Author Archive for Zephon
Wes Roemer + Barry Enright
Closed Published by Zephon July 30th, 2008 on AZ Snakepit: Front Page PostsBefore I begin, I must say that I’m rather disappointed with the lack of commentary on my last article on Peter Clifford and Evan Frey. I understand that it was a bit long, and perhaps a little too in depth, and that might have scared some people off. I do put a lot of time and effort into writing these articles, and even if you have nothing to add, a simple “nice article” or “keep up the good work” would be greatly appreciated. Or hell, if it’s too long and lengthy, let me know. I did get some much needed constructive criticism from Baseball Musing’s David Pinto. I think his advice should really help me improve my writing, so I thought I’d just give his site a plug.
Today I’m going to look at two pitchers who you’ll often find right next to each other: Wes Roemer and Barry Enright.
Physical Description and Background
Wes Roemer was born on October 7, 1986 in Glendora, CA. He’s listed at 6′0 in height, and weighing 205lb. He throws and bats right handed. He attended Cal State-Fullerton for three years before being selected by the Diamondbacks in supplemental 1st round with 50th overall pick in the 2007 draft.
Barry Enright was born March 30, 1987 in Stockton, Ca. He’s listed as 6′3, weighing 220 Lbs. He throws and bats right handed. He attended Pepperdine University for three years before being selected by the Diamondbacks in 2nd round with the 73rd overall pick in the 2007 draft.
Pitch Selection and Stuff
Roemer is a command-and-feel right-hander who fires fastballs in the 89-90 mph range, though he can reach back for 91-92 on occasion. Roemer has excellent command of his slider and can back-door it, making it an excellent out pitch for left-handed hitters. He commands his changeup well, keeping it down in the zone. Roemer is an extremely good competitor and goes right after hitters.
Enright can touch 91 mph, but sits comfortably at 88-89 mph. Enright features a slider at 79-80 mph that has late bite. It’s not a plus pitch, but it’s enough to keep hitters honest. Enright has a good feel for a changeup. Pitchability is Enright’s best tool. He locates his fastball to both sides of the plate. He pounds the zone, down in the zone when he’s on, and pitches to contact. Enright is a good competitor who’s not afraid of tough matchups and goes right after hitters.
College Statistics
Unlike my previous article, I won’t go into nearly as much detail on each individual season in college; instead I’ll look at their overall statistics.
Wes Roemer pitched very well in college, showing great control. In 389 innings pitched he struck out 344 while walking only 44 batters with a cumulative ERA of 3.40. If you look at just his overall performance, you’ll miss his outstanding 2006 season: 13-2 with 2.38 ERA with a .86 WHIP and 145 strikeouts to just seven walks in a career high 155 innings pitched. He had 3 complete games, two of which were shut outs. He had 9 complete games throughout his collegiate career. It’s worth noting his increase in strikeouts per nine innings from 7.10 to 8.42 to 9.38.
Barry Enright had 211 strike outs to 62 walks in 352.2 Inning pitched with an era of 3.44 ERA. If you look at just Enright’s overall performance in college, you’ll over look the clear improvement that he made each year in ERA, WHIP, Inning pitched, BB:K, K per 9, and BB per 9. His last year in college was outstanding: 12-5 with 1.99 ERA with 91 strike outs to 14 walks with a 1.00 WHIP.
Minor League Statistics
Roemer made his professional debut pitching for rookie ball Yakima in the Northwestern league. Although he only appeared in 8 games and pitched 12 innings, his results were kind of mixed. His strike out to walk ratio was excellent: 18 k’s to just 2 walks. He gave up 11 hits, one HR, and 6 earned runs. His ERA was 4.50 with a 1.08 WHIP.
Enright made his professional debut with Yakima, pitched eight innings, was promoted to South Bend where he pitched for two innings, and was then promoted again to Visalia where he pitched for 5 innings. Overall he pitched 15 innings, giving up 8 hits, an unearned run, struck out 17 batters while walking 5. His ERA was 0.00, with a .87 WHIP.
This year both players have been assigned to Hi-A Visalia in the California League.
In 121.2 innings pitched, Roemer has a 4.51 ERA, 1.44 WHIP, and has stuck out 87, while walking 28. He’s given up 147 hits, 18 HRS, and 64 earned runs. He’s also hit 9 batters and uncorked 3 wild pitches.
In 121.1 innings pitched, Enright has a 4.75 ERA, 1.44 WHIP, and has struck out 103 batters while walking 29. He’s given up 146 hits, 11 HRS, and 64 earned runs. He’s hit 2 batters and uncorked 6 wild pitches.
The two players aren’t that far from each other in innings pitched, ERA, BBs, Hits, and earned runs. However, Roemer has a better ERA, but Enright has more strike outs, a better K:BB ratio, and has given up fewer home runs.
Once you look at Batting Average On Ball In Play (BABIP) and Fielding Independent Pitching (FIP), you get the whole picture. Enright has a FIP of 3.38 and a .364 BABIP which indicates that his ERA has largely been the result of bad luck and poor defense. Roemer’s 4.68 FIP and .289 BABIP suggest that he’s actually pitched worse than his ERA would suggest, and that he’s been a bit lucky.
Wrap Up
Obviously the results aren’t as exciting as the team’s front office would have hoped, but you do have to take in account that the California League is a hitter’s league with some of the most hitter friendly parks in all of baseball. Neither player has logged a lot of time in the minors yet, nor has either pitched at the higher levels. It’ll be interesting to see how they do in the much more pitching friendly environment of AA Mobile in the Southern league.
If I had to pick which pitcher I think is more likely to succeed, it’d be a rather tough call. If we were to judge the two players based on their performance in college, Wes Roemer would be the obvious choice. He struck nearly twice as many batters as Enright did in college. Outside of Enright’s fabulous 2007 year in college, Wes Roemer out pitched Enright by every statistical measure.
Once you look at actual minor league performance, Enright is clearly the winner. This year he has a lower walk rate, higher strike out rate, better K:BB ratio, and has given up home runs at a lower rate. In addition, he throws harder and has a bigger frame. With Roemer’s success in college, I wouldn’t be surprised if he turns things around. But as of now, Enright is the better pitcher.
Not much to add here, but I would like to thank Emily once again for proof reading. I’d also just like to thank you for reading. I’ll be back again on Wednesdays and Saturdays with my scouting reports on the players in the Arizona Farm System.
