Dustin Ackley

Heyman On Halladay, Pedro, Ackley, Andruw

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 10, 2009 at 12:57pm CDT

SI.com's Jon Heyman hears that the Blue Jays could keep Roy Halladay, especially since Toronto fans would not be receptive to a deal that sends their ace elsewhere. If the Jays do deal Halladay, they say they're looking for two premium prospects who will be ready for the majors next year and two other prospects who are further away from making big league contributions. Here are the details and the rest of Heyman's rumors:

One executive says the Phillies, Giants and Angels have the best shots at acquiring Halladay.
The Yankees and Mets have both spoken with the Blue Jays.
It seems odd for teams to set some prospects off limits when the Jays are making Halladay available, but teams like the Rangers and Giants could conceivably deal for Doc and hold onto one or two of their top prospects.
Executives haven't heard that the Blue Jays are trying to unload Vernon Wells' salary in a combined deal with Halladay.
No executives believe teams would take Wells under any circumstances. They have "no shot" at moving him, according to one executive.
Heyman credits Pedro Martinez's agent, Fern Cuza, for some impressive deals but doubts the report that suggested the Phillies will pay Pedro $4MM, unless it's prorated.
Scott Boras met Mariners people to discuss second-overall pick Dustin Ackley, but the two sides made little progress.
Heyman praises Andruw Jones for turning down offers from the Braves and Yankees to sign in Texas with coach Rudy Jaramillo.

Mariners Not Adding Third Baseman Yet

By Steve Adams | June 28, 2009 at 4:45pm CDT

Larry Stone sat down with Jack Zduriencik following the Ryan Langerhans acquisition today, to ask if anything else was on the horizon in the wake of Adrian Beltre's injury. Zduriencik said that for the time being, nothing is in the works:

"I think you leave all your options open. Obviously, there have been a lot of talks over the last month on a lot of different scenarios. Nothing is imminent. At this moment, I don't anticipate anything, That's not to say, as you move forward, the next day creates something that wasn't there today. I think everyone is aware of everyone else's situation. When they see what's happened here recently, or we look at other clubs…but at this time, we are where we are, and we'll try to do the best we can with where we're at."

Zduriencik has not received any calls offering a third baseman yet, and says the Langerhans acquisition is more related to the loss of Endy Chavez than to Beltre's surgery.

Stone also reports that Zduriencik sat with Scott Boras in the first row behind home plate at Dodger Stadium. The two discussed Beltre, Jarrod Washburn, and Dustin Ackley, but nothing too formal on any of the three.

Heyman On Penny, Ackley, Milledge

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 12, 2009 at 1:20pm CDT

SI.com's Jon Heyman places Marco Scutaro and David Ortiz atop his lists of over and underperforming players. In the same article, he provides some trade rumors:

The Phillies, Mets and Cardinals are among the teams "in" on the Brad Penny discussions.
Philadelphia would still like to acquire a premium pitcher; they're "aiming higher" than Penny.
Dustin Ackley is apparently seeking "Mark Teixeira money." No, he's not looking for $180MM, but he'd like a deal worth $9.5MM, like the one Teixiera received out of college.
And there's word of trade talks involving Lastings Milledge.

Pirates Draft Roundup

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 11, 2009 at 9:31am CDT

Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette asked GM Neal Huntington if Tony Sanchez had more upside and talent than the other players available when the Pirates picked fourth. Here are a couple of points Huntington made in his reply to Kovacevic:

"We did not take the player we felt had the highest upside on the board with the Sanchez selection, but we did select the player who was at the top of our board at the time."
Huntington says upside isn't everything, pointing out that it's risky to draft high school pitchers.
"If Stephen Strasburg or Dustin Ackley had slipped, we would have likely altered our approach to the draft and committed greater resources to either of them."

Instead, the Pirates plan to commit to a group of talented players, according to Pat Mitsch of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Huntington and his staff drafted 21 players who are demanding bonuses of $100k or more, and he expects to sign many by recruiting well and being "very aggressive."

