Game 59 – Mariners at Angels
Hector Noesi vs. Jerome Williams, 7:05pm
To cleanse our collective palate after last night’s drubbing of an M’s flyballing righty, the M’s send up Hector Noesi toAwwww C’mon, M’s.
1: Ichiro (RF)
2: Ackley (2B)
3: Seager (3B)
4: Montero (DH)
5: Smoak (1B)
6: Saunders (CF)
7: Olivo (C)
8: Carp (LF)
9: Ryan (SS)
SP: Hector Noesi
Link of the day? Shannon Drayer’s piece on Felix finally watching himself on video. Sounds like it was sort of a Malkovich-in-his-own-portal thing – disorienting, troubling, harmful to self-confidence. But at least Felix is trying new things, and let’s hope he’s able to correct some of the faults he identified in his next start, which sounds like it’ll be this weekend.
2012 Draft Thread: Sixteenth Through Fortieth Rounds
Fortieth. It’s weird to type. Anyway, that’s how far we’re going starting at 9 am.
Usually, on Day Three of the draft, the common refrain is that there’s plenty of talent left on the board. However, not all of it is signable talent and some of it is only talent relative to other, worse players that may be capable of being drafted. I feel like someone ought to clarify these things.
This front office has had some success even in the late rounds. Forrest Snow, recently moved to the bullpen, was drafted in the 36th round, as an example. Steve Landazuri was a 22nd round pick and he’s surely interesting when healthy (come back soon!…). What we’re likely to see less of are the Shipers/Marder/Valenza type late-round picks where we go way over budget to get one guy who otherwise had a strong commitment elsewhere. From here on, it’s probably about making budget and trying to outscout and outhustle the other twenty-nine teams in the hopes of uncovering some gem or gem-like human baseball player. The Mariners have gone way off radar before and it’s worked. These names probably won’t mean all that much to you now, but one or two promises to grow on you.
I don’t really have time to think about that though. I’ll probably be in and out the whole time, updating this page with the list every so often, and contributing very little in the way of analysis. I’m sure you’ll develop some form of coping mechanism. Whether that’s positive or negative coping, I’ll leave up to you.
Round #16: RHP Dominic Leone, 5’11”, 195 lbs, 10/26/1991, Clemson
Round #17: RF Isaiah Yates, 5’9″, 185 lbs, R/L, 8/31/1994, CA HS
Round #18: RF Jabari Henry, 6’1″, 200 lbs, R/R, 11/11/90, Florida International
Round #19: LHP Nathan Koneski, 6’0″, 180 lbs, 3/11/90, College of The Holy Cross
Round #20: LHP Steven Ewing, 6’1″, 219 lbs, 8/8/91, Miami
Round #21: LHP Scott DeCecco, 6’0″, 175 lbs, 5/8/1991, USC Upstate
Round #22: SS Gabrial Franca, 5’11”, 160 lbs, R/R, 9/11/1993, CA HS
Round #23: RHP Levi Dean, 6’4″, 225 lbs, 12/15/1989, Tennessee Wesleyan
Round #24: RHP Matthew Vedo, 6’3″, 205 lbs, 1/12/1990, UC Santa Barbara
Round #25: RHP Mark Bordonaro, 5’10”, 160 lbs, 8/17/1990, Fairfield
Round #26: RHP Aaron Brooks, 6’6″, 210 lbs, 5/15/1992, Edmonds CC
Round #27: LHP Blake Holovach, 6’5″, 195 lbs, 3/27/1991, Missouri
Round #28: RHP Matt Brazis, 6’3″, 195 lbs, 9/6/1989, Boston College
Round #29: C Toby Demello, 6’2″, 220 lbs, R/R, 1/3/1990, St. Mary’s
Round #30: RF Michael Yastrzemski, 6’0″, 195 lbs, L/L, 12/6/1990, Vanderbilt (Carl’s grandson)
Round #31: LHP Rusty Shellhorn, 5’10”, 185 lbs, 2/25/1990, Texas Tech
Round #32: 2B Richard Palase, 5’11”, 195 lbs, R/R, 8/17/1990, Lynchburg College
Round #33: RHP Logan Seifrit, 5’11”, 185 lbs, 8/25/1994, Canada HS
Round #34: C Alexander Ross, 6’1″, 190 lbs, L/R, 5/27/1991, Bellevue CC
Round #35: SS Tyler Krieger, 6’0″, 155 lbs, S/R, 1/16/1994, GA HS
Round #36: RHP Anthony Wingenter, 6’7″, 190 lbs, 4/15/1994, AL HS
Round #37: LHP Brett Lilek, 6’4″, 185 lbs, 8/10/1993, IL HS
Round #38: SS Richard Martin, 5’10”, 174 lbs, R/R, 12/22/1994, FL HS
Round #39: RHP Grayson Long, 6’5″, 200 lbs, 5/27/1994, TX HS
Round #40: RHP James Kaprielian, 6’3″, 190 lbs, 3/2/1994, CA HS
That’s all, folks.
