Saturday randomness

by Jim McLennan on Jan 5, 2008 5:58 PM EST in News

Find myself with a little time to kill, before we head over to the Broadway Rec in Mesa, for the IZW/RPW Unification pro-wrestling show. So here's a dump of a few things that piqued my interest of late.

John Sickels lists his Top 20 AZ Prospects. Jarrod Parker, interestingly, is #1, just pipping Scherzer. He adds, "They have the ability to recharge quickly and some of these Grade C+ guys could end up being quite good." Hah! Take that, Rox Girl. ;-)
Speaking of which, if you haven't already done so, take a look at the comments on yesterday's entry, where Rox and I are engaging in a spirited debate over the policies being adopted by our respective organizations. Dammit, if she keeps being thoughtful and intelligent, it's gonna be really hard to rip her and the Rockies when we get to have our SnakePit day over on Purple Row...
Steve Gilbert looks at our catcher situation. Looks like much of the same in 2008: Snyder the mainstay, Montero the backup. Not much depth in this position, but we shouldn't need any for the next couple of years, with Snyder under our control until the end of 2009. Though, if Montero hits a bit better this year, suspect Snyder might be traded at the end of this season.
Gonzo a Brewer? Says his agent, "Luis thinks he'd be a perfect fit in Milwaukee. He knows they're looking for a left-handed bat in left field and could benefit from his veteran experience as well." In other news, Carlos Quentin mops his brow, delighted he wasn't dealt to the Beer City.
My colleagues at Beyond the Box Score have an interview with Paul DePodesta; since he's now part of the Padres front-office, this falls into the category of 'Know Your Enemy'. Particularly good comments on what makes a Moneyball player.
Speaking of the Padres, looks like GLB do have a sense of humor. Well, as long as it's not about MySpace or unicorns, I guess. Best use of black squares since Borat.
Keith Glab looks at who'll bat leadoff for us in 2008. He wants to see Byrnes get more time atop the order, with Young moving further down - which should hopefully help reduce those solo homers a bit.

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Top 20

Some interesting things I saw:

Parra rated a B. He didn't transition well to High A. He posted a .685 OPS. In about the same amount of at-bats, Aaron Cunningham posted a .939. Cunningham is technically a year older, so we'll see how Parra does in '08. He has little to no power and I'm not sure if he's the type of player that can add power. I've read reports where he's better suited for RF, which doesn't bode well. I'd have rated Parra a B- at most.

Billy Buckner rated a B and ranked 4th. I like Buckner, but he has a lot to prove and did nothing but struggle with his control all the way up KC's system. I think a C+ would have been better and I'd probably rank him in the 10-15 range.

Esmerling Vasquez. I can't argue with the rating or the ranking, but the labrum is going to basically ruin his '08. It's really sad for a guy that seemed to have put it together.

Brooks Brown. I love the HR rate... but he really needs to work on the walks. B- might be a little too high, but it's hard to argue too much at this point.

Emilio Bonifacio. C+ and 10th are both too high. Defense only player that I can't see being more then a bench player in the majors. I'm talking Pokey Reese v2. DBacks should trade him if he gets off to any sort of hot start in AAA this year.

Jailen Peguero. If Buckner is a B, Peguero is at least a C+.

I liked the aggressive ratings of Parker, Scherzer, Enright (all of his A-, A, and A+ outings were in relief. I hope he starts for A+ this year), and Roemer (18Ks in 12 IP in A- is a tasty start).

Where's Bill Murphy? He's not even listed in the "also a C" list. Yeah, old for a prospect, but his 9 AAA starts at the end of last year were very promising and the 9.15 K/9 for the whole season isn't bad either.

Bob Melvin Sucks

by nihil67 on Jan 7, 2008 11:16 AM EST 0 recs

Forgot

I suspect Upton's 140 ABs disqualified him from this list, but he has to still be rated in the A- to A range and is clearly still the #1 prospect. It's a point that may be overlooked by non-Dback fans that may just browse these lists.

A sad fact for Upton, however, is that he is 10 ABs over the qualification for ROY consideration this year. He still just turned 20 and I think still needs to be considered a prospect.

Bob Melvin Sucks

by nihil67 on Jan 7, 2008 11:22 AM EST up 0 recs

Not so bad

I tend to like the fact that AZ used Upton to win this year, and didn't hold him back at the end just so he'd qualify for ROY this season. Sends a good message to him and the whole team. Wouold've been fun to watch him go for it, but not as fun as a WS. :)

by Counsellmember on Jan 7, 2008 10:49 PM EST up 0 recs

I was under the impression...

...that first year players who take part in postseason games are automatically no longer qualifying as rookies.

Come on, Sandy Baby, loosen up. You're too tight.

by DbacksSkins on Jan 8, 2008 1:23 AM EST up 0 recs

Post season play does not affect ROY eligibility

It's more than 130 AB's, or 50 IP for pitchers, and/or more than 45 days on any MLB roster.....but days after Sept 1 roster expansion don't count towards those 45 days.

by shoewizard on Jan 8, 2008 10:26 AM EST 0 recs