The Pirates were criticized for taking Sanchez when they did, but, as MLB.com's Jen Langosch reports, draft expert Jonathan Mayo praised the Pirates' approach on day two.

MLB Draft Reactions

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 10, 2009 at 9:32am CDT

Let's round up some reactions to day one of the draft before day two gets underway…

There's not much buzz surrounding the players remaining, but, as MLB.com's Matthew Leach points out, Albert Pujols was drafted in the 13th round a decade ago.
So which impact players have yet to be picked? Baseball America says Max Stassi, Sam Dyson and Zack Von Rosenbuerg are the best available.
Baseball America's Conor Glassey reports that Stassi could go to UCLA if teams don't like his asking price.
Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun says Orioles first rounder Matt Hobgood looks like a young Sidney Ponson.
Red Sox first rounder Reymond Fuentes told David Laurila of Baseball Prospectus that his cousin, Carlos Beltran, phoned to congratulate him last night in the midst of the Mets-Phillies game.
Ryan Divish of the Tacoma News Tribune reports that the Mariners see Dustin Ackley as an outfielder.
In this MLB.com press release, GM Neal Huntington says signability was not the "primary factor" when the Pirates selected Tony Sanchez fourth overall.
ESPN.com's Keith Law was among those who thought the Pirates could have done better with that pick.
Law praises the Rockies, Cardinals and Twins for picking Tyler Matzek, Shelby Miller and Kyle Gibson, respectively. Law says all three pitchers have high-impact arms.

Draft Updates: Deadline, D’Backs, Rangers

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 9, 2009 at 12:15pm CDT

Some more links in anticipation of this evening's draft…

Jon Heyman of SI.com says the signing deadline has been pushed back to August 17th because the 15th is a Saturday. The Nats' negotiations with Scott Boras will probably go down to the wire regardless, so it barely matters. If anything it's bad news for the Nats, as they'll have less time to prepare their probable selection, Stephen Strasburg, for a late-season cameo.
Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic says the D'Backs could choose two hitters with their 16th and 17th picks. They like Bobby Borchering, but he may not be available to them.
Nolan Ryan expects the Rangers to select a pitcher when they pick 14th, according to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan.
MLB.com's Doug Miller rounds up major leaguers' responses to this question: Has any prospect ever received more hype than Strasburg?
And here's the final projection MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo will make. He has Dustin Ackley going to Seattle, Donavan Tate going to San Diego, Tony Sanchez going to Pittsburgh and Zack Wheeler going to Baltimore.
ESPN.com's Keith Law has the same five players going in the same order. Interestingly, Law has Aaron Crow and Tanner Scheppers out of the first round, in large part because they're expected to demand lots of money.

Odds And Ends: Hamilton, Vizquel, Draft

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 8, 2009 at 5:04pm CDT

Why not rattle off a few more links to wrap up this Monday afternoon…

As MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan reports, Josh Hamilton will miss 4-6 weeks to repair a partially torn abdominal muscle.
Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports believes the Rangers are for real.
He says Jon Daniels is not looking to trade Omar Vizquel.
ESPN.com's Keith Law believes Stephen Strasburg will sign this year. He could be in line for a September debut, perhaps as a reliever.
Law's high on Tyler Matzek, a polished high schooler who should go early in the first round.
As Baseball America's J.J. Cooper reports, Tanner Scheppers boosted his draft stock by pitching in the upper 90s in his final start for the St. Paul Saints.
Tom D'Angelo of the Palm Beach Post says the Marlins could go after pitching with their first round pick, especially since the draft is pitching-heavy early on.
MLB.com's Corey Brock says the Padres will take Dustin Ackley if the Mariners don't.
Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times says Josh Fields found his recent demotion "hard to swallow."

