Doyers Thread

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Dodgers prospect chat with Jason Parks of Baseball Prospectus

Baseball Prospectus 2013 annual was recently published and True Blue LA had the opportunity to talk to some of their authors. This is the first part of an interview with Jason Parks, who writes about prospects and he talks about his top two Dodger prospects, Yasiel Puig and Zach Lee.

By CraigMinami on Mar 9 2013, 10:30a


I had the opportunity to have a conversation with Jason Parks, author at Baseball Prospectus, about some of the top prospects for the Dodgers. Parks had a passion for baseball and writing and while he didn't have any goals to be a national prospect writer, he happened to be friends with certain people and it just kind of happened. Parks' predecessor was Kevin Goldstein, who is now overseeing the Houston Astros pro scouting department.

We talked about a few of the prospects Parks profiled here, but since his analysis was for subscribers only, here are some of Jason's thoughts about those players.

Yasiel Puig was the number one prospect and Parks said one of the issues with Puig was that not many people had seen him in game action. Puig physically looks better than initially advertised, perhaps people saw him a few years when he looked different but now his physical appearance is beginning to turn heads.

"First of all, he's not 6'3", he looks 6'. He's built like Ray Lewis, he's a middle linebacker in a 4-3 system," Parks said. "He's got broad shoulders, and a big broad chest. But he's an athlete, he can run, he can throw, he's got power, he's a five-tool guy."

On what minor league level Puig should play this year, Parks said "for hitters, Double-A is the test, if you put Puig in High A, he's gonna rake; it is not going to tell you much. He's a grown man, if you put him with boys, he's going to treat them like boys.

"Put him in Double-A, that's the test, that is where pitchers can command their stuff better, you see a lot more breaking ball, change ups can be thrown for strikes, pitch sequence becomes a bigger part of the equation." It will be a test for Puig because "you just see a lot more serious pitchers."

"I'm a very much interested in seeing Puig in Double-A," Parks said.

Zach Lee was the number two prospect, and Parks said "I think he is really good prospect, what I don't think he is a really great prospect and I think that is a really important distinction.

"We as fans of prospects, when your team sets out and says this guy is going to be D-1 quarterback and were going to give him five million dollars, and five million dollars buys a lot of perception." he said. That buys this whole top of rotation [idea], "that always exist when a kid is 18 and never exists when he is 21 or 22."

Parks said Lee isn't going to be an ace but "what he can be is a solid major league starter someday." "And that has a ton of value."

"He's got very good delivery, he's athletic kid obviously, he's got size, he's got strength, his fastball is solid average, he can bump it to plus velocity," Parks said. "He has multiple breaking ball looks, I personally like the slider. He can turnover the change up, he can pitch in sequence."

For Lee, Double-A is also the test level, are you for real, "are you a major leaguer or a minor leaguer?"

"Lee is going to struggle a bit but I think he going to become a solid number three or number four type of starter and if he does develop to that, that's a win, he's worth every single dime they gave him to forego his scholarship to LSU. I'm a fan of him, I like him."

 

[Villain]

Yasiel Puig ------ Yah-seal pweeg



He's fast.

He throws hard.

And he's got a purdy swing.

 

[Villain]

Dear Mods. Los Angeles has more Mexicans than Mexico City. Please put my thread back into ghetto Spanglish. Muchas Gracias.

 

[Goober]

:greinke:

 

[EmpireWF]

Yasiel Puig ----- Yah-seal pweeg

He's fast.

He throws hard.

And he's got a purdy swing.

Jason Parks on Puig...

Yasiel Puig was the number one prospect and Parks said one of the issues with Puig was that not many people had seen him in game action. Puig physically looks better than initially advertised, perhaps people saw him a few years when he looked different but now his physical appearance is beginning to turn heads.

"First of all, he's not 6'3", he looks 6'. He's built like Ray Lewis, he's a middle linebacker in a 4-3 system," Parks said. "He's got broad shoulders, and a big broad chest. But he's an athlete, he can run, he can throw, he's got power, he's a five-tool guy."

On what minor league level Puig should play this year, Parks said "for hitters, Double-A is the test, if you put Puig in High A, he's gonna rake; it is not going to tell you much. He's a grown man, if you put him with boys, he's going to treat them like boys.

"Put him in Double-A, that's the test, that is where pitchers can command their stuff better, you see a lot more breaking ball, change ups can be thrown for strikes, pitch sequence becomes a bigger part of the equation." It will be a test for Puig because "you just see a lot more serious pitchers."

"I'm a very much interested in seeing Puig in Double-A," Parks said.

Guy is already big but he'll be huge when his body fills out.

