Results tagged ‘ Baseball ’
Hamstring Issues Stall Middlebrooks
By Chuck Vanderbilt
Texas native Will Middlebrooks left AAA Pawtucket for Boston earlier this month and made an immediate impact for the Boston Red Sox. Through his time in the minors, Middlebrooks has had his fair share of optimists and critics. Of course, many of the naysayers have been a bit harder to hear lately.
The fifth round pick by the Red Sox in 2007, Middlebrooks has been widely considered to be the top prospect in Boston’s farm system. During his time with Pawtucket this season, Middlebrooks batted .333 with 9 home runs and 27 runs batted in. The right-handed third baseman has shown a balanced bat that’s potent against both right-handed and left-handed pitching alike. Middlebrooks got the call from Boston when Kevin Youkilis injured his back necessitating a trip to the DL and the 23-year-old has thus far made quite an impression on the Red Sox faithful.
Through five games with Boston, Middlebrooks continued to show offensive potency. With 22 plate appearances at the Major League level, Middlebrooks has 9 hits, 4 of which are doubles and 3 being home runs. However, despite the 6’4″ third baseman’s hot start to 2012, the Red Sox have not been able to string together wins. Since Middlebrooks’ call up, the Red Sox have gone 1-4 and currently occupy the basement of the AL East sitting 6.5 games out of first.
To add to Boston’s woes, Middlebrooks appears to be battling issues with his left hamstring. Middlebrooks was taken out of the line up this past Saturday due to the hamstring and again Tuesday after aggravating it. The Red Sox have Middlebrooks listed as day-to-day and his appearance in the line up today is questionable due to the nagging injury.
Despite Middlebrooks’ strong performance at the Major League level, general manager Ben Cherington has reportedly stated that Kevin Youkilis will return to third base when his back issues straighten out. The question is, with the poor start to the 2012 season, can the Red Sox afford to send the hard-hitting Middlebrooks back to Pawtucket when the time comes.
Follow Chuck on Twitter @ChuckVanderbilt
Post Hype Prospect – Bobby Abreu
When the Angels placed Bobby Abreu on waivers on April 27, I wondered if this would be the end of the line for one the most successful players in baseball history. Fortunately, or unfortunately if you watched Abreu leave three runners on base in two at bats on May 4, the Dodgers picked him up and immediately placed him on their major league roster.
In the interest of full disclosure, Bobby Abreu has always fascinated me. He never really looked like a great athlete (though he clearly is in great shape), he never looked like he was trying, and he never put up monster numbers, but at the end of nearly every season for 13 years he ended up with at least 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases. He drove in at least 100 eight times, scored 100 another eight, and went 30/30 twice. He was a great right fielder, but was notoriously allergic to walls, and stole bases whenever the pitcher was not paying enough attention. In the end, Bobby Abreu was a truly singular baseball player whose talents were never fully appreciated – unless you were playing fantasy baseball.
Bob Kelly Abreu was signed by the Houston Astros as an international free agent out of Venezuela in August 1990, just months after his 16th birthday. Assigned to the GCL Astros of the Rookie Level Gulf Coast League, Abreu put up an amazing 301/358/372 line. While that line may not look amazing at first blush, had Abreu been born in the U.S., Puerto Rico, or Canada, Abreu would be about to start his senior year of High School, not playing professional baseball. In 1992, Abreu was assigned to the Astros’ full season A Level Southern Atlantic League affiliate, the Asheville Tourists. Abreu more than held his own, putting up a 292/375/402 line as the third youngest player in the Southern Atlantic League. Tough Abreu only hit eight home runs in 549 plate appearances, he displayed a mature approach by walking 63 times and hit 21 doubles. Baseball America took notice after the season, ranking Abreu the #95 prospect in all of baseball despite being 18 and having just completed his first full season of professional baseball.
In 1993, Abreu was sent to the High A Osceola Astros of the Florida State League where he put up a 283/352/430 line across 530 plate appearances. Abreu’s line for 1993 is, to say the least, fascinating. He hit 21 doubles, 17 triples (which lead the FSL, but the home park may have been a factor, as Abreu was one of six Oscola Astros who had at least six triples), and five home runs (down from eight in 1992). Abreu stole 10 bases, but was thrown out 14 times. Abreu walked 51 times (17th in the FSL out of 100 players with at least 149 PA), but struck out 90 times (tied for 9th most). Abreu was still viewed as a top prospect, but was not ranked by Baseball America in their top 100.
