St. Louis Cardinals’ starting pitcher Adam Wainwright almost won the Cy Young Award in 2010 when he posted a 2.42 ERA and 2.86 FIP over 230.1 innings pitched. This was his follow-up to a very similar season in 2009 and marked the second straight season Wainwright topped 230 innings pitched. Then, in February of 2011, Wainwright had Tommy John surgery and missed the entire 2011 season. (more…)
Filed under: Digging Deep - Analysis | Tagged: Adam Wainwright, St. Louis Cardinals | Leave a Comment »
Two years ago today Sam Fuld was a mere human being when he woke up on April 11th, 2011. He was hitting a pedestrian .227/.320/.318 as the Rays headed into Boston with a 2-8 record. But when the game that started at 7:10pm EST ended a little before 11pm EST Sam Fuld had fully evolved and the Legend of Sam Fuld was in full swing.
Here is my story of how the Legend of Sam Fuld began and how the legend eventually planted its flag in the date of April 11th, 2011, a day that will forever be known as “April Fuld’s Day.”
Filed under: Digging Deep - Analysis | Tagged: April Fuld's Day, Aprill 11th, LegendofSamFuld, Sam Fuld, Tampa Bay Rays, The Legend of Sam Fuld | Leave a Comment »
The Tampa Bay Rays continue to contend and continue to replenish their loaded farm system. The recent trade of James Shields and Wade Davis did just that as did their recent drafts.
Below are our top 16 prospects with 2013 opening day age, position, and comments on each player. Below the top 16 is a small list of additional notable names. Enjoy.
Filed under: Digging Deep - Analysis | Tagged: 2013 Top Prospects, Alex Colome, Blake Snell, Chris Archer, Drew Vettleson, Enny Romero, Felipe Rivero, Hak-Ju Lee, Jake Hager, Jake Odorizzi, Jeff Ames, Jesse Hahn, Josh Sale, Mikie Mahtook, Oscar Hernandez, Parker Markel, Prospects, Richie Shaffer, Tampa Bay Rays, Taylor Guerrieri, Tyler Goeddel, Wil Myers | 1 Comment »
When New York Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira went down with a wrist injury, that will likely keep him out of the lineup and off the field through May, the Yankees must have regretted letting Nick Swisher walk via free agency. (more…)
Filed under: Digging Deep - Analysis | Tagged: Brian Cashman, Chipper Jones, Dan Johnson, Derrek Lee, Free Agents, Juan Rivera, Mark Teixeira, New York Yankees, Nick Swisher, Scott Rolen | Leave a Comment »
The Oakland Athletics, in a move to bolster their major league roster, acquired shortstop Jed Lowrie and right-handed reliever Fernando Rodriguez from the Houston Astros in exchange for catching prospect Max Stassi and former top prospects Chris Carter and Brad Peacock.
The Oakland A’s signed Hiroyuki Nakajima to be their shortstop in 2013 but, before the trade, were slated to give second base duties to Scott Sizemore and third base duties to Josh Donaldson. With none of the three players mentioned above having a proven track record of success in the majors, adding someone like Lowrie, who can play all three positions, was something Billy Beane needed to do for his contending club.
(more…)
Filed under: Digging Deep - Analysis, On the Farm - Prospects | Tagged: Billy Beane, Brad Peacock, Chris Carter, Fernando Rodriguez, Hiroyuki Nakajima, Houston Astros, Jed Lowrie, Jeff Lunhow, Josh Donaldson, Max Stassi, Oakland A's, Oakland Athletics, Prospects, Scott Sizemore, Trades | Leave a Comment »
The Cleveland Indians, Cincinnati Reds, and Arizona Diamondbacks completed a three-way trade yesterday that sent Shin-Soo Choo to the Reds, Trevor Bauer, Drew Stubbs, and Bryan Shaw to the Indians, and Didi Gregorious to the Diamondbacks.
