Monday, July 6, 2009
Gilberto Mejia Add
I just checked this. Gilberto Mejia was signed by the Tigers as a 19 year old out of the Dominican Republic in 2002. After a reasonable A-ball debut in 2002, he struggled mightily in 2003, and was sent down to rookie league and short-season A ball, where he righted the ship. Mejia spend 2004 to 2006 bouncing between Advanced A and AA, OPSing .527 in AA in 2005. After being released by the Detroit organization at the end of 2006, he is in his third season as Windy City's second baseman, OPSing .720, .794, and now suddenly over 1.000. Mejia is 26 this year, and I'll bet that before the year is done, an organization will give him a shot, stick him in AA, and see what he can do. Middle infielders who can hit for average, line doubles all over the place, and steal 30+ bases are nice commodities.
Hold Yer Horses!
The usual story of our two protagonists, one struggling, and one dominating, only there's a twist!
Nate Hall is raking it, hitting singles and doubles all over the park, now batting .298 with OBP of .383 and SLG of .395. That means his OPS over the last 20 games is probably over .950. He's now third on the team in average and OBP, and is maintaining a level K:BB ratio, which is promising.
Today is the first day that I can write this: if Nate continues to improve at the rate he has been improving, it is possible that he can find his way into affiliated ball. I don't know about his defense, and with a team-leading 7 errors and my memories that he was just an average college 3B, the difficulty for Nate is the lack of a position. A corner infield prospect generally needs to hit home runs, or play great defense. Because Nate does neither, his ticket to the top will come from using his exceptional batting eye and hitting lots of doubles, but hey, if he can hit .330 or .340 at this level, that could translate to a .950+ OPS, which is possibly enough to get him signed somewhere.
The bad news for Nate: Wilson Matos has started to play some third base, and homered in 3 straight games from July 3 to July 5. However, despite the power surge, Matos is hitting only .222/.317. Hall has played a couple of games at first base now, which doesn't speak well of his defense. It just means he's going to really have to improve both offensively and defensively to have a chance to get noticed. He'll need to work to become an above-average infielder, and a really exceptional, high average, high walk rate hitter. Or, he might develop some decent power in the next couple of years, which would not be unusual for a player of his age.
Now, Brad Holt, on the other hand, has gotten absolutely killed his last 2 starts, after skipping a couple of starts with an injury. Giving up 9 ER in his last 3-2/3 innings may wreck his stats for the rest of the season, or at least to the point where we can be pretty sure he'll finish the year in AA. He's young and still has some developing to do, so that's not the end of the world. The last thing anyone wants to do is to rush him up to a level where he won't be encouraged to 1) keep his confidence, and 2) refine and add offspeed pitches.
One last tidbit: Gilberto Mejia is the second baseman and leadoff hitter on the Windy City Thunderbolts, and looks like the best player in the league. He's hitting .390/.452/.573 as a second baseman, with 31-38 stolen bases and a level K:BB ratio. I'm planning to follow him a little on this blog, if only to see what one must do to get noticed in the Frontier League. It's hard to believe one of the major league teams won't notice a performance like this and send a contract his way. And if one does, that sets the bar for what Nate Hall can do to get a contract shipped his way as well.
Nate Hall is raking it, hitting singles and doubles all over the park, now batting .298 with OBP of .383 and SLG of .395. That means his OPS over the last 20 games is probably over .950. He's now third on the team in average and OBP, and is maintaining a level K:BB ratio, which is promising.
Today is the first day that I can write this: if Nate continues to improve at the rate he has been improving, it is possible that he can find his way into affiliated ball. I don't know about his defense, and with a team-leading 7 errors and my memories that he was just an average college 3B, the difficulty for Nate is the lack of a position. A corner infield prospect generally needs to hit home runs, or play great defense. Because Nate does neither, his ticket to the top will come from using his exceptional batting eye and hitting lots of doubles, but hey, if he can hit .330 or .340 at this level, that could translate to a .950+ OPS, which is possibly enough to get him signed somewhere.
