Archive for the ‘3B’ Category
Sunday, April 20th, 2008
ESPN.com reports that the Tampa Bay Rays’ 3B Evan Longoria agreed to a 6 year, $17.5 million dollar contract that could be worth as much as $44 million over 9 seasons. Pretty good for a kid who has only played 6 major league games. I’m not saying I disagree with locking him up for the future, but that’s setting quite a precedent for young talent. This could significantly affect contract negotiation for talented prospects in the future.
The Rays have become trend-setters with contract negotiation recently. They have agents throughout the industry upset about their new policy of tacking a few one-year club options on the end the guaranteed term. This is essentially a win-win situation for the club; if the player develops as expected they buy out a few years of arbitration and free agency on the cheap, or if the player falters they simply let the options expire. On the flip side, the young prospect gets the security these types of deals provide.
Tags: Evan Longoria, MLB Prospect News, Rays Prospects
Posted in 3B, Evan Longoria, MLBPN Top Prospects, Rays Prospects, Top 5 Prospects | No Comments »
Saturday, April 12th, 2008
Tampa Bay Rays prospect Evan Longoria will make his Major League debut today against the Baltimore Orioles. Opportunity knocked for Longoria when Willy Aybar was placed on the disabled list Friday after missing his second straight game with a sore left hamstring. Time to pick him up in fantasy leagues if he’s available because of the tremendous upside; if he plays well enough during this stint he could keep the job for good.
Tags: baseball prospects, Evan Longoria, Fantasy Sleepers, MLB Prospect News
Posted in 2008 Fantasy Draft Sleepers, 3B, Evan Longoria, Rays Prospects | No Comments »
Tuesday, April 1st, 2008
Fox Sports columnist Ken Rosenthal writes that while many fans may be shocked that the Rays demoted Evan Longoria to Class AAA even after posting a 1.002 OPS this spring, it may turn out for the better. The Rays say they want to give Longoria a little more time to develop, a strategy that every fantasy owner can agree worked well with the Brewers and last season’s ROY Ryan Braun. So, rather than starting Longoria in the Majors with the possibility of him having an Alex Gordon-like slow start, the Rays will keep Longoria in the minors for at least three weeks to make sure he is ready (which he is) and more importantly to ensure that they get an extra year out of him before he becomes a free agent. Keep an eye on him if he’s available on your waiver wire.
Tags: Fantasy Sleepers, MLB Prospect News, MLB Sleepers
Posted in 2008 Fantasy Draft Sleepers, 3B, Evan Longoria, Rays Prospects | No Comments »
Monday, March 31st, 2008
Orioles manager Dave Trembly made a last minute decision to cut Jay Gibbons in favor of placing prospect Scott Moore on the roster. The Orioles are still responsible for two seasons and close to $12 million for Gibbons. Moore batted .333 this spring in 39 at-bats with 1 HR and 5 RBIs. Moore is listed as a backup 1B but can also play at 3B.
Tags: MLB Prospect News
Posted in 1B, 3B, Orioles Prospects, Scott Moore | No Comments »
Tuesday, March 25th, 2008
Corey Brock of MLB.com reports that the Padres optioned Chase Headley to Triple-A Portland. Headley hit .349 in 43 at-bats this spring and lead the team with 4 home runs and 14 RBIs. Headley has been sent down to work on his defense. Meanwhile, the Padres don’t have to submit their 25-man roster until March 30th. One prospect left is Callix Crabbe and it appears that the utilityman has a good chance of making the team. Crabbe can play every spot in the outfield and every spot in the infield except 1B. His chances of making the team are only improved by the fact that Jim Edmonds is on the DL.
Tags: Callix Crabbe, Chase Headley, MLB Prospect, Padres
Posted in 2008 Fantasy Draft Sleepers, 3B, Callix Crabbe, Chase Headley, MLBPN Top Prospects, OF, Padres Prospects, SS | No Comments »
Monday, March 24th, 2008
Tags: Carlos Triunfel, Jeff Clement, Mariners, MLB Prospects, Wladimir Balentien
Posted in 3B, C, Carlos Triunfel, Jeff Clement, MLBPN Top Prospects, Mariners Prospects, OF, SS, Wladimir Balentien | No Comments »
Monday, March 24th, 2008
A few notes of interest from ESPN legend Peter Gammons latest chat:
- From the sound of things, Gammons thinks Clayton Kershaw is certain to be a factor for the Dodgers this year. Their main concern is limiting his inning early so he finishes in the 150-160 IP range.
- Tigers manager Jim Leyland thinks Detroit’s first pick in the 2007 Draft, Rick Porcello, will be with the big league club some time this season.
