We hype up our favorite bands; We critique on sports and cars; We opine about pop culture. On occasion, will do some creative writing. This is PATHOLOGICAL HATE.
Follow us on Twitter: @pathological_h8
#Braves Hudson on first outing of spring:: "Didn’t blow anything out, didn’t limp off the mound. So that’s always a good day.”
— David O'Brien (@ajcbraves) February 22, 2013
Felipe M We take a look at the projected starting rotations and closer situations of every MLB team. Of course, this will come from a fantasy perspective. All cited stats are based on 2013 projections. For our review of the Arizona Diamondbacks, click here. We'll take a look at the Atlanta Braves today. PROBABLE STARTING ROTATION
Kris Medlen
Good: Has been compared to Greg Maddux. Impressive down the stretch in 2012. His projected numbers scream "ELITE!"
Bad: Very small sample size to go with. Medlen is 28, so he's not a young phenom. Questions loom regarding projected numbers being fact or fiction.
Tim Hudson
Good: You know exactly what you're getting from Hudson at this point of his career. He pitches to contact, and highly depends on defense to get him through his starts, but will not hurt himself by allowing too many hits or homers. His BB/9 is a low 2.68.
Bad: Very low K/9 of 5.86. He will turn 38 in July.
Mike Minor
Good: K/9 of 8.31. Keeps walks and hits to a minimum. Pitched great in the 2nd half of 2012.
Bad: Homerun rate is a bit high (1.19), but as mentioned, hard to tell if this is a pattern with Minor, or if he can streamline late success from last season into 2013.
Paul Maholm
Good: Might be a better pitcher than Hudson with a little bit of luck. He has a slightly, higher H/9 (8.81) and HR/9 (.79) than the veteran Hudson. 6.20 K/9 is not too shabby.
Bad: WHIP of 1.26 might hurt Roto-leaguers, but it might drop if he can somehow limit the base-hits he gives up.
Julio Teheran
Good: Has been described as the next Pedro Martinez. Will be given every chance to break camp as the 5th starter. So far, has pitched better this spring than in 2012. Solid K/9 of 6.45.
Bad: Projections show a K/BB of 1.65 and a H/9 of 8.83, which inflates his WHIP to 1.42. He's still worth a flier to fill out the rest of your rotation on potential alone.
CLOSER
Craig Kimbrel
Good: Might be the best closer in baseball. He's near unhittable, especially when it comes to home runs. K/BB of 5.22 and a K/9 of 15.88 (incredibly high!). He's expected to have a WHIP of 1.06.
Bad: Very tough to figure out any weakness for this guy. Perhaps the fact that hard-throwing teammate, Jonny Venters, can supplant him if Kimbrel stumbles. However, the Braves are "listening" to offers from other teams for Venters.
FANTASY ADVICE
The Braves have themselves a solid pitching staff. They won't hurt themselves with too many mistakes and can keep their walks in checks. Even the young, unproven Teheran is an intriguing option if he continues to impress in spring training. Oh yes; this list isn't even mentioning Brandon Beachy who should be back by late June or sooner. Just be careful in overvaluing these guys. Minor, Teheran, and Medlen are young and still unproven and may fall short of their projections. Conversely, however, the opposite also holds true; they may super-exceed their projections this season as well. More MLB content is available here.
2012 Outlook: "Compared to Tim Lincecum. Best of the D'backs' prospects."
2012 Accomplishments: #3 in Pacific Coast League and the league's best pitcher.
Conclusion: Aside from a 4.2 BB/9, Bauer absolutely dominated in the Minors in 2012. He did pitch for the Big League club, but was playing hurt in his time with the D'backs. Unfortunately for Arizona, conflict between the young pitcher and the entire organization forced the D'backs to ship him to Cleveland for a bushel of balls, a 2-year supply of hot dogs, and a high volume of the freshest Lake Erie water. People are going to get fired in Arizona because of this trade. However, management wanted to get rid of this promising prospect, but the real "snake bite" come from the fact that they really didn't get fair value for this player and that's very unfortunate. At least they were able to get solid players in the Justin Upton deal. Currently, Bauer is competing for the #5 spot in the Indians' rotation.
