Quick Hits: Villar, Beane, Reyes, Draft
With a quarter of the season in the books, Joel Sherman of the New York Post looks at some players whose may simply headed for poor seasons rather than slow starts. Sherman constructs a lineup for his “It Gets Late Early” team, a Bizarro All-Star lineup of notable names who haven’t lived up to expectations — Shelby Miller, Ken Giles, Prince Fielder, Russell Martin, Mark Teixeira, Dee Gordon, David Wright, Erick Aybar, Carlos Gomez and (somewhat surprisingly) two regulars from the league-leading Cubs, Jorge Soler and Jason Heyward. Here’s more from around baseball as we head into the new week…
- Jonathan Villar has been a nice surprise for the Brewers, and an NL scout tells John Perrotto of TodaysKnuckleball.com that Villar’s good start could be for real. “I thought Villar was nothing more than a utility guy but he’s starting to prove me wrong,” the scout said. “He’s really maturing as a player. He may never be a star but he’s starting to look like an everyday guy to me. I don’t think what he’s doing is a two-month fluke.” It’s worth noting that Villar has a whopping .398 BABIP en route to his .286/.382/.390 slash line (and 14 steals) over 181 plate appearances, though his speed has also been a factor in allowing him to turn grounders into hits. As Perrotto notes, Orlando Arcia is still slated to be Milwaukee’s shortstop of the future, though the Brewers may have found an unexpected deadline trade chip in Villar.
- The Athletics don’t seem likely to make any notable acquisitions to help their injury-ravaged roster, CSNBayArea.com’s Joe Stiglich infers from Billy Beane’s comments. The sheer number of injured players “would impact any team in baseball,” Beane said, “and it’s certainly going to have a greater impact on us, given we’re not going to have the depth or the resources” to find easy replacements. The A’s fell to 19-26 after today’s loss to the Yankees and Oakland has already been cited as a possible trade deadline seller.
- Cardinals pitching prospect Alex Reyes threw four scoreless innings in a Triple-A start today, his first action since returning from a 50-game suspension for marijuana use. Suspension notwithstanding, Reyes could very possibly still reach the majors this season given his status as one of the game’s best prospects; the righty was rated very highly by Baseball America (7th), ESPN’s Keith Law (8th), Baseball Prospectus (10th) and MLB.com (11th) in preseason top-100 lists. In an interview with MLB.com’s Nick Krueger, Reyes discusses his outing and how he hopes he can regain the trust of both the organization and the fans.
- There’s still quite a bit of uncertainty surrounding the June amateur draft, as Baseball America’s John Manuel writes. Some of the uncertainty could stem from the fact that “there’s more comfort this year with the high school class than the college class,” one scouting director tells Manuel. “It’s not a clear-cut Top 10 group . . . not as high-end a group as you would have hoped for this year.”
Injury Notes: Darvish, Zimmermann, Miggy, A-Rod, Brewers
Here’s the latest on some notable names who are either preparing to return from the DL or could miss a bit of time…
- Yu Darvish threw six shutout innings in a rehab start today and is on track to return to the majors on Saturday against the Pirates. The Rangers ace told reporters (including Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram) that he felt good after the 87-pitch outing, which wrapped up a very impressive rehab stint that saw Darvish allow just two earned runs over 20 minor league innings. Darvish missed the entire 2015 season due to Tommy John surgery and hasn’t pitched in a Major League game since August 2014.
- Jordan Zimmermann left during the sixth inning of today’s game with what has been diagnosed as a right groin strain. The Tigers ace underwent an MRI to determine the severity of the injury, manager Brad Ausmus told MLB.com’s Jason Beck and other media, and it isn’t yet known if Zimmermann will require a DL stint or even a missed start. Needless to say, losing Zimmermann to the DL would be a major blow to a Detroit rotation that entered Sunday with a 4.76 staff ERA, seventh-worst in all of baseball. Zimmermann has been the lone bright spot, and after today’s outing he has a 2.52 ERA over his first 60 2/3 innings as a Tiger. Slugger Miguel Cabrera also suffered a bruised left knee after being hit by a pitch during the same game, though Ausmus doesn’t expect that injury to be too serious.
- Alex Rodriguez will return from the 15-day DL on Tuesday, Yankees skipper Joe Girardi told reporters (including Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News). A-Rod was rumored to be set for activation this weekend but Girardi chose to wait until after the Yankees’ Monday off-day to give the veteran slugger extra time to fully recover a hamstring strain.
