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
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
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
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
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
John Klima | November 28, 2009
Right-hander Tanner Scheppers has been a draft darling and a hold-out all-star. We had a first-person look at him at the Arizona Fall League, where the former Fresno State pitcher made his pro debut.
Scheppers can be in Texas’s bullpen tomorrow, but based on one very brief look, he’s not polished enough to be an effective and consistent starting pitcher. Scheppers is a thrower with a great arm. He has a great body, long and loose, and is listed at 6-4, 200. His arm action is fairly smooth and he has physical projection, but he cannot command consistently enough to throw 180 big league innings and win right now. (more…)
Category: 2009 Draft, 2009 Minor Leagues |
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Tags: Fresno State, Tanner Scheppers, Texas Rangers
John Klima | November 27, 2009
When we last saw Mike Leake here at Baseball Beginnings, he was pitching for Arizona State on the road to a season that got him drafted in the first round, No. 8 overall in 2009. We picked Leake up again recently in-person at the Arizona Fall League, where we caught three innings and a bullpen.
Leake is a classic example of what the great scout and former big league second baseman Gene Handley meant when he said, “The gun is a crutch.” (more…)
Category: 2009 Draft, 2009 Minor Leagues |
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Tags: ASU, Cincinnati Reds, Mike Leake
John Klima | November 22, 2009
Mike Minor has the right frame, a limber and relatively loose 6-3, 200-pound build that produces easy 90-91 fastball velocity with arm speed and room to add another mile or two. In other words, Minor still has some projection, which is a nice thing to find in a top shelf college left-hander from a recent draft. Too bad he didn’t bring what he showed in the bullpen before his AFL all-star start. I was standing above him in Surprise. Better view than any you’d get on TV.
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Category: 2009 Draft, 2009 Minor Leagues |
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Tags: Atlanta Braves, Mike Minor, Vanderbilt
John Klima | November 21, 2009
Dustin Ackley, CF
Games Seen: 2, Innings: 12 (Arizona Fall League, 11/09)
ORG: Seattle Mariners (North Carolina)
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Category: 2009 Draft, 2009 Minor Leagues |
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Tags: Dustin Ackley, North Carolina, Seattle Mariners
John Klima | November 6, 2009
Tony Sanchez shows an adequate body, one that reflects no physical projection. The guess here is that he will have to adjust his hands if he hasn’t already. In this video, he’s got them high, and he’s thinking metal bat in his head. At the big league level, this probably won’t work. If changing the positioning of the hands happened for an advanced offensive guy like Gordon Beckham, who explained to Baseball Beginnings the adjustments he made when he reached the big leagues, it’s going to happen to Sanchez.
Sanchez looks like he’ll work a count and take a walk. Defensively, Sanchez is no hack with the glove. His hands appear soft and he sets a quiet target. His footwork is damn near ready for the big league level but, like most college catchers, he’ll need to be trained how to run games at the major league level. In that regard, he’s no different than his shin guard bretheren Buster Posey. Sanchez reminds me of Brett Mayne way back when – a college first rounder who was a plus defender and who could save more runs than he could drive in. If you’re expecting Johnny Bench, this isn’t your guy. If you’d like a Mike Scioscia type, this is your man.
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Category: 2009 Draft, 2009 Minor Leagues |
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Tags: Tony Sanchez
