Friday Rockpile: Rockies in a funk, draft speculation starts
by Russ Oates on May 15, 2009 8:28 AM MDT
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PrintWith some changes to a line or two to The Righteous Brothers' "You've Lost That Loving Feeling":
You've lost that winning feeling,
Whoa, that winning feeling,
You've lost that winning feeling,
Now it's gone...gone...gone...whoa-oh.
Another game, another loss. It starts to get to the fans, and to the players, as Troy Tulowitzki says in this Mark Kiszla piece:
"I think it's already started. Definitely," Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki said Thursday. "Nobody in this locker room is happy we're losing. I think we have to get that swagger back, that 'Hey, we're a good team' . . . I think we've kind of gotten away from that a little bit."
Kiszla goes on to write that if all the blame is placed on Hurdle, then that shows how far away the Rockies are from solving the real problems.
In Troy Renck's recap of yesterday's game, Clint Hurdle is quoted on a lack of leadership or not a lack of leadership.
If the players are starting to be frustrated with the way this season is going, maybe they should be worried with the way Atkins's season is going. You know, instead of saying he'll be fine.
Baseball America released its first mock draft yesterday (subscription needed), and the Rockies are projected to take Mike Leake at 11 and Garrett Gould at 32.
Leake is a righty out of Arizona State. This season he's 12-1 with 4 CG in 97 2/3 IP. He has 104 K to 18 BB. He's holding opposing batters to a .179 AVG. BA writes that he has a bulldog mentality that makes him more attractive than college lefties Rex Brothers, Andy Oliver, and James Paxton.
The one player that could make the Rockies go the position player route is Sacramento State's Tim Wheeler. Wheeler is a 6'4", 205 lbs. left-hitting outfielder who had an explosion of power this season. In his first two years he combined to hit nine, and he hit 18 this season. His hitting line is .393/.494/.780 and he stole 15 bases. If he goes around 11, teams surely believe that his 18 homers he had this year will carry over to his pro career. MLB.com profile.
Garrett Gould is a 6'3", 190 lbs. right-handed pitcher from a Kansas high school. Gould's been rocketing up the draft boards lately, it seems.
And tune in to This Week in Rockies Baseball on Sunday to hear RockiesMagicNumber in the studio with Chris Lewis to take calls and e-mails.
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10:05AM MT on KOA
Should be exciting!
Matt Murton status: Freed
Garrett Atkins status: Not Traded
Clint Hurdle status: Still Employed by the Rockies
I might call
if I get reception in the mountains. Study your utility IF Tourists ;-). Maybe I’ll ask about Mike McCoy’s fastball
"I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious." - Albert Einstein
by Andrew T. Fisher on May 15, 2009 9:19 PM MDT up reply actions
And this is your mandate:
You are to call Chris Iannetta “Dreamy” and “DOOM.”
"If we never try, we shall never succeed." - Abraham Lincoln
Purple Row - Covering all your Rockies needs!
Mike Leake
To me, Leake would be a big mistake at 11 – I haven’t thought his stuff was all that spectacular, though it’s good enough to get Pac-10 hitters out. Could be I’m just gun-shy about picking another Pac-10 pitcher in the first round.
I think we need a big-time power bat as it’s time to start thinking long term about who the next big bopper for the Rox is going to be. I like Rich Poythress a lot but he might be a bit of a reach at 11 and I’m not sure he would be there at 32.
Staying on the sunny side of Blake Street since 1993.
The Shawn Chacon Experience - Life as a Rockies fan, one day at a time: Because we're all still recovering from those nine blown saves.
Would
you feel differently about Pac10 pitchers if the Rockies had picked the one from UW instead of Stanford? I imagine I sure would.
"Better move your rental cars, I am about to take BP."
-Glendon Rusch
Ha ha
Probably, yeah, but that opens up a whole can-of-worms I’d rather not open myself.
(The necessary disclaimer: I am not giving up on Greg Reynolds. I think at the very least he can be an effective big league reliever if his shoulder injury isn’t so devestating that it robs him of velocity down the road. I want to see him succeed. The draft is a crapshoot. I wish we had Tim Lincecum but I also wish we had every other good player we had a chance to draft but didn’t. This is a recording.)
Staying on the sunny side of Blake Street since 1993.
The Shawn Chacon Experience - Life as a Rockies fan, one day at a time: Because we're all still recovering from those nine blown saves.
Yea
totally agree, I know it’s been debated here plenty. Hindsight is 20/20. There are 9 teams that wish they’d drafted him, but fact is they didn’t. I almost didn’t say anything – but couldn’t resist.
"Better move your rental cars, I am about to take BP."
-Glendon Rusch
Forgivable
I think not taking Timmy is forgivable as there was a lot of trepidation about his durability due to his build and arm action. In the end the gamble paid off for the Gmen.
TGFPR!!
Reynolds
was sort of a one-year wonder in 2006. He pitched out of the bullpen for his his first two years, while Leake’s started and pitched over 100 innings in every season (or will soon enough this year). That being said, I do agree that Leake’s not all that spectacular. He’s one of those safe, conservative picks.
