Those numbers for Neal are terrible. No power, 3x1 K to BB. I'll link to the "for subscribers" and bring it over.
7. Thomas Neal, of Born: Aug. 17, 1987 • B-T: R-R • Ht: 6-2 • Wt: 225
Drafted: Riverside (Calif.) CC, D/F 2005 (36th round) • Signed by: Lee Carballo
Background: A $220,000 draft-and-follow signee out of Riverside (Calif.) CC, Neal dislocated his throwing shoulder in 2007 and missed nearly 12 months. He broke out in 2009, hitting .337/.431/.579 and leading the California League in on-base percentage, then turned in a solid season in Double-A last year to earn a spot on the 40-man roster. As a youth, he played on a San Diego-area travel team that included Stephen Strasburg, Mike Leake and Giants manager Bruce Bochy's son Brett.
Scouting Report: Neal is more athletic than most 6-foot-2, 225-pounders. His combination of power, arm strength and surprising ability to cover ground in either outfield corner draws comparisons to Jermaine Dye. But Neal needed time to figure out Double-A pitchers, who worked him with sinkers down and in, followed by sliders away. He has the bat speed to handle quality fastballs but gets a little overeager in RBI situations. While a below-average runner, he's opportunistic on the bases and coaches love his hustle.
The Future: By the end of the season, Neal learned to take a consistent plan into every at-bat, something he can build on in Triple-A in 2011. There's a good chance he'll be introduced to the big leagues at some point this year, with the chance to establish himself as an everyday player in 2012.
2010 Club (Class) AVG OBP SLG AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB
Richmond (AA) .291 .359 .440 525 69 153 40 1 12 69 46 94 11
Re: Articles
648John Sickels on the prospects in the trade
In Sickels grading, A is a future impact player and B is a future starter.
Prospects in the Ubaldo Jimenez Trade
March2111_084_tiny by John Sickels on Jul 31, 2011 12:30 AM EDT
3 comments
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Pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez, traded from the Colorado Rockies to the Cleveland Indians on July 30th, 2011 (AP Photo/Gregory Smith)
Gregory Smith - APMore photos »
Pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez, traded from the Colorado Rockies to the Cleveland Indians on July 30th, 2011 (AP Photo/Gregory Smith)
Prospects in the Ubaldo Jimenez Trade
The Colorado Rockies traded pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez to the Cleveland Indians on Saturday night, receiving three prospects and a player-to-be-named in return. The Rockies receive right-handed pitchers Alex White and Joe Gardner, plus first baseman/outfielder Matt McBride. The PTBNL is reportedly left-hander Drew Pomeranz, but Pomeranz can't be officially traded until August 16th, one year after he signed with the Indians. Let's take a look at Colorado's haul.
Star-divide
Joe Gardner, RHP: Garner is a 23-year-old right-hander drafted in the third round in 2009 from UC-Santa Barbara. He currently has a 4.99 ERA with a 60/47 K/BB in 97 innings for Double-A Akron, with 108 hits allowed and a 1.91 GO/AO. His key pitch is a hard sinker, clocked as high as 94 on his best days. His slider and changeup are inconsistent, and problems with his secondary pitches are especially evident against left-handed hitters, who've hit .319 against him this year. Although the Indians were working to develop him as a starter, many scouts believe he'll be better off in the pen. I rated him a Grade B pre-season but he looks more like a C+ right now.
Drew Pomeranz, LHP: The Indians drafted Pomeranz in the 1st round in 2010, from the University of Mississippi, fifth overall. A 6-5, 230 pound lefty, he's been excellent in his pro debut this year, posting a 1.87 ERA with a 95/32 K/BB in 77 innings for High-A Kinston, with 56 hits allowed, then a 2.57 ERA with a 17/6 K/BB in his first 14 innings after being promoted to Akron, with 10 hits allowed. Pomeranz has a low-to-mid-90s fastball, a nasty, overpowering knuckle-curve, and an improving changeup. His command can be erratic, but his stuff is first-class and pro hitters haven't been a huge challenge for him yet. I gave him a Grade B+ pre-season and currently see him as a Grade A-, one of the elite pitching prospects in the game. He won't be officially named in the trade until August 16th or later.
