As the Twins sent down Scott Baker and called up Scott Diamond for an emergency start, the Indians were forced to make a similar move by calling up David Huff to make an additional start during yesterdays day-night doubleheader. They also activated Fausto Carmona who had been on the DL since July 3rd with a right quad strain.
The soft tossing 27 year old lefty Huff made a fine start, going seven innings without allowing a run in sweltering heat. The start stands as one of the finest of Huff's career as he's managed to throw seven shutout innings just two other times in his career, both in 2009.
Showing posts with label Grady Sizemore. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Grady Sizemore. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Thursday, April 21, 2011
The Triumphant Return of Grady Sizemore
The last few years have been trying ones for Grady Sizemore. Entering the 2009 season, Sizemore was a 26 year old, five-tool, three time all-star center fielder. He had just won his second Gold Glove award, and his first Silver Slugger award. He could do it all on a baseball field, and having played in at least 157 games in each of the past four seasons, he had a well deserved reputation for durability. Offensively, he gave you everything. A career .279 hitter with a .370 OBP, he had slugged at least 22 homeruns and stolen at least 22 bases in each of his first four seasons, and 33/38 in 2008.
He was going to be 27 in 2009, and after watching his stolen base and home run numbers steadily improve every year, expectations for what my still be in store had fans of the Indians (and baseball in general) titillated.
He was going to be 27 in 2009, and after watching his stolen base and home run numbers steadily improve every year, expectations for what my still be in store had fans of the Indians (and baseball in general) titillated.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Trevor Crowe Undergoes Shoulder Surgery
When Indians All-Star center fielder Grady Sizemore went on the DL last season, it was Trevor Crowe who replaced him. A light hitting outfielder known primarily for his defense in the minors, Crowe has gotten fairly significant playing time in each of the last two seasons as Sizemore has struggled to stay healthy and on the field.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Former #1 Prospects Getting A Shot At Redemption
In 2005, Lastings Milledge was rated as the New York Mets Top Prospect by Baseball America. In 2006, Travis Buck received the same honor for the Oakland Athletics.
In describing Milledge, Baseball America said;
"It’s still unclear as to whether Milledge profiles better at the top or in the middle of the order. He has above-average speed that he uses to his advantage on the bases and in center field, and he also has a plus arm. With his package of five tools, Milledge has few peers in the minors, and he has produced throughout his minor league career."
In describing Buck, B.A. had this to say;
"Buck is a bigger version of [Andre] Ethier with similar tools but more projected power."
In describing Milledge, Baseball America said;
"It’s still unclear as to whether Milledge profiles better at the top or in the middle of the order. He has above-average speed that he uses to his advantage on the bases and in center field, and he also has a plus arm. With his package of five tools, Milledge has few peers in the minors, and he has produced throughout his minor league career."
In describing Buck, B.A. had this to say;
"Buck is a bigger version of [Andre] Ethier with similar tools but more projected power."
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
AL Central Injury Updates
It seems like yesterday, but I haven't done an Injury Update since the 27th. Apologies for that.
- Grady Sizemore (Knee): Still no closer to returning from off season microfracture surgery at this point. It seems highly unlikely he opens the season.
- Trevor Crowe (Shoulder): Has been taking cortisone shots, but also remains doubtful for the start of the season.
- Michael Brantley (legs): Has been experiencing fatigue and pain in legs. Will take a few games off.
- Shin-Soo Choo: (Elbow) He's been experiencing some discomfort but as of now isn't expected to miss time.
- Jared Goedert (Oblique): Is expected to miss at least two weeks. Was a long-shot candidate for a backup infield position. Will open the season in AAA.
- Jason Donald (Hand): He was hit in the hand by a pitch. X-Rays negative. Should be back playing within a week.
- Anthony Reyes (Elbow): Threw a 36-pitch bullpen without any reported issues.
Indians:
- Grady Sizemore (Knee): Still no closer to returning from off season microfracture surgery at this point. It seems highly unlikely he opens the season.
- Trevor Crowe (Shoulder): Has been taking cortisone shots, but also remains doubtful for the start of the season.
- Michael Brantley (legs): Has been experiencing fatigue and pain in legs. Will take a few games off.
- Shin-Soo Choo: (Elbow) He's been experiencing some discomfort but as of now isn't expected to miss time.