 

[Villain]

Sidenote - Christ. Hanley lost a ton of weight. He's been one of those "best shape of his life" hype-receivers this winter, but WOW... Part of it has to be standing next to that monster, but still...

 

[Villain]

:greinke:

 

[Villain]

Ted Lilly, LHP, Dodgers — Growing interest in the lefty, who missed most of last season after May, as he makes his way back from shoulder surgery. There seems to be more interest in the 37-year-old Lilly than in Aaron Harang or Chris Capuano, two extra Dodgers starters who also could be dealt. The Dodgers are holding on to all of them until they are assured that Chad Billingsley is 100 percent ready after undergoing treatments to his elbow this offseason that enabled him to bypass Tommy John surgery.

Lilly having more trade interest than Capuano or Harang? It's Cafardo, so probably bullshit x1000.

 

[Villain]

Rickie Weeks striking out on 3 pitches from Ryu. I know it's just Spring and not even halfway through March, but it's nice to see him doing well against MLB hitters.

 

[Villain]

Ryu had another start, another successful outing against the Brewers. He threw 5.2 innings, striking out six and sitting down the last 11 batters he saw whilst only giving up a single run. A-Gone also hit two oppo homers and Ethier was 3 for 3 in that game. Those were Adrian's first two homers of Spring if you don't count the one off of R.A. Dickey in the WBC.

Also worth noting: Carl Crawford made his spring debut. He DH'd on Saturday (0 for 3 with lots of hustle - very important) and he'll DH today and tomorrow. He's trying really hard to make the Opening Day roster.

I think that him and Grienke will open the season on 15-day DL and just be sure to be as healthy as possible in mid-April, but we'll see what they do. Grienke threw a bullpen on Sunday, too.

 

[Villain]

Greinke will make a 45-pitch start on Wednesday. LINK

It's still undecided whether he'll make that start from Minor League camp or the big league Spring Training. That decision will affect the date that his stint on the 15-day DL will be retroactive to once Opening Day arrives. Doyers won't need a 5th starting pitcher until April 13th.

 

[Villain]

Questionable Player Updates:

• Carl Crawford looks to be on track for a start in LF on Opening Day next week
• Ryu will begin the season as a starter
• 4 million bucks of Hanley's salary will be covered by the WBC. Every day on the DL is covered by WBC insurance policy (SOURCE)
• Hanley is estimated to make his 2013 debut around May 16 or so.
• Yasiel Puig went 0-2 in a game over the weekend and his ST average dropped to .526. Christ he's ridiculous - and will hopefully rip AA baseball a new one to force himself onto the MLB roster this summer.

The last bullpen spot is still up for grabs and it's an interesting situation. The Big 3 of NRIs is now a Big 2 - Peter Moylan and Kevin Gregg - and there's a few 40-man arms that could be candidates as well:

Paco Rodriguez .... LOOGY drafted last summer - first 2012 draftee to hit the bigs.
Josh Wall .... Hard throwing righty, minor league closer. He was born 8 days before me. He throws gas; 10.2 MLB innings last year with 12 Ks and a walk.

And of course, the trade-able trio: Capuano, Harang, Lilly.

Dream scenario for me is that Capuano stays as a long-reliever from the bullpen, the minor league guys stay in the minors (until needed due to injuries), and that Moylan and Gregg accept AAA assignments and come up as depth for the inevitable injuries. What is most likely to happen: Lilly stays (least trade value) and Capuano and Harang get traded for nobodies. One of Moylan/Gregg make the roster. Josh Wall comes up when one of Moylan/Gregg reminds us why they were NRI guys in the first place.

Still a week left, things can still change.

 

[Villain]

TBLA

Scouts from the Rangers, Mariners, Pirates, and Indians were on hand to watch Capuano mow down one little, two little, 25 little Indians on Monday afternoon.

Chris Capuano Sweepstakes! :runaway:

 

[stevsta]

Great game yesterday with Kemp finally getting his first hit

And it wouldn't be complete without storming the field for Friday night fireworks

 

[Villain]

*Even though the Dodgers' is still slow to warm up, the team has begun the year with four consecutive quality starts for the first time since 1972. Kershaw is starting tonight so there's a pretty awesome chance that the streak grows to five. Ryu pitches Sunday. From TBLA: "Dodgers starting pitchers through four starts have a 1.30 ERA with 22 strikeouts and one walk in 27⅔ innings this season."

*Fun scoring fact from TBLA:

Paco Rodriguez followed Greinke on the mound and was greeted by A.J. Ellis throwing out McCutchen trying to steal second base. Rodriguez struck out Pedro Alvarez on three pitches and on the season has the distinction of facing four batters, yet recording five outs.

