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Quick Hits: Skaggs, Maholm, Red Sox, Lamb

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On this date last year, Armando Galarraga came within one out of a perfect game before a blown call prevented him from making history. Here are Thursday’s links, including reaction to the Galarraga game:

Law On Royals, Josh Bell, Dodgers, Mets

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Draft junkies, you're missing out if you don't read Keith Law's latest chat at ESPN.  Insider is required to read it, and is well worth your money, but here are a few highlights.

  • With the fifth overall pick, Law sees the Royals taking a college arm or Dylan Bundy.  Law and Jim Callis of Baseball America projected them to take Matt Barnes or Gerrit Cole, respectively, in late May mock drafts.  MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo went with high school outfielder Bubba Starling in a mock draft published today.  Mayo mentions UCLA righty Trevor Bauer and high school shortstop Francisco Lindor as well, but Law says the Royals are not on Lindor.
  • One team that is in on Lindor is the Mariners at #2, as ESPN's Shannon Drayer tweets that they worked him out at Safeco Field.  However, Law says that while the Ms like Lindor and Starling, he doubts they'd pass on Anthony Rendon if the Pirates take someone else.
  • Law hears rumors that the Tigers and Red Sox are in on high school outfielder Josh Bell, a Boras Corporation advisee who sent a letter to the MLB Scouting Bureau saying he intends to honor his commitment to the University of Texas and does not want to be drafted.  Law hears a "widespread rumor" about the Tigers drafting Bell and offering $6MM, presumably with the #76 overall pick (their first).
  • The Red Sox don't know how the draft will change under the upcoming Collective Bargaining Agreement, so they intend to take advantage of this year's draft, GM Theo Epstein told Ian Browne of MLB.com. Boston will select four of the first 40 players under second-year scouting director Amiel Sawdaye.
  • Law hears high school righty Robert Stephenson "very strongly" for the Dodgers at #16.  He also hears that the Dodgers can't go over slot with any pick, so hopefully Stephenson is comfortable with $1.8MM or so.  High school shortstop Javier Baez and high school righty Taylor Guerrieri have been projected for the Dodgers in various recent mock drafts.
  • Derek Fisher, a high school outfielder with "light-tower raw power" according to Law, will be a tough sign with demands of $2MM or more.
  • Silly numbers like Danny Hultzen's reported $13MM demand "just get ignored," says Law.  To get to know the University of Virginia southpaw, check out Josh Barr's article for the Washington Post.  The article says Hultzen has visited with officials from only the first six teams picking in the draft, and told those clubs what he'll need to sign.
  • The Mets are leaning toward a college arm at #13, writes Law.  Mayo went with Vanderbilt's Sonny Gray in today's mock.
  • For a look at each team's picks within the first 90, click here.

Outrighted To The Minors: Amezaga, Sosa, Tejeda

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We'll keep track of all the day's outrighted players right here:

Draft Notes: Stilson, Rays, Astros, Nationals, Bundy

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This year’s draft is deep, particularly in terms of power pitchers. Here are the details on some draft-eligible players and the teams that are eyeing them…

