Category: Dailies
Allen in Lineup, Playing LF
D-backs prospect Brandon Allen was recalled Wednesday as active rosters expanded to include any player on the 40-man roster. Allen was joined by infielder Tony Abreu, and pitchers Leo Rosales and Carlos Rosa.
Worth noting, Allen is playing left field today.
Allen played first base in every game he played in in the Majors in 2009 and in the Arizona Fall League, but he played 33 games in left at Triple-A Reno this year.
Now, obviously, Allen’s long-term future with the D-backs may have something to do with his ability to hack it in the outfield. Adam LaRoche has been pretty clear about his interest in staying with Arizona next year, and the club seems interested as well. If Allen can give the D-backs serviceable defense in the outfield, his bat could be a nice boost to the lineup. To this point, D-backs leftfielders have hit .242 collectively with a .646 OPS, which ranks 29th in the Majors.
Enright’s Sensational Streak
Goldschmidt Named MVP of Cal League
VISALIA–Paul Goldschmidt’s monster season in Visalia has been officially recognized, as the stocky slugger was named the California League’s Most Valuable Player today.
Goldschmidt currently leads the league in home runs with 33 and is tied for the lead in all of Minor League Baseball. His average has been above .300 for nearly two months, and his 96 Runs Batted In rank 2nd in the league.
With the award, Goldschmidt becomes the 9th Visalia player to be named League MVP. He joins Vada Pinson (1957), George Theodore (1971), Steve Douglas (1978), Les Pearsey (1979), Kent Hrbek (1981), Stan Holmes (1983), Marty Cordova (1992), and Reid Brignac (2006).
With 9 MVPs in franchise history, Visalia is now tied with Stockton for the most in California League history.
In addition to his MVP award, Goldschmidt was also named the league’s Rookie of the Year (awarded to a player in his first full season of professional baseball). He is the 5th Visalia player to win the award, joining Brignac (2006), Hall of Famer Kirby Puckett (1983), Gene Robinson (1978), and Bob Beall (1958).
In further honors, Goldschmidt was selected to the California League’s Post Season All-Star Team, along with Rawhide outfielder Marc Krauss. Krauss has slugged 24 homers to date, with a .308 batting average and 82 RBIs.
Thanks to the contributions of their all-stars and league MVP, the Rawhide are currently one game ahead of Modesto for the Wild Card playoff spot. They face the Nuts in a crucial 4-game series beginning tonight at Recreation Ballpark.
Gibby Checks In at No. 2
Joe Posnanski has a fun exercise over on his blog today — if you were to stack up all big league managers based on their playing abilities, how would they rank?
You would assume that Kirk Gibson would do quite well on this list, and you would assume right.
Gibby checks in at No. 2 behind Joe Torre:
2. Kirk Gibson, Arizona Diamondbacks
I remember there being a lot of argument about whether or not Kirk Gibson deserved the MVP award in 1988. The argument was usually for Darryl Strawberry, who had an OPS that was 50 points higher (though in those days the talk was more about how he drove in 101 RBIs while Gibson drove in 79), and was in many camps considered a more deserving choice.What I find compelling is that, according to the much maligned Wins Above Replacement stat — at least the Baseball Reference version — the sportswriters got it right. Gibson had a 7.3 WAR — best in the league — while Strawberry’s WAR was 5.9. See, if WAR would just agree with what sportswriters already think MORE OFTEN, it might become the stat of choice.
The other four skippers in the top five managers-as-players are all good at their current jobs, actually (Gibby hasn’t even been at this for a full season). Career winning percentages:
1. Joe Torre – .539 (4 World Series wins)
3. Dusty Baker – .523 (one World Series appearance)
4. Mike Scioscia – .551 (one World Series win, over Baker, incidentally)
5. Ozzie Guillen – .528 (one World Series win)
Lest you think you actually have to have been a good player to be a good manager, you’d be wrong, at least based on the guys Joe has at the very bottom of the list:
31. Jim Leyland – .496 (one World Series win, another WS appearance)
32. Joe Maddon – .500 (one World Series appearance, almost certainly going to the playoffs this year)
Upton Is In Rare Air
Digital Gibby Goes Deep
There was nothing not to love about RBI Baseball. The three-panel screen. The round, identically shaped ballplayers. The bats as wide as the batters’ heads. The pitches that you could curve after you released them. It was all fantastic.
An enterprising baseball fan synched up the original game audio from Game 1 of the 1988 World Series–featuring Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully and D-backs broadcaster Joe Garagiola — with “video” of the bottom of the ninth inning as played on RBI baseball.
