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Pretty impressive for Fields. Not sure who he actually faced but he is going up against some of the best young hitters. I bet he gets a cup full next year.
I think . . .
I think . . . maybe Josh Fields is becoming the story of the fall. He has now run off seven consecutive one-inning appearances with 0 ER and a total of 1 hit. And he has 6 K in those 7 IP. Obviously, he's doing something right.
I think . . . it is interesting that Stephen Strasburg has 23 K in 19.0 IP in the AFL (10.89 K/9), but Phillippe Aumont (despite stuggling a lot) has 17 K in 11.0 IP (for 13.9 K/9), and someone named Michael Dunn (24-yr-old Yankees 33rd round pick) has 19 K in 9.1 IP (18.3 K/9). Dunn even got 4 in one inning (it happens).
I think . . . it is odd that Mauricio Robles has been used only three times in the VWL so far, exclusively as a LOOGY to face one batter. He struck the first one out, but walked the next two, so he has 0.1 IP in 3 appearances (so I guess he pitched 1/9 of an inning each time).
I think . . . Brandon Morrow is exactly the kind of guy that JZ would trade.
I think . . . that Dustin Ackley is doing about what one would expect (.309/.413/.426 in 68 AB), that Michael Saunders still looks like he's going to be hard to deny (.353/.426/.529 in 85 AB - 30 H, 8 xbh, 10 BB, 3 SB) (but he'll have to replicate that in spring training to force his way into the opening day lineup, probably) and that Matt Tui seems to have arrived in Puerto Rico kind of rusty (.158/.238/.368 in 19 AB).
I think . . . some of us (not everyone) may have missed a sleeper in our prospect lists. Checking out Robles, I noticed that his starts in the Cal League playoffs weren't included in his season stats (he had one gorgeous and one iffy outing). But there in the High Desert playoff run, one finds 2008 4th-round pick Steven Hensley, formerly of the Elon University Phoenix. Hensley was limited to 8 appearances at Everett in 08 due to elbow soreness, then started 09 at low-A Clinton, where he was so dominant they shipped him straight up to AA (how about 0 ER and 0 BB and 16 K in 19.2 IP?).
Alas, it was too-much-too-soon, as he promptly gave up 12 ER and 10 BB in 15 IP at West Tenn. So back down to the level he'd skipped: High Desert. He was kind of up-and-down in the pinball league, but put together back-to-back 10-K games in July, and caught a real groove at the end of the year:
8/26 6.0 IP 1 ER 2 BB 8K
9/2 6.0 IP 0 ER 1 BB 7K
9/12 (playoffs) 9.0 IP 0 ER 1 BB 10K
9/17 (playoffs) 7.0 IP 2 ER 0 BB 7K
So in those last 4 games he had 28 IP, 3 ER, 4 BB, 32 K. Pineda is indeed impressive, and Robles has the lefty heat, but Hensley looks like he needs to be somewhere on that same list.
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Nice find on Hensley. Any idea what he throws?
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The same is true for Holt’s counterpart on Friday, Elon starting pitcher Steven Hensley. Ranked as BA’s No. 156 prospect, Hensley is arguably the best pitcher ever to come through Elon. Hensley boasts a four-pitch mix, including a fastball in the low-90s with late life. Hensley possesses pitchability and his slider is an out-pitch.
Jim Callis, Feb 2009:
Hensley's pro debut was cut short at the end of July when he partially tore the ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow. He opted to rest and rehab the injury rather than go under the knife, and Seattle expects him to be ready for spring training. Hensley pitches aggressively with his 88-93 mph fastball and average slider. His changeup, which he didn't use much in college, showed plus potential as a pro. He also throws a curveball, but it flattens out, as do his other pitches when he drops his high three-quarters arm slot in his inconsistent delivery. Elbow injury aside, Hensley is a top competitor who could develop into a durable innings-eater or a middle reliever.
When I asked JAC about him last offseason he called him a "reliever only," and stuck to that for most of the season, though he seemed to be backing off of it a little towards the end of the year.
John Hickey, apparently writing for BA now, wrotes this in Sept:
Best Pitcher: Few have rocketed through the ranks faster than righthander Steven Hensley, and the 22-year-old is a long way from being finished. Hensley, a fourth-round draft pick out of Elon in 2008, came into the season with just 29 professional innings to his credit. He went 4-0, 0.00 with low Class A Clinton, made a spot start at Double-A West Tenn and then went 9-3, 4.21 with 108 strikeouts and 30 walks in 113 innings at High Desert. The 6-foot-3, 195-pounder has a fastball that reaches 94 mph, an above-average slider and a good changeup.
For whatever that's worth. Not sure how much to trust Hickey.
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Looking back, I see Hensley was on some folks' radar as a sleeper. Sounds like some of the performance might be better than the skillset, but he could easily fit into Z's revolving door BOR/MR approach, or he could get traded to the NL, where he should be an all-star. :-)
By the way, make it eight consecutive scoreless outings for Josh Fields. He gave up his 2nd hit of the streak, but added 2 Ks. Unfortunately, it was in a game in which Aumont and Nick Hill both gave up 4 ER in their respective innings of work.
Ackley got two more singles to bring his line to .315/.412/.425. Triunfel was 0-for-2 and is struggling along at .204/.250/.245.
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Muchas gracias both of ya :- ) ... good stuff...
"Above average slider and good changeup" sounds to me like BA hadn't seen him, either... but those are impressive results ...