Prospect Insider - What to expect from Carlos Peguero

What to expect from Carlos Peguero

By Jason A. Churchill

By 04-19-2011

The Seattle Mariners placed first baseman Justin Smoak on the bereavement list Tuesday and called up outfielder Carlos Peguero to take Smoak's roster spot.

Chris Gimenez and Adam Kennedy figure to be the first basemen in Smoak's absence. Peguero isn't likely to stay up long, as Smoak will almost certainly be back in a day or two, but don't expect much from him if he gets any time -- unless the opposing team (Detroit Tuesday and Wednesday) fails to do any homework at all and throws him fastballs catching the middle of the plate.

Peguero, a left-handed hitter, gears up for the heater and can hit it -- hard and far -- and if he gets a little lucky and squares up a breaking ball, it will travel great distances, too.

But a steady diet of offspeed stuff and staying out of the middle of the plate equals not much going on in terms of production for Peguero, as his overall plate discipline is below average and his pitch recognition is worse than any "prospect" the M's have this side of Greg Halman.

Peguero moves well for a guy listed at 230-plus pounds (as high as 245) but belongs in a corner outfield spot. He does have some athleticism and good arm strength.

He's going to swing and miss, and he won't hit for average in complete sample sizes but he could connect on an extra-base hit or two if he gets the opportunity.

He has cut the swing down a bit, but it's still long, so despite the low strikeout totals in Triple-A, it's the approach -- attacking early in the count -- not the swing that has altered the numbers.

He's not in Tuesday's lineup and if Smoak returns for Friday's game (3 day minimum) Peguero is likely to be sent back to Tacoma right away.

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Comments
The following 7 comment(s) for this article are shown below:

1. By: rjfrik on 04-19-2011 20:15:08
Jason,

Do any of our prospects that can't hit the breaking stuff and have horrible pitch recognition (Peguero, Halman, Raben) but can crush fastballs and put up decent power numbers when looking at surface stats hold any value?

If they do, why isn't the organization purging these guys off the minor league rosters by trading them to other teams for minor leaguers that fit the new direction of talent they are trying to bring in (guys that have great pitch recognition and draw walks)?

Is it because universally all teams have intensive scouting reports on these players and know like we do that they are one dimensional? Or is it because organizations just really don't trade minor leaguers for minor leaguers?

Im just curious why there isn't more minor league trading. If I was running an organization I think I would try to trade all my minor leaguers who don't fit for other minor leaguers who do fit and have some projection left, even if it was getting less money on my dollar. (ex. AAA guy for A guy)

2. By: Jason A. Churchill on 04-19-2011 20:18:58
Raben doesn't have a huge issue with the breaking ball.

And trading prospects for prospects doesn't happen often because teams don't 1) want to give up on their players too early and 2) other clubs don't value them much, either.

And if it ever clicks for Halman or Peguero, it's a 6-hole hitter with a place to play in the outfield. They didn't invest much in either player and their presence isn't hurting/blocking anyone.

I do think in the coming years that prospect-for-prospect deals will start to happen a little more.

3. By: eknpdx on 04-19-2011 23:05:08
JAC, are you thinking more quality talent will exchange, or is it still going to be the "change of scenery" type of deals?

4. By: Jason A. Churchill on 04-20-2011 00:42:28
I think more higher-end talent will change hands once hard-slotting in the draft occurs and more and more clubs start relying on a strong foundation of young talent, not just to use for trading for veterans but to develop into part of the core of a winning team ... like the Rays and Reds, for example.

5. By: eknpdx on 04-20-2011 11:27:15
If there enough high end-talent to solidify that kind of market? I would also assume the $$ in international signings would go through the roof, as teams like the Yankees would exploit their buying power.

6. By: maqman on 04-20-2011 13:22:48
The M's have been collecting international talent themselves but just what the future of signing such prospects will hold will be determined by the new Collective Bargaining Agreement. This is an aspect that will probably receive some attention and could be somewhat or significantly altered in the process.

7. By: Jason A. Churchill on 04-20-2011 18:37:17
It does not appear that a world draft or a slotting system for international players will be in place anytime soon.

It's something being talked about -- and both would impact the market, of course -- but they have so many other things ahead of those issues that it's not likely anything gets done.

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