Blake Beavan Is Not an MLB Starting Pitcher
Last year, Blake Beavan got to the big leagues and, despite not actually pitching very well, convinced some people that he was worth a longer look in the rotation. Yeah, okay, he doesn’t get strikeouts or ground balls, and his results actually aren’t very good, but, hey, no walks and weak contact, right?
Err, uhh, well, at least the no walks thing is true. After giving up 10 hits (three of which left the yard) tonight, Beavan is now giving up 1.34 home runs per nine innings and has a .293 batting average on balls in play. Twenty-two percent of opponents balls in play off him are being hit for line drives. The idea that Beavan is somehow a guy who outpitches his peripherals has been completely blown up.
Beavan is a guy who has one Major League skill – the ability to throw the ball down the middle. Besides that, he’s Triple-A fodder. There’s a chance that his stuff could play up in relief and he could be a mediocre middle reliever, but that’s his ceiling. There’s just nothing there to suggest that Blake Beavan is any kind of Major League starting pitcher, and there’s no reason for the Mariners to keep running him out there every five days.
Hisashi Iwakuma is better. Erasmo Ramirez is better. Danny Hultzen is better. I’d pick Iwakuma, personally, but Ramirez has a similar skillset and more of a future in Seattle, so there are valid reasons to give him the spot instead. Either one of them would be a clear and obvious upgrade over Beavan.
It’s time to just pull the plug and admit that Beavan doesn’t have any kind of future as a starting pitcher in the big leagues. Shift him to the bullpen and hope he takes off – if not, at least then the team will have a long reliever that they can trust to warm up on short notice.
Game 58, Mariners at Angels
Blake Beavan vs. Garrett Richards, 7:05pm
April 5th was the Rainiers home opener this season. The R’s didn’t have the best offense in the league, but it wasn’t bad, and Cheney had played much more like a neutral park in 2011 than in years past. Garrett Richards, the enigmatic right hander was on the mound for Salt Lake, fresh off of his surprise demotion after a solid spring and despite the injury to Jerome Williams. Rumors swirled that he clashed with Mike Scioscia, or that he was just too streaky to trust in the rotation, and some thought he needed a lot of work on his command. A good prospect, to be sure, but one with question marks.
Over the next two hours, Richards was nearly unhittable. He walked none and K’d 7 in 7 innings, touched 97 quite often and showed a very good change-up and slider. He made two mistakes, but the combination of velocity, command and stuff was eye-popping. A scout I talked to a month or so later said it was the most impressive performance he’d seen in the league that year; yeah, OK, we’re talking the PCL and not the Southern League, and no, he hadn’t seen Shelby Miller, but Richards flashed serious ability.
From April 26th to May 9th, Richards pitched a total of 7 2/3 IP, giving up 22 hits, 14 runs and yielding 10 walks (and four HBPs!) to 8 Ks. When people talk about inconsistency and lapses, this is why. It shouldn’t really be a surprise; Richards posted an ERA of 6 in all three of his seasons at the University of Oklahoma. Still, having seen him at his best, I completely understand why many in the LA organization look past his so-so stats and focus on what he could be.
The M’s need to make him throw strikes tonight, and they need to be able to hit mistakes when he makes them. Mike Wilson was able to do so back in early April – and it’s easier for this group of hitters to emulate/replicate what Mike Wilson did than it is to emulate what Albert Pujols does. The M’s have their lefty-heavy line-up in, which means Jaso catches. See? The job of making Richards throw strikes just got easier.