4. Julio Teheran--SP--Atlanta Braves
2012 Outlook: "Compared to Pedro Martinez; best of the Braves' pitching prospects."
2012 Accomplishments: #1 Prospect in Braves' organization and possesses Best Changeup in the system; #4 Prospect in International League.
Conclusion: Struggled mightily in the Minors last season, but many pundits are blaming the organization for trying to change his delivery. Reports out of spring training are that Teheran has returned to his old delivery and is pitching with extreme confidence. He is currently competing for a rotation spot.
3. Jesus Montero--C--Seattle Mariners
A young Jesus Montero readying himself with that lumber.
2012 Outlook: "Will mainly DH for the Mariners. Can hit for power and average."
2012 Accomplishments: Played 135 games for the Mariners in 2012, but only 56 games at catcher.
Conclusion: One of the many players that were linked to the recent BioGenesis scandal adds to Montero's problems, mainly his defensive duties at the catching position and how will he exactly bounce back from a disastrous 2012 (.260/.298/.389 BB:K .29). His last season at Triple-A shows what Montero is capable of: .289/.351/.493/.843 BB:K .43. That potential has management salivating at things to come and opted to hand him the keys to the #1 catching spot as they got rid of any potential competition that might get in his way this season.
2. Bryce Harper--OF--Washington Nationals
2012 Outlook: "At 19, he's the best prospect in baseball. Will get called up in 2012."
2012 Accomplishments: NL ROOKIE OF THE YEAR and All-Star
Conclusion: Now 20, Harper is slated to start in LF for the Nationals. What's very impressive about Harper is that not only did he succeed as a teengager in his first season in the Majors, but that he showed no indication that he was ready for the Big Leagues in the Minors. He struggled in Double and Triple-A posting mediocre batting average, low on-base%, and displaying absolutely no power. His patience at the plate did improve so there might have been hope for him in that aspect. He put on more weight to endure a full season in the Majors and, obviously, to hit for more power and improve on his .817 OPS from last season.
It might be the worst ballpark, but it will be home to a lot of young, promising players.
1. Matt Moore--SP--Tampa Rays
2012 Outlook: "Might be better than Stephen Strasburg."
2012 Accomplishments: Pitched 177.1 innings for the Rays.
Conclusion: After dominating and destroying everything in his path in Double and Triple-A, Moore's 2012 was sort of ordinary: WHIP 1.35; H/9 8.0; HR/9 0.9; BB/9 4.1; K/9 8.9. He did find his rhythm in the 2nd half of the season so that's a good sign; that and his high strikeout rate. Moore is very likely to break camp as the Rays' #3 starter.
Something that was brought to my attention back in January when I was
listening to The Score where they mentioned that 40% of the Chicago Cubs’ home attendance at Wrigley Field comes from out-of-town tourists. After doing a quick search on the subject, the number is more
like 37% although that figure is from 2011.
Regardless of the year, it’s highly doubtful that the figure
dramatically changed in 2012. So let’s
just say that 35% of the Cubs’ home
attendance is composed of tourists. As far
back as I can remember, Cubs’ fans have been citing larger home attendance
figures to prove their fandom’s superiority in the city of Chicago (more on the
“other” team later). But this figure
proves, once again, that the Cubs are more of a tourist attraction than a real,
legit, professional team (although, I’m fully aware that things are changing
rapidly).
However, I’m not here to jump on the Cubs and beat them over the
head. That’s too easy. No, this piece is a bit more personal than
petty squabbles regarding the stupid cold war that Chicago baseball fans are
enamored with (and the escalated
violence that might occur from such squabbles).
I have been a Cubs’ fan since 1992 and I was part of a generation of
children who ran home after school to catch the last few innings of a typical,
Cubs’ day game on WGN.
Having immigrant parents,
baseball was a very exotic sport—at least in my household. Not only that, it was quasi-prohibited, but
as soon as I took an interest in being a spectator, it was tolerated, but not
fully embraced. So growing up, I learned
the game from Harry Caray and Steve Stone. Obviously, Caray was one of my favorite baseball broadcasters of all time and hold very high reverence
towards Stone. I think the man is a
baseball genius. “Stoney” is still the best
at predicting the outcomes of at bats and does so on a regular basis that one
almost takes it for granted.