In 1994, Abreu broke out – putting up a great 303/368/530 line across 451 plate appearances for the Jackson Generals of the AA Texas League. Though his walks further decreased to 42, Abreu hit 25 doubles, 9 triples, and 16 home runs – finally appearing to realize his power potential. Abreu’s stock as a prospect was spiking, as Baseball America rated him the #52 prospect in baseball.
In 1995, Abreu spent the entire year playing for the Tucson Toros of the AAA Pacific Coast League, putting up a solid, if not spectacular, 304/395/516 line while hitting 24 doubles, 17 triples, and 10 home runs. He still got caught stealing too much (14 in 30 attempts), but there was significant offensive growth and actualization. Baseball America rated Abreu the #29 prospect in all of baseball (and immediately ahead of Jermaine Dye) with many prospect prognosticators praising his plate approach and defense, along with his power potential.
Despite the Astros’ mediocre outfield in 1996 (Brian Hunter, Derek Bell, and James Mouton had the most plate appearances, with significant playing time from Derrick May and John Cangelosi), Abreu returned to Tucson for another season in AAA. Abreu put up a 283/389/459 line, showing improved plate discipline (83 walks in 573 plate appearances) and a better approach to base running (24 stolen bases in 42 attempts), with 14 doubles, 16 triples, and 13 home runs. Abreu was called up to the Astros in September, putting up a 227/292/273 line across 24 PA. While the overall line does not look good, it is important to note that, at 22 years old, Abreu was one of the youngest players in the major leagues and, more importantly, 24 PA is such a tiny sample size that it is statistically insignificant. Unconcerned with the poor big league showing, Baseball America rated Abreu the #38 prospect in all of baseball after 1996, behind Eli Marrero.
In 1997, Abreu began the season with the Astros, appearing in 20 out of the Astros’ first 26 games, putting up a 271/386/457 line while primarily playing right field. Abreu struggled in May, and went on the disabled list on May 25 with a fractured right hand. Abreu was on the disabled list until July 3, when he returned to the Astros for almost two weeks, putting just seven plate appearances across five games. Abreu was sent down to the minors, where he put up a combined 262/329/379 in AA and AAA (the AA portion appears to be part of his rehab, but I cannot find game logs to confirm this). Abreu returned to the Astros on September 1, putting up a 294/333/471 line over 14 games to close out the season to finish with a 250/329/372 line at the major league level. All told, 1997 was not a successful year for Abreu. Despite spending most of the 1997 season with the Astros, he had not performed particularly well and missed significant time with an injury.
On November 18, 1997, Major League Baseball held an expansion draft in order to put major league players on the rosters of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and the Arizona Diamondbacks. Each team was allowed to protect a number of players, and the Astros decided to protect Richard Hidalgo instead of Abreu. With the 6th overall pick, the Devil Rays selected Abreu and, immediately after the draft, traded him to the Philadelphia Phillies for Kevin Stocker. The Devil Rays GM, Chuck LaMar, wanted Stocker, who was known for his strong defense and complete lack of offensive ability, and was willing to give up the soon-to-be 24 year old Abreu for the soon-to-be 28 year old Stocker. The Phillies’ GM, Ed Wade, should be commended for this move. Though the 1998 Phillies would have to use Desi Relaford as their shortstop, Abreu would hit from day one (literally, he went 2/6 on Opening Day against the Mets) for the Phillies.
In 1998, Abreu put up an impressive 312/409/497 line (with 14 intentional walks), beginning his long and successful career. Abreu has put up an OPS+ of at least 104 in every season from 1998 through 2011, but has struggled so far in 2012. Playing without a position for the Angels, Abreu put up a 208/259/333 line in eight games before being released. The Dodgers picked up Abreu, with formerly-mustachioed Manager Don Mattingly stating that Abreu “gives [the Dodgers] a chance to be a little bit better.”
In the end, Bobby Abreu pretty much turned out to be the player he was projected to become, with a career 293/396/480 slash line (129 OPS+), with 284 home runs, 393 stolen bases, 2390 hits, 1414 runs, and 1330 RBI. Abreu’s ability to hit line drives and patience at the plate have been his calling card, racking up 558 doubles in his career, good for 25th all time and 2nd amongst active players (only 3 behind Todd Helton).
