Talking Trends - Team Blog (short thoughts)

[Reg]

Mystery player SS Jesús Rojas is now being touted as a super prospect according to Babesball America. Rojas was picked as the 87th best prospect in the PEBA in BA's recently released top 100 prospects. When asked about the sweet victory of signing the minor league player after he was released by division rival San Antonio, not once but twice, he replied with a very insightful, "Who?" And that is what most fans are saying, as they race to find out if he is the real deal. "Survey says...no," quipped Tomas Flories, head of the Trendsetter scouting department," He's young, so he's got that going for him, but right now we aren't too high on him...he's only got 32 games under his belt and wasn't that impressive." What is it that BA sees that no ones else can? Even the OSA (which is as accurate as a Codger trying to throw strikes) predict him to not be good. Not even potential. The Trendsetters have said that they reevaluate everyone around the new year and will give Rojas another look, but don't hold your breath on this one.

[Alan Ehlers]

There seem to be a lot more mysteries with that Baseball America list then ever before. We have a player by the name of Juan Sandoval who is listed as the 53rd best prospect(2nd best on our team). But I don't even think I'd rank him in our own top 15. As far as Rojas goes, I'd guess that his ability to play 6 positions boosted his "value". It's always been my suspicion that the Baseball America is merely the sum of every rating the player has. Which also explains why RP get no love because they have 2-3 pitches while starters have 4,5,6 pitches.

[Borealis]

Similar deal with our 18 year old FA acquisition from the Toa Baja Gringos. We took a shot with the signing, primarily because he was so young and for some depth. C Ramon Hernandez doesn't have the appearance of great potential either at the bat on with the glove, but he's listed as the 38th top prospect in PEBA! We actually rate at least 3 catchers in our organization higher than he, including PEBA #23 prospect, 2014 Supplemental pick Juan Gonzales, who's moving through the system and will begin 2016 at AA.

[Matt]

I picked up on this with BA ratings last season, after there was a large influx of international talent. BA ratings get a little goofy until the 'real' update in April. I had a number of players who showed up in the top 100 prior to that yearly update, then were gone after. Since the BA ratings are only 'officially' updated once a year, I guess it has something to do with where they were rated in the previous league and the game not compensating for that until the official update. I wouldnt get too excited about Rojas. He still has a hole in his swing big enough to drive a Tim Wakefield fastball through.

[Reg]

With the conclusion of the winter meetings, the Trendsetters are feeling confident that their roster moving forward has been set. Here are the highlights:

Poirier for Pex: Poirier was obviously an organizational favorite and was one of the few consistent hitters over the past few years for the Trendsetters. Unfortunately, Power was not a strength and DH/1B is a position that has a heavy emphasis on being a heavy hitter. Enter Pex who is good for 30 plus home runs every year and will draw more walks. In a season where runs were often at a premium Pex's power trumps Poirier's consistency. Another interesting fact is that Poirier was traded for prospect Kane Talley, who has not really played out for the Borealis, Pex for Poirier seems to be a good return on investment.

Gordon: Future Catcher material? The Trendsetter organization certainly thinks so. Enough to give up Nick Rose, who granted was in a sort of no mans land on the Trendsetter roster. With Wilson, Swanson, Dunn, Moran all able to contribute defensively, Rose was the bottom of the the totem pole. He definitely has some skill with the bat though, and the Trendsetters feel like they got good value in return for him.

Owens or Mayer: Owens has more untapped potential and more power potential. But he also has struggled with staying healthy over the past two years. Mayer has shown he will hit around .300 and will contribute any way he can. A big question will be if Wilson shows continued improvement in his second year, and Mayer follows him with consistently getting on base, is how many RBI's will Lambert and Pex rack up? If Lambert can stay healthy for more than 12 games this coming season, that is.

The Second coming of Mark Tucker: In the Rule V draft, the Trendsetters once again picked up a soft throwing pitcher from the Arlington minors to compete for a spot in the starting rotation. Rodney Carpenter has bounced around in a couple of different systems but will get a chance to prove himself this spring.

[Reg]

The Trendsetters enter the 2015 season hopeful to avoid injuries and to continue to see progress from their young players. Consistency was an issue, with all of the youth filling the roster. The home record was much better than the away. However, on a high note the team improved 11 wins while shaving 24 mil off of the pay roll, leading to a positive in the balance sheet. The projected opening payroll is another 16 mil shy of last years mark, can the Trendsetters notch a corresponding number of wins?