  • Texas A&M righty Josh Stilson received a second opinion on his injured shoulder from Dr. James Andrews, who believes surgery can be avoided with a six-week rehab program according to Baseball America's Jim Callis. Stilson, a projected first round pick, suffered a SLAP tear in his throwing shoulder and will miss the rest of the season.
  • ESPN's Jerry Crasnick wrote about Rocco Baldelli's front office job with the Rays, which involves evaluating amateur position players for the draft.
  • Astros assistant GM and scouting director Bobby Heck told MLB.com's Brian McTaggart that he has been impressed with the crop of power arms in this year's draft.
  • Odds are the Astros will take a pitcher with the 11th overall pick, according to Stephen Goff of the Houston Astros Examiner (Twitter links). High school pitcher Archie Bradley told Goff that "the Astros have been in pretty good contact" with him.
  • High school right-hander Dylan Bundy is a fitness freak who is mature beyond his years, as Nick Piecoro shows at the Arizona Republic. Bundy's pre-season goals? "To hit 100 mph, have a zero ERA and not walk anybody." His fastball touched 100 and he posted a 0.25 ERA with a 158K/5BB ratio.
  • MLB.com's Bill Ladson hears that the Nationals, who select sixth overall, are looking at Bundy, Danny Hultzen, Bubba Starling, Jed Bradley, Trevor Bauer and Alex Meyer.
  • The Royals entered the season with the best farm system in the game, yet GM Dayton Moore told MLB.com's Dick Kaegel that there are many areas in which the organization's prospect depth can improve.
  • The Rays have 12 of the first 89 selections this year and executive VP of baseball operations Andrew Friedman says those selections boost the team's odds of finding elite talent. "The more arrows you have, the more likely you are to hit the bulls-eye," Friedman told Bill Chastain of MLB.com.
  • The Padres, who have five of the first 58 picks in the draft, are looking forward to their selections with equal enthusiasm, according to MLB.com's Corey Brock. GM Jed Hoyer says the Padres need to get their picks right.
  • The Red Sox, Hoyer's former team, also have extra picks, something that GM Theo Epstein is looking forward to. “I think it energizes the scouting staff the whole year because they know going in and seeing players, there’s a much better chance you can actually get a guy," he told Ryan Hannable of WEEI.com.
  • The Twins will look to add pitching early on, according to MLB.com's Rhett Bollinger.
  • Mets executives Paul DePodesta and Sandy Alderson agree with the consensus that the draft is deep in pitching, according to MLB.com's Anthony DiComo.

D’Backs Acquire Lucas May

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The D'Backs have acquired Lucas May from the Royals for right-hander Andrea Pizziconi, according to Jack Magruder of FOXSportsArizona.com (Twitter links). May will likely provide depth at Triple-A Reno.

The Royals acquired the 26-year-old backstop from the Dodgers in last summer's Scott Podsednik trade. The 2003 eighth rounder has a .176/.263/.329 line in  Triple-A this year, though his minor league track record suggests he's capable of more. May posted an .831 OPS last year and has a career .258/.320/.432 line in nine minor league seasons.

Pizziconi, a native of Italy, signed with the D'Backs as a non-drafted free agent. The 19-year-old posted a 2.57 ERA with 5.0 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 in 49 innings at Rookie Ball and Low-A Ball last year.

Quick Hits: Mauer, Dodgers, Suzuki, Soria

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Evan Longoria is back in the cleanup spot and his eighth-inning homer led the Rays to a win against the Rangers today. Here are some links from around the Major Leagues…

  • Twins manager Ron Gardenhire told Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com that he doesn't plan to move Joe Mauer from behind the plate when he returns from the disabled list. "He signed an eight-year deal to catch in the big leagues for the Minnesota Twins," Gardenhire said. "So we're trying to get him back as a catcher. If it doesn't work out when he comes back, then we're going to have to figure somewhere else." 
  • Tom Verducci of SI.com crunches some numbers and says the Twins are done. The Cubs and White Sox aren't much better off if you ask Verducci. 
  • A's GM Billy Beane told catcher Kurt Suzuki that he wants him to avoid collisions at the plate, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney. Across the bay, Giants catcher Buster Posey will miss the rest of the season with a leg injury after a home plate collision. 
  • Dodgers manager Don Mattingly told AJ Cassavell of MLB.com that there's no mistake he hasn't learned from in his first year as L.A.'s skipper.
  • Royals manager Ned Yost told Dick Kaegel and Adam Holt of MLB.com that the Royals haven't had serious discussions about converting recently-demoted closer Joakim Soria to the rotation.

Rosenthal On Betemit, Reds, Indians

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The latest from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports…

  • The Marlins are "among the teams tracking" Royals third baseman Wilson Betemit.  The 29-year-old is a free agent after the season and has hit .303/.378/.488 in 492 plate appearances in his Royals career.  Betemit is earning only $1MM, so any team could fit him in.  He has experience all around the infield and has dabbled at the outfield corners as well.  MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith discussed his trade candidacy earlier this month.
  • "There is not a lot of pitching to be had. It would be tough to get anyone if we do need someone," remarked Reds GM Walt Jocketty to Rosenthal.  The Reds' rotation has been surprisingly lousy this year, but Travis Wood, Bronson Arroyo, and Mike Leake are not as bad as their cumulative 5.33 ERA suggests.
  • Orlando Cabrera's impact is "very difficult to quantify," Indians GM Chris Antonetti tells Rosenthal.  You have to wonder if O-Cab could provide the same intangibles off the bench, allowing the Tribe to start Cord Phelps or Jason Kipnis at second base.

