Scouting Reports of the Day: Jeff Bagwell Jeff is 7th round talent who is slow and a below average base runner and who will have questionable defense on astroturf. Nothing about HoF. Make me wonder.
You, my friend, are stating your opinion. That is completely fine, you are entitled to that, but please do not mistake that for fact. You stated that Appel and Gray would likely not have the same success if they pitched in AA after the draft. I can say the exact opposite, and that would be my opinion. My opinion is that IF we draft Appel or Gray, they instantly become our top pitching prospect. My opinion is that Baseball America would have our top 10 starting with Correa, Singleton, Springer, Appel or Gray. I will admit that these lists ultimately mean nothing, but it's at least a way we can gauge the national media's perception (at least a major publication that is viewed well in the industry).
Jose de Jesus Ortiz @OrtizKicks 2h The Astros had multiple scouts watching Gray dominate Baylor today. They are thoroughly scouting the Big 12 tourney, a scout I respect says.
I wish Twitter would implement embedding on iPhones... Appel is home against UCLA tonight. Mark Appel (@MAppel26): Tonight could be my last time pitching in a Stanford uniform. God deserves every ounce of glory for these last 4 years. #Blessed
Mark Appel, in what could be his final start in a Stanford uniform, went 8 innings and allowed a run on 3 hits, walked 2, struck out 9, and got the win as the Cardinal topped UCLA 3-1.
Rodon Watch: ACC Tournament vs. North Carolina 10 IP, H, ER, 2 BB, 14 K The hit came in the 7th, the run in the 8th. NC State and UNC are tied at 1 heading into the 12th.
He went 10 IP? This is the guy that makes me forget all about how bad the Astros are this year. Sure it's tough losing 100 games, but we are taking one step back to take two steps forward
The Marlins look even worse than the Astros this year. If he has a great year in 2014, they will take him to pair with Fernandez. Rodon and Fernandez are both Cuban and that would be something the Marlins front office would love. But Rodon has lost some of his luster this year. His velocity has been really on and off, his third pitch is fringy, and his shoulder has been hurting him. So if these things keep up next year and he doesn't go number one, then I doubt the Astros would take him second. At least the top of the draft next year is looking strong, so there will be a stud there for the Astros if they pick second no matter what. I want hs rhp Touki Toussaint badly already. I am also a Michael Cederoth and Tyler Beede fan. Alex Jackson is a stud too.
Here's a link with video of Carlos Rodon and some other standouts that will be available for the 2014 draft. I really haven't watched a lot of Rodon, but he seems to have a high effort delivery, but that is what I see (untrained eye). Link: http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=18980 More names to know: http://baseballdraftreport.com/2013/03/06/very-early-look-2014-mlb-draft-names-to-know/ With prospects like Rodon, Beede and Cederoth, there will be some good pitching available.
Rodon definitely has not been as sharp as his freshman year. Though he did accumulate a lot of innings, played for Team USA and then was shutdown for the fall. The link below is an article from five days ago that sums up Rodon's season so far. http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/05/20/2905967/nc-state-pitcher-carlos-rodons.html
Sad that I even feel the need to make an argument for the Astros being worse. I just think once Stanton comes back and Yelich gets called up, the Marlins will start to separate themselves from the Astros in the standings. Easier division/league won't hurt either. Regardless, I agree with your assessment of the talent pool next year. It seems #2 in 2014 should be a better prospect than #1 this year.
I just have a feeling that the Marlins will trade more guys before the deadline. Nolasco is a definite goner in my opinion and Stanton will go too if he comes back healthy and plays well before the deadline. They will also shut down Fernandez at some point I'm sure. Their starting pitchers outside of Nolasco and Fernandez are really bad and some of the pitchers they traded for and drafted recently are either too undeveloped to come up and help (Heaney, Conley, Turner) or hurt (Eovaldi, Henderson Alvarez). Furthermore, please take a look at their lineup. It literally makes me cringe. Juan Pierre.......Placido Polanco......Dietrich........Ozuna.........Coghlan (wtf happened to this guy?)....Ruggiano.......Hechavarria........Brantly/Mathis......GREG FRIGGIN' DOBBS!!!......and Logan Morrison won't be back for a while and has struggled the last couple of years anyway.
Take a look at the high schooler Toussaint. And thank you for all of the links. The observer article on Rodon is a great read. Repped.
Toussaint definitely looks intriguing, throwing 97 with his fastball, but he works 91-94mph. Unless he can pull a Dylan Bundy (who is hands down the best high school pitcher I've seen - on tape and in person), I'm not 100% on taking a high school right hander first overall. It's early, but the thought of Rodon, a lefty with his pitching repertoire would look great at the top of the rotation. That being said, lets see what happens in a few days. Thanks for the rep; glad you got the article to the team board, I was headed that way.
Speaking of Bundy... http://articles.baltimoresun.com/20...ylan-bundy-arm-orioles-manager-buck-showalter Some decent news about Bundy but the forearm and elbow problems are troubling. Just goes to show that all pitchers, no matter how great the delivery, can get injured. I was really hoping to see him and Gausman both in that Orioles rotation this year. Also, Bundy's buddy, Archie Bradley, is tearing things up in the Diamondbacks organization. I'm thinking we might see him get called up later in the year.