-Wesley “Zephon” Baier
Sources: (all links open in new window)
Wes Roemer @ BB-REF
Barry Enright @ BB-REF
Wes Roemer @ Thebaseballcube
Barry Enright @ Thebaseballcube
Wes Roemer @ Fangraphs
Barry Enright @ Fangraphs
Prospect 2 for 1: Pete Clifford and Evan Frey
Closed Published by Zephon July 25th, 2008 on AZ Snakepit: Front Page PostsI’d like apologize for the two week hiatus of any articles being published due to illness, work, and a lot of distractions. But I’m back again today with a two for one special.
Today we’re going to compare and contrast two left handed outfielders that were drafted out of college last year. The first one is a guy I’ve been keeping my eye on since early this season, Pete Clifford. The other one is Evan Frey, who I honestly hadn’t paid that much attention to until Nick Piecoro named him the Dbacks #7 prospect (He’s move up from #8 after the Bonifacio trade)
I really liked the commentary that resulted from my prospect article that compared and contrasted Emilio Bonifacio and Rusty Ryal, so I’m going to try and do something similar with the next couple of articles by looking at two prospects who share the same position or pitching role.
I’d like to first look at each players basic biographical make up e. g. date of birth, height, weight, school, draft position. Once we’ve got that done, we’ll look the player‘s performance at the high school or college level (if applicable, of course). Then we’ll look at how they’ve performed in the minor leagues. Then we’ll wrap it up by making our final analysis, where we’ll make an estimate on when they should be ready for the majors, what areas they need to improve to get there. I‘ll pass my own judgment on who I think is the better prospect, and then leave it up to you guys(and gals) to vote in a poll in who you think is better. Then we can all argue in the commentary. .
Background, Physical Makeup and Tools
Pete Clifford was born on December 20, 1983 in Jacksonville, Florida. He’s listed at an even 6′0 and weighing 195LBs. He bats left handed, and throws right handed. He attended Jacksonville University, and was drafted by the Diamondbacks as a senior in the 20th round with (as) the 613th overall pick. Clifford’s strengths offensively are hitting for average and drawing walks. And even though he doesn’t hit a lot of homers, he does have some pretty good power.
Clifford is an above average outfielder defensively that makes very few fielding errors. In the minors he’s played 54% percent of his games in left, 17% in center, 12% in right field, and the remainder as the DH. 75% of his starts have been in left field, and that will be his primary defensive position through out his career, especially if he’s going to succeed in the majors with the Dbacks. I can’t say with much certainty that he’s capable of playing right field since I don’t have any information or scouting reports that talk about his throwing arm. He’s not going to see any time in center this year with the newly promoted Evan Frey holding down the position for Visalia.
Evan Frey was born on June 7th, 1986 in Edwardsville, Illinois. He’s listed at 6′0 in height, and weighing 170lbs. He bats and throws left handed. Attended the University of Missouri Colombia, and was drafted by the Diamondbacks in the 10th round of the 2007 draft as the 313th overall pick. Like Clifford, Frey has good speed on the base paths, makes a ton of contact, and has good strike zone judgment. He hits the ball on the ground a little over 50% of the time, suggesting that he’s a slap hitter. Frey’s biggest negative is the fact that he’s displayed essentially zero home run power throughout his college and professional career.
Frey is an excellent defensive center fielder with outstanding range, speed, and very few errors. Frey will have to stay at center field if he’s going to be a major league ball player. He just doesn’t have the power to be an every day starting left or right fielder on winning major league ball club.
Physically the two players are quite similar. Obviously both bat left handed and are an even six feet in height. I haven’t seen either player play in person, nor do I have access to any advanced scouting reports, so I can’t comment on either player’s speed, throwing arm, Clifford’s heavier frame gives him more power, but Frey’s youth gives him the advantage in age.
Performance in College
College statistics are really hard for me to include in these prospect comparison. As I’ve said before, it’s really hard to make any sort of real evaluation based on college statistics due the differences in equipment (aluminum bats), competition (which can range greatly from conference to conference), and schedule.
Pete Clifford played four years in the NCAA for Jacksonville University. That’s actually very uncommon. Most college players, including Evan Frey, enter the MLB draft as juniors. This gives the players more leverage in signing negotiations, since the player can always go back to college and play their senior year. Peter Clifford, instead of entering the draft as a junior, stayed in college to finish his education. He received his Bachelor of Business Administration degree, majoring in management. The fact that he had no problem finishing his education while hurting his draft status, IMHO, adds a lot to his character and makeup.
Although Peter Clifford didn’t put up jaw dropping home run totals in college, he did put up excellent numbers all four years in college.
In his 188 at bats as a 20 year old freshmen, he put up a .346/.399/.468 overall line, with 12 doubles, a triple and a home run. He walked 15 times while striking out 35 times. He also stole 5 bases, but was caught stealing 3 times; a 62.5 success rate, just under the 67-70% break even point.
In his 203 at bats as a 21 year old sophomore, Clifford hit .325/.413/.493 with 13 doubles and 7 Home Runs. He walked 29 times while striking out 25 times. Once again he stole 5 bases, but was caught 4 times. Although his batting average went down and his success rate on the base paths went down slightly, Clifford improved every facet of his game.
In his season the next year as a 22 year old junior, Pete Clifford continued improving his offense game. In 262 at bats he hit 317/.394/.477 with 21 doubles, 3 triples, and 5 home runs. He walked 31 times and struck out 40 times. The real break out for Clifford was on the base paths, where he stole 21 bases while getting caught only 3 times. It’s interesting to note the decrease in his slugging percentage, which is odd, considering he put up career bests in doubles and triples, but had only 2 less home runs.
In his final season as a 23 year old senior, Clifford hit .351/.455/.623 with 17 doubles, 2 triples, and a career high 14 home runs. He drew 43 walks while striking out 30 times. Once again he swiped 21 bags, but was caught 5 times. Clifford ended his college career posting career highs in batting average, on base percentage, slugging percentage, walks, and home runs.
Now that we’ve gone over Clifford’s performance in college, let’s look at Evan Frey.
As a 19 year old college freshman, Evan Frey’s performance in 55 abs is statistically insignificant, but I’ll go ahead and talk about it any way. He hit .164/.242/.200 with 4 walks and 11 strike outs. Of his 9 hits, 2 went for doubles. He stole one base and was caught stealing once. 55 abs is just way too small of a sample to really discuss, so let’s move on to his sophomore year.
