Tuesday
14Apr2009
Ask Professor Parks: Final Edition
Jason Parks
Well, I just returned from two weeks of scouting the Mexican Leagues and I'm ready to tell you all about the potential of guys like Demetrio Guiterrez and Luis De La O.
Unfortunately, because of my desire to move into the scouting world and the logistics involved, this will likely be my last Ask Professor Parks Q&A. It has been a privilege to share this platform with the readers of BBTiA and hopefully you will welcome me back from time to time.
Let's go out with a bang! As usual, anything goes. You can ask me about the Rangers majors/minors, the Mexican Leagues, art, music, movies, whatever. Just bring it.
Reader Comments (97)
So your leaving BBTIA and Rangers coverage? That sucks. What kind of scouting are you going to do?
Congratulations on your success in following your dream. Best wishes.
Who's the #1 prospect coming out of Mejico soon? Tell us a bit about him.
Kinslerhomer: The goal is to return to Mexico in order to find the next Manny Banuelos. I will be scaling back my efforts on BBTiA, but I will never be able to fully abandon Rangers coverage. It's in my blood.
A. Stephens: I can't comment on the amateur players coming out of Mexico, but the top young players in the Mexican League are Luis De La O, Demetrio Guiterrez, and Efrain Neveraz. All three are very young, and very raw, but I think they might have pro potential. Neveraz turns 18 in a few days.
The Mexican Leagues are very strange. The talent is there, but it's difficult to locate. Most of the players are either past their prime or completely void of a prime to begin with. The veterans are extremely crafty and can find success by using their experience to their advantage. Because of this, some of the younger players, regardless of their talent, struggle against the older, inferior competition. The three young players I listed are no exception.
Where in Mexico are you scouting - all over the country? What is the vibe down there right now as an American with all of the unrest? Did you ever feel threatened in any way?
With his past. At what point are you hurting the team by not having A. Jones as an everyday player. He really likes Jaramillo and the team and would pronbably sign witht the team for a fair offer. I would rather have Jones, Hamilton and Cruz starting next year and Murphy and Boggs or Bourbon as 4th and 5th outfielders. If you fill out a lineup to win the game, it seems like it is alot harder to not put Jones in there if your goal is putting your best 9 on the field. Jones is a future Hall of Famer in his very early 30's. It would also increse his trade value if the team determines it would rather go with younger guys next year or it would be too expensive to resign.
FYI: My wife and I went to Guanajuato last summer, and we never felt safer. I got one elbow from a dude walking past me in the street, and a couple of teenagers pointed at me and said "blanco gigante," but other than that, we were way safer there than we are here in Irving. And we flew into Leon, avoiding the border areas.
Best of luck, Jason.
As for a question - can you help speed up the process of maturing pitchers, so that we can get some new guys in here. If I have to watch Padilla pitch much longer I think I'm going to hurt myself.
I'm With Incaviglia: I want to scout all over Mexico, but the east and west coast seem to have the best young talent.
I never felt threatened in Mexico. The unrest is very real but the this is not a new problem for Mexico. The drug wars in Mexico have escalated and the damage to the country is unfortunate, but the United States media uses this issue to sell papers. Their involvement doesn't aid in the effort.
This is a very simple issue: Mexico was a pipeline to the US for drugs coming up from South America. When the drugs hit a roadblock in Mexico and couldn't flow at a normal pace into the US, the supply remained in Mexico causing an escalation in drug usage among the people. This new hunger created opportunity and the fight for control of the drugs escalated. I guess it's not so simple after all.
I realize we're only a week into the season, but what if the pitching woes are still around come mid/late May. How long do you wait until you start bringing up some of the young guns?
Sean: I'd much rather have an OF that features Borbon as the starting CF rather than the 5th OF. Jones being a future HOF doesn't really mean anything. If Jones plays up to his resume, sure, start him. If not, don't. I like Jones, but I'd much rather evaluate the players of our future than another reclamation project.
Joel: I'm sure the young arms in the system will slowly filter up to the major league level as the season goes on. If the team starts to tank and it looks lost by the summer, that process will probably escalate a bit. If the pitching staff remains painfully inconsistent, I think we will see guys like Holland, Feliz, Moscoso, and Diamond in Arlington ahead of schedule.