*Andre Ethier still can't hit lefties, but so far this season against LHP he's 3 for 7 with two doubles and a home run (and 3 strikeouts). Granted, one double and the home run came off of the venerable Jonathon Sanchez (who sucks) - but the other double was against Madison Bumgarner (who is good, and shut out the Dodgers that night). Against righties this year, he's 1 for 8 with 3 more Ks... :facepalm:

*Zack Greinke threw into the 7th inning and didn't let a runner reach second base. He gave up two hits - the first one almost ruled as an error. Without the second hit, Mattingly might have kept Greinke in the game longer to go for a possible no-hitter (some expected the offical scored to change the ruling on the first hit). Second hit was by Andrew McCutcheon and it was a no-doubter - then Donnie brought the hook.

Decide for yourself on the first hit:

 

*Chad Billingsley will likely make his 2013 debut on Wednesday. Lilly, Capuano, and Harang still need to be dealt with one way or another. FWIW, Lilly was horrid in a minor-league rehab start.

 

[Villain]

Clayton Kershaw: 16 IP, 6 H, 1 BB, 16 Ks, 0 ER, 1 CG, 1 SO
Hyun-Jin Ryu: 12.2 IP, 13 H, 2 BB, 11 Ks, 3 ER, 1 HR
Zach Greinke: 6.1 IP, 2 H, 0 BB, 6 Ks, 0 ER
Josh Beckett: 6.0 IP, 6 H, 1 BB, 4 Ks, 1 HR, 3 ER

Dodgers Bullpen: 13 IP, 1 H, 4 BB, 11 Ks, 0 ER

Chad Billingsley should be making his 2013 debut this week in San Diego.

 

[Villain]

http://www.latimes.com/sports/dodge...s-hanley-ramirez-cast-20130409,0,566799.story

Dodgers' Hanley Ramirez to get cast removed this week

By Dylan Hernandez
April 9, 2013, 3:04 p.m.

SAN DIEGO – Sidelined shortstop Hanley Ramirez said he expects to get the cast removed from his right hand this week.

With the cast stabilizing his surgically repaired right thumb, Ramirez is already taking grounders, throwing and hitting one-handed. He remains hopeful he could return to the lineup by the middle of next month.

“I’ve been doing everything,” said Ramirez, who underwent surgery March 21 to repair a torn ligament in his thumb.

Ramirez said he doesn’t know what he will and won’t be able to do once his cast is removed.

“Let’s see how everything feels when I get the cast off,” he said.

Ramirez said missing opening day was difficult.

“It’s my first time that I miss opening day,” he said. “It’s not easy.”

Ramirez acknowledged that he sometimes gets antsy.

“What I do is go in the gym and work,” he said.

Even though Ramirez was injured in the World Baseball Classic, he said playing for the tournament champion Dominican Republic marked the high point of his career.

“It’s got to be,” Ramirez said. “I won in the winter league a couple times, but it’s not the same. This is a thing where the whole world was watching. It was like the World Series.”

Ramirez has never reached the major league postseason.

“It’s a way different feeling when you have a trophy in your hands,” he said.

Ramirez has no regrets about playing in the tournament.

“It could have happened anywhere,” he said.

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp...notebook_id=44320292&vkey=notebook_la&c_id=la

Hanley declares himself ahead of schedule

By Ken Gurnick / MLB.com | 04/10/2013 12:02 AM ET

SAN DIEGO -- Nobody with the Dodgers will say Hanley Ramirez is ahead of schedule in his recovery from right thumb surgery, except Ramirez.

"A couple weeks ahead," said Ramirez, who had surgery for a torn ligament on March 21, and was expected to miss eight weeks.

Ramirez has already had one longer cast replaced by a shorter one that allows him to throw a baseball. That cast comes off later this week, then he will begin strengthening exercises.

But Ramirez said when doctors took off the first cast, they performed a test that determined the ligament was healing well. Ramirez said he's been swinging one-handed in the cage, while taking ground balls regularly at shortstop during infield drills.

"I haven't heard any date. I haven't asked, either," manager Don Mattingly said. "He's still a ways away. He's not throwing-throwing, but he's been able to do a lot of stuff baseball-wise, one-handed stuff, quite a bit of baseball stuff. Hopefully that shortens the timetable of him being sharp when he comes back.'