In 190 at bats as a 20 year old sophomore, Frey hit .337/.457/.389 with 64 hits, but only seven extra base hits: four doubles and three triples. He walked 29 times while striking out 33 times. Frey stole 9 bases while getting caught twice. Frey also got hit by pitches 14 times. Ouch.
In his 224 at bats the next year as a 21 year old junior, Frey hit .348/.447/.496 with 78 hits, this time 20 going for extra bases; 11 doubles, 5 triples, and a still personal best 4 home runs. Frey drew 39 walks and struck out 41 times. He stole 10 bases but was caught 7 times of 58.8% success rate, well below the break even point. All though he wasn’t plunked quite as many times as the year before, Frey still got plunked 8 times.
So what kind of insight and analysis can we get looking at the two players college careers? Clifford’s college career is outstanding. Every year he was productive, hitting for average, getting on base, and slugging the ball. He showed good plate discipline, and also really turned on the speed the last two years of college.
With Evan Frey we obviously don’t have as large of a sample size to work with, since he was drafted after his junior season. Not to mention that his age 19 season is pretty much irrelevant, and can be thrown out. However, I think we have enough of a sample with his age 20 and 21 seasons that we can cast some judgment on his college performance. In those two seasons, Frey showed excellent contact skills and plate discipline. I’d like to mention that although Frey had a higher on base percentage than Clifford in those two seasons, if you remove the high amount of hit by pitches in his age 20 season, his excellent .457 on base percentage drops down to a still quite good 364. I’m pretty sure this isn’t a Craig Biggio or Carlos Quentin repeatable skill, and it’s clearly just a statistical outlier.
Minor League Production and History
Now that we’ve looked at each player’s performance in college, we can now look at their performance in the minors since being drafted last year.
After being drafted and signing with the Diamondbacks, Peter Clifford was assigned to the Missoula Ospreys, Arizona’s rookie ball affiliate in the Pioneer League. In his 225 at bats with the Ospreys, Clifford hit .280/.378/.502 with 16 doubles, 2 triples, and 10 home runs. He drew 36 walks, while striking out 51 times. He stole 8 bases while getting caught only once for a 89% success rate. Overall I’d say his debut season in the minor leagues was a successful one. Not exactly jaw dropping numbers of course, considering his age relative to the rest of the league, but all of his numbers - his BA, OBP, SLG%, and his BB:K ratio are definitely positive signs. The ten home runs are nice sign too. Compare his .880 OPS to the overall .701 OPS of his team, and to the .760 overall OPS of the Pioneer League, and you find yet another positive.
After his solid debut season in rookie ball, the Diamondbacks had Clifford skip their low a ball affiliate, South Bend, and assigned him to the Hi A Affiliate Visalia Oaks to begin 2008. Clifford has thrived, and he’s been the Oaks’ best hitter this year, and leads the team in OPS, doubles, triples, and walks. In 336 at bats he’s hitting .307/.416/.503 with 29 doubles, 5 triples, and 9 home runs. He’s drawn 59 walks to 88 strike outs. He’s stolen 10 bases while getting caught 6 times for a 62.5% success rate, a bit under the break even point.
Looking further into his statistics this year, specifically his batting splits, I found that he’s struggled against left handed pitching, at least this year. Since I can’t seem to find his batting splits from last year, I’m not sure if this is a trend, or just the result of a random fluctuation in his BABIP (.303 vs. LHP, .432 vs. RHP). Either way, in 99 at bat Bs vs. LHP he’s hitting .242/.361/.384, as opposed to .333/.439/.553 vs. RHP. Out of his 103 hits this year, only 24 have come against LHP. Of his 43 extra base hits, only 10 have come against left hand pitching - seven doubles, two triples, and one home run. Compared to his results against RHP, the rate that he hits the ball on the ground drops, his line drive rate drops, and his fly ball percent shoots up. I’m not exactly sure what to make all of that, but I’m sure some of you can make more sense of those numbers than I can. Now that we’ve taken a thorough look at Pete Clifford‘s offensive production in the minors, we can shift our focus back to Evan Frey, and see what his production has been like in the minors so far.
After being drafted by Arizona and signing in June 2007, Evan Frey was assigned to the Diamondbacks’ short season a ball affiliate in the North Western League, the Yakima Bears. In 246 at bats, Frey hit .309/.384/.390 with 76 hits, but only 14 going for extra bases, consisting of 8 doubles and 6 triples. He took 27 walks while striking out 42 times. He had 13 stolen bases, but was caught stealing 10 times for a 57% success rate. As always, comparing his OPS (.774) to his team’s OPS (.713) and the league’s OPS (.713) puts his numbers in to the context of the quality of the competition he’s playing with, in addition to telling you about the hitting environment he’s playing in.
Evan Frey began this year with a promotion to full season A Ball South Bend in the Midwestern League, before being promoted to Visalia. In his 309 at bats with South Bend, Frey hit .327/.401/.417. He had a lot of hits, 101 to be exact, but only 24 were extra base hits. He didn’t hit any home runs, but he did have 16 doubles and 6 triples. Frey drew 39 walks and struck out 38 times. I think the most important improvement is his much better results on the base paths. Frey stole 20 bases, and was caught 6 times, giving him a 77 percent success rate.
After a nice run in South Bend, Evan Frey was promoted on July 2 to Hi A Visalia. He’s played in 20 games, and in his 84 at bats he’s hitting .262/.367/.417 with three doubles, two triples, and two home runs. He’s walked 12 times and has struck out 20 times. He’s also stolen three bases, but has been caught twice. Frey has really struggled against left handed pitching since his promotion. He has a .894 OPS in 53 at bats against right handed pitching, but only a .588 OPS in 31 at bats against left handed pitching. In addition, he’s struggled hitting away from home. In his 32 at bats at home, he’s hitting.469/.528/.688 for a 1.216 OPS. In his 52 at bats away from Visalia he’s hitting just .135/.274/.250 for a .524 OPS. Since we’re dealing with such a small sample size here no matter how you look at it, I can’t really say how significant any of his numbers for Visalia are. We’ll just have to come back and re-visit his numbers in a month or at the end of the season to make some real analysis.
Overall Thoughts on Each Player
Now that I’ve gone in to both players’ offensive production from their freshmen year in college all the way up to their current numbers with Visalia, I feel that I can make a more insightful analysis in to what kind of player they are right now.
