Impressions After A RoughRiders Game
DavidIt seems that the Newberg Night hangover is in full bloom, so I’ll share some thoughts on the AA game that I saw on Sunday. I drove to San Antonio to watch Kasey Kiker pitch against the Missions. The first hitter that Kiker faced one-hopped a groundball to Renny Osuna who ole’d the ball into left field. The next hitter two-hopped a ball a couple of steps to the right of the Frisco shortstop and Osuna managed to knock it into left-field as well. Obviously frustrated, Kiker’s command became progressively worse and he wound up walking two, hitting another, giving up a sharply hit groundball single, striking out one, and inducing a popup. His night ended on a come-backer that he short-hopped to Chad Tracy who failed to make the catch. Kiker was sloppy but it would have been a much better game for him had he gotten a bit of help from his defense.
Fortunately, Kiker is not the only player worth watching on the Rangers’ AA team and I got to see six players who will see major league action in the next couple of years if they can avoid injuries. Below are brief reports on the six prospects presented in reverse order of how likely I think they are to stick once they reach the majors.
#6 – Zach Phillips reminded me of AJ Murray with better velocity. Phillips has a hitch in his delivery that provides some deception. He also has three solid pitches – an 87-90 MPH fastball, a very nice curve that he likes to bring across the outside corner of the plate to right-handers, and a change-up that induced a few swings and misses. Phillips seems to have pretty good command though he walked three in his three innings because he was constantly pitching on the corners of the plate. He struck out four and gave up only a single hit.
#5 – As has been noted by others, Manny Pina’s defense is off-the-charts. Garr and Strop bounced a lot of balls and Pina gloved almost everything and knocked down the rest. The Missions had a lot of baserunners, but no one advanced. Pina’s arm and athleticism are special. After seeing him go 0 for 5 with 2 strikeouts, I’m not sure how Pina started the year as hot as he did.
#4 – The second best hitter on either squad on this night was Johnny Whittleman. He didn’t swing at a single pitch out of the strike zone. He didn’t swing the bat until the pitcher had a strike on him. When he did swing, he made very solid contact. He had two line drive singles, a flyball to the warning track that looked like homerun off the bat, and another long flyout. On defense, I was impressed by Whittleman’s athleticism and throwing arm. He made a couple of very nice plays on hard hit ground balls to third. He also made a nifty stop on a short hop to his backhand and then dropped the ball before transferring it to his throwing hand for an error. Despite the lapse, I was impressed.
#3 – With two out and a runner on second base in the second inning, Marcus Lemon hit a chopper to short that he almost beat out as he hustled down the line and dove for the bag. Lemon displayed that type of hustle and competitiveness throughout the night. Iin his other at bats, Lemon had a well-struck single, worked a walk after getting behind 1-2, and hit the ball hard for an out. He played second base and showed good range and a good arm by making a couple of plays behind the second base bag. He also nearly ran down a flair that landed near the right-fielder. This was my first time to see Lemon and I walked away impressed by his plate approach, his defense, and especially his hustle. Count me among those who think that he will be at least a utility infielder and has a shot to be a starter in the major leagues.
#2 – In his first inning of work, Pedro Strop’s stuff was amazing. His fastball was knee high and produced a couple of weak ground balls. His slider and change-up were unhittable (and several Missions tried). Mid-way through his second inning of work, Strop started leaving pitches up in the strike zone and the Missions hit a few fly balls that went a long way. Strop’s final line was okay (3 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 0 K, 0 R), but he was clearly two different pitchers. When he threw low in the zone, he was devastating. When he got the ball up, he was very hittable.
#1 – Move over, t ball, and let me help drive the Mitch Moreland bandwagon. I mentioned Max Ramirez as a comp for Moreland several weeks ago based upon their statistical similarities (link). After watching him last night, I am convinced that Max is the appropriate comp for Moreland.
Like the 2008 version of MaxRam, Moreland swings a really big bat, he doesn’t swing at bad pitches, and he works the count. When he swings, he squares the ball really well. His first two at bats were against hard-throwing lefty Cory Luebke (2.15 ERA and .223 BAA in A+ and AA in 2009). The rest were against a variety of right-handed relievers whose arsenals included fastballs, curveballs, sliders, and change-ups. A rundown of Moreland’s at bats:
First at bat – The left-handed hitting Moreland opened the game with a line drive double that he hit between the left-fielder and the 3rd base line. Well struck ball with a lot of hook on it.
Second at bat – Moreland got behind in the count and wound up fouling 5 or 6 pitches into the stands behind the 3rd base dugout. Just as the thought occurred to me that Moreland might have trouble catching up with a good fastball, he drilled a low line drive straight back up the middle for a single. That at bat would have made Frank Thomas proud.
Third at bat – The only ball that Moreland failed to hit on the barrel was a soft line drive single that he muscled over the second baseman. This was Moreland’s first at bat against a right hander and the first ball that he pulled.
Fourth at bat – With runners in scoring position, Moreland worked the count and then absolutely tagged a ball down the first baseline. Unfortunately, the first baseman was playing close to the line and was able to snag what would have been a run scoring double.
Fifth at bat – With two out and no one on in the top of the ninth, Moreland faced the Missions’ closer whose fastball was equal to Strop’s. Moreland turned on a first pitch fastball and sent it at least 50’ feet beyond the right-centerfield fence that stood ~370’ feet from home plate.
Moreland left little doubt that he was the best player on the field. He looked like he was taking batting practice – long drive down the left-field line, line drive up the middle, line drive to right centerfield, line drive down the first base line, and home run to right-center. On this night, Moreland looked like what I hope for Justin Smoak. Moreland saw a lot of pitches, got himself into hitter’s counts, and then sprayed the ball all over the field.
If he had 15 more at bats, Moreland would lead the Texas League with a .327 BA and would be 12th in OBP (.375), 5th in SLG (.492), and 5th in OPS (.867). That is after being among the top 5 in those categories in the Cal and Midwest Leagues in the last two seasons. Any concerns that I had about Moreland’s bat have disappeared. The man is a professional hitter.
As for Moreland’s outfield defense, he caught a few routine fly balls and handled several ground balls without incident. He looks to be a lumberer, so I would assume that his range is not very good. But his arm is on par with those of Cruz and Hamilton. Twice during the game, the Missions had base hits to right field with a runner on second base. On both occasions, Moreland fielded the ball cleanly and fired one-hoppers to the catcher to hold the runners at third base. The balls never got more than 8 feet off the ground.
Reader Comments (12)
Really good stuff...
I would have to disagree on 1 thing though; Marcus Lemon's destiny. The kid is a midget. I just can't see him making the sort of impact that he will HAVE to make to eventually get called up. He's just like Vallejo to me... yet Vallejo appears to be much stronger.
I TOTALLY agree with your analysis on Strop. I got a chance to see him about a month ago and he came into the game late and struck out the side. He came in for his next inning of work and was all over the place. He defintely has talent... but I'm curious if Colorado got frustrated with him and just gave up. Wonder if the Rangers can be more patient.
Do you see Moreland becoming a nice trade chip... or do you see him in the Rangers' OF at some point in the next 2 or 3 years?
Hey Pablo - Eddie Gaedel (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddie_Gaedel) and I disagree that short guys have no future in the major leagues. I agree that Lemon is unlikely to develop the power necessary to become a high OPS 2nd baseman. But, I think that his eye and approach give him a shot at becoming a 350+ OBP guy that would place him among the Top 10 in the majors this year. For what it is worth, I like Lemon more than Vallejo.
Last night was the first time that I've seen Moreland in a game and I couldn't stop thinking about Adrian Gonzalez. AGon was just starting to develop real power as a 23 yo when I saw him a few times in AAA in 2005. He worked the count, sprayed line drives all over the park, and lumbered around the bases. There were some very good players on that team (Kinsler, German, Laird), but there was no doubt that AGon was the one guy that the opposing pitcher dreaded facing. It was only one night, but Moreland's stroke, eye, and effect on the opposing pitcher reminded me of Gonzalez.
Unfortunately, Moreland playing the outfield in the majors seems about as likely as Gozelez making the switch to the outfield back in 2005. Moreland is probably best suited to play 1B or DH in the AL, though he might be able to play right field for a NL team in need of a big bat. Given this limitation, I suspect that Moreland will only become a full time player in Arlington if Davis or Smoak are traded or fail.
Fortunately, the Rangers have another year before they have to add MOreland to teh 40-man roster so he will have another full season to convince the team to find time for him in the majors or to drive up his trade value.
