Results tagged ‘ Omaha Storm Chasers ’
Rays’ Right-hander Jake Odorizzi — MLB.com’s No. 45 Prospect — Answers Six Questions about Fielding His Position
MiLB.com will publish the sixth part of my nine-part series on top-ranked prospects who are also top-rated defenders this morning (link here). The piece focuses, in part, on the Rays’ Jake Odorizzi (bio, stats here), the No. 45 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.
(Cliff Welch/MiLB.com)
- On evaluating his fielding: ”I view it as one of my strong points. I grew up playing shortstop, so I have a lot of experience with ground balls, fielding when I didn’t pitch, so I think it came naturally to me when I transitioned to pitching — the fielding carried over. I take pride in it. It’s one of my strong points, and one of the advantages to me.”
- On his thought process on the mound: “I always want to be a in a good position to field when I release the ball. Most people are not completely square [to home plate] when they finish, but I have to be ready and expect the ball to come back to me. You just have to be comfortable and not freak out when the ball is hit back to you and step make a throw. Keep it as simple as possible. If I can make a play on it, I’ll make a play on it. If not, I’ll let my infielders take it.”
(Cliff Welch/MiLB.com)
- On adjustments he’s made to his fielding since turning pro: “I’ve done the same thing that I did before. Most of it is just reaction. There are some balls that I can get to that other people can’t get to on the mound, but I have to remember that I have four infielders on the mound who know what they’re doing, too. I don’t want to overstretch myself.”
- On improving his fielding during spring camp: “We do fielding stuff daily. Trying to get into the swing of things. Once the season starts, we don’t really work on it as much, so Spring is really the time to hammer on it.”
- On the hardest fielding play a pitcher has to make: “It’s the bunt play. A good bunt is very hard to defend, especially if it’s a guy with some speed. There’s no room for error on good bunts. You just have to be control, so you’re not throwing it into left field or right field. You have to be perfect with it.”
- On pitchers he watched for good examples of fielding: “Greg Maddux was one of the best.”
***
Odorizzi’s pitching coach at Triple-A Omaha, Doug Henry, who is now the Royals’ bullpen coach, on the hardest fielding play a pitcher has to make: “The hardest ones are the bunt plays because you have to get off the mound, and that’s where the agility comes into play and the athleticism. The ground balls back at you is reaction. He does have good, quick hands so he reacts pretty quick.”
On Odorizzi’s talent: “”I wish he would have been around to help us [the Royals] out a little more because he is a special athlete.”
Prospect Uniformed: Royals Infielder Christian Colon in Every Minor League Jersey He’s Worn
Christian Colon is not going to be the star some envisioned he might be when the Royals snagged him with the fourth overall pick in the 2010 Draft.
But Colon is going to be a good one.
Now Kansas City’s No. 10 prospect, the 23-year-old infielder overcame some freakish injuries in 2012 (he broke his toe stepping on a bat early in the season and fouled a ball off his face late) but still composed a .301/.376/.413 slash line in 85 games across three levels. Colon (bio, stats here) finished ’12 at Triple-A Omaha and may resume playing there should he not win a Royals roster spot next month. He’s a strong fielder — better at second than he is at shortstop — with a strong bat and could be a part of K.C.’s winning ways this decade.
Here is a gallery of Colon 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.
Lost and Found: Royals Prospect Christian Colon
Editor’s note: Lost and Found is an offseason series in which one underrated prospect from each of the 30 MLB clubs will be discussed in a short, snappy post.
Lost: Christian Colon was the fourth overall pick in the 2010 Draft (out of baseball powerhouse Cal-State Fullerton) and was perceived to be Kansas City’s shortstop of the future. Then he was promoted (aggressively, I might add) to play his first full season in the Texas League, where hitters say that while 1) the ballparks and weather are hitter-friendly, 2) the repetition of opponents makes the circuit a constant series of adjustments against advanced pitching.
2011: .257 AVG, .325 OBP, 24 XBH, 17 SB in 127 G at Double-A Northwest Arkansas
Found: With expectations lowered, the not-so-toolsy Colon returned to the TL, overcame two freak injuries (injuring his foot while stepping on a bat and fouled a ball off his face) before finishing the campaign at Triple-A Omaha.
2012: .301 AVG, .376 OBP, 21 XBH, 13 SBs in 85 G across three levels
So Colon was lost, now he is found. Now, about the Royals’ returns: Colon will be 24 a week after Opening Day 2013, when he will likely be back at Omaha, one hot streak/trade/injury from making his Major League debut. And while the righty-hitting, righty-throwing Puerto Rico native won’t be a star, he can definitely be a productive star-ter. That’s more than we could say 12 months ago.
(Shawn E. Davis/MiLB.com)
Emptying My Notebook: Quotes of Note on Jake Odorizzi, Michael Choice and Tommy Joseph
- Royals assistant GM J.J. Piccolo said third-ranked prospect Jake Odorizzi proved he has all the necessary stuff in 2012: “He showed excellent command of his fastball, really started to be able to throw his breaking ball — he throws a curveball and a slider — early in the count and that made his fastball more effective; he struck out a lot of guys with his fastball. And his changeup continued to develop.” (For more on his repertoire, see Odorizzi’s Prospect Pitch.)
