Sicnarf Loopstok wins Moniker title

Indians prospect edges Stryker Trahan to claim 2013 crown

By Danny Wild / MiLB.com

08/29/2013 6:31 PM ET

Sicnarf Loopstok grew up hearing remarks and questions about his name, but when a teammate told him he'd been selected to Moniker Madness, the Aruban catcher instantly embraced the moment.

"I thought, this is a great thing," said Loopstok, a backstop drafted by the Indians in the 13th round of this year's Draft. "My family noticed and they supported and voted for me -- they were great."

Loopstok's unique name and growing fan support officially earned him the 2013 Moniker Madness crown on Thursday when he edged Missoula catcher Stryker Trahan to finish No. 1 when voting ended at noon ET.

"I was pretty excited, I didn't think I would win it, but today [seeing the leaderboard], I knew I'd win," he said. "I'm just going to say thanks to the fans for all their support of me."

Moniker Madness Top 10

Rank Name

1 Sicnarf Loopstok
2 Stryker Trahan
3 Giuseppe Papaccio
4 Forrest Snow
5 Storm Throne
6 Jose Jose
7 Damien Magnifico
8 Stone Speer
9 Zelous Wheeler
10 Mikie Mahtook

Loopstok owns one of the unique and unusual names in sports, making him an early favorite when Moniker Madness began its seventh annual voting contest earlier this month. A native of Oranjestad, Aruba, Loopstok moved to the U.S. and attended Penn Foster High School in Scranton, Pa. before joining Western Oklahoma State College, where he saw time at second, third and catcher.

His name? It's his father's name, Francis, spelled backwards.

"That's pretty much it," he said. "Everyone would ask, they'd say, 'Who the heck is that?' For me, I heard all the comments, but it's OK."

At the ballpark, Loopstok has earned a few nicknames, including Loopy, Loop and "Stick With It."

"I think it's a strange name for the United States," he said. "No one would think that's a person."

Loopstok said his family took to social media to help him win votes.

"They campaigned a lot for me, I got support on Facebook -- people would message me and tell me they'd vote for me until the last day," he said. "I was following it, and at the end, I thought [Trahan] might win, but it was a great competition. It was a good battle."

Loopstok beat out contenders like Giuseppe Papaccio, 2012 contender Forrest Snow, Game of Thrones-esque pitcher Storm Throne and the fabled Jose Jose. Damien Magnifico, Stone Speer, Zelous Wheeler and Mikie Mahtook rounded out the top 10.

Last year's champion, Rock Shoulders, was not eligible for the 2013 contest. Moniker Madness has previously been won by Seth Schwindenhammer (2011), Rowdy Hardy (2010), Dusty Napoleon (2009), Will Startup (2008) and Houston Summers (2007).

The 20-year-old Loopstok may have had an edge in campaigning globally for himself -- he speaks five languages: English, Dutch, Spanish, French and Papiamento, the latter being the most widely spoken language on the Caribbean islands.

On the field, Loopstok has appeared in 20 games for the Scrappers, batting .217 with two RBIs and a pair of extra-base hits in the New York-Penn League. The right-handed backstop is hitting .333 against lefties and has recorded multi-hit efforts in three of his last four games.

"It's pretty cool, it's been a good experience," he said. "I've learned a lot of things, so it's been a good experience for me."

Never a Doubt!

Hamilton calls first at-bats of career 'fun'

By Mark Sheldon / MLB.com | 9/11/2013 1:06 P.M. ET

CINCINNATI --

With the Reds on the wrong end of a 9-1 loss to the Cubs on Tuesday, top prospect Billy Hamilton finally got a chance to do something besides pinch-run. Hamilton played the final three innings in center field for Shin-Soo Choo, going 0-for-2 at the plate.

Teammates had simple advice for Hamilton before he stepped into the batters' box for the first time in the bottom of the seventh.

"Before I went in there, they were just like, 'Breathe, that's the main thing.' That helped me out a lot," Hamilton said. "Of course, I was a little bit nervous, but not as nervous as I thought I'd be."

Hamilton lined out to Cubs shortstop Starlin Castro in the seventh and grounded out to short in the ninth. He also just missed robbing Welington Castillo of a homer at the wall in the top of the seventh.