The inning ended with one of the greatest moments in baseball history, current D-backs Manager (and then Dodgers MVP outfielder) Kirk Gibson taking closer Dennis Eckersley deep to win the game for the Dodgers and set the tone for a series they would soon win.
It’s a fun way to burn 10 minutes today. Check it out:
(Hat tip to Dodgers blog “Vin Scully is my Homeboy” for finding the video)
Minor League Report
Triple-A Reno:
RHP Kevin Mulvey – Aug. 18 – 6 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 9:2 K:BB, 6/1 GO/FO
RHP Matt Torra – Aug. 19 – 7 IP, 8 H, 2 R (2 ER), 6:0 K:BB, 1 HR, 6/8 GO/FO
Back to back quality starts for the Aces over the last two nights, a particularly impressive feat considering the fact that the Pacific Coast League is incredibly hitter-friendly and has been absolutely treacherous to guys like Bryan Augenstein and Wes Roemer in 2010. Nonetheless, Mulvey had an incredible night, keeping the ball planted on the ground and shutting out the Oklahoma City RedHawks, going pitch-for-pitch with rehabbing Texas right-hander Rich Harden in the process. Torra has a solid 4.07 ERA at Triple-A this year through 161 1/3 innings of work for the Aces, and has failed to pitch seven innings just three times in his last ten starts, throwing at least eight innings three times, pitching into the ninth twice and pitching a complete game.
Double-A Mobile:
SS Taylor Harbin – Aug. 18 – 3-for-5, 2 2B, 2 RBI, 2 R, 1 SF
Harbin has had a rough year overall with the bat, with an OPS a tick shy of .700, but Wednesday’s performance against Carolina was one to remember. Harbin hit two of Mobile’s five doubles in the game, both off of left-hander Joseph Krebs in the same inning — Mobile’s 7-run ninth (as a matter of fact, four of Mobile’s five doubles were hit off of Krebs in that inning). Mobile went on to win the game 13-5.
Hi-A Visalia:
RHP Eric Smith – Aug. 18 – 6 IP, 6 H, 1 R (0 ER), 10:2 K:BB, 0 HR, 3/3 GO/FO
It’s been pretty rough sailing for Smith ever since arriving at Visalia, despite breezing through the Midwest League at South Bend. But even though this outing only lowered Smith’s ERA to 7.01, there is a lot to like in this outing as the team starts looking forward to 2011. Smith missed a ton of bats with his polished sinker/slider combo, and his last two outings have been his best two outings of the season, allowing a combined two earned runs over 12 innings of work.
Low-A South Bend:
CF Keon Broxton – Last Two Games – 3-for-10, 2 3B, 2 RBI, 1 R
LHP Tyler Skaggs – Aug. 19 – 2 IP, 1 R (1 ER), 3:1 K:BB, 0 HR, 2/1 GO/FO
Broxton hit two more triples in his last two games for the SilverHawks, and is currently chasing the all-time single-season Midwest League record for triples, 19 set all the way back in 1954, currently sitting at 18 with 19 games remaining in the SilverHawks’ season.
Skaggs, the player-to-be-named-later and focal point of the package Arizona received in the Dan Haren trade, made his debut for South Bend after not taking the mound since July 23. He had been forced to sit out until he could be officially traded on Aug. 7, and then needed to stretch his arm back out in bullpen sessions prior to starting for South Bend. He worked just a pair of innings on Thursday night, but showed a very good curveball in striking out three against Lansing.
Short-Season-A Yakima:
SS Zachary Walters – Aug. 18 – 2-4, 1 3B, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 2 R.
Walters continues to display some impressive power for the Bears this year, despite playing at a premium defensive position where power is typically considered an afterthought. On the year, Walters has collected 14 doubles, four triples, and four home runs amongst his 67 hits for a slugging percentage of .483, to go with an OPS of .837 while hitting in the heart of the Yakima lineup.
Rookie-level Missoula:
RHP J.R. Bradley – Aug. 18 – 5 IP, 1 H, 1 R (0 ER), 4:1 K:BB, 0 HR, 7/4 GO/FO
RHP Robby Rowland – Aug. 19 – 5 IP, 4 H, 3 R (2 ER), 5:3 K:BB, 0 HR, 8/0 GO/FO
The two highest draft picks of the D-backs’ 2010 crop put together solid performances on back-to-back nights for Missoula, with Bradley shutting down Idaho Falls en route to a 4-3 win, and Rowland taking a no-hitter into the fifth inning and earning the win in a 10-7 game, also against Idaho Falls. Both 18-year-olds have struggled a bit for Missoula, but the D-backs didn’t draft these two for their stuff right now, as both are highly projectable, younger than much of their opposition and figure to add velocity as they mature. Though they certainly won’t complain if they keeping like they did over the last two days.