As big as a homer Caray was, he spoke his mind and often after drinking
a few beers. Heated baseball discussions
and arguments were common between Caray and Stone, the biggest one involved
Caray playing the role of “mythbuster” whenever Stone brought up the importance
of pitching. Stone, like 85%+ of baseball
fans, experts, and personnel, believed in the old adage that “good pitching
always beats good hitting.” Caray, on
the other hand, only believed in that notion when it was actually working and
whenever he felt like it, Caray would bait Stone into arguing with him, on air,
about why “good pitching” was highly overrated and why it was just as important
to have a great offense as well. “Look
at the Atlanta Braves,” Caray once pointed
out during a Cubs’ telecast in the mid 1990s, “despite all of the pitching
talent, they have zero championships to show for it!”
Caray would be the same guy who would “root, root for the Cubbies,”
during the 7th inning stretch and would rally the team to “get some
runs!” Nevertheless, when the team was
going bad, he'd let the TV audience know about it. When a player was not performing up to par,
Caray was usually the loudest critic. He
didn’t care if it was Greg Maddux or
Bob Scanlan, if the pitcher was not
recording outs, Caray would be critical of the player (which would explain why I really didn't like Maddux the first few times I watched him on TV).
Fergie Jenkins was also the pitching coach
during this era of Cubs' baseball. (photo courtesy of Ed Mancia)
Or when Cubs’ fans acted like idiots (which happened a lot), Caray was the
first one to call them out. He loved
the camera shots of bikini-clad, female Cubs’ fans in the stands, but when Cubs fans
were wrong, he made sure everybody knew about it, TV ratings and home
attendance be damned!
One instance of
this occurred, circa 1993, at a Cubs’ home game. Defensive stalwart, Rey Sanchez, the Cubs’ starting shortstop at the time, came up to
bat. After the PA announced his name to
the crowd for his first at bat of the game, he received a smattering of boos
from the home crowd.
Caray was
livid. “Boo?” Caray asked to no one in
particular, “How are you going to ‘boo’ a guy who’s hitting well above
.300? That’s not a player that the fans
should be booing. If anything, they
should be cheering for Rey. He’s a
slick, defensive shortstop who is hitting the ball well. He should not be booed. Shame on these fans for doing so.” I’m mostly paraphrasing (he might have mentioned how much of a handsome, young man Sanchez was as well), but one thing Caray did
not like was ignorant baseball fans.
It is because of Caray and Stone that I was able to pick up the game
of baseball rather quickly and instantly fell in love with the game. I will always appreciate the duo for helping
me gravitate towards the game and a lot of the pathos that I have for the game
currently, comes from them. They are
part of my “baseball foundation,” so to speak.
Unfortunately, being a Cubs’ fan can be one of the most heartbreaking,
frustrating, discouraging, and insane thing one can be in this country. I grew up reading a lot about the New York Yankees in grade school and could've easily been a Yankee fan for life.
Technically, I was offered a clean slate as no one else in my family liked
baseball. I wouldn't have to face the grief
from disappointing family members or friends.
Alas, due to arbitrary loyalty to the city that I live in, I naturally
became a Cubs’ fan. For those that don’t
understand what it’s like to root for a team that since the day I was born, up
until I became a fan in 1992, had 3 combined playoff wins, it’s like this: it’s
like Married…with
Children and how Al Bundy
really doesn't care about Peggy Bundy,
and it’s doubtful if he even really loves his wife, but due to a common bond,
history, and loyalty to Peggy, Al risks his neck and constantly swallows his
pride for his wife. He does it because
he feels it’s his duty in doing so, but more often than not, he does it out of
pure instinct as well. Like he
involuntarily protects and defends the honor of his less than spectacular wife
and kids for no other reason than the simple fact that there’s a mechanism
inside his head that tells him to unhesitantly do so. That’s basically what it’s like to be a Cubs’
fan: I’m Al Bundy and the Cubs are my Peggy and my kids.
Let’s Rock!
