Lexington 2010

[Jacksonian]

Thanks.  Figured one would be moving there.

Will be interesting to see where both end up to start next season, would the odds favor both staying where they are at, Villar at LAN and Mier at LEX?

Better bet would be CC and LAN respectively.

[matadorph]

Scouting the Sally  breaks down the Gose for Wallace swap, with some Jay Austin analysis sprinkled in. Good read.

[Navin R Johnson]

Scouting the Sally  breaks down the Gose for Wallace swap, with some Jay Austin analysis sprinkled in. Good read.

Excellent find.   Although the last sentence is rather disheartening

[matadorph]

Excellent find.   Although the last sentence is rather disheartening

Not as disheartening as the scouting report he issued on Jio recently.

[MusicMan]

Not as disheartening as the scouting report he issued on Jio recently.

I'd say the Oswalt deal was pretty damning for Jio.

[austro]

I'd say the Oswalt deal was pretty damning for Jio.

My hope is that it will light a fire under him, but I'm afraid you're right.

[matadorph]

Altuve leads off the bottom of the first tonight against Delmarva with another HR.

[Duder]

According to the SAL Transactions page LINK Jose Altuve has been promoted to Lancaster and Jimmy Paredes has been assigned to Lexington.  Will Cartwright be promoted to CC?  I guess we'll have to wait and see.

[matadorph]

Indeed, Cartwright was promoted to Corpus.

http://twitter.com/WillMurphy11/status/20016844036

[jbm]

Watched the Cruz game on video.  He has filled out from his draft video, maybe grown an inch or two also.  Don't know how hard he threw, but I assume it is around 90.  He fastball was very effective.  He had excellent command that night.  Many pitches where the catcher's glove barely moved.  He also snuck a lot of fastballs in on righties.  His curve was a pretty solid, consistent pitch.  I guess he could tighten it up, but it was pretty good.  He might have thrown a few cut fastballs or baby sliders, but it is hard to tell from the camera angle.  If he threw a change, I couldn't tell. 

I remember Bennett (I think) mentioning Garcia.  He has got to be one of the smallest catchers in pro ball.  I can't imiagine a guy that small staying at catcher.  He runs well.  Even though he hasn't shown much power in the stats, I caught him at the right time as he drove an outside pitch over the right fielder.  It was impressive. 

Altuve stole two bases.  He doesn't have blazing speed, but is fast and gets good jumps.

Goebbert looked good at the plate and in left.

Mier looks less overmatched, than just in a funk.  I have seen two games on video and in both games he has shown visible signs of frustration.  This game, he hit a fly to right with a runner on third and no outs.  Looked deep enough for a sacrifice, but the runner stayed put.  Mier showed some visible displeasure after he realized the runner stood still.

[Duman]

Watched the Cruz game on video.  He has filled out from his draft video, maybe grown an inch or two also.  Don't know how hard he threw, but I assume it is around 90.  He fastball was very effective.  He had excellent command that night.  Many pitches where the catcher's glove barely moved.  He also snuck a lot of fastballs in on righties.  His curve was a pretty solid, consistent pitch.  I guess he could tighten it up, but it was pretty good.  He might have thrown a few cut fastballs or baby sliders, but it is hard to tell from the camera angle.  If he threw a change, I couldn't tell. 

I remember Bennett (I think) mentioning Garcia.  He has got to be one of the smallest catchers in pro ball.  I can't imiagine a guy that small staying at catcher.  He runs well.  Even though he hasn't shown much power in the stats, I caught him at the right time as he drove an outside pitch over the right fielder.  It was impressive. 

Altuve stole two bases.  He doesn't have blazing speed, but is fast and gets good jumps.

Goebbert looked good at the plate and in left.

Mier looks less overmatched, than just in a funk.  I have seen two games on video and in both games he has shown visible signs of frustration.  This game, he hit a fly to right with a runner on third and no outs.  Looked deep enough for a sacrifice, but the runner stayed put.  Mier showed some visible displeasure after he realized the runner stood still.

 Altuve is more quick than fast if that makes any sense.  That shows up more in the field than on the bases.  Good first step in both.

Mier- that was my observation when I saw him live in May.  Maybe dealing with not being successful for the first time.

Garcia - is a small catcher, he has a very strong arm.  My understanding is that he had never caught before being drafted. 

