| By Jason A. Churchill |  | By 03-19-2009 |
Some of this could have gone in Friday's mini notebook, but I decided against that.Over at the four-letter today, there will be a few interesting posts on the draft, one being a somewhat collaborative and updated list of first round picks broken down into groups; definite first rounders, probable first rounders, and so on.
In Marinerland...
Mike Wilson is not a top prospect, so stop asking what his future role with the M's is... Jarrod Washburn is bad... Miguel Batista is worse. One scout in Arizona that has seen both this spring on more than one occasion had this to offer on both expensive arms.
"He's got okay stuff, but no command, no feel and sometimes no clue," he said of Batista. "I don't see how he helps anyone in any role."
"He's a No. 5 over here," he added of Washburn's potential in the National League. "Maybe a little more if he's in the right division - the west. But his command is even a notch below what it was a few years ago and he was sitting 86-88 and wasn't he 89-91 when he signed? He shouldn't be counted on to win anything."
A couple of you have inquired about the potential that some young players in the M's system are involved in the Dominican Republic's ongoing issues with proper documentation, and all I'll say right now is that this will get its own post this month, and I will talk about Carlos Triunfel in the matter.
I like Franklin Gutierrez. He's a mix of Yuniesky Betancourt's foot speed and fast-twitch actions, Jose Lopez's above-average raw power and Adrian Beltre's natural defensive skills. Gutierrez could make the J.J. Putz deal a steal for Seattle...
... Or the player that makes the trade a steal could be right-hander Mikael Cleto, who was popping the glove at 93-95 mph in minor league camp this past weekend.
No, I don't think Shawn Kelley is a future closer. He has decent stuff and command, but lacks a true out pitch, at least to the level of a high-leverage relief option.
I polled four talent evaluators, three of them current special assistants, to ask them which player they would tab at No. 2 if the draft were today, and here are the results:
Alex White - 2 votes
Dustin Ackley - 1 vote
Tyler Matzek - 1 vote
I asked the same group about the college pitchers in this year's class and got this grouping:
Could be top 3
White
Andrew Oliver
Certain first round, but not top 5 talent
Kyle Gibson
Mike Leake
Alex Wilson
Kendal Volz
Jason Stoffel
Aaron Crow
Top two rounds pick, but probably not first round
Mike Minor
Shawn Tolleson
Ben Tootle
Kevin Castner
Brian Pearl
Tyler Lyons
Brad Stillings
Alex McRee
Kyle Heckathorn
Could make big jump
James Paxton
Tanner Scheppers
Stay on the draft blog at ESPN, there's some pretty intriguing tidbits coming forth in the next few days on some of the prep prospects.
Photo of Shawn Kelley from Spring Training 2009 by Lonnie Mathis
spring-observations
Comments
The following 19 comment(s) for this article are shown below:
| 1. By: Gustafson on 03-19-2009 10:50:49 Great stuff, Jason! That Putz trade sure does look like it could be a great deal... I hope JJ gets the Mets over the top in the NL but the M's got three really intriguing pieces in Gutz, Cleto and even Carp. If you say Cleto was popping it at 93-95 that is 96-97 on the stadium or college baseball guns, which seem to add a couple MPH... And he's 19 or 20 years old? Wow. |
| 2. By: Jason A. Churchill on 03-19-2009 12:33:34 Yeah, Cleto showed good velo last year at 19, sustained it into the 6th innings regularly... he just doesn't have the breaking ball yet. |
| 3. By: bilbo on 03-19-2009 12:47:18 look forward to the updates at the four letter Jason. I didn't really understand the people that disliked the JJ trade. Seattle was going to cut payroll so JJ wasn't going to stick around. JJ for Gutz straight up isn't horrible when you consider salary and club control years into the equation. But when you add in everything else they got for Reed and Valbuena (Carp, Cleto, spaghetti) it could really be a great deal when it all shakes out. |
| 4. By: Jason A. Churchill on 03-19-2009 12:53:56 I think it's a great deal now. Putz is NOT very good anymore. |