Jason: Which side of the fence do you think JD falls on: stats or eyeball? Botts had the stats but didn't pass the eyeball test. Mendoza looks great but doesn't have the stats.
RangerMad: I can't say for sure, but I assume JD uses both. You have to have balance in your evaluations. Stats are great, but you have to know the why and how as well.
we always hear about what kind of offerings minor league pitchers have, but no so much about guys in the majors, can you rate the different pitches thrown by milwood, padilla, mcarthy, and harrison for us. (average, plus, above average)? Thanks
Mo: It's easier to evaluate and pontificate about the guys in the minors because their arsenals aren't fully developed and the wonderful world of projection is still in play. Your question will require some thought (and some notes), but I promise to answer at some point today.
If Andruw Jones keeps this up (cooling off at least a little bit I'm sure but settling in above .900OPS), shouldn't the Rangers try to maximize his ABs to beef up his trade value?
Dave: If Jones does in fact produce an above .900 OPS (which he won't), why would the Rangers want to trade him?
Let's discuss this: Assuming Jones does produce a .900 OPS up to the deadline, what do you think he could bring back in a trade and which team would be a target?
From the loss on Sunday, most have been complaining about leaving CJ in too long or using Madrigal instead of Fransisco for a multi-inning save; however, what about extending Millwood for one more inning or just one more out. He finished the game at 112 pitches. I know it's early in the season, but the mandate was to increase the workload on the starters, and a full inning (on the same average pitch count for the game) would have left Millwood at 128 pitches. I didn't actually get to watch most of the game, but I caught his final frame and he still looked strong. Perhaps he told Maddux/Wash that he didn't have anything left. Do you have any thoughts on this? Are they just planning to gradually up the pitch counts (maybe let him go to 120 next time)?
Dave: I don't think the Rangers needed to push Millwood over the 112 pitch mark. I also don't think the Rangers have a specific pitch count in mind when it comes to limits. It all depends on the individual and the situation. Millwood was pitching well, but you have to trust your late inning arms to close out the game. Unfortunately, Wilson and Co. were not able to do their job. That is on them.
Jason, I don't necessarily Jones would bring much back in a trade by himself; however, if we wanted to pull the trigger and trade one of our catchers, he might be a sweetener to the right team. Perhaps he could coax out a slightly better pitcher or get us a young arm like Carlos Melo that we missed in free agency.
Now any of this would take the Rangers completely tanking and Jones performing beyond the best expectations. I don't think either will happen, but you never know.
We hear a lot about Wash's risk of getting fired this year, but can this team lose enough in 2009 for JD to get axed?
That said, I love JD.
HIghtower: It's my belief that the Rangers could lose over 100 games and JD would still be the GM in 2010. He built the #1 farm in baseball and should be given every opportunity to watch that success translate to the major league level. That said, building the best farm will only go so far. Winning at the major league level is what will ultimately decide the fate of Jon Daniels.
In your scouting career, where do you hope to be for the following time frames?
2 years -
5 years -
10 years -
20 years -
Through the first week of minor league games, who has surprised you? (both good and bad)
Dave: I'm not sure. My goals are pretty simple: I just want to refine my skills and become a respected and reliable judge of talent. I don't think I can accurately answer your timeline question, but I will say that if I'm still scouting in 20 years I will be completely content, regardless of my place on the food chain.
what does someone have to do to become a scout, what route did you take?
Dave:
Good: Kirkman. Big time.
Bad: Poveda. I expected him to bust out the gate with a better effort. It's still very early.
Will you be scouting Mexico for the Rangers? another team? some sort of freelance for every team?
Can you legally answer these questions?
We are all aware of Feliz, Holland, Main, and Perez, who in your eyes is the best of the rest of the starting pitching prospects?
Thank you very much for your work at BBTIA thus far and best of luck in the future.
Mo: I'm not officially a scout (meaning I don't officially work for a major league team), but I am starting my journey and hope to join an international scouting department at some point in the future. The route I took should probably remain off the record until my dreams are either realized or crushed.
Can you tell us anything about this Kirkman guy? What kind of a ceiling did he project to have when he was drafted compared to now? Is he a guy that we should be cautiously optimistic about if he continues to impress?