- Jared Goedert (Oblique): Is expected to miss at least two weeks. Was a long-shot candidate for a backup infield position. Will open the season in AAA.
- Jason Donald (Hand): He was hit in the hand by a pitch. X-Rays negative. Should be back playing within a week.
- Anthony Reyes (Elbow): Threw a 36-pitch bullpen without any reported issues.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Indians Sign Nick Johnson
Last week when I discussed the Chad Durbin signing I pointed out that Indians GM Chris Antonelli was being prudent about his limited free agent payroll and wisely waiting out players as options became scarce. Now he's done so again, bringing in first baseman and on base machine Nick Johnson on a Minor League contract.
Friday, April 16, 2010
Resigning Shin-Soo Choo
Shin-Soo Choo is the best AL Central player the rest of baseball doesn't know about. If he played in New York, Boston, or Philadelphia, he'd be the sort of player the national media couldn't stop talking about. They'd brand him with all sorts of absurd labels, 'gamer,' 'a pros pro,' 'gritty,' whatever...
The truth is, the guy is just a stud.
Right field is a position where offense looms large. No position in baseball, save for first base, produced as much offense as right field, where the average player posted an OPS of .791. The only two players with enough at-bats to qualify who posted better OPS numbers? J.D. Drew (.914) and Brad Hawpe (.903). That's it, that's the entire list. Drew led baseball with his mark, and Choo's .883 fell short by just 31 points. That's not an insignificant number, but given that Drew is 34 and declining, and Choo just entering his prime at 27, I think we know how that trend is likely to go.
Bottom line, if Choo continues to hit the way he has the past two seasons, with minimal improvements, he will almost certainly be baseball's best right fielder in short order (yes, Justin Upton and Jason Heyward may have something to say about that...)
The Indians of course, realize this. GM Mark Shapiro wants to extend Choo, but is faced with the difficult task of negotiating with Scott Boras. The agent is notorious for advising his players t go through the arbitration process year-to-year to maximize their earnings potential instead of signing off on what are almost always team friendly extensions that give the player security through those years, and teams a sometimes sizable discount. Boras of course, is telling his client to avoid doing just that.
The Indians can afford to go year-to-year with Choo of course, but that's not an ideal situation necessarily. Choo is one of the Indians key building blocks, and arguably their best offensive player - and I don't mean that as a slight to Grady Sizemore who is an offensive force in his own right. But there simply aren't a whole lot of players who are going to give you above average defense, steal twenty bases, and have .900 OPS potential with the bat.
Fangraphs pegged Choo's 2009 season as being worth 22.9m on the open market. While there is little chance of Choo getting Mauer money on the free agent market on a long term deal, that doesn't mean he doesn't have considerable financial value.
So how much is Choo worth then? It can be a bit tough to peg, but I think he's likely worth something in the neighborhood of 16-20m over his three arbitration years. Typically teams then also want another year or two in team options. Given that those would be free agent years, Choo would likely get something much closer to true market value. Is it unreasonable to say he's worth 13-15m per year on the open market? Maybe a tad. It'll all depend on how he ages. If his legs hold up, sure he's probably worth that. If not, it could be a major mistake.
Therein lies the difficulty. That and that Boras guy.
The truth is, the guy is just a stud.
Right field is a position where offense looms large. No position in baseball, save for first base, produced as much offense as right field, where the average player posted an OPS of .791. The only two players with enough at-bats to qualify who posted better OPS numbers? J.D. Drew (.914) and Brad Hawpe (.903). That's it, that's the entire list. Drew led baseball with his mark, and Choo's .883 fell short by just 31 points. That's not an insignificant number, but given that Drew is 34 and declining, and Choo just entering his prime at 27, I think we know how that trend is likely to go.
Bottom line, if Choo continues to hit the way he has the past two seasons, with minimal improvements, he will almost certainly be baseball's best right fielder in short order (yes, Justin Upton and Jason Heyward may have something to say about that...)
The Indians of course, realize this. GM Mark Shapiro wants to extend Choo, but is faced with the difficult task of negotiating with Scott Boras. The agent is notorious for advising his players t go through the arbitration process year-to-year to maximize their earnings potential instead of signing off on what are almost always team friendly extensions that give the player security through those years, and teams a sometimes sizable discount. Boras of course, is telling his client to avoid doing just that.