I’ll be honest; I’m a bit biased towards Peter Clifford over Evan Frey. Peter Clifford may not have the advantage of age that Frey has, but if you over look that, Clifford, in my opinion, is clearly the better player.
Throughout his four years of college and into his professional career, Peter Clifford has been an extremely productive hitter. Throughout his career he’s been hitting for average and getting on base at a good clip He’s shown that he has some good speed on the base paths, especially with his back to back 21 stolen base seasons. Although he doesn’t have a ton of home run power, he’s shown that he could hit 15-20 homers if given a full season’s worth of at bats. He should be a very good left fielder defensively.. Throughout his career, he’s built on his performance the year before by improving in every facet of his game offensively. He’s also proven the quality of his character and make up with his decision to stay in college so he could finish his education, even though it would clearly affect his draft position and his leverage in contract negotiations.
Clifford in all likely hood will never be a Hall of Famer or a superstar, but he certainly could have a few all star caliber years. Of course there’s always the chance that he won’t pan out, but at the very least I think could up the left handed half of a platoon or possibly serve as a left handed 4th outfielder.
If everything goes right I can see Peter Clifford having a batting average right around the .300 mark, with an on base percentage normally in the .400s. I think his slugging percentage would fall in the high .400s to mid .500s in most seasons. I calculated what I think would be Peter Clifford’s peak by taking his current career highs and projecting what he would have done given a full season of at bats. It’s not a very scientific method, but the end result is 34 hrs, 8 triples, 45 doubles, and 50 stolen bases. I thing we’d all like to see that.
Even though Evan Frey has flashed very little power, I still think he could have some success in the Majors. He has a very high contact rate, doesn’t strike out a lot, and is quite skilled at getting on base. Although it will never completely make up for his lack of power, his speed and aggressiveness on the base paths are a very good asset. He’s an excellent center fielder defensively with a ton of range and he’s very reliable and sure handed at the position. Frey may never be every day starting center fielder, but at the very least, he could serve as a left handed 4th outfielder, pinch runner, and defensive replacement.
If everything goes right i can see him hitting regular hitting .300 or higher, with OBP% above .400. His power is by far the biggest question mark. He’s still young, so his power has the potential to develop some more, but I honestly can’t see him hitting more than 5 HRs in a season. The thing I worry the most about is the lack of doubles and triple. In his best season, he had 16 doubles and 6 triples in 306 ABs. If he doesn’t develop any more power than what he currently has shown, that works out to about 25 doubles and 10 triples in a full season worth of at bats. How ever, seeing Frey stealing >35 bases a year wouldn’t be all that surprising.
Wrap Up
As usual I’ll wrap things up by asking my usual questions to promote some commentary and about these two players. Who do you think is the better prospect? Who has the best/most upside? Who has the most downside? Who do you think is more likely to make it to the big leagues? When do you think each player will make it to the big leagues if every thing goes right? If either player reaches their full potential, what kind offensive performances do you expect?
As always, I’d like everyone for reading. You guys are the reason why I do this. I’d also like to thank Emily for proof reading for me. Please let me know what you think of this article and my writing, I’d certainly appreciate it. Let me know if you have any suggestions for future articles.
-Wesley “Zephon” Baier.
Sources
Peter Clifford MILB.com Official Player Page
Evan Frey MILB.com Official Player Pare
Peter Clifford Baseball Reference Page
Evan Frey Baseball Reference Page
Peter Clifford @ TheBaseballCube
Evan Frey @ TheBaseballCube
Pete Clifford @ Fangraphs
Evan Frey @ Fangraphs
Peter Clifford @ Minorleaguesplits.com
Evan Frey @ Minorleaguesplits.com
I was originally planning to look at a pitcher again, but I changed my mind. The Diamondbacks offense has been putrid. So naturally, i think every one at this point has checked to see who’s having the best season down in the minors. By all accounts that would be 26 year old corner infielder/emergency catcher Jamie D’antona. Honestly, I would say he’s the most controversial prospect that I’ve written about. In addition, he’s got a rather interesting history as well.
Born on May 12, 1982 in the small town of Trumbull Connecticut, D’antona attended college at Wake Forest University. D’antona put up some impressive numbers during his three years with Wake Forest.
In his freshmen year, D’antona burst on the scene by hitting 364/431/628 with 17 HRs and a strike out to walk ratio of 50/28 in 253 ABs. He took home 1st team All American Honors, as well as Rookie of the Year.
His sophomore year was equally impressive, as he hit 336/450/659 with 20 HRs, and improved strike out to walk ratio of 40/47 in 223 ABs. His last year in college was even better, his 360/450/752 came with 21 HRs and a strike out to walk ratio of 34/38 in 214 ABS. Each year he showed a clear trend of increased plate discipline and power while getting fewer at bats each year. There were some concerns about his defense, but it was clear that his bat could carry him to the major leagues.
The Diamondbacks selected Jamie D’antona in the 2nd round of the 2003 amateur draft with the 66th overall pick. D’antona signed 5 days after the June 5th draft, and he was assigned to low a Yakima.
D’antona’s first professional season was a productive one, as he hit 277/359/517 in 271 ABs. He had 15 HRs, 18 doubles, and one triple. His plate discipline was a bit troubling, 60 strike outs to 35 walks. However, comparing his 876 OPS to the 685 OPS of the Northwest League further emphasizes the quality of D’antona’s age 21 season. He was a Northwest League All Star, in addition to being the Northwest League’s player of the year.
2004 was a bit of a mix bagged for Jamie D’antona. He split time between High A Lancaster, where he excelled before being promoted to AA El Paso, where he struggled for the first time in his career. In his 273 at bats with Lancaster he posted a 315/353/531 batting line with 13 HRS, 18 doubles, and a triple. He had an acceptable strike out to walk ratio of 36/16. His 884 OPS wasn’t that much better than his team’s OPS of 818. D’antona struggled defensively, with 17 errors at third base with Lancaster.
However D’antona was then promoted to another extremely hitting friendly environment, AA El Paso in the Texas League. D’antona struggled mightily in his 71 ABS with the El Paso Diablos, hitting only 211/233/282, with no HRS, and only three doubles and a triple. His strike out to walk ratio of 16/2 only magnifies his struggles, as does comparing his 515 OPS to the 744 OPS of the Texas League and the 761 OPS of his team. In addition to D’antona’s offensive struggles, his defense suffered as well, making 4 more errors at third base after his promotion. He finished the year with 21 errors at third base. He had no errors at first base, which is a positive, I guess.