"Last night was pretty fun," Hamilton said. "I had a good time, especially the first at-bat. It always means something, even if you don't get a hit out of it. I was excited about it."

Hamilton putting charge in Reds' playoff hunt

Speedster off to unprecedented start, but will he find spot on postseason roster?

By Mark Sheldon / MLB.com | 9/12/2013 2:43 P.M. ET

CINCINNATI --

In a tunnel just behind the Reds' dugout at Great American Ball Park, there is a running track that consists of one straightaway that stretches about 50 yards. The sides of the narrow path have become a storage area of sorts, but there is enough room and distance for Billy Hamilton to get warmed up, just in case.

"From the sixth inning on, I'm up and on the track getting loose and getting my legs going, sprinting and stuff," said Hamilton, Cincinnati's top prospect and a first-time September callup.

Over the past 10 years since the stadium opened, lots of Reds players have used this area to get loose before entering a game as a substitute. It's unlikely any of them received a standing ovation when emerging as a pinch-runner for their big league debut.

On Sept. 3 in a crucial series vs. the Cardinals, fans stood and roared when Hamilton popped out to run for Ryan Ludwick in the seventh inning of a scoreless game. All in attendance were keenly aware that this was the guy who stole a professional record 155 bases at Class A and Double-A in 2012 and stole an International League-leading 75 bags for Triple-A Louisville this season.

The most anticipated stolen base of the Reds' season followed when Hamilton swiped second base on pitcher Seth Maness and All-Star catcher Yadier Molina. Right out of the blueprint envisioned before his promotion to the Majors, Hamilton easily scored on Todd Frazier's double, which gave Cincinnati a 1-0 win.

Hamilton stole another base against Molina the following night and scored. He stole two more vs. the Dodgers and also beat another big arm, the cannon of right fielder Yasiel Puig, to score the winning run in a 10th-inning walk-off victory on Saturday.

"It's a feature we haven't had since I've been here," manager Dusty Baker said of Hamilton's speed and baserunning skills. Baker has managed the Reds since 2008.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Hamilton is the first player in modern Major League history to record a stolen base in each of his first four attempts of his career. He's also the first player in the live-ball era to notch two steals and two runs scored in his first two games without recording a plate appearance.

"I'm comfortable with it now," said Hamilton, who played center field for the final three innings of a blowout loss to the Cubs on Tuesday and went 0-for-2. "It's only been a few days, but I knew coming in that this was how it was going to be. I've adjusted to it quickly. It's not bad. It's my role. I've got to fill it."

Will Hamilton's speed get to blaze on the bigger stage of the postseason? That seems likely, but not definite. Cincinnati is all but assured of being one of the two National League Wild Card entries and still has a shot at winning the NL Central.

Hamilton is eligible for the 25-man playoff roster despite not being called up before the Aug. 31 deadline. Major League rules allow players already in an organization before Sept. 1 to be added for the postseason to replace another player on the disabled list. In the Reds' scenario, Hamilton could replace reliever Nick Masset, who is on the 60-day DL and hasn't pitched all season.

"It could be a weapon, but we might need some bat, too," Baker said. "Pinch-hitting is very important during the playoffs. If you can have that luxury, that's great. He was brought here more to help us get there."

Hamilton, who turned 23 on Monday, made strides defensively in a year after converting from shortstop to center field. His ability to get on base has room for growth, however, as he batted .256 with a .308 on-base percentage in 123 games.

"I like speed, but if speed has trouble getting on base, then it's no good," Baker said. "Speed is great if somebody else gets on."

The extra outfielders on Cincinnati's 25-man playoff roster are sure to be Chris Heisey and Xavier Paul, as both bring hitting pop from the bench. Rookie Derrick Robinson brings speed similar to Hamilton's, but not the running skill. Robinson was caught stealing in five of his eight big league attempts this year.

Outcomes of playoff games can sometimes be changed by a steal, or a single run scored. Cubs manager Dale Sveum has seen it for himself. He was the third-base coach for the 2004 Red Sox when Dave Roberts' steal of second base gave Boston life while trailing in the American League Championship Series by a 3-0 margin. That was the spark needed for an improbable comeback.

"We won the World Series because of one stolen base in '04," Sveum said. "It's a huge asset to have when he's your 25th guy that can go in and pretty much guarantee to steal a base no matter who's on the mound and even if they pitch out. We traded for David Roberts for that one particular reason, and sure enough, it came down to helping us win the World Series."

