies), Drew Pomeranz (Rockies) and Matt Harvey (Mets) — meaning that one, two or all three could provide intriguing hitter-pitcher battles for years to come.
I spoke with each of these pitchers in 2012, before Pomeranz and Harvey joined Harper in the Majors. (Biddle, the No. 1 prospect in Philadelphia’s system at the end of ’12 and baseball’s fourth best LHP entering ’13, will likely begin next spring at Double-A Reading and is the only Minor Leaguer left.) For the first time, I will share those how-to-strike-out-Harper discussions with readers. Today, I reveal Biddle’s secrets. Expect Pomeranz’s on Thursday and Harvey’s on Friday, to complete this tardy three-part story that once was and now is.
Part 1 on Wednesday: Picking The Brain of The Phillies’ Jesse Biddle (Class A Matchup)
Part 2 on Thursday: Picking The Brain of The Rockies’ Drew Pomeranz (Double-A Matchup)
Part 3 on Friday: Picking The Brain of The Mets’ Matt Harvey (Double-A/Triple-A Matchup)
(Brian Bissell/FutureStarPhotos.com | Tony Farlow/Four Seam Images)
Background: Biddle fanned Harper twice in three at-bats on April 17, 2011. Biddle was pitching for Phils’ Class A affiliate Lakewood and against Nationals’ affiliate Hagerstown, which was hosting the game. Biddle, a 20-year-old who was Philadelphia’s first-round draftee in 2010, also struck out Harper in the pair’s next and final MiLB meeting on May 13. In summary, Biddle retired Harper four times in six at-bats, three via the strikeout. The details of his four-pitch repertoire can be found here. Harper, meanwhile, whiffed 87 times in 387 at-bats in his debut ’11 season, a not-unseemly total given his slugging prowess.
Biddle on facing Harper: “In a lot of ways, he’s still a 19-year-old player, so he does have holes like every other hitter. He can’t cover every side of the plate every at-bat; it’s just not going to happen. This is something that our pitchers actually talked about a lot. You can pitch him outside – you feel more comfortable pitching him out there – but when you come inside you have to come inside; you can’t go inner-half; you have to go inside corner, working the black, because he’s got really, really quick hands and power that – I mean, he can destroy the ball if you miss.”
On his approach: “Basically, I didn’t want to treat him too differently from any other hitter. Minor League Baseball, guys can hit; they’re the best of the best, so you don’t want to do that with anybody. But you do have to be more cautious when he’s up to bat. You don’t want to throw a first pitch right down the middle, or you don’t want to work halves; I felt myself working more thirds of the plate than halves of the plate.”
On his pitch selection: “I didn’t quite feel comfortable throwing a changeup to a lefty at the time, so I knew I was just going to go fastball, curveball. And I didn’t want to pitch around him. I wanted to go at him. Just like everyone else that pitches against him, they want to get him out. The fact is, everyone brings their best when they face him and that’s what he is constantly facing. And the fact that he’s able to succeed is pretty impressive.”
(Cliff Welch/MiLB.com)
On his first matchup in Hagerstown: “I didn’t really like the way their field was set up. It was a little bit shallow to his pull side, to right field, so I didn’t really want to go too far inside early in the count. So I went fastball outside – I believe he fouled the first one off – and then I went curveball for a strike, so I had him 0-2. I threw another curveball for a ball and then I got him on a fastball on the outside corner looking. I’m sure he might debate on whether it was a strike or not, but in the end it’s really up to the umpire. That was the first time I faced him. Second time, I struck him out on a curveball looking. Honestly, I felt like that was one of the best curveballs I threw. It was 12-to-6, a pretty big break. It felt perfect coming out of my hand. I think I just fooled him, which is going to happen.”
On the so-called ‘Harper hype’: “I could sit here and say that every team is the same and you gotta get pumped up for everybody – and that’s true to a certain degree – but I talked to my dad and my coaches and I said to ‘em, ‘When Bryce Harper was up at bat, I was really focused. I felt more zoned in against him than I did against any other hitter.’ When I see him, I know what he’s capable of, I know that he’s an amazing hitter – all the hype is believable, and he’s done an amazing job – but when I see that, I want to compete, I just want to get him out. That’s the goal, because he is the best and you want to test yourself against the best. When he came up to bat, I just said to myself, ‘I’m going to get this guy out.’”
“There’s no way to avoid it. As a player, you hear it everywhere. Fans are always talking about him. It is what it is. He has warranted all the hype, and he’s just played baseball to get it. So I think we all respect him in a lot of ways. We all respect what he’s done. When we’re in the clubhouse, we’re not all talking about how amazing Bryce Harper is or anything, but you pay extra close attention to him when he’s on the field. All eyes are on him when he’s playing, and that’s a gift and a curse that I’m sure he has to deal with.”
AP
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