Matt McBride, OF-1B: McBride was a supplemental second-round pick in 2006 from Lehigh University. A 26-year-old right-handed hitter, he's currently hitting .297/.359/.535 with 14 homers, 30 walks, and 44 strikeouts in 310 at-bats for Akron. However, he struggled earlier in the year for Triple-A Columbus, with a .156/.191/.267 mark in 45 at-bats. He began his career as a catcher but is mainly a first baseman and corner outfielder now, though he can still catch in an emergency. He's performed quite well over parts of four seasons in Double-A, but has been unable to master Triple-A, hitting just .238/.267/.378 in 164 at-bats at that level. Grade C.
Alex White, RHP: White was drafted by Cleveland in the first round in 2009, from the University of North Carolina, 15th overall. The 22-year-old right-hander began 2011 with Triple-A Columbus and posted a 1.90 ERA with a 28/5 K/BB in 24 innings, which earned him a major league promotion. He posted a 3.60 ERA in his first three starts for the Tribe, with a 13/9 K/BB in 15 innings and a 2.33 GO/AO, but then went on the DL with a finger injury. He's expected to return to action soon. White's fastball has a lot of sink and reaches 93-94 on his best days. He'll mix in a slider, but his out-pitch is a plus splitter. I rated him a Grade B+ pre-season and see no reason to change that right now.
In Sickels grading, A is a future impact player and B is a future starter.
Prospects in the Ubaldo Jimenez Trade
March2111_084_tiny by John Sickels on Jul 31, 2011 12:30 AM EDT
3 comments
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Printer Print
Pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez, traded from the Colorado Rockies to the Cleveland Indians on July 30th, 2011 (AP Photo/Gregory Smith)
Gregory Smith - APMore photos »
Pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez, traded from the Colorado Rockies to the Cleveland Indians on July 30th, 2011 (AP Photo/Gregory Smith)
Prospects in the Ubaldo Jimenez Trade
The Colorado Rockies traded pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez to the Cleveland Indians on Saturday night, receiving three prospects and a player-to-be-named in return. The Rockies receive right-handed pitchers Alex White and Joe Gardner, plus first baseman/outfielder Matt McBride. The PTBNL is reportedly left-hander Drew Pomeranz, but Pomeranz can't be officially traded until August 16th, one year after he signed with the Indians. Let's take a look at Colorado's haul.
Star-divide
Joe Gardner, RHP: Garner is a 23-year-old right-hander drafted in the third round in 2009 from UC-Santa Barbara. He currently has a 4.99 ERA with a 60/47 K/BB in 97 innings for Double-A Akron, with 108 hits allowed and a 1.91 GO/AO. His key pitch is a hard sinker, clocked as high as 94 on his best days. His slider and changeup are inconsistent, and problems with his secondary pitches are especially evident against left-handed hitters, who've hit .319 against him this year. Although the Indians were working to develop him as a starter, many scouts believe he'll be better off in the pen. I rated him a Grade B pre-season but he looks more like a C+ right now.
Drew Pomeranz, LHP: The Indians drafted Pomeranz in the 1st round in 2010, from the University of Mississippi, fifth overall. A 6-5, 230 pound lefty, he's been excellent in his pro debut this year, posting a 1.87 ERA with a 95/32 K/BB in 77 innings for High-A Kinston, with 56 hits allowed, then a 2.57 ERA with a 17/6 K/BB in his first 14 innings after being promoted to Akron, with 10 hits allowed. Pomeranz has a low-to-mid-90s fastball, a nasty, overpowering knuckle-curve, and an improving changeup. His command can be erratic, but his stuff is first-class and pro hitters haven't been a huge challenge for him yet. I gave him a Grade B+ pre-season and currently see him as a Grade A-, one of the elite pitching prospects in the game. He won't be officially named in the trade until August 16th or later.