It’s at this point where D’antona’s career really began to stall. Up until this point, D’antona, Carlos Quentin, and Conor Jackson were the “Three Amigos.” The three best offensive prospects in the Diamondbacks’ farm system. However, while D’antona struggled, Quentin and Jackson continued hitting and moving up the top prospect rankings, eventually making it the major leagues.
In 2005 D’antona found him self in AA again, all though he wouldn’t be playing for the El Paso Diablos in the Texas League. It was in this year that the Dbacks switched affiliations and leagues to the Tennessee Smokies in the Southern League. D’antona still struggled though, hitting 249/322/385 in 410 ABS, with only 9 HRS, two triples, and 25 doubles. His strike out to walk ratio was a little better, as he struck out 67 times, but improved his walk rate by drawing 44 base on balls. Still, his 707 OPS was 40 points below league average, and 23 points below the average OPS of his team. It’s also worth noting the 17 errors at third base for D’antona once again.
D’antona spent his third year in AA in 2005. The third times the charm I guess, as he returned to his previous form hitting 310/382/484 in 461 ABS. His power returned with 17 HRS and 29 doubles. He struck out 88 times, the most in his career, while drawing 54 walks, also a career high. Comparing his 866 OPS to his team’s 731 OPS or the league average OPS of 701 puts things further in to perspective. However, he was a 24 year old repeating AA for the second time, so the standard discounts apply.
D’antona made a lot less errors at third though, finishing with 6. He did make 8 errors at first, however.
Finally promoted to AAA Tucson last year, D’antona had a productive season hitting 308/362/499 in 483 ABS. He had 13 HRS, and had a career high 5 triples and 43 doubles. His strike outs dropped down to 57 from the career high of 88 he had the year before, while his walks ended up at 40. It’s interesting to note that all though D’antona played mostly third and some first base for the Sidewinders, he also played 21 games at catcher.
I did see one game last year with D’antona at backstop, and he’d have to put in a lot of work to be any thing close to an average defensive MLB catcher. He’s definitely useful there in case of an emergency, however. D’antona made 15 errors at third in 2006. In the game I saw where he was playing third base, he had a throwing error. D’antona has a pretty good throwing arm, but he has trouble with his accuracy. His foot work and range seemed OK to me.
2008 has been very kind to Jamie D’antona. In his 88 games and 323 ABs for Tucson this year, he’s hitting 375/416/616 with 15 HRS, a triple, and 31 doubles. His plate discipline has suffered though, as he’s struck out 50 times, while walking only 24 times. He’s on pace to set career highs in home runs, doubles, batting average, on base percentage, and slugging percentage. Part of the reason he’s been so successful this year is his extremely high BABIP of 421. His BABIP in his good years has ranged from .300-.400.
In my opinion the only reason D’antona isn’t playing for the Dbacks right now is the lack of a defensive position. I don’t think he’s that much worse than Mark Reynolds at third. He makes a lot of throwing errors, as i said earlier. He’s acceptable at first where his arm is less of a liability. However, with the way he has been hitting, and the way the Diamondbacks haven’t, he should be playing with the Dbacks right now. He’s a better option for a platoon with Chad Tracy against LHP than Chris Burke or Alex Romero. He’s got a great throwing arm, so he could be a decent option in left field.
Honestly I don’t really have more to say about D’antona. So what are your thoughts on Jamie D’antona? Good? Great? Sucks? Leave your comments.
Thanks for reading!
Wesley “Zephon” Baier
Minor League Notes + RHP Matt Torra
Closed Published by Zephon July 5th, 2008 on AZ Snakepit: Front Page PostsWelcome again to whatever we’re calling these articles. I’ve decided that in addition to talking about one prospect in depth, I’m going to do that and touch on a number of related subjects.
Why am I doing these articles?
The minor leagues are pretty much a gray area for most Dbacks fans. They don’t know who most of our prospects are, and they tend to have no idea what to expect from most of these guys. I don’t think I’m going to make any groundbreaking insight when it comes to any of the players I talk about. What I do think I’m doing is educating and promoting discussion of the minor league players in the Diamondbacks’ farm system. I also get a chance to practice my writing while getting regular feedback.
Pitching depth
There’s a lot of solid prospects that are worth talking about right now. We’ve seen a lot of our young pitching this season already; Max Scherzer, Billy Buckner, Connor Robertson, and Leo Rosales have all seen action with big club. That doesn’t even touch the amount of solid pitching depth the Diamondbacks have in the minors. I’ve already talked about Bryan Augenstein. I haven’t talked about top prospect Jarrod Parker, or Cesar Valdez, Brooks Brown, and of course Matt Torra. There’s also a surprising amount of relief pitchers having solid years. Reid Mahon, Josh Ellis, Evan Scribner, Kyler Newby and Chad Beck to just name a few. I’ll go in depth on a few of these guys in the near future, specifically Valdez and Parker.
D’antona is having a great year in AAA, hitting 383/421/617 with 13 home runs and 28 doubles in 295 ABS. With the struggles of the team, he’s been mentioned a lot as a guy who should be called up. His break out hitting is more than likely an unsustainable result of high BABIP. I respond to that statement with a simple duh! Of course his numbers are unsustainable and he’s not that good of a hitter. However he would be an improvement over Eric Byrnes v. 2008, Chris Burke, Jeff Salazar, and Chad Tracy vs LHP. I’m honestly rather surprised he hasn’t been called up yet. I plan on looking at him more in depth some time in the near future, as he is a rather interesting borderline prospect.
Bryan Augenstein
Just to update on RHP Bryan Augenstein, who I talked about in my first article: In his two starts since being promoted to High A-Ball Visalia, he’s struck out two and walked one batter in each start, however he’s had two very different end results. In his first start he went 5 innings, gave up 5 hits and allowed no runs. In his next start (which was yesterday) he went 5.2 innings and allowed 9 hits and gave up 6 runs. I still want to know what his stuff looks like this year.