Royals Acquire Paulino From Rockies, DFA Tejeda

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The Rockies have traded right-hander Felipe Paulino to the Royals for cash considerations, according to the Rockies' official Twitter page.  In a corresponding move, Kansas City designated right-handed pitcher Robinson Tejeda for assignment.

In 14.2 innings this season, Paulino has a 7.36 ERA with 8.6 K/9, 4.3 BB/9, and 14.1 H/9.  The fireballer owns a 5.93 ERA with 8.1 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9 in 65 career games – 34 of them starts.

Meanwhile, Tejeda hasn't seen a great deal of action in 2011, allowing five runs in 7.1 innings of work.  For his big league career, the 29-year-old has a 4.42 ERA with 7.6 K/9 and 5.0 BB/9.  While he's worked mostly out of the bullpen, he did make six starts for the Royals in 2009.  His $1.55MM salary for '11 is likely to dissuade teams from picking him up.

Colorado designated Paulino for assignment late Saturday night after being initially being unable to find a taker for him.  Days earlier, the Rox shipped Franklin Morales to the Red Sox for a player to be named later or cash considerations.

Yankees Claim Kanekoa Texeira

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The Yankees claimed right-handed reliever Kanekoa Texeira off of waivers, the Royals announced. Kansas City had designated the former Yankees farmhand for assignment last Wednesday.

Texeira joined the Yankees organization in the 2008 Nick Swisher trade, but he has never donned pinstripes at the Major League level. The Mariners selected him in the 2009 Rule 5 draft and kept him on their roster for two months before exposing him to waivers. The Royals then claimed the Hawaiian and kept him on their roster for the remainder of the 2010 season to earn his rights.

In total, Texeira posted a 4.84 ERA with 4.8 K/9, 3.7 BB/9 and a 52.2% ground ball rate in 61 1/3 innings of relief last year. He has struggled in 2011, allowing 13 hits and 3 walks in 6 1/3 innings without a strikeout. Earlier in the year, Yankees GM Brian Cashman claimed reliever Jess Todd, only to lose him to the Cardinals, soon afterward.

Draft Notes: Bundy, Bauer, Bradley, Rendon

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You know the draft isn't far off when eye-popping asking prices start to circulate. Here's the latest on the amateur draft, which isn't much more than two weeks away…

  • High school right-hander Dylan Bundy would have no problem becoming a Royal, adviser Jay Franklin told Yahoo’s Jeff Passan. "We think Dylan would look great in Royal blue," he said (Twitter link)
  • Earlier today, it appeared as though Bundy had told several teams, including the Pirates (1st overall) and Royals (5th overall), that he’d prefer not to be drafted by them, according to Passan. Bundy believes in his long-toss program and doesn’t want teams to try to change his way of preparing for games, according to Passan. 
  • UCLA right-hander Trevor Bauer is also concerned that teams will ask him to stop his long-toss sessions, according to Passan.
  • As Jim Callis of Baseball America explained earlier in the week, players sometimes set exorbitant asking prices (like Bundy's) to make sure they fall to a team that values them highly and is prepared to pay more than most clubs would. Bundy and fellow high school right-hander Archie Bradley are asking for record deals, with Bradley looking for $20MM over five years. As Callis explains, neither pitcher will top Stephen Strasburg's record mark of $15.1MM, but each could earn over $5MM in bonus money.
  • MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes introduced us to Bradley earlier in the week.
  • Some executives are wondering if Anthony Rendon’s best position will ultimately be second base, according to ESPN.com’s Buster Olney. However, Rendon is a tremendous defender at third by most accounts and he told me he takes his defensive game seriously.
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