Matt McBride, OF-1B: McBride was a supplemental second-round pick in 2006 from Lehigh University. A 26-year-old right-handed hitter, he's currently hitting .297/.359/.535 with 14 homers, 30 walks, and 44 strikeouts in 310 at-bats for Akron. However, he struggled earlier in the year for Triple-A Columbus, with a .156/.191/.267 mark in 45 at-bats. He began his career as a catcher but is mainly a first baseman and corner outfielder now, though he can still catch in an emergency. He's performed quite well over parts of four seasons in Double-A, but has been unable to master Triple-A, hitting just .238/.267/.378 in 164 at-bats at that level. Grade C.
Alex White, RHP: White was drafted by Cleveland in the first round in 2009, from the University of North Carolina, 15th overall. The 22-year-old right-hander began 2011 with Triple-A Columbus and posted a 1.90 ERA with a 28/5 K/BB in 24 innings, which earned him a major league promotion. He posted a 3.60 ERA in his first three starts for the Tribe, with a 13/9 K/BB in 15 innings and a 2.33 GO/AO, but then went on the DL with a finger injury. He's expected to return to action soon. White's fastball has a lot of sink and reaches 93-94 on his best days. He'll mix in a slider, but his out-pitch is a plus splitter. I rated him a Grade B+ pre-season and see no reason to change that right now.
Re: Articles
650"But Neal needed time to figure out Double-A pitchers, who worked him with sinkers down and in, followed by sliders away"
Sounds like he will fit right in
Sounds like he will fit right in
Re: Articles
651He's a little young to be in AAA, not 24 for a few weeks, so possibly will develop into a 4th OF, but don't see any reason to expect more than that. Not a lot of walks, not a lot of steals, not a lot of homers: trifecta of mediocrity.
Re: Articles
652Antonetti wants to win now, and proves it
Indians GM pulls off blockbuster trade, brings in Ubaldo
By Anthony Castrovince | MLB.com Columnist | Archive
07/30/11 11:48 PM ET Comments (8)
printe-mailCLEVELAND -- I keep thinking back to what Chris Antonetti told me just the other day, probably as the Ubaldo Jimenez talks with the Rockies were heating up.
We were talking about that purported "Plan" the Indians were expected to be enslaved to. Nobody realistically expected the Tribe to sell off the long-term to address the short. Nobody expected this small-market club with so little wiggle room to dangle the likes of Drew Pomeranz and Alex White -- the consolation prizes for past seasons gone awry -- to support a 2011 club that has shocked the baseball world merely by playing somewhere in the neighborhood of .500 baseball.
That's when Antonetti said something interesting.
Jimenez's gem00:01:259/11/10: Ubaldo Jimenez strikes out eight batters and allows just one run in a magnificent performanceTags: highlight reel, More From This Game, pitching, Colorado Rockies, "Let's not be mistaken," he told me. "'The Plan' is to win games, get into the postseason and win a championship. Nobody's smart enough to know when factors will line up to have those opportunities. We have an opportunity in front of us to potentially reach the postseason. We don't take those opportunities lightly."
Apparently not.
We can say this much in the wake of the Jimenez blockbuster: Antonetti has officially made his mark on this organization. After nine years spent as Mark Shapiro's assistant, Antonetti was expected to be the bearer of business as usual at the corner of Carnegie and Ontario when he took over the GM reins last fall. But there is nothing usual about this Trade Deadline stunner.
An Indians club that has long articulated the necessity of stockpiling "waves of arms" down on the farm in order to sustain championship-caliber baseball in a shrinking market has suddenly sold off its two most prominent pitching prospects in Pomeranz and White, as well as right-hander Joe Gardner and first baseman/outfielder Matt McBride, for two years and two months of a guy who was arguably the best pitcher in baseball. Fourteen months ago.