| 5. By: Gustafson on 03-19-2009 13:03:33 For a kid who is 19 (turns 20 in May), are you concerned that cleto doesn't have a breaking ball yet? or is that kind of normal? |
| 6. By: Jason A. Churchill on 03-19-2009 13:12:06 He has one, technically, it's just not good. |
| 7. By: bilbo on 03-19-2009 13:36:57 Just looked at the list on the network Jason. Its fun to see the list broken out that way since you can kind of see the M's with one guy of the first list and possibly two off the second list. We've talked a lot about the #2 pick but I am curious about your thoughts right now on who might be around from that list when the M's pick at 27 and 33? |
| 8. By: stickball on 03-19-2009 14:10:30 Is Jason Stoffel strictly a closer type? Any chance he becomes a starter? |
| 9. By: 01v-dubs on 03-19-2009 14:33:39 Jason, correct me if i'm wrong but, I do not see Tate listed anywhere. Is he not a certain first rounder becasue of his football cometment? |
| 10. By: 01v-dubs on 03-19-2009 14:38:34 NM I looked at the ESPN post and I saw Tate there. |
| 11. By: SvhoopsStar5 on 03-19-2009 15:11:17 Jason, kind of off topic here but why hasn't Michael Saunders got any playing time in some of the big league spring training games that guys like Tyson Gilles have received? |
| 12. By: Jason A. Churchill on 03-19-2009 15:33:14 Stick, Not at this point, at least that's not likely. He's a two-pitch guy, but has been a reliever for awhile now - I believe his entire college career, or close to it. So, yeah, pure reliever, I think, but a solid one that can cover multiple innings per outing. Maybe not a big-league closer, though. Fields>Stoffel in that regard, but Stoffel has very good command. SvhoopsStar5, Saunders has been kept out of action in big-league camp because of the injury to his shoulder, from what I'm told. He's fine, but they wanted to play it safe. Remember, late last summer he had the surgery and did not play after July 27. |
| 13. By: Slurve on 03-19-2009 18:10:14 We're gonna have one sexy rotation in the future with the Felix/Erik/Morrow being right now and the potential Felix/Morrow/White/Aumont one being the future. |
| 14. By: 01v-dubs on 03-19-2009 19:03:11 Jason as of right now, where do you see Bobby Borchering going in the draft? I know he's likely a 1B/LF, but would he be a good pick with the M's second rounder? Also, when you asked about the #2 pick, what did those who said they would pick Alex White say as far as why would they pick him. Is it because he's a higher probability pick vs. a high reward pick like one of the prep players? Thanks |
| 15. By: acqb1424 on 03-19-2009 19:46:57 Jason have you heard any updates on the Nats GM search? I haven't heard anything and I'm starting to wonder if they'll just hand the reins over to Rizzo on a full time basis. Also, what are your thoughts on Yuni's situation? Wak always sounds pretty down oh him. Are the M's quietly (or maybe not so quietly) putting out feelers as to what they could get for him? |
| 16. By: DAMellen on 03-19-2009 21:38:53 The four letter? |
| 17. By: DAMellen on 03-19-2009 21:57:30 Nevermind. Got it. |
| 18. By: Jason A. Churchill on 03-19-2009 22:15:29 dubs, If the draft were today, he's probably one of the talents that ranks between 18 and 40. So many of the players are so close in grades right now. He's probably not a 3B, so you're drafting the bat and the bat only. He's not Eric Hosmer, so... |
| 19. By: rocketdawg31 on 03-20-2009 16:07:00 Jason, Borchering has intrigued me as well...even he winds up twenty pounds heavier (normal physical maturity), I think his bat still totally profiles for first base at very least. But I take a look at his reactions and while he isn't blessed with premium quickness overall, his FIRST step seems fast enough to me- and that's the most important step for a third sacker. Are you sure he doesn't profile as a third sacker, overall? He's a big man, all right, but so is Scott Rolen and A-Rod. I've only seen like seven minutes of video on him, you might well have seen more. But I can't deny I already think this kid is a ballplayer, and I hope Zduriencik is looking at him. |
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