{"id":8860,"date":"2014-05-05T09:01:45","date_gmt":"2014-05-05T13:01:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/?p=8860"},"modified":"2014-05-05T09:03:29","modified_gmt":"2014-05-05T13:03:29","slug":"minor-league-rotation-review-april-2014","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/?p=8860","title":{"rendered":"Minor League Rotation Review – April 2014"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Austin<\/a>

Austin Voth was great last year and has been good this year. Photo via mlbdirt<\/p><\/div>\n

We’re a month into the minor league season and nearly five turns through each minor league system rotation, so lets take a look to see how our starters are doing.<\/p>\n

As with the major league rotation review, I’ve assigned grade letters to roughly judge each start done by our minor league staff, and then i’ve tacked on their overall stats for context. \u00a0Note that I generally give grades to those that get the starts in games, as well as those who pitch “starter length” outings. \u00a0You’ll see this much more frequently in the low-A section, where Hagerstown clearly has a “two-starter” system going for many of its guys; one guy will throw 5 innings, then the next guy throws 4. \u00a0So nearly the entire Hagerstown roster is getting “starter grades” right now. \u00a0I should also caveat that this analysis is “scouting the box score” analysis; I’ve not had a chance to see any of these guys in person, so I can’t comment on the luck factor involved with anyone (stats versus ability) other than inference analysis between ERA and FIP.<\/p>\n

For each team I’ll list the current rotation as best as I can make it, then have a second section where we list the guys with spot-starts or who were in the rotation but are no longer (D\/L trips, promoted, demoted, etc). \u00a0Then we’ll discuss, and then list those guys who are pushing for promotions and those guys who are in jeopardy of getting demoted (or, worse, released).<\/p>\n

(Note: I wouldn’t be able to do this data tracking or this post without the great daily work by Luke Erickson<\/strong> at www.nationalsprospects.com<\/a>.)\u00a0 All stats here are as of 5\/2\/14, which means I grabbed one May start’s worth of stats for a couple of guys here and there.<\/p>\n

\n

AAA\/Syracuse<\/span>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/colgroup>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Pitcher<\/td>\nStart Trend Line<\/td>\nW\/L<\/td>\nERA<\/td>\nWhip<\/td>\nFIP<\/td>\nK\/BB Ratio<\/td>\n# of innings<\/td>\nApps\/Starts<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Roenicke<\/td>\nA (3ip),F,B<\/td>\n0-2<\/td>\n5.84<\/td>\n1.54<\/td>\n4.10<\/td>\n7\/7<\/td>\n12<\/td>\n5\/3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Tatusko<\/td>\nA\/short,B-,B+,A,B<\/td>\n1-3<\/td>\n2.36<\/td>\n0.83<\/td>\n3.87<\/td>\n15\/7<\/td>\n26.2<\/td>\n5\/5<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Treinen<\/td>\nA-> upandback,C\/short,B+<\/td>\n0-0<\/td>\n0.87<\/td>\n1.16<\/td>\n3.58<\/td>\n8\/5<\/td>\n10.1<\/td>\n3\/3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Hill<\/td>\nA,A+,C,A,C<\/td>\n3-1<\/td>\n2.35<\/td>\n0.91<\/td>\n3.68<\/td>\n29\/4<\/td>\n30.2<\/td>\n5\/5<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Poveda<\/td>\nF,F,A,F<\/td>\n1-3<\/td>\n9.82<\/td>\n2.07<\/td>\n5.13<\/td>\n12\/10<\/td>\n18.1<\/td>\n4\/4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/colgroup>\n\n\n\n
Laffey<\/td>\nA (took Treinen’s spot),A+,D+<\/td>\n2-0<\/td>\n1.80<\/td>\n0.67<\/td>\n1.92<\/td>\n14\/2<\/td>\n15<\/td>\n3\/1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Rosenbaum<\/td>\nD,A,C-,D\/inc (injury)->D\/L<\/td>\n1-1<\/td>\n4.50<\/td>\n1.35<\/td>\n4.18<\/td>\n9\/5<\/td>\n20<\/td>\n4\/4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Rotation Discussion<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

