Odds And Ends: Scheppers, Tate, Matsui
Links for Thursday morning…
- MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo reports that two teams passed on Tanner Scheppers because they believe he has a partially torn labrum. The Rangers, who picked him, don't believe the problem is as severe.
- In a Q&A for The Baseball Analysts, Padres exec Paul DePodesta says he's "ecstatic" about his team's draft. He compares Donavan Tate, the Padres' first rounder, to Adam Jones and Mike Cameron.
- The Padres are encountering trouble at the major league level, where Chris Young will likely join Jake Peavy on the DL, according to MLB.com's Corey Brock. Not only do the Padres lose their best starters, it's now harder for them to field offers for them.
- Chuck Finder of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that the Pirates are set to sign a handful of their picks, including their second selection, Brooks Pounders.
- Patrick Newman at NPB Tracker passes on comments Hideki Matsui made about returning to Japan. Matsui sounds happy that the Hanshin Tigers could be interested, but says he'd probably prefer to stay in the States.
- The Mariners are scouting top international prospect Guillermo Pimentel, according to Ben Badler of Baseball America.
Daniels On Sheets, El Duque, Trade Deadline
Rangers GM Jon Daniels answered questions in an online chat hosted by Richard Durrett of the Dallas Morning News. One thing becomes clear throughout the chat: Daniels will try to win this year:
- Ben Sheets isn't far enough along to be talking contract, but the Rangers are in touch with his agent.
- The Rangers could deal prospects away to improve their playoff chances this year, but Daniels doesn't suggest that's likely.
- Tom Glavine is "probably not" a fit.
- Orlando Hernandez could be ready for the majors by late July.
- Daniels says signing Matt Purke and Tanner Scheppers before July 31st wouldn't make him more likely to part with other prospects in a deal.
- The Rangers talked with Luis Vizcaino before he signed with Cleveland.
- Could the Rangers pick up a big-time starter? Daniels says "we'll see."
Odds And Ends: Hamilton, Vizquel, Draft
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."
Draft Updates: Strasburg, Nats, Crow
With tomorrow's draft approaching fast let's take a look at some recent rumors and analysis…
- MLB.com's Lisa Winston reports that former super prospect Ben McDonald is impressed by Stephen Strasburg's stuff and poise.
- David Price told Danny Knobler of CBS Sports that Strasburg's stuff is better than his. Like Joe Maddon, Price believes the minors can be helpful and doesn't advocate rushing Strasburg into a big league rotation.
- Chico Harlan of the Washington Post interviewed acting GM Mike Rizzo about the draft and heard that signability won't be a factor for the Nats with their 10th pick, even though they get nothing if they fail to sign the player they choose. After saying for weeks that Strasburg is his choice with the first pick in the draft, Rizzo doesn't confirm it this time.
- Pete McElroy of MASN.com hears that the Nats will take Chad Jenkins, a big college righty, with their 10th pick if he's available.
- Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports that the Pirates could use the $1.3MM they saved by trading Nate McLouth to sign the player they draft fourth overall. Aaron Crow, who's looking for $4MM, could be an option for Pittsburgh.
- Chuck Finder of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that Crow's looking forward to tomorrow's draft after waiting a year.
- Yahoo's Jeff Passan says prospects can be over-hyped to the point that we encounter "an uncomfortable reality" when they struggle.
- MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo reports that Kyle Gibson and Tanner Scheppers could fall lower than originally expected because of injury concerns. Other players, like Jacob Turner, could fall because they're expected to demand large bonuses.
- Follow the draft on Twitter as it unfolds: @mlbtraderumors and @MLBDraft.
Odds And Ends: Padres, Takatsu, Sano
Links for Friday afternoon…
- SI.com's Tom Verducci heard one GM argue that the Padres should trade Jake Peavy and Adrian Gonzalez to re-stock the farm system.
- MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo breaks down what will happen after Stephen Strasburg's drafted by the Nationals. He predicts that eight or nine college arms could go in the first 20 picks, if you count redrafts like Aaron Crow and Tanner Scheppers.
- According to Mike Rutsey of the Toronto Sun, Travis Snider was sent to Triple A by the Blue Jays. Snider was hitting .242/.292/.394, with 25 strikeouts in 99 at bats.
- According to Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker, Shingo Takatsu auditioned in front of the D'Backs and Giants. He threw as hard as 86 mph and impressed scouts with his breaking balls. If the name sounds familiar it's because the 40-year-old sidearmer used to close for the White Sox.
- Steve Melewski of MASN wonders if Nolan Reimold has seen the last of the minor leagues. After a slow start, the left fielder is seven for his last 18, including a homer off Mariano Rviera.
- Via Twitter, Keith Law suggests pitcher Sonny Gray would go in the top three picks of this year's draft if he were eligible.
- Live to Play suggests the list of suitors for Miguel Angel Sano will soon "thin out to the very serious contenders" for the 16-year-old shortstop prospect.
- Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star writes that the ideal trade for the Royals might be Mike Jacobs or Jose Guillen for a "capable shortstop."
Odds & Ends: Oliver, Amaro, Scheppers
Links for Thursday…
- ESPN's Keith Law has the latest on the battle between Andy Oliver and the NCAA over whether players can have agents and still be eligible for the draft.
- Yahoo's Gordon Edes writes about the ascension of Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. Edes notes that the Phils still do not have a full-time statistical analyst.
- Former D'Backs pitching coach Bryan Price landed a minor league consulting gig with the Phillies, according to MLB.com's Steve Gilbert.
- Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says it's "believed though not confirmed" that Tanner Scheppers has granted the Pirates permission to draft him again if they choose. The Pirates did not sign him last year due to health concerns, but now he's looking like a top-ten pick.
- A couple of powerful prospects got the call: Nolan Reimold with the Orioles and Mat Gamel with the Brewers. For the Brewers, Brad Nelson now has to decide whether to accept a Triple A assignment. The Orioles and Brewers are risking Super Two status with these call-ups, but only if the players are not sent back down.
Draft Update: Strasburg, Scheppers, Paxton
ESPN.com's Jason A. Churchill has an update on some top amateur players as June 9th draws closer:
- He confirms what we heard last week: Barring the unforseen, the Nats will select Stephen Strasburg with the first overall pick.
- Scouts expect Tanner Scheppers, who was drafted but never signed by the Pirates last year, to be selected within the first 15 picks. They're divided on whether the righty, who is pitching in an independent league, can crack the top ten.
- Scott Boras added a new client, Kentucky lefty James Paxton, according to one of Churcill's sources.
Odds & Ends: Qualls, Scheppers, Strasburg
Links for Wednesday…
- D'Backs closer Chad Qualls has MLBTR bookmarked…nice!
- In yesterday's post on Miguel Angel Sano, I linked to a three-minute video. It turns out that clip was a snippet of a documentary called Live to Play, Play to Live. A production company is following five players, including Sano, leading up to the July 2nd signing period.
- Baseball America's J.J. Cooper writes about the independent league season debuts of Tanner Scheppers and Aaron Crow. Scheppers is with the St. Paul Saints, who also employ Craig Brazell and Kerry Ligtenberg.
- Keith Law discusses Stephen Strasburg in this ESPN video. Law predicts Strasburg will sign for $18-20MM. Strasburg's coach Tony Gwynn advises caution for the Nationals if they draft him, in talking to Edward Lewis of the Daily Aztec.
- Former Yankees Dominican scouting director Ramon Valdivia filed a $3MM wrongful termination suit against the team, according to ESPN's Jorge Arangure Jr.
- SI's Jon Heyman looks back at the incredible 2005 draft class.
Odds & Ends: Crow, Matsuzaka, Harrington
Links for Monday…
- I hosted a fantasy baseball roundtable question: what is your single biggest regret so far?
- Talking real baseball, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe has his list of possible offseason-related regrets.
- Jim Callis of Baseball America says Aaron Crow and Tanner Scheppers will make their independent league debuts today. MLB.com's Bill Ladson says the Jim Bowden-less Nationals haven't ruled out taking Crow at #10, and they'll scout him today.
- Kirk Kenney wrote about the possibility of Stephen Strasburg skipping the minors.
- David Waldstein of the New York Times discovers how the Seibu Lions spent the $51.1MM posting fee from Daisuke Matsuzaka.
- Sadly, Tony Jackson was let go by the L.A. Daily News. Diamond Leung talks about Jackson, while Jon Weisman notes that the Dodgers are now down to two full-time beat writers.
- Weisman also writes about the Saturday night gathering involving Kim Ng and others.
- ESPN's Amy K. Nelson has an excellent story on Matt Harrington, who is out of baseball now.
- Maury Brown of The Biz of Baseball looks at a bunch of young players who were locked up through their arbitration years.
Odds And Ends: Mientkiewicz, Michaels, Greinke, Soria, Scheppers
Some links for Saturday lunch, I’ll add some more as the day progresses:
- The Mariners may sign the first woman general manager, Dodger’s assistant GM Kim Ng.
- Pirates GM Neal Huntington says the team will approach Doug Mientkiewicz and Jason Michaels about resigning with the club, but has yet to do so.
- Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star ruffled some feathers by quoting a scout on the possibility of the Royals trading Joakim Soria and Zach Greinke. The discussion devolved into a debate on whether to move Soria to the rotation.
- A Tanner Scheppers sighting: The Pirates draft pick has signed with the St. Paul Saints of the Independent Northern League.
- Tigers’ owner Mike Ilitch hasn’t set (yet) a payroll limit for 2009. Along with the Mets, the Tigers had the second largest payroll behind the Yankees.
- Grant at the McCovey Chronicles opens up a can of worms: On trading Matt Cain.
Alejandro A. Leal writes for UmpBump.com and can be reached here: alexo05 (at) umpbump [dot] com.