Pitching: The Trendsetters have a new ace of the staff, though he isn't a new face. Joe Wolfe who pitched in 71 games out of the bullpen last season, made a seamless transition to starting this spring. Pitching 20 innings he allowed 2 earned runs and struck out 18. He will be followed by international find, Carlos Pena, who finished 9-8 with a 4.23 earned run average. Look for that to drop. Following Pena will be another new face, former number 1 draft pick, Dave "Monk" McAllister. His trip to winter ball appears to prepared him for the challenge of starting Wilbur Garland will get the nod at four (11-11, 4.16). Vincente Maestas slides into the final spot. Last year, Tucker pitched his way into the starting rotation, this spring he pitched his way to AAA (12 innings, 15 runs). Harrison, Solis, and Ramos are back in the pen. Rodriguez replaces the super greedy Williams, and looks to be twice the pitcher once he settles in. Glenn "Pizza" Dixon will follow in Wolfe's footsteps coming in from the pen until he is fully ready for the starting rotation. Chet King will be the long relief and makes the total count of former number one picks on the pitching staff.

Batters: Wilson should bounce back and have a big year after struggling towards the end of last season. John Mayer will be a consistent bat at number 2. What will a healthy Lambert do, fans are eager to see (20/20 ?). Pexago, loved the spring, hope that carries into the season 5 home runs, 14 runs batted in, and 12 walks. Jason Brooks should see improvement in his second full year, another candidate for 20 to 25 home runs. Two headed beast of Jason Gordon/Konishi at catcher, both had great springs and the platoon will continue into the early season if not for the whole year. Jose Moran is the beginning of what may turn out to be the best 7, 8, 9 hitters in the Dixie if not in the entire Imperial league. A threat to get on and a threat on the base paths will keep pitchers worried. What will a healthy Bob Dunn do? Pablo Cabrera may be one of the best kept center field secrets. But again, can he stay healthy? Last season, when everyone was healthy Wilson( the lead off hitter) was on pace to lead the team in runs batted in, due to the speed and ability of the bottom of the line up to get in scoring position.

Prediction: Consensus from the experts is that New Orleans is a lock for the cellar. Same old story. However, last year they far exceeded expectations and finished one game off of fourth place. If healthy, and more consistent I don't think third is to high of hopes. Of course the big IF of health is always in play.

[Reg]

The Trendsetter front office was gathered in a hotel conference room pouring over scouting reports that detailed talent, mental make up, career stats, and injury history. Cooper Scott sat in a corner, staring aimlessly out into space. Cobb was engaging head scout Tomas Flores in a furious debate over Jasper and his injury likelihood. Flores was arguing it was just one injury, and Cobb was angrily banging the table, saying he couldn't take another Pablo on the roster. Not so early in the draft.

A knock sounded on the door, and Cobb stopped mid sentence, "Come in." The door opened, and into the room came former Trendsetter GM Paul Tanner. "What are you doing here?" exclaimed Cobb. Tanner had been free lancing as a writer, while keeping close tabs on his former employer. Scott stood up, " I invited him. I think we could use his help." Cobb's jaw dropped and he stared at Scott incredulously. "Jack, look...I am tired. I am tired of losing. I am tired of feeling like a loser. I am tired of the boos at home, and the cat calls in the other parks. And the constant media circus. I want a break. I need a break." Cobb looked back at his friend in frustration, "Now..you want to discuss this now, on the night of the draft?"

Scott sighed, looked down at an envelope in his hand, "It's not a discussion. Here's my two weeks notice, I need out. I need to be able to sleep at night. I need to stop having this pain in my stomach because I can't stand eating anything more spicy than a cracker. I didn't want to leave you in this without help so, I called Paul. He's been here before, and you can decide at sometime later whether you want to call him interim or just give him the job. I'm not telling you what to do, I am just trying to find the easiest way out."

Scott put the letter on the desk and headed for the door, Cobb moved quickly to follow him. In the hallway, he grabbed Scott's arm and swung him around. The broken look on Cooper's face was all he needed for confirmation. "Don't be a quitter, Cooper. We are in this together. Why didn't you talk to me sooner, why now, why, help me understand?" Scott just shook his head and pushed Cobb away. "Remember when baseball was pure and innocent and fun. When we just played because it was game and we were fortunate to be making our living playing a great game? Remember, the pimp suit and the fun and the glitter and the glam. That's all gone for me. I hate coming to work, and that's close enough to saying I hate baseball for me to want things to change."

Cooper started to walk away, but Cobb slammed him up against the wall and held him there, "You are quitting on me, on this team, what we built together. This isn't just a break you can take, and then change your mind. This is it. You are either all in with me, or your out. You walking out now will make me a laughingstock and embarrassment to my legacy and my organization. You are burning bridges, my friend."

Scott shoved him back, "What legacy? What great organization? We have put nothing together but losing teams, and things don't look to get any better. So not sure I could add any fuel to that fire."

Cobb yelled in pure anger and smashed his fist into Scott's nose. Scott stumbled backwards, his hand moving up to stop the blood flow. "I guess I deserved that. Good bye, friend, and good luck." Scott walked slowly down the hallway. Cobb took out his rage on the wall, punching it several times. Before leaning up against it, breathing hard. "Bye, Coop....we are going to prove you wrong, old buddy. I swear we will!" With new vigor Cobb walked back into the conference room. A million plans running through his mind.

[John]

Holy crap! Cobb goes ballistic! This is a side of the funny fellow we haven't seen before.

[Reg]

Cobb stalked back into the conference room. "Tanner, your up for now. Tomorrow is too big for us to do anything else. But understand this, you will, you must run every decision by me."

Tanner, took a deep breath, "Look Cobb, thanks for the offer but I don't really want to deal with a micromanaging owner. If that's the way this is going to shake out, I think I will pass." Cobb slammed his fist down on the table, "You don't understand at all. I don't want to micromanage, I want my fingerprints all over the rise of this organization. We will be better, we will win, and we will return to compete for a Rodriguez cup sooner, rather than later. And I want people to know that I had a hand in every last part of that."

Tanner, slouched back in his chair, "So we're a team?" Cobb smiled and said, "Yeah...its not about power who is in charge, although I am, it's about the best work we could do. And step one is getting ready for the draft. Let's throw out some ideas."

Flores started, "Well, Kentucky has indicated that Gallagher is going to be off the board. Yuma, seemed to indicate they would go pitcher as well, although other rumors suggest they may be looking at Burton or Klein. And the rumors are that WV is looking at a position player as well. As it stands the most promising talent seems to be in the outfield, with one or two infielders and only one catcher worth a look. And I am not really seeing any pitchers I would take as the fourth overall in the draft."

Tanner nodded, "Yeah, it seems like we are gonna get somebody we like right off the bat. But lets be honest, we are going to need to find talent with every pick we do have. The lower levels of the minors are so talented lacking that we can't take any rounds off."

Cobb looked up from writing notes, "Okay, so whose your pick for the first round?"

[Reg]

Live from inside the Trendsetter War Room:

Printed reports and lap tops littered the tables in the Trendsetter war room. Tanner, Cobb, and Flores were looking over their notes trying to find sure bets and diamonds in the late rounds.

Cobb was on his phone, “Cooper, look, you are under contract, and no you aren’t gm any more. So your assignment is to go international. Look, I already booked you a ticket. I will consider us even, if you find one prospect by opening day next season. If you don’t, then our lawyers are going to have to talk about reparations.”

“Where is Scott headed?” the curious Flores asked. “A place that he has little hope of finding any talent, hope he packs plenty of bug spray and sun block,” Cobb replied enigmatically.

And there it was the first pick of the draft was announced, Kentucky selected SP Bill Gallagher. “Not much of a surprise there,” commentated Flores.

“A bit too risky for my taste, he’s gonna have to learn to throw another pitch with proficiency and they are going to have try and stretch that endurance out. Otherwise, he’s a really expensive reliever,” reasoned Cobb.

[Reg]

Shortly, following Yuma selects second baseman Jim Klein.

“I thought it would be Klein or the Hitman, kind of surprised it wasn’t Burton. But maybe Yuma is thinking they will get a quicker return on Klein considering he is more seasoned, and Burton has a lot of growing to do,” Tanner wondered aloud.

West Virgina quickly grabs Lawrence. Flores shakes his head, “liked him a lot.” Cobb grunted, “don’t want to mess around with glass cannons. Not helpful to have a player who is probably going to reserve a spot on the DL. Plus we already have Pablo Cabrera for that.”

“Ok, so we are all in agreement then on who we are going to select?” Tanner asked.

Tanner made the call, RF Don Nash. “Tops my list as far as potential, and looks like he may be months rather than years away. Our outfield is trashed right now, with Cabrera spending too much time on the DL and Jason Brooks playing way below his “supposed” potential.”

Flores grimaced, “Not much in the way of outfielders coming up either.”

Cobb smiled, “hey, I just put in a few request on the waiver wire for a couple of guys. If those go through we could have a couple of guys to challenge for time, and give us a bit more power.”

[Reg]

Tanners Initial Notes:
Longshoreman draft SP Dennis Ready. Ready was not the top of the Trendsetters list for pitchers, but near there. There really didn’t seem to be any elite pitchers in the draft and at the fifth pick, it feels a little like a stretch. But when the pickings are slim, you need to take what is there.

Aurora Borealis CF Mathew Ferrell
Speaking of stretching, this one is an over reach in my book. Maybe Arurora is trying to conserve some money, or maybe they just felt that it was best to look up a true center fielder. Flores thinks he will have a solid career, but there were other batters that seemed to have more potential.

Palm Springs Codgers SS Theron Boswell
Short Stop seems to be devoid of offensive talent, excepting a very few number of elite players. Boswell looks like he will add to the number of offensive guys. And the defense is not too shabby either.

Kalamazoo Badgers SP Aurelio Pérez
One of our top pitchers. That list is getting sadly shorter as more picks fly by.

Tempe Knights CL Geoff Lawson
Always curious to see who will jump on a reliever in the early goings. It’s always a risk because pitchers have a great impact on the game, but only once every 2 to 3 games, while position players have the chance to impact day in and day out. That being said, if you don’t have pitching, that’s all that matters.

[Reg]

Aurora Borealis C Miguel Angel Gálvez
Catchers are another position that is notoriously short on offensive production combined with competent defense. Galvez looks like he will provide both. Good snag by the Bor’is.

Kentucky Thoroughbreds SP Ernesto Molina
Our second rated pitcher. If both of those arms pan out Kentucky is going to be extremely happy with their pitching squad in a few years.

Aurora Borealis SP Junior Cook
Junior looks to have great stuff, won’t go deep in as many games unless he pinpoints his pitches well. Another pitcher off our top ten list.

Connecticut Nutmeggers SP Diego Rúbio
Flores liked this guy the best out of all the pitchers. The top pitchers are getting cleaned out here in the early going.

Fargo Dinosaurs LF Martin Auger
Poor defense, not much power. Should hit for average…but not enough for us to really like him.

London Underground SP Erwin Callahan
Another hard tosser, with fairly good stuff. If he can keep from being to wild he will be a great number 2 or three.

Florida Featherheads LF Danny Burton
Surprising to see this guy drop so far, but the high school factor and the bonus factor scared several teams away. Florida generally hates taking high schools player, but I guess the upside was too much to pass.

[Reg]

Towards the end of the 1st round:

A groan erupted from Flores as the Codgers selected Bob Blackwell. Most of their pitching targets and now the next position player on the list gone. Cobb growled, “Curse those Codgers. Oh well, only a few more selections and we are back up. Any insight on the game plan?”

“Well, not too worried about picking up pitching. Our staff is young and the core is shaping up nicely. One to two years should give them time to learn how to dominate. Our bullpen has really pulled together tightly as well. Rodriquez and Harrison have been lights out over the last 15 or so games. Not bad for a cast off and a rookie. So we will just keep our eye out on the best available talent. Leaning towards more outfield help as we have quite a young infield as well,” replied Tanner.

Flores looked out of the corner of his eye at Cobb, “ You going to throw whatever dollar figure Nash asks at him? You think he will make it to the PEBA level by September?”

Cobb tented his fingers, and laughed maniacally.

[Reg]

Tanner spoke into the phone, “1B Wilson Munoz”.

Analyst in the background: “Munoz may end up being the star player in this draft, or we will never hear from him again.”

Tanner laughed, “spot on with that one huh?”

Cobb nodded, “Insight and wisdom there. Glad to get this guy, our team lacks power, and has for too long. We have tried to single people to death and it is not working out that well. I do like the fact that Wilson and Pex seem to be heating up, if Lambert can turn a slow start to June around, then we could have more offense that we need. Lot of if’s though.”

Flores raised his eyebrows, “Did you see Zhu on waivers a couple of weeks ago? That’s pretty crazy. Florida looking to go younger and cheaper.”
Cobb nodded, “Yep, don’t blame them, that’s an expensive contract that is probably blocking a rising star. Wish we had his power in our line up though. Pex is heating up, but man we need two to three guys who can power out 30, instead of the maybe one we have right now.”

Tanner, “This Munoz kid, might hit 50 if he can put it all together. But seems like a great time for Florida to do a little bit of a retool. Charleston’s age has caught up with them, though I am guessing they will hit their stride by the all-star game. Kentucky always has boat loads of talent, but just can put it together. West Virginia has a great offense but suspect pitching. San Antonio looks to be a year or two away, and then there is us.”