A month in and the Syracuse Chiefs are mired in last place (though to be fair, only 3 games separate the entire division<\/a>). \u00a0 Opening day starter\u00a0Danny Rosenbaum<\/strong>\u00a0is already on the D\/L with a possible torn UCL, possibly the latest in an epidemic of Tommy John surgeries throughout baseball (there’s been at least 14 MLB pitchers to go under the knife for this already in 2014 and quite a few more minor leaguers; I have a draft post on this topic coming). \u00a0His replacement in the rotation is journeyman and Ian Desmond-<\/strong>relative\u00a0Josh Roenicke<\/strong>, who has struggled in his spot-start duties. \u00a0However, Roenicke isn’t the least effective starter in AAA; that distinction goes to late spring training acquisition\u00a0Omar Poveda<\/strong>, who has gotten pretty well battered so far in his four starts. \u00a0One of these two guys likely is making way for recently demoted\u00a0Taylor Jordan<\/strong> (well, assuming Jordan even makes it to AAA anytime soon; Doug Fister<\/strong>‘s return is complicated by the Nats needing another starter in-between; Jordan likely is sitting in AAA limbo until tuesday 5\/6, then will settle into the AAA rotation).<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, we’re seeing excellent springs so far out of\u00a0Ryan Tatusko<\/strong>,\u00a0Blake Treinen<\/strong> (albeit in a SSS thanks to his being bounced up and down out of the Nats bullpen),\u00a0Aaron Laffey<\/strong> and especially\u00a0Taylor Hill. \u00a0<\/strong>Hill’s excellent 29\/4 K\/BB ratio stands out, as well as his sub 1.00 whip so far in 5 starts. \u00a0 I think its fair to say that nobody expected him to have rocketed up the system like he has, given the fact that he was a college senior draftee with limited bonus and limited leverage. \u00a0I think its also worth noting Tatusko’s production in a swing-man role; quite similarly to his trade-mate\u00a0Tanner Roark<\/strong>, he continues to produce at an advanced\/MLFA age … could he be another “found gold” pitcher in our upper farm system?<\/p>\n

We should also note that we have yet to see\u00a0Brad Meyers<\/strong>, who remains on the D\/L and has only thrown about 6 professional innings since 2011.<\/p>\n

Bullpen Notables<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Syracuse bullpen has seen plenty of traffic to and from the majors:\u00a0Aaron Barrett<\/strong>\u00a0started in the majors and has seen time in Syracuse. \u00a0Ryan Mattheus<\/strong> and\u00a0Xavier Cedeno<\/strong> have already both been up and back. \u00a0Nobody in the pen has much more than about 10 innings pitched, so we won’t make too many rash judgements. \u00a0So far\u00a0Christian Garcia<\/strong> looks decent; his 12\/2 K\/BB ratio in 10 innings is promising but he currently sits on the D\/L with an unspecified injury. \u00a0 Meanwhile\u00a0Daniel Stange<\/strong> has struggled with his control; he has 10 walks in 12 innings. \u00a0 We’ll talk more about bullpen guys deeper into the season.<\/p>\n

Most Deserving of a promotion<\/strong>: Hill and perhaps Laffey, both of whom are pitching dominantly right now. \u00a0 But neither are 40-man guys, and that (especially for Laffey) hurts him.\u00a0 Laffey as a starter in AAA has been great, but he might be more useful as a lefty-match up guy.\u00a0 Cedeno has been getting the MLB-bullpen covering call-ups but if Laffey was on the 40-man instead, it probably would have been him instead.<\/p>\n

Most in Jeopardy of a demotion\/release<\/strong>: Poveda for sure; his cash-only acquisition isn’t looking promising considering that a rotation spot is needed soon for Jordan. \u00a0Roenicke needs a couple of good outings to get his numbers up; with only 12 innings its hard to pass too harsh a judgement. \u00a0But, with very little push from the current AA rotation, its hard to see a reason why the organization needs to make a move anytime soon (see the next section for more).<\/p>\n

\n

AA\/Harrisburg<\/span>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/colgroup>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Pitcher<\/td>\nStart Trend Line<\/td>\nW\/L<\/td>\nERA<\/td>\nWhip<\/td>\nFIP<\/td>\nK\/BB Ratio<\/td>\n# of innings<\/td>\nApps\/Starts<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Schwartz<\/td>\nF,F,B+,F,D+<\/td>\n0-4<\/td>\n6.08<\/td>\n1.99<\/td>\n5.1<\/td>\n15\/10<\/td>\n23.2<\/td>\n5\/5<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Rivero<\/td>\nD-,B,B-,F,B+<\/td>\n1-4<\/td>\n5.06<\/td>\n1.69<\/td>\n4.85<\/td>\n13\/9<\/td>\n21.1<\/td>\n5\/5<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Gilliam<\/td>\nF,B-,D,A<\/td>\n0-0<\/td>\n5.09<\/td>\n1.36<\/td>\n6.05<\/td>\n13\/9<\/td>\n17.2<\/td>\n5\/4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Purke<\/td>\nF,D,F,F<\/td>\n0-5<\/td>\n9.30<\/td>\n2.11<\/td>\n6.55<\/td>\n14\/13<\/td>\n20.1<\/td>\n5\/5<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Cole<\/td>\nB-,A,D,F<\/td>\n2-1<\/td>\n3.63<\/td>\n1.57<\/td>\n2.82<\/td>\n16\/4<\/td>\n22.1<\/td>\n5\/5<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/colgroup>\n\n\n\n\n\n
Dupra<\/td>\nB+<\/td>\n1-0<\/td>\n0.00<\/td>\n0.9<\/td>\n4.35<\/td>\n3\/3<\/td>\n3.1<\/td>\n1\/0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Perry<\/td>\nF -> d\/l<\/td>\n0-0<\/td>\n5.63<\/td>\n1.5<\/td>\n3.07<\/td>\n6\/3<\/td>\n8<\/td>\n5\/0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Jackson<\/td>\nA -> promoted<\/td>\n0-0<\/td>\n0.00<\/td>\n0.52<\/td>\n2.01<\/td>\n7\/0<\/td>\n7.2<\/td>\n5\/0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Bates<\/td>\nB<\/td>\n0-0<\/td>\n5.68<\/td>\n<\/td>\n1.66<\/td>\n2.97<\/td>\n12.2<\/td>\n6\/0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Rotation Discussion<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

Well, there’s not much joy in Harrisburg in terms of the rotation right now. \u00a0 The team is already 7.5 games out of first and is in dead last in the Eastern League<\/a>. \u00a0Four of the five starters in Harrisburg are, well, just awful right now. \u00a0 I should note that the stats above do include one extra start for\u00a0Matthew Purke<\/strong>; it didn’t help his cause. \u00a0Newly acquired\u00a0Felipe Rivero<\/strong> has not acclimated well to Harrisburg, to say the least. \u00a0Blake Schwartz<\/strong> has not adjusted well to the jump to AA after his excellent season in Potomac last year. \u00a0The one bright spot seems to be\u00a0A.J. Cole<\/strong> by ERA\/FIP, but he’s still putting an awful lot of people on base (1.57 whip).<\/p>\n

Sammy Solis<\/strong> remains on the AA D\/L, along with a handful of other long-serving names in this organization (Paul Demny<\/strong>,\u00a0Rafael Martin<\/strong> and\u00a0Pat Lehman<\/strong>).<\/p>\n

Bullpen Notables<\/strong><\/p>\n

Zach Jackson<\/strong> already earned his promotion via 7 scoreless innings, though to be fair he really should have been in AAA to start (he’s a veteran minor leaguer<\/a> and has been pitching at the AAA level for nearly a decade). \u00a0Matt Grace<\/strong> is faring well thus far, as is\u00a0Richie Mirowski<\/strong>, while\u00a0Gabriel Alfaro<\/strong> needs to get his control under control (he’s got 9 walks in 11 1\/3 innings).<\/p>\n

Most Deserving of a promotion<\/strong>: none of these guys are pushing for a promotion, now that Jackson is back in AAA where he belongs.<\/p>\n

Most in Jeopardy of a demotion\/release<\/strong>: You have to think that Purke may be in jeopardy of being coverted to relief at this point. \u00a0Alfaro was a MLFA signing out of the Mexican league and may not be long for the organization if he keeps pitching this badly. \u00a0 Gilliam was a throw-in to the\u00a0Gio Gonzalez<\/strong> trade and is old for the level; he may get pushed out if someone from Potomac makes a case for promotion (which, thankfully for him, has yet to be the case; read on).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

High-A\/Potomac<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/colgroup>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Pitcher<\/td>\nStart Trend Line<\/td>\nW\/L<\/td>\nERA<\/td>\nWhip<\/td>\nFIP<\/td>\nK\/BB Ratio<\/td>\n# of innings<\/td>\nApps\/Starts<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Rauh<\/td>\nB-,F-,C+,C-<\/td>\n1-1<\/td>\n4.43<\/td>\n1.57<\/td>\n4<\/td>\n15\/7<\/td>\n20.1<\/td>\n5\/4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Rpena<\/td>\nF,D,F\/inc,A-,A-<\/td>\n2-0<\/td>\n6.43<\/td>\n1.48<\/td>\n5.71<\/td>\n5\/8<\/td>\n21<\/td>\n5\/5<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Mooneyham<\/td>\nF,C-,A-,D\/short,B-<\/td>\n2-1<\/td>\n3.32<\/td>\n1.63<\/td>\n6.71<\/td>\n7\/19<\/td>\n19<\/td>\n5\/4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Bacus<\/td>\nA+,A+,A (into rotation for Encarnacion)<\/td>\n1-1<\/td>\n2.08<\/td>\n0.69<\/td>\n4.7<\/td>\n15\/3<\/td>\n17.1<\/td>\n6\/0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Simms<\/td>\n(newly promoted; no Apr starts)<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/colgroup>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Dickson<\/td>\nB+,F,B+,A<\/td>\n0-2<\/td>\n6.23<\/td>\n1.38<\/td>\n5.37<\/td>\n21\/7<\/td>\n21.3<\/td>\n7\/0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Encarnacion<\/td>\nC+,B,F,D- ->d\/l<\/td>\n1-2<\/td>\n4.00<\/td>\n1.94<\/td>\n5.88<\/td>\n14\/12<\/td>\n18<\/td>\n4\/4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Lee<\/td>\nF-,F-,D,A -> d\/l<\/td>\n0-2<\/td>\n10.05<\/td>\n1.74<\/td>\n2.33<\/td>\n23\/8<\/td>\n14.1<\/td>\n5\/4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Fister<\/td>\nB (rehab)<\/td>\n0-0<\/td>\n0.00<\/td>\n1.5<\/td>\n2.16<\/td>\n3\/0<\/td>\n4<\/td>\n1\/1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Dupra<\/td>\nA+,B+,A,A-> promoted<\/td>\n3-0<\/td>\n0.53<\/td>\n0.71<\/td>\n1.31<\/td>\n23\/1<\/td>\n17<\/td>\n5\/0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Rotation Discussion<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

Potomac is sitting in 1st place easily<\/a> with the rest of its division struggling so far. \u00a0 But Its hard to see how they’re doing it with a rotation putting up numbers like this. \u00a0The only guy getting starts for Potomac in April with a respectable\/impressive FIP was Nick Lee<\/strong>, and he’s on the D\/L. \u00a0But even Lee’s numbers look completely weird: he had a 10 (ten!) ERA in his 14 innings, but an astounding 23 ks in 14 innings. \u00a0His numbers are completely spiked by two successive awful outings<\/a>\u00a0and he currently sits on the D\/L with an unspecified but hopefully short-term injury. \u00a0Dakota Bacus<\/strong> earned his way into the rotation with a series of excellent long-relief outings; he replaces the also-injured opening day rotation starter\u00a0Pedro Encarnacion<\/strong>, who himself struggled with his control (12 walks in 18 innings) before hitting the D\/L. \u00a0Otherwise there’s not much notable in the Potomac rotation to talk about:\u00a0Brett Mooneyham<\/strong>‘s advanced numbers show just how bad he’s really pitched; he currently has a 7\/19 K\/BB ratio in 19 innings. \u00a0He has more than twice the number of walks as he has strikeouts!\u00a0 That’s not a recipe for success long-term.<\/p>\n

Kylin Turnbull<\/strong> remains on the Hagerstown D\/L, continuing to be a complete 2011 draft-day disappointment.<\/p>\n

Bullpen Notables<\/strong><\/p>\n

The best reliever in Potomac thus far this season has already been bumped up;\u00a0Brian Dupra<\/strong> posted a nifty 23\/1 K\/BB ratio and earned his way to AA. \u00a0Robert Benincasa<\/strong> already has 5 saves with good numbers. \u00a0Derek Self<\/strong> has great numbers and has given up just three base-runners in 10 innings thus far. \u00a0So the Nats are getting some great relief. \u00a0Gilberto Mendez<\/strong> hasn’t walked a guy yet and is one of the youngest guys in the league, so he’s clearly holding his own after posting a 0.91 ERA in low-A last year.
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

Most Deserving of a promotion<\/strong>: Outside of Dupra, its hard to pinpoint someone that really is pushing for a promotion out of this squad right now. \u00a0Bacus is pitching well but he’s just got a month of high-A experience; lets see how he does for a half season. \u00a0I could see the late-inning crew of Self, Benincasa and\u00a0Bryan Harper<\/strong> possibly getting moved up sooner than later. \u00a0But none of the starters really are making a case for promotion right now.<\/p>\n

Most in Jeopardy of a demotion\/release<\/strong>: \u00a0Clearly for me the guy in trouble is Mooneyham; you just can’t be walking that many guys and have as little swing-and-miss capabilities to counter-balance \u00a0your wildness. \u00a0 Before his injury, Encarnacion was struggling with his command too; I can see him back in low-A. \u00a0Lastly\u00a0Ronald Pena<\/strong> just is not fooling anybody right now; he’s got just 5 Ks in 20 innings and would be in more jeopardy if there weren’t other candidates ahead of him to replace at this point.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

Low-A\/Hagerstown<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/colgroup>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Pitcher<\/td>\nStart Trend Line<\/td>\nW\/L<\/td>\nERA<\/td>\nWhip<\/td>\nFIP<\/td>\nK\/BB Ratio<\/td>\n# of innings<\/td>\nApps\/Starts<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Pivetta<\/td>\nA,A-,F,F,B+<\/td>\n3-2<\/td>\n4.57<\/td>\n1.48<\/td>\n4.36<\/td>\n13\/10<\/td>\n21.2<\/td>\n5\/5<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Voth<\/td>\nA,D,A-,D\/short<\/td>\n0-2<\/td>\n2.91<\/td>\n1.38<\/td>\n2.7<\/td>\n26\/10<\/td>\n21.1<\/td>\n5\/5<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Giolito<\/td>\nD-,A+,A,C-,C-<\/td>\n1-0<\/td>\n2.95<\/td>\n1.22<\/td>\n3.62<\/td>\n24\/11<\/td>\n21.1<\/td>\n5\/5<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Anderson<\/td>\nA,A+,F,D-<\/td>\n3-0<\/td>\n6.33<\/td>\n1.36<\/td>\n4.98<\/td>\n13\/6<\/td>\n21.1<\/td>\n5\/3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Johansen<\/td>\nB,B+,F,C-<\/td>\n2-0<\/td>\n5.21<\/td>\n1.53<\/td>\n3.84<\/td>\n17\/11<\/td>\n19<\/td>\n4\/4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/colgroup>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Suero<\/td>\nD,A,B,A<\/td>\n3-0<\/td>\n1.20<\/td>\n0.88<\/td>\n3.53<\/td>\n13\/2<\/td>\n21.2<\/td>\n5\/0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Cooper<\/td>\nB,A+,D<\/td>\n2-0<\/td>\n2.81<\/td>\n1.31<\/td>\n2.57<\/td>\n11\/1<\/td>\n16<\/td>\n5\/0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Jthomas<\/td>\n\u00a0A+,A-<\/td>\n1-2<\/td>\n2.53<\/td>\n1.22<\/td>\n4.51<\/td>\n4\/5<\/td>\n10.2<\/td>\n5\/0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ullmann<\/td>\nB+<\/td>\n0-0<\/td>\n0.00<\/td>\n0.8<\/td>\n2.67<\/td>\n9\/2<\/td>\n10<\/td>\n4\/0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Hollins<\/td>\nA-<\/td>\n2-0<\/td>\n4.35<\/td>\n1.74<\/td>\n3.86<\/td>\n9\/7<\/td>\n10.1<\/td>\n8\/0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/colgroup>\n\n\n\n\n
Silvestre<\/td>\nB+,inc (inj)->d\/l<\/td>\n0-0<\/td>\n3.00<\/td>\n1.33<\/td>\n2.24<\/td>\n7\/2<\/td>\n6<\/td>\n2\/2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Simms<\/td>\nA,A,A,A+->promoted<\/td>\n0-0<\/td>\n0.98<\/td>\n0.82<\/td>\n2.05<\/td>\n20\/2<\/td>\n18.1<\/td>\n5\/0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Spann<\/td>\nB+,A-,B+,B+->promoted<\/td>\n2-0<\/td>\n1.20<\/td>\n1.13<\/td>\n2.77<\/td>\n15\/4<\/td>\n15<\/td>\n4\/0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n

Rotation Discussion<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

Hagerstown is taking the South Atlantic league by storm,\u00a0leading its division by 5.5 games already<\/a>. \u00a0 And they’re getting some great pitching. \u00a0The team clearly seems to be doing “combo starts” with some of its guys: that’s why someone like\u00a0Wander Suero<\/strong> has as many IP as the 5 guys in the “rotation.” \u00a0So, when it comes to judging starts nearly the entire staff in Hagerstown has “start length” outings to assign grades to. \u00a0 I like what I see out of\u00a0Austin Voth<\/strong> so far, and\u00a0Lucas Giolito<\/strong> is clearly holding his own in full-season ball (both these guys feature more than a K\/inning, which is great to see especially out of the undersized Voth). \u00a0Meanwhile we’re seeing some worrying wildness out of\u00a0Jake Johansen<\/strong>, which will not quell the “he’s too big to be a starter so he’s destined for the bullpen” crowd.<\/p>\n

Bullpen Notables<\/strong>
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

John Simms<\/strong> (11th rounder in 2012) and\u00a0Matthew Spann<\/strong> (booty for the team’s sticking its nose into the\u00a0David DeJesus<\/strong> waiver situation last year) have both already forced promotions thanks to excellent results. \u00a0Otherwise there really isn’t much in the way of a traditional “bullpen” in Hagerstown to talk about.<\/p>\n

Most Deserving of a promotion<\/strong>: I’d say Voth and\u00a0Jake Walsh<\/strong>, who older guys who are mowing guys down in Low-A and may need to be challenged by better\/older hitters.<\/p>\n