Jimenez, 27, may very well be the proven front-line starter the Indians have lacked since they shipped off consecutive Cy Young winners in CC Sabathia and Cliff Lee in 2008 and '09. Or he might be damaged goods, a flash that didn't last. Truth is, nobody knows at this point, because for what amounts to a full season now, Jimenez has provided Fausto Carmona-like confusion in Colorado, brilliant in some spurts, baffling in others.
Antonetti's betting on brilliance, and it's a huge gamble. Not just because Jimenez still has plenty to prove, but because this Indians team at large is no sure thing, either. After a 30-15 start that woke up a slumbering and suffering fan base, the Indians have gone 23-36 in the time since, one of the worst records in the game in that stretch. They have seen two of their best hitters, Grady Sizemore and Shin-Soo Choo, hit the disabled list, and an overachieving offense catch the bus back to earth. The starting staff has the 11th-best ERA in the 14-team AL, and even that is better than most anticipated going into the year.
Kosuke Fukudome was reeled in from the Cubs to provide some on-base ability to the outfield alignment, and, if rumblings are to be relied upon, Ryan Ludwick might be brought back in the hope he can provide some thump.
But Ubaldo is the big fish, the answer to all those who clamored for this club to make a major move. And no matter how this move shakes out, it's going to have major implications on the Indians for years to come.
What are the Indians getting in Jimenez? Well, let's start by saying it's definitely a question.
Entering his bizarre one-inning outing against the Padres on Saturday night (and for our purposes, we'll choose to ignore that disaster, given that it came amid the swirling rumors), Jimenez was 6-9 with a 4.20 ERA in 20 starts. His ballpark-adjusted ERA was 107, or just above league average. He had four starts in which he allowed five earned runs or more, 11 in which he allowed two or fewer.
These are the numbers of a good, not great, asset. The uplifting news is that Ubaldo has been at his best since June 1, going 6-4 with a 3.03 ERA in that stretch, but the bad news is that he's yet to find the form that made him such an overpowering presence in the first half of 2010.
Remember that first half? Jimenez was literally unhittable one memorable night against the Braves and virtually unhittable every other time he took the mound. He went 15-1 through July 8, posting a 2.20 ERA, a .198 batting average against and .582 OPS against. These were just silly, silly statistics.
From July 19 on? Not so silly. Jimenez went 4-7 with a much-more-pedestrian but still-respectable 3.80 ERA. He also managed to allow just a .223 average and .644 OPS against.
So, to review, what we have here is a guy who absolutely dazzled for a short stretch. A very short stretch, in reality. And in the time since -- perhaps as a result of the injuries he's endured (hip flexor, groin and thumb cuticle), the thin Colorado air, the adjustments made against him or some combination of the three -- he's been human as can be. Jimenez's overall 2011 numbers are tainted by his 6.75 ERA in April, his 5.45 ERA in May and his 5.55 ERA at home (vs. a 2.83 mark elsewhere), but he's also famously lost a couple ticks on his fastball.
Because of his past glories and his team-friendly contract ($2.8 million this year, $4.2 million in 2012, $5.75 million team option in 2013), it's obvious why a guy like Jimenez would appeal to a team like the Indians, even though his 2014 option can be voided by the pitcher as a result of this trade.
But at the same time, the question begs to be asked: Why was he so readily available?
It's rare for a club to give up on its homegrown ace at such a juncture. Even when the Indians tried to sell high with Cliff Lee, they did so a year and two months ahead of his free-agent alarm going off, not three years and two months.
It's also amazing to see the Indians so willingly ship away two highly regarded arms in White and Pomeranz. These guys were the future, the reason to believe in better times... before better times showed up slightly ahead of schedule. Tribe fans got a too-brief glimpse of White before he injured his finger, and he was about to make his first rehab appearance when the deal went down. They're not even a year removed from the Pomeranz hoopla that came when he signed his first professional contract.
Speaking of that signing, the Indians gave bonuses totaling nearly $5 million to White and Pomeranz, so that figure must also be taken into account when we talk about how club-friendly Jimenez's salary is.