The key components of this trade were Choo, Bauer, Gregorious, and Stubbs, for obvious reasons. Choo is an All-Star caliber player, Bauer is a top pitching prospect, Gregorious was highly coveted by Kevin Towers, and Stubbs in a plus defender in center. But Bryan Shaw, who has been completely overlooked, may be a better part of this trade than many people realize. (more…)
Filed under: Digging Deep - Analysis | Tagged: Arizona Diamondbacks, Bryan Shaw, Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Indians, Trades | 2 Comments »
The Tampa Bay Rays have traded James Shields and Wade Davis to the Kansas City Royals in exchange for the bat they have been in need of in top prospect Wil Myers while also adding even more prospects and pitching depth in Jake Odorizzi, Mike Montgomery, and Patrick Leonard.
Wil Myers, my number two position prospect in all of baseball behind Jurickson Profar, has Evan Longoria‘s ceiling with the bat while adding a plus arm and above-average range in right field. Like Longoria, he will strike out, but he also has the potential to be a perennial 30+ homerun hitter with the chance to hit .300. (more…)
Filed under: Digging Deep - Analysis | Tagged: Andrew Friedman, Dayton Moore, Evan Longoria, Jake Odorizzi, James Shields, Kansas City Royals, Mike Montgomery, Patrick Leonard, Prospects, Tampa Bay Rays, Trades, Wade Davis, Wil Myers | 2 Comments »
The Los Angeles Angels system has become depleted largely due to promotions of some guy named Mike Trout and Garrett Richards, trades that sent Jean Segura and Johnny Hellweg to Milwaukee, and poor showings in recent drafts. But there is a legitimate top prospect and some young players who could help the parent club soon.
Below are my top 16 prospects with 2013 opening day age, position, and comments on each player. Below the top 16 is a small list of additional notable names. Enjoy.
Filed under: Digging Deep - Analysis | Tagged: 2013 Top Prospects, A.J. Schugel, Alex Yarbrough, Andrew Romine, Austin Wood, C.J. Cron, Cam Bedrosian, Carlos Ramirez, Eric Stamets, Jose Rondon, Kaleb Cowart, Kole Calhoun, Los Angeles Angels, Luis Jimenez, Mark Sappington, Mike Clevinger, Mike Trout, Nick Maronde, Prospects, R.J. Alvarez, Randal Grichuk, Taylor Lindsey, Travis Witherspoon | 3 Comments »
The Philadelphia Phillies, desperate for a center fielder, decided not to overpay in cash on a free agent like Michael Bourn and instead opted to overpay in trade to obtain Ben Revere from the Minnesota Twins who adds more young pitching to their organization. (more…)
Filed under: Digging Deep - Analysis | Tagged: Alex Meyer, Ben Revere, Carlos Gomez, Cliff Lee, Jamey Carroll, Juan Pierre, Minnesota Twins, MLB Winter Meetings, Philadelphia Phillies, Prospects, Ryan Theriot, Sam Fuld, Trades, Trevor May, Vance Worley | 12 Comments »
Free agent utility infielder Jeff Keppinger has agreed to a three-year deal with the Chicago White Sox worth $12M in what could be a bargain if Keppinger, one of the best contact hitters in the game, can keep his line-drive rate and BABIP up.
Last season, with the Tampa Bay Rays, Keppinger hit .325/.367/.439 with 127 wRC+; the second best mark of his career. Keppinger maintained his high contact rates, striking out in less than 7.5% of his plate appearances, and posted the second highest line-drive rate of his career at 23.2%.
Line-drives have the best chance of falling for hits so it was no surprise that his BABIP was nearly a career high at .332, and, for a man who rarely hits the ball over the fence or strikes out, his overall average will likely be close to his BABIP and heavily influence his offensive production at the plate. Take a look at his BABIP compared to his average: (more…)
Filed under: Digging Deep - Analysis | Tagged: Adam Dunn, Carlos Lee, Chicago White Sox, Dayan Viciedo, Free Agents, Jeff Keppinger, Juan Pierre, MLB Winter Meetings, Tampa Bay Rays | Leave a Comment »
Junius Worth
David Kerr
Charlie Nehl
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Andrew Martin
Jonathan C. Mitchell
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Daniel Marino
Michael Schwartze
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Spencer Schneier
William J. Tasker