Odds And Ends: Huff, Ackley, Strasburg

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 8, 2009 at 2:21pm CDT

Some more links to pass along…

Steve Melewski of MASN.com reports that Orioles president Andy MacPhail is "open" to talking with Aubrey Huff about a possible extension. Huff, a free agent at the end of the year, has been the subject of many trade rumors.
ESPN.com's Rob Neyer agrees with a suggestion Howard made on this site yesterday: Jon Rauch would be a good fit for the Rays.
Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that Cards GM John Mozeliak was among those watching as two college hitters worked out at Busch Stadium this morning. Josh Phegley and A.J. Pollock took some swings in front of the Cardinals' scouting staff.
As Ian Browne of MLB.com points out, the Red Sox have drafted well in recent years even when they haven't had early selections.
MLB.com's Jim Street writes that it would be shocking for the Mariners to pick someone other than Dustin Ackley.
As ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick reports, Angels scouting director Eddie Bane is amazed by Scott Boras because he intimidates, but "never says a price."
Tim Keown of ESPN the Magazine passes along one scout's thoughts on Stephen Strasburg: "He'd be a front-of-the-rotation guy for almost every team right now."

Price’s Latest: Draft, Red Sox, Astros, Giants

By Nat Boyle | June 7, 2009 at 11:02am CDT

Ed Price of MLB FanHouse has a new article up, with notes on the draft and around the Majors.

Price writes, "'The bottom line is there is a consensus,' said an industry source who monitors the draft closely, 'and that consensus is: There's no consensus after [Stephen] Strasburg.' The source said he has counted 63 players who could be taken in the 32 choices of the first round."
Price also gives us an industry insiders "educated guess on the top five: Strasburg to Washington, [North Carolina's Dustin] Ackley to Seattle, Vanderbilt lefty Mike Minor to San Diego, former Missouri right-hander Aaron Crow to Pittsburgh and Georgia high-school right-hander Zack Wheeler to Baltimore."
Due to free-agent compensation picks and "the rule that gives a team that fails to sign a high choice a corresponding pick the next year", the White Sox have 3 of the first 61 picks. Arizona has 7 of the first 64. Colorado has 3 of the first 34. The Angels have 5 of the first 48.
The Mets first pick is 72nd overall. The Phillies first is 75th.
The first three rounds of the draft are this Tuesday, with the first round on MLB Network.
The Astros are not in "dump mode," says Price. Quoting a person familiar with Drayton McLane, "'His track record is when everybody says you should dismantle [he doesn't]," the person said. 'He's been so lucky.'"
With Jed Lowrie returning and the ballclub winning, the Red Sox are not looking to add a bat and instead can wait to see if David Ortiz improves.
The Giants want a bat, but they won't give up premium young pitching.

Draft Roundup: Mock Draft, Strasburg, Gibson

By Mike Axisa | June 6, 2009 at 11:00am CDT

Major League Baseball's amateur draft is now just three days away, so let's round up the latest news.

Jim Callis of Baseball America posted version three of their Mock Draft yesterday (subscription req'd). He projects the top three picks to be Stephen Strasburg, Dustin Ackley, and Donavan Tate.
After Strasburg is announced as the first overall pick on Tuesday, he will not meet with the media at his home or on the San Diego State campus, according to Bill Shaikin of the LA Times. Strasburg will instead hold his press conference in "the main lobby of the Boras Corporation offices."
Conor Glassey reports that Missouri righthander Kyle Gibson experienced tightness in his forearm during his start last weekend, which is causing his velocity and stock to drop. Gibson was a consensus top 15 talent prior to the injury.
Mark Heller of The East Valley Tribune spoke to Diamondbacks scouting director Tom Allison, who says the team will "stay true to best person on the board." With seven of the first 64 picks, there was some thought that the D-Backs would seek out players willing to sign for, or below slot to save money.
Steve Buckley of The Boston Herald wrote about how the Red Sox's recent success in the draft has fans following the event more closely than ever.

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