So is this the end for Abreu? At this point, Abreu has become a “lefty bat off the bench” who can occasionally play the outfield. While he has put up great career numbers, he lacks the “wow” factor that voters often require when voting someone into the Hall of Fame, and he was only elected to two All Star Games, awarded one Silver Slugger, and awarded one Gold Glove. This lack of awards, despite winning the 2005 Home Run Derby, will doom Abreu to being part of the Hall of Very Good – which is quite an accomplishment. Abreu is currently 98th with 9,703 career plate appearances – a place surrounded by Hall of Famers and legends, such as Ted Simmons (100), Willie McCovey (99), Julio Franco (97), and Richie Ashburn (96).
How will Abreu be remembered? As a very good player who put together a long, successful career in baseball and the fact that he has made in excess of $115 million in his career while flying under the radar.
Until next time, follow me @HypeProspect.
Sources:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=abreu-001bob
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/a/abreubo01.shtml
http://www.baseballamerica.com/statistics/players/cards/11785
http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/HOU/1996.shtml
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/mayde01.shtml
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/huntebr02.shtml
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/bellde01.shtml
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/moutoja01.shtml
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/cangejo01.shtml
http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/rankings/top-100-prospects/all-time.html
http://www.baseball-reference.com/draft/1997-expansion-draft.shtml
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/stockke01.shtml
http://www.draysbay.com/2009/7/13/947812/revisiting-the-kevin-stocker-bobby
http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/phillies/In-defense-or-at-least-partial-defense-of-Ed-Wade.html
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/gl.cgi?id=abreubo01&t=b&year=1998
http://www.minorleagueball.com/2005/6/26/195036/333
Run Billy Run
By Chuck Vanderbilt
There aren’t many managers in the Major Leagues that can say they have a player in their line up that can help them get a win on the field, in the batter’s box and on the base paths. Those that can, surely consider themselves fortunate. Currently residing at Cincinnati’s Class A Advanced Bakersfield is 21-year-old Billy Hamilton. If you’re not familiar with the name, you soon will be. The “toolsy” shortstop is already making a firm impression on the 2012 baseball season.
The Reds selected Hamilton out of high school in the second round of the 2009 MLB Draft and it has become clear that the switch hitting shortstop has found his stride. In just 26 games Hamilton has stolen 31 bases for the Bakersfield Blaze. This statistic has to bring joy to Reds fans and fear into the minds of opposing pitchers and catchers. If Hamilton is on first, and with his .458 on base percentage he tends to be, the pitcher, the catcher, and everyone in the stands knows Billy is about steal second. The simple fact is, there’s very little anyone can do about it.
With his bat, Hamilton is clearly more potent versus right-handed pitchers with a .450 batting average. However, Hamilton is currently hitting a respectable .286 against lefties. Of Hamilton’s 39 hits, 12 of them have been for extra bases with 7 doubles, 4 triples, and 1 home run. An interesting split through the 2012 season is Hamilton’s offensive numbers on the road compared to home games. With 13 games played away, Hamilton is batting .500 while just .269 at home.
Hamilton is considered to be one of the organization’s overall top prospects and undoubtedly the fastest. If Hamilton continues to excel at all facets of the game, it will be difficult for GM Walt Jocketty not to promote him to AA Pensacola. Certainly Bakersfield has enjoyed watching this youthful talent so far in 2012. However, with Hamilton’s offensive production, that pleasure will surely be stolen from them soon. Like Hamilton’s time on first base, his time in a Blaze uniform is sure to be brief.
Follow Chuck on Twitter @ChuckVanderbilt
Post Hype Prospect – Jay Payton
Not all Post Hype Prospects flame out and don’t reach the majors. Many Post Hype Prospects become useful major league players, even All-Stars, but fail to achieve prognosticated the level of success. One of the many players who fall into this category is Jay Payton.
Jason Lee (“Jay”) Payton grew up as a multi-sport standout at Zanesville High School in Zanesville, Ohio. Being named the Connie Mack World Series tournament MVP after his senior year in high school, Payton attended Georgia Institute of Technology (more commonly known as Georgia Tech) , where his teammates included Nomar Garciaparra and Jason Varitek. In the 1994 College World Series, Georgia Tech lost in the championship game to an Oklahoma team led by Chip Glass (birth name David Jason), who was named CWS Most Outstanding Player. In the first round of the 1994 draft, the New York Mets took Paul Wilson with the #1 overall pick (more on him in a later post, to be sure), Terrance Long #20 (as compensation for the Orioles signing Sid Fernandez), and Payton #29 (also compensation for the Orioles signing Fernandez) with the first pick of the supplemental first round.