So in that respect, Hamilton brings a lot to the table. With everyone on the field aware of his speed, he could disrupt a pitcher's concentration in a pressure moment. Hamilton could make a catcher rush a throw for an error. Or he can simply do what he did to St. Louis and Los Angeles -- steal second base and get into scoring position.

"He's a tremendous baserunner with great instincts that really knows how to upset a ballgame," Reds general manager Walt Jocketty said.

Hamilton doesn't know whether he will be one of Cincinnati's 25 in October, but he can already envision what it might be like.

"Oh, man. It would be something big," Hamilton said. "What I'm doing now is big. We're just trying to get there now. Once we get there, it would be even bigger."

The Reds would be very dumb not to roster Hamilton for the post season!

Interesting facts from last night's rain delayed game from Chicago according to the Hawk..........

the Hawk stated that the Chicago White Sox were the #1 defensive team in baseball last year. With basically the same players, the Sox went from 1st to last in one year.

They lead the league in 1 run games and are second in extra inning games.

Chris Sale is one strike out away from being the #1 lefty in that category behind Gary Peters.

Chris Sale is 11-13 with an ERA of 3.08 with 214 strikeouts and 44 walks. (a Cy Young year gone awry!)

Talented group to hit free-agent market this offseason

Hot Stove will be burning bright as some of game's biggest stars seek new deals

By Doug Miller / MLB.com | 9/18/2013 9:20 A.M. ET

It's never too early to think about next year's rosters.

Even contending Major League Baseball teams are going to have decisions to make once their regular seasons or postseasons end, and there's no doubt that general managers are already looking at the free-agent boards and contract sheets and crunching the numbers to determine what kind of playing field they'll be presented with when the winter rolls around.

With that in mind, here are nine potential 2014 free agents, an estimated top of the class to theoretically set next year's market and get the Hot Stove season fired up.

Robinson Cano, 2B, Yankees: Jay-Z's client figures to be the most sought-after free agent on the board. Cano is a perennial All-Star in the midst of a typically prolific offensive season, but he's also going to be 31 years old on Oct. 22, so it remains to be seen how the Yankees will want to operate here. Regardless, Cano figures to fetch at least five years and well over $100 million on the market.

Jacoby Ellsbury, OF, Red Sox: Ellsbury was a legitimate MVP candidate in 2011 and the victim of a lost season because of injury last year. He has bounced back big-time in what was until a recent foot injury a healthy, rejuvenated walk year, proving to be the on-base, speedy, high-average threat everyone expected him to be. If he's priced too high to stay in Boston, Ellsbury might have a suitor in the Mariners, since Ellsbury, who just turned 30, grew up in nearby Oregon and played college ball at Oregon State.

Shin-Soo Choo, OF, Reds: The Reds got him for Drew Stubbs prior to this season knowing they'd have only one guaranteed year out of him. They figured it was worth the risk, that the five-tool package Choo offers could get them into the World Series. And it still might. But Choo, 31 and represented by Scott Boras, will surely be looking for a big multiyear deal after putting up another excellent all-around season.

Curtis Granderson, OF, Yankees: It has been a tough year for Granderson, who has never quite got to show his talents on the field because of freak injuries. His resume, when healthy, speaks for itself, however. Granderson hit more than 40 homers and drove in more than 100 runs in 2011 and '12, and he can still play some outfield defense at the age of 32. He seems like a shoo-in to get at least a three-year deal.

Carlos Beltran, OF, Cardinals: He'll be 37 in April, but he still has some thunder in his bat. However, with slightly diminished offensive numbers this year, one has to wonder if he will get more than a two-year deal.

Mike Napoli, 1B/DH, Red Sox: Napoli was on the cusp of signing a big multiyear deal with the Red Sox before a degenerative hip condition was discovered and knocked him down to a one-year pact. After a solid season that will end with a career-high RBI total and might end with a World Series title, we'll see if Boston or some other team reconsiders a longer term on a new contract.

Tim Lincecum, RHP, Giants: The man they call "The Freak" is the biggest enigma of the big-name free agents. Teams have to wonder who they'll get. Will it be the two-time National League Cy Young Award winner or the guy who was relegated to bullpen duty while his Giants won their second World Series ring? Will it be the guy who pitched a no-hitter this year despite a diminished fastball, or will he continue to fall on the velocity scale and become ineffective? Tough call, but it will sure be intriguing to see where he lands -- and for how many years and dollars.

