Prospect Insider - Potential trade target dominates

Potential trade target dominates

By Jason A. Churchill

By 06-20-2010

With the news out Saturday for the first time that the Los Angeles Dodgers are expected to at least make a play for left-hander Cliff Lee, I started asking around about some of the potential young talents the Dodgers may have to offer.

We're assuming that Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp are untouchable in a deal for a rental player, so we dipped down into the minors.

Among the names I asked about Saturday morning is right-hander Chris Withrow, whom one scout was going to see later in the day -- versus West Tennessee of all teams.

That same scout said he'd seen Withrow before and really liked him, though he added that he thought "he'd need another year from now to be ready to start in the big leagues, maybe a little longer."

On my way home from the M's-Reds game where Felix Hernandez tossed a 5-hit, complete-game win over a very good offensive club, I get a text from the scout saying the following:

"Saw Felix was great tonight. Are you sure you saw the better performance tonight?"

He was half kidding... but only half. Withrow fanned 10 and walked just one in seven scoreless frames versus the Diamond Jaxx. He allowed just four hits -- three of them singles and hit the strike zone with 64 of his 93 pitches.

"He would have stayed in for the eighth had it not been a double-header," the scout said. "This was the first time I'd seen him in command like this since the injury."

The 6-foot-3, 195-pound Withrow missed time in '08 with elbow problems but has had no problems with it in 2010, touching 97 mph on the radar gun Saturday, and hitting 98 three starts ago. He sits 92-95.

His curveball has good depth and a late downward break as it comes from a high 3/4 arm slot with 11-5 tilt. His fastball has good movement, but not much sink, which makes its command critical, but he does stay on top of it creating some downward plane.

The change is a work-in-progress -- surprise, surprise -- but he's flashed a better version of it this season than in the past, even throwing it for called strikes on occasion.

He repeats his delivery well and has been well coached since he first picked up a ball since his father was a pro pitcher and coached him through high school.

Withrow's numbers aren't earth-shattering -- yet are still very solid outside the high ERA -- and is still a bit of a project, thanks to spotty control. But the kid would be a terrific piece to add to any farm system with his No. 1 starter ceiling.

We'll continue to cover the potential targets, the prospects at least, when it comes to the Mariners and trading Cliff Lee, so stay tuned for a breakdown of each club's top prospects and the likelihood they they might be offered in such a trade package. Expect that to come in either one large piece or several shorter posts starting Sunday or Monday.

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Comments
The following 4 comment(s) for this article are shown below:

1. By: Rudolf on 06-20-2010 13:51:58
Love the write-ups, Jason. Where would this guy fit in a potential LA package? I can't imagine he would headline the deal. Is he a back-end toss in type? Part of a small group of B prospects?

Mike Wilson... he's hitting just as well in AAA as he did in AA... could he turn out to be a Garrett Jones type and be an asset to the big league club after all these years? Is he making improvements, or just piling up the experience? If you ran the M's, would you bring Mike up and give him significant DH at-bats to see if he can hit at the next level?

Thanks for the info!

2. By: randallball on 06-20-2010 14:02:02
Sounds like he definitely has the stuff, but as you pointed out his numbers to this point don't overwhelm. I know the minor leagues aren't about #s like they are developmeent, but if he is a potential #1/#2 type, I would definitely be interested.

As an aside, looks like he can hit a bit, too!

3. By: slick on 06-20-2010 14:21:20
If we make a deal with the dodgers would like to see Kenley Jansen come over sits around 97-98 from what I read 57k in 34 IP between High A and Double A only been pitching for about 2 years converted catcher I believe. Seems to be a future closer.

4. By: rocketdawg31 on 06-20-2010 15:07:39

As a prospect, I could see Withrow garnering interest from us. If we got him with, say, Paxton and Pineda that's a pretty good collection to try to build a young staff behind Felix.

And I know Paxton's not in the fold yet, but I have every confidence he will sign.

But I don't think the Dodgers are the best fit- we need players that could basically step right in or in 2011. Next year's Mariners squad has a ton of holes, and improving current deficiencies won't be easy. I'm sure we'll dip into free agency a bit, but it won't be a huge help.

On LA's side, they have internal strife and economic troubles out the yin-yang. Do they think they can really add on Lee's salary for this year?

In and of itself, I'm not too keen on the idea of having to throw in cash on any Lee deal. It'd have to be the right trade, and a no-brainer in order to do so.

No matter their upside, I don't think the M's are looking for A-ballers to make up the body of a deal for Lee. And I don't think they should, either.

Talent that helps now, please.

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