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Drew Pomeranz has been a pleasant surprise to say the least so far:
53 IP, 30 hits, 62 K's, 1.70 ERAComment -
I have said it many times (but maybe not in this thread), Pomeranz was undervalued at the start of the year and it seems like he still is. The guys has had an xFIP in the 3.00s every season since leaving Colorado, he just needed a regular rotation gig, which he now has.Comment -
Matt Harvey is completely broken.
Good for 3-4 innings and hideous in the 5th and 6th.Comment -
Harvey is no good, 1st time through good, 2nd time OK, third time HORRIBLEComment -
Harvey and Wacha had normal 2016 outings last night.Comment -
Mets need to skip Harvey's next start or make up an injury and place him on the DL for broken confidence.Comment -
It seems like Harvey runs out of gas in most of these games.Comment -
Harvey needs to bang a fat ugly broad to break the slumpComment -
Four Teams Linked To Cuban Outfielder Yadiel Hernandez
By Steve Adams | May 25, 2016 at 7:25pm CDT
MAY 25: Badler tweets that the Brewers, too, have now hosted a private workout for Hernandez.
MAY 23: Free-agent outfielder Yadiel Hernandez hosted a showcase for clubs last Wednesday, and Ben Badler of Baseball America now reports that the Marlins hosted a private workout for the 28-year-old at Marlins Park on Saturday, with president of baseball operations Michael Hill among those in attendance. Badler also lists the D-backs, Brewers and Rockies as teams that have been connected to Hernandez, who is exempt from international spending limitations due to his age and professional experience in Cuba.
Hernandez was recently declared a free agent by Major League Baseball and is free to sign at any time for any amount. He brings with him a career .324/.449/.487 batting line over the life of 2167 pro plate appearances in Cuba and is known for a discerning eye at the plate and excellent contact skills, though he does also possess some modest pop. (Badler recently noted that he felt Hernandez could hit 10 to 15 homers in a big league season.) Hernandez struck out in just 13 percent of his career plate appearances in Cuba and walked in 17.5 percent of his trips to the plate. Of course, that doesn’t necessarily mean that one should expect similar rates in the Majors, where Hernandez will face higher-quality pitching. It’s not uncommon for even the most successful Cuban hitters to see their strikeout rates increase by five to eight percent upon jumping to MLB, and Hernandez isn’t as highly regarded as some recent success stories were during their free agencies (e.g. Jose Abreu, Yoenis Cespedes).
The Marlins are somewhat of a curious fit for Hernandez unless they believe him to be more of a fourth outfielder than an everyday bat, as their long-term outfield is seemingly set with Christian Yelich in left field, Marcell Ozuna in center field and Giancarlo Stanton in right field. The D-backs, on paper, have a fairly set outfield rotation for the foreseeable future as well, with David Peralta, A.J. Pollock (once healthy) and Yasmany Tomas in addition to a pair of young infielders, Chris Owings and Brandon Drury, seeing time on the outfield grass, too. Beyond that, Arizona has a fairly promising outfield candidate in Socrates Brito in the upper minors.
Colorado and Milwaukee are a bit less settled, if for no other reason than the potential trade candidacy of star-caliber players Carlos Gonzalez and Ryan Braun (more so Braun, given Colorado’s 21-21 start to the season). Both could see their names floated on the trade market this summer, although both organizations also have highly regarded outfield prospects of their own that are in reasonable proximity to the Majors (namely, David Dahl in Colorado and Brett Phillips in Milwaukee).
Hernandez would almost certainly require some time in the minors to get comfortable in a game setting once again, whenever and wherever he ultimately chooses to sign. His last full season in Cuba came in 2014-15 (their season is played in the winter), so it’d be understandable if Hernandez came with a fair bit of rust. Those wishing to get a lengthier look at Hernandez can reference a full scouting report from Badler’s Top 20 Cuban prospects last season. A subscription is required, though with the 2016 Draft and the July 2 international free agent kickoff both looming, it’s well worth the price of admission for those seeking insight into the upcoming waves of amateur talent that will soon be available to MLB clubs.Comment -
L Martin may have tweaked a hammy stealing second tonight
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they are called "slumpbusters"
there is an old Mark Grace interview that highlights this technique
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Mike & Mike @MikeAndMike
DID YOU KNOW:
Noah Syndergaard has thrown 46 100-mph pitches this yr.
