Astros Notes: Reed, Minors, Hall
A few items of note on the club formerly known as the Colt .45s as Albert Pujols smacks a walkoff homer, his second jack of the day:
- The Astros continue to deny any rumors that they've been trying to work out a pre-draft deal with Stanford pitcher Chris Reed with the intent of selecting him at No. 11 overall, tweets Stephen Goff of the Houston Examiner. Goff predicts the Astros will take Archie Bradley (Twitter link), and ESPN.com's Keith Law writes in his latest mock draft that they'll take prep shortstop Francisco Lindor or Bradley if he's still available.
- The Astros have improved their farm system under GM Ed Wade and his stable of area scouts, according to Goff. Wade's first draft as Astros GM was in 2008, when Houston selected Jason Castro and Jordan Lyles, both of whom have reached the bigs.
- In contrast to their relative improvements in drafting and developing minor league players, Wade admitted that releasing Bill Hall represented a failure in judgment, writes Zachary Levine of the Houston Chronicle.
Quick Hits: Giants, Tejada, Mets, Hall
The draft is right around the corner but there's still plenty more going on in the world of baseball..
- The rise of Emmanuel Burriss combined with the return of Pablo Sandoval could push Miguel Tejada out the door, writes Carl Steward of the Mercury News. Even though eating Tejada's contract is less than ideal, Giants GM Brian Sabean has often said that he wants the best 25 players active and contributing, regardless of contract.
- The Mets have released Double-A outfielder Carlos Guzman, according to Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com (via Twitter). Guzman, 25, was let go in order to make room Bubba Bell and Erik Turgeon, who are moving down from Triple-A Buffalo.
- Mets manager Terry Collins plans to continue using closer Francisco Rodriguez in high-leverage, non-save situations late in games, write Anthony DiComo and Aaron Taube of MLB.com. The Mets have used K-Rod liberally despite his looming 2012 option for $17.5MM, which vests if he finishes 55 games this year.
- Astros GM Ed Wade checked with both Drayton McLane and new owner Jim Crane before releasing Bill Hall, tweets Zachary Levine of the Houston Chronicle. Wade called the move "a big economic hit before [Crane] even takes control of the club."
Rosenthal On Wood, White Sox, Reyes, Rays, Dodgers
Let's check out the latest edition of Full Count from FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal..
- Cubs reliever Kerry Wood is likely to be in high demand at the deadline, in part because his salary this year is just $1.5MM. The Cubs gave him a full no-trade clause and Wood told Rosenthal that he hasn't thought about what he would do if the team asked him to waive it. After all, Wood came back to Chicago to be with his family and to lay the groundwork for a job with the organization after his career is through.
- The White Sox expect teams to inquire about their surplus of starting pitching, with Edwin Jackson as their most obvious trade candidate as he is a potential free agent. However, GM Ken Williams wouldn't necessarily seek offense in return. Instead, they'd prefer a right-handed reliever or even prospects. If the White Sox were to add a bat, they wouldn't know where to put it in the lineup.
- The Rays have been sliding as of late but are still in contention in the AL East so we can expect them to be buyers. With offense as their biggest need, it wouldn't be surprising to see them inquire on Jose Reyes, but they likely won't land him. Tampa Bay would have to part with top-notch prospects to pull off such a deal, and prospects are more valuable for the Rays than they are for most teams.
- The Dodgers were hoping to bounce back in the NL West once they got healthy, but a second rash of injuries has left them depleted again. If the Dodgers ever do get healthy, Rosenthal expects them to go after a power bat to put in left field or at third base.
Outrighted To Minors: Coello, Stevens
We'll keep track of all of today's outrighted players right here:
- The Cubs outrighted right-hander Robert Coello to Double-A Tennessee, according to the team transactions page. The 26-year-old was designated for assignment last week to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for Rodrigo Lopez. Coello made nine starts for the Cubs' Triple-A affiliate this season, posting a 7.82 ERA with 7.6 K/9 and 4.5 BB/9.
- The Cubbies also sent right-hander Jeff Stevens to Triple-A Iowa, according to the affiliate's transactions page. Stevens cleared waivers after being DFA'd Monday morning. That move allowed the Cubs to bring infielder D.J. LeMahieu on to the 40-man roster.
Padres Links: Hawpe, Scouts, First Rounders
On this date in 2002, the Padres used the 13th overall pick in the draft to select Clemson shortstop Khalil Greene. He reached the big leagues in 2003 and hit .248/.304/.427 in parts of six seasons with San Diego before being traded to the Cardinals for a pair of minor league relievers (including Luke Gregerson). Let's recap the latest from San Diego…
- Tim Sullivan of The San Diego Union-Tribune notes that the Padres have asked Brad Hawpe to start taking more fly balls in right field, setting the stage for an Anthony Rizzo promotion. The first baseman is hitting .377/.455/.738 with 16 homers in Triple-A after being acquired in the Adrian Gonzalez trade.
- Tom Krasovic of Inside The Padres spoke to GM Jed Hoyer about the clubs's scouting department with the draft coming up. The team had just a dozen full-time amateur scouts when Hoyer took over, the fewest in baseball. They've since added ten more.
- Chris Jenkins of The San Diego Union-Tribune notes that the Padres only have one of their own true first round picks on their 40-man roster. That would be right-hander Tim Stauffer, who went fourth overall in 2003. Click here to see all of San Diego's first round picks.
