Volquez is a hard thrower who has been highly regarded for some time but who hasn’t been able to translate his stuff into results in limited chances at the big-league level. Ranked #3 among Rangers prospects by Baseball America coming into 2007, Volquez owns a 7.20 ERA in 80 innings with Texas over parts of the past three seasons. His chief problems have been giving up way too many hits, walks, and home runs. Ouch.

Volquez’ minor-league numbers have been fantastic, including a 2.67 ERA and 10.26 K/9 in 172 innings at Triple-A over the past two seasons. From the Baseball America 2007 Prospect Handbook (aff link):

If he can refine his curve and command, Volquez can earn a rotation spot in the spring and eventually emerge as a frontline starter. If he can’t, he soon could find himself in the bullpen.

We’ve discussed Cincy’s need for help in the rotation, and if Volquez can meet earlier projections, then this could work out well for the Reds. However, if he ends up in the bullpen, they may regret having given up a player of Hamilton’s caliber to get him. Not that Hamilton comes without risk, but at least he’s accomplished something at the big-league level.

Herrera is a 5′7″ reliever who works in the low-80s but who features a devastating changeup. Despite a lack of overpowering stuff, he’s succeeded everywhere he’s been to this point, including Double-A for most of ‘07.

Maybe this will work out for the Reds, but I think they gave up too much.

Other Voices

• Baseball Musings
• Baseball America
• Lone Star Ball

Post from: Knuckle Curve

You know the drill by now. The question before the court is, Who would get your vote for NL Rookie of the Year and why?

In my mind, this is a two-man race between Milwaukee “third baseman” Ryan Braun and Colorado shortstop Troy Tulowitzki. Guys like Hunter Pence and Josh Hamilton would have merited serious consideration had they remained healthy all season. Actually, you could make a strong case for Pence anyway.

Similarly, right-handers Yovani Gallardo and Tim Lincecum might have been part of the conversation if they’d been called up a little sooner. Micah Owings? The crazy thing about him is that he adds value as a pitcher and as a hitter.

And then there’s Owings’ teammate, Chris Young. He’ll get some consideration for the 32 homers and 27 stolen bases — very sexy. Young might have as promising a future as anyone among the current crop of rookies, but that .295 OBP is tough to ignore.

So. I ask again: Who do you like, and why?

Post from: Knuckle Curve

• Chicago White Sox – These guys won the World Series in 2005 and 90 games last year; now they’ve fallen behind perennial cellar dweller Kansas City in the AL Central and are fighting the Devil Rays for worst record in all of baseball. White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen has taken to critiquing Miguel Cabrera’s physique (Cabrera, it should be noted, doesn’t play for Guillen’s team) and accusing his players of mass murder. Really, who could have seen this coming?
• Houston Astros – This is the team that lost to the White Sox in the ‘05 World Series. At least Guillen and his boss, Kenny Williams, have survived the season. Phil Garner and Tim Purpura weren’t so lucky. The Astros won just 82 games last year, so their fall hasn’t been quite as precipitous as that of the White Sox, but still, this is a franchise that has grown accustomed to winning. I’m not sure that anyone expected Houston to be a serious playoff contender, but I’m also not sure they expected to see the Astros struggling to stay ahead of Pittsburgh in the NL Central.
• Washington Nationals – Yeah, they’re on pace to lose 89 games, but several experts thought the Nats would threaten the ‘62 New York Mets all-time record of 120 losses in a season. The team is unbelievably anonymous outside of Ryan Zimmerman and maybe Chad Cordero. But Manny Acta has gotten a terrific performance from a resurgent Dmitri Young, and his young pitching staff has shown improvement in the second half of the season. I don’t think most pundits had this team coming anywhere near 70 wins; that a team with such a lack of identifiable talent should remain reasonably competitive into September (or at least as competitive as a certain team from San Francisco that shelled out $126 million for a mid-rotation starter) is enough to get Acta consideration for Manager of the Year in my book.
• Magglio Ordonez – He’s having a career year at age 33. After a brilliant run from 2000 to 2003, Ordonez saw his game deteriorate due to injuries. He signed a big contract with Detroit that smelled “like summer armpits” and got into just 82 games in his first season with the Tigers. Last year Ordonez remained healthy but didn’t perform at his previous levels. No surprise, really; the guy was 32 years old and coming off two injury-marred seasons. So the natural next step is, what, MVP candidate? Go figure.
• Carlos Pena – We’ve already talked about him. Pena is up to 37 homers with 22 games remaining. He has an outside shot to finish the season with more home runs than he hit in the big leagues from 2004 to 2006 combined (46). I would say that Pena just needed the opportunity, but he’d had plenty of ‘em and done nothing to suggest that this was possible.
• Jack Cust – Fun story. The former first-round pick had sipped cups of coffee in Arizona, Colorado, Baltimore, and San Diego before finding himself in Oakland. Again. Cust actually spent the 2005 season playing for Oakland’s Triple-A affiliate but at age 26, never reached the big leagues that year. This season, when Mike Piazza landed on the DL, the A’s needed a guy with Cust’s skills — the ability to mash a baseball — and acquired him from the Padres for next to nothing. Cust, whose defensive shortcomings make him a liability in the National League, responded to the opportunity and became Oakland’s most productive player.
• Fausto Carmona – Nothing says “Cy Young candidate” like a 1-10 record and 5.42 ERA. That’s what Carmona did in 2006 at age 22, and now he is one of the best starting pitchers in the American League. His strikeout totals are a tad low, but with the number of ground balls he serves up, it may not matter.
• Josh Hamilton – Taken as a Rule V pick this winter despite having played just 15 games over the previous three seasons, Hamilton stuck with the big club in Cincinnati and is hitting .288/.367/.547 for the Reds in just over 300 plate appearances. The kid still has work to do, but given where he’s been and how far the former #1 pick overall has come to get back to this point in his career, I have a feeling that won’t be a problem.
• Rick Ankiel – Brian Gunn has written a nice article about Ankiel’s success over at Hardball Times (disclosure: I contribute to THT). The Ankiel story truly is amazing. As Brian wrote when Ankiel converted to the outfield, “It’s best to consider Rick Ankiel retired from baseball.” It was very difficult, at the time, to imagine any other outcome. Unless, of course, you were Ankiel, in which case you went out and did the impossible.

That’s the great thing about baseball. No matter what you might have seen, you can be sure you haven’t seen it all…

Post from: Knuckle Curve

Pena, in case you missed it, ranks second in the American League with 33 homers through September 1. This is a guy who hit 23 home runs all last year at Triple-A (plus one with the Red Sox). Hot prospect? Well, yeah, like in 2000 and 2001. Pena had his shot with the Tigers, did okay before fading away, and now has come back with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

Somewhere along the line, Pena turned into an unstoppable power source. That’s not supposed to happen at age 29. Not without at least some indication that it’s coming, anyway…

Post from: Knuckle Curve

Hamilton is a Rule V pick. I expect most Rule V draftees don’t get that kind of reception in their first at-bat.

Post from: Knuckle Curve