Thursday Rockpile: Aaron Heilman whisper, "new" Rockies blog and a top 15 prospect list

by Rox Girl on Nov 20, 2008 9:32 AM MST in Rockpile Comment 14 comments

Aaron Heilman

#48 / Pitcher / New York Mets

Height: 6-5

Weight: 225

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Nov 12, 1978

The Rockies are the one specified team out of six purportedly still interested in Aaron Heilman in this Daily News piece about him expressing a desire to start or get traded. The tricky part would seem to be that the Rockies don't really have any more vacancy in their starting rotation than the Mets do. If we're assuming that Jimenez, Cook and Francis have three spots locked up, and last half JDLR comes back to take a fourth, is Heilman any better than Greg Smith for the fifth slot? That's even before considering the possibility of rebounds by Hirsh, Reynolds or Morales. At best he'd be competitive for one of those last two slots, but the far more likely scenario has the Rox using him in middle relief just like the Mets are.

Neal at Purple Rox Squad has informed me of his blog, which has been up and running for some time now, but I just never stumbled onto it. He takes a pretty thoughtful and thorough look at the team.

Alex Eisenberg at Baseball-Intellect has made his Rockies Top 15 prospect list. A lot of good information is here even though there may be a couple of minor points of disagreement, be sure to poke around the site to scout the enemy camps of LA and Arizona while you're there (1-5, 6-15).

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If he liked his role

Love to add H-man to the bullpen, but not sold on him as a starter. I would say there are some similarities of his pitching to Bucholz. He’s better when he’s throwing two pitches not three or more and that doesn’t bode well for the roatation unless you have an A+ fastball and can change speeds a lot on the change.

Might throw out a Taveras and low level prospect for him and see where the interest level is.

by brainteaser on Nov 20, 2008 9:48 AM MST reply actions 0 recs

Low, I'd imagine.

Last I checked the Mets already had a pretty damn good center fielder, and I think they’ve still got Endy Chavez, who’s like Taveras if Taveras were more versatile and, you know, good at playing baseball. I think all that offer would get us is laughed at. Now, if we had a corner outfield bat we felt comfortable dangling, that might be where New York would start the bidding.

Staying on the sunny side of Blake Street since 1993.

by Franchise26 on Nov 20, 2008 10:02 AM MST up reply actions 0 recs

I should note in fairness

That Chavez was pretty bad last year. Almost as bad as Taveras, but not quite.

Staying on the sunny side of Blake Street since 1993.

by Franchise26 on Nov 20, 2008 10:04 AM MST up reply actions 0 recs

Deck chairs

sure its just reshuffling the deck chairs, but Beltran needs to move to a corner spot to take the pounding off his body. Taveras has a much better arm than Chavez. But I think you have to start the discusions on the low end before you start talking a bigger bat.

by brainteaser on Nov 20, 2008 10:19 AM MST up reply actions 0 recs

I have not heard...

…even the faintest rumblings about Beltran moving to a corner (although maybe one of our NY readers would be closer to the situation). He just won a Gold Glove in center, for God’s sake – I think he can still handle it. And besides, if they were going to move Beltran, they wouldn’t do it to put one of the worst everyday players in the NL in his old spot. Sorry, man, you’re dreaming on this one. Taveras is a fifth outfielder/occasional defensive replacement on a good team… if that. And the Mets have one of those.

Staying on the sunny side of Blake Street since 1993.

by Franchise26 on Nov 20, 2008 10:23 AM MST up reply actions 0 recs

Missing the point

I’m not in disagreement with you on a lot of what you say though I do think Taveras is a much better player than Chavez (6 stoeln bases last year and a below average arm)Beltran is still a premier CF, but if they leave him in that role too long, they will regret it; he has had a couple of awful years where nagging injuries killed him, but that’s just my thoughts on his role after watching so many great centerfielders trash their bodies like Edmonds, Andruw Jones and others who are counted on for their offense more than their defense. There are a lot of those guys who fade fast.

I am just thinking about what you have to offer for a reliever who had a 5 plus era last year, throws only two pitches well and wants to be in the rotation. He went from their number 2 reliever spot to their 4th or 5th spot. Taveras is the only person on our roster I would give up for him, he’s not worth a good corner outfielder. So either you convince the Mets that Taveras is an upgrade over Chavez even if it is slight and give them a mediocre minor league pitcher or you pass. From the Rockies standpoint, you have to make this a spare part for spare part deal. Is Heilman any better of a rotation option than Speier would be or any of our other possibilities.

So the Mets play him in Left…Taveras is a better of than Dave Roberts and Roberts was traded for three guys in 2004. Its all about swapping deck chairs.

by brainteaser on Nov 20, 2008 10:57 AM MST up reply actions 0 recs

There haven't been

any rumblings of Beltran moving to a corner spot, but brainteaser is right. Beltran’s body won’t be able to stay in center for much longer.

"Never Surrender Dreams" - Inscription on J. Michael Straczynski's bench

Purple Row - Covering all your Rockies needs!

by Russ on Nov 20, 2008 11:17 AM MST up reply actions 0 recs

Wait, golf glove did you say?

I thought everybody knew those awards were a joke

by Roberbola on Nov 20, 2008 11:29 AM MST up reply actions 0 recs

Just because they're a joke

Doesn’t mean that some of the people who get them don’t deserve them. Beltran’s been a fabulous defensive center fielder his whole career.

Staying on the sunny side of Blake Street since 1993.

by Franchise26 on Nov 20, 2008 11:35 AM MST up reply actions 0 recs

But

Omar Minaya loves Endy Chavez going back to their Montreal days so I doubt he gets pushed aside by Willy T.

by Resolution on Nov 22, 2008 12:17 AM MST up reply actions 0 recs

Being a mets and Rockies fan(long story), Heilman is better in the pen as a long relief pitcher and not a guy to be a set up man. Can he be used in spot starts, sure, but dont expect a great deal out of him. He seems a bit more under control not starting a game, then starting.

by Jester76 on Nov 20, 2008 5:19 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs

Huh, Jake Peavy doesn't want to pitch at Coors

According to SI’s Jon Heyman. He’s 3-4 with a career 4.59 ERA here, which is actually better than he’s performed in Arizona. (4-7, 5.78 ERA at the Chafe). I have no idea why pitchers would still be more chicken of going to Denver than Arizona these days, our park factors are pretty much the same the last four seasons.

by Rox Girl on Nov 20, 2008 1:38 PM MST reply actions 0 recs

Difference

No matter what the park factors say there is still something fundamentally different about pitching at altitude.

I imagine that most pitchers would prefer pitching ANYWHERE (even Great American or Citizens Bank) over pitching at altitude at Coors.

by MADness on Nov 20, 2008 3:16 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs

I think that's true

You have to grow your own Jake Peavy’s if you’re Colorado. They have to be raised here, pitch for several years in Coors, and grow an attachment to the team, the town, and the facilities. Otherwise, the stigma will remain.

Who knows, maybe we convert our early pick into Aaron Crow, he continues to develop his stuff on a Peavy like path, and becomes our ace, but until then, we have to somehow find that ace from within, because they won’t come willingly.

by David OhNo on Nov 20, 2008 7:31 PM MST up reply actions 0 recs