Rookie-level Dominican Summer League:
OF Jeremia Gomez – Aug. 18 & 19 – 5-for-9, 1 2B, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 4 R, 1:1 K:BB
After making a brief foray on the pitcher’s mound, Gomez has returned to the outfield, and despite getting off to a slow start, has been mashing as of late. Gomez is back in the heart of the DSL D-backs’ order, and has paced them to wins in their last two games, a 5-4 victory over the DSL Rockies on Wednesday and a 7-3 win over the DSL Twins on Thursday.
Others of note:
· While Torra was dazzling on the mound for the Aces on Thursday, outfielder Doug Deeds provided the offensive spark, with a home run and three RBI.
· Mobile third baseman/first baseman Bryan Byrne also hit two doubles in Mobile’s win in Wednesday’s win.
· Third baseman Ryan Wheeler had a successful debut for the BayBears on Wednesday, going 1-for-4 but reaching base three times, collecting a walk and a hit-by-pitch. Wheeler also scored a pair of runs.
· Coming into the game in relief of Smith, Visalia right-hander Chase Anderson threw three innings, striking out four and allowing just one run on three hits and no walks or home runs.
· Outfielder Chris Jarrett had a fantastic debut for the SilverHawks, collecting three hits, including a triple, with two RBI, a run scored, and a stolen base.
· First baseman Yazy Arbelo continued his power surge for Yakima on Wednesday, hitting his 14th home run of the season.
· Coming up big in support of his younger brother, Richie Rowland had a pair of hits, including a double, and two RBI in support of Robbie Rowland on Thursday. Adam Eaton also collected three hits, including a home run.
· DSL D-backs right-hander Berling Cruz came up big on Wednesday, throwing six innings and allowing just one earned run on nine hits and three strikeouts, with no walks or home runs. He did, however, allow a pair of unearned runs.
MiLB Transactions: Davidson, Wheeler, Augenstein promoted
Bryan Augenstein – Photography: Jon Willey
By Dan Strittmatter
Signing 2010 draft picks hasn’t been the only thing keeping the D-backs’ organization busy. The last two days have also seen a flurry of movement within the minors, with players moving across all full-season affiliates. We’re here to break down all of the moving parts.
Monday’s action was focused in the upper minors, centered around right-hander Bryan Augenstein. Augenstein had been removed from the 7-Day DL at Mobile on August 5, making three appearances for the BayBears in what functioned as a sort of “rehab assignment” for him. His first and last outings for Mobile were his best. In his first, Augenstein threw two scoreless innings with two strikeouts and a hit on Aug. 5. In his last outing, Augenstein lasted 3 1/3 innings with one run allowed while scattering seven hits and a walk with four strikeouts on Aug. 12.
Augenstein will likely join the Aces’ rotation immediately, partially because right-hander Josh Collmenter, who had been in Reno’s rotation since July 19, was sent to Mobile, opening up a spot. This was Collmenter’s second stint with the Aces in 2010, with mixed results. Collmenter’s Reno debut, on April 30, was arguably his best start at the Triple-A level this year, when he went seven shutout innings with eight strikeouts and just three hits. His last start would have likely been his best since that outing were it not for a pair of home runs – often Collmenter’s undoing in the thin air of the PCL – as he struck out nine and walked just two through six innings of work.
Also moving from Reno to Mobile was outfielder Chris Rahl, who had struggled in the first half of the year for Reno, but had ridden a scorching second-half of the season to an overall .813 OPS for the year at Triple-A. Replacing Rahl in Reno is outfielder/first baseman Cyle Hankerd, joining Reno for the second time this year. In six games for the Aces in early-May, Hankerd went 6-for-14 with three doubles, two walks and a strikeout, though he had struggled to a .708 OPS for Mobile in 78 games.
One final move from Monday was third baseman/first baseman Ryan Wheeler being promoted to Double-A Mobile from Hi-A Visalia. Wheeler came into the year highly-regarded, having posted a 1.002 OPS in 2009, mostly at short-season Yakima, with eight games at Low-A South Bend as well. This year hasn’t gone quite as planned, as Wheeler posted a .740 OPS at Visalia — though he did post an .820 OPS against right-handed pitching — in a lineup that featured star-quality performances from Marc Krauss and Paul Goldschmidt. Nonetheless, it’s Wheeler who makes the jump to Double-A first.
