We’re a bit less than two months away from the 2016 amateur draft, and there figures to be quite a bit of chatter regarding the top high school and college talent in the nation over the coming months. Today, Keith Law and Eric Longenhagen of ESPN.com released their Top 50 draft prospects (subscription required and recommended), adding another excellent resource to stand alongside previously released rankings from Baseball America and from MLB.com. For those interested, MLBTR will run the first installment of its Draft Prospect Q&A series tomorrow afternoon, starting with one of the top bats of the class.
A few more notes from around the game as Tuesday night winds to a close…
- The Red Sox have considered activating catcher Christian Vazquez from the disabled list, manager John Farrell told reporters, including the Boston Globe’s Alex Speier (Twitter link). Per Farrell, nothing is imminent, but the club has had ongoing discussions about its catching situation. ESPN Boston’s Scott Lauber points out (Twitter link) that sophomore backstop Blake Swihart had a rough game defensively but also notes that Vazquez, who is recovering from Tommy John surgery, has yet to catch three games in a row on his rehab assignment.
- Former Blue Jays/Mariners outfielder Eric Thames sat down with Blake Murphy of VICE Sports to discuss his transition to the Korea Baseball Organization and his rise to the status as arguably the league’s best player. The 29-year-old outfielder/first baseman was the KBO’s MVP last season, batting .381/.497/.790 with 47 homers and, incredibly 40 stolen bases (despite never stealing more than eight in a North American season). Thames explained the work he’s put in with coach Jun-ho Jeon — known as the Stolen Base King of Korea. “Even little things like the way the glove’s tilted a little bit—’OK, go.’ ’On this pitch, go,'” Thames explained. “It’s like, are you serious? And then—bam!—it’s a high leg kick or a curveball. It’s like, how do you even know that? He’s one of those guys that has a natural eye for base-stealing.” While the KBO is a notoriously hitter-friendly league, it’s tough to write off Thames’ outrageous production as a pure result of that environment. Thames discusses some elements that he feels have helped him improve his game and also discusses the cultural differences between playing in North America and in Korea. He’ll be a free agent next winter and added that he’s keeping an open mind to taking another shot at playing in the Majors. He’ll be somewhat of a wild card on next winter’s thin free agent market.
- The Dodgers’ bullpen has struggled early on, writes Andy McCullough of the L.A. Times, but the team isn’t planning on making any drastic alterations to the composition of its relief corps just yet. McCullough notes that if the Dodgers do elect to make some changes, there are myriad internal options, and those alternatives will only grow in numbers as Hyun-jin Ryu, Brandon McCarthy and Brett Anderson get healthy. A return from any of those arms could push a starter like Alex Wood or Ross Stripling to the bullpen, and McCullough points out that the Dodgers’ large slate of arms and ability to take on salary should also present the club with various trade scenarios as the deadline approaches this summer.
Eric Thames in MLB would probably have a .275 average with 28 homeruns and 13 stolen bases imo.
I’d be surprised if he hit pass the 25 homerun mark, I’d say around 15-20 homers are the most likely numbers he’ll hit there in the MLB.
Struggling is a massively understated way to describe a Dodgers bullpen that may be one of the worst of all time. They have essentially zero middle relief, nobody who is even halfway effective. These problems were blindly apparent last year, but this supposedly brilliant FO called it a pat hand for another year. They made no significant moves then, and no fan who is halfway paying attention is expecting them to make any now.
8 games
8 games this season, but the pen has been a problem for the past few years and continues to go unaddressed. Not sure how people are buying into what Dodger apologists are selling re their pen.
They are losing games according to the gospels of the New Baseball Geek Testament. Winning isn’t important so long as you believe the right way.
The Dodgers don’t have mug in the way of middle relievers in the system. Going on the assumption that this is the best relief guys they had coming out of camp, it’s the same old story as it has been for the last 2 years. How long will it be before Dave Roberts says that the bullpen isn’t ok, ’cause it’s not.
Why have the Giants and Royals been so successful recently, and been so hard to beat in the postseason? Deep, talented bullpens are a key reason. How the Dodgers failed to pay attention or do anything about it, I don’t know.
