The Giants are beginning to groom prospect John Bowker at first base, according to Andrew Baggarly of Medianews. After Bowker’s torrid start to his major league career, the organization is employing the services of Ex-Giant J.T. Snow to teach him the finer points of the position in hopes that he will stay in the every day lineup. Bowker got his first major league experience at the position on Wednesday when he was shifted to first base in the ninth inning after starting the game in right field.
Archive for the ‘OF’ Category
John Bowker Is Learning First Base
Wednesday, April 16th, 2008Giants’ Bowker Has Stellar Debut, Bocock Getting Comfortable at SS
Monday, April 14th, 2008- Rick Eymer of MLB.com reports that John Bowker made his first appearance in the big leagues on Saturday and became the 8th player in Giants history to hit a home run in his major league debut. Bowker had 4 RBIs and another home run in his second game the next day as the Giants went on to beat the Cardinals 7-4. Pretty impressive stuff, and needless to say, the Giants’ lineup could use a little power boost.
- Brian Bocock has been a solid replacement at shortstop for the injured Omar Vizquel, although his performance at the plate has left something to be desired (.200 with 2 RBIs). Still, he’s played every inning of every game so far this season. Bocock attributes some of his struggles to simply not being familiar with the pitchers he’s faced, so he’s been spending a lot of time watching film of the pitchers he will be facing in upcoming games, writes Chris Haft.
Marlins’ Volstad and Maybin Make Good Impressions
Friday, April 11th, 2008- Marlins pitching prospect Chris Volstad had a great start on Wednesday, giving up one run on five hits in six innings. He is now 2-0 with a 2.25 ERA in Double-A Carolina. The 6-foot-7 right hander has a great chance at being fantasy-significant if he keeps pitching well, as the Marlins have already brought up Burke Badenhop from Double-A this year to replace the struggling Rick VandenHurk, and wouldn’t be afraid to promote another young pitcher if necessary. According to Joe Frisaro of MLB.com, Volstad’s experience in Double-A last has made him slightly ahead of other pitching prospects in the Marlins organization.
- The Marlin’s center fielder of the future, Cameron Maybin, is off to a fast start in Double-A Carolina. He’s batting .474 (9-for-19) with two homers and seven walks. Marlins president of baseball operations Larry Beinfest says:
“It’s great. It’s good for his confidence,” Beinfest said. “Spring Training was a little rough for him. Not being on field the whole time, and then he struggled a little bit at the end. It’s good for him to get off to a good start. He just needs to work on getting the experience and getting ready.”
Braves’ Schafer Suspended for HGH Use
Wednesday, April 9th, 2008Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com reports that Braves center field prospect Jordan Schafer has been suspended for 50 games for using human growth hormone. Schafer is ranked the 27th and 25th best minor league prospect by Keith Law and Baseball America, respectively. Crasnick writes that the 21-year-old was considered by some to be a possible replacement for Mark Kotsay by the second half of the season. Schafer hit .312 in High-A ball last year with 176 hits (1st in minor leagues) and 49 doubles (3rd).
Badenhop Called Up, Maybin Staying Down
Tuesday, April 8th, 2008- John Frisaro of MLB.com reports that Marlins pitching prospect Burke Badenhop, acquired from the Tigers in the Miguel Cabrera/Dontrelle Willis trade, will join the big league club today and will get the start on Friday or Sunday. This will be the 25-year-old’s first major league appearance. He was impressive throughout spring training and was the opening day starter for Double-A Carolina, going 6 1/3 innings with 3 strikeouts, no walks, and 1 unearned run on 6 hits. The Marlins now have two pitchers acquired in the Tigers trade in their rotation. (In related news, Detroit has yet to win a game this season.)
- Despite injuries to outfielders, the Marlins are still not considering bringing up Cameron Maybin until they believe he is ready.
Gomez Impresses in Debut
Wednesday, April 2nd, 2008It looks like Twins new starting CF Carlos Gomez isn’t have any more problems with his hamstring. It was reported that manager Ron Gardenhire was miffed with Gomez for his reluctance to take it easy after experiencing tightness in his hamstring. Gomez told fellow outfielder Michael Cuddyer that his leg was getting stiff. Cuddyer promptly told Gomez to take himself out of the game. Gomez refused and in the next inning was unable to run down a ball hit to deep center. Gardenhire quickly pulled Gomez as a precaution against further injury. Apparently Gomez attributes his leg stiffness to having too little body fat, and really doesn’t see it as a big deal.
After his performance in Minnesota’s home opener, Gomez proved he was right. Gomez impressed everyone by going 2-3 with a walk, 2 stolen-bases and 2 runs scored. In what was supposed to be a night about Torii Hunter returning to Minnesota, most fans walked away talking about the new Twins CF.
Reds Opening Day Roster Taking Shape
Saturday, March 29th, 2008Kind of a funny piece today from Reds beat writer John Fay. He shows his projected lineup and rotation from two months ago, on February 5th. He had 1B Joey Votto batting lead off, and starting CF Jay Bruce batting in the 7 spot. Of course we know now that Bruce has been optioned to Triple-A and Cincinnati’s new CF is Corey Patterson, who wasn’t even on the Reds on February 5th. Fay is still projecting Votto in the starting lineup, but batting 8th in the lineup instead of lead off.
Fay didn’t fair quite as well with his projected starting rotation. After the obvious first two in Harang and Arroyo, he had Matt Belisle, Jeremy Affeldt, and Homer Bailey. Fay missed on all three. Today the 3-5 spots in the rotation are expected to be occupied by Johnny Cueto, Josh Fogg, and Edinson Volquez. All of the Reds top prospects are definite fantasy sleepers this year.
Jurrjens Makes Roster, Heyward Gets a Shot
Friday, March 28th, 2008- Rookie pitcher Jair Jurrjens found out that he will start Wednesday, game 3 of the regular season. He’s stoked. So might fantasy owners be if this kid can turn a great spring into a solid rookie season.
- 18-year-old Jason Heyward dressed for the Braves’ final Grapefruit League game against the Mets, and replaced Jeff Francoeur in left field in the 4th. He struck out in a 6th inning at-bat. The 14th pick in the 2007 draft, the Braves have high hopes for this young talent. Keep an eye out for him in the next couple years.
Prospect Watch: Josh Anderson
Wednesday, March 26th, 2008Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports that prospect Josh Anderson is still competing for the Braves final outfield position. Manager Bobby Cox has until Saturday to make a decision between Anderson and Gregor Blanco. Anderson hit .283 in 25 games while Blanco hit .400 with a .542 OBP. Both players are lefties with strong defense, however Anderson is a better stolen-base threat, having only been caught 8 times in 48 attempts last year.