22 year old RHP Joshua Collmenter was already having a solid season going into yesterday’s game where he was a walk short of perfect in his seven innings of work. Collmenter struck out seven while facing the minimum number of batters. The walk he gave up was immediately thrown out trying to steal second base. In his start prior to yesterday, he also threw six innings of shut out ball, giving up 2 hits and a walk, while striking out four. Collmenter has been solid through out the minors. In his 66.1 innings pitched for Yakima last year, he was 6-3 with a 2.71 ERA, and a 57:21 strike out to walk ratio. This year in 88.2 innings with South Bend, he’s 9-4 with a 3.25 ERA and 75:31 strike out to walk ratio. He’s definitely a guy to keep an eye on once he faces more advanced competition in the minors.
Collin Cowgill
There hasn’t been any more signings since the Diamondbacks announced that they had signed 12 draft picks on June 11th. None of the 12 picks have really done anything so far, except fifth round pick Collin Cowgill. The 5′9 left handed outfielder has been on an absolute tear since being signed. In his 68 ABs this season, he has 20 hits, 14 going for extra bases, and eleven going for home runs.. His batting line on the season is 294/400/838! He has 16 strike outs against 9 walks on the season. I have no idea if this guy will succeed in the Majors, but if he does, he can fill the pressing need for a scrappy white guy.
Now to look at RHP Matt Torra in depth…
Matt Torra is a surprisingly well known prospect, at least in the inner circle of Diamondback fans. The 6′3 225 lb native of Pittsfield, Massachusetts was the 31st pick overall in the 2005 draft. The 24 year old right hander was drafted out of the University of Massachusetts, and was coming off a season with 1.14 ERA , struck out 111, while walking only 16 in 94.2 innings pitched
Torra had a rather high pitch count with Umass, and the work load took it’s toll. Five appearances into his professional career he tore the labrum of his throwing shoulder, and was sidelined for the next year. A lot of pitchers have trouble coming back from labrum surgery, but Torra has come back strong. He’s not the power pitcher he was when he was drafted, but he’s altered his pitching strategy and become a more effective pitcher on the mound.
I’m not going to look too hard at Torra’s stats before his first full season in 2007, where he pitched at high A Visalia. The small sample of 35 innings split between Yakima and South Bend are just not that relevant in comparison to his more recent statistics since. I suppose it’s worth noting the 30 strike outs to just 9 walks, and the 1.80 ERA.
In 2007, the then 23 year old was assigned to High A Visalia. At first glance his 6.01 ERA wasn’t too impressive,. However his month by month statistics tell a different story. Torra went 1-4 with an 11.57 ERA and .396 BAA in April. At the end of May he was 1-6 with a 9.87 ERA. Torra then rebounded with a 10-3 second half, posting a 4.05 ERA striking out 91 batters, while walking only 19. From August on, Torra went 5-1 with a 2.72 ERA. All together, Torra was 12-10 in his 28 starts with a 6.01 ERA,137 strike outs to 43 walks. and 158.2 innings pitched.
Once you take in the fact that Torra was recovering from a serious surgery, and facing advanced competition in a hitter’s league, his 2007 was a very promising year.
Torra began this year in the pitching friendly Southern League playing for AA Mobile, before recently being promoted to AAA Tucson in the PCL. In his 13 starts with Mobile, Torra was 5-5 with one complete game. He had a 2.85 ERA and a 50:12 K:BB ratio in 79 IP. Since his promotion to Tucson, 1-1 in 4 games with a 3.86 ERA, and 16 strike outs to 6 walks in 23.1 IP.
From what I understand, Torra has five pitches: a four seam fastball, two seam fastball, curveball, change up, and a sinker. Before his labrum injury, Torra regularly threw in the mid nineties and featured a power curve. Since the injury, Torra has focused on developing his now excellent change up and started throwing a sinker. He did lose some velocity after the labrum surgery, but has slowly seen it return as he moves further and further from the surgery.
Matt Torra is probably our third best pitching prospect, after Jarrod Parker and Max Scherzer, of course. Torra’s 2008 has been quite good, and he’s getting very close to being ready to play in the Majors. He could see a call up when the rosters expand, and he should be competing for a spot in the starting rotation next spring.
Well, just to wrap things up, I’d like to thank you for reading. Any feedback is welcome.
I really need to come up with a good name for these articles. Any suggestions are gladly welcome.
Anyway, this week we’ll look at the Diamondbacks’ 21 year old top offensive prospect Gerardo Parra. Random fact: Parra is exactly one day older than me, being born on May 6th, 1987. All though this has nothing do with the rest of the article, Conor Jackson and James Loney of the Dodgers both share my birthday. Awesome. Getting back to the point. As usual, I’m going to look into the statistical track record of Gerardo Parra, as well as provide some insight into what kind of player I think he will become in the future
Gerardo Parra is a player that I’ve been keeping an eye on since he flat out raked in his 2006 minor league debut. Since then he’s not only rocketed up the various top prospect lists out there, but he’s also put up some fantastic numbers at a young age. Parra’s presence in the Diamondbacks farm system may have also influenced GM Josh Byrnes’ moves in the last offseason; Moves that saw the team move right fielders Carlos Gonzalez and *insert dead horse picture here*
Gerardo Parra is a not a big guy by baseball standards; MilB.com lists him as 5′11 195 lbs. He hits left handed, which is a godsend considering the right handed heavy lineup the Dbacks have at the Major League level. Parra is not a home run hitter. He has 15 HRs in his 1095 career ABs. This may be due in part to a mechanical issue, but I don’t expect the guy down the road to start hitting for a ton of power anyway. Parra is more of a contact hitter with a solid on base percentage. However, Parra does make up for his lack of power with his speed and base running. He’s by all accounts a very good defensive right fielder and is known for having a very strong throwing arm. He’s also seen some playing time in center field.
Now that we have a basic understanding of what kind of player Gerardo Parra is, let’s look into his statistics and dig deeper.
I can’t seem to find Parra’s full statistics for his 2005 season in the Dominican Summer League. However i do know that he did flat out rake; he hit 385/444/561 and lead the league or was in the top 5 in most offensive statistics. But honestly, i just don’t how relevant these stats are in regards to evaluating talent. I don’t know the playing conditions and environment of the league, and I don’t know the quality of the pitching he faced. Any analysis would be pointless in my opinion, though I do think his 2005 season is worth mentioning in passing.
