By John Klima
June 17, 2010
It is a sad day in the life of the young minor league ballplayer when his last good bat breaks – on the road, no less. What he’s left with is the stock wood the parent club gives the kids. For those unfamiliar with how this feels for a young player, it’s a little bit like trying to cut a tin can with a plastic knife. As if the life on the road isn’t lonely enough, it is a little rougher to do it without a bat that feels right and helps create solid contact.
Solid contact has always been what Ryan Wheeler is about. Drafted in the 5th round of the 2009 draft from Loyola Marymount, Wheeler is in his first full pro season at Class A Visalia in the California League, where Baseball Beginnings had a fresh look at Wheeler playing at Lancaster.
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Category: 2009 Draft |
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Tags: Arizona Diamondbacks, LMU, Ryan Wheeler
By John Klima
June 17, 2010
Ryan Wheeler is at the developmental stage where is learning to remember to dance with the lady who brought him to the dance. In his case, it’s his hands and his swing. Always a gap hitter, Wheeler hasn’t had much difficulty making consistent contact in the California League. On the road between college and the big leagues, Wheeler is learning to find the same load that will allow him to retain his natural swing, but also drive through the ball and generate lift. Peering into the future, I think 30 home runs per season is a reach, but 19-21 as a major leaguer isn’t.
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Category: 2009 Draft |
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Tags: Arizona Diamondbacks, LMU, Ryan Wheeler
By Jen Marder
June 7, 2010
Today the Detroit Tigers selected Nick Castellanos in the compensation round (#44 overall) in the 2010 MLB Draft. Baseball Beginnings has scouted Castellanos. Enjoy links to the content we have published on him through the year.
Read Nick Castellanos Scouting Snapshot
Category: 2009 Draft |
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Tags: Detroit Tigers, Nick Castellanos
By John Klima
May 9, 2010
Derek Dietrich should be the best hitter of the college shortstops in the 2010 draft over the long haul. The best you can say is I see no reason why this guy should not hit. Everything else will be adequate. He won’t run a lot, his arm will be more than enough, his glove will work. You might see him wind up at second base, where his arm strength would play on the double play pivot. You could find him at third if there’s more power. I think you move him to second and you get an above-average offensive player at the position.
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Category: 2009 Draft |
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Tags: Derek Dietrich, Georgia Tech
By John Klima
April 2, 2010
When we last saw Trayce Thompson, Baseball Beginnings was putting a pretty fat OFP on him. A 58 to be exact, which if you know our scouting scale, means we thought he was a definite prospect with all-star potential in his best years. He’s still a baby as far as baseball goes, but in his first minor league spring training, Thompson showed signs that he’s moving in the right direction.
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Category: 2009 Draft, Baseball Beginnings Exclusives |
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Tags: Chicago White Sox, Trayce Thompson
By John Klima
January 22, 2010
Ryan Wheeler proved that he is a major league prospect in 2009, lighting up Northwest League pitching with a rookie season that earned him the Arizona Diamondbacks Organizational Player of the Year.
Short-A is still a long way from the big leagues, but Wheeler’s first steps in pro ball showed that he has a chance to make it. His 1.002 OPS jumps off the stat sheet, as does more walks than strikeouts and 21 doubles.
From the scouting side, Wheeler brought the fast hands and projectable body into pro ball. He showed signs that he was a better athlete than given credit for by playing good first base defense and showing stamina and consistency throughout the hot and isolated Yakima summer.
Baseball Beginnings caught up with Wheeler recently for this Q&A, where he discusses his newly discovered professional approach and how it sparked his confidence. He also fondly recalls his favorite play of the summer, which wasn’t achieved with his bat, but with his arm.
Wheeler also discussed his work in Instructional League, and how some of those solitary fall ball days hint at a future where the Diamondbacks are going to find a place for his bat.
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Category: '09 Meet the Player, 2009 Draft, 2009 Minor Leagues |
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Tags: Arizona Diamondbacks, LMU, Ryan Wheeler
By John Klima
January 2, 2010
I’ve done some good work in Alabama. So has Brandon May, who went to work over the summer in the Cape Cod League and then signed with the Chicago Cubs. Here’s a look at some of that hard work.
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Category: '09 Videos, 2009 Draft |
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Tags: Alabama, Brandon May, Chicago Cubs
By John Klima
January 1, 2010
Right-hander Matt Hobgood hasn’t spent the winter sitting on the couch watching Norco High graduate Toby Gerhart of Stanford make a run at the Heisman Trophy. Instead, Hobgood committed himself to a new off-season workout routine that he believes will help him progress as a new professional. Today Baseball Beginnings presents the conclusion of our exclusive Matt Hobgood interview.
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Category: '09 Meet the Player, 2009 Draft, 2009 Minor Leagues, Baseball Beginnings Exclusives |
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Tags: Baltimore Orioles, Matt Hobgood
By John Klima
December 31, 2009
Matt Hobgood recently turned 19, a few months removed from his professional debut after the Baltimore Orioles made the Norco (Calif.) right-hander the team’s no. 1 pick and the 5th overall selection in the 2009 MLB Draft. Hobgood, who signed for $2.5 million with a “22” mixed into the tail of that contract to reflect his favorite number, went to rookie ball where he is well aware that many observers expressed concern about results and diminished velocity.
Hobgood has always pitched with a chip on his shoulder. As an amateur, he believed he belonged in the same company as the other power arm starting pitchers in his draft class. He has heard the comments that his body is too big to allow for success over a long career. In all our conversations with Hobgood, he has made it a point to express his differing opinion.
Baseball Beginnings caught up with Hobgood recently, moments after the right-hander finished a winter workout. What we found was a young pitcher who recognizes that he wasn’t lights out in Bluefield, but on the other side of the coin, Bluefield is rookie ball for a reason.
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Category: '09 Meet the Player, 2009 Draft, 2009 Minor Leagues, Baseball Beginnings Exclusives |
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Tags: Baltimore Orioles, Matt Hobgood
By John Klima
December 20, 2009
We recently got a one-inning look at Andy Oliver in the Arizona Fall League, after we first saw him pitching in Palm Springs for Oklahoma State in March. Oliver held out until the signing deadline and just got in some bullpens in the Extra Work League.
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Category: 2009 Draft, 2009 Minor Leagues |
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Tags: Andy Oliver, Detroit Tigers, Oklahoma State
