paracorto asks: what's up with Anthony Rendon's injuries?
The Rice 3b (well, so far in 2011, Rice DH) currently has a shoulder strain, previously he had two ankle injuries (same ankle). Ankle is completely healed, and both were "freak accident" type injuries not considered recurring.
The shoulder strain has kept him from throwing from third base. Originally, it was just supposed to be for a few weeks, but it is going on three months now. Supposedly there are no long-term issues. Impossible to know, but it seems that part of not playing him at 3b is an overabundance of caution (which, given the millions of dollars at stake for the kid, is understandable).
The combination of the injury and reduced SLG has diminished his glow, but my sense from the reports regarding the Mariners is that they still view him as their first choice. He only has 4 HR in 48 G, whereas last year he had 26 in 63 G. But he already has 65 walks. For those just tuning in, the NCAA changed the rules and made college bats considerably less "springy" -- resulting in diminished offensive numbers for almost everyone.
This year's line: .333/.535/.522. Last year's line: .394/.530/.801.
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John Sickles of minorleagueball.com has a mock draft out, which also includes the supplemental round.
1. Rendon to Pirates
2. Gerrit Cole (UCLA RHP) to Mariners
3. Danny Hultzen (Virginia LHP) to D-backs
4. Jed Bradley (Ga. Tech LHP) to Orioles
5. Bubba Starling (KS high school OF) to Royals
6. Trevor Bauer (UCLA RHP) to Nationals (but considered as high as 3)
Since he goes through the supplemental round (60 picks), his mock gives a sense of who might be available for the Ms at #62.
There are four injured or recovering-from-injury guys that some of us here have "hoped" (or "wished") would fall as far as #62. No dice on any of them according to Sickles. Andrew Susac, Ore. St. C, gone at #19. Josh Osich, Ore. St. LHP coming off TJ, gone at #27. Matt Purke, TCU LHP who was the "Trevor Bauer" (guy who could challenge Cole for top college arm) at the start of the season before imploding with shoulder issues, gone at #38. And Jackie Bradley Jr., S. Car. CF who led his team to the national championship as a sophomore but now has a wrist injury, gone at #35.
Based on Sickles, G_Money's darkhorse favorite for the #62 slot, IL high school OF Charlie Tilson, would still be there. As would OBF's nominee, another Beaver -- RHP Sam Gaviglio. And my own nominee (but only if Rendon is not the #2), Nebraska 3b Cody Asche. Asche is one of the few with better offensive numbers with the new bats.
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A Pittsburgh blogger has the party line from the Pirate brass, but still concludes that they'll pick either Rendon or Cole.
I appreciate someone addressing those points head-on. I guess we won't know who's right for another four years or so.BTW, the NCAA tournament is set up so that, if things go to form, Hultzen will face either Cole or Bauer in the super-regionals.
Didn't focus on him much at first, since the Ms didn't seem all that interested, but now that they've been linked to him, there is a lot to like.1. Reportedly a first-rate fielder at SS -- above Franklin and Triunfel.2. Legit switch-hitter -- not as one-sided as Franklin.3. Played on the Team USA 18U squad with Marcus Littlewood and Bubba Starling on a 21-game international tour in 2010:26-for-78, 9 dbl, 2 HR, 11 BB, 8 K, 4-for-4 SB, .333/.442/.526 (obviously, not terribly meaningful stats, but they were what you'd want to see)Then this HS season (Florida) he hit .528 with 6 HR and 20 SB.4. Would be a premium player even if he didn't develop much power, just with defense, on-base potential and decent speed, but he COULD show legit extra-base ability in the majors. Potential upside is in the Reyes-Rollins class.5. No signing issues (as opposed to Starling). He's committed to Florida State, but doesn't have the football angle that Starling has.6. Reportedly a high-character guy with a great work ethic.Here's a Pirate-oriented scouting report: http://bucsprospects.com/2010/10/26/premier-high-school-tournament-featu... a blurb from Churchill's ESPN blog:Montverde Academy (Fla.) shortstop Francisco Lindor has dazzled scouts all season, and may have played his stock to within the top five or six talents in the class. The 17-year-old has shown range, arm strength and accuracy, and the ability to hit from both sides of the plate. What's more, Lindor is hitting for some power from both sides while maintaining high contact rates."The only thing I have yet to see is the costume," said a long-time scout. "He's one of those stat sheet stuffers: steals, defense, throws, doubles, homers, triples ... in a lot of years that is the No. 1 pick."
Enter the world of Trevor Bauer, where nothing is taken at face value. He is a devotee of the teachings of Perry Husband, a former hitting coach who devised a theory of pitch sequencing called Effective Velocity. EV is complicated—Husband calls it "the theory of relativity but with baseball"— but it relies on a pitcher’s ability to make each pitch look the same for the first 20 feet, at which point a hitter has to decide to swing. The deception relies on a pitcher’s throwing each pitch through the same "tunnel." Bauer was not content to merely understand the concept of tunnels; he wanted to put it into practice.
According to Husband’s research, a normal strike zone, when extrapolated to 20 feet from a pitcher’s release point, measures 13 inches by 10 inches. So Trevor and his father, Warren, an engineer, built a metal contraption with a 13 by 10 opening. It is placed 20 feet from the mound, and Bauer throws bullpen sessions through it. In theory, each pitch that travels through the Bauers’ homemade tunnel will not only be a strike but will also look the same beyond the point where the hitter must decide to swing. "I call them the Bauer Engineering Crew," says Ron Wolforth, the director of the Texas Baseball Ranch, the training academy where Trevor has spent many summers. "The stuff they do isn’t in any manual. It’s Effective Velocity 501."
It’s not enough for Bauer to execute a pitch. He has to understand it, dissect it, improve upon it. He has to turn it sideways tilt his head and examine it from all angles. Performance is simply a by-product of process. UCLA coach John Savage calls him the Mad Scientist of Pitching. Wolforth, who clocked Bauer at 102.7 mph last summer, says, "Trevor always has a million questions. Some of them are ethereal, but they’re all insightful." Alan Jaeger, whose long-toss program is part of Bauer’s training, says, "He pitches with the wisdom of Greg Maddux at 33."
Looking past the issue of the pitching motion for a second...Taro, I'd be interested in your opinion as to how closely Bauer matches up to Daisuke Matsuaka. In terms of available pitches, ideas on the mound, etc.
Trevor Bauer just broke the Mark Prior's Pac-10 single-season strikeout record with 203.
He had his 9th straight CG. 14Ks, 5 hits. He was sitting at 93-95mph in the 9th inning.
Sounds like the Pirate may take Coles at #1.
If Rendon's shoulder clears, he could be the guy. If not, you MUST take Bauer. Lindor is a reach with both of these guys available.
Will not be happy with the teenager he's hearing the M's will take.
Though I can see an argument for him over anybody other than Rendon or Bauer (whom the M's supposedly wouldn't even consider).Saw that thread. It gets awfully awkward for Jason to weed everything that gives away any ideas out of his pay material... but I wonder if he has to worry about it. Seems to me that anybody interested enough to pick through the comments for info, would pony up for the subscription stuff.When D-O-V was $7.95 - $9.95 per month, we put the comments out there and never noticed any problems with the subscriptions.
Bauer wasn't born with Timmy's arm and Ichiro-like movements, but Bauer may actually become an even better pitcher.Checked out my first lengthy Bauer K tape and the arsenal is just mind-blowing. Never mind the deception, the "tunnel" theory, the pitch sequencing, etc. The variety of shapes to his pitches are unique in my experience.