Luhnow On Appel, Bullpen, Shifts
AstrosGM Jeff Luhnow discusses a variety of topics in a recent interview with FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal:
- The Astros recently removed top overall 2013 draft pick Mark Appel from the rotation in Class A+ Lancaster due to the pitcher’s struggles to adjust to the Astros’ tandem rotation system. Appel also missed part of spring training with an appendectomy. “I don’t expect this to be more than a couple of weeks,” says Luhnow. “Really, it’s just to make up for spring training. It’s my fault for sending him to Lancaster. … I realized that he just didn’t have a proper spring training.”
- Luhnow says he isn’t yet worried about the Astros’ bullpen, Rosenthal reports. “I do think with the quality of arms we have out there — [Chad] Qualls, [Matt] Albers, (Josh) Fields and potentially [Jesse] Crain, when he comes back — we do have an improved bullpen,” says Luhnow. The Astros’ relievers have struggled this year despite the additions of Qualls, Albers, Crain and Jerome Williams.
- The Astros are not using defensive shifts only to get information they might be able to use later, Luhnow says. “[A]re we doing things just to learn? No. … We believe we’re going to get more outs that way,” he says.
- Luhnow says he has no problem with manager Bo Porter’s fiery personality.
Quick Hits: Saltalamacchia, Harrison, Cardinals
Jarrod Saltalamacchia experienced a dramatic culture change when he went from a veteran Red Sox team to the Marlins this offseason, writes David Laurila of FanGraphs. “There aren’t 25-30 [reporters] waiting for you after a game like in Boston,” Saltalamacchia says. “Otherwise, the biggest difference is that there are a lot of younger guys. I’m finding myself saying things like ‘This is how we did it’ or ‘This is what I’ve seen.’ In some ways, it’s almost more of a coaching [role].” Saltalamacchia is one of several Marlins veteran hitters, including Garrett Jones, Casey McGehee, Rafael Furcal, Jeff Baker and Reed Johnson. But the team’s pitching staff remains very young, with an average age of just 25.7. Here are more notes from around baseball.
- Matt Harrison pitched six innings in his first big-league game since last April for the Rangers on Sunday. Texas lost, but having Harrison back should provide a boost for a Rangers rotation that had struggled with injuries — the team had acquired the now-departed Tommy Hanson late in the offseason, and Joe Saunders in spring training. The Rangers’ rotation now features Yu Darvish, Martin Perez, Robbie Ross and Colby Lewis along with Harrison.
- The Cardinals have missed Carlos Beltran so far this season, Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes. Re-signing Beltran wouldn’t have made sense given the Cardinals’ outfield talent, but with Allen Craig struggling badly so far this year in right field, the Cards could use Beltran’s power. The Cardinals have a number of Triple-A outfielders hitting well (Oscar Taveras, Stephen Piscotty, Joey Butler and Randal Grichuk), but so far, they haven’t turned to them. Of course, it’s no surprise that they would continue with Craig in right field, given his track record and contract. (Soon after this post was published, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch tweeted that the Cardinals would promote Grichuk and infielder Greg Garcia, optioning outfielder Shane Robinson and second baseman Kolten Wong in the process.)
Central Notes: Carroll, Cubs, Masterson
Pitcher Scott Carroll had a strong big-league debut for the White Sox on Sunday, pitching 7 1/3 innings and allowing just two runs, one earned, against David Price and the Rays. It’s been a long journey to the Majors for Carroll, who is 29 and was a third-round pick of the Reds all the way back in 2007. He made it all the way to Triple-A before the Reds released him in 2012. The White Sox then scooped him up, but he got hurt while pitching in Venezuela after the season and needed Tommy John surgery. He got back to the mound just eight months later, pitching for Double-A Birmingham near the end of the 2013 minor-league season. He had pitched well in four starts for Triple-A Charlotte in 2014 before finally getting the call. Here are more notes from the Central divisions.
- The Cubs have become baseball’s version of a prison, Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times writes. That’s hyperbole, obviously, but Wittenmyer does quote former Cubs pitcher Matt Garza on what advice he would give current Cub Jeff Samardzija: “All I can tell him is keep pitching; pitch your way out of it,” says Garza. “Keep your eyes focused, your eyes straight ahead and just pitch. There’s nothing else you can do.” Samardzija is a likely summer trade candidate.
- For pitchers, drops in velocity are worrisome indeed, as Yahoo! Sports’ Jeff Passan points out. Justin Masterson‘s velocity is significantly off this season for the Indians — his four-seamer is off about 3.6 MPH from last year. (Jorge De La Rosa of the Rockies is at the other end of the spectrum, with a velocity increase of 1.81 MPH.) Masterson’s missing velocity may show why the Indians only offered him an extension in the three-year, $45MM range this spring.
