{"id":2405,"date":"2010-12-28T16:11:30","date_gmt":"2010-12-28T22:11:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thegoldensombrero.com\/wordpress\/?p=2405"},"modified":"2010-12-28T21:49:19","modified_gmt":"2010-12-29T03:49:19","slug":"around-the-league-garrett-wittels-charged-webb-signs-d-lee-ackley-hosmer-and-jennings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/thegoldensombrero.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2405","title":{"rendered":"Around The League: Garrett Wittels charged, Webb signs, D-Lee, Ackley, Hosmer, and Jennings"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/thegoldensombrero.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/wittels2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-2406\" title=\"wittels2\" src=\"http:\/\/thegoldensombrero.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/wittels2-300x203.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"203\" srcset=\"http:\/\/thegoldensombrero.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/wittels2-300x203.jpg 300w, http:\/\/thegoldensombrero.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/wittels2.jpg 551w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The start to the final week of 2010 brought the disturbing news that FIU\u2019s Garrett Wittels had been <a href=\"http:\/\/www.hallofverygood.com\/2010\/12\/garrett-wittels-charges-with-rape.html\">charged with the rape<\/a> of two 17-year old girls while on vacation in the Bahamas.\u00a0 Wittels, who currently <a href=\"..\/archives\/393\">holds the second-longest hitting streak<\/a> in NCAA history at 56 games, is headed into his senior season and has a chance to make history- he is two games shy of tying Robin Ventura\u2019s record of 58 games.\u00a0 It is too early to know, or speculate for that matter, what type of impact the allegations will have on Wittels\u2019 eligibility.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>With <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/c\/crawfca02.shtml?utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_campaign=Linker\">Carl  Crawford<\/a><\/strong> long departed, the Tampa Bay Rays are hoping that rookie <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/j\/jennide01.shtml?utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_campaign=Linker\">Desmond  Jennings<\/a><\/strong> <a href=\"http:\/\/hardballtalk.nbcsports.com\/2010\/12\/27\/desmond-jennings-no-sure-thing-to-replace-carl-crawford\/\">will fill the void in left field<\/a>.\u00a0 Jennings, who has comparable speed but less pop than his predecessor, will have Spring Training to prove to the Rays that he is the man for the job.\u00a0 If not, Matt Joyce should have no problem manning the position.\u00a0 Realistically, the Rays want Jennings to be their left fielder, so I\u2019d expect a platoon scenario\u2026at least until one of their two youngsters shows some consistency.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><!--more--><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.masnsports.com\/phil_wood\/2010\/12\/post-christmas-update.html\">Phil Wood of MASN<\/a> reported that the Nationals are likely make a decision this week regarding first baseman <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/l\/leede02.shtml?utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_campaign=Linker\">Derrek  Lee<\/a><\/strong>.\u00a0 The first base market has dried up significantly since the winter meetings and the two-best remaining options are Lee and <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/l\/larocad01.shtml?utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_campaign=Linker\">Adam  LaRoche<\/a><\/strong>. It was rumored that the Orioles offered LaRoche a 3-year\/$15-$18 million contract, but there\u2019s been no update since.\u00a0 If I had to make a prediction, I would guess that LaRoche will end up with the Orioles therefore defaulting Lee to the Nationals.\u00a0 Lee would be a nice fit to Washington\u2019s young and often erratic infield of <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/d\/desmoia01.shtml?utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_campaign=Linker\">Ian  Desmond<\/a><\/strong>, <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/player_search.cgi?search=Ryan+Zimmerman&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_campaign=Linker\">Ryan  Zimmerman<\/a><\/strong> and Danny Esposito.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>With all of the rumors involving <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/w\/webbbr01.shtml?utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_campaign=Linker\">Brandon  Webb<\/a><\/strong> this winter, one would have thought that he was coming off of an All-Star season.\u00a0 Instead, Webb is looking to bounce back after missing the entire 2010 season due to an assortment of shoulder problems.\u00a0 On Monday he <a href=\"http:\/\/www.mlbtraderumors.com\/2010\/12\/rangers-reach-agreement-with-webb.html?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+MlbTradeRumors+%28MLB+Trade+Rumors%29\">signed a one-year contract with the Texas Rangers<\/a> worth $3 million plus incentives.\u00a0 He will join a rotation that is already comprised of <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/w\/wilsocj01.shtml?utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_campaign=Linker\">C.J.  Wilson<\/a><\/strong>, <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/l\/lewisco01.shtml?utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_campaign=Linker\">Colby  Lewis<\/a><\/strong>, and <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/h\/hunteto02.shtml?utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_campaign=Linker\">Tommy  Hunter<\/a><\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>With the Seattle Mariners likely to have another lackluster season in 2011, there\u2019s a pretty good chance we will get to see <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/minors\/player.cgi?utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_campaign=Linker&amp;id=ackley001dus\">Dustin  Ackley<\/a><\/strong> in the major leagues.\u00a0 Coming off a tremendous Arizona Fall League in which he hit .424\/.581\/.758 and was named the league\u2019s MVP, Ackley is <a href=\"http:\/\/www.baseballprof.com\/2010\/12\/dustin-ackley-save-seattles-starved-offense\/?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+BaseballProfessor+%28Baseball+Professor%29\">poised to crack the Mariners\u2019 infield<\/a>.\u00a0 Out of all the great prospects in the minor leagues, Dee and I both think that Ackley will see the most immediate success primarily due to his <a href=\"..\/archives\/1799\">sweet, compact left handed swing<\/a>; he also ranks in both of our top-5 overall.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Speaking of sweet left handed swings, no top prospect list is complete without the Royals\u2019 <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/minors\/player.cgi?utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_campaign=Linker&amp;id=hosmer001eri\">Eric  Hosmer<\/a><\/strong>.\u00a0 Out of all the great prospects in the Royals\u2019 organization \u2013 <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/minors\/player.cgi?utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_campaign=Linker&amp;id=mousta001mik\">Mike  Moustakas<\/a><\/strong>, Wil Myers, Chris Dwyer, <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/minors\/player.cgi?utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_campaign=Linker&amp;id=montgo001mic\">Mike  Montgomery<\/a><\/strong> and <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/minors\/player.cgi?utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_campaign=Linker&amp;id=odoriz001jac\">Jake  Odorizzi<\/a><\/strong> just to name a few \u2013 I believe Hosmer reigns supreme, as do our friends at <a href=\"http:\/\/kingsofkauffman.com\/2010\/12\/27\/my-favorite-prospect\/\">Kings of Kauffman<\/a>.\u00a0 I\u2019ll save all of the analysis for them however, as The Golden Sombrero will be constructing our own evaluation of him in the coming months.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The start to the final week of 2010 brought the disturbing news that FIU\u2019s Garrett Wittels had been charged with the rape of two 17-year old girls while on vacation in the Bahamas.\u00a0 Wittels, who currently holds the second-longest hitting streak in NCAA history at 56 games, is headed into his senior season and has [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1300,6,16,9,11,13,10,14],"tags":[393,624,443,1504,147,1594,1099,1591,1341,1589,1242,1536,472,153,1534,302,1590,1535,1342,154,574,549,61,1592,151,1593,1588,1587],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/thegoldensombrero.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2405"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/thegoldensombrero.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/thegoldensombrero.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thegoldensombrero.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thegoldensombrero.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2405"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"http:\/\/thegoldensombrero.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2405\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2411,"href":"http:\/\/thegoldensombrero.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2405\/revisions\/2411"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/thegoldensombrero.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2405"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thegoldensombrero.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2405"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thegoldensombrero.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2405"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}