The bad news for Nate: Wilson Matos has started to play some third base, and homered in 3 straight games from July 3 to July 5. However, despite the power surge, Matos is hitting only .222/.317. Hall has played a couple of games at first base now, which doesn't speak well of his defense. It just means he's going to really have to improve both offensively and defensively to have a chance to get noticed. He'll need to work to become an above-average infielder, and a really exceptional, high average, high walk rate hitter. Or, he might develop some decent power in the next couple of years, which would not be unusual for a player of his age.
Now, Brad Holt, on the other hand, has gotten absolutely killed his last 2 starts, after skipping a couple of starts with an injury. Giving up 9 ER in his last 3-2/3 innings may wreck his stats for the rest of the season, or at least to the point where we can be pretty sure he'll finish the year in AA. He's young and still has some developing to do, so that's not the end of the world. The last thing anyone wants to do is to rush him up to a level where he won't be encouraged to 1) keep his confidence, and 2) refine and add offspeed pitches.
One last tidbit: Gilberto Mejia is the second baseman and leadoff hitter on the Windy City Thunderbolts, and looks like the best player in the league. He's hitting .390/.452/.573 as a second baseman, with 31-38 stolen bases and a level K:BB ratio. I'm planning to follow him a little on this blog, if only to see what one must do to get noticed in the Frontier League. It's hard to believe one of the major league teams won't notice a performance like this and send a contract his way. And if one does, that sets the bar for what Nate Hall can do to get a contract shipped his way as well.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
From Chuck Carree: Bradley Holt will miss 2 starts afeter rolling an ankle slipping on some steps. No big deal, as I'm sure the Mets want to continue to increase his innings gently to minimize the risk of future arm injury.
Nate Hall is hitting the ball well, playing absolutely every day, usually at 3B, with an occasional DH appearance, and hitting between 5th and 7th in the lineup. He's at .281/.368/.375, which is a very useful offensive line. The .368 OBP is excellent, and is 100 points better than the only other Windy City player to have gotten a start at 3B, Tyler Farrar. With 10 BB to 11 K, Nate is handling the bat well, and has hit a couple of doubles in the last 3 games, which is helping the all-important slugging percentage.
Nate Hall is hitting the ball well, playing absolutely every day, usually at 3B, with an occasional DH appearance, and hitting between 5th and 7th in the lineup. He's at .281/.368/.375, which is a very useful offensive line. The .368 OBP is excellent, and is 100 points better than the only other Windy City player to have gotten a start at 3B, Tyler Farrar. With 10 BB to 11 K, Nate is handling the bat well, and has hit a couple of doubles in the last 3 games, which is helping the all-important slugging percentage.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Double A!
Bradley Holt, the Mets fastest-rising prospect, is now in Double A. After skipping 2 starts with some shoulder tightness earlier in the season, his dominant ways have landed him in Binghamton, New York, in the Eastern League, and within sight of the Major Leagues. I'd say if he continues to dominate at AA, he'd be in line for a September call-up to the Mets. Wow!
His first start in Binghamton was strong: 6-1/3 innings, 2 hits and 3 walks to go with 3 strikeouts. Final Port St. Lucie numbers were 4-1, 3.05 ERA, 50 K and 10 BB in 41 innings, with a majority of the runs coming in his first start, where he left all of his pitches up.
The other active player from the UNCW 6, Nate Hall, has a longer path that is currently in independent ball in Pennsylvania. Nate is hitting well, drawing a lot of walks, and playing nearly every day at 3B. He stands at .261/.357/.348, with a home run in 48 at bats. That's not nearly enough to get him noticed, but the plate discipline is promising (8 BB, 7 K), and he's got a chance to continue to get comfortable with the wood bats, and continue to work hard in order to have a shot at becoming a dominant player in the league.
No other news on the rest of the 6.