(Don Newcome)

 

[Villain]

MSTI

Here’s a List of Players With Fewer Home Runs Than Juan Uribe:

1 Jacoby Ellsbury 1
2 Paul Konerko 1
3 Michael Saunders 1
4 Chris Heisey 1
5 Jason Heyward 1
6 Jarrod Saltalamacchia 1
7 Matt Holliday 1
8 Ryan Howard 1
9 Nick Hundley 1
10 Nate Schierholtz 1
11 Alex Gonzalez 1
12 Edwin Encarnacion 1
13 Alcides Escobar 1
14 Andre Ethier 1
15 Jeff Francoeur 1
16 Juan Francisco 1
17 Brett Gardner 1
18 Justin Sellers 1
19 Adrian Gonzalez 1
20 Justin Ruggiano 1
21 Jimmy Rollins 1
22 Jose Reyes 1
23 Trevor Plouffe 1
24 Joe Mauer 1
25 Andrew McCutchen 1
26 Yadier Molina 1
27 Miguel Montero 1
28 Kendrys Morales 1
29 Gerardo Parra 1
30 David Murphy 1
31 Nick Markakis 1
32 Manny Machado 1
33 Adam Jones 1
34 Ben Zobrist 1
35 Howie Kendrick 1
36 Josh Reddick 1
37 Alexei Ramirez 1
38 Martin Prado 1
39 Pete Kozma 1
40 Erik Kratz 1
41 Chris Parmelee 1
42 Brandon Crawford 1
43 Ike Davis 1
44 Nelson Cruz 1
45 Adrian Beltre 1
46 Carl Crawford 1
47 Will Venable 1
48 Lyle Overbay 1
49 Luis Valbuena 1
50 Jason Castro 1
51 Matt Carpenter 1
52 B.J. Upton 1
53 Alberto Callaspo 1
54 Mark Trumbo 1
55 Norichika Aoki 1
56 Alejandro De Aza 1
57 A.J. Ellis 1
58 Michael Bourn 1
59 Yonder Alonso 1
60 Jose Altuve 1
61 Rickie Weeks 1
62 Josh Donaldson 1
63 Miguel Cabrera 1
64 Greg Dobbs 1
65 Lance Berkman 1
66 Michael Young 1
67 Carlos Beltran 1
68 Ichiro Suzuki 1
69 Matt Wieters 1
70 Juan Pierre 0
71 Ben Revere 0
72 Jhonny Peralta 0
73 David Wright 0
74 Salvador Perez 0
75 Cliff Pennington 0
76 Carlos Pena 0
77 Ryan Zimmerman 0
78 Dustin Pedroia 0
79 Placido Polanco 0
80 Buster Posey 0
81 Donovan Solano 0
82 Alfonso Soriano 0
83 Justin Smoak 0
84 Andrelton Simmons 0
85 Giancarlo Stanton 0
86 Drew Stubbs 0
87 Kyle Seager 0
88 Marco Scutaro 0
89 Nick Swisher 0
90 Ruben Tejada 0
91 Brendan Ryan 0
92 Josh Rutledge 0
93 Denard Span 0
94 Shane Victorino 0
95 Joey Votto 0
96 Neil Walker 0
97 Mike Trout 0
98 Eric Sogard 0
99 Angel Pagan 0
100 Dustin Ackley 0
101 Allen Craig 0
102 Luis Cruz 0
103 David DeJesus 0
104 Daniel Descalso 0
105 Andy Dirks 0
106 Matt Dominguez 0
107 Ryan Doumit 0
108 Brian Dozier 0
109 Mark Ellis 0
110 Yunel Escobar 0
111 Starlin Castro 0
112 Lorenzo Cain 0
113 Melky Cabrera 0
114 Pedro Alvarez 0
115 Elvis Andrus 0
116 Erick Aybar 0
117 Brandon Belt 0
118 Emilio Bonifacio 0
119 Jackie Bradley 0
120 Michael Brantley 0
121 Jay Bruce 0
122 Marlon Byrd 0
123 Everth Cabrera 0
124 Danny Espinosa 0
125 Chris Getz 0
126 Carlos Gomez 0
127 Evan Longoria 0
128 Jonathan Lucroy 0
129 Starling Marte 0
130 Victor Martinez 0
131 Justin Maxwell 0
132 Cameron Maybin 0
133 Nate McLouth 0
134 Jesus Montero 0
135 Justin Morneau 0
136 Mike Moustakas 0
137 Josh Hamilton 0
138 Jason Kipnis 0
139 Jeff Keppinger 0
140 Alex Gordon 0
141 Jedd Gyorko 0
142 Adeiny Hechavarria 0
143 Aaron Hicks 0
144 Eric Hosmer 0
145 Torii Hunter 0
146 Omar Infante 0
147 Austin Jackson 0
148 Desmond Jennings 0
149 Matt Kemp 0
150 Chris Nelson 0

 

[Hasselbeck]

Will become a Doyers supporter this year more than ever thanks to MLB.tv and my Scully love