How does it matter what Roberts says? He’s the manager, not the GM. He can’t play talent not on the roster, and it isn’t his job to feel the fans’ pain. Sadly it doesn’t seem to be in anybody else’s job description so that task might fall to him eventually. Not that he has the power to do anything about it.
The bullpen is the responsibility of the Whiz Kids. They loaded it up with hard-throwing cement mixer pitchers, Baez, Hatcher and Garcia. They went out of their way to get Hatcher, and Avilan, who was so awful during spring training they had to send him down. And what have the Boy Geniuses said about this miserable situation? As usual, nothing. Zilch. Nada. Not their problem.
Didn’t mean to imply that it’s Roberts’ job to solve the bullpen, it IS the responsibility of the FO. And I realize he’s Mr Positive. Just hope that when they stink he doesn’t sugar coat the situation; just call it like it is.
Honestly, it doesn’t matter to me what Roberts says about the situation. Let him do his job as best he can given the material he has to work with and let him be judged on that basis. It isn’t his job to communicate his views on roster deficiencies. That job shouldn’t fall to him, even if the Boy Wonders refuse to acknowledge it.
Obviously small sample sizes mean nothing to you, so all Dodger fans should be counting their lucky stars you are not their GM. You have been advocating spending $200+ million on a pitcher who has a 9.90 ERA and 6.36 FIP. Greinke has already cost about as much through 2 starts as Baez, Garcia and Hatcher will for the whole season. Your vocal support for such a poor player and contract makes me doubt anything you say with regards to moves the Dodgers should have made. You must also be very angry that the boy geniuses have not traded Seager and others for Trevor Story yet.
Last year was the large sample size, and though you seem to have failed to notice, the bullpen was deficient then and is virtually unchanged now. Perhaps you should familiarize yourself with Einstein’s definition of insanity.
But thanks for telling what I would advocate. I am sure it is meant to save me the trouble of having my own opinions.
You do realize that pitching stats are easily looked up right? During the 2014 and 2015 seasons Baez had a 3.12 ERA and 2.95 FIP, Garcia had a 2.92 ERA and 3.23 FIP and Hatcher was 3.69 ERA and 3.39 FIP and all averaged over a strikeout per inning. J. P. Howell also contributed a 1.94 ERA and 3.32 FIP over that time. However, in your world the combined 12 innings to open this season far outweigh multiple seasons of success for these pitchers.
Your continued hyperbole is getting pretty stale and for whatever reason you seem to have an agenda against the Dodgers current GM. If Ned Colletti wasn’t still on the Dodger’s payroll I would think this was his account.
My agenda against the Dodgers? Hmm. A season ticket holder. Maybe I’m a double-agent for another team. In your world, you never know.
They acquired Aroldis Chapman, remember? Before they realized he had allegedly assaulted his girlfriend and shot up his garage. It’s not like there was a plethora of “middle relief” aces out there anyway – those guys are made, not acquired in free agency. And, um, it’s been 8 games.
Their efforts to acquire Chapman signal a need for an upgrade; when they failed to complete the trade the failed to go in another direction, again preferring for some odd reason to stand pat. It makes no sense. They are not legit contenders until it’s fixed.
The reasoning doesn’t seem so odd when you consider the possibility that building a winning team is not high on their agenda, maybe not on their agenda at all. The Boy Wonders were only interested in Chapman when they thought he could be had for cheap. They waited on Kendrick until he got cheap. They have not (and won’t) extend Jansen or Turner, because neither will come cheap. Everything they’ve done is about reducing longterm payroll obligations, and not because they need the “flexibility” to hire big-ticket free agents, but because their first and possibly only responsibility is increasing profits for ownership.
We Braves fans feel your struggle with the bullpen. Been a rough start to the year.
The pen is horrible. Baez, Garcia, Coleman, and we saw Hatcher start the season like this last year. I don’t understand why they continue to have confidence in these guys, and you don’t have to be a numbers guy to understand they probably don’t have the best saber analytics attached to them.
I don’t know that they do have confidence in them. I think they’ve got no one else better, which is even worse.
Good to see Dodgers fans finally looking at the lack of talent in the bullpen as opposed to blaming Don Mattingly who was pretty masterful in how he handled the entire OF debacle and Puig didn’t receive nearly enough credit for his work handling that poorly constructed team.
