Posts belonging to Category MLB Draft

This year has been an amazing season for prospects.  Here at the Sombrero, we’ve celebrated the MLB debuts of many of baseball’s future stars:

• June 10: Mike Moustakas Day
• June 17: Dustin Ackley Day
• July 8: Mike Trout Day
• July 22: Jason Kipnis Day
• August 5: Brett Lawrie Day

Sunday brought the news that the Tampa Bay Rays, who are now just 3.5 games back in the Wild Card after a weekend sweep of the Red Sox, have finally called up their top prospect, LHP Matt Moore.  Not only is Moore the best pitching prospect in their loaded system, he’s the consensus (including all of us here at the Sombrero) top pitching prospect in baseball.  And with good reason.

The left-hander enjoyed a breakout season in 2010 for High-A Charlotte in the Florida State League.  There he posted a 6-11 record with a 3.36 ERA over 144 2/3 innings.  He allowed 109 hits and walked just 61 hitters while fanning 208, as he became the first pitcher since Francisco Liriano in 2005 to record a 200-strikeout season.

This season, the 22-year-old went 12-3 with a 1.92 ERA and 210 strikeouts across two levels.  Ranked as The Golden Sombrero’s No. 31 prospect headed into the season, Moore dominated for Double-A Montgomery, posting an 8-3 record with a 2.20 ERA and 131/28 K/BB ratio over 102 1/3 innings.  Shortly before he was promoted to Triple-A Durham, Moore fired a no-hitter with 11 strikeouts against Mobile on June 16.

After the promotion to Triple-A, Moore absolutely dominated, posting a 4-0 record, 1.37 ERA, 0.968 WHIP, and 79/18 K/BB over 52 2/3 innings.  He finished the regular season with a ridiculous 210/46 K/BB, as he became the first pitcher in nearly two decades to record back-to-back 200+-strikeout seasons in the Minors.

Moore’s insane talent will now be on full display for baseball fans as the southpaw will be called up before Monday’s game against Baltimore.  While he will likely work out of the Rays’ bullpen, especially with Kyle Farnsworth experiencing elbow discomfort, Moore should receive at least one start when the Rays play a double-dip against the Yankees on September 21.

It’s one thing to keep a player in the Minors if you’re out of the playoff race so that his arbitration clock doesn’t start too early.  But when every game matters and your harboring a pitcher with video-game stuff in Triple-A, all concerns are thrown out the window.  With the promotion, he instantly becomes the Ray’s third-best starter and their best reliever.

This September call-up carries extra significance for our staff, as Dee and Griff are both New Mexico HS alums like Moore and have been tracking his progress since he was drafted in 2007.  We are all pumped to watch him continue his ascent to greatness as begins what will surely be an outstanding MLB career.  Happy Matt Moore day, Sombrero Nation.

–  As a former student of the University of Nevada, I saw my fair share of drugged out women of the night.  Watching CJ Wilson last night brought back memories.  His cutter and curve were as nasty as the workers of Reno’s 4^th street corners.

–  Speaking of the Rangers, who put firecrackers inside David Murphy?  Homeboy is blowing up right now; making the Rangers say “Nelson who?”

–  I really have to wonder what is in those cigs that Jim Leyland smokes.  Detroit has pulled away from the rest of the division by going 15-4 since August 19^th.

–  Erik Bedard has been scratched from his next start…well of course he has, he is Erik Bedard.

–  Jordan Pacheco made it onto Baseball Tonight last night as part of the Rockies highlight.  Big ups to the kid who is a fellow New Mexican.  He was part of the La Cueva High School (Abq, NM) Bears baseball team that held the national record for consecutive wins.

–  Did anybody else realize that since June 18^th, the Vanimal, Vance Worley, has made 14 starts, and the Phillies have won every single one of them?  I hadn’t realized that either.  Impressive.

–  And I don’t care who you are, watching Stephen Strasburg pitch last night was fantastic.  And to think it was a mere 12 months and 3 days since he was cut on.  Mind-blowing to think about.

This week preliminary rosters for the Arizona Fall League were announced.  The AFL is a prestigious league for what are typically regarded as the surest bets in the Minor Leagues.  While there are some exceptions, in general the rosters for the AFL are comprised of the top prospects in the game.  Exceptions include those pitchers and hitters receiving September call-ups and obviously those players making playoff rosters as well as pitchers who have approached appearance caps, innings caps, or other forms of usage limitations.  Even without these players the rosters can be pretty damn impressive.  Look no further than the Scottsdale Scorpions’ outfield for proof.  It will feature the game’s top two prospects in Mike Trout and Bryce Harper.  Whitney also happens to live a few blocks from their home yard, so I am absolutely ecstatic about the Scorps.  What has me even more thrilled, however, about the Scottsdale roster is a lefty reliever named Will Latimer, a Four Corners baseball product hailing from Bayfield, CO.

