Archives for June 2014

Draft Prospect Q&A: Nick Burdi

By Zachary Links | June 1, 2014 at 12:05pm CDT

MLBTR is re-launching its Draft Prospect Q&A series this season in order to give our readers a look at some of the top names on the board in this year’s draft. MLBTR will be chatting with some of the draft’s most well-regarded prospects over the next couple of weeks as they prepare for the 2014 draft on June 5-7.

Teams looking to draft a future closer with serious velocity will be taking a long look at Louisville pitcher Nick Burdi. In fact, with a fastball that hits 96-100 mph on the radar gun, Burdi stands as the hardest thrower in college. To complement the heat, Burdi also boasts a plus slider that can develop into a premium pitch.

You could say that hard throwing runs in the family. Burdi’s older brother, Drew, was a quarterback at Western Michigan. His younger brother, Zack, is a promising pitcher in his own right for the Cardinals. Burdi has shown that he can hold that velocity over two- and three-inning outings, leading some to believe that he could blossom into a starter. Baseball America has Burdi pegged as the No. 27 prospect in the draft, MLB.com has him ranked at No. 34, and ESPN.com’s Keith Law has him at No. 52. Burdi spoke with MLBTradeRumors on Friday about his skill set, whether he’d be interested in starting, and more:

Zach Links: What can you bring to an MLB organization?

Nick Burdi: I think what I can bring is just being a reliable relief pitcher. I’m already comfortable in that role and I’m ready to be the seventh or eighth inning guy, know my place, and help a team out.

ZL: Ultimately, though, you want to close, right?

NB: Yes, absolutely.

ZL: Who are some of the closers that you’ve modeled yourself after?

NB: Trevor Rosenthal, Aroldis Chapman, and Craig Kimbrel. I always watched the taller closers and followed what they did.

ZL: How vital is the “closer’s mindset”?

NB: I think being a closer is different when the game is on the line, everything is riding on the line at the end. So, I think having that mindset is something that really sets some pitchers apart from others. It’s a big quality and having that football mentality where you want to just go in and set everyone down is what I bring every time.

ZL: How long did it take you to cultivate that way of thinking and what’s going through your head when you’re running out to the mound?

NB: For me, I kind of learned the whole mindset of being a closer while I was at Chatham playing in the Cape Cod League and facing stiff competition up there. You learn that role pretty quickly because you know that if you have success there against that kind of talent, it shows big league scouts that you’re capable of more. I took that into my sophomore year and, as you said, I just felt comfortable in that closer’s role. I just close everything down when I’m up there it just me and the catcher.

ZL: Do you feel like you could start in the big leagues? Is that a transition you’d be interested in making?

NB: Yeah, if a team wants to groom me to be a starter I’d be comfortable with that. That’s what I was doing up until these last two years, so I’d never rule it out. But, for me, growing into this closers role has made me that much better of a pitcher. That’s where I shine.

ZL: How was making that transition from starter to closer for you in terms of recovery time? I’d imagine that it’s hard for a lot of guys to go from pitching every fifth day to consecutive outings.

NB: Yeah, not for me. With my diet and my workout regiment, it was kind of an easy transition. You pitch an inning on Friday and then maybe on Saturday and you’ll usually get Sunday off. It was never a bad bounce back for me.

ZL: What does your diet look like?

NB: I’ve gotten really serious about it over the past couple of years. I eat a lot of chicken, fish, veggies, rice, fruit, smoothies, and stuff like that. As a closer, recovery is really important, so I’m very diligent about putting the right things in my body.

ZL: With a fastball that sits at 95-98 mph, velocity is one of your best attributes. Did it take you some time in college to develop that or have you always been throwing that hard?

NB: Since my junior year of high school I’ve been throwing pretty hard and my senior year of high school I reached this velocity. I’ve also become a more complete pitcher and over the last few years I’ve been making the most of my slider and the other pitches.

ZL: When did you realize you were MLB bound?

NB: Back in junior high I was hitting 93-94 [mph] on the gun and that’s when I got really serious with the game of baseball. Ever since then, that’s what I’ve lived and breathed. I work out, play the games, and then get start getting ready for the next day immediately after. This is what I’ve always wanted to do.

ZL: When did you stop playing football? Could you have pursued that instead?

NB: I played quarterback freshman and sophomore year. Honestly, at that time, that was probably my better sport and I had some interest from different colleges. My pitching also got sharper at this point and I realized that if I wanted to make it baseball I had to totally commit to it and give up the whole football deal.

ZL: You’re widely regarded as one of the top pitchers in this year’s draft and there’s no shortage of complimentary things written about you online. Do you pay attention to the rankings, scouting reports, etc?