Then again, you think about White's finger. And you remember that another highly touted arm, Adam Miller, was once "untouchable" in trade talks, before his fickle finger resulted in four separate surgeries that have left him a 26-year-old Double-A reliever.
You also remember that best-laid plans often go to waste. The Indians thought they had built something special from within following the 2007 run to the ALCS, but they fell on their face in '08 and '09, prompting another rebuild.
So here arrives another postseason opportunity. As Antonetti said, you never know when, or if, the next one is coming around the corner. Jimenez coming on board in time for what might well be a make-or-break stretch against the Red Sox and Rangers could be a game-changer, or he could just provide more sterling starting efforts wasted by an inefficient offense.
Either way, the 2012 Tribe rotation, with Jimenez, Justin Masterson, Josh Tomlin, Fausto Carmona and Carlos Carrasco on board, is slightly more appealing on paper. But its depth has undoubtedly taken a hit. There will be no highly polished hot prospect coming around the corner. What you see is basically what you get.
That's why this was such a bold move. "The Plan" so many assumed the Indians were operating by is a Deadline casualty, if it even existed at all. Antonetti made it clear he believes in one plan only, and that's to win while the opportunity is here. And he has a heck of a lot riding on Ubaldo Jimenez being a big part of it.
Indians GM pulls off blockbuster trade, brings in Ubaldo
By Anthony Castrovince | MLB.com Columnist | Archive
07/30/11 11:48 PM ET Comments (8)
printe-mailCLEVELAND -- I keep thinking back to what Chris Antonetti told me just the other day, probably as the Ubaldo Jimenez talks with the Rockies were heating up.
We were talking about that purported "Plan" the Indians were expected to be enslaved to. Nobody realistically expected the Tribe to sell off the long-term to address the short. Nobody expected this small-market club with so little wiggle room to dangle the likes of Drew Pomeranz and Alex White -- the consolation prizes for past seasons gone awry -- to support a 2011 club that has shocked the baseball world merely by playing somewhere in the neighborhood of .500 baseball.
That's when Antonetti said something interesting.
Jimenez's gem00:01:259/11/10: Ubaldo Jimenez strikes out eight batters and allows just one run in a magnificent performanceTags: highlight reel, More From This Game, pitching, Colorado Rockies, "Let's not be mistaken," he told me. "'The Plan' is to win games, get into the postseason and win a championship. Nobody's smart enough to know when factors will line up to have those opportunities. We have an opportunity in front of us to potentially reach the postseason. We don't take those opportunities lightly."
Apparently not.
We can say this much in the wake of the Jimenez blockbuster: Antonetti has officially made his mark on this organization. After nine years spent as Mark Shapiro's assistant, Antonetti was expected to be the bearer of business as usual at the corner of Carnegie and Ontario when he took over the GM reins last fall. But there is nothing usual about this Trade Deadline stunner.
An Indians club that has long articulated the necessity of stockpiling "waves of arms" down on the farm in order to sustain championship-caliber baseball in a shrinking market has suddenly sold off its two most prominent pitching prospects in Pomeranz and White, as well as right-hander Joe Gardner and first baseman/outfielder Matt McBride, for two years and two months of a guy who was arguably the best pitcher in baseball. Fourteen months ago.
Jimenez, 27, may very well be the proven front-line starter the Indians have lacked since they shipped off consecutive Cy Young winners in CC Sabathia and Cliff Lee in 2008 and '09. Or he might be damaged goods, a flash that didn't last. Truth is, nobody knows at this point, because for what amounts to a full season now, Jimenez has provided Fausto Carmona-like confusion in Colorado, brilliant in some spurts, baffling in others.
