Mier raked tonight... first HR of the season and another double, 5 RBI. He may not totally recover from his horrible start to make his end of season averages look stellar, but I definitely think he warrants a promotion of sorts to either A or AA by the end of next year. If he's knocking on the door of the majors by the time he's 21 (2 years from now), that's about the best case scenario.
WOW.... @BenBadler: Astros sign Dominican OF Ariel Ovando. Bonus, according to sources, is around $2.6-$2.8 million http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2010/07/astros-sign-ariel-ovando.html
<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/_oK6F1TONDY&hl=en_US&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/_oK6F1TONDY&hl=en_US&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object> [rquoter]Astros Nab Ariel Ovando As First July 2 Signee by David Coleman on Jul 7, 2010 4:11 PM CDT in Minor League News 0 comments I posted this first as a FanShot, but then I found some video of Mr. Ariel Ovando, a 16-year old left-handed outfielder from the Dominican Republic. Mother of God, this kid looks good. I don't remember seeing a prospect that I have liked instantly as I do with this kid. His swing is a little unorthodox, as I don't love how little weight he puts on that front foot in his pre-swing sequence. He does seem to transfer his weight well once he's committed to swinging, though and...well, just look at the video. Look at that power. He has a raw violence to his swing that I really like. It may just be his bat speed, or his poise or body control, but I think this kid could be really, really good. MLB Trade Rumors ranked him third on their list of July 2 prospects. Multiple scouts compared him to Darryl Strawberry, and I can see why they'd have that reaction. I'm reminded a little of Gary Sheffield. Oh, and did I mention the most jaw dropping part? That last snippet of him in the field shows him throwing an absolute laser to third base. Seriously, I was impressed and then I saw that. As a 16-year old kid, he's got one of the best arms I saw in the past six months. Now, I'm also reacting to 42 seconds of video. I'm being a bit irrational. Just know that I like what I see. Further, I like what this means for the organization. Last season, Drayton and Co. told us that they'd be spreading their money around, signing good prospects but not spending it all in once place. This year, they've opened a shiny new academy in the Dominican and are aggressively courting the best players. Ben Badler is reporting that his signing bonus will be for around 2.6-2.8 million. That seems about right for his talent level and would put him in the first 10 picks if he were slotted into the draft. I don't know if they Astros will try to sign anyone else, but any concerns I had about their investment in international scouting are starting to lessen.[/rquoter] http://www.crawfishboxes.com/2010/7/7/1557387/astros-nab-ariel-ovando-as-first Watching him swing reminds me of Vladimir Guerrero
Quickly even though he's just 16 right now? Another Jason Heyward, maybe? He's only 20 and making a lot of noise up in Atlanta (or was, at least). Sounds like a pretty good signing nonetheless.
Guerrero was the first name that came to mind after watching the video. Granted it's a very small sample but you can tell he has elite bat speed and an elite arm.
Wow...that's some pretty incredible news. I can't believe they spent that much on a 16-year old. I'd be willing to bet they tweak his stance a little so he's a little more evenly distributed...but otherwise, he does not look like a 16-year old in that video. He's got a very nice swing and what appears to be a big arm...and he's only freaking 16.
Maybe Ovando will be the restarting of Dominican players rolling through our system again. I believe Abreau and Hidalgo were both from there, and we they came up we had the best farm system in the majors. It looks like we might have found our next power stud for a long time. This kid has the possibility to make a impact just like Andrew Jones. Luckily by the time he is 19 we will be completely starting over and if he stays the course, he could be in the majors before he is 20! I'm speaking on what the scouts say, and I think that 2.8 million says it all!
Is this kid going to be on our DSL team immediately or is he going join it next year? Does anyone here know how the international signing process works?
I wonder why he hasn't been moved up yet. Anyone know what he still needs to work on that is preventing a promotion? He ain't getting any younger.
Good read ... All-Star Farm Report Dallas Keuchel joined Tri-City last June after pitching for Arkansas in Omaha. He struggled out of the gate for Lancaster this spring. However, he seems to have found his rhythm and has become the JetHawks' most consistent arm. In June, the lefthander made four starts and had a 1.98 ERA with 23 strikeouts in 27-1/3rd innings. Lancaster is in a hitter's league, so Keuchel's June ERA is outstanding.
Let's not get ahead of ourselves. Can't miss prospects miss all the time. If it was so easy, people would be paying a lot more than $2.8MM for the next Jason Heyward. The idea is that you sign a bunch of these guys and one or two will hopefully pan out.
his last 10 games he's batting .351, yeah huge slump. Everyone has a few hitless games every once in awhile, baseball is too luck based not to.