[Duman]

J. Meyer gives the low down on learning how to do laundry by cell phone,

After dumping his laundry into the washing machine with the darks and whites mixed together, Meyer sent a text message to his mom asking what temperature of water to use.

Angela Meyer told her son to do the loads separately in the future, but advised using the coldest water possible for the mix.

Puzzled by which dial that meant to turn, Jonathan took a picture of the machine’s settings and sent it to his mom.

how ADD & Dyslexia helped him decide between college and pros

Although he occasionally wonders what he’s missing in college, Meyer is glad he chose to immediately start his pro career.

“I was never really into school. I have ADHD and dyslexia, and when I was younger, my mom kept me on top of it. I would use ‘Hooked on Phonics’ and Sylvan, but I could never pay attention,” Meyer said. “But when it comes to baseball, I can get completely focused.”

and how awful Greeneville is.

He lived at a Days Inn in Greeneville, and his room didn’t have a refrigerator or microwave.

He had to eat every meal out, and the only place open after home games was Applebee’s.

One night, Meyer arrived back to his hotel and saw six police cars in the parking lot.

“Somebody got shot and died on the floor below us,” Meyer said. “It was bad. There were like drug dealers and everything going on around there.”

Granted the Days Inn G'ville is not the General Morgan Inn but it is better than the apartments they used to put the guys in.

[Navin R Johnson]

Really interesting article, thanks for posting.    One thing that stands out, nutrition.

"He had to eat every meal out, and the only place open after home games was Applebee’s."

That seems crazy.   You are investing millions of dollars in kids and you are letting them eat fat food every night?

[Greg M]

Thanks for the read.  Always enjoy hearing about real life events with prospects.

[S.P. Rodriguez]

Really interesting article, thanks for posting.    One thing that stands out, nutrition.

"He had to eat every meal out, and the only place open after home games was Applebee’s."

That seems crazy.   You are investing millions of dollars in kids and you are letting them eat fat food every night?

Right there with you on that one.  But then, having seen what Pence ate at the Pancake House in San Diego, I'm not certain I have a good frame of reference, in any way.

[Matt]

Altuve is more quick than fast if that makes any sense.  That shows up more in the field than on the bases.  Good first step in both.

How does Altuve project in the future? The guy seems to keep trucking along putting up numbers despite being only 5'5". Do you think it'll eventually catch up with him or is he a special case?

[Duman]

Really interesting article, thanks for posting.    One thing that stands out, nutrition.

"He had to eat every meal out, and the only place open after home games was Applebee’s."

That seems crazy.   You are investing millions of dollars in kids and you are letting them eat fat food every night?

Greeneville is a small town of 16,000 people.  Options are few.  Your late night options are as follows Applebee'e (where the wait staff is young and they have 1/2 price deals late), Waffle House, fast food drive thru's or Tiptons Diner (local GREASY spoon.  You walk buy the place and you smell like bacon the rest of the day). 

Daytime there is a subway and two Mexican restaurants within walking distance of the hotel.  Plus many more eating establishments.  Players usually report to that park @ 2 for a 7:00 game.  They have a light spread in the clubhouse (PB & J and fruit).

All of the players I have talked to say the hotel does have microwaves and friges in the room.  One of the guys from this year was telling me about using a electric grill in his room to cook chicken & rice. This same guy also told me many of the guys don't know how to cook and therefore are eating out more.  The latin kids are more frugal and use hot plates to cook rice and beans. 

[Duman]

How does Altuve project in the future? The guy seems to keep trucking along putting up numbers despite being only 5'5". Do you think it'll eventually catch up with him or is he a special case?

He will have to keep exceeding expectations.  He is really a nice kid and that makes it easy to pull for him. 

[Matt]

He will have to keep exceeding expectations.  He is really a nice kid and that makes it easy to pull for him. 

Yeah he's definitely a fun story to follow.

[OregonStrosFan]

One night, Meyer arrived back to his hotel and saw six police cars in the parking lot.

“Somebody got shot and died on the floor below us,” Meyer said. “It was bad. There were like drug dealers and everything going on around there.”

Don't know what the big deal is here. Not like some dude is going to pull a gun on a bunch of minor leaguers and hold them hostage or anything. It'd never happen. The Astros know this.