Saturday Morning in The Caribbean, Vol. 1
by Jesse Behr | @jj_behr | jjbehr@fieldofignorance.com
Stats as of December 10; league leaders in italics
Liga de Beisbol Dominicano
OF Brian Bogusevic, Astros: 33 G, 120 AB, 38 H, 8 2B, 1 3B, 4 HR, 26 R, 12 RBI, .317/.446/.500
Bogusevic spent half of 2011 in Houston, finishing the season with 4 HR, 25 wRC, and 2.4 WAR in 87 games (182 PA). Bogusevic could be a combo threat of power and speed (13 HR, 23 SB at Triple-A Round Rock in 2010) if he reaches his full potential.
OF Ricardo Nanita, Blue Jays: 30 G, 103 AB, 35 H, 7 2B, 0 3B, 6 HR, 15 R, 20 RBI, .340/.425/.583
OF Carlos Peguero, Mariners: 37 G, 140 AB, 38 H, 9 2B, 0 3B, 10 HR, 24 R, 26 RBI, .271/.346/.550
LHP Shane Youman, Free Agent: 4-1. 0.77 ERA, 6 G, 6 GS, 35.0 IP, 6.42 K/9, 2.31 BB/9, .207 AVG
RHP Manauris Baez, Royals: 1-1, 1.96 ERA, 9 G, 8 GS, 36.2 IP, 6.37 K/9, 4.90 BB/9, .176 AVG
Read More2011 Rule 5 Draft Recap
Here’s how the 2011 Rule 5 Draft went down:
Stats for 2011 season; former teams in parentheses
1. Houston Astros draft RHP Rhiner Cruz (NYM)
At Double-A Binghamton: 3-2, 7 SV, 36 G, 59.1 IP, 7.74 K/9, 5.92 BB/9, 4.40 ERA, 4.58 FIP
“Cruz has a big fastball, throws regularly in the mid-90s, but his control and his offspeed stuff are both well below average right now. I don’t think he has a great chance to stick.” – Ben Badler,
BaseballAmerica.com
2. Minnesota Twins draft RHP Terry Doyle (CWS)
At Double-A Birmingham: 7-5, 15 GS, 100.0 IP, 6.57 K/9, 1.98 BB/9, 3.24 ERA, 3.56 FIP
“Doyle is a righthander with guile who lacks a plus pitch but knows how to set up hitters. He helped his chances of being picked with an excellent Arizona Fall League performance. He certainly understands the geometry of pitching, consistently getting outs with his command and a cut fastball. Doyle’s 88-92 fastball did pick up as the season progressed and he touched 93-94 mph in Arizona. Doyle confuses hitters who don’t know him, as he often pitches backward, using breaking pitches to set up his fastball. He throws four pitches for strikes, including a biting slider and a high-70s change up.” – J.J. Cooper,
BaseballAmerica.com
LOS PIRATAS! Act II for “Nate The Great”
AP Photo
by Jesse Behr | @jj_behr | jjbehr@fieldofignorance.com
F. Scott Fitzgerald once said: “There are no second acts in American lives.” While it’s unlikely Mr. Fitzgerald had Nate McLouth in mind, you have to wonder what the second act in Pittsburgh holds for “Nate The Great.”
All-Star. Gold Glover. “Great.” These were all words ascribed to McLouth prior to June of 2009, when he was dealt to Atlanta for prospects Charlie Morton, Jeff Locke, and Gorkys Hernandez. Now, after signing a one-year, $1.75 million dollar contract on Wednesday, McLouth returns to Pittsburgh as just “Nate The Bench Player.” Has quite a different ring to it, don’t you think?
You wonder what happened to “Nate The Great”? As I continue to remind readers, I followed the Pirates as closely as any healthy human being should from May 2008 to early 2010 when The ‘Burgh Blues ran in existence. And to Pirates fans, McLouth was the miniature version (5’11”,185 pounds) of superman.
This throw during the 2008 All-Star game, and his eventual Gold Glove award selection, put him on baseball’s national radar. However, the few that had been following the Pirates, or (what I suppose were) the many that followed McLouth in his days at the University of Michigan saw something special.
Read MoreSet You Free: Catchers in the Rye
With Baseball’s Winter Meetings in Dallas, Texas underway, it’s perfect timing to dive into the free agent pool. This is the second part of our nine-part series entitled Set You Free, which takes a position-by-position look at this offseason’s free agency market. Today, Jesse Behr goes over available backstops.
Last week, in the span of six days, five catchers were taken off the market: Jake Fox signed with the Pirates and Carlos Corporan with the Astros to minor league deals, Ryan Doumit will head to Minnesota and Jose Molina to Tampa Bay on one-year deals, and Ramon Hernandez to Colorado on a two-year $6.4 million deal. Hernandez theoretically swapped spots with Chris Iannetta, who was traded to the Angels for right-hander Tyler Chatwood.
Read More