1: Ichiro (RF)
2: Ackley (2B)
3: Seager (3B)
4: Montero (DH)
5: Smoak (1B)
6: Jaso (C)
7: Carp (LF)
8: Saunders (LF)
9: Ryan (SS)
SP: Blake Beavan
2012 Draft Thread: Second Through Fifteenth Round
Rounds 2-15, Starting at 9 am PDT
Round #2: SS Joe DeCarlo, 5’10”, R/R, 9/13/1993, PA HS
Round #3: RHP Edwin Diaz, 6’2″, 160 lbs, 3/22/1994, Puerto Rico HS
Round #3 (Comp): LHP Tyler Pike, 6’0″, 180 lbs, 1/26/1994, FL HS
Round #4: 3B Patrick Kivlehan, R/R, 6’2″, 210 lbs, 12/22/1989, Rutgers
Round #5: SS Chris Taylor, R/R, 6’0″, 170 lbs, 8/29/1990, Virginia
Round #6: SS Timmy Lopes, R/R, 5’11”, 180 lbs, 6/24/1994, CA HS
Round #7: 1B Taylor Ard, R/R, 6’1″, 235 lbs, 1/31/1990, Wazzu
Round #8: 1B Nick Halamandaris, L/L, 6’1″, 220 lbs, 1/6/1994, CA HS
Round #9: 2B Jamodrick McGruder, L/R, 5’7″, 170 lbs, 8/4/1991, Texas Tech
Round #10: RHP Grady Wood, 6’1″, 195 lbs, 5/18/1990, Western Oregon State
Round #11: 1B Kristian Brito, R/R, 6’5″, 230 lbs, 12/20/1994, Puerto Rico HS
Round #12: CF Michael Faulkner, L/L, 5’9″, 165 lbs, 12/20/1994, Arkansas State
Round #13: RHP Blake Hauser, 6’2″, 180 lbs, 4/14/1991, Virginia Commonwealth
Round #14: 2B Brock Hebert, R/R, 5’10”, 180 lbs, 5/11/1991, Southeastern Louisiana
Round #15: OF Dario Pizzano, L/R, 5’9″, 200 lbs, 4/25/1991, Columbia University
Yesterday. Yesterday was surprising! Such moves were made! Such reactions were had! But now it’s all over. The first round is over. Now we have to go on with our lives and the rest of the draft, among other things. I still have to finish a paper. The quarter schedule is soooo inconvenient. There better not be five minute gaps between rounds. I will lose it.
People were asking for names to consider in the second round. I barely know anything so I just looked up some draft boards and then started to look up information based off of what I felt interested me. This doesn’t include guys like Nick and Trey Williams (no relation) and Duane Underwood who were in first-round consideration before and dropped out due to lack of performance. You can probably find plenty of information on those guys, and there’s also a non-zero chance that the new CBA sets such players up for college careers.
Here is an incomplete list of players still available whom the Mariners may be considering/names for you to get irrationally attached to because you have heard anything about them. If I were trying to compile a complete list, I would probably die. Also, considering the sheer number of players available in the draft, if the Mariners actually selected any one of these guys, I might take up witchcraft or crystal ball reading.
SS Tanner Rahier, R/R, 6’2″, 205 lbs, 10/13/1993, California
Edit: To Reds, 78th overall
RHP/3B Carson Kelly, R/R, 6’2″, 200 lbs, 1/14/1994, Oregon
Edit: To Cardinals, 86th overall
RHP Mitch Brown, 6’2″, 210 lbs, 4/13/1994, Minnesota
Edit: To Indians, 79th overall
RHP Walker Buehler, R/R, 6’2″, 160 lbs, Kentucky
Edit: To Pirates, 436th overall
3B Rio Ruiz, L/R, 6’2″, 195 lbs, 2012
Edit: To Astros, 129th overall
2012 10th-Round Pick: RHP Grady Wood
Some asked, with all the other picks going on which seem to be good or might cost some money, where are the guys who might come in with lower demands? Enter Grady Wood. Wood was a senior at Western Oregon and was the pitcher of the year in their conference two years running. He’s won twenty-straight decisions and came up just shy of the record in the final game of the season. He’s been named to all kinds of first teams for his region by just about every organization in charge of making these rankings.
I can’t find any video on him, sadly. Even Perfect Game doesn’t have anything from back when he was a prep player. He seems to have good command, running a 89/12 K/BB over 96.0 innings, although he did hit ten guys. That could just be horizontal movement on his pitches. Additionally, his average against was a paltry .184 and he didn’t allow many extra-base hits for how much he was pitching. I would guess that he doesn’t elevate the ball a whole lot. They probably use him in relief this year to keep the innings down and then switch to starting him next year.
That’s going to be it for the individual posts right now. I have a lot of other things I should have been spending this time on. Six hours to get through nine rounds? Exhausting!
