Drayton cared, that got us in this mess. Best example, not only sadly, was Drew Stubbs. We had him signed sealed and delivered for 2 million but Bud got a hold of Drayton and told him to kill the deal. He does this to a bunch of teams but Drayton is one of the few guys to actually go along with it.
Wow if Astros able to get the 1st pick of each round and hoping we pick the best available player, then we should rebuilt the farm system in a yr or 2 since we will probably be bad next season too...... What team does Drew Stubbs end up signing with?
He's currently the starting center fielder for the reds. His WAR last year was 5.2, which puts him at all-star level. He's having a down year this season, but at his worst he's a Gold Glove center fielder with speed and pop. A fine player Uncle Drayton cost us.
Just checked the stats for Derek Dietrich, another high pick we failed to sign. Tampa Bay drafted him the next year. Currently a sold shortstop with an .870 OPS in A ball
Honestly, I don't think our system is bad anymore. I decided to avoid the rankings as a barometer of where the club is at but we should be in the teens next season. Not saying we are a top tier org by any means and it took the dismantling of the major league team but we've started a pipeline again and that's a big step in the process. Sucks for Wade, he will probably be fired again and have his drafts be the backbone of a winning club down the road.
He won't stay at SS, but yes, lots of guys should have would have. I don't have a big problem with Drayton staying firm on slot bonuses, but I do have a huge problem with the drafting of guys that weren't going to sign for those slot bonuses. I think the slots are good for the game, and hopefully they will eventually be part of the CBA.
I would just about guarantee that a slot system will be part of the next agreement. The only group vehemently against is are, surprise, agents.
Slotting will hurt baseball in the long run. You'll see more high school players go to college and more multi-sport players choose sports other than baseball. Smart small-medium market clubs willing to buck Selig, like Tampa and Toronto, will probably take the biggest hit. They can't compete with the Bostons and Yankees of the world in the free market of free agency, but through the amateur draft and overslot deals, they were able to gain an advantage through the farm system. And supposedly some scouts and scouting directors are against hard slotting. But the owners want it and the players association won't fight hard for it because the amateur players that will benefit aren't part of the union.
OKC welcomed Reno to Bricktown and promptly erased a 4-1 deficit by scoring 2 in the 8th and 9th innings for a 5-4 win. Robinson Cancel had an RBI double in the 8th and eventually scored on a wild pitch. Another wild pitch in the 9th resulted in Oswaldo Navarro scoring the tying run. Cancel later provided the walk-off single for the win. Anderson Hernandez had the other RBI, with a single in the 3rd. J.A. Happ went 5 innings, allowing 4 runs (3 earned) on 6 hits, walking 3 and striking out 5. Fernando Abad got the win in relief, getting the final 2 outs in the top of the 9th. Corpus was off... they will be back home tomorrow, as Arkansas rolls in. Brett Oberholtzer gets the start. Lancaster was shut out 7-0 by Modesto, as Zach Grimmett served up a solo homer and a 3-run homer in his 4 2/3 innings, and he also allowed 2 more runs, one earned, the other unearned. He walked 1 and struck out 5. The Jethawks managed only 5 hits, and Modesto starter Chad Bettis, a Texas Tech product, allowed 3 hits and struck out 11 in his 7 innings. Dan Adamson was awarded the golden sombrero tonight, and Jonathan Singleton's efforts at the plate earned him a hat trick. Forgettable outing for Mike Foltynewicz, as Lexington was put in an 8-0 hole against Hagerstown on the way to losing 10-2. Delino DeShields and Ben Orloff had an RBI apiece. Folty lasted 2 1/3, allowing 8 runs on 8 hits (solo and 3-run homer), walked 1, and failed to record a K. Tri-City returns to action tomorrow night against Williamsport. The NL All-Stars (read: New York-Penn League All-Stars whose parent clubs are National League clubs) triumphed 7-3 over the AL All-Stars in the NYPL All-Star game, which took place in Lowell, Massachusetts, where the Spinners play. Matt Duffy was the starter at 3rd and hit 5th, going 1-2 with a run scored. Justin Gominsky was the starting center fielder and hit 9th, going 1-1 with an RBI. Kyle Hallock was named the starter and got the victory, pitching a perfect 1st, striking out 2. Next year's All-Star game will be held in Niles, Ohio, better known as the birthplace of former President William McKinley, and also the home of the Mahoning Valley Scrappers. Greeneville walked off 4-3 losers to Pulaski, allowing 1 run in the 8th and 9th, as Zach Dando served up a walk-off homer to Dillon Hazlett. Josh Magee went 3-4. Jesse Wierzbicki and Chan Moon had 1 RBI each. Francis Ramirez allowed 2 runs on 4 hits in 5 innings, striking out 2. The Gulf Coasters got a solid performance from Freddy Tiburcio in a 3-2 win over the Mets. Tiburcio allowed 2 hits over 5 shutout innings, walking 2 and striking out 4. Yonathan Mejia went 3-3 with an RBI and scored twice. Justin Shults and Alfredo Gonzalez each had an RBI as well. The Academy jumped out to a 4-0 lead on the Brewers after the 1st... that would be all they really needed as they won 6-1. 5 guys had an RBI, led by Franny Polanco. Edison Frias allowed a solo homer, scattered 3 other hits, walked 1, and struck out 5 in 6 innings.
I forgot to mention that the PTBNL from the Hunter Pence deal, Domingo Santana, was in the lineup for Lexington tonight. He hit 3rd and played right field, going 1-4 with a walk and a strikeout.
You make people declare for the draft like in other sports and lessen the number of rounds. Players going to college will help college baseball more than it would hurt MLB. The NBA has a rookie wage scale, and the NFL just added one. Signability shouldn't be part of the draft decision.
http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/page/rumblings110816/jim-thome-truly-real-caring-person •*While we're talking Santanas -- but not Johan -- the Astros have a chance to hit big on outfielder Domingo Santana, the fourth piece they got as the player to be named later in the Hunter Pence deal. Santana was only hitting .269/.345/.434 at Class A Lakewood. But he was also seventh in the South Atlantic League in doubles (29). He just turned 19 this month. And scouts gush about his raw skills. "This guy has a chance to be Vlad Guerrero," one scout said. "He's still crude right now. But he has the highest ceiling imaginable. You put him in there with the other guys they got, and this has a chance to be like the [Bartolo] Colon deal was for Cleveland." To refresh your memory, the Indians got back Grady Sizemore, Cliff Lee and Brandon Phillips -- whoever they are -- when they shipped Colon to Montreal in 2002.
The only unknown is if he would have been that good going straight from high school or if it was 3 years at Texas that helped to get him where he is. Drayton was clearly in the wrong for listening to Bud and not agreeing to the signing...but we really don't know if Stubbs would have been the same player.
Hell... even if he's not Guerrero... even if he's simply just the "next Hunter Pence" the Astros will be considered as the winners of that deal. And, btw, Colon was a MUCH better tradeable asset than Pence was.
He was ok to good at Texas, yet all the warning signs were there. Grip and rip, no clue when or how to lay off pitches, no plate judgement, and so he's been mediocre throughout his minor and major league career. Good glove, though.
He is one of the best center fielders in baseball, his WAR last year was 5.2, thats a great number, and his WAR this year is gonna end up around 4. When you look at the metrics he is a great player, bordering on all-star. His OPS is above average for a CF, but his defense and base-running are spectacular. He strikes out a lot, and shouldn't be a leadoff hitter, he's more of a 5 or 6 hole hitter.
Domingo Santana had two hits and Telvin Nash had a double off Stephen Strasburg tonight...Nash would go deep later on.
