Future Athletic Roundup 1.4
by Threepwood XX on Jul 1, 2007 1:30 AM PDT
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PrintFuture Athletic Roundup for Saturday, June 23 2007. – Catcher Edition
Now even longer...but weekly instead of twice a week! Why? Because I need a life! As always this is an interactive medium so fan-scouting reports on any mentioned player and differentiating opinions are encouraged.
Future Athletic News:
Futures Game and Call-ups: Midland ace Mike Madsen, the 21st pick in the 2005 draft, will be doing some traveling in the next couple weeks. First he and Landon Powell have been promoted and will be playing for Sacramento. Secondly Madsen will be visiting "iPhone" (ATT) Park for the Futures game. He won’t be representing the A’s alone, as legendary Sacramento manager Tony DeFrancesco will be joining him as a coach.
First 2007 Full Season Debut: Matt Smith, a 2007 14th round pick, became the first player from that year to debut for a full season team. (James Simmons has yet to join the AA roster). So far he has hit .222/.263/.278/.541 in 18 at bats.
Minor League Rehabilitation: Mike Mitchell, the reliever who helped make Marcus McBeth expendable, made his first rehab start for the Arizona Athletics Tuesday June 26th. He threw one scoreless inning and struck out one. He’ll be joined in Arizona by Danny Putnam also starting his rehabilitation. I’m excited about this, Mitchell’s stuff if arguably better then McBeths’ and if he rehabs quickly he could be another strong Santiago Casilla type promotion for the A’s when healthy. Also, we will finally get to see just what Danny Putnam can do in AAA.
Future Athletic Scouting Report: Anthony Recker
Anthony Recker is one of the top catching and top power prospects in the entire A’s system, and 18 months ago almost no one even knew he was drafted. Recker was drafted 18th in the 2005 draft, two spots after the notorious Justin Smoke. You could almost say Recker was drafted under the radar, because people were so busy worrying about the elite prospect that could have been and wasn’t signed, they never noticed a catcher from the small Alvernia College put up a decent .702ops in short season Vancouver.
Then something strange happened, that catcher from nowhere who was drafted in the shadow of a prospect many considered to be a future all-star...started to look like a future all-star himself. Playing for low A Kane County in 2006, Recker quickly turned heads as he played himself into the starting Catcher role and put up a respectable .358 on-base percentage, .822ops, and 14 home runs. In 2007 he has been even better leading the A’s minor league system through June with 13 home runs and putting up a .319avg/.402obp/.609slg/1.010ops line in high A Stockton before being promoted to AA Midland; the catcher drafted in the shadow of a top prospect has become one himself.
Currently Recker has been off to a slow start in AA putting up a .172/.226/.207 line in 29 at bats for Midland, but system leading power doesn’t just disappear and should return. The area he currently needs to work on most is his defense; it’s average at best, but Recker has a big frame, is agile, and has a decent arm, so he has a shot at being an above average to excellent defender down the road if he works hard. He has an interesting future too; with Powell’s re-emergence as a top defensive catching prospect (also with power), Recker could have to challenge him for playing time in AAA and even the majors. One possibility is the A’s might decide to move Recker to a different position to keep his power in the lineup on a regular basis. The obvious place to move him would be first, but with Daric Barton there for the foreseeable future (and Jack Cust at DH) where could he move? It will be fun watching him progress no matter what happens to him.
Future Athletic Power Rankings: Catcher
This was an interesting one to write given that it is probably the position the A’s have the most depth in right now. Kurt Suzuki is not on the list because...well...if he stays on the roster for the rest of the year 2007 will be considered his rookie year and he won’t be a prospect. But if for some reason (cough Mike Piazza cough) Suzuki is sent down there will be a space waiting for him.
- Landon Powell – Where else do you put the player that could be considered the best defensive catcher in the Texas league while he was there, but also has been putting up some VERY nice offensive numbers too. He has more power and (arguably) better defense then Kurt Suzuki, also he is off to a hot start in AAA. He could very easily be in the mix for the starting catcher position sometime next year.
- Anthony Recker – Currently the best power prospect in the A’s system, but his defense is a work in progress. His slow start in AA hurt his chances of securing the number one spot over Landon Powell.
- JD Closser – Picked up by Beane earlier this year Closser turned around a sub-par year when he played for the Brewer’s AAA affiliate (.682ops) and is now showing off a shiny .859ops in AAA Sacramento. He also has some power and had a 2 home run game last Tuesday (26th).
- Jeremy Brown – The blue-jeans model from Moneyball is actually having a really great year. He has a .292/.385/.513/.898 line which, if it wasn’t for Kurt Sazuki, Landon Powell, and JD Closser, might be good enough for a major league back-up catching position for a stat orientated team; but probably not with the A’s.