The Hawk! (photo courtesy of Ed Mancia)
I grew up watching players like:
Mark Grace
Ryne Sandberg
Andre Dawson
Greg Maddux
Paul Assenmacher
Bob Scanlan
Kal Daniels
Sammy Sosa (he was my favorite
player almost instantly when he was acquired in 1993 despite being a bonehead
on the field and on the bases...and off the field...)
Derrick May
Mike Morgan
Randy Myers
Bob Patterson
Kevin Foster
Mike Harkey
Steve Buechele
Rick Wilkins
Doug Dascenzo
Luis Gonzalez
Jose Guzman
The list can go on forever!
Unfortunately, the losing was damn near unbearable. As mentioned before, I grew up reading a lot about the Yankees and there was one common theme in that franchise's history: they're always winning! So when my mom bought me a Cubs' Almanac at a dollar store, it was interesting to see how successful the team was in the first half of the 20th century, but how sour and terrible the team got after 1945. I remember how sick to my stomach I was after reading blunder, after blunder, after blunder....
Eventually, however, the losing finally go to me... The false sense of hope finally got to me…
The digging through a tunnel and finally see a light at the end of it…only to
find out that it was a train coming my way to crush me finally go to me…the
history of losing… the bad trades…not being real players in the free agent
market…refusing to re-sign good players…the bad draft picks…the terrible farm
system…all of this finally got to me.
1997, after 5 seasons of being a Cubs’ fan, I finally had
enough! So what happened?
A lot of Mariners' players were on this list. Seattle is looking to get back to their "glory" days and are hoping that their young, pitching prospects can lead them to success. (photo courtesy of Felipe M)
Felipe M
15. James Paxton--SP--Seattle Mariners
2012 Outlook: "Dominant in 1st year of Minors. Big League call-up may not be too far off in 2012."
2012 Achievements: #4 Prospect in Mariners' system as well as having its Best Curveball; #10 Prospect in Southern League.
Conclusion: The Mariners are loaded with young, hot prospects and Paxton is one of them. His Double-A numbers saw Paxton struggle a bit with control, but was still able to display dominance: K/BB 2.4; WHIP 1.31; H/9 7.7; BB/9 4.1; K/9 10.0. Paxton was invitied to the Mariners' spring training camp, but it is very likely he will be returning to the Minors in 2013, but many scouts think he can be a top-of-the-rotation starter and a mid-season call-up would not be out of the ordinary.
14. Brad Peacock--SP--Houston Astros
2012 Outlook: "If he makes the A's roster, he can be the 2012 version of Brandon Beachy."
2012 Achievements: #4 A's prospect
Conclusion: After performing well in the Nationals' system, he struggled mightily in Pacific Coast league last season post the following numbers: K/BB 2.11; K/9 9.3; BB/9 4.4; HR/9 1.1; H/9 9.8; WHIP 1.58. He recently was traded along with Chris Carter to Houston for SS Jed Lowrie.
13. Jacob Turner--SP--Miami Marlins
2012 Outlook: "'Control artist' should make his way to the Big Leagues in 2012."
2012 Achievements: Started 10 games the Majors.
Conclusion: Turner was traded to Miami for Anibal Sanchez and Omar Infante as Detroit was stocking up for a playoff run. Before being called up, Turner garnered 18 pitching starts in the Minors: K/BB 1.95; WHIP 1.24; BB/9 3.3; H/9 7.9; K/9 6.4. His MLB stat line looks like this: K/BB 2.25, WHIP 1.20; BB/9 2.62; H/9 8.2; K/9 5.9. So very similar numbers, but slightly improved his walks in the Majors. Turner's ticket to the Majors is his control and is projected to start in the middle of the rotation. A concern is his low strikeout rate as many scouts and experts are starting to doubt his reputation as a potential, elite starter.
12. Randall Delgado--SP--Arizona Diamondbacks
Seattle was also in pursuit of Justin Upton this offseason and
were willing to give up their promising prospects for him.