"If we never try, we shall never succeed." - Abraham Lincoln
Purple Row - Covering all your Rockies needs!
"Safe, conservative"
That hits it on the head, which is my problem with it – I think we need more high-ceiling talent in the organization and I hope we use this draft to acquire it. Leake wouldn’t be a disastrous pick by any means, and I could easily see him having a big league career, but I think this franchise needs to take some chances on some younger, more projectable players.
Staying on the sunny side of Blake Street since 1993.
The Shawn Chacon Experience - Life as a Rockies fan, one day at a time: Because we're all still recovering from those nine blown saves.
hear, hear
no more playing it close to the vest. let’s go for the gusto for once.
You think they should draft football players like Michael Vick?
..or that other one washissname..Dexter Fowler?
Check out my Rockies comic strip at:
Rock Drive 1.4
Didn't they draft Vick
despite the fact that he never even played baseball? At any rate, I’m all for it. Football players, jockeys, pole vaulters, whoever can play…
But those
players cost money that the Rockies don’t typically give out.
"If we never try, we shall never succeed." - Abraham Lincoln
Purple Row - Covering all your Rockies needs!
We've gone over slot before.
It’s not like we’re trying to draft Steven Strasburg here.
Staying on the sunny side of Blake Street since 1993.
The Shawn Chacon Experience - Life as a Rockies fan, one day at a time: Because we're all still recovering from those nine blown saves.
by Franchise26 on May 15, 2009 10:07 AM MDT up reply actions
Overslot
in the later rounds, sure. But early on? I’m struggling to come up with more than Jason Young.
"If we never try, we shall never succeed." - Abraham Lincoln
Purple Row - Covering all your Rockies needs!
Is he the guy we SHOULD be targeting?
As much as I want another blah inning eater, is there a chance of us getting someone who may really make a difference at some point? Like a real difference, not just “Hey look it’s Jason Marquis age 22”
Matt Murton status: Freed
Garrett Atkins status: Not Traded
Clint Hurdle status: Still Employed by the Rockies
by Andrew Martin on May 15, 2009 10:13 AM MDT up reply actions
Tyler Matzek or Matt Purke, the top high school lefties.
But high school pitchers in the first round and the Rockies have been a rare sight the last decade.
"If we never try, we shall never succeed." - Abraham Lincoln
Purple Row - Covering all your Rockies needs!
Are we worried about them breaking or something?
Or does our low level pitching development just suck that hard?
Matt Murton status: Freed
Garrett Atkins status: Not Traded
Clint Hurdle status: Still Employed by the Rockies
by Andrew Martin on May 15, 2009 10:35 AM MDT up reply actions
DING!
younger players have options, like Jr. College (lots of Baseball players take this route) or University. They can use this leverage to get more money.
And the Rockies are broke.
So, I expect the Rockies to draft a lot of College Seniors. Guys that are already getting too old (at 21 and 22) to work up slowly through the minor leagues.
Organizational preference for pitchers?
Does the organization have specific preferences for pitching prospects?
The Reynolds pick was um, interesting, considering that he was not said to have great stuff.
Ubaldo and the 2007 Morales have/had pretty good arms, and there’s Morillo. Otherwise, they seem to like command/control type starters (I’m thinking mainly of high-level guys since I don’t know a lot about the Rockies’ low minors— Francis, Reynolds, Hirsch, Greg Smith). Maybe this is just because that’s whose available…you get Hirsch for someone like Jennings, not a high-ceiling guy, ditto for Smith/1 yr of Holliday.
Depends on your point of view
To me it appears that in 2006 and 2007, the Rockies actually went the high risk road – from a talent stand point. As Russ points out Reynolds was sort of a one year wonder and Weathers, while he still may prove to be a decent MLB reliever, was drafted too high.
Both of these were safe and conservative from a signability standpoint and quite frankly show exactly how this team will always be put together.
TGFPR!!
You don't draft relievers that high.
You just don’t. I said it before that draft and I still believe it now. Still a big fan of Weathers, but too high.
"If we never try, we shall never succeed." - Abraham Lincoln
Purple Row - Covering all your Rockies needs!
Absolutely too high
Safe and conservative – on the signability side. College Sr. reliever with no barganing power. It appears the last high risk (signability) high reward (talent) 1st Rnd picks we made were Chris Nelson in 2004 and Ian Stewart in 2003. Both were high school players, however one caveat may be that they weren’t projected to go to college, which would have made them safer signs. Anyone remember?
One other item – Does anyone know what Greg Reynolds signed for? I see where Longoria signed with the Rays for $3 million on the day of the draft. Seems like a reasonable number to me.
TGFPR!!
Stewart could have gone to 'SC
Nelson had a full scholarship as well, I think it was to Georgia, but both were considered likely to turn pro if they were selected in the top 10.
So what changed in 2005?
Starting with Tulo we began taking college sr. with our first pick.
2005 Tulo
2006 Reynolds
2007 Weathers
2008 Friedrich (I think even if we would have been drafting 5th or 15th instead of 25th we would have taken him)
If we continue the trend — who is a college sr. this season that is being projected to go in the middle of the 1st Rnd???