Brian McCann, C, Braves: McCann rebounded from injury to reassert himself as one of the premier offensive catchers in the game. The seven-time All-Star is still young -- he doesn't turn 30 until April. That could add up to a nice payday, and it might be in Atlanta. It would be strange to see him in any other uniform, frankly.

Ubaldo Jimenez, RHP, Indians: Talk about rejuvenation. It looked like this guy might just fade away into mediocrity, but in his past 20 starts, Jimenez has pitched to a 2.52 ERA. In fact, Jimenez's ERA is 1.83 over his past 10 starts and 1.57 across his past five. For the season, Jimenez has posted a career-best rate of 9.1 strikeouts per nine innings.

Others to watch:

Carlos Ruiz, C, Phillies; Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C; Red Sox; A.J. Pierzynski, C, Rangers; James Loney, 1B, Rays; Justin Morneau, 1B, Pirates; Michael Morse, 1B, Orioles; Mark Reynolds, 1B, Yankees; Kendrys Morales, 1B, Mariners; Stephen Drew, SS, Red Sox; Jhonny Peralta, SS, Tigers; Michael Young, 3B, Dodgers; Nelson Cruz, OF, Rangers; Marlon Byrd, OF, Pirates; Nate McLouth, OF, Orioles; David Murphy, OF, Rangers; Hunter Pence, OF, Giants; Bronson Arroyo, RHP, Reds; A.J. Burnett, RHP, Pirates; Bartolo Colon, RHP, A's; Scott Feldman, RHP, Orioles; Matt Garza, RHP, Rangers; Jason Hammel, RHP, Orioles; Dan Haren, RHP, Nationals; Tim Hudson, RHP, Braves; Phil Hughes, RHP, Yankees; Josh Johnson, RHP, Blue Jays; Scott Kazmir, LHP, Indians; Hiroki Kuroda, RHP, Yankees; Paul Maholm, LHP, Braves; Ricky Nolasco, RHP, Dodgers; Ervin Santana, RHP, Royals; Jason Vargas, LHP, Angels; Edinson Volquez, RHP, Dodgers; Grant Balfour, RHP, A's; Joaquin Benoit, RHP, Tigers; Kevin Gregg, RHP, Cubs; Fernando Rodney, RHP, Rays.

9/18/13: Chris Archer pitches six strong innings, allowing just two runs on four hits and one walk while striking out six

There were two trade acquisitions on display Wednesday night, slugging outfielder Wil Myers, obtained in a trade with the Royals, and starting pitcher Chris Archer, acquired in a trade with the Cubs. Both are legitimate candidates for the AL Rookie of the Year Award.

Baseball / MLB

Maz set to sell 1960 Game 7 jersey

AP

Sep 19, 2013

PITTSBURGH –

Former Pittsburgh Pirates second baseman Bill Mazeroski is selling memorabilia from the most iconic moment of his Hall of Fame career.

Mazeroski will have several personal items auctioned at the Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory in November, including the jersey he wore in Game 7 of the 1960 World Series. Mazeroski hit a solo home run leading off the bottom of the ninth to lift the Pirates to a championship.

Mazeroski said the jersey, which is expected to go for more than $100,000, has been sitting around collecting mothballs for years and felt it was time to “share it with the public.” Mazeroski, who spent 17 seasons with the Pirates, also plans to sell six Gold Glove Awards and the 1960 Babe Ruth Award.

I remember that game like it was yesterday.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bR8lqTnrpBc

At that time the Ohio Valley was a mix of Pirate and Indian fans. Pittsburgh was only about 60 miles away. The radio stations carried both teams but later on, they only carried Pirate games.

WTRF radio and TV carried the Indian games for a long time before cancelling the contract.

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Cleveland Classic Media

History and Memories of Cleveland and Northeast Ohio Television and Radio from the 1940's-1980's..Dedicated to preserving the Broadcast Heritage of Northeast Ohio..

Tribe Radio/TV..Historical Overview..


TV Guide Ad for A Cleveland Indians-Chicago White Sox Game May 10, 1958..On WTRF-TV 7 Wheeling, W. Va. This was the CBS Game of the Week with announcers Dizzy Dean and Buddy Blattner. (White Sox won 5-4)
TV Guide Ad for early 1970 Indians Game on WJW-TV 8. (Indians won 9-4)
TV Guide Closeup for a Pirates/Philadelphia game on May 16, 1958. Pirate Network stations represented are KDKA 2 Pittsburgh, WJAC 6 Johnstown, Pa., WSTV 9 Steubenville, Oh, and WKST 45, New Castle, Pa. (Youngstown Market)(Phillies won 6-2)

With the Indians heading into the playoffs with the New York Yankees, I thought it would be kind of fun to go into some of the Cleveland Indians Broadcast History.

RADIO

Former Tribe Player Jack Graney was the first Radio announcer for Indians Baseball, beginning in 1932 on WJW-AM going all the way to 1944 with several partners, Though Tom Manning did some games for WTAM in the 1929-31 period, but he also was League Park Announcer. In a unique situation, Four stations broadcast the June 28, 1946 game, Shortly after Bill Veeck bought the team..WJW (Earl Harper) WTAM (Tom Manning) WHK(Don Campbell) and WGAR (Jack Graney, Bob Neal) WGAR then held the rights for 1947 with Jack Graney solo. WJW gained the rights for 1948-49 with Jimmy Dudley and Graney..WERE 1300 then acquired Broadcast rights from 1950-72..Jimmy Dudley was play by play man from 1950-67 with a number of color men..including Graney (1950-53) Ed Edwards (1954-55) Tom Manning (1956) Bob Neal (1957-61, 65-67) and Harry Jones (1962-64)..Dudley left the Indians after the 1967 season..It was said he didnt get along well with Bob Neal..Dudley announced Seattle Pilots games in 1969 before retiring in Arizona. Bob Neal was then partnered with Herb Score from 1968-72 (My first baseball memories are in 1970 with Herb Score and Bob Neal) WWWE-1100 gained the Broadcast rights in 1973, with Joe Tait, Cavaliers broadcaster joining Herb Score until 1980..when Nev Chandler of Channel 5 joined Herb Score through the 1984 season..1985 saw Steve LaMar opposite Herb..Lamar was here through 1987..Paul Olden joined Herb in 1988..Olden had an uncanny knack for sounding like Vin Scully..Olden stayed through 1989.. Tom Hamilton joined the broadcast team in 1990..and has been with the team since then..WKNR-1220 gained radio rights from 1992-97, with the Score-Hamilton duo intact..Herb Score Retired after the 1997 season, but not before calling two Indians World Series..(1995, 97) WTAM-1100 (WWWE) acquired radio rights once again in 1998, with the Tribe going to a 3-man broadcast booth..Hamilton, former MLB player Mike Hegan and Former Tribe coach Davey Nelson were the team in 1998-99, with Channel 5 sports staffer Matt Underwood replacing Nelson from 2000-2006..In 2007, Underwood went to Sports Time Ohio as Indians annoiuncer with Rick Manning..Leaving just Tom Hamilton and Mike Hegan as the radio team..
UPDATE:Hamilton/Hegan in 2011 will be joined by Jim Rosenhaus, pregame host who will do a few innings a game to spell Hegan or Hamilton