The Indians can afford to go year-to-year with Choo of course, but that's not an ideal situation necessarily. Choo is one of the Indians key building blocks, and arguably their best offensive player - and I don't mean that as a slight to Grady Sizemore who is an offensive force in his own right. But there simply aren't a whole lot of players who are going to give you above average defense, steal twenty bases, and have .900 OPS potential with the bat.
Fangraphs pegged Choo's 2009 season as being worth 22.9m on the open market. While there is little chance of Choo getting Mauer money on the free agent market on a long term deal, that doesn't mean he doesn't have considerable financial value.
So how much is Choo worth then? It can be a bit tough to peg, but I think he's likely worth something in the neighborhood of 16-20m over his three arbitration years. Typically teams then also want another year or two in team options. Given that those would be free agent years, Choo would likely get something much closer to true market value. Is it unreasonable to say he's worth 13-15m per year on the open market? Maybe a tad. It'll all depend on how he ages. If his legs hold up, sure he's probably worth that. If not, it could be a major mistake.
Therein lies the difficulty. That and that Boras guy.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Indians Roundup: Week One
The Indians got their season off to a fine start with a two games to one series victory over the White Sox as they took the final two games after a miserable start by opening day pitcher starter Jake Westbrook who was hammered by Chicago. Thankfully they managed to get back on track with a pair of nice wins, including a come from behind, extra innings victory in the rubber match.
The second series against the Tigers didn't go nearly as well as they were shut down by two very mediocre pitchers in Dontrelle Willis, and and Jeremy Bonderman., and then blew a huge lead in the final game as they tagged Tigers ace Justin Verlander for 6 runs, only to see the bullpen blow the lead as they allowed nine runs in the final four innings, finally losing on a game tying walk, followed by a game losing wild pitch. Heart breaking stuff.
Offensively, the Tribe really struggled as the only two players to break the .800 OPS mark were second baseman Luis Valbuena (.806) and third baseman Johnny Peralta (.810). Obviously players like Grady Sizemore (.759), and Shin-Soo Choo (.619) aren't going to continue to hit so poorly, and the offense should be better. Actually, with Sizemore, Choo, Peralta, Asdrubal Cabrera, Travis Hafner and top prospects Matt LaPorta, Michael Brantley, and Carlos Santana, I think the Indians offense will be pretty good in 2011. But as of right now, that future is still a little ways off.
The issue with the Indians on a long-term basis is going to be pitching. They simply don't have much of it. I believe Justin Masterson and Fausto Carmona can be above average arms, and prospects Hector Rondon, and Carlos Carrasco show varying levels of promise, but is that enough? I'm not sold.
Ultimately, the Indians season is going to depend on how quickly the young bats develop. It won't be enough to help them win this year, but it can at least lay the groundwork for 2011 and it'll be a progression we'll be following closely here at AL Central in Focus.
The second series against the Tigers didn't go nearly as well as they were shut down by two very mediocre pitchers in Dontrelle Willis, and and Jeremy Bonderman., and then blew a huge lead in the final game as they tagged Tigers ace Justin Verlander for 6 runs, only to see the bullpen blow the lead as they allowed nine runs in the final four innings, finally losing on a game tying walk, followed by a game losing wild pitch. Heart breaking stuff.
Offensively, the Tribe really struggled as the only two players to break the .800 OPS mark were second baseman Luis Valbuena (.806) and third baseman Johnny Peralta (.810). Obviously players like Grady Sizemore (.759), and Shin-Soo Choo (.619) aren't going to continue to hit so poorly, and the offense should be better. Actually, with Sizemore, Choo, Peralta, Asdrubal Cabrera, Travis Hafner and top prospects Matt LaPorta, Michael Brantley, and Carlos Santana, I think the Indians offense will be pretty good in 2011. But as of right now, that future is still a little ways off.
The issue with the Indians on a long-term basis is going to be pitching. They simply don't have much of it. I believe Justin Masterson and Fausto Carmona can be above average arms, and prospects Hector Rondon, and Carlos Carrasco show varying levels of promise, but is that enough? I'm not sold.
Ultimately, the Indians season is going to depend on how quickly the young bats develop. It won't be enough to help them win this year, but it can at least lay the groundwork for 2011 and it'll be a progression we'll be following closely here at AL Central in Focus.
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