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So Long, Boys 2; Pace-of-Play in MiLB


Earlier this week, the Nats made another round of releases:
• LHPs Jared Johnson, Jose Jimenez
• OF Kameron Esthay
• RHPs Colin Morse, Jake Cousins, Alec Maley

That may be it for a while. Time for your annual reminder that there will be a dozen or so names for whom we’ll have no information. XST? Retired? Injured? Maybe, maybe, and maybe. My personal theory is that if they’re not on any published roster, MiLB doesn’t feel the need to pass any information along (unless they’re a high-profile draft pick, natch).

Yesterday, MiLB announced the ballyhooed “three-batters-faced” rule would apply to AA and AAA this season, along with a reduction in the number of allowed mound visits, and a new extra-innings rule that essentially prevents pitchers from becoming the free runner.

I would agree with the boys in Durham that the anti-LaRussa directive (for relief pitcher usage, not DUIs) won’t matter much, if at all. Teams did not do the sacrifice-intentional-walk-let’s-hope-for-a-DP sequence with the extra-innings rule last season and they aren’t likely to send out a pitcher they don’t think can finish the inning this season.

Why? Because those kind of tactics may win ballgames, but the goal for most of the minors is development. Folks who go to minor-league games have probably noticed that you generally don’t see pitching changes mid-inning unless someone’s hurt, hit their pitch limit, or getting lit up.

Just as teams tend to let young pitchers work their way out of trouble in the lower levels, they’ll likely continue that practice and may even—*gasp*—let reliever pitch multiple innings more often. Given the trend of “openers,” and other such what-is-old-is-new-again pitching concepts (e.g. swingmen, long relievers, piggybacking, etc.), this rule would make it easier to unlearn the “roles” bullshit has gone on for far too long.

31 Commments

  1. Esthay wa on the Luke bubble last summer.
    Don’t cry for Argentina or a Latin lefty coming off an arm injury Jose Jiminez. A dime a dozen the way Johnny D shopping @ DR South of the equator ( Panama too) DG.
    Jake Cousins to Twins since his cousin with Vikes?
    No RE- Morse.

    1. Cane I am surprised you did not hear any chat about some of the promising DSL 18 bats like Arias or Fernandez around the back fields

    2. Aha. Edwin Lora on DL for Potomac hence Abreau helping out Keister @ SS in short term

  2. Luke,
    I didn’t see a lot of the intentional walks in the extra innings setup that you referred to, but of the games that I saw in the extra stanza- only once did I see the offensive team not bunt the runner to third.
    I was in Charleston WV for their opening series and sure enough, it went to extra’s and I asked one of the Power coaches about it.
    The response was “we think that (Strategy) is going to be how most teams are going to play it”.
    In my experiences, that was mostly correct.

  3. I don’t have the whole official roster but AAA includes Carter Kieboom, McGowin, voth, Ross, Alvarez, marmojeous, Reynolds, Snyder, Wilson, cowgill, Hernandez, Jones and keller.
    AA includes fedde, Spencer kieboom, ward, Davidson, Garcia, sagdal, Collier, Wiseman, bourque, braymer, Crowe, guilbeau, mapes, mills and sharp. Once again, not official but pretty reliable.

      1. That explains what we were waiting on. Carter to F trooop and Garcia to Burg
        SS for Potomac might be by committee? Meijia , Lora , Lara …masters

  4. Bummer for Esthay, who got to play hero in a major league spring training game at least.

    1. He and Scudder were in that 18-30 round let’s take a look at this college guy .
      Much like signing all the 15K- 50K Dingo guys

  5. Hi Jeff and my friends at Luke’s Pub –

    So I was down at Spring Training again this year, watching and absorbing a lot, and have some tidbits to share, based on input from the players and coaches. As we gear up for the minors season, this will give you a tease of what is to come….

    The pitcher that the lower minor league staff and catchers that I talked to are most excited about is Joan Adon. I know, I know, but nobody had heard of Rey Lopez when he blew up and last year, no one had heard of Malvin Pena either. Otherwise, I’ve been advised by high authority to keep an eye on…Jake Irvin, who is going to start this year in Potomac. He also had a modest beginning in the system last year. I did speak to him about it, and he observed that he was just tired after a long year and is refreshed and ready to go. So that’s good news. Folks are still very positive about Will Crowe. I did not see a lot of buzz from Dominican arms, but I did see both Ryan Williamson starting a game for folks headed to Hagerstown, and Grant Borne seems to be up and back in action. So the releases of Crownower and Jared Johnson (I guess a no hitter is not the sign one thinks it is) reflect that there is lefthanded talent coming. The one pitching release who surprised me, based on what I was hearing, was Cousins. Otherwise, Tyler Mapes is back and ready to pitch, lest we forget he pitched well in AA before injury. Gabe Klobotsis says he is coming along well. Even Mario Sanchez, who was slowly rising before being flipped for Jimmy Cordero, was back.

    I’ve been doing Grissom things on the run and so I don’t get a chance to post much, so I do miss Jeff, Luke and the NP crew, but occasionally lurk. I’ll have some bats intel next, and if you have any questions on folks in particular, let me know.