If the Wheeler-to-Mobile move seemed a bit from left field on Monday, Tuesday’s big promotion cleared it up. Top-prospect third baseman Matthew Davidson was promoted from Low-A South Bend to Hi-A Visalia to take over the everyday third baseman job there (and to give Bobby Borchering the everyday third baseman gig for South Bend). Davidson has set the Midwest League on fire all season long, and boasted the sixth-highest OPS amongst MWL hitters with at least 2.7 plate appearances per team game with his .874 mark.
Aside from that OPS rank, Davidson was among the league leaders in many other major offensive categories at the time of his promotion — tied for sixth in home runs with 16, fourth in doubles with 35, second in RBI with 79 and sixth in slugging percentage with a .504 rate. Also consider the fact that only one of the players ahead of Davidson on the MWL OPS leader-board, Mike Trout, was younger than Davidson, by about four months. After Davidson, the next youngest on that list was Quad Cities third baseman Matthew Adams, who turns 22 years old on Aug. 31.
But that wasn’t the only action from Tuesday. Collmenter’s addition to the Mobile rotation left the BayBears with six starting pitchers, as Augenstein had been throwing out of the bullpen for Mobile prior to his promotion to Reno. So lefty Pat McAnaney, who had struggled for most of the season for Mobile, was sent to Visalia, where he began the season.
Also on Tuesday, two players were assigned to South Bend from Rookie-level Missoula — right-hander Derek Eitel, the D-backs’ 17th-round pick from the 2010 draft, and outfielder Chris Jarrett, the D-backs’ 42nd-round pick from the 2010 draft. Eitel was in the Osprey rotation until David Holmberg was acquired from the White Sox in the trade that sent Edwin Jackson to Chicago and also brought Daniel Hudson to Arizona, then was moved to the ‘pen to open a rotation slot for Holmberg. Jarrett had spent 46 games in the outfield for Missoula, mostly in center field.
Finally, right-hander Leo Rosales was assigned to Triple-A Reno on Tuesday to begin his rehab assignment after suffering a stress fracture in his foot. He threw a perfect inning of relief for the Aces that night, striking out one.
Summary:
Triple-A Reno:
Added to Roster:
Aug. 17 – RHP Leo Rosales assigned to Reno for Rehab Assignment.
Aug. 16 – RHP Bryan Augenstein promoted to Reno from Double-A Mobile.
Aug. 16 – OF Cyle Hankerd promoted to Reno from Double-A Mobile.
Removed from Roster:
Aug. 16 – RHP Joshua Collmenter assigned to Mobile from Triple-A Reno.
Aug. 16 – OF Chris Rahl assigned to Mobile from Triple-A Reno.
Double-A Mobile:
Added to Roster:
Aug. 16 – RHP Joshua Collmenter assigned to Mobile from Triple-A Reno.
Aug. 16 – OF Chris Rahl assigned to Mobile from Triple-A Reno.
Aug. 16 – 3B Ryan Wheeler promoted to Mobile from Hi-A Visalia.
Removed from Roster:
Aug. 16 – RHP Bryan Augenstein promoted to Reno from Double-A Mobile.
Aug. 16 – OF Cyle Hankerd promoted to Reno from Double-A Mobile.
Aug. 17 – LHP Pat McAnaney assigned to Hi-A Visalia from Double-A Mobile.
Hi-A Visalia:
Added to Roster:
Aug. 17 – LHP Pat McAnaney assigned to Hi-A Visalia from Double-A Mobile.
Aug. 17 – 3B Matthew Davidson assigned to Hi-A Visalia from Low-A South Bend.
Removed from Roster:
Aug. 16 – 3B Ryan Wheeler promoted to Mobile from Hi-A Visalia.
Low-A South Bend:
Added to Roster:
Aug. 17 – RHP Derek Eitel assigned to Low-A South Bend from Rookie-level Missoula.
Aug. 17 – OF Chris Jarrett assigned to Low-A South Bend from Rookie-level Missoula.
Removed from Roster:
Aug. 17 – 3B Matthew Davidson assigned to Hi-A Visalia from Low-A South Bend.
Draft Deadline Day: D-backs sign Perry, Green and Linton
By Dan Strittmatter
Prior to yesterday’s 9:01 p.m. (Arizona time) deadline for signing draft picks from the 2010 First-Year Player Draft, the D-backs signed three more of their top fourteen selections – sixth-rounder Blake Perry, eighth-rounder James Green, and 14th-rounder Ty Linton.
