Posts belonging to Category College Baseball

Last night on The Baseball Show, Clint from Diamond Hoggers and I took part in a long, two-part show. In the first half of the show, we welcomed David Franco from NextLevelBallplayer.com. David (who is Clint’s former teammate) has been writing about his experiences from Spring Training on Diamond Hoggers for the past week. You can follow him on Twitter here. He offers the perspective of a former Division I collegiate player who has had some great experiences.

The first half of the show was a lot of fun, and we talked about the following:

• The idea behind his site, Next Level Ballplayer.
• Why aren’t high school kids better prepared for the mental side of the game?
• David talks about his experiences playing with or against guys like John Ely, Joe Blanton, Dirk Hayhurst, Drew Stubbs, Rice University, University of Texas and many more guys who are now in the big leagues.
• A funny story about him spending 9 innings in the GM’s box with the GM of his favorite team, Ned Coletti
• A tale from Fall Baseball in college, involving fiery John Ely
• Talking Jim Tracy’s influence and management style when he took over in Colorado
• Thoughts on the Dodgers for 2011
• Tales from Spring Training

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#8 Jarrod Parker – Arizona Diamondbacks

RHP

DOB: 11-24-88

ETA: 2011

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Mark Twain is responsible for popularizing the Sir Charles Wentworth Dilke quote, “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.”  As someone who bases many of his opinions on statistics, I could not agree more.  I could take any player, along with any different combination of stats, and come up with two different opinions on that player.  Anyone who has ever manipulated statistics to benefit their own argument knows exactly what I am talking about.  But what about the other times, when you come to an opinion that has no logical basis other than you just feel it?  Deep down inside your gut you have an inkling, an instinct that something will happen.  There is no real rhyme or reason behind this belief.  Most of the time when you mention these beliefs to friends they call you crazy, or some synonym of loco.  The beauty of these types of beliefs is that when they become a reality, when you have used only your gut instinct to defy the laws of statistical analysis, it is a thing of beauty.  I can honestly say that there is no better feeling in the world.

When I was 11-years-old, living in Houston, I told anyone who would listen how the Rockets were going to win it all.  They defied all odds, coming back from a 2-0 deficit in the first round to defeat the Jazz, then coming back from a 3-1 deficit to eliminate the Suns, and finally sweeping Shaq and the Magic in the Finals to win it all; all while becoming the first team in NBA history to defeat four 50-win teams en route to winning an NBA title.  What does this have to do with the 2011 baseball season though?  At 11-years-old, I had no idea what statistics could be used for.  I knew nothing about backing up an opinion with logical information.  I was freaking 11-years-old!  But, somewhere deep down inside I knew, I just knew, that my Rockets were not going to lose a playoff series that year.  Maybe it was because they had the heart of a champion.  Maybe not.  Either way, I made a gut call about sports and it miraculously came to fruition.

Long story short, that premise is the central idea for this article.  In the upcoming weeks you will find a myriad of articles around the web talking about people’s bold predictions.  Most of these predictions have some sort of stat to back them up.  Not me.  I am here to give you some truly outlandish predictions that have no evidence to support them other than I “feel” like it will happen.  This is not about me trying to predict the future correctly.  This is about finding that 11-year-old inside of me who just believed.  This is about having some fun and enjoying letting my imagination run wild with the endless possibilities of what could happen in a baseball season that has yet to start.  So, without further ado, here are my outlandish, completely unwarranted, and instinct-based predictions for the 2011 Major League Baseball season.

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• What’s an installment of Prospect Buzz without a little Bryce Harper speculation? After speaking with Nationals’ Manager Jim Riggleman on Friday morning, John Heyman tweeted that Bryce Harper could reach the big leagues in 2011 if he were to dominate “at every level.” Although I still doubt that it will actually happen, the fact that Riggleman, and presumably Mike Rizzo, have entertained the idea is exciting.  Jeff Sullivan over at SBNation contemplates the type of numbers Harper must put up at each stop to make his debut in 2011, and believes they might have to be similar to Ken Griffey, Jr.’s during his brief, minor league career. At least we know that he’ll be documenting his entire ascent to stardom…

• Apparently Carlos Santana will take some reps at first base during Spring Training, and undoubtedly increase his fantasy value with each one.  After sustaining a gruesome, season-ending knee injury in 2010, Santana is finally healthy…and the Tribe obviously wants to keep it that way.  With the possibility of playing first base, he becomes an even more intriguing fantasy option behind the plate; he might be able to avoid further knee or leg injuries and will likely play more games than originally anticipated.

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• John Parker of MiLB.com recently did a Q & A with the second overall pick in the 2009 draft, Jameson Taillon.  Ranked by MLB.com as the #18 prospect in baseball – and yet to appear on the Sombrero’s list – the 6-foot-6, 225-pound right-hander provides a colorful interview in which he discusses his baseball upbringing, rise to prominence, and lifestyle.  Taillon also mentions that Shelby Miller is a “really good” golfer.

• Although Bruce Bochy has stated that 1B Brandon Belt has a shot to make the club out of Spring Training, Crazy Crabbers still believes that it is highly unlikely.  By delaying Belt’s arrival until late April or early May – provided that he’s still mashing – the Giants retain control of his contract through the 2018 season, as opposed to 2017 if he were to make the team out of Spring Training.  Considering that the two rookies, Buster Posey and Madison Bumgarner, were arguably the main reason that the team made the playoffs and went on to win the World Series, perhaps this could be the year that Brain Sabean mixes things up.

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