Friday, July 31, 2009

Around the Bases – July 31, 2009

If the Rangers want Roy Halladay, they likely will have to part with Derek Holland


Even a blind squirrel finds an occasional nut…
Pirate 2B, Shelby Ford, entered yesterday’s contest with a .179/.215/.263 line on the year. He then proceeded to go 5 for 5 with a home run. It isn’t likely to stop his career from ‘coding’, but it did raise his OPS .052 points.

Different Level …Same Result…
White Sox 22yo, left-hander, Daniel Hudson, has pitched at three different levels this season, posting a 1.23 ERA, with a 12 Ks per 9IP ratio in the South Atlantic (SAL) League and a 3.40 ERA and 10 Ks per 9IP ratio in the Carolina (CAR) League. Yesterday’s 6-scorelss inning outing, where he allowed 2 walks and 2 hits, while fanning 10, gives him a 1.79 ERA with a 10 Ks per 9IP ratio, in 8 Southern (SOL) League starts.

Don’t write him off just yet…
Since the Pirate’s Neil Walker, a former first round pick, left catching for a less demanding position, his career has been moving in the wrong direction, posting a .694 OPS last year and a .704 so far this season. But at 23yo, and playing in AAA, there is still a bit of prospect potential left in him. He showed some of that yesterday, going 3 for 5, with 2 home runs.

Prospect Performance of the Day…
18yo Braves’ right-hander, Julio Teheran, is reminding everyone why he received the highest bonus given to a Latin American pitcher in 2007. Last night’s 8 inning, 1 ER, 2 H, 1 BB, 11K performance, leaves him with a 2.68 ERA on the year.

He gets better in warmer weather…
19yo White Sox 3B prospect, Dayan Viciedo, has had somewhat of an inauspicious debut season, as his month-by-month OPS numbers have been: April - .543; May - .711; June - .724. After last night’s 3 for 5 with a double and a home run, his OPS for the month of July is now .806 and 1.054 since the 16th. As one of the Southern League’s youngest players, he is showing why the White Sox gave him a $4 million bonus this past winter.

May be the only remaining reason that Roy Halladay is still a Blue Jay tomorrow…
With the Phillies having acquired Cliff Lee, the Red Sox apparently moving Clay Buchholz in a deal for Victor Martinez and the Dodgers uninterested in dealing Clayton Kershaw, it seems as if the Texas Rangers appear to be the remaining viable partner for a Roy Halladay deal. The reason that it hasn’t happened yet appears to be the Jays’ insistence on 22yo left-hander, Derek Holland, being part of the deal. Yesterday’s 8 2/3 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 1BB, 10K performance isn’t likely to make the Rangers anymore interested in moving him. Holland may have only a 5.56 ERA on the season, but those that have seen him pitch this year understand that he is rapidly becoming one of the best young pitchers in the game.

All that he needed was a change of scenery…
The White Sox may be rethinking the Tony Pena trade, as Pena has posted an 8.10 ERA since joining Chicago. The Diamondbacks are probably fairly pleased though, as 23yo, Brandon Allen, had a .786 OPS with the White Sox. After yesterday’s 4 for 4, with a double, Allen has a 1.271 OPS, as a member of the Arizona organization.

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