Perry, the 181st overall pick, is an 18-year-old high school right-hander from Florida. He fits the term “projectable right-hander” — much like fellow 2010 picks, second-rounder J.R. Bradley and third-rounder Robby Rowland, high schoolers who signed earlier in the summer — as the team believes that as his body develops, he will add velocity on his fastball and refine his off-speed pitches. According to Aaron Fitt of Baseball America, the D-backs had to sign Perry away from a commitment to play baseball at the University of Kentucky, where his brother, Bryce, already plays. This college commitment kept Perry, a top-round talent, out of the upper rounds of the draft, as teams were worried about whether or not they would be able to sign Perry.
The 18-year-old Green was selected with the 241st pick out of high school in Texas. Committed to TCU, it also took the D-backs a significantly over-slot bonus to bring Green into the fold. According to Aaron Fitt, Green’s fastball has hit 95 MPH on the radar gun, and he uses a hard curveball as well. According to Interim General Manager Jerry Dipoto on Nick Piecoro’s blog, the D-backs felt Green was a top-100 talent in this draft, but fell due to concerns about whether or not he could be convinced to leave his commitment to TCU. (The full quotes from Dipoto on all three players signed yesterday can be found here, on Piecoro’s blog.)
Ty Linton
Nabbing the 19-year-old Linton was perhaps the most impressive signing from yesterday. Linton fell to the D-backs with the 421st-overall pick in the 14th round due to a strong two-sport commitment to the University of North Carolina, where he would have played baseball and football as a top-rated high school linebacker. To pry Linton away from this two-sport commitment, the D-backs gave him the highest bonus they gave out in the 2010 draft. All indications are that Linton is giving up football to focus solely on baseball.
On ESPN.com writer Keith Law’s top-100 prospect rankings from June 2, Linton was rated No. 75, and in Law’s prospect profile for Linton (available to ESPN Insiders only), Linton’s power tool grades out as solidly above average. Prior to the draft, MLB.com’s scouting staff had filed a video scouting report of Linton, available here, and touted that Linton’s power is “his best tool – he’s got well above average to plus raw power.”
A look at the high school numbers and honors of the three prep players can be found on the D-backs’ website, here.
Lending a Helping Hand
By Mike Crocker
The following story ran in the Aug. 17-22 issue of D-backs Insider
It’s Sunday morning and Brian Hommel is preparing for the first of his three services of the day. It’s 10:25 a.m. and his congregation starts to enter the conference room. Fifty
minutes later he closes the service with prayer and heads down the hall to lead two more services in two more different rooms before his day is over. There are no pews or stained glass windows for Hommel; he is the D-backs’ chaplain and his sanctuary is spread throughout the lower level of Chase Field.
The same scene takes place around the professional baseball landscape.
“What happens on a Sunday with Baseball Chapel is every Major and minor league team has a chaplain for their team,” Hommel said. “I’ll do a message for the
home team, visiting team and then I will go and meet with the umpires. It’s like doing three services for a small and unique group of people.”
He also teaches a midweek Bible study during homestands and performs other pastoral duties such as marriage counseling, discipleship and any other issues that come up in life.
A former left-handed pitcher in the Milwaukee Brewers’ system from 1995-99, Hommel is employed by the baseball ministry Unlimited Potential, Inc. (UPI). He explained his transition
from being in uniform to his post-playing career.
“When I was playing, UPI took three to four baseball players on mission’s trips,” Hommel said. “We worked with missionaries and put on baseball clinics and used that to share about
Jesus. So in 1996 I went on a trip with UPI to Ireland. I loved it, so when I got done playing I told them that I would really like to come on staff with them and they hired me in 2001.”
Being a former player he can relate with the challenges of the game.
“It’s a game based on failure and whoever fails the least is the most successful but it is still failure,” he said. “There is a grind on that and I try to prepare
them mentally and try to give them a biblical approach on how to play the game. I try to help the guys to put the game in perspective because this is just a season in their
life. My job is to equip these guys with positive attitude and grow in the faith.”
One player that carries that attitude is relief pitcher Blaine Boyer, who spent 14 days in Triple-A Reno earlier this season.
“I came to the conclusion that I was taking a lot of things for granted,” Boyer said. “On the track of learning to pitch better, it was more of a God time for me. I came back rejuvenated not
only as a pitcher but as a man of Jesus.”
Although Hommel never recorded any official wins or saves in the Majors he is making a valuable contribution to the D-backs.
The D-blog 