If you sign Brenden Frasier and he gets on top of the new Yankee Stadium one day, will you climb to the top after him? Congrats on the new job Jason.
Bioaggie: Wilmer Font might end up being the best of the rest, but right now I'll say that Blake Beavan might actually be the best of the rest. If his secondary pitches step up he is going to be very, very good. Derek Lowe good.
Adam: Kirkman was considered a very promising arm coming out of HS, but injuries and inconsistency have plagued him since he was drafted. He was only throwing in the mid 80s last season and I thought he was headed for an eventually move to the pen or outright release.
Kirkman was sitting at 91 mph with his fastball and his slider was thrown for strikes in his first start of the season. His ceiling isn't incredibly high (mid-back of the rotation), but if he keeps showing the stuff that made him a high draft selection, he could prove the doubters wrong.
Jason, we hear a lot about the young starting arms (Holland, Feliz et al)..but what is your idea for improving the bullpen...Rangers are not going to be contenders with this pen, regardless of starters performance
Doug: Yes; I would climb after him. No job yet, but I appreciate the congrats. Hopefully one day soon I can officially celebrate.
Alan: The bullpen needs talent with consistency. The Rangers have some talent in the pen, and they definitely have some talent in the minors, finding the consistency to go with that talent is the key. I think arms like Hunter, Diamond, Moscoso, Strop, Bannister, Eyre, and Mathis will eventually log some innings in the major league pen. My hope is that one or two step up to the plate and show the talent and consistency necessary to have success at the major league level.
Personally, I would have Feliz and Holland pitching out of the pen by late summer. It should always specific to the pitcher in question, but I'm a big fan of breaking in young starters in a major league pen.
Didn't Nolan imply (or state outright) a couple of weeks ago that he expected Holland and Feliz to pitch in the Rangers bullpen this season?
Any update on the players assigned to extended spring training......
N. Ramirez, Weiland I believe were some.
Alan: I don't recall Nolan's exact comment re: Feliz/Holland, but that would make sense. I can see both arms getting a few starts as well, but breaking a young player in a pen has numerous advantages.
Chris: I haven't heard anything new on the ext. guys. Sorry.
JP, what exactly happened to Kirkman to derail him for 2 years? Surgery/Surgeries?
Could you go ahead and tell us all about the "potential of guys like Demetrio Guiterrez and Luis De La O"? Pitchers? Position players? Comps?
Jason, Can you tell us a little bit about Ron Washington? Do the players like him, like to play for him? I hear different opinions on the subject. Also what are his strengths & weakness? Is he in over his head? I am not saying he does not know baseball, because he does. But his in game management seems to need work. Does he just need time or is he better off being a top notch coach?
Where is Akinori Otsuka?
Goyo: I don't recall any surgery, but he has suffered several minor injuries since '06. Sometimes the little nagging injuries do more damage than the big ones that require surgery. That said, it's entirely possible that Kirkman has gone under-the-knife for some minor cleanups, etc.. I'll find out.
What are the chances the Rangers sign Ben Sheets after the June draft?
bioaggie: Both Guiterrez and De La O are pitchers. Guiterrerz is a 19 year old LHP with good size (6'2'' 185) and good stuff. It's hard to accept this based on his statistical line, but trust me, he has some skill.
De Le O is a 19 year old RHP with a thick frame and a nasty curve. HIs fastball command isn't there yet, but the overall package is interesting.
Efrain Neveraz is another interesting arm. About to turn 18.
Peachygbc_1: From what I've seen, the players really like and respect Ron Washington. He's a serious baseball man that lives the game.
His greatest strength is his ability to and desire to instruct. Washington, despite what some might claim, gets the most from his players. His greatest weakness is probably his inexperience with game specific management. I think that will improve over time. He's a bit old-school, some would say to a fault, but he knows the game and I think the Rangers are better off with him than without him.
Moe: I have Otsuka concealed about my person. I'll let him out when he is 100% healthy and effective.
Peachygbc_1: I can see the Rangers making a big push for Sheets at some point during the '09 season, especially if they can sign him for a cheap, incentive heavy deal for '10.