- Matt Smith – Matt Smith must have his head in the clouds. He’s a 14th round pick and he’s already playing for full year team. He’ll have to get his stats up in the next few weeks if he wants to avoid a "Matt Sulentic" like demotion back to Vancouver.
Notables—Future Athletics Who Throw Stuff:
Henry Rodriguez: 6.0 innings, 4 hits, 3ER, 0HR, 2BB, and 7K's
The Kane County pitcher who can hit 100mph on the radar gun had another good game...no, not the one who is out indefinitely after being hit in the head with a comebacker, the other one...you haven’t heard of him? Good because until recently nether have I. He was brought up to Kane County the same time as (And has put up better numbers then) Trevor Cahill. Here’s a prospect I’ll be keeping a better eye on in the future.
Michael Madsen: 7.2 innings, 4H, 0ER, 0HR, 2BB, 6K's
Another boring 4 hitter thrown by Madsen in his AAA debut. He better watch out, a few more outings like this and Madsen might find himself starting for the A’s sometime after the All Star break. DiNardo who?
Scott Deal: 9.0 innings, 9H, 1ER, 0HR, 0BB, 2K
Deal pitched a complete game for Kane County on the 26th. Although he allowed nine base runners, the important number that allowed him to keep his runs down is the zero walks.
Notables—Future Athletics Who Hit Things:
Daric Barton: .329avg/.418obp/.495slg/.913ops
Dear Billy Beane,
Every day Daric Barton hits .500 in AAA while Dan Johnson clogs up the base paths a fairy dies. Why do you hate fairies Mr. Beane?
Sincerely, Fade
P.S. Clapping won’t help.
Vasili Spanos: .293avg/.345obp/.454slg/.800ops
Spanos is a good Samaritan. His day started out innocently enough; he was filling in at third base for good friend (and injured A’s prospect) Jeff Baisley. To start the game he popped out to third base to, in typical A’s fashion, strand Cliff Pennington on the base paths...then all hell broke loose. Spanos hit three consecutive home runs in his next three at bats and ended up with 5 rbi’s. The sad thing is, even with the home runs, his May was still better than his June.
Matt Sulentic: .276avg/.432obp/.448slg/.881ops
Sulentic went 9 for 26 with two doubles and a home run in his first full week back at Vancouver. Now if he could only hit like this in Kane County...
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If Powell continues to hit in AAA
and really is ready to take the job in 2008, I wonder if the A's will go with the tandem Suzuki/Powell in the majors for 2008, and have the other one DH on days they arn't catching. It would be a nice way to keep both bats in the lineup, though it would mean Cust in the outfield...
My gut feeling
Is Suzuki, because of his year head start on Powell, will get the starting catcher job with Powell playing 2 days a week and extra days to be rewarded if he starts hitting better then Suzuki, and by the All Star break Powell will have the starting job locked up.
As for DH, I could see it happening on occasion, but with the A's glut of outfielders it might not make sense, especially because Suzuki has never shown any major power since his 2004 year playing for Cal State Fullerton. (Then again, if Kotsay's bat never comes around...)
by Threepwood XX on Jul 1, 2007 1:55 AM PDT up reply actions
If we do a DH/C platoon,
we'd need a 3rd catcher possibly. Maybe Brown?
Interesting diary, well done.
The sudden organizational depth at catcher is an interesting development for the A's. After last year, it looked like Kurt Suzuki was the only decent backstop in the A's system, with Powell, Brown and John Baker looking washed up or hurt. Recker's .702 OPS really wasn't very good, either. Now, it's an embarrassment of riches.
Two things that I'd like to add to your commentary:
With Vancouver currently carrying three catchers already (Julio Rivera, Dante Love and Dusty Napoleon), it's unlikely that Matt Smith will be demoted. He's a more polished catcher, and there was a need in Kane County, which he filled. By the way, don't Dante Love and Dusty Napoleon sound more like adult film stars than minor-league catchers?
Also, what's with the AN-wide hate on Dan Johnson? He's hit more homers (9) for the A's than anyone but Jack Cust, Nick Swisher and Eric Chavez, has the 4th highest OPS (.841) on the team, and walks more than he strikes out (38:36). Daric Barton is tearing it up in AAA, sure, but there's just no room for him on the MLB roster unless he suddenly becomes better defensively and picks up a position or two.
Nice work, though, I appreciate your perspective on the minors. Drop me an email, I have a question for you.
DJ was struggling for a while
and the average baseball fan has the memory of a fly.
Because Johnson's approach is bad
he pulls everything, and in turn usually rolls over and grounds out to 2B.
Thats true
I also digest my food by throwing up on to it and have a two week lifespan.
by Threepwood XX on Jul 1, 2007 11:51 PM PDT up reply actions
My take on Johnson
He's an above average first baseman who will make the league minimum for another year; that means he has value.
Daric Barton on the other had will make the major league minimum for another three years, and he is a freakin hitting machine.