Antonetti's betting on brilliance, and it's a huge gamble. Not just because Jimenez still has plenty to prove, but because this Indians team at large is no sure thing, either. After a 30-15 start that woke up a slumbering and suffering fan base, the Indians have gone 23-36 in the time since, one of the worst records in the game in that stretch. They have seen two of their best hitters, Grady Sizemore and Shin-Soo Choo, hit the disabled list, and an overachieving offense catch the bus back to earth. The starting staff has the 11th-best ERA in the 14-team AL, and even that is better than most anticipated going into the year.
Kosuke Fukudome was reeled in from the Cubs to provide some on-base ability to the outfield alignment, and, if rumblings are to be relied upon, Ryan Ludwick might be brought back in the hope he can provide some thump.
But Ubaldo is the big fish, the answer to all those who clamored for this club to make a major move. And no matter how this move shakes out, it's going to have major implications on the Indians for years to come.
What are the Indians getting in Jimenez? Well, let's start by saying it's definitely a question.
Entering his bizarre one-inning outing against the Padres on Saturday night (and for our purposes, we'll choose to ignore that disaster, given that it came amid the swirling rumors), Jimenez was 6-9 with a 4.20 ERA in 20 starts. His ballpark-adjusted ERA was 107, or just above league average. He had four starts in which he allowed five earned runs or more, 11 in which he allowed two or fewer.
These are the numbers of a good, not great, asset. The uplifting news is that Ubaldo has been at his best since June 1, going 6-4 with a 3.03 ERA in that stretch, but the bad news is that he's yet to find the form that made him such an overpowering presence in the first half of 2010.
Remember that first half? Jimenez was literally unhittable one memorable night against the Braves and virtually unhittable every other time he took the mound. He went 15-1 through July 8, posting a 2.20 ERA, a .198 batting average against and .582 OPS against. These were just silly, silly statistics.
From July 19 on? Not so silly. Jimenez went 4-7 with a much-more-pedestrian but still-respectable 3.80 ERA. He also managed to allow just a .223 average and .644 OPS against.
So, to review, what we have here is a guy who absolutely dazzled for a short stretch. A very short stretch, in reality. And in the time since -- perhaps as a result of the injuries he's endured (hip flexor, groin and thumb cuticle), the thin Colorado air, the adjustments made against him or some combination of the three -- he's been human as can be. Jimenez's overall 2011 numbers are tainted by his 6.75 ERA in April, his 5.45 ERA in May and his 5.55 ERA at home (vs. a 2.83 mark elsewhere), but he's also famously lost a couple ticks on his fastball.
Because of his past glories and his team-friendly contract ($2.8 million this year, $4.2 million in 2012, $5.75 million team option in 2013), it's obvious why a guy like Jimenez would appeal to a team like the Indians, even though his 2014 option can be voided by the pitcher as a result of this trade.
But at the same time, the question begs to be asked: Why was he so readily available?
It's rare for a club to give up on its homegrown ace at such a juncture. Even when the Indians tried to sell high with Cliff Lee, they did so a year and two months ahead of his free-agent alarm going off, not three years and two months.
It's also amazing to see the Indians so willingly ship away two highly regarded arms in White and Pomeranz. These guys were the future, the reason to believe in better times... before better times showed up slightly ahead of schedule. Tribe fans got a too-brief glimpse of White before he injured his finger, and he was about to make his first rehab appearance when the deal went down. They're not even a year removed from the Pomeranz hoopla that came when he signed his first professional contract.
Speaking of that signing, the Indians gave bonuses totaling nearly $5 million to White and Pomeranz, so that figure must also be taken into account when we talk about how club-friendly Jimenez's salary is.
Then again, you think about White's finger. And you remember that another highly touted arm, Adam Miller, was once "untouchable" in trade talks, before his fickle finger resulted in four separate surgeries that have left him a 26-year-old Double-A reliever.
You also remember that best-laid plans often go to waste. The Indians thought they had built something special from within following the 2007 run to the ALCS, but they fell on their face in '08 and '09, prompting another rebuild.