Instead, Upton will be playing in Atlanta with his
brother B.J. (photo courtesy of Mike McCann's Field of Fotos)
2012 Outlook: "Might start the season in the Big Leagues depending if Tim Hudson is healthy."
2012 Achievements: Made 17 pitching starts for the Atlanta Braves last season.
Conclusion: Delgado was dealt to Arizona in the Justin Upton trade. Very likely that Delgado will get a shot to compete for the back end of Arizona's rotation in spring training. His numbers in Triple-A: K/BB 2.38; K/9 10.4; BB/9 4.4; H/9 9.0; WHIP 1.49. His numbers for the 2012 MLB season: K/BB 1.81; K/9 7.38; BB/9 4.08; H/9 8.69; WHIP 1.41. So clearly he needs to show he can improve his control and command, but has also shown dominance throughout his young career as well and that's why he remains such an enticing pitcher.
11. Duane Below--SP--Detroit Tigers
2012 Outlook: "Might make the Tigers as team's 5th starter out of spring training."
2012 Achievements: Appeared in 27 games for the Tigers, including one pitching start.
Conclusion: Posted solid numbers as a reliever last year. His K/9 did dip to an ordinary 5.66. Might start 2013 in the Minors as well. Triple-A stats: WHIP 1.30; H/9 8.4; BB/9 3.3; K/9 6.1; K/BB 1.84. So it is noticeable that Below's strikeout rate has been dropping throughout his career as he continues to struggle with command and tries to improve his walks' totals.
The following is a review of a list that was compiled way back in March of 2012. "2012 Outlooks" are based on a summation of scouting reports (entering the 2012 MLB season) of each player condensed into a sentence or two for easier reading.
100. Taylor Jungman--P--Milwaukee Brewers
2012 Outlook: "Future #2 in Starting Rotation."
2012 Achievements: 0.4 HR/9, along with ability to induce groundball outs, displayed ability to keep ball low in the strike zone.
Conclusion: Pitched more to contact in Hi-A ball, which resulted in a very disappointing K/9 (5.82). Also, high hit rate shows lack of dominance and command. Clearly, will need more seasoning before the Brewers can consider calling him up.
99. Trevor May--P--Philadelphia Phillies
2012 Outlook: "Long-term prospect, led Minors in K/9 innings."
2012 Achievements: Was added to Phillies' 40-man roster and will be invited to 2013 Spring Training.
Conclusion: Issues with control are very transparent, but young enough to fix those issues. Despite posting a respectable K/9, May struggled mightily in Double-A ball, especially with the long ball, despite a history of showing ability to keep the ball in the park. Unless he shows otherwise next season, May might prove to be a fly ball pitcher in the long run, which combined with a newfound struggle to limit home runs allowed, might prove to be fatal in Philly. Will more than likely be optioned back to the Minors next March.
98. Josh Vitters--3B--Chicago Cubs
2012 Outlook: "At 22 now, progress has stalled, but young enough to continue to develop."
2012 Achievements: Was called up to the Majors
Conclusion: Power and production, along with a terrible approach at the plate, has been a disappointment throughout his Minor League career. So not surprising, he was completely overmatched in call-up to the Cubs last season. He is still young enough to turn things around, bu the Cubs, before Theo Epstein arrived, were not very fond of him to begin with and, just like Vitters' approach at the plate, are growing more impatient with him.
97. C.J. Cron--1B--Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
2012 Outlook: "Long-term player with legit power, but has moderate ceiling."
2012 Achievements: Rated #9 Prospect and Best Power Prospect in California League
Conclusion: Cron had surgery to repair a tear in right shoulder, but at 22, he might be 2 years away from making Angels' roster at the soonest. Posted impressive power numbers and contact rate, but still needs to continue on improving plate approach and drawing more walks (.327 OBP% in High-A).
96. Andrelton Simmons--SS--Atlanta Braves
2012 Outlook: "Long-term prospect, but has high upside. Lacks power."
2012 Achievements: #6 Prospect and Rated Best Infield Arm in Southern League
Conclusion: Simmons has shown a wonderful approach at the plate. He's also capable of posting high contact rate despite lacking power, resulting in legit, high batting average. He has speed, but has a lot of learning to do in the art of stealing bases. He's also shown improvement in OBP% in every year in the Minors. All of this resulted in Simmons being able to hold his own in the Majors last year as skills that were developed in Minors, streamlined fairly well in the Big Leagues.