In 2006, Parra made his minor league debut as a 19 year old in the rookie ball Pioneer League. He definately turned heads in his 271 at bats, hitting .328/386/469 with 23 stolen bases. He not only lead the Pioneer league in hits with 89, but also finished ninth in batting average, and was fifth in stolen bases. One positive worth noting is his excellent strike out to walk ratio; striking out just 30 times while walking 25 times. One statistic that I like to point out is Parra’s OPS relative to the rest of the Pioneer league; Parra’s 855 ops vs his team’s .733 OPS, and the league’s .738 OPS. Once you factor in Parra’s youth, his 2006 season becomes even more impressive
2007 started with a promotion to A ball and the Midwest League, and Parra responded well. In his 444 at bats with the Missoula Ospreys, Parra hit 320/370/435 with a strong K:BB ratio of 30:51. He also stole 24 bases while being caught 8 times. Once again it’s worth noting just how much better Parra’s .805 OPS is in comparison to his team’s(.726) and the rest of the Midwest League(.696).
In late 2007, Parra struggled after being promoted to High-A Visalia, hitting .284/303/382 in 102 ABS with an awful 17:4 K:BB ratio . Once you compare his .685 OPS to the 770 OPS of the California League, his struggles are magnified.
Looking at 2007 all together, Parra finished the year hitting .313/357/425. In 546 ABS he struck out 68 times while walking 34 times. He stole 26 bases and was caught 11 times. He also had an impressive 171 hits, 40 going for extra bases. 2007 was another good year for Parra, even though his overall numbers are dragged down by his time in Visalia.
With his numbers in the last three years, and the flurry of trades that drained a lot of talent out of Arizona’s farm, Parra became Arizona’s top position prospect. It’s at this point I think most Dbacks fans started following Parra. Or maybe they noticed him in his limited action in the Cactus League in spring training. Anyway, Parra’s 2008 season began back in the California League where he had struggled the year before. This time, however, he didn’t struggle.
In 196 ABS with the Visalia Oaks, Parra hit 301/381/413. His plate discpline was excellent, drawing 23 walks while striking out only 31 times. He also stole 12 bases and was caught only 4 times. Once again his 794 OPS is higher than the leagues 740 OPS, and much higher than Visalia’s 677 team OPS.
Parra was then promoted to Double A Mobile in late May. In the 82 ABs since his promotion he’s hit 293/344/415 drawing 5 walks striking out 9 times. He’s also swiped 3 more bags and has been caught once. His numbers are down a bit, but his 759 OPS is still higher than the leagues 744 OPS and Mobile’s team OPS of .700. The rest of the season has yet to play out though, and it’ll be interesting to see his stats at the end of the season.
Looking at his batting splits this year, Parra is hitting RHP(809 OPS) much better than LHP(708 OPS). However in 2006 his platoon splits are reversed; an OPS of 967 against LHP versus an .833 OPS against RHP. This may be something to keep an eye on in the future, but in my opinion, I don’t think Parra will end up being platooned in the long term.
Parra should be ready for the big leagues by the end of the 2009 season. He could get a cup of coffee when the rosters expand to 40 in September, but most likely, he’ll finish the year in AA. He’ll then start 2009 in AAA, and then wait for the call up. Barring injuries or a trade, there’s no place for Parra to play until the Eric Byrnes contract expires.
Just to summarize, Gerardo Parra’s top prospect reputation is well deserved. He’s a good hitter who makes a lot of contact, and should hit over .300 on a regular basis. He doesn’t draw a ton of walks, but he’s hard to strike out, and has good plate discipline. He’s an excellent base runner, and should be good for at least 25+ stolen bases a season in his prime. He has a good defensive reputation, and should only get better with time. At 21 years of age, Parra is still young, and has plenty of room for potential growth. His one knock as a player, a lack of power, is made up for by the other skills/tools he brings to the table.
So just to wrap this up, I’ll end with my usual questions. What to do you think of Gerardo Parra? How does he fit in with the current major league roster? When do you think he will he be called up to the big leagues? What’s a good nickname for Parra? I can’t think of one.
Thanks for reading guys.
2B Prospect Smackdown - Emilio Bonifacio VS Rusty Ryal
Closed Published by Zephon June 23rd, 2008 on AZ SnakepitAll though the Diamondbacks already have a multiple Gold Glove winner in Orlando Hudson playing second base, we have to remember that Hudson is in a contract year, and will be eligible for Free Agency at the end of the 2008 season. I think it’s important to take a look at the guys in the minors who could potentially hold down the second base position next year, or in the case of an injury this year. Today I’m going to look at the two most likely candidates, Emilio Bonifacio and Rusty Ryal…
One of the reasons why I chose these two players for this article, besides the fact that they’re both candidates for the second base job next year, is the fact that they both embody two different aspects of the game. Speed in the case of Bonifacio and power in the case of Ryal.
I would think most Diamondbacks fans should be familiar with 23 old Emilio Bonifacio, who’s often credited as one of the fastest players in the Dbacks farm, and has seen a brief cup of coffee at the end of the 2007 season. After being signed as a teenager as a non-drafted free agent out of the Dominican Republic in 2001, Bonifacio has made a slow ascent through the Diamondback’s’ Farm System. He’s a small guy, listed at 5′10 and 195 pounds.
25 year old Rusty Ryal, on the other hand, hasn’t been well known amongst Dbacks fans, until recently. The son of former MLB outfielder Mark Ryal, Rusty was drafted in the 14th round out of Oklahoma State University. He’s listed at 6′2 195 pounds, relatively tall for a second baseman. Unfortunately, I don’t have access to any scouting reports for Ryal.
To start things off, let’s look at what Emilio Bonfacio has done statistically over the course of his career.
Bonifacio began his professional career as an 18 year old playing for the Missoula Ospreys, Arizona’s Rookie Ball affiliate. He didn’t much in his 146 at bats, posting a putrid overall line of .199/.287/.219. He struck out 43 times while walking 18 times. Overall, his debut season was very underwhelming, and I’d be hard pressed to find much in the way of positives, other than the 15 stolen bases, and the fact that he was very young.
Bonifacio was promoted to A Ball in 2004, and in my opinion really didn’t do much to impress, and actually regressed in some areas. He did show signs of improvement, posting an overall batting line of .260/.303/.319 in 411 ABs.. He struck out 122 times, all though he did so at about the same rate as the year before. One troubling thing I noticed is that he started walking at lower pace. I guess the biggest positive is the 40 stolen bases while being caught 10 times.