DJ is better served, at this point, getting the A's a blue chip prospect then blocking Barton in the minors.
by Threepwood XX on Jul 1, 2007 11:58 PM PDT up reply actions
Perhaps...
Also, I'm not sure Dan Johnson will return a blue-chip prospect at this point. Still, I wouldn't advocate keeping him past this season, or at the latest, the first half of next as a platoon with Barton as he breaks in to the majors.
I'm as anxious to see Barton in the bigs as you, but I'd hate to bring him up too soon, especially when the guy he'd replace isn't exactly hurting the team.
by Ryan Armbrust on Jul 2, 2007 1:06 AM PDT up reply actions
i don't see how anyone could make the argument
that DJ was "blocking" barton THIS YEAR.
next year maybe, but maybe not even then depending on how barton progresses.
Kuzuki
So how come so many people feel Suzuki will be the A's catcher of the future and not the player (Landon Powell) with the better skill set.
My take...
I think Suzuki is possibly as good defensively as Powell -- at least according to all the reports I've read and comments by pitchers. Suzuki has a decent bat, but Powell probably has a higher offensive ceiling. The x-factor, I'd guess, is that Powell is a catcher who's already had major knee surgery at a young age, and there's some question as to how well he'll hold up.
Honestly, I'd probably be happy with either of them as the A's catcher for the next 3-5 years.
by Ryan Armbrust on Jul 2, 2007 1:09 AM PDT up reply actions
I imagine
that the optimism with Suzuki and the negativity with Powell stems from a combination of Suzuki's health and consistency at every level and Powell's concurrent lack of health and inability to do anything impressive with the bat before this season. (And, let's not forget, he's 25. That's oldish for AAA, let alone AA, so his numbers do have to be taken with some caution, though he's gotten off to quite the nice start in Sacramento.)
If Powell can truly hit, say, .270/.350/.450 at the major league level and play the kind of defense he's reputed to being able to play I see no reason why he shouldn't be our major league starter for at least 3-5 seasons.
Suzuki's offensive upside, in my eyes, still remains around .290/.350/.380, and I don't know that his defense is supposed to be as good as Powell's.
In short I basically agree with you, Powell's health issue is probably what holds him back in the minds of a lot of people, though I'd add that his already advanced age and heretofore suspect offensive history have a good deal to do with it as well.
by walk off bunt on Jul 2, 2007 1:53 AM PDT up reply actions
Henry Rodriguez
Has anyone seen this guy play in Vancouver? Who here feels we could be calling this 100mph flame thrower HRod in 3 years, or will we be calling him "Hurt Rod" while he sits on the injury list in AAA?
Given our luck
With young flamethrowers I imagine it'll be closer to Hurt Rod. I also can't imagine that he'd stay a starter. Looks like he's got control issues (23 walks in 42 innings) though, obviously, great stuff as well. Those types usually either get hurt or become effective relievers then get hurt. Also, he's listed as just 20 years old, but without knowing more about him or his history I'd throw a Jairo Garcia caution in there as well.
That said, I like the idea of a promising flamethrower in our system. (And to ultimately answer your question, no, I haven't seen him pitch, but I do like formulating half coherent opinions on guys by eyeballing their numbers and vitals.)
by walk off bunt on Jul 2, 2007 1:58 AM PDT up reply actions
Closer to Hurt Rod =
Hu Rod... Nice ring.
I disagree about saying he'll definitely be turned to a reliever. It's obviously very possible, but I think that the walks are a better indication that he's not a control/polished player, rather than that he's not starting caliber. If he can throw 100, then he can probably through mid-high 90s consistently, and if he's piling up SO's and keeps his HRs relatively low, he has all the peripherals needed to justify staying a starter. Control could come around, but I'm not at all discouraged that it isn't there well -- indeed, it means he has fantastic stuff and maybe the umps are missing calls or players can do nothing but take pitches or it's so good that he still needs to learn how to use it properly. Is he avoiding bats? That's also a good indicator of SP success...
love these diaries
James Simmons will pitch next week
I've learned that James Simmons, the A's top draft pick this year, will pitch out of the bullpen for Midland beginning next week.
http://mvn.com/milb-athletics/2007/0...
It'll be interesting to see if his fine-tuned control carries over from college to the AA level.
Good news about Simmons
I've been waiting for his debut.
And holy crap, Andrew Bailey, one of my favorite prospects, just turned in a fine performance.
Yesterday, he pitched 6.2 innings, giving up 5 hits, 2 walks, 2 runs and 12 (!) K's.
The 23 year old is dominating Kane County, with 74 K's in 51 innings, along with 22 walks and a 3.35 ERA. He's also given up just 42 hits.
Bailey
He's been great. Given his age and the other great pitchers in Vancouver, I wonder how much longer the A's can justify not promoting him to A+ Stockton.
by Threepwood XX on Jul 2, 2007 8:38 PM PDT up reply actions
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