9/16/09

Minors Stuff




The Herd:


Fernando Martinez OF - His struggles with injuries continue. He had an opportunity to play for the Mets because of injuries, but yet he was injured. Since he has played beginning in 2006 he has yet to be free from injury, whether it was a bone bruise or sprained knee as in 2006, a broken hammate bone in 2007, hamstring problems in 2008 and now torn cartlige in his knee this year. When he was up he wasn’t hitting well with an average of .176 in less than 100 at bats. At 21 he is still pretty young to be playing at such a high level so next year expect him at AAA to start the season, unless he rakes in spring training.



B-Mets:


Ike Davis: The 22nd overall pick out of Arizona State, Davis was supposed to be less polished than college teammate Wallace, but more athletic and with better physical projection. Mets fans were frightened when Davis hit just .256/.326/.316 with zero homers in his 58-game pro debut in the New York-Penn League, but he erased those doubts in 2009 with a strong campaign. He hit .288/.376/.486 in 59 games for St. Lucie in the Florida State League, then .309/.386/.565 in 55 games for Binghamton in the Double-A Eastern League, combining for a .298/.381/.524 mark with 20 homers, 31 doubles, 57 walks, and 112 strikeouts in 429 at-bats. He has work to do against lefties, hitting just .242/.301/.371 against them this year compared to .323/.414/.586 against right-handers. Other than that, his season was very strong and he should be ready to help sometime next year.


Queens:


Jose Reyes hasn't played since May because of a hamstring tendon injury, so Minaya would be selling low -- never a good idea. And don't forget that Reyes is just 26 years old and signed for a manageable $20 million over the next two seasons. David Wright is similarly affordable, not to mention the face of the franchise and a player who has yet to reach the peak of his career. It makes no sense to deal Carlos Beltran, either. Questions about his toughness aside, he is a Gold Glove center fielder and a .300 hitter. And on the flip side, the $37 million the Mets owe Beltran over the next two years and questions about his right knee would make finding a trading partner -- much less getting good value in return -- difficult. -- NY Post



The Houston Astros say starting pitcher Mike Hampton will miss next season after undergoing surgery on his left shoulder. A statement issued by the Astros on Tuesday say surgeons at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York repaired a full left rotator cuff tear in Hampton’s pitching shoulder. Dr. David Altchek, the New York Mets’ medical director, also repaired partial damage to the labrum in the shoulder.

http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/files/newsstand/discussion/ap_hampton_to_miss_next_season


Jesus Flores has a right labrum tear. This was supposed to be a seminal season in the catcher's development. Instead, he has gone sliding in the opposite direction, entirely because of injuries, and the latest one is the greatest setback yet. The Washington Nationals learned on Tuesday that Flores, 24, has a torn the right labrum, which will require surgery and force him to miss between three to six months. Orthopedist James Andrews, who on Tuesday examined Flores in Birmingham, Ala., will perform the procedure -- technically, SLAP repair surgery -- on Wednesday. "He should be ready for the middle of spring training, worst-case scenario," general manager Mike Rizzo said.

While the rest of the class of 2009 was subject to the Aug 17th, 2009 deadline to sign with the teams that drafted them, Aaron Crow (#12 Kansas City) and Tanner Scheppers (#48 Texas) did not. Both Crow and Scheppers were selected in the 2008 draft after their junior year of college and did not sign with their respective team (Washington and Pittsburgh) and played independent ball this past season. As such, they are effectively considered rising seniors and do not have to sign until the 2010 draft in June. Unfortunately for their current draft teams, they remain unsigned. The Royals expect Crow to sign, but there's no progress yet. Meanwhile contract negotiations have not gone anywhere with Scheppers and the Rangers.


General:

For the first time in six years, minor league baseball did not set an attendance record. The economic slowdown proved too great for even the debut of six new ballparks to overcome. Final overall attendance is expected to be announced later this week, but MILB spokesman Steve Densa confirmed today that a new record was not reached in 2009. Replacing failing markets with new ones, and swapping aging ballparks with state-of-the-art facilities has been at the heart of minor league baseball’s recent growth. Last year, the sport rode the coattails of three new ballparks to overcome the recession and set a new standard by drawing 43,263,740.
http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/business/?p=219

No comments: