Headed to Houston

Tejada is coming off a .296/.357/.442 campaign, which is low by his standards but still pretty darned good. The downside is that he turns 32 in May and, thanks to that whole consecutive-games streak thing, has a lot of wear-and-tear on his 5′10″, 170-lb frame. Also, the Astros have an otherworldly defender at short in Adam Everett, so if Tejada moves to third base, how will that affect his value? For a guy that’s due $26 million over the next two seasons, those are a lot of questions. Then again, no-one is out of contention in the NL Central, so why not take a shot…

Headed to Baltimore

Scott is a solid fourth-outfield type who might be capable of a full-time gig. He’s a left-handed batter with a nice mix of power and plate discipline — think Brad Wilkerson.

Albers, a right-hander, had a horrendous (4-11, 5.86 ERA) rookie campaign with the Astros. He was hittable, had a poor strikeout-to-walk ratio, and gave up too many homers. Coming into 2007, Baseball America had rated Albers as Houston’s #3 prospect, so maybe he just needs to make some adjustments at the big-league level.

Patton, a left-hander, was the Astros’ #2 prospect according to BA, which projected him as a potential front-end guy. Patton posted decent numbers at Double- and Triple-A in 2007, although the strikeout rate (5.53) could have been higher.

Sarfate, a right-hander, has spent his entire career in the Milwaukee organization. Prior to ‘07, BA had him ranked as the Brewers’ #22 prospect. Previously a starter, Sarfate moved to the ‘pen last year, with mixed results at Triple-A Nashville. He struck out a lot of batters, but also walked a lot. The Astros acquired Sarfate from Milwaukee in a September deal for the ever-popular “cash considerations.”

Costanzo is a left-handed hitting third baseman with loads of power and questionable ability to make contact. Not quite as whifftastic as Russell Branyan; more like Dallas McPherson.

There aren’t really any impact players in this bunch. Scott is a decent player, chances are that one of Patton or Albers will pan out, Costanzo is intriguing, and Sarfate is roster fill (on the bright side, he is cheaper than Danys Baez).

I know Tejada is expensive and entering the decline phase of his career, but I’m not sure the Orioles got enough in terms of quality. It’s like the kid who trades his dollar bill for two quarters because two is more than one, two quarters for three dimes… Eventually he has five cents in his pocket.

Other Voices

• Mr. Irrelevant
• Oriole Post
• Baseball Musings

Post from: Knuckle Curve

Cameron Maybin and Evan Longoria at the top should come as no surprise. Several others make sense as well. One name I didn’t expect to see near the top was Matt LaPorta.

I understand that LaPorta has jaw-dropping power, but weren’t there questions about his defense? And now he’s playing the outfield because Prince Fielder is at first base in Milwaukee? Seriously, if there’s one thing the Brewers need right now, it’s another guy who can’t field his position…

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Hey, they’ve found some. Woo-hoo!

Brian Bennett, a reporter for the Louisville Courier-Journal, was ejected from the press box in the fifth inning of the University of Louisville’s game on Sunday for liveblogging the event (hat tips to reader Didi and Baseball America.) Apparently this is within the NCAA’s right, or at least they think it is, which has some frightening implications.

It concerns me that the NCAA feels the need to control the reporting of facts (to say nothing of the thought that they might have the right to do so). Certainly there’s a lot of money at stake, but I’m not sure that suppressing facts is the best way to protect the NCAA’s investment. And I always get a little nervous when large entities try to control the media. Even if it’s innocuous, it gives off a foul odor.

In the end, who does this help? Bennett and the Courier-Journal will get added exposure for their products and services, the NCAA will look like manipulative bullies, and bloggers will continue to report the facts from the press box or the comfort of their own homes. I fail to see how any of this serves the NCAA and its investors, advertisers, customers, etc.

Then again, I haven’t been in college for a very long time…

Post from: Knuckle Curve

First off, props to ESPN2 for some fine draft coverage. After the obligatory montage intro, I feared the worst — “If we add more bling, then baseball will be even more fun” — but I came away impressed. The commentators kept up with the fast pace of the draft, and limited the amount of fluff.

For anyone who thinks that the MLB draft isn’t a big enough deal to be televised, remember that when fantasy baseball first arrived in the early-’80s, baseball wanted no part of it. Now that fantasy has proven to be a fan magnet and money maker, MLB is all over it. (Maybe a little too much, but that’s another story.)

Same with the draft. This is only going to get fans more involved in the game. Eventually the big wigs will figure out that publicizing the draft is more than a necessary evil and they’ll find a way to market it. Or to continue the fantasy baseball analogy, someone else will prove the concept and then MLB will pounce and assume control.

Either way, this was a big first step. Maybe only a small percentage of hardcore fans are into it right now, but keep putting it out there and pushing it, and the event will grow into an EVENT.

Meanwhile, here are some other resources you might want to check out to see how the first day of the draft went for your favorite team:

• Live Blogging the 2007 MLB Draft — The Baseball Analysts staff do a solid job as usual.
• Baseball America Draft Blog — The pioneers. BA continues to offer the best coverage of the MLB draft.
• Minor League Ball — John Sickels, another veteran prospect maven, does that thing he does.
• MLB Draft University — The folks at Most Valuable Network get in on the action.
• MLB.com — The Draft Tracker tool is invaluable; find players by round, name, position, team, school, and more.

Good stuff…

Post from: Knuckle Curve

Television

• ESPN2

Radio

• XM 189

Web

• Baseball America
• Baseball America Draft Blog
• Minor League Ball
• MLB.com

Post from: Knuckle Curve

Post from: Knuckle Curve

1. University of San Diego
2. Cal State Fullerton
3. Minnesota
4. Fresno State

California schools are well represented:

1. Long Beach State
2. UCLA
3. Pepperdine
4. Illinois-Chicago

1. Arizona State
2. UC Riverside
3. Nebraska
4. Monmouth

1. Texas
2. UC Irvine
3. Wake Forest
4. Brown

Aaron Fitt at Baseball America is blogging about the selections, and I’m sure he’ll be on top of the games as well once they start. Meanwhile, go Toreros!

Post from: Knuckle Curve

Start here

Ready for the draft? Of course you are. You and your buddies will be hunkering down with some chips, beverages, and a big-screen TV. You’ll be livin’ large on draft day.

Wait, that’s football.

Still, as we’ve noted before, the ‘07 draft will be televised. With that in mind, it’s good to know who some of these kids are so when your team makes its pick, you won’t be staring blankly into space like some staring-blankly-into-space thing.

Or worse, making up stuff to impress your buddies:

Oh yeah, this guy is freakin’ awesome. His fastball touches 127 mph and he’s got a wicked googly to go with it. Also, he once ate 56 hot dogs at a single sitting, delivered a baby on an airplane, then threw a no-hitter.

Uh, right. You don’t want to be that guy, so what you need to do is check out Baseball America’s Draft Blog. There you can get the latest on left-hander Ross Detweiler’s split fingernail, Joe Savery’s underwhelming performance against Memphis, and more.

The kid with the 127-mph? Sorry, he only exists in your buddy’s mind…

Post from: Knuckle Curve

I’ve had scouts come in and participate in our player-development discussions about who’s going to make a certain team and who’s not. I’ve had player development people go out and look at some of the top (amateur) prospects in Florida and other places. Part of communication is empathizing a little bit with the other side’s job. It’s so easy for a scout to criticize player development for making a bad decision, especially if it’s your player they’re letting go or your player they’ve changed his mechanics. Likewise it’s easy for a player development person to say, ‘Where are these players coming from? Why aren’t we getting better players?’

Luhnow seems to have a real good grasp on the dynamics of how a successful business gets things done. He should; he’s actually not a baseball guy, but a business guy who has come to baseball.

Fascinating read…

Post from: Knuckle Curve