Minor notes
With George Sherrill getting shut down for the year, the M’s called up Randy Williams so that Melvin could continue to play mix-and-match with his bullpen. Williams performance at Tacoma wasn’t much to write home about, but he has his fans in the scouting community. He pitched much better in the second half after adding some movement to his 4-seam fastball, and he could be a moderately effective LOOGY. Of course, there’s no chance he sticks on the 40-man through the offseason, so if he performs well in September, he’s simply increasing his odds of getting nabbed on waivers.
Also, with another loss today, the M’s have closed to just one game back of Kansas City in the Justin Upton Sweepstakes. The Royals grasp on the #2 pick is paper-thin at this point. We won’t catch Arizona for the worst record in baseball, but they are unlikely to select Upton #1 overall next year thanks to the ongoing negotiations with Stephen Drew. I’m not rooting for the M’s to lose, but you better believe I’m rooting for the Royals to win and win often.
Comments
16 Responses to “Minor notes”
Under what circumstances does a team lose a draft pick for signing a top-flight free agent? Is the Mariners prospective top 3 pick protected, regardless of whom they bring in in free agency? I seem to recall in past drafts that we’ve had to forfeit our first round picks for bringing in such top-shelf talent as Raul Ibanez.
If anyone could explain exactly how this works, and which, if any picks are protected, I’d appreciate it.
The top 15 picks in each draft are protected. Assuming the Mariners sign a “Type-A” free agent who is offered arbitration, they would forfeit their second round pick. If they sign two, they would forfeit their second and third round picks, and so on.
The M’s have no chance of losing their first round pick this year.
I’ve been saying the same basic thing for weeks now. Good thing the unbalanced schedule works in KC’s favor… KC vs Central, 28-34. Seattle vs West 12-26.
Though I’m finding it a little odd that they’ll make room for Williams now that Sherrill’s out, but they can’t be bothered to make room for Zapp once they knew Bucky would be out. I suppose a lot of people out there are similarly scratching their heads.
Bucky got a shot, Leone got a shot, Ryan Church is getting a shot, Calvin Pickering is getting a shot…
I think Zapp’s time will come – just that it will probably be with Pittsburgh next year after he’s selected in the Rule 5. I rather enjoy watching personal favorites succeed at the ML level, though, regardless of organizational affiliation, so here’s hoping that Zapp’s Branyanesque appeal catches on with somebody before too long.
A.J. Zapp will not be selected in the Rule V Draft during this upcoming off-season, for he is a minor league free-agent. Hopefully, he will be invited by a club to Spring Training, and in turn make the 25-Man roster…unless the Mariners designated some loser like, um, let’s say JEFF HEAVERLO, BRETT EVERT, AARON LOOPER (cough, nepotism, cough), LUIS UGUETO, and call up Zapp now! Hell, if they are going to call up a third catcher, too, then it ought not be Rene Rivera, but instead Ryan Christianson. Also, they should recall Wiki Gonzalez, and immediately place him on the 60-Day Disabled List thereafter.
Evert isn’t that bad, provided he sticks to relief, he could be a diamond in the rough, though I agree so far as Looper goes. Besides, Ryan Christianson can’t throw right now, he has dead arm going on so he’s just been DHing. Wiki’s not on the 40-man either, so he wouldn’t count anyway.
That would be awesome if the M’s could draft Upton. He could be the SS or CFer of the future for the team. If he is anything like his brother, he is an easy choice. I imagine it would take a big signing bonus though.
I have read a few stories about Upton. I guess that he is similar to his brother, and is an insanely gifted 5-tool athlete. He is a little shorter and stronger than his brother. Also like his brother, a lot of scouts are thinking that Justin will switch positions, as he makes a lot of errors. With his speed and arm strength, he could be a solid CF guy.
Since the M’s will probably loose a few free agents this year, hopefully they can make up for it by drafting and signing a top player this year.
I think that another good move to bolster the farm system would be to sign Kendry Morales. Although the scouting reports on him suggest that he is not very athletic, he can hit and woudl be a good option at 1B for the M”s in the future.
I liked the thought of bringing up that poor Horner guy….
Rivera wasn’t that great in AA, I don’t want to see him in the bigs yet.
Morales and Upton joining Felix….the farm would look better.
what position does upton play?
Horner’s bad knees were limiting him to only a couple of games behind the plate per week, so it’s not surprising that he called it quits. And Rivera’s only in Advanced-A (though Luis Oliveros wasn’t impressive in Double-A). Rivera’s final line of .235/.300/.346 doesn’t look that great, but at the beginning of July he was .262/.311/.397 and he was even better before that in April and May. I figure it’s the wear and tear of playing in 75%+ of the games and spending a good portion of those behind the plate.
Justin Upton plays SS right now, but a lot of people look at him and see a gold glove caliber CF instead. I think I’ve heard the CF idea more with him than I’ve heard with B.J., but maybe I’m not listening hard enough.
The Committee to Non-Tender Gil Meche might be interested in Gil’s stats post-ASB:
3.39 WHIP with a WHIP under 1 in 61 innings pitched, 9 starts, 4-1 record.
His arm might turn into spaghetti next week, but hell, why not give him a couple million to see if he’s found it again?
I think that it is a no-brainer to keep Meche. Give him a two-year, 5 mil contract. He is pitching well. He is young, and if he can find some consistency, he could be a solid #2 starter. It would be stupid for the M’s to just let him go. Really stupid. If they are concerned about his long-term health or lack of consistency, then they should trade him. He has trade value. You don’t just non-tender a 26-year-old pitcher who throws 95 and has won 15 games. Guys like that are a commodity.
Here is a link to an article about Justin Upton. If the M’s could get this kid, that would be great. He sounds like a phenomenal athlete.
http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/story.cfm?story=71120&ran=35203
as a royals fan, I gotta tell ya, they won’t be going after upton any more than the d-backs will. he’s yours.
Jason,
Why do you say that? Are they going for college players or pitchers?