- Brewers GM David Stearns updated Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on several injured Milwaukee players. Sean Nolin recently received a PRP injection to see if he can avoid Tommy John surgery; the southpaw suffered a slightly torn UCL during Spring Training. Rule 5 draft pick Zack Jones has spent the entire season on the DL with shoulder stiffness and Stearns hopes Jones can begin a rehab assignment in early June. Former top outfield prospect Rymer Liriano is still recovering after being hit in the face with a pitch during Spring Training and there isn’t any timetable for a return. Stearns said there is a chance Liriano could miss the entire season. Also in the piece, as previously reported, reliever Will Smith will begin a rehab assignment this week with an eye towards returning to the Brewers’ roster in the first week of June.
NL Injury Notes: Duda, Montas, Smith
First baseman Lucas Duda was scratched from the Mets‘ lineup Saturday and had an MRI on his back, as ESPN’s Mark Simon notes. The nature and severity of Duda’s issue is unclear, although he’s batted just .192/.300/.404 in May. “Having him out of the lineup is a huge loss for us, especially against right-handed pitching, which we’re going to see two games here and two games in D.C. (next week),” says manager Terry Collins. “We have to look at the big picture. We can’t aggravate this thing to where it becomes a major issue. We hope that it won’t.” Here’s more on NL injuries.
- The Dodgers are keeping an eye on Frankie Montas, Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register writes. Montas, who’s recovering after having surgery on his rib in February, pitched two scoreless innings in extended spring training on Thursday and threw 100 MPH with what manager Dave Roberts describes as good command. Montas is expected to begin a rehab assignment with Double-A Tulsa this weekend. As Plunkett notes, Montas isn’t eligible to come off the 60-day DL until June 3. Montas, one of the keys to the Dodgers’ end of the Todd Frazier deal last winter, could turn out to be a significant asset for the Dodgers, given his velocity (his average fastball last year in a brief trial with the White Sox was 96.7 MPH) and the instability of the Dodgers’ bullpen beyond Kenley Jansen.
- Brewers manager Craig Counsell says lefty Will Smith is ready to begin a rehab assignment and could return to the team in the first week of June, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports (Twitter links). Smith tore his lateral collateral ligament late in Spring Training and opted to rehab it rather than having surgery. He began throwing off a mound last week. A quick return would be a boon for both Smith and the Brewers — he had figured to get at least some opportunities at closer this year, and if he does pile up saves or holds, he’ll likely get a nifty raise on his $1.475MM 2016 salary through the arbitration process next winter. Perhaps we would be getting ahead of ourselves in imagining he might close, however — Jeremy Jeffress has done well in the closer’s role, and there’s no urgent reason for the Brewers to remove him. The team surely would, however, enjoy the return of a reliever in Smith who posted a 2.70 ERA, 12.9 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 in a terrific 2015 season. He and Jeffress could also be good trade chips for the Brewers this summer.
Central Notes: Chris Correa, Brewers, Molitor
Former Cardinals scouting director Chris Correa, who is pleading guilty to criminal charges for his role in the Cardinals’ unauthorized access of the Astros’ proprietary computer network, has had his sentencing hearing pushed back from June 6 to July 5 at the request of the probation office, reports David Barron of the Houston Chronicle (links to Twitter). As of January, Correa was slated to plead guilty to five of the 12 charges of unauthorized access to a private computer, with a maximum penalty of five years in prison per charge as well as a fine of $250,000, per a release from the United States Department of Justice.
More from the NL Central…
- Rule 5 second baseman Colin Walsh and out-of-options outfielder Ramon Flores are both struggling immensely for the Brewers, but manager Craig Counsell tells Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel that the team isn’t planning to give up on either player anytime soon. “I don’t think anybody sets specific dates on this stuff,” said Counsell when asked specifically about Walsh. “You have to feel it. At some point, we have to see what they can become.” Counsell acknowledged that not every player is destined for an everyday job but stressed the importance of finding role players that can contribute to a winning club, even if it’s difficult for those players to get consistent at-bats. “Every team’s got guys at the back end of their roster,” said Counsell. “Those guys are going to play the least. We’re evaluating that. … There’s going to be times when you might have to live through stretches of development.”
- MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy also spoke to Counsell about the fact that the Brewers are leading the league in an undesirable category: taking called third strikes. Counsell explained that he feels velocity has “changed the game” and that the looking strikeouts have been a recent topic of conversation among Milwaukee decision-makers. “There’s multitudes of ways to talk about this, but one of them is, do you get hits on pitches at the edge of the strike zone?” he asked rhetorically. “Should you swing at it with two strikes, or take it? We had this conversation this morning, actually. Can you get a hit if you swing at it? The ideal result for a hitter [on a pitch at the edge of the zone] is a foul ball, actually. But there are five hitters in the game who can intentionally hit foul balls.” The concepts raised by Counsell and the idea of taking a fringe pitch in a full-count setting have previously been explored by the Astros, which is of course where Milwaukee GM David Stearns previously served as an assistant GM.
- Twins skipper Paul Molitor chatted with Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports about his club’s struggles, saying that he’s still approaching the job with the same vigor. While he didn’t exactly suggest that there’s a significant hope of a full-blown turnaround this year, Molitor did stress that he’ll continue to “choose to see light still” even amidst the difficulties.
NL Notes: Braun, Soler, Ryu
If the Brewers shop star left fielder Ryan Braun this year, his contract will serve as a deterrent to many clubs, according to MLB Network’s Jon Morosi, who adds that Braun’s wrist is also a concern (Twitter link). The Brewers scratched Braun from their game Saturday because of a sore right wrist, the severity of which is currently unknown. Notably, he has dealt with significant right thumb issues in past seasons. Braun, 32, is hitting a red-hot .367/.434/.586 with seven home runs in 143 plate appearances this season and has another five years and $76MM, including a $4MM buyout in 2021, remaining on his contract after 2016.
More from the National League:
- Outfielder Jorge Soler is one of the few Cubs performing poorly this season, and the 24-year-old was also a disappointment in 2015, but the organization isn’t concerned about his struggles. “Guys are asking Joe ‘What do you need to see so you don’t give up on him?'” said president of baseball operations Theo Epstein, per ESPN’s Jesse Rogers. “That’s absurd. If we had walked away from him last year we probably don’t get out of the Cardinals series… That’s how good he is capable of being.” Epstein went on to add that Soler’s “going to get plenty of at-bats, he’s going to get hot and he’s going to carry us.” Manager Joe Maddon is similarly bullish on Soler, stating, “If you put your scout’s hat on you’ll see what the eventual reward will look like.” As Epstein alluded to, the Cuba native had a remarkable two-game stretch in last fall’s NLDS, during which he went 4 for 4 with four walks and a pair of home runs in wins over the Cardinals. This year, though, he has hit just .174/.263/.267 with two homers in 99 PAs.
- Dodgers left-hander Hyun-jin Ryu will start a rehab assignment Sunday with Class-A Rancho Cucamonga and throw two innings, reports Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter links) . Manager Dave Roberts expects Ryu to need five rehab starts before rejoining the Dodgers. Ryu, who hasn’t appeared in a major league game since October 2014, is working his way back from May 2015 shoulder surgery.
- Injured Brewers reliever Sean Nolin looks poised to undergo Tommy John surgery, tweets Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The left-handed Nolin, whom the Brewers claimed off waivers from Oakland in February, has been on the shelf all season because of a UCL sprain.
NL Central Notes: Braun, Smith, Grichuk, Straily
This summer could be the perfect time for the Brewers to trade Ryan Braun, writes ESPN’s Buster Olney. The 32-year-old will gain 10-and-5 rights early next season, allowing him to veto any trade. Braun can already block trades to 23 teams, with the D-backs, Angels, Dodgers, Marlins, Padres and Giants representing the only teams to which he can be traded without his consent. Olney spoke to a number of executives and evaluators regarding Braun, and the general consensus was that his heightened 2016 play has made the once-near-impossible thought of a trade much more plausible. Braun’s contact rate is the best of his career, and he’s enjoying the second-lowest swinging-strike and out-of-zone swing rates of his career. One evaluator noted to Olney that Braun has learned to lay off the high fastball that was once a pitch with which he could be put away in two-strike counts. An executive from another club opined that the Brewers will still have to eat a considerable amount of Braun’s salary to facilitate a deal, however; by my calculation he’s owed $90.85MM through 2020, including the remaining money on this year’s $19MM salary and the $4MM buyout of his 2021 option.