NB: For me, I’m focused on just going out and playing baseball. As a closer, there’s not much more I can do than going out there and getting the job done. Hopefully teams realize the stuff that I have and my potential. I’m a hard working player who wants to give his all every single day and I’m sure everyone sees that.

ZL: What were some of the other schools you had offers from before you committed to Louisville?

NB: I had an offer from Florida State and I was also talking to LSU, Clemson, and Vanderbilt.

ZL: What did you learn from your time at Louisville?

NB: Over these past two-three years, [Louisville pitching coach Roger Williams] has really taught me how to control the game. If I went to a different school, I’m not sure that I would have gotten all of the same benefits and insight. I’m really glad that I got to develop my game at Louisville and I’m grateful to the coaches for giving me the chance to make those strides in my game.

ZL: Your brothers are accomplished athletes themselves. Drew played quarterback at Western Michigan and your younger brother Zack is a pitcher for Louisville. Could we see Zack on a big league mound someday?

NB: Yeah I definitely think so. He throws 93-95 mph, touching 96 at times, so he’s a little bit like me. Over time he’s going to grow a bit more and I think he’ll be a starter ultimately. He has a big frame and he’s so athletic so I think that’s the best role for him.

ZL: Is Zack in the same mold as you or is he a different kind of pitcher?

NB: He’s a little bit different. His mechanics are a little more clean than mine when I was his age. His fastball is right there and he’s got a good change up, so I think once he develops his other pitches a bit more he could be just as good as anybody.

ZL: When you were taken in the 24th round of the 2011 draft, did you give some real consideration to making the jump to the pros?

NB: Coming into my senior year that was something that was up in the air and I ended up being drafted by the Twins. There was some consideration on my part, but I always wanted to come to school and play at the college level and play in the College World Series.

ZL: One scouting report indicated that you made some changes to your delivery which may have an adverse affect on your command. Do you feel like that’s a valid point?

NB: I don’t think so. I know people have said that but this year I pitched 32 innings and had just eight walks. So, from a command standpoint with my two plus pitches I’m able to place everything in the exact spot I want to.

ZL: Who did you grow up rooting for?

NB: I was kind of a Red Sox fan, though I wasn’t a diehard or anything. I just love watching the game in general.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Marlins Acquire Bryan Morris From Pirates

By Zachary Links | June 1, 2014 at 10:58am CDT

The Marlins announced that they have acquired right-hander Bryan Morris from the Pirates in exchange for the No. 39 overall pick in the 2014 draft. The No. 39 pick is Miami’s Competitive Balance Round A selection and is worth roughly $1.58MM.

“We feel this trade will have a positive impact on our organization in the short, moderate and long term,” said Bucs GM Neal Huntington in Pittsburgh’s press release. “In the short term, this trade will add a quality prospect to our system that will enhance our ability to make additional prospect for major league player type deals while helping us to better sustain crucial prospect depth. Additionally, we feel we have made this move from a position of strength as we have kept our core bullpen intact. In the moderate and long term, we add an additional first-round talent that we project to play a significant role on future Pirates’ teams.”

Morris, 27, has pitched to a 3.46 ERA with 5.5 K/9 and 4.0 BB/9 over the last three seasons with the Pirates. In late March, Ken Davidoff of the New York Post reported that the PIrates were open to dealing Morris and Jeanmar Gomez, though they were a little more reluctant to part with the latter since he can also start. Morris is out of options this year and the Bucs have had a logjam in the bullpen this season. In short, the Pirates are dealing from a surplus to add a promising talent to their farm system.

Of course, the Marlins still have choice picks at the top of the draft. They own the No. 2 overall pick, the No. 36 pick in the Competitive Balance Round A portion after they were unable to sign Oregon pitcher Matt Krook last year, and the No. 43 pick, the second pick of the second round. For the Pirates, the deal gives them a pick to think about in between their No. 24 and No. 64 selections.

Phillies Designate Jeremy Horst For Assignment

By Zachary Links | June 1, 2014 at 10:48am CDT

The Phillies announced that they have designated Jeremy Horst for assignment. The move will create room on the 40-man roster for the arrival of Cesar Jimenez, who has been called up from Triple-A Lehigh Valley.

The left-hander reliever made 28 appearances for the Phillies last season and didn’t have a ton of success. Horst posted a 6.23 ERA with 7.3 K/9 and 4.2 BB/9 in those outings. In the two seasons prior, the 28-year-old pitched to a combined 1.74 ERA 9.5 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9 in 44 outings. So far in 2014, Horst owns a 4.35 ERA with 8.3 K/9 and 7.0 BB/9 in 19 Triple-A games.