Bayfield is a tiny community located immediately east of Durango and well within the gorgeous San Juan Range, which is famous for ski areas like Telluride, Purgatory, and Silverton.  In recent years Bayfield has become a community where Durango’s workforce establishes residence to flee outlandish real estate costs in the Durango city limits.  Will Latimer was raised in this community and ultimately graduated from Bayfield High in 2004.  Latimer played his club baseball in the Farmington Connie Mack league but was never a standout talent until college.  Latimer signed at Trinidad State (CO), which currently rosters former Strike Zone Cardinal Austin Rochford.  While at Trinidad, Latimer saw his fastball begin to pick up pace and his slider begin to bite harder.  He was selected by Boston in the 22^nd round of the 2007 draft and, after missing much of 2008 and 2009 due to injury, is on the right track at the age of 25, reaching as high as Double-A this season.  With a healthy ERA in the low 3’s and more than 3 K’s per BB, his stats certainly justify his AFL invitation.  A quality showing for Scottsdale could land Latimer in the high minors to begin 2012, and with a three-pitch mix featuring a low-90’s fastball and a lanky 6-foot-3 build; the former BHS Wolverine has a very realistic shot at the Show.

In other Four Corners baseball news, former Piedra Vista Panther and current UNM Lobo Jake McCasland has received an invitation to the Cape Cod Baseball League.  If you are a regular guest at The Sombrero, I assume you know what that means.  For those of you who aren’t, The Cape is the premier amateur baseball league worldwide.  Rosters are comprised of nothing but elite collegiate players fighting to climb draft boards.  Jake is the first product of Farmington baseball to crack a Cape roster, and the community is absolutely ecstatic about his invitation.  Jake is arguably the finest local product the town has ever produced, and, after a freshman season at UNM in which he started 15 games, Jake is ready to step back into the weekend rotation in Albuquerque as the Lobos look to build on their 2011 Mountain West title.  Congratulations!

–       Why do people get their panties in such a bunch over sign stealing?  Last night Josh Beckett had some choice words for the Yankees Brett Gardner last night after he caught him supposedly relaying signs to Mark Teixeira.  Teixeira probably had some words of his own for Gardner too after striking out that at-bat.

–       The San Francisco Giants are hosting a Star Wars night later this month.  Instead of bobble-heads they are giving away replicas of Brian Wilson encased in carbonite-awesome!

–       Mike Trout is boom-titties! (That one’s for you Lucey.)  Not only did he become the 9^th youngest player to ever have a two-homer game, the kid was hitting balls that were not even close to the strike zone.  We had him ranked as our No. 2 prospect and he is proving to everyone that he is well deserving of such a dubious honor.

–       In 13 professional innings this summer, Sonny Gray has allowed only 1 run.  The kid is sick nasty.  If you get a chance, watch him pitch and notice how fast the guy moves down the mound.  Surreal speed there, which allows such a small guy to have such devastating stuff.  Can’t wait to see how quick he makes it up with the big club.

–       Watching Francisco Cervelli’s first at-bat last night was pure comedy.  Beckett broke him off back-to-back hammers on the inside part of the plate and made him look like one of those sucky kids in little league who have never seen a curveball before.  Cervelli even gave a look at Beckett after the second curveball that said everything.

Currently ripping through Minor League hitters, Trevor Bauer is on the fast track to the Show.  The best pitcher in college baseball in 2011, Bauer features three plus pitches (fastball, curve and changeup) and possesses the ability to work deep into games.  The third-overall selection by the Arizona Diamondbacks, Bauer fanned 17 hitters and allowed just seven hits over nine innings at High-A Visalia before he was promoted to Double-A Mobile.  There it has been more of the same: two starts, eight hits and 17 strikeouts in 10 innings.  With the mechanics, repertoire and competitiveness that draw comparisons to Tim Lincecum, Kevin Goldstein wonders if Bauer is “The Next Freak?” (*Baseball Prospectus subscription required)

Considering that Bauer was considering the most Big-League-ready pitcher in this year’s draft, and given his rapid ascent through the Minors, many baseball writers and scouts believe that the right-hander is poised for a September call-up.  Over at Fangraphs, Jack Moore argues that Bauer can make an immediate impact and that the Diamondbacks should call him up.

In a recent installment of “9 Innings,” Greg Schaum of Pine Tar Press sat down with Royals’ pitching prospect Jake Odorizzi to pick his brain.  Odorizzi discusses the adjustments he’s had to make between levels, emotions associated with being traded, and his workout routine in the off-season and between starts.

My favorite MiLB writer, John Sickels, continued to review his pre-season Top 20 organizational prospects by reflecting on the White Sox farm system.  Suffice it to say, my favorite team’s system is depleted and pretty unimpressive.

Speaking of the White Sox, with Carlos Quentin’s shoulder injury—not to mention his inability to play with even the slightest amount of pain—Larry from South Side Sox writes that “It’s Still Time for Viciedo,” who, in my opinion, should have been recalled well over a month ago.

One of the most intriguing prospects in this year’s MLB Draft is Brandon Nimmo, who was selected by the Mets in the 13^th-round to become the first-ever first-round selection out of Wyoming.  Coming from a high school that lacked a baseball team, Nimmo established himself as a top-prospect thanks to a remarkable season for his American Legion team.  With a projectable frame and great, raw athleticism, Mets 360 wonders if Nimmo is the next Josh Hamilton.

*Golden Sombrero update: On Monday night, Nimmo fanned in all four at-bats and is now 3-for-15 (all singles) in his budding, professional career.