TELEVISION

Cleveland Indians TV coverage began as early as 1948 on WEWS Channel 5 with Van Patrick in the booth, being replaced by Tris Speaker and Bob Neal in 1949..1950 saw WXEL-9 get the TV rights..Holding them at first through 1955 (as WJW-8 by this time) Announcers were Jimmy Dudley/Jack Graney in 1950, Hal Newell in 1951, Bob Neal and "Red" Jones in 1952-53..Ken Coleman and Jim Britt 1954-55 on WXEL/WJW. WEWS got the rights back from 1956-60..with Coleman/Britt in 1956-57, Coleman and Bill McColgan from 1958-60. WJW-TV 8 would get the rights once again in 1961-holding them through 1979..Ken Coleman partnered with Harry Jones in 1961, then Bob Neal in 1962-1963..Coleman left the Indians after the 1963 season. Herb Score joined Bob Neal in 1964, then Score was joined by Harry Jones from 1965-67..Harry Jones was joined by Yankee legend Mel Allen in 1968..1969-71 saw the team of Harry Jones and Dave Martin..Jones then partnered with Rocky Colavito in 1972, then Mudcat Grant in 1973-74..(Little bit of chin music there..) 1975-76 had Bob Brown and Rocky Colavito as the broadcast team..1977 it was back to Harry Jones and Mudcat Grant..1978 (WJKW) saw Jim Meuller and Eddie Doucette of Milwaukee as the TV Team..In 1979 it was Joe Castiglione and Bruce Drennan.. WUAB-TV 43 gained broadcast rights in 1980-2001..Joe Tait and Bruce Drennan as the team from 1980-82..Then Joe Tait was joined by retired Browns(?) receiver Reggie Rucker from 1983-84..Joe Tait then was with Jack Corrigan in 1985-87 (now part of the Rockies' Radio team).Corrigam teamed with Steve LaMar in 1988..then with Mike Hegan from 1989-2001, joined by Matt Underwood as the 3rd man in the booth in the 2000 season only.. In 2006..WKYC-TV 3 began airing a limited number of broadcast games through Cable home SportsTime Ohio..with Rick Manning and Jim Donovan

CABLE

Early unsuccesful attempts at Cable included Ted Stepien's TenTV in 1982..With Joe Castiglione and Bob Feller as announcers..Then the Sports Exchange in 1983, with Feller, Jack Corrigan and Denny Schreiner.. 1990 saw the debut of SportsChannel Ohio(FOX Sports Ohio as of 1998), with Rick Manning and Plain Dealer writer Dan Coughlin. Coughlin was replaced in 1991 bu Pittsburgh Sports TV Veteran John Sanders. They were joined in 2002 by Mike Hegan through 2005.. The Indians in 2006 took their TV production in house with the advent of SportsTime Ohio..While Sanders, Manning and Hegan were the team in 2006, it was decided in 2007 not to bring Sanders back..Hegan went exclusively to Radio and Matt Underwood joined Rick Manning as the Current Broadcast TV Team..

2010 UPDATE:Jim Donovan is no longer announcing the Channel 3 games..They are now straight simulcasts with STO..

Longest serving announcers..

Radio

Jack Graney 1932-53
Jimmy Dudley 1948-67
Herb Score 1968-97
Bob Neal 1946, 1957-61, 1965-72
Tom Hamilton 1990-2007

TV (broadcast and Cable)

Ken Coleman 1954-63
Harry Jones 1961, 1965-74, 1977
Joe Tait 1980-87
Jack Corrigan 1983, 1985-2001
Rick Manning 1990-2007
John Sanders 1991-2006
Mike Hegan 1989-2006

I realize this has been exhaustive, but it points out how many talented broadcasters have come through Cleveland, and some not so talented (Rucker) and colorful personalites (Feller, Mudcat Grant, Drennan).. Baseball scores provided by shrpsports.com..Information provided by the Cleveland Indians..


Posted by Tim Lones at 9:54 AM

Billy Hamilton on the run Wednesday night.

http://www.baseballamerica.com/majors/j ... -hamilton/

Has anyone ever seen a player hit the ball any harder, longer, most effortlessly, and most consistently to the opposite field than Yasiel Puig ???

And how about Ryu ??? The guys been awesome !!

Last night's bomb----

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.js ... mode=video

Where the aces are

By Jeff Ellis

September 26, 2013

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In April, I wrote a piece looking at the failure rate of high first round picks, and what I found was that pitchers are much more likely to fail than hitters. It wasn’t even close as hitters were about 15% more successful than pitchers. This lead me to think a team might be wise to just go for hitters early rather than take the risk on pitchers.

Well, I realized this thought was rather flawed. I was just looking at success rate and not really looking at where great pitching comes from. It might be a risk to draft them earlier, but what if that is also the only place to find truly great pitching?

This lead me to try and discover where does one find an ace. Is there a rhyme and reason? Or, is there no such thing as a pitching prospect?

The best indictor statistic for pitchers right now is xFIP: it is fielding independent pitching. It allows one to judge the pitcher alone and not take into account the defense around him. It also takes out the variance associated with home run rates. The best part is it is on the same scale as the old ERA stat, so anyone can look at the numbers and understand them.