    2. Irvin is in fact John Sickel’s sleeper. So, seems like you have some corroboration.

    3. One caveat from each roster releases per year is remembering that less than 300 ABs at a level rarely warrants a bump up ( case in point Nick Banks) or so many IP for a pitcher
      The updated released list should be interesting
      Unless some guys are parked in XST or ON the Auburn roster temporarily

  6. On Bats – A prominent minor league coach told me the fastest rising outfielder through this spring is….Eric Senior. Go figure, right? Well, I did watch him in BP and he certainly has BP power. Again and again depositing balls out. He is a specimen – built like Michael Taylor, only taller. I got a chance to watch Jeremy DeLa Rosa, who has also made an impression with coaches. Line drive after line drive off his bat. The best OF bat in the lower minors, that I consistently heard about from pitchers, was Jacob Rhinesmith, who is ticketed for Hagerstown. Another guy whom other folks mentioned a lot, as if the two of those guys will march up through the system together, is Cody Wilson, also headed for Hagerstown. I don’t know what the org’s planning is for Canning, but at least one pitcher I spoke to really respected him as a hitter. Among the catchers, Tres Barrera has really impressed the minor league coaching staff. We’ll see what their plan is.

    Unofficially, the folks I think are headed to Potomac are Upshaw, Agustin, Franco, Freeman, Corredor, Reetz, and Irvin. There may be more, but its hard to tell. I saw, for example, Croppley and Caulfield playing with Potomac but he may have been lent to them. I saw Esthay play with Potomac, and watched him make a beautiful throw to nail a guy at the plate, and then he gets cut. So the lower minors have inventory, and players have a window within which to flash.
    I saw Perkins, Rhinesmith, Wilson, Harrison (1B), Sanchez, Marcinconz, OConnor (OF) playing for Hagerstown, and there are probably a few others I should think of and have not.
    My son was an autograph beast, and so we got a chance to interact with many of the players and get a feel for their temperament and such. Lots of subtle things, right down to who looks like they are having agood time and who is pressing and keyed up.
    When you go to spring training and watch drills, you can appreciate why you have to have Spanish language coaches on staff. There are players, nameless of course, whose communication is limited to the point that their autographs make them look all but illiterate. Baseball is truly their ticket.

    1. Thanks Gil. Yes the back field scrimmages involve some experimenting but we must recall that conservative promotion is par for the course
      Sounds like Senior and Irwin the eye brow raisers in B scrimmages
      Thanks Grissom

    2. Cane we are truly awaiting the elevation of the Latin bats lead by Arias , Fernandez , Jeremy has spoken this spring D and the same name with Christopher
      No wonder brass let 25 year old Esthay loose with the corral full of stock even possibly Sanfler and Emilio …….

    3. Safe to say , Grissom , and others. Brass has their April 4 th rosters then those in their imaginations involving the guy who they know deserve the first promotions up a level before or after the June draft

  9. Can’t say much about the Latinos, but I did see Arias (big guy), Matos (little guy), Fernandez, Diaz, and a couple of Dominican players we don’t know about (because they did not show up in DSL). So I think we’ll see some fresh names come GCL time.

    Rosters are out now. I see Irvin is at Hagerstown. But I heard what I heard from a decision-maker. So perhaps they expect him to stay at Hagerstown only long enough to dominate.

    Look at Malvin Pena at Potomac! And our old friend Paolo Espino a Fresno depth piece. Andrew Lee and Carlos Acevedo (he is biiig) healthy again and at High A. Meregildo gets the up and out treatment. Mejia at AA may be the biggest step up of all. Meanwhile Abreu may be on last legs….

    Hagerstown roster otherwise pretty much as I saw it, though I expected Blake Chisolm to get a shot. XST has a few folks waiting in the wings, perhaps Istler as well (I saw him a week ago).

    1. Cane I sensed Meijia was needed @ Burg especially now that Carter is a F trooper and Garcia needing his Potomac dance partner .
      All winter is been guessing the Chisholm trail winds into Hags even if it’s unto Auburn cranks it’s engine .
      I saw Acevedo pitch for auburn a couple years ago in opener Aberdeen.
      Time to check April rolls

      1. Can we project Abreau as an org guy now to mentor Franco and Omar Meregildo ( great name ) plus possibly be a future scout or coach?
        Some of the names posted @ two levels reminds me of my winter doodling with rosters.. arrows pointed up or down …
        Where are Banks and Abreau ? Converse Taylor ?? In complete rosters. ? Last minute slip assignments as re kids are driving north ? Hey, Nick, forget Potomac drive to Harrisburg !!!
        Cane I guess you did not see Tovar, Tatis or Hidalgo??
        Keister should have fun moving Franco and Meregildo around the infield since Scudder a true 1 b than others was cut loose before Esthay .
        Anybody see the DL lists entering April ??

  10. And others not yet surfaced that are definitely in the plan, like Senior! And others I can’t yet think of, such as Stevenson. Senior going somewhere, though, hopefully higher than Auburn. But the others must have shown up to play every day and they want him off the bench.

    1. Additions to be made throughout the 4 th
      Interesting. Knorr and LuCroy have depth in starting options
      Luke. Explain AGAIN why Grant DeBruin still o roster under RL??

    1. That’s a much better Fresno pitching staff than I’d have expected. I figured they’d keep their best arms close, but Ross, McGowin, Rainey and Williams all got sent across the continent. No quick call ups for them. There seems to be no intent to put our better pitchers closer to the east coast, which makes me wonder why Fedde is the only 40 man roster pitcher in Harrisburg? Also strange that S. Kieboom was sent to AA too. It’s almost like they went out of their way to keep the Kieboom brothers apart.

  12. There’s now a real-looking roster on the fresno website:

    Pitchers (13): Adams, Copeland, Cordero, Dragmire, Espino, Hoover, McGowin, Nuno, Rainey, Ross, Self, Voth, Williams. Ondrusek on IL.

    Catchers (2): Read, Gushue. Reistetter on IL.
    Infielders (6) : C.Kieboom, Marmolejos, Reynolds, Sanchez, Snyder, Wilson. B. Gonzalez on DL
    Outfielders (4): Cowgill, Y. Hernandez, Jones, Keller. Bautista on IL.
    Henderson Alvarez not listed.

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