TGFPR!!
it sounds to me
like something Hurdle would say about someone who isn’t very good.
/snort
Matt Murton status: Freed
Garrett Atkins status: Not Traded
Clint Hurdle status: Still Employed by the Rockies
by Andrew Martin on May 15, 2009 2:19 PM MDT up reply actions
Exactly
I’m not sure why, exactly, BA would think that the Rockies picking college pitchers in each of the last three first rounds makes it more likely that they’ll pick another one. If anything, I would think it makes it less likely.
The Rockies do need another power bat in the system. There just aren’t that many position players in the system right now who I’m all that jazzed about. And in a draft that’s deep in pitchers, we can probably still snag a good pitcher or two in the sandwich round.
Rogers makes the BP hot sheet
A converted infielder, Double-A Tulsa RHP Esmil Rogers (Rockies) has been a pitcher for just three seasons prior to this one, but he already has shown advanced command of a low-90s fastball and a power curveball. The 23-year-old has unleashed those weapons on the Texas League this season to great effect, posting a strong 33-to-7 strikeout-to-walk ratio (his strikeouts rank third in the TL) and a 3.73 ERA through 31 1/3 innings. Last Monday, he tossed six shutout innings at Northwest Arkansas, striking out seven and allowing five hits and two walks. That performance was nothing new for Rogers, who now has completed six shutout innings in three of his last four starts
nice link, thanks for posting it
Man, tomorrow sounds better and better, am i right?
Matt Murton status: Freed
Garrett Atkins status: Not Traded
Clint Hurdle status: Still Employed by the Rockies
by Andrew Martin on May 15, 2009 12:26 PM MDT up reply actions
Depends
I can haz a new manager?
Watching the purple row from high atop the big brown monolith on California Ave
by Mondogarage on May 15, 2009 12:31 PM MDT up reply actions
I thought you told me that about Wil Rosario
Matt Murton status: Freed
Garrett Atkins status: Not Traded
Clint Hurdle status: Still Employed by the Rockies
by Andrew Martin on May 15, 2009 12:55 PM MDT up reply actions
I'm excited about McKenry and Weiser so :-P
Matt Murton status: Freed
Garrett Atkins status: Not Traded
Clint Hurdle status: Still Employed by the Rockies
by Andrew Martin on May 15, 2009 2:20 PM MDT up reply actions
Be excited for Rosario AND McKenry
"I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious." - Albert Einstein
by Andrew T. Fisher on May 15, 2009 9:22 PM MDT up reply actions
This Just IN:
Rockies hitting coach Don Baylor is in a Denver hospital with pneumonia and did not travel with the team to Pittsburgh, the first stop on a three-city, 10-game road trip. It is not known when Baylor might rejoin the team.
According to J. Etkins at Inside the Rockies
The Rockies hitting is making me sick too.
yuk yuk yuk
seriously though i hope he gets better
Matt Murton status: Freed
Garrett Atkins status: Not Traded
Clint Hurdle status: Still Employed by the Rockies
by Andrew Martin on May 15, 2009 12:55 PM MDT up reply actions
Upside pitcher
I would really like to see the Rockies take a high upside pitcher. Shelby Miller would probably be my first pick. Zack Wheeler. Someone like that.
Alright, I just finally took a closer look at Callis' mock draft
And am I missing something or does not including Rich Poythress in the first 32 picks seem dubious at best? Last year 12 of the first 32 selections were college position players and Callis has only five this year. He seems to be overestimating several teams’ stomach for risk and spending money this year (the Tigers #9 and D-backs #17 for example) and underestimating the appeal of a good, polished all around hitter like Poythress. If he is available at 32, which I very much doubt, I’d love for the Rockies to take him. He could spend 2010 in Modesto, 2011 in Tulsa/Colorado Springs, and in 2012 we might just happen to have an opening at first base.
Doesn't have him,
but places him as possible selections at 15, 17, and 28. He would be a great pick-up at 32, but when draft day comes he won’t be there.
Do remember, however, that the college position ranks aren’t as highly regarded as last year.
"If we never try, we shall never succeed." - Abraham Lincoln
Purple Row - Covering all your Rockies needs!
And it's actually seven
college position players: Ackley, Green, Wheeler, Mitchell, Jackson, Sanchez, Pollock.
"If we never try, we shall never succeed." - Abraham Lincoln
Purple Row - Covering all your Rockies needs!
yeah, I realize I miscounted later
But I still think it’s a low total. You’ll remember that last year players like Jason Castro and Ike Davis and Reese Havens weren’t expected to go until the supplemental round either, but they ended up going higher because risk aversion in the draft isn’t calculated as much as it should be. I would be surprised if the 1st 32 picks of the draft don’t reach double digits in college position players selected. In addition to Poythress, I could see another collegiate catcher like Phegley or Stock in the back end of the first round as well as another OF or two likely Songco, possibly Kentrail Davis or perhaps D.J. LeMahieu.
7 college pitchers, 7 college hitters, 16 high schoolers.
More likely we’ll see double digits for both college hitters and pitchers.
"If we never try, we shall never succeed." - Abraham Lincoln
Purple Row - Covering all your Rockies needs!
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