Debt May Impact Cubs’ Free Agency Plans
The Cubs are one of nine teams in violation of MLB's debt service rules, and Gordon Wittenmyer of The Chicago Sun-Times hears that the debt might impact the team's ability to pursue big free agents over the next few years. Wittenmyer estimates the debt at $400MM or so.
On paper, a free agent first baseman like Prince Fielder or Albert Pujols would make perfect sense for the Cubs, who have a ton of money coming off the books after the season as Tim Dierkes explained in his 2012 Contracts Issues post. Now their ability to pursue players of that caliber is in question. Chairman Tom Ricketts has been preaching player development since purchasing the team in 2009, and the draft will be even more important if the Cubbies are unable plug holes with free agents.
Pirates Will Take Gerrit Cole First Overall
Dejan Kovacevic of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette hears that the Pirates will select UCLA right-hander Gerrit Cole with the first overall pick in Monday's amateur draft (subs. req'd). ESPN's Buster Olney says (on Twitter) that other teams anticipate the Mariners will select a position player with the second overall pick. Based on recent rumors, Rice third baseman Anthony Rendon would seem likely.
A few weeks ago we heard that Pittsburgh was considering a handful of players for that top pick, but they're going with Cole because he represents their best chance to land truly elite starting pitching, as Kovacevic notes. Tim Dierkes introduced us to Cole earlier this week, a hard-throwing righty that spurned the Yankees as the 28th overall pick out of high school in 2008. Ben Nicholson-Smith spoke to Cole back in March.
This is the fourth time the Pirates have held the first overall pick. They selected college shortstop Jeff King in 1986, and college righties Kris Benson and Bryan Bullington in 1996 and 2002, respectively.
Astros Release Bill Hall
The Astros announced that they intend to give Bill Hall his unconditional release. They asked for release waivers on Hall and activated infielder Jason Bourgeois from the 15-day disabled list in a related move.
The transaction will take effect Monday and if no team claims Hall by Wednesday, he’ll become a free agent and will be able to sign with any team. Last offseason, Hall signed a one-year, $3MM deal that included a $4MM mutual option ($250K buyout) for 2012. The 31-year-old posted a .224/.272/.240 line in 158 plate appearances as Houston's second baseman this year.
Hart Talks Success Late In Draft
When John Hart says high draft picks are generally the ones who become stars, he's speaking from experience. The longtime Indians and Rangers GM saw first rounders like Manny Ramirez and C.C. Sabathia develop into some of the best players in the game. Now a senior Rangers advisor and MLB Network analyst, Hart says truly successful drafts will also feature late-round gems.
“You have to have success after the first day of the draft,” he said, pointing out that he and the Rangers staff selected Ian Kinsler in the 17th round of the 2003 draft. “When everyone’s reconnects [after day one] you say ‘hey boys, there’s a lot of big leaguers out there. Let’s go get big leaguers.’”
Players like Richie Sexson (24th round, 1993), John McDonald (12th round, 1996) and David Riske (56th round, 1996) became 'finishing touches' for the Indians under Hart. Those drafted earlier on attracted more attention, but Hart soon learned that you can’t just survive on your first and second rounders.
Most general managers don’t have the time to see hundreds upon hundreds of players, as an amateur scouting director would, so a GM is most heavily involved early on in the draft. Hart, who would typically see six to ten amateurs in anticipation of each draft, would step back after a few rounds, make notes and ‘scout his scouts.’ It helped fill the time between picks, which can be particularly excruciating if a team is hoping a specific player falls to them.
“If you’ve got one guy that’s clearly your front guy and you’ve got three picks to get there. It is a long time waiting to get that guy,” Hart told MLBTR this week. “And when that club calls the name [of another player], there’s a lot of excitement in the room – guys are very happy.”
The Rangers had a college right-hander in mind when they held the 12th overall pick five years ago, Hart's first season in his current role. It appeared that they would get their man when, with the tenth overall pick, Tim Lincecum became property of the San Francisco Giants.
“We were fired up and ready to go and your heart gets broken,” Hart said, reflecting on the Rangers’ near miss in 2006. “It really does. There’s just an empty feeling in the room when you lose your guy.”
Especially since the player Texas selected instead, left-hander Kasey Kiker, has yet to throw a Major League pitch and currently has a 6.75 ERA in Class A. One way for GMs to make sure that they don’t telegraph their intentions is to stay away from the ballpark when a top target is playing.
“Once a GM comes into a ballpark, that word starts spreading and the next thing you know, you can run guys up a board,” Hart said.
GMs generally stand out more than scouting directors, especially at a high school or college game. Though it’s the scouting directors, cross-checkers and area scouts who do most of the legwork, general managers are forever linked to the players their front office selects.
“It’s funny,” Hart said, “I was talking to [current Rays executive and longtime Astros GM] Gerry Hunsicker today and we were both kind of laughing that a lot of times you get credit for players that your scouting director picked and sometimes you get trashed because of guys that your scouting director picked. But ultimately it does come down to you.”
Photo of Kinsler courtesy Icon SMI. John Hart will be part of MLB Network’s coverage of the 2011 MLB first-year player draft on Monday, June 6th at 6pm CDT.
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