I decided to go back to 2007 and take the top ten pitchers in xFIP over the last seven years; so 70 total players. If a player made the list more than once, he counted each time. This gave me a good amount of data on where you can and can’t find aces.

Where you don’t find aces?

Well, in general there has been little luck with international free agents. They had only 13 appearances which came out to about only about 19%. On top of that almost half of those appearances were Felix Hernandez and Yu Darvish. I am not sure the reason. It might be something with starting in systems at a much younger age, but international players just don’t seem to be the place to find your front line starter.

In the last six years not a single top pitcher has been taken after the 8th round. If you go back to 2007, then you get two players who appear: John Smoltz (22nd round) and Jake Peavy (15th round). The total percentage of aces found after round eight is 3%, which makes them outliers more than a prediction of the ability to find such pitchers. A guy like Doug Fister who appeared once, while being unheralded, was still a 7th round selection, showing you need to grab arms early.

I ended up putting them together with the other college players, but in general community college pitchers were also a rare occurrence. If you wanted to find a star pitcher it won’t be in Juco and not really in college in general.

Only 22 pitchers from any college made the list for a total of 31%. The safest pitcher is viewed as a college pitcher and there have been many great early picks for college pitchers, but it is pretty clear the safe college pitcher - especially after the top ten picks - doesn’t have the ace upside many teams would want in a high pick.

Where the aces are

50% of ace pitchers were high school picks.

So, if you combine this with my earlier piece, then high school pitchers are the biggest risks but also the biggest reward. The injury and flame out risks are high, but the best place to find that front line pitching is far and away from the high school ranks. If you combine international, college, and junior college, then they ended up equaling high school pitchers, which is how big the divide is.

Now, if you thought that was drastic, well one round in particular has had 53% of the ace pitchers and that round is the first. There were 37 players taken in round one who made my cut off. The next best round was round eight with nine pitchers, then round 4 with eight pitchers, and lastly round two with six pitchers.

There were a total of 57 drafted players who made the list, and only 20 were not from the first round. There is little doubt if you want to find frontline starters, then you should look in round one. (One interesting twist was the guys with lower velocity or ground ball guys were often the players taken in round eight i.e. Derek Lowe or Brandon Webb, which showed a correlation between velocity and draft position.)

This showed me that the TINSTAAPP* is basically BS. The only way to get a frontline starter is by finding a prospect and finding him early. Aces are all solid prospects and the majority are high picks. You have a better chance finding a hitter later than a pitcher with All Star upside.

So if you go back and combine this with my piece from April it does propose quite the quandary. Do you risk a high flame out rate and draft a high school pitcher in the first round? Or do you go for the hitter and hope you might be able to flip him for an arm later?

At the end of my other article, I said I would avoid pitchers early. Well, now I have to contradict myself. The risk is worth it to me, and it shows that the Indians like any team should stick to their board. It should not matter what your system looks like, you take the player who you think will give you the best chance to succeed.

If you read my Big Board from last week you can see why this is very relevant. The Indians currently have two first rounders. They have their own plus a competitive balance pick. I think they end up with a third when they extend Ubaldo Jimenez the qualifying offer before he signs with another team as a free agent this offseason. So the Indians could easily end up with three picks in the top 35.

In a draft that is loaded with high school arms, that is the strength of the draft. I had 24 pitchers on my top 35 for next year, and 14 of those were high school arms. Next year might be the perfect year for the Indians to swing for the fences and see if they can find their future ace....or aces.

*TINSTAAPP - There Is No Such Thing As A Starting Pitching Prospect

Follow Jeff on Twitter @jeffmlbdraft, or email him at jellis121@yahoo.com

So what about this Gomez-McCann deal then? The jawing and yelling is one thing, but just who the eff does McCann think he is? And Gomez is the one who gets suspended? Boy the people who run this game are a bunch of idiots.

VT, did you watch the video of the whole thing ? If the Braves were not in the playoffs and did not want to be suspended then the whole infield would have beat the crap out of Gomez. Every national broadcast thought the pitcher should have hit Gomez in the chest with the next pitch after his first swing. Once again they thought the pitcher was afraid of being suspended.

Gomez swore at the pitcher, then the first baseman, then 2nd, then SS, and then 3rd.

Finally McCann said I am going to put an end to this sissys crap.

Did you really see any of his teammates really stand up for Gomez ? Just stood around. This guy is a head case.