Most in Jeopardy of a demotion<\/strong>: One of the older guys on this staff (Dixon Anderson<\/strong>) isn’t putting up the numbers he needs to be putting up as a college senior 2011 draftee in low-A. \u00a0Youngster\u00a0Nicholas Pivetta<\/strong> is also struggling with the jump to full-season ball out of JuCo and may be dumped back to XST at some point. \u00a0But it should also be said that we’re kind of squinting for bad performances out of the Low-A squad; both these guys’ numbers are better than practically anyone in AA right now.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

Top Prospect Review<\/span><\/p>\n

From a trending perspective for our top 10 prospect arms (in rough order of their typical rankings on prospect lists):<\/p>\n

    \n
  • Giolito is succeeding so far, though isn’t as dominant yet to be pushing for a promotion to High-A<\/li>\n
  • Cole is holding his own and is the best AA starter right now, but again isn’t entirely pushing for a AAA promotion just quite yet.<\/li>\n
  • Solis has yet to appear thanks to a late spring training injury.<\/li>\n
  • Rivero has really struggled since his arrival<\/li>\n
  • Johansen has shown some wildness and not as much swing-and-miss stuff as he did in short-season ball.<\/li>\n
  • Purke has been awful and it may be time to move him to the Pen.<\/li>\n
  • Voth has been excellent and is probably the closest to a promotion.<\/li>\n
  • Barrett and Treinien have both earned promotions to provide MLB cover, and when in AAA have been effective<\/li>\n
  • Jefry Rodriguez<\/strong> is in XST and didn’t make a full-season team.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Conclusions<\/span>:<\/p>\n

    So far, I must say i’m a bit disappointed in the performance of the AA squad, but its great to see the promise of the Low-A squad. \u00a0I’m slightly worried about how our closer-to-the-majors top prospect arms are looking; lets re-visit in a month and see how it looks.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    We’re a month into the minor league season and nearly five turns through each minor league system rotation, so lets take a look to see how our starters are doing. As with the major league rotation review, I’ve assigned grade letters to roughly judge each start done by our minor league staff, and then i’ve […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,13],"tags":[916,2401,17,1815,1280,1693,72,856,195,945,103,2005,2144,851,255,938,923,241,2237,2143,943,385,114,1812,1991,1876,1967,2289,951,852,850,1228,166,2404,2403,1814,1873,2400,63,57,1823,69,940,942,86,73,19,77,197,24,1877,1786,2402],"class_list":["post-8860","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-minorspitching","category-minorleaguerotationreviews","tag-aaron-barrett","tag-aaron-laffey","tag-aj-cole","tag-austin-voth","tag-blake-schwartz","tag-blake-treinen","tag-brad-meyers","tag-brett-mooneyham","tag-brian-dupra","tag-bryan-harper","tag-christian-garcia","tag-dakota-bacus","tag-daniel-stange","tag-danny-rosenbaum","tag-david-dejesus","tag-derek-self","tag-dixon-anderson","tag-doug-fister","tag-felipe-rivero","tag-gabriel-alfaro","tag-gilberto-mendez","tag-gio-gonzalez","tag-ian-desmond","tag-jake-johansen","tag-jake-walsh","tag-jefry-rodriguez","tag-john-simms","tag-josh-roenicke","tag-kylin-turnbull","tag-lucas-giolito","tag-luke-erickson","tag-matt-grace","tag-matthew-purke","tag-matthew-spann","tag-mirowski","tag-nicholas-pivetta","tag-nick-lee","tag-omar-poveda","tag-pat-lehman","tag-paul-demny","tag-pedro-encarnacion","tag-rafael-martin","tag-robert-benincasa","tag-ronald-pena","tag-ryan-mattheus","tag-ryan-tatusko","tag-sammy-solis","tag-tanner-roark","tag-taylor-hill","tag-taylor-jordan","tag-wander-suero","tag-xavier-cedeno","tag-zach-jackson"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8860","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8860"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8860\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8874,"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8860\/revisions\/8874"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8860"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8860"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8860"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}