Glad to see you're on the Moreland bandwagon. I've been on it for a while now. I've been watching him since his college days and I've come away impressed every time. The guy seems to hit everything hard and rarely swings at a bad pitch. It's too bad he's not a little more mobile because he has an absolute cannon for an arm. I think his development might have been held back a bit because there was some thought of him being a pitcher, but that's gone now. I really hope he does not get traded because I'd love to see him in Arlington someday soon, maybe even sometime next year. I'd expect him to get a spring training invite but be in AAA next year. The average fan may not know who he is, but I bet his name came up in most of the trade deadline talks involving the Rangers.
Thanks for making room for me, jmhard. The thing that has held me back on Moreland was a scouting report a couple of years ago that mentioned a long swing with holes that could be exploited. Moreland hit everything that he swung at least night which is consistent with the low strikeout rate that he has maintained throughout his career. Have you noticed a change in Moreland's swing between his collage days and now? Has he shortened his swing as he's adjusted to better pitching?
Out of Davis, Smoak, and Moreland who would you prefer to keep? Having only seen Davis and Smoak, the only thing I can say is that I'd like to hold onto Smoak. I really like both players; however I value the flexibility that Smoak's switch hitting brings to the club. For now I like Davis and Smoak. It's too bad we don't have something like the Green Monster that would allow us to play someone like Moreland in the outfield.
Interesting question, Dave H - Smoak is the no-brainer for me. Before this season, I thought that Davis was an absolute keeper as well given his off-the-charts power. After his extreme struggles with making contact this year, I am no longer as sure about Davis though I still have him rated above Moreland. In my eyes, Moreland has definitely closed the gap. Moreland has maintained his power and contact rate into AA and has yet to show a dip in performance with any of his promotions. I would like to see Moreland take a few more walks in AA, but the guy looks more like a legitimate prospect with each passing day.
Early in his college career there may have been some holes, but by that last year I sure didn't see any. He hit .343 his junior year with power, and was very good in the post season. Combined with the fact that he also pitched in college I was really surprised he didn't get drafted until the 17th round. Seemed like a value pick because you were drafting two prospects with one pick.
Obviously the biggest question for him is defense, but I really think he could be a servicable right fielder. His cannon arm will help make up for his lack of mobility, and he can also play 1st if needed. Considering the struggles of Chris Davis that might become valuable. He has the potential to be a good enough hitter to DH as well.
As for offense, it will be interesting to see what happens when pitchers stop throwing him strikes. If he keeps hitting like this it will happen, so hopefully he will show patience when that happens.
Glad to read the good report on Moreland, David, thanks. We've acquired a lot of company on the bandwagon this season as Moreland has succeeded with each promotion. Many were doubters last year given his age and level, but his consistency and approach are very encouraging.
I've long been thinking he could be a John Jaha or Lyle Overbay level bat in the major leagues if he pans out, but I agree he doesn't seem to have a place in TX. He'd look great batting back to back with Max R-L about 5 and 6 in the lineup, but how do you get them both on the field?
Seems like Kiker didn't deal with the adversity well on this occasion.
Great to hear from you, t ball. With Moreland, MaxRam, Smoak, and Davis all waiting in the minor leagues, the Rangers should be able to fill the 1B/DH slots with very good middle-of-the-order bats for league minimum salaries. What a great situation!
After seeing his shortstop fail on back-to-back groundballs, I wanted to see Kiker buckle down and get a strike out or two and wriggle out of the inning. I think that is exactly what he tried to do. Unfortunately, he wound up getting himself into more trouble by walking guys while trying to make pitches that the hitters couldn't hit. Young players learn through adversity and sunday night's lesson is that you have to keep pounding the strike zone even if it means giving up a run or two. Better that than giving up five runs by trying to maintain a shutout.
The cliche that players are never as good as they look on their best day or as bad as they look on their worst day was never more true than last night.
Davud; Will Pina be able to be a seviceable ML backup catcher anytime soon? ? I think Salty is taking control of that position for the Rangers and I would hate for Teagarden to be wasted on the bench when he does have some trade value.
Hey Rob - Pina would be one of the better defensve catchers in the majors if he weer called up tomorrow. Unfortunately, I don't think he will hit enough to justify playing except in a pinch. He is still very young (he recently turned 22) and has time to either improve his on-base skills and/or his power. I still believe in MaxRam and think that he is the best candidate to back up Saltalamacchia or Teagarden when another team makes an offer that the Rangers' can't refuse.
Great report, Spurdy. Thanks.