Minor Moves: Dennis Raben, Lars Davis
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:
- The Angels have signed 1B/OF Dennis Raben, who had been with the Somerset Patriots in the Atlantic League, reports MyCentralJersey.com’s Mike Ashmore (via MLB Daily Dish’s Chris Cotillo). Raben, 26, played for Class A+ Wilmington in the Royals system last year, hitting .272/.367/.469 in 297 plate appearances. He was a second-round pick by the Mariners in 2008.
- The Phillies have signed catcher Lars Davis, according to MiLB.com. Davis, 28, collected 333 plate appearances for Triple-A Colorado Springs last season, hitting .255/.313/.356. He has never played in the big leagues. The Diamondbacks released him from their Double-A Mobile affiliate last week.
Angels Designate Michael Roth For Assignment
The Angels have designated lefty Michael Roth for assignment, MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez tweets. The move clears space on the Angels’ 40-man roster for Mike Morin.
The Angels drafted the 24-year-old Roth in the ninth round in 2012 and promoted him to the Majors remarkably quickly, sending him to the bigs in 2013 even though he was arguably underprepared for the assignment and had a below-average fastball. Perhaps predictably, Roth struggled, posting a 7.20 ERA with 17 strikeouts and six walks in 20 innings. He continued to struggle in 2014, with a 5.48 ERA, 4.2 K/9 and 5.1 BB/9 in 21 1/3 innings in the starting rotation at Double-A Arkansas.
Clay Hensley Retires
Pitcher Clay Hensley has retired, James Larken Smith of KFFE tweets. Hensley, 34, pitched in 2013 for Triple-A Nashville (Brewers) and Louisville (Reds), and for the Sugar Land Skeeters in the independent Atlantic League.
Hensley pitched parts of seven seasons in the big leagues, appearing with the Padres, Marlins and Giants with a 4.00 ERA, 6.5 K/9 and 4.2 BB/9 over 571 innings. 187 of those came with the Padres in 2006, when he had a solid first full season in a big-league rotation. He mostly appeared as a reliever after that, with his best season out of the bullpen coming with the 2010 Marlins, when he posted a 2.16 ERA with 9.2 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 in 75 innings.
Poll: Which Team Had The Best 2002 Draft?
B.J. Upton, the No. 2 overall pick by the Devil Rays in the 2002 draft, collected his 1,000th MLB hit on Saturday on a ground ball against Mike Leake and the Reds. But while Upton has had a long and lucrative MLB career, he hasn’t reached the heights of other players drafted later that year.
The Devil Rays did fare better than other teams drafting in the top five in ’02. The Pirates took Ball State righty Bryan Bullington with the first overall pick, and Bullington turned out to be a journeyman. Third, fourth and fifth overall picks Chris Gruler (Reds), Adam Loewen (Orioles) and Clint Everts (Expos) didn’t turn out much better.
Where that draft really got interesting was with the sixth pick, where the Royals took Zack Greinke. One pick later, the Brewers grabbed Prince Fielder. Later in the first round went Scott Kazmir, Nick Swisher, Cole Hamels and Matt Cain. Joey Votto, Jon Lester and Brian McCann went in the second round; Curtis Granderson headed to the Tigers in the third, and Josh Johnson went to the Marlins in the fourth. Howie Kendrick and Russell Martin went in the late rounds.
We’re nearly 12 years removed from that draft now, and most of the top players involved are now in their late primes. Some have moved on to other teams. So which team fared the best? Here are some possibilities, but feel free to peruse Baseball Reference’s draft database on your own.
Angels. The Angels got solid value from Joe Saunders at No. 12 overall, then scored with Kendrick in the tenth round.
Athletics. The A’s got several good players in their famed “Moneyball” draft, although this was partially, or perhaps even primarily, a function of opportunity — they had seven of the first 39 picks. Swisher (24.1 bWAR) and Joe Blanton (8.8 bWAR) turned out well, but other members of Oakland’s unconventional draft class (including John McCurdy, Ben Fritz, and Jeremy Brown, all selected in the first round) didn’t. The A’s signed Jared Burton in the late rounds, although they lost him in the Rule 5 Draft in 2006. They also picked Brad Ziegler and Jonathan Papelbon, but didn’t sign either of them.
Braves. First-round pick Jeff Francoeur spent most of his best years with the Braves, finishing third in Rookie of the Year balloting in 2005. Supplemental pick Dan Meyer was a key part of the Tim Hudson trade with the Athletics. Second-rounder Brian McCann became a superstar behind the plate. And third-rounder Charlie Morton helped the Braves land Nate McLouth, before becoming a sinker-balling mainstay in the Pirates’ rotation.
Brewers. The Brewers only managed to get much from Fielder (23.1 bWAR). They would have had a better case here if they hadn’t released late-round picks Tom Wilhelmsen and Craig Breslow before they went on to productive careers elsewhere, or if they’d signed 40th-rounder Hunter Pence.
Dodgers. The Dodgers got great value throughout the draft, taking James Loney in the first round, and then Martin, Jonathan Broxton, James McDonald, and Eric Stults later on. Martin accumulated 15.9 bWAR in his five seasons in Los Angeles, then continued his fine career in New York and Pittsburgh.