His first start in Binghamton was strong: 6-1/3 innings, 2 hits and 3 walks to go with 3 strikeouts. Final Port St. Lucie numbers were 4-1, 3.05 ERA, 50 K and 10 BB in 41 innings, with a majority of the runs coming in his first start, where he left all of his pitches up.
The other active player from the UNCW 6, Nate Hall, has a longer path that is currently in independent ball in Pennsylvania. Nate is hitting well, drawing a lot of walks, and playing nearly every day at 3B. He stands at .261/.357/.348, with a home run in 48 at bats. That's not nearly enough to get him noticed, but the plate discipline is promising (8 BB, 7 K), and he's got a chance to continue to get comfortable with the wood bats, and continue to work hard in order to have a shot at becoming a dominant player in the league.
No other news on the rest of the 6.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Really, Next.
Holt has struck out 19 and walked 1 over 10-2/3 innings in his last 2 starts. Total dominance.
Nate Hall started the first 3 games of the season for Windy City, batting 8th, then 7th, then 6th, and getting a hit (single) each game. He's started with 3 hits in 10 at bats, plus 2 walks, for a .417 OBP. The fourth game, Tyler Farrar started at 3B, so there's the competition for playing time, and Farrar has started 2-for-11 (.182) with 1 walk. So far, so good, but it's so early!
Washington (PA) Wild Things outfielders have started 5-for-33 (.152), so Jason Appel is clearly being missed there.
Washington (PA) Wild Things outfielders have started 5-for-33 (.152), so Jason Appel is clearly being missed there.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Next!
Brad Holt is making a strong case for promotion to the next level.
Since a nightmarish first start, Brad has thrown 25-2/3 innings, allowed 19 hits, 4 earned runs, 4 walks, and struck out 29. That adds up to more than 1 strikeout per inning, a 7:1 strikeout to walk ratio, and an ERA of 1.40. That is perfectly dominant at the Advanced A level.
Next stop for Brad: the Binghampton Mets (AA), or possibly even the Buffalo Bisons (AAA), depending on the needs of the parent club. The only question is when. But he's clearly gotten comfortable at Advanced-A, and it's hard to imagine that the Mets will keep him there for a full season given his current level of dominance.
Nate Hall's Windy City ThunderBolts begin play tonight, so we'll see if Nate is in the opening day starting lineup and how he does.
The only other news I could find, from (as usual) Chuck Carree of the Wilmington Star-News: the Washington (PA) Wild Things of the independent Frontier League announced the retirement of OF Jason Appel. So, maybe he just doesn't like playing baseball all that much, or perhaps he has a better job lined up.
Advanced-A: Bradley Holt
Independent: Nate Hall
Unsigned: Mark Carver and Daniel Hargrave
Presumed Retired: Jason Appel and Jeff Hatcher
Since a nightmarish first start, Brad has thrown 25-2/3 innings, allowed 19 hits, 4 earned runs, 4 walks, and struck out 29. That adds up to more than 1 strikeout per inning, a 7:1 strikeout to walk ratio, and an ERA of 1.40. That is perfectly dominant at the Advanced A level.
Next stop for Brad: the Binghampton Mets (AA), or possibly even the Buffalo Bisons (AAA), depending on the needs of the parent club. The only question is when. But he's clearly gotten comfortable at Advanced-A, and it's hard to imagine that the Mets will keep him there for a full season given his current level of dominance.
Nate Hall's Windy City ThunderBolts begin play tonight, so we'll see if Nate is in the opening day starting lineup and how he does.
The only other news I could find, from (as usual) Chuck Carree of the Wilmington Star-News: the Washington (PA) Wild Things of the independent Frontier League announced the retirement of OF Jason Appel. So, maybe he just doesn't like playing baseball all that much, or perhaps he has a better job lined up.
Advanced-A: Bradley Holt
Independent: Nate Hall
Unsigned: Mark Carver and Daniel Hargrave
Presumed Retired: Jason Appel and Jeff Hatcher
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