2005 saw Bonifacio repeating A ball, but this time he showed real improvement across the board. In 522 ABS he posted an overall batting line of 270/341/.330. All though he had about 122 at bats than the year before, he dropped his strike outs down to 90. Mean while, he more than doubled his walks from the year before, drawing 56 free passes. He also stole 56 bases, all though he was caught 17 times.
In 2006, Bonifacio was promoted to Arizona’s high A affliate Lancaster. In response, Bonifacio flourished in the California league’s hitter friendly enviroment, posting arguably his best season. In 546 at bats, he hit .321/.375/.449 and led the California League in stolen bases (61); was second in runs scored (117) and hits (175); third in total bases (245) fifth in doubles (35) and sixth in batting average (.321). He did strike out 104 times, while walking only 44 times.
2007 saw Bonifacio leave the hitter friendly confines of the California league and enter the much more pitcher friendly AA Southern League. In 551 ABs, Bonifacio posted an overall line of .285/.333/352. Once again he struck out a ton(105 times) while walking even less(38 times).
Going into this year, you should all get a good idea of what kind of player Emilio Bonifacio is. He’s got absolutely no power, doesn’t walk much and strikes out a ton. Honestly I think we could all deal with his lack of power considering the speed he possesses on the base paths. Unfortunately, the guy just doesn’t on base enough for that to really make a difference. He’s still young, but he just hasn’t shown enough of an improvement offensively to become a legit every day major league ball player. Ok, you can point out his 305/350/385 line with a 57/24 K/bb ratio in 325 at bats. He’s striking out a little bit of a lower rate, and he’s a walking just a bit more, while still having absolutely NO power. I’m still skeptical than he can succeed in the bigs. (Just FYI, writing about Bonifacio’s minor league statistics has been almost painful)
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Let’s move on to Rusty Ryal.
After being drafted and signing with the Dbacks in 2005, Rusty was assigned to Rookie Ball in Missoula. In 294 at bats, he posted a strong 333/391/497 batting line, with a 47:14 K:BB ratio. He had 32 extra base hits(22 doubles, 4 triples, and 6 HR’s). A few things that are worth noting are his 11 SBs… as well as the 15 HBPs.
In 2006 Rusty skipped a level and was assigned to High A Lancaster. In 350 at bats he put up a 277/342/454 overall line with a 78:23 K:BB ratio, and 34 XBHs(17 2b, 6 3B, 11 HRs). He stole 8 bases, but was caught stealing 8 times. Overall, I’d say that his 2006 season was rather unimpressive, considering the hitting friendly enviroment of the california league.
In 2007, Rusty split time between High-A Visalia and AA Mobile. In 444 combined at bats he had an overall line of 277/331/462, with a 89/24 K/BB ratio, along with 17 HRs, 5 triples, and 21 doubles. He stole 6 bases, but was caught 7 times. It’s worth noting the .301/.354/.496 line he posted in Visalia vs the 238/291/405 line in Mobile. Obviously, he struggled after being promoted, and his AA numbers really brought down his overall line, especially in regards to his K:BB ratio.in his 168 at bats in AA, he struck out 42 times while walking only 8 times. The one area where he obviously didn’t struggle to much was in regards to his power, hitting 6HRs in the pitching friendly enviroment of the Southern league.
This year, Rusty has been playing in AA Mobile once again, and has thrived. In 253 at bats, he’s posting a .304/.359/.478 line with a 49:20 K:BB ratio, 9 HRS, 2 triples, and 13 doubles.
So what is there to say to about Rusty Ryal? He’s a got a good, not great bat for a second basemen, with some real good pop. He’s a bit old for his league, but IMHO, as a college player, it’s not as critical. He doesn’t walk a ton, but he doesn’t really strike out at Bonifacian pace either. He does struggle when promoted, but he has shown consistent signs of improvement, especially in regards to his HR power.
So back to the debate of Bonifacio vs Ryal. Who is the better prospect? In my opinion, I’d say Rusty Ryal is a better prospect than Emilio Bonifacio. They both don’t walk a lot, and do strike out quite a bit. However, Rusty Ryal actually hits with enough power, that it shouldn’t matter. Bonifacio, on the other hand will have to rely entirely on his batting average and speed if he wants to succeed in the bigs, something I wouldn’t bet on happening.
So who do you think is a better candidate to replace Orlando Hudson?
I’m guessing that most people probably haven’t heard of 21 year old RHP Bryan Augenstein , a 7th round pick in the 2007 draft out of the University of Florida. You won’t find him on the top ten prospect lists from Baseball America, Baseball Prospectus, or even in the honorable mentions portion of John Sickels’ top 20 list. On his own team, he’s over shadowed by 19 year old Jarrod Parker, even though he’s been arguably the best pitcher for the South Bend Silver Hawks this year.
In his last ten games he’s gone 5-1 with eight quality starts, posting an ERA of 1.94, 53:3 K:BB in 69,2 IP. On the season he’s 5-1 in 13 starts with an era of 2.16, with 69 strikeouts to just 9 walks, and has only given up 2 HRs in 87.1 innings pitched. Also worth noting is his 1.91 GB/FB ratio.
Before writing this, I did my homework on Augenstein. He’s a big, strong guy, listed at 6′5 and weighing 225 LBS. He was well known among scouts coming out of high school, having set a single season K record(123K) and a sparkling 1.26 ERA iin his senior year. He lead the Florida Gators’ pitching staff in innings pitched and strike outs his sophomore(111.1 IP w/ 98 Ks) and junior year(112 IP w/ 105 Ks).
However, Baseball America, in their 2007 draft recap for AZ , said that his stuff “lacks life” and his secondary stuff is “fringe-average”. that “if he can rediscover the life on his high-80s fastball and improve his breaking ball, he could have value as a middle reliever.”
Personally I don’t think that they got this one right. Maybe his performance is a a fluke. TINSTAAPP and all of that. And, yes the Midwest league is known as a good pitching environment. And he is in A ball after all. I would like to see him face more advanced competition. He definitely should see a promotion to High-A Visalia very soon, which is in the hitter friendly California League, which should challenge him a bit more.
In summary, Bryan Augenstein is a prospect that Diamondback fans should keep an eye on. Through out his amateur and professional career, he’s put up a lot of innings and gotten a ton of strike outs, all while facing tougher and tougher competition. He may not pan out, but then again, that disclaimer comes with every prospect in the minor leagues, especially pitchers.