How to Bake a Calzone
BY MIKE JONES
Friday, August 14, 2009
JACKSONVILLE, FL – The San Antonio Calzones have perhaps been the most dynamic team since the PEBA’s inception. There have been enough players to create a unique roster nearly four times over. They has seen nearly a $40 million payroll deduction over the course of 8 months. A franchise high .586 winning percentage, and a low of .390 thus far this season. After losing $20 million in ’07-’08, they’re currently sporting a $13 million gain – a remarkable $23 million single season turnaround. A position that once saw the caliber of a Manuel González whittled down to the likes of a Luis Navarro. The franchise has been a revolving door of talent, coming and going as the club continuously seeks to improve itself. As evidence that player trades are a big part of the team, on June 30th, 2007, the Calzones engineered a gargantuan 13 player trade with the Tempe organization. As if that were not enough, a month later on July 30th, 2007, San Antonio finalized 5 trades in a single day involving a total of 18 players.
Much like the sexy silhouette on the logo, this team has yet to really develop a distinct face.
However, with all of the changes taking place in Laredo, one thing remains constant: the resolve of its General Manager, Matt Higgins. If it’s going hard for a playoff spot or making countless upgrades to kick off a brief period of rebuilding, the man known as “Trader Matt” is always on the lookout for improvements. There are currently 43 players on other PEBA teams that San Antonio has traded this season, all netting some decent return.
Almost daily, teams are met with new challenges. Uncertainty can arise from the most certain things. Years of development can quickly become years of disappointment without precaution. Constant adaptation is the only way to succeed in such a dynamic environment.
But with such rapid change comes much scrutiny. Many observers feel there is no direction, or that Higgins simply trades for fun… or that he simply has no plan.
In the 8/7 edition of Calzones Corner, Higgins emphatically replies:
“I say, 'Eat my shorts.' Seriously, we have worked in a challenging environment. This was all new ground to us at the beginning. We made many mistakes at the beginning but did what we felt we had to do at the time. As I say, the landscape changes and you have to keep up with that. You constantly evaluate and reevaluate. If you feel you have made a miscalculation, you regroup and come up with a new course of action. That is what we have done.”
With 70 player trades on his resume and no signs of letting up, you can expect the criticism to continue. What you can also expect is the continuation of changes made to an organization destined for long-term success. The biggest obstacle for the team right now is overcoming its debt. After losing a total of $20 million gunning for the playoffs, the team was put in a pretty tough position and left with little leverage to continue competing at its previous level. Some envelope calculations show $9 million in revenue at year’s end. It would be the first profitable year in team history, and with a projected 30% decrease in payroll next season they’ll have perhaps the biggest bargaining tool of all on their side. A projected $45 million in budget room in 2010 could increase to $57 million if veteran Will Thomas opts out of his contract. A team riddled with debt and seemingly spiraling out of control suddenly becomes an organization ripe with talent and loads of money to invest where it sees fit.
In the same Calzones Corner edition, Higgins eludes the fact that he’ll be finding some immediate use for the $40 million available for free agents:
“We need a right-handed bat to platoon with Garza at one of the corner outfield spots. We need one or two mediocre infielders. And a whole lot of cheap pitching. And hopefully that will be enough to keep us from losing 100 games for a second season in a row.”
With some nice talent in the pending free agency class, it’d be tough not to take advantage of a historical amount of cash available. Bargains are to be had. Just ask any PEBA owner: who wouldn’t pay cash for a first round draft pick? On February 15th, 2009, the Calzones signed Hisashi Oike to a 3-year deal and later dealt him at this year’s trade deadline for a 1st round pick, and all it cost them was $5 million in salary this year. A guy they didn’t necessarily need at the time, but a wise business decision nonetheless (on both parts, I might add). Oike is a great player and his transition to the starting rotation makes his contract a complete bargain, so finding a deal for him I’m sure proved easy.
Whether or not they are looking for cheap infielders or platoon players, what this organization really needs is time. Although you could argue that there is not really anybody you could call a scout’s dream in the Calzones’ organization, what you can be sure of is that they have the resources to weather any flameouts from the ones that do possess PEBA potential. The catching position is particularly strong, disregarding the aforementioned Luis Navarro. 23-year-old Chad Hull is seeing more starts than his Joplin teammate Brock Brett, but both should become decent PEBA level catchers in due time. Brett struggled mightily in a brief stint with Laredo but is showing a nice batting eye in the minor leagues. While his power has yet to develop, perhaps a full year in a starting role will provide a bit more evidence of his talent. Hull has responded well to promotion and continues to produce at a rate consistent through his minor league career.
Both of them, however, are perhaps feeling the pressure supplied by Monterey’s Bob Keller, who is perhaps the most talented of the three. I’d project Keller as a .250/.320/.410 hitter with exceptional defense behind the plate.
There are not a lot of teams sitting on potential like this in perhaps the most talent stricken position in the PEBA. Navarro is on the books next year for $5.2 million. A bit pricey given his performance, but he’s an acceptable gap filler for this particular moment in time. The team is currently evaluating 7 youngsters at this position on their short season club as well.