2012 9th-Round Pick: 2B Jamodrick McGruder
Jamodrick McGruder. Just rolls right off, doesn’t it? McGruder was one of John Sickels’ draft sleepers, where it was pointed out that he has high-end speed (39 SB, 5 CS) and good discipline (35/45 K/BB). He seems to supplement his OBP totals by getting plunked, which has contributed to his .500 OBP relative to his .358 average. It doesn’t appear that McGruder has a great deal of power, with 23% of his hits going for extras, but one would imagine as a left-handed bat with speed, he’s going to take advantage of speed as much as possible to stretch out his hits. Watching some of the video on him, it seems like he’s already a guy that hits well to all fields, which is a plus.
His offense gets talked up a lot and whenever that happens, I start to get a little bit suspicious about the defense. Sickels and others have suggested that he’s sometimes less than consistent on routine plays. One would imagine that if it came to it, he probably has the wheels to handle the outfield, though one would not know immediately whether or not he would be able to get good reads on balls, etc. Since he was called out as a second baseman, I figure they keep him there for a while. Another solid pick, from the looks of it.
Red Raider Weekly: Jamodrick McGruder
Jamodrick McGruder – Red Raider Profile
2012 8th-Round Pick: 1B Nick Halamandaris
On one hand, this guy’s name has “Halama” in it, and he is a lefty, but on the other it also has “Halman” in it, in addition to an extra a and some other consonants, so I’m guessing based off the name that he’s a combination of these two players with some other consonants mixed in. Oh look, a left-handed hitter who is a large physical presence. That shouldn’t have worked.
Halamandaris has signed a letter of intent to the revived University of California baseball program. In high school, he’s been a three-sport player, basketball, football (he was a tight end) and baseball. He’s known for his power hitting and has been All-County the last couple of years. He hasn’t been so much on the state radar, but as I’ve said before, there are just so very many talented players in California that it’s easy to have one of them slip a bit when elsewhere, a player with the same abilities rank among the state’s best. You may remember this from last year when our 6th-round pick, CF James Zamarripa, wasn’t even on the BA radar. This is all to say, I don’t have video (save for a few interviews, where I learned that he is a large fellow and a Yankees fan), I don’t have stats, but I have conjecture. Awesome.
2012 7th-Round Pick: 1B Taylor Ard
I have made references in the past to a bleeding from a parallel universe in which the Mariners moved to Tampa, which in our world has resulted in the Rays drafting all the relevant players from the Pacific Northwest. We just drafted Ard out of Wazzu. The Rays still haven’t made their move. Perhaps we are safe now.
Ard’s been drafted a couple of times already, but never by the Rays. The Marlins tried it in 2010, when he was at Mount Hood CC, and then the Red Sox made the attempt last year in the 25th round, but he wanted more than they offered, so he sat out. Hitting is the thing that Ard does well. He has power to any part of the ballpark and last year he led the Pac-10 in dingers with ten, tied for RBI with fifty-five, and ranked second with a .577 slugging percentage. He was All-Pac 10 last year, and was All-Pac 12 this year, with the same slugging percentage (ranking third this time) and twelve dingers (also third). BA adds that he’s handled wood bats pretty well too, but had power numbers without the good batting average while in the Cape Cod League.
Based off the profile, I’m guessing he’s purely a first baseman, since he doesn’t appear to have speed to speak of. Some say his defense is pretty good too. One would hope that he hits enough to make the positional thing a non-issue, but again, some average issues with wood bats and doesn’t walk a great deal either. It’s a decent pick for the time.
2012 6th-Round Pick: SS Timmy Lopes
Last year, Timmy’s brother Christian signed in the 7th-round for $800k. Timmy isn’t going to have that kind of money as his signing bonus, but he got picked a round higher and will have that to lord over his brother. Heck, some think that he’s better now.
Lopes might qualify as the “baseball rat” pick of this draft for the M’s, though he’s not a super high-motor guy. He’s just a solid, instinctual player that gets good marks for effort and seems to handle all aspects of the game fairly well and knows what he’s doing. The fielding video I saw showed some quick transfers and good throws, though the arm strength didn’t look crazy good or anything, nor did his footspeed.
I haven’t managed to find a lot of video on him swinging the bat. One showed him using a pretty level swing to pull a ball. The other had him lay off on various pitches up and down before trying to golf one, the result of which was him fouling out. The scouting info MLB.com has on him suggests that he’s a good contact hitter and sprays the ball around the field, so it would seem that the former may be more likely than the latter.
For your own reference, it’s not Lopes as in Lopez with an s, but rather like the verb “lope.”