So here arrives another postseason opportunity. As Antonetti said, you never know when, or if, the next one is coming around the corner. Jimenez coming on board in time for what might well be a make-or-break stretch against the Red Sox and Rangers could be a game-changer, or he could just provide more sterling starting efforts wasted by an inefficient offense.
Either way, the 2012 Tribe rotation, with Jimenez, Justin Masterson, Josh Tomlin, Fausto Carmona and Carlos Carrasco on board, is slightly more appealing on paper. But its depth has undoubtedly taken a hit. There will be no highly polished hot prospect coming around the corner. What you see is basically what you get.
That's why this was such a bold move. "The Plan" so many assumed the Indians were operating by is a Deadline casualty, if it even existed at all. Antonetti made it clear he believes in one plan only, and that's to win while the opportunity is here. And he has a heck of a lot riding on Ubaldo Jimenez being a big part of it.
Re: Articles
653Trade analysis from Baseball America:
Indians Package Top Pitching Prospects In Deal For Ubaldo
By Matt Eddy and John Manuel
July 30, 2011
E-mail Print
The Deal
The Rockies set their sights high when they placed 27-year-old righthander Ubaldo Jimenez on the trade block. Colorado felt justified in making lofty demands because they were offering a durable strikeout pitcher (only nine other big leaguers have more punchouts since 2008) who is under contract for two seasons beyond this one. The Red Sox, Reds and Yankees all reportedly kicked the tires on Jimenez, but only the Indians submitted an offer that Colorado deemed acceptable.
Cleveland agreed to trade to the Rockies three pitchers, including the organization's first-round picks from 2009 and 2010, as well as two other Double-A prospects. Headlining the deal were lefty Drew Pomeranz (officially a player to be named until Aug. 16, one year after his signing date), righthanders Alex White and Joe Gardner and Matt McBride, an offensive-oriented player who plays mostly first base and right field but who also has dabbled at catcher.
Despite going just 12-18 in their past 30 games, the Indians played so well early in the season that they remain in the thick of the American League Central race, two and a half games off the pace set by the Tigers (who earlier in the day acquired starter Doug Fister from the Mariners). But even if Cleveland falls short this season, Jimenez will impact the AL Central race for the next two seasons.
The Indians traded for Cubs outfielder Kosuke Fukudome earlier in the week, and they appeared poised to acquire outfielder Ryan Ludwick from the Padres as the July 31 trade deadline loomed.
Rockies Acquire
Drew Pomeranz, lhp
Age: 22.
Born: Nov. 22, 1988 in Collierville, Tenn.
Ht.: 6-5. Wt.: 230. Bats: R. Throws: L.
School: Mississippi.
Career Transactions: Selected by Indians in first round (fifth overall) of 2010 draft; signed Aug. 16, 2010.
Club (League) Class W L ERA G GS SV IP H R ER HR BB SO WHIP
Kinston (CAR) HiA 3 2 1.87 15 15 0 77 56 22 16 2 32 95 1.14
Akron (EL) AA 0 1 2.57 3 3 0 14 10 4 4 1 6 17 1.14
The Indians cannot officially trade Pomeranz until Aug. 16, the one-year anniversary of his signing date. A similar situation transpired last summer in the Dan Haren deal involving the Angels and Diamondbacks. Los Angeles agreed to send 2009 first-rounder Tyler Skaggs to Arizona, but he remained in limbo, working out with his low Class A South Bend teammates but not playing in games, until he became property of the D-backs in mid-August.
Alex White, rhp
Age: 22.
Born: Aug. 29, 1988 in Greenville, N.C.
Ht.: 6-3. Wt.: 215. Bats: R. Throws: R.
School: North Carolina.
Career Transactions: Selected by Indians in first round (15th overall) of 2009 draft; signed Aug. 17, 2009.