Silas Boone heads a plethora of promising young infielders. After suffering a fractured rib, he has picked up right where he left off. He doesn’t project much as a power hitter, but the security he provides at SS rivals that of a nuclear missile silo. With above average contact and eye ratings as well as superb speed, he could develop into a nice table-setter some day. While showing his disfavor to his recent trade involvement, Gus Wilson has got some work cut out for him. No reason to give up on him yet; he scouts extremely well, with a great arm from the hot corner and great instinct for stealing bases. With a bit of time for the anger to boil over, I’d expect some nice numbers out of him, and with the way he’s scouting he’ll continue that trend in Joplin.
Third basemen Josh Schaeffer is probably the most exciting young player in the San Antonio organization. A VORP of 24.4 at 19 years of age is good in any level of competition, but he is well ahead of the curve here in Drumright. I’d keep an eye on him, as he advances to AA next year.
Adrián Romero is another young player ahead of the curve. Scouting reports can be a little misleading here. He’s shown an acceptable BB/K ratio, an ability to stretch singles into doubles and blazing speed. He takes that blazing speed to the field as well, sporting a 4.83 range factor at SS. He’s been part of 100 double plays this year! Oh, did I mention his blazing speed? His 38 stolen bases could challenge Dan Jamison’s league record of 52 from a year ago. Look out, Orlando Germán!
Recent 1st round picks Dave Watts and Rod Young bear proof of the infield depth San Antonio claims throughout its organization. Young is out with a strained bicep and has yet to embark on his pro career. San Antonio might have taken a big risk here selecting an injured prospect who will turn 22 before his first pro at-bat. With high risk comes high reward. If Young’s dazzling college career is not enough to get you to take the risk, then you don’t deserve the reward. It will be interesting to see how he bounces back, but he’s a top prospect and worthy of being on everybody’s radar. Watts is currently behind the much less talented Ralph Murray on the depth chart. Perhaps Scouting Director Nieves has some information about him that we don’t or Higgins wants Watts to work on his pinch-running skills, but its surprising to us he’s not getting more at-bats. Watts is young, but he’s the most talented active player on Winds’ roster and deserves a starting role.
Dan Howard and Rod Stewart are both down and out for much of the remainder of the season. Howard, 22, is really at a crucial point. How he responds from his injury and a possible promotion next year to Monterey will really give some insight as to whether or not he’s PEBA material. He scouts well defensively, with scouts applauding his good contact skills and batting eye. His numbers at the A level before his injury: .291/.351/.363 in 179 at-bats. Given his age (19), a return to Hi-A for Stewart is probably a wise move. He’s another young infielder with world-class speed in the San Antonio organization.
At the major league level, the only guy we see as an ingredient to this piping-hot calzone is 25-year-old Takahiro Yoshida. Already considered the team’s best hitter and signed at $690k through his arbitration years, Yoshida has 31 extra base hits this year. If he can develop the patience displayed in the ABASF, he could turn out to be a valuable commodity to the major league roster.
The June 14th trade that brought Brooks Erickson to Elysian Fields shows that perhaps Higgins is committed to having him around for the long haul. He’s owed $43 million over the next four years. Martin Griffin, the team’s current leadoff hitter, brings exception defense to all outfield positions, and should he end up some day as a super-sub his speed will be a great lift off the bench. If he can develop his eye a bit more, he could be a worthwhile investment as a starting center fielder.
Scott Moss is obliterating any competition he’s getting at the AAA level. He scouts as an average contact hitter with plus power and eye. His triple slash stats at AAA this year (.301/.383/.470) are pretty impressive and, should this continue, he’ll be a mainstay in the middle of the Calzone lineup for years to come. António Chávez, being a left handed hitter, could be a perfect platoon mate for Griffin if neither develops enough to warrant a full-time role. They scout similarly both offensively and defensively, and Chávez is yet another great speedster that could provide SA with some pinch-run support.
José Maldonado is another guy to keep an eye on. While his progression hasn’t been too impressive and time is quickly becoming his enemy, scouts continue to insist he’s got plus power with a great eye. He’s not on par defensively with players ahead of him on the organizational depth chart, so he’ll really have to turn it on to warrant a DH spot. Still only 21 years of age here, and still projects as a 30+ HR guy.
The talent distribution of pitching across the leagues affiliated with the PEBA is pretty marginal at this point. Aside from a few “can’t miss” prospects, there is not much separating scout’s opinions of young pitching. Some key points to think about when evaluating a large pool of similar pitchers are velocity, intelligence and endurance. Of course, the younger the pitching you do have, the more time you have to develop them. While some PEBA teams employ 26-35 year old pitchers to help fill the gaps in their organization, San Antonio has done a tremendous job of avoiding this. 92% of their minor league starting pitching roster is comprised of guys below the age of 25, 46% of which can hit 90+ on the gun. 26-year-old Hideki Takahashi and 25-year-old Carlos Feliciano are as close as you can get to organizational soldiers here.
Those are just some highlights of what’s to come. As Higgins stays sharp, you can bet the organization will continue to grown and prosper and sport superb young talent. With a wealth of prospects set to hit stage in the coming years and financial freedom on its way, this calzone will soon be out of the oven and ready to serve.