- A’s player development director Keith Lieppman is excited about the future of No. 1 prospect Michael Choice, who played just 91 games this season after fracturing his hand: ”Choice is a big-time potential Major League player. He started to figure things out at [Double-A] Midland and was playing very good defense. Once he figures things out [offensively], his tools will take over. He is not far from the big leagues and [in addition to the power] can steal 15-20 bases once he gets there.”
- Phillies fourth-ranked prospect Tommy Joseph, who has played four Arizona Fall League games as of this writing, on his hitting philosophy, “I need to have a plan when I go up there to hit. I have to put myself in a position athletically and, whatever is happening at the time, hit to the situation: move the guy over, get the ball up the middle to get an RBI. I always like to know how hard the [pitcher] throws and what’s his out-pitch because obviously you’re going to see an out-pitch at a key point in the game. Those are really the two things that I want to know: if he comes at me with his fastball, with his breaking ball, if he likes to pitch backwards, little things without going in depth — keep it as simple as possible.”
Tommy Joseph, with Double-A Reading (Ralph Trout).
Myers and Starling: Darling Hitters at Different Stages
One of the things you will get from this blog is the baseball gods’ honest truth. Here comes a small dose: I do not have a scouting background. I have a reporting background. So when I read something like Mike Newman’s smart analysis of Bubba Starling’s “lengthy” swing on Fangraphs, I ask around. I can see on video what Newman or a pro scout might explain to be a “hitchy load,” but something like that would be harder to identify on my own. I have not been trained to scout. I have been trained to report.
Which brings me to Royals assistant general manager J.J. Piccolo, whom I interviewed for MiLB.com’s annual, team-by-team Organization All-Stars piece this week. (Look for that piece and others like it here.) I asked Piccolo about the swing mechanics of his organization’s best two prospects: Starling and another righty-hitting outfielder well ahead of him developmentally. That would be Wil Myers, of course.
Myers in the Minors in 2012: .314 AVG, 26 2B, 6 3B, 37 HR, 109 RBI, 140 K in 522 ABs spanning 134 G split between Double-A Northwest Arkansas and Triple-A Omaha
Piccolo review of Myers’ mechanics: ”It’s an awkward stance. He’s upright and open, but he has an incredible hand speed and hand-eye coordination and hits the ball as hard as anyone. The ball off his bat has a different sound.”
Starling in the Minors in 2012: .273 AVG, 8 2B, 2 3B, 10 HR, 33 RBI, 70 K in 200 ABs spanning 53 G at Rookie-level Burlington (he also racked up about 150 at-bats in extended spring training before being assigned to the Appalachian League)
Piccolo review of Starling’s mechanics: ”The strikeout totals are something we need to work on. I don’t think he’s ever going to be low-strikeout guy, so he needs to recognize the situations when contact is necessary. He made a lot of improvement overall, made a minor adjustment in his stance, with his setup. He tends to move the bat a lot, so his barrel will drop some, which leads to a longer swing. He needs to be in a better hitting position with his swing, so his bat is in a good position to hit the ball. He tends to get sweepy [sic] with his swing — he does that maybe only 10 percent of the time, but that could be 50 percent of his at-bats [in the future].”
Comparisons are unfair. Someone always gets slighted. But I love comparisons. (When a scout starts to sentence with, “I don’t like making comparisons, but this guy could be the next…”, a noticeable amount of moisture gathers at the corners of my mouth.)
This one might be more of a contrast: Starling, the third overall pick in 2010, is not the natural hitter that Myers, a third-rounder in 2009, is and the guess here is that he never will be. But it is very interesting to look at these two players and their burgeoning careers, even if one is three years behind the other.
For instance, Myers began his first full season in 2010, where Starling just finished his: with the Rookie-level B-Royals. How did he fare there? Let’s put his numbers right alongside Starling’s to — yes — compare:
Myers: .289 AVG, 19 2B, 1 3B, 10 HR, 45 RBI, 48 BB, 55 K in 242 ABs spanning 68 G
Starling: .273 AVG, 8 2B, 2 3B, 10 HR, 33 RBI, 28 BB, 70 K in 200 ABs spanning 53 G
Doesn’t look like that big of a difference, until you notice Myers struck out 15 fewer times in 15 more games. That is a big even if the sample size is not.
Now, we know what Myers went on to, becoming the Minor League leader in home runs and one of the best hitting prospects yet to appear in a big league ballgame. We don’t know where Starling will end up, if he can make adjustments to his swing along the way. This should all be kept in mind when discussing — and comparing — two Kansas City kids who are destined to be compared and discussed.
Oh, and one other thing: Myers may be the better hitter, but Starling is the superior outfielder.
Bubba Starling, with Burlington. (Roger Peterson)
- Wil Myers, with Triple-A Omaha. (Rinaldi Photos)
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