All other starters have thrown a combined 13.Comment -
Sale is there too(top 3), although I think he tends to wear down in the second halvesComment -
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LOS ANGELES -- The Dodgers will promote top pitching prospect Julio Urias before their series with the Mets that opens Friday night in New York, the club announced via Twitter on Thursday.
The 19-year-old Urias -- the top left-handed pitching prospect in the game and No. 2 overall prospect according to MLBPipeline.com -- has been dominating this season at Triple-A Oklahoma City, where he is 4-1 with a 1.10 ERA and 44 strikeouts in 41 innings.
Urias has been a starter throughout his brief career, but he is just as likely to be used out of the Dodgers' bullpen this season, allowing management to limit his innings. He has never pitched more than 87 2/3 innings in any of his three previous pro seasons.
A native of Mexico, Urias has often been compared to fellow lefty countryman Fernando Valenzuela, who the Dodgers promoted to the Major Leagues as a reliever in September 1980 before he launched his Fernandomania season of '81 as a starter, when he won both the National League Rookie of the Year Award and the NL Cy Young Award.
The Dodgers purchased Urias from the Diablos Rojos of the Mexican League when he was 16 for a reported $450,000.
Urias' innings were limited to 80 last year, when he had in-season cosmetic surgery on his left eye to address a benign mass that partially closed the eye, but did not affect his pitching.Comment -
On this date in 1993, a Carlos Martinez fly ball bounced off the head of Jose Canseco and over the fence for a HR.Comment -
The Dodgers expect to purchase the contract of top pitching prospect Julio Urias for his MLB debut on Friday, per a club announcement. It appears that the club is waiting to officially make the move until it’s necessary to do so tomorrow.
Urias will take the start that had been scheduled for Alex Wood. The 25-year-old southpaw will be bumped to Monday after experiencing triceps soreness. While any injuries to the rotation would have been a major concern just weeks ago, this one seems to be minor. And the reinforcements are arriving for Los Angeles, with Hyun-jin Ryu and Brandon McCarthy moving toward major league readiness.
Of course, Urias is rather an interesting player to turn to in his own right — and not just because of his fascinating personal story. He’s just 19 years old, meaning he’ll be the youngest player in the majors upon his arrival. The left-hander has ascended the ladder quickly after signing for a relative pittance out of Mexico at 16 years of age.
That’s also exceedingly youthful for the Triple-A level, but age hasn’t stopped Urias from dominating all along the way. He’s been as good as advertised at the highest level of the minors, spinning 41 innings of 1.10 ERA pitching. Urias has recorded more strikeouts (44) than he’s allowed baserunners (24 hits, eight walks, one HBP) on the season.
Entering the year, Urias was viewed as one of the game’s very best prospects, and he’s only increased his stock since. In its prospect handbook, Baseball America praises him for an exceedingly rare “combination of stuff and feel for pitching.” Working off of a mid-nineties heater, he can draw swings and misses with a quality curve and change piece as well as a less-frequently-deployed slider.
It remains to be seen, though, how much of an impact Urias will have on the major league season. Los Angeles has carefully managed the young lefty’s workload, which is obviously not surprising. He’s yet to top 90 innings in a full season, and likely won’t be allowed to dramatically increase that tally, though surely L.A. will be looking to build his endurance.
The teams plans remain largely unknown. With Ryu, McCarthy, and other options soon to be added to the mix, the Dodgers could get a few starts from Urias and then shift him to the pen — where he could be a powerful, multi-inning option to pair with one or more of the team’s rehabbing or less-productive starters. Or, of course, he might well soon end up back in the minors to continue working out of the rotation.
If Urias is able to stay up the rest of the way, he’d stand to accumulate 129 days of service. That would put him on track to be a potential, but far from certain, Super Two candidate — at least assuming he opens on the major league roster in 2017. Urias’s performance could also certainly impact the organization’s trade deadline and post-season pitching plans. For now, though, we’ll all sit back and watch the phenom show his stuff on the game’s biggest stage.Comment -
dude has a messed up eye
can't look at himComment -
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Huge slump buster.