- Gammons also notes that players like Porcello, the Yankees Austin Jackson, Andrew Brackman, and Ian Kennedy, the Red Sox Lars Anderson, Ryan Kalish, Anthony Rizzo, David Mailman, and Will Middlebrooks, will have a serious impact on this year’s draft. Of course these players are all now top prospects who were drafted way above slot in later rounds.
- Picking player comparables is always tricky business, but Gammons thinks the best comparable he’s heard for Yankees SP Ian Kennedy is the Blue Jays SP Shaun Marcum.
Tags: Andrew Brackman, Anthony Rizzo, Austin Jackson, Clayton Kershaw, David Mailman, Dodgers, Ian Kennedy, Lars Anderson, MLB Prospects, Red Sox, Rick Porcello, Ryan Kalish, Tigers, Will Middlebrooks, Yankees
Posted in 1B, 2008 Fantasy Draft Sleepers, 2B, 3B, Andrew Brackman, Anthony Rizzo, Austin Jackson, Clayton Kershaw, David Mailman, Dodgers Prospects, Ian Kennedy, Lars Anderson, MLBPN Top Prospects, OF, P, RP, Red Sox Prospects, Rick Porcello, Ryan Kalish, SP, Tigers Prospects, Top 5 Prospects, Will Middlebrooks, Yankees Prospects | No Comments »
Monday, March 24th, 2008
UPDATE (8:03 PM EST): Giants MI Kevin Frandsen ruptured his Achilles tendon today, likely ending his season. While Eugenio Velez was already going to make the roster, this certainly opens the door for more playing time with the Giants this year. Move Velez up a few notches on your 2008 fantasy sleeper list.
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The Giants’ Eugenio Velez has had an exciting spring, raking at the plate and leading the league in steals (13), although he’s had a balky glove at second and third at times. While manager Bruce Bochy has made it clear there are no guarantees that Velez will make the 25-man roster, general manager Brian Sabean has indicated that he would, as Andrew Baggarly reports. Still, the Giants are short on infield options. If Velez can get his defense on track, he might see significant playing time, and could rack up some steals for fantasy owners in deep leagues. Keep an eye out.
Tags: Eugenio Velez, Giants Prospects, MLB Prospects
Posted in 2B, 3B, Eugenio Velez, Giants Prospects | No Comments »
Monday, March 24th, 2008
We’ve been anticipating it for a while now, but still holding out hope that the Rays wouldn’t do it. The Rays informed Evan Longoria that they were reassigning him to minor league camp after the Rays game on Monday. Longoria said that he was “a little bit let down” by the decision, and that the Rays did not give him any kind of timetable for his return to the show.
The Rays pointed to the fact that Longoria has only had 104 ABs above the Double-A level. They say they want to avoid a situation similar to how the Alex Gordon call-up played out last year. Really, though, it all comes down to the economics. If Longoria stays in the minors for even a few weeks, the Rays can delay his free agency until after 2014. If they wait a few months to call him up, similar to Ryan Braun’s situation last year, then they can avoid Longoria qualifying for Super-Two early arbitration eligibility. While there’s no question about whether Longoria can succeed in the majors, it becomes a question of whether or not the Rays can succeed this season even with Longoria for a full season. In the stacked AL East, not many people think the vastly improved Rays can compete in 2008-2009, with or without Longoria. If the Rays are targeting next year or the year after as the year they start to compete, why not delay the arbitration clock on Longoria as much as possible. In short, while any true baseball fan would love to see what this kid could do this with a fulls eason, this move made all the sense in the world for the Rays.
Tags: Evan Longoria, MLB Prospects, Rays
Posted in 2008 Fantasy Draft Sleepers, 3B, Evan Longoria, MLBPN Top Prospects, Rays Prospects, Top 5 Prospects | No Comments »
Thursday, March 20th, 2008
Nick Adenhart has a chance to make the pitching rotation because of holes opened by injuries to John Lackey and Kelvim Escobar. Lackey and Escobar will probably be out until early to mid-May due to a tricep/elbow and shoulder injury respectively. Adenhart has made 65 appearances in the Minors over 3 seasons and is 28-15 with a 3.11 ERA. Referring to his youth and lack of experience, manager Mike Scioscia said:
“If we feel he’s ready he’s going to be a candidate. At times a young talent outplays experience. We’ve seen it with a lot of our young players.”
Brandon Wood appears to have found his stroke. He blasted a two-run homer and had a deep double in the Angels’ victory against the Cubs last week. Coming into the game he only had two hits, both homers, in 28 at-bats. The two hits brings his spring avg up to .125. Wood is still a decent backup to Chone Figgins at 3B.
Tags: MLB Prospect News
Posted in 2008 Fantasy Draft Sleepers, 3B, Angels Prospects, Brandon Wood, Nick Adenhart, SP | No Comments »
