#32 Starling Marte

Pittsburgh Pirates

DOB: 10/9/1988

Previous Rank: N/R

ETA: 2012

Marte has four plus tools and an average one, but he lacks the discipline in the box to be ranked as high as other elite hitters with similar skill sets.  We at The Sombrero treat strike-zone judgment about as seriously as we treat the hit tool itself, and Marte appears to have very little of it.  That said, he posted a tremendously impressive .332/.370/.500 slash line with 24 stolen bases and nearly 60 hits for extra bases in the Eastern League.  He only worked 22 walks in over 560 plate appearances, and, while his ability to lay off secondary stuff improved as the year progressed, he still has a long way to go before he is able to differentiate balls and strikes or square strikes up with secondary offerings.

He is a terrific runner who will eventually move Andrew McCutchen to a corner spot.  His arm will be plus in center and is quite accurate with good carry.  He squares fastballs up as well as anyone in the Minors today and has the legs to beat out several grounders per year.  His power is behind his other tools, but it is at least in the “gap” category now with likely more to come as he matures.

Considering that Marte had a terrific season in Double-A as a 22-year-old, the future is looking very bright in the Pirate outfield.  Marte plays the game very hard and gets great marks for his makeup too.  We expect to see Marte at PNC in 2012, but it hopefully comes after several hundred at-bats in Triple-A first.

–  How bout those Rays?  Can they really pull the rabbit out of the hat and clench a playoff berth?  I mentioned this earlier as a joke, but the Tampa Bay Rays are about to pull a Houdini.

–  But which is more impressive- The Rays surge, or the Boston Red Sox collapse?

–  Good old Manny being Manny again…or is it Manny being Kirby now?  Either way, at least Manny Ramirez’s legacy was already tarnished, right?  Makes this episode just a bit less shocking.

–  I am not sure what all the hullaballo was about MLB not allowing the Mets to wear hats that did not meet the “uniform” requirements as written in the rulebook.  It is a rule people.  And it is not like there were not other ways that the Mets, and every other NFL and MLB team used to show support for all of 9/11.  Sure, they could have shown a little leeway, but then they might be setting a precedent that could cause problems somewhere down the unforeseen road.

–  Someone asked me to describe teaching 6^th graders in a single sentence the other day…and this is what I came up with- “Teaching 6^th grade is the equivalent of herding cats.”

–  Watching a player begin his decline as a ball player is always difficult.  It is even more difficult when said player has never given anyone a reason to hate.  That said, it will be interesting to see how Ichiro Suzuki‘s 2012 campaign goes.  Is him not reaching 200 hits that big a deal this year?  Does it mark the start of his decline?  Only time will tell.

–  Good luck to Andrew McCutchen while negotiating what hopefully turns out to be a favorable deal with the Pirates.  It’s really exciting to see a team like Pittsburgh rising from their grave.  It gives Astros fans hope.

–  Speaking of the Houston Astros, we currently host 16 rookies on our roster, with 10 of them being pitchers.  Yikes.  Talk about rebuilding.

Wow, what a week.  We had two no-hitters and a few pitchers come up just short of a no-hitter.  We also saw a couple streaks come to an end.  Unfortunately, Andre Ethier was not able to record a hit for a 31^st consecutive game, and Joey Votto’s streak of reaching base safely ended at 33 games.  Thankfully, both of these guys are on my team and helping me hold strong amongst the leaders in the Denslow Cup.  These guys are obviously finding themselves at the top of the charts in fantasy leagues across the globe.  Let’s take a look today at some names that were expected to be big producers, but are nowhere to be found.  Right now is a great time to turn one owner’s regrets into your own small fortune.

Again, I have no new trades to report in the Denslow Cup.  One owner is searching for saves and looking to deal SP to get them.  However, he did this via the Samurai Board (our message board).  He has rejected every trade thrown his way and at least in dealing with me has never even tried to negotiate anything.  This brings me to a point I want to make about trading: don’t just throw up your trade wants on the league message board.  Just looking at the standings and scoring will give owners an idea of what you need or don’t need.  Also, if you do not like a trade, reply with an email about what specifically you don’t like about the proposal.  It is never helpful to just say, “Nope.  This trade sucks.”  It really makes it easier for you and other owners to find out just where you stand on different pieces in different trades.  Now, on to guys I’m getting and getting rid of.

(more…)

Dex even rocks his sombrero to the right

Bottom 1: Dexter Fowler struck out swinging against Matt Cain

Bottom 2: Struck out swinging against Cain

Bottom 4: Infield single off of Cain

Bottom 6: Called out on strikes against Dan Runzler

Bottom 7: Struck out swinging against Guillermo Mota

NOTES: Fowler’s golden sombrero on Wednesday was the ninth of the 2011 season, and the third straight by a leadoff hitter (Peter Bourjos and Andrew McCutchen).

Exactly why he was moved to the leadoff spot for Friday’s game

Top 1: Andrew McCutchen called out on strikes against Bronson Arroyo

Top 2: Called out on strikes against Arroyo

Top 4: Struck out swinging against Arroyo

Top 5: Struck out swinging against Matt Maloney

Top 8: Reaches on error by Edgar Renteria

Final Line: 0-5, 4 strikeouts

Notes: This is the second consecutive sombrero by a leadoff hitter

Total 2011 Sombreros: 7