Payton signed quickly and appeared in 58 games for the Mets’ Short Season A affiliate, the Pittsfield Mets of the New York Penn League (in addition to the Mets’ affiliate being in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, there were also teams in New Jersey, Vermont, Pennsylvania, and Ontario), hitting a robust 365/439/498 with ten stolen bases and nine (!) HBP. Payton was promoted to the Mets’ AA affiliate, the Binghamton Mets, for the final eight games of the season where he hit a gentlemanly 280/357/320. Payton was rated the #96 prospect by Baseball America and assigned to the AA Binghamton Mets, where he mashed to a 345/395/535 slash line, primarily playing Center Field. Payton was promoted to the Mets’ AAA affiliate, the Norfolk Tides, for the final 50 games of the season. In Norfolk, Payton put up a lackluster 240/284/398 slash line. After the 1995 season, Payton had his medial collateral ligament (MCL) surgically repaired after the 1995 season, a problem many felt was the reason for the poor AAA showing.
Baseball America took notice and ranked Payton the #21 prospect for 1996. In 1996, Payton played only 71 games, with 55 of them in Norfolk, putting up an impressive 307/363/503 slash line while in Norfolk. Payton had more injury troubles, thoroughly destroying us ulnar collateral ligament and hurting his shoulder, resulting in surgery on both his shoulder and Tommy John surgery on his elbow. Despite the short season and injury concerns, Payton was rated the #34 prospect for 1997. Unfortunately, Payton missed the entire 1997 season rehabilitating from his injuries.
In 1998, Payton played in 85 games, 82 of them in Norfolk, putting up a pedestrian 261/318/404 slash line while just trying to stay healthy. He also put up a more impressive 318/348/364 slash line in a cup of tea during September. In 1999, a healthy Payton put up a 389/437/674 slash line in Norfolk, appearing in 13 games with the Mets, hitting 250/333/375 while in the Majors. Coming out of Spring Training, Payton appeared to be sharing the 4th outfielder role with Benny Agbayani, but Payton appeared in 124 games, putting up a respectable 291/331/447 while finishing third behind Rafael Furcal and Rick Ankiel (but ahead of Pat Burrell, Lance Berkman, and Juan Pierre) in the 2000 Rookie of the Year Award voting.
After a pedestrian 255/298/371 showing in 104 games in 2001 and a solid 284/336/415 showing in 87 games in 2002, Payton was dealt to Colorado with Robert Stratton and Mark Corey for Mark Little and John Thompson. Payton put up a monster 335/376/606 for the rest of the year, taking advantage of pre-humidor Coors Field to the fullest. In 2003, Payton put up another monster season, hitting 302/354/512, though he did lead the NL by grounding into 27 double plays, just one behind major league leader Paul Konerko (who was, incidentally, drafted with the 13th pick of the 1994 MLB draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers). After the 2003 season, Payton signed a two-year contract with the San Diego Padres for $5.5 million (with a $4 million club option on the 2006 season with a $500,000 buy-out).
From 2004 through 2008, Payton appeared in 667 games with 2368 Plate Appearances, putting up a roughly league average 267/310/393 slash line (85 OPS+) while transitioning from being a CF to a LF. In March of 2009, Payton suffered a shoulder injury while lifting weights and missed the entire season. In January 2010, Payton signed a minor league contract with the Colorado Rockies, and put up a 323/365/469 slash line while primarily playing left field for the Rockies’ AAA affiliate, the Colorado Springs Sky Sox. Called up to the Rockies in September, Payton made up for lost time, mashing a 343/361/514 line in 36 PA. Faced with another off season shoulder surgery, Payton announced his retirement.
But what happened to Jay Payton? Why was he unable to reach his potential? It’s easy to say that injuries curtailed his career before it really got started or that he just wasn’t THAT talented. I think it’s a combination of the two. No one ever saw Payton as a future hall of famer, but it would not have been a stretch to see Payton hit 300 for a decade while playing a good center field. It seems that the key to reaching potential is to avoid injuries, something that may involve more than a little luck.
Until next time, leave comments and follow me @HypeProspect.
Sources:
http://www.baseball-reference.com (http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/p/paytoja01.shtml, http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=payton001jas, etc.)
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2009/04/crasnick-on-remaining-free-agents.html
http://www.topix.com/forum/baseball-players/jay-payton/T6MUMML3RNFN12RVC
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