More on the Brewers and their division…
- Left-hander Will Smith will throw off a mound today for the first time since tearing the LCL in his right knee in a freak Spring Training accident (while taking off his shoe), reports Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Smith, whose workouts to this point have included running on an anti-gravity treadmill, is hoping to avoid surgery and will begin a throwing program if today’s mound session goes well. However, Haudricourt notes that if he experiences problems, surgery could be the ultimate outcome anyway. Smith, 26, came to Spring Training with a chance to become the Brewers‘ closer, but right-hander Jeremy Jeffress has seized that role with eight saves and a 2.63 ERA in 13 2/3 innings thus far.
- Cardinals outfielder Randal Grichuk spoke with MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch about the 2013 trade that brought him from Anaheim to St. Louis and some of the struggles he endured with the Angels. “I got injured so much in that organization, that I felt like I got put on the back burner,” Grichuk said of the Angels. “They didn’t really expect much out of me at that point. I definitely think that this trade helped rejuvenate my career. I’m definitely thankful for it.” As Langosch notes, living in the shadow of Mike Trout was also a difficult task. The two were inevitably compared to one another as they were selected with back-to-back picks in the first round, both play center field and were even born just six days apart. Grichuk and Trout remain close, and Trout told Langosch that he’s happy to see his friend succeeding, even if it’s in another organization.
- Waiver claim Dan Straily has been an early success story for the Reds, writes Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer. The right-hander has benefited from pitching coach Mark Riggins, who taught him a grip for a two-seam fastball with which Straily is comfortable. Straily tells Buchanan that he’d never used a two-seamer much in the past because he hasn’t been successful with the pitch, but his new grip is helping him keep left-handed opponents off balance. Interestingly, president of baseball operations Walt Jocketty tells Buchanan that his team actually got some trade inquiries on Straily earlier this year but elected to hang onto him. “We felt we needed him more than what we could get in return for him,” said Jocketty. Straily has walked 10 of the 66 lefties he’s faced, so he could still stand to improve his control, but he’s locked down a rotation spot for the time being with a 3.47 ERA in 36 1/3 innings. And, as Buchanan points out, he has four more years of club control remaining beyond the 2016 campaign if he can continue his success.
Brewers Acquire Jhan Marinez, Designate Michael Kirkman
The Brewers have acquired righty Jhan Marinez from the Rays, according to a club announcement. To clear roster space, southpaw Michael Kirkman was designated for assignment.
Marinez, 27, has seen scattered major league time in parts of three seasons dating back to 2010. He’s only logged nine total frames, so there’s not much of a track record to go on. Of course, Marinez has racked up 178 1/3 frames at Triple-A in five campaigns, compiling a 3.63 ERA with 9.4 K/9 versus 4.7 BB/9.
As for Kirkman, his stay in Milwaukee didn’t last very long. The 29-year-old has received one appearance each with the Brewers and with the Padres this season, allowing five earned runs in 2 1/3 frames. Kirkman owns a 5.28 ERA in his 109 career innings at the major league level, with 8.6 K/9 to go with 4.6 BB/9.
NL Central Notes: Arrieta, Bryant, Walsh, Pirates
Jake Arrieta has drawn plenty of attention of late as he’s continued to generate phenomenal results for the Cubs. He’s maintained all along both that he hopes to remain in Chicago and that he won’t take a discount to do so, and it’s still not clear whether the club will be willing to offer what Arrieta considers fair market value. ESPN.com’s Buster Olney argues in an Insider piece that the Cubs are unlikely to go beyond the recent Stephen Strasburg extension, and won’t pursue a bidding war to bring back Arrieta when he reaches free agency after next season. Then, says Olney, he’ll have a chance to cash in, particularly since he’d enter an “incredibly weak market” for starting pitching. That’s a debatable assessment of the free agent class — among the potentially available arms are Yu Darvish, Alex Cobb, Johnny Cueto, Tyson Ross, Lance Lynn, and several others of interest — but there’s little doubt that Arrieta would be a major target if he can keep up anything approaching his recent performance level.