Some of have understood the root of the problem for a long time and did not need the first week of this season to be convinced. Yet lots of fans are starting to blame Roberts just like they blamed Mattingly, as if managers get to choose their own rosters.
Oh, Don was to blame as well. Not having guys ready.
We’ve seen this act before and it never ends with a World Series victory.
Eric Thames also had 2 hit for the cycles last season (against the Kia Tigers at Gwangju, and against the Nexen Heroes at Mokdong). Most KBO league catchers have very weak/no control throwing arms when it comes to throwing runners out or making good throws, most even winds up going to the outfield or off the bag… below average if you compare em to catchers playing in the NPB… the only KBO league catcher I know with great defensive abilities and a strong arm there is Busan Lotte Giants Kang Min-ho…
I don’t have a video regarding Eric Thames’ stolen base in the previous season, but I do have this though, all of his homeruns last year hit youtube.com/watch?v=B8GheLGD98g.
What would the posting fee be for first base coach Jun-ho Jeon? Sounds like he could help a lot of teams here.
It seems that Ben Cherington took the brunt of complaints for signing Sandoval and Ramirez. Does anyone have knowledge of Larry Lucchinos’ involvement? After all, it was Lucchino who pushed the now infamous signing of Bobby Valentine over Cherington’s objections, and Lucchino’s insistence of more control over Epstein that Epstein was comfortable with that contributed to Epsteins’ initial, short term departure from the Sox. It is refreshing to see Tom Werners’ statements that ownership doesn’t sit in on lineup decisions or dictate who will play – not sure I would bet the farm on the veracity of that statement, but until it is challenged, I guess Werner is speaking honestly for ownership. Nor do I believe that Ben Cherington resigned completely out of his own reasons. Mutually agreed to part company might be a more honest public company. However, professional sport ownership puts political types to shame in creating very creative ways of shifting responsibility to anyone else but themselves. Which takes us back to the argument of whether it was Lucchino or Cherington who “really” got ownership to sign off on the exhorbitant salaries for these two once stellar ball players….I may never know the truth, but I’m guessin’ it was the old master of total control, Mr. Lucchino himself, who orchestrated the disastrous signings. After all, he had his fall guy three offices down!!!
Why isn’t Neuse ranked? He has a good enough glove and arm to stick at SS he has a similar build to Trout/Schwarber his athletic ability would fall some where in between the two, more athletic than Schwarber not as athletic as Trout. He is crushing the ball and showing much improved plate discipline. He also is the teams closer so he has that to fall back on.
I’m hoping the Braves either draft Blake Rutherford as the third pick or if they go with someone else then try to trade up to get Will Benson. They need a little power in their minor league system and both these OF’s look like they would provide that along with a good hit tool as well.
You want to see a struggling bullpen just go look at Atlanta
In observation, we view the current mess of our bullpen. Shouldn’t the FO look at the men responsible for guiding these relievers as well.
Is RH REALLY doing all he can to mentally prepare against at bat situations; in the same way AF FZ
I respectfully disagree and offer as an example the Jay Howell debacle of last weekend. He was tossin 82 and couldn’t retire a lefthanded hitter. Nothin RH can do about that. No amount of mental preparation will prevent a soft tossing reliever from getting spanked. Again, the horses aren’t there and I agree with Blue Sky that they can only play what they have. The only managerial alternative is to continue to trot out any reliever who has had any success and risk overuse. No good answer here.
The Dodgers bullpen is horrible, yet again. You can tell how Roberts feels about it by him yanking Baez after a walk and bringing in Jansen for a 5 out save. The way this is going, if the Dodgers do make the postseason, they will probably have at least 3 starters leading the league in complete games.
Yup. I was at that game last night. As the innings wore on and it was clear Wood was running out of gas, the sellout crowd got about as quiet as any I’ve heard at Dodger Stadium. Then the bullpen gates opened and the crowd audibly moaned. With the four-pitch walk from Baez they grumbled and booed. Cheered when Jansen trotted out. Fortunately it worked out, but no way Roberts can go to that well every day.
Dodgers ranked 19th in relief ERA last year. This year looks like it will be even worse. Seems like everybody knows what’s going on here but the stat geeks.