Giants. First-rounder Matt Cain was a huge hit, and the Giants also got reasonable value from second-rounder Fred Lewis and fourth-rounder Kevin Correia. Eighth-rounder Clay Hensley helped them land reliever Matt Herges. And unlike some teams on this list, the Giants didn’t have a mess of compensation picks, selecting just once in each round.
Phillies. Philadelphia got Hamels and little else, but in terms of WAR value, they did very well in this draft. This wasn’t an unfamiliar pattern for the Phillies, who two years later had taken Chase Utley with their first pick in a draft that otherwise turned up very little for them. When drafting, quality is far more important than quantity, and the Phillies rode their quantity-light but quality-heavy drafts to a World Series title in 2008.
Reds. Gruler was a huge miss at third overall, but the Reds more than made up for that by snagging Votto (34.7 bWAR) 44th overall. They only got two big-leaguers in ’02, but the other one, Chris Denorfia (19th round) also turned out to be a solid contributor. The Reds, however, didn’t reap the benefits, shipping Denorfia to the A’s for Marcus McBeth and a minor-leaguer in 2007.
Red Sox. Boston didn’t pick until No. 57 overall, but took Lester, one of the best pitchers in the draft, when their turn came. They also took Brandon Moss, who they sent to Pittsburgh in the Manny Ramirez / Jason Bay swap in 2008.
Royals. Like the Phillies, the Royals got little in the late rounds. But Greinke was a big hit, and he continues to pay dividends years after being traded — they still have Lorenzo Cain and Alcides Escobar left over from that deal, and Jake Odorizzi helped them land James Shields (albeit in a trade that is controversial for reasons that have little to do with Odorizzi).
Tigers. First-rounder Scott Moore and second-rounder Brent Clevlen didn’t pan out, but the Tigers got Granderson in the third round and Joel Zumaya in the 11th.
Injury Notes: Davis, Segura, Braun
Orioles slugger Chris Davis is headed to the disabled list with a strained oblique, Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun tweets. Davis had an MRI on Saturday. Davis was off to a relatively slow .250/.372/.382 start in 94 plate appearances this season. Third baseman Manny Machado (knee) has begun a rehab assignment at Class A+ Frederick and should soon make his 2014 season debut, which ought to dull Orioles’ fans pain somewhat. Here are a couple more quick notes on injuries.
- Brewers shortstop Jean Segura required plastic surgery after Ryan Braun inadvertently struck Segura with his bat. But Segura was not concussed and did not have a fracture, Tom Haudricourt of the Journal Sentinel tweets.
- Braun himself later left the Brewers’ game against the Cubs with an intercostal strain, Andrew Gruman of FOX Sports Wisconsin tweets. Braun is day-to-day, and as ugly a day as it was for him, it sounds like both he and Segura will be fine.
Quick Hits: Gillies, Anderson
Which is the better strategy for building a good team — a “stars and scrubs” approach, or a balanced roster with few stars? Jonah Keri and Neil Paine recently tackled that question for FiveThirtyEight.com, and their answer is a complex one. One can build a good team with either approach, although the “stars and scrubs” strategy might not be financially feasible for many small-market teams. And based on fWAR, the most balanced rosters (such as that of the 1976 Pirates) tend to be much better teams than the most unbalanced rosters (such as that of the 2004 Diamondbacks, which featured Randy Johnson, Brandon Webb and little else). Johnson finished second in Cy Young balloting that year and led the league with 290 strikeouts, and yet the Diamondbacks still finished 51-111, proving pretty clearly that it’s almost impossible for one player to carry an entire 25-man roster. Here are more notes from around baseball.
- The Phillies have suspended outfielder Tyson Gillies for three games for doing damage to a bat rack and wall after striking out four times in a Triple-A game, Matt Gelb of the Inquirer reports. Gillies was one of three players the Phillies acquired when they shipped Cliff Lee to the Mariners in 2009. At 25, he continues to struggle at the Triple-A level and still hasn’t made it to the big leagues.
- The Rockies have placed pitcher Brett Anderson on the 60-day disabled list, Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post tweets. Anderson had surgery on a fractured finger. The Rockies acquired Anderson from the Athletics in December for Drew Pomeranz and Chris Jensen, and it looks like they’re going to get very little out of him in the first half of the season.
Chad Tracy Retires
Veteran infielder Chad Tracy is retiring, Chris Cotillo of MLB Daily Dish reports. The Angels had released him this spring.
Tracy played parts of nine seasons in the big leagues, including 2013, when he hit .202/.243/.326 in 136 plate appearances with the Nationals. Tracy finishes his career with a .274/.333/.439 line in 2,988 plate appearances. In addition to the Nats, he also played for the Diamondbacks, Cubs and Marlins. He hit 27 homers with Arizona in 2005, then 20 more the following season.