Here’s more from the NL Central:
- Kris Bryant has kept on producing for the Cubs after a stellar rookie campaign, but as August Fagerstrom of Fangraphs explains, he’s dong it differently. Bryant has worked to flatten his swing plane as a way to cut down on his swings and misses, with very promising results. Though he’s more or less hitting at the same levels he did in 2015, Bryant’s managed to reduce his strikeout rate by one-third thus far. As Fagerstrom explains, the biggest impact of the adjustment may be that it raises Bryant’s floor as a hitter.
- The Brewers made some roster moves today, with Scooter Gennett activated from the DL and fellow infielder Yadiel Rivera being optioned to Triple-A. As Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel notes (Twitter links), the decision shows the team’s commitment to struggling Rule 5 pick Colin Walsh. He has an unusual .098/.327/.122 slash line through 55 plate appearances, with 13 walks but just four hits. GM David Stearns would say only that “the evaluation process is ongoing” with respect to Walsh, who obviously will need to stay on the active roster all year if his control rights are to remain Milwaukee property.
- In a reader mailbag, Stephen Nesbitt of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette explains the Super Two considerations facing the Pirates. Early to mid June remains the time to watch for exciting Triple-A starters Tyler Glasnow and Jameson Taillon, he writes. Interestingly, Nesbitt predicts that Taillon is likely to get the first call, explaining that he’s the “more seasoned” of the two even though he has been away from competitive baseball for some time due to injury.
Minor MLB Transactions: 5/10/16
Here are today’s minor moves from around the game…
- Left-handed reliever Sam Freeman has accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A from the Brewers, the team announced today (on Twitter). Freeman, 28, tossed 7 2/3 innings for Milwaukee earlier this season but yielded an alarming 11 runs on 13 hits and nine walks in that time. He delivered solid bottom-line results for the Rangers last year, logging a 3.05 ERA in 38 1/3 innings, though metrics such as FIP, xFIP and SIERA each indicated that ERA to be largely smoke and mirrors, chiefly because of his trouble consistently throwing strikes. Freeman has averaged 5.3 walks per nine innings pitched in the Majors but a more palatable 3.6 per nine at the Triple-A level, and he’ll look to get back to that level following his outright. Of course, he’ll be doing so in a dreadful environment for pitchers: Colorado Springs.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Nats, Chapman, Miller, Brewers, Angels
Here are a few reliever-related items from FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal (video link):
- Despite the presence of Jonathan Papelbon, the Nationals will likely be in the hunt for Yankees closers Aroldis Chapman and Andrew Miller if the Bombers make them available over the summer, Rosenthal reports. The Nats were interested in both as recently as the winter, according to Rosenthal, who cautions that their ownership might not allow the franchise to take on payroll during the season. Both Chapman ($11.33MM) and Miller ($9MM) are expensive, and the Nationals been restricted to cash-neutral trades at recent deadlines.
- In order to deal closer Jeremy Jeffress, the Brewers could require a return similar to the mammoth haul the Phillies received from the Astros for Ken Giles, per Rosenthal. The rebuilding Brewers and Jeffress have built a strong relationship thanks to the team’s role in helping the right-hander overcome his past marijuana issues. Because of that, Jeffress turned down major league offers from other clubs to sign a minor league contract with the Brewers two years ago, Rosenthal relays. In his first season as a closer, the 28-year-old has converted all seven save opportunities while allowing three earned runs in 8 2/3 innings. In 160 2/3 major league innings, Jeffress has compiled a 3.14 ERA to accompany an 8.4 K/9, 3.87 BB/9 and 57.1 percent ground-ball rate. Those are quality numbers, but they’re a far cry from the dominant stats Giles posted before the Astros dealt a Vincent Velasquez-headlined package for him over the winter. Giles is also three years younger than Jeffress, won’t be eligible for arbitration until 2018, and isn’t scheduled for free agency until after the 2020 season. Jeffress, meanwhile, has three arbitration-eligible years before he’ll be able to hit the open market.
- With contention looking unlikely for the injury-plagued Angels, setup man Joe Smith is a good bet to find himself in another uniform in the coming months, says Rosenthal. Smith, who’s making $5.25MM in a contract year, has thrown 155 innings of 2.73 ERA ball dating back to 2014, including 15 frames with a 3.60 mark this season. It’s early, of course, but Smith has fanned only eight hitters this season while generating far fewer ground balls (45.8 percent versus a lifetime 56.4 mark) and surrendering much more hard contact (twice his career rate, in fact, at 49 percent compared to 24.5 percent).