Royals pitching prospect Luke Hochevar may get called up to start Sunday after the Royals placed starter John Bale on the 15-day DL to recover from a “dead arm”. He may be a good spot-start option for fantasy owners, as he is pitching very well at Triple-A Omaha with 12 strikeouts in 17.1 innings and a 2.60 ERA in three starts and is regarded as one of the top prospects in the minors. If Hochevar pitches well and Bale is out for longer than expected he could be a great long term roster addition as well.
Archive for the ‘Luke Hochevar’ Category
Cup of Coffee Brewing for Luke Hochevar
Friday, April 18th, 2008Player Cuts: Luke Hochevar
Tuesday, March 25th, 2008Former top overall draft pick Luke Hochevar was optioned to Triple-A Omaha yesterday. The Royals SP had been impressive this spring, and was threating to make the starting rotation. Manager Trey Hillman had this to say:
“The bottom line is where he’s at right now and where we’re at right now, that’s the best thing for him and the best thing for us. He had a great camp and we told him that. He just simply stated that he was going to work as hard as he can and get to the Major League club as soon as he could.”
Personally, I don’t really understand this move. Hochevar is 24, so he’s not exactly a baby, and he put together one of the best springs of any Royals pitcher. The Royals still have no clue how they are going to fill their #4 and #5 spots in the rotation, and appear to be content with the idea of letting the likes of Brett Tomko occupy the bottom of their rotation. While this move clearly hurts Hochevar’s potential sleeper status in 2008, he could still get the call-up and be effective later on in the season.
AL Roundup: Moore, Perez, Blackburn, Hochevar, Parra
Thursday, March 6th, 2008Around the Grapefruit league:
- Roch Kubatko of the Baltimore Sun reports that Scott Moore, the 8th overall pick in the 2002 draft, has been working at third base, first base, left field, and even gotten some time at second. Combining his utility on defense with a .571 BA and 4 RBI this spring is giving the 24-year-old a good shot at making the Orioles’ 25-man roster.
- Interesting background on speedy, switch-hitting Rays prospect Fernando Perez. Joe Smith of the St. Petersburg Times seems to think that Perez, who has hit over .300 in his past two seasons of class A ball, could start the year in Triple-A.
- Twins prospect Nick Blackburn only needed one inning of work to impress manager Ron Gardenhire on Wednesday, retiring the side in the fourth inning while striking out two. It’s a good thing he did, because the Twins’ skipper has a lot of pitching to choose from.
From the Cactus League:
- 2005 No. 1 overall draft pick Luke Hochevar has been impressive in Royals camp, retiring 11 of 12 in two two-inning appearances. This bodes well for his chances to make the club, although manager Trey Hillman has indicated that Hochevar may not be a candidate for the starting rotation.
- Manny Parra threw 3 scoreless innings with 4 strikeouts Wednesday, furthering his case for a spot in the Brewers’ rotation.
Daily Pepper: Kershaw, Kuroda, Price, Hochevar & More
Tuesday, March 4th, 2008- Great day for the Dodgers’ prospects today. In a heated competition for 3B with Nomar, Andy LaRoche stepped things up today. He hit a solo home run in the 2nd inning. He finished 2-4 on the day, and is now batting .385 this spring.
- In the same game, top prospect Clayton Kershaw saw his first action with mixed results. He allowed a HR to Luis Jimenez and loaded the bases on two cheap hits and a HBP. But he then buckled down and proceeded to strike out the side. No surprise with the stuff he has. He probably won’t be up this year, but when he does look out. Future ace on any staff.
- Rookie import Hideki Kuroda pitched two scoreless innings today as well. He has impressed everyone in the Dodger camp with his pitching and especially his toughness, according to this great piece on Kuroda by Ken Rosenthal.
- David Price’s scheduled start was canceled today, but it wasn’t because of his shoulder. It was because of bad weather. We’ll definitely have to watch his start on Saturday to see how he responds to the shoulder that was bothering him.
- Royals RHP Luke Hochevar pitched another 2 scoreless innings today. He gave up 1 H and struck out 2. He has yet to give up a run this spring, and should definitely be on your radar as a fantasy sleeper in 2008.
- Astros backstop prospect J.R. Towles went a long way today towards putting a nail in the coffin on the starting job. He hit a bomb, two doubles, and had 4 RBI on the day. Definitely a sleeper at the shallow C position in fantasy drafts this year.
New Feature: Daily Pepper
Wednesday, February 27th, 2008This post marks our new feature, the “Daily Pepper”. In this feature, we will quickly cover a handful of prospects under one post. Pepper is that game we all used to play as a pre-game warm up: One person hits quick grounders and liners to a group of fielders standing close by, who then promptly throw the ball back to the hitter, who then hits it back to the fielders… It’s pretty much the same thing right?
- The Royals’ Luke Hochevar faced six hitters and got six outs, without the ball ever leaving the infield. Great start to his Spring.
- Giants’ OF John Bowker is trying to parlay his great season at Double-A last year into a strong Spring showing, and potentially a big league gig.
- Cubs’ catching prospect Josh Donaldson has the skills to be a big league catcher, and he thinks his unusual training regimen has something to do with it. It looks like Geovany Soto might be blocking that position for a while though.
- A couple of the Yankees’ top pitching prospects are having trouble keeping up with old man Andy Pettitte. Ian Kennedy, Joba Chamberlain and Philip Hughes are all training with the veteran, and already seeing the effects.
- A first-round draft pick in 2003, the Royals’ Chris Lubanski is opening some eyes at camp. He’s still only 22…
Hochevar Fighting for No. 5 Starter Spot
Tuesday, February 26th, 2008As Dick Kaegel of MLB.com reports, former #1 overall pick Luke Hochevar is in the running for the Royals’ starting rotation. BaseballAmerica has Hochevar ranked as the 63rd top prospect in 2008. But as Kaegel mentions, Hochevar has quite a battle on his hands:
“His performance, because he has had no Major League experience, would have to be above and beyond anyone else’s who has already had the experience of being able to do that,” manager Trey Hillman said.
If he doesn’t make the rotation, the Royals would consider him for the pen. Regardless, Hochevar is a long ways from being fantasy relevant any time soon.