Evan Meek Accepts Outright Assignment

By Jeff Todd | June 1, 2014 at 9:44am CDT

SUNDAY, 9:44am: Meek has accepted his outright assignment to Triple-A Norfolk rather than elect free agency, tweets Chris Cotillo of MLBDailyDish.

WEDNESDAY, 3:27pm: The Orioles have outrighted reliever Evan Meek off of the club’s 40-man roster, the team announced. It is not yet clear whether Meek will accept the assignment, which he has the right to decline since he has previously been outrighted.

Meek was previously designated for assignment off the club’s active roster, then optioned to Triple-A once he had cleared optional assignment waivers. By now passing him through outright waivers, Baltimore has cleared a 40-man roster spot.

The 31-year-old has tossed 11 2/3 MLB innings thus far in 2014, surrendering nine earned runs on nine strikeouts and six walks. Meek has scuffled at Triple-A as well, working to a 5.59 ERA in 9 2/3 innings after posting a 4.50 mark in 108 innings in the upper minors last year (including 15 starts). He has thrown 184 1/3 MLB innings of 3.56 ERA ball over his career.

Astros Finalizing Draft Strategy

By Jeff Todd | June 1, 2014 at 9:19am CDT

The Astros’ draft strategy is taking shape, according to a report from Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle. Houston is expected to finalize its board and approach in a series of early-week front office sessions. Drellich’s piece is full of interesting information, quotes, and analysis, and is well worth a full read.

With the first overall choice, the Astros have narrowed their options to six players, all of whom will be familiar to those who have followed the recent prognostications of observers. The list includes two collegiate hurlers (Carlos Rodon and Aaron Nola), two prep arms (Tyler Kolek and Brady Aiken), and two high school position players (Alex Jackson and Nick Gordon).

While that grouping is not surprising, Drellich writes that the Astros could attempt to get an agreement from a player to a below-slot bonus with the first overall selection. Should that occur, Houston could aim to put more of its $13.36MM total pool into hard-to-sign later choices. The club also possesses the 37th and 42nd overall choices.

That strategy, of course, sounds similar to what the ’Stros did in 2012, when they took Carlos Correa first overall (over Byron Buxton) and later drafted and inked players like Lance McCullers Jr. and Rio Ruiz. The gambit “worked perfectly a couple years ago,” said amateur scouting director Mike Elias.

It is not yet clear how Houston will proceed this time around. Elias says that this year’s deep class — unlike last year’s, which lacked “high school players that were first-round talents that might fall” — could allow such an approach. “We’re going to look at how to extract the most value from our draft board and from this draft,” he said. “And if we feel there is a lack of separation between two of the options and perhaps we feel we may be able to sign one of those options for less money to get some extra major league prospects because of it that we wouldn’t otherwise, we’re going to consider that.”

Of course, the final call will go to GM Jeff Luhnow. He acknowledged that, in theory, a lack of consensus on the top choice could be beneficial, at least “theoretically, if you were indifferent between two players, three players.” But the head baseball man also explained that the 2012 haul was driven by the fact that the team viewed Correa as the best player available, while industry consensus saw him as the fifth or sixth-best option. With this year’s top pick, Luhnow said that he intends to “take who we believe is the best player in the draft and then let the chips fall where they may.”

Cafardo On Samardzija, Arroyo, Mayberry Jr.

By Zachary Links | June 1, 2014 at 8:30am CDT

In today’s column, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe ran down the 20 best stories in baseball, starting with the worst-to-first (so far) Blue Jays. Toronto has gotten great hitting out of Jose Bautista, Melky Cabrera, Edwin Encarnacion, and Adam Lind and great pitching from Mark Buehrle, R.A. Dickey, and Drew Hutchison. Now, it remains to be seen whether the Blue Jays will be willing to part with Hutchison in a deal for Cubs’ ace Jeff Samardzija. More from today’s column..

The Red Sox and Rangers have the most to offer the Cubs for Samardzija, followed by the Giants. Of course, Cubs president Theo Epstein is quite familiar with the Red Sox’s farm system. The Cubs need pitching, but Boston will definitely not part with lefthander Henry Owens. If that’s not a deal breaker, the Sox have other pitchers like Brandon Workman, Matt Barnes, Anthony Ranaudo, Allen Webster, and Rubby De La Rosa that they can offer. Cafardo guesses that it would take two of them, plus perhaps a catcher, to pry Samardzija loose.
With the Diamondbacks likely out of the race by the deadline, Cafardo says that we should look for veteran Bronson Arroyo to change uniforms again. Arroyo isn’t a shutdown guy, but he’s an experienced starter who could solidify the back of a rotation, particularly for an NL team.
The Phillies have made John Mayberry Jr. available and Cafardo writes that the Red Sox could be interested. The Phillies have been scouting the Sox for a third straight series and are looking at Boston as a possible trade partner.

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