Club (League) Class W L ERA G GS SV IP H R ER HR BB SO WHIP
Columbus (IL) AAA 1 0 1.90 4 4 0 23.2 19 7 5 1 5 28 1.01
Cleveland (AL) MLB 1 0 3.60 3 3 0 15 14 7 6 3 9 13 1.53
White was part of the state of North Carolina's epic 2006 draft year. The state produced three first-round picks that year in Andrew Miller, Daniel Bard and Matt Antonelli, plus prep arms Ryan Morris, Chris Archer and White. The state's top high school bats that season as ranked by BA were Lonnie Chisenhall and Dustin Ackley. White didn't sign as a Dodgers 14th-rounder, while Ackley wasn't even drafted. They wound up as teammates at North Carolina, following the departures of Bard and Miller, with White taking one of their rotation spots and going 27-14, 3.87 in three college seasons with 317 strikeouts in 307 innings.
White sprained a ligament in the middle finger of his pitching hand during his May 20 start for Cleveland and has not pitched since. Prior to the setback he had breezed through the International League on his way to the big leagues, completing the journey from college campus to Cleveland in fewer than two years. He threw off a mound on July 22, throwing both of his secondary pitches, a split-finger and slider, to go with his four-seam fastball. White had a superlative slider in high school, but his arm action is longer now than it was then and he's struggled to regain the pitch. Instead he relies on aggressive use of his two- and four-seamers and his above-average splitter, which has helped him combat lefthanded hitters. Even in his first three big league starts, lefthanded hitters were just 4-for-20 against him. He still throws his slider with power, and when it's on he uses it in concert with his heavy fastball to get a good amount of groundballs. White can sit in the average range with his velocity but bumps 94 mph or higher when needed. His competitiveness and athleticism have long endeared him to scouts as much as his raw stuff.
Matt McBride, 1b/rf/c
Age: 26. Position: 1B (49 G), RF (29 G), C (9 G).
Born: May 23, 1985 in Bethlehem, Pa.
Ht.: 6-2. Wt.: 215. Bats: R. Throws: R.
School: Lehigh.
Career Transactions: Selected by Indians in supplemental second round of 2006 draft; signed June 14, 2006.
Club (League) Class AVG G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB OBP SLG
Akron (EL) AA .297 84 346 50 92 24 4 14 53 30 44 3 .359 .535
Columbus (IL) AAA .156 12 45 3 7 2 0 1 3 2 8 0 .191 .267
McBride may not have a defensive home, but he has hammered lefthanded pitchers at the Double-A level. With Akron this year he batted .361/.442/.556 with thee homers in 72 at-bats; last season he batted .333/.368/.622 with eight of 17 homers in just 135 at-bats. In two pop-ins at Triple-A, however, McBride has run up a meager .645 OPS in 43 games, which is an issue for the sixth-year pro. If his production stabilizes at the Triple-A level—not a bad bet given his likely assignment to Colorado Springs—then he could emerge as a righty power bat off the bench. At worst, he's a quality organizational player.
Joe Gardner, rhp
Age: 23.
Born: March 18, 1988 in Santa Clara, Calif.
Ht.: 6-4. Wt.: 220. Bats: R. Throws: R.
School: UC Santa Barbara.
Career Transactions: Selected by Indians in third round of 2009 draft; signed June 18, 2009.
Club (League) Class W L ERA G GS SV IP H R ER HR BB SO WHIP
Akron (EL) AA 7 8 4.99 19 19 0 97.1 108 73 54 6 47 60 1.59
Gardner led all minor league starters in groundout-to-flyout ratio (3.29-to-1) in 2010, and after moving up a level to Double-A this season he ranks just outside the top 30 (1.91-to-1). He throws sinker after sinker at 89-92 mph from a low three-quarters arm slot. Gardner's low arm angle can make staying on top of his slider and changeup difficult at times, and the development of those pitchers will determine whether he starts or relieves. The low angel also gives lefty batters a good look at the ball, and the Eastern League variety battered Gardner for a .319/.411/.454 batting line in 185 at-bats this season.
Indians Acquire
Ubaldo Jimenez, rhp
Age: 27. Remaining Commitment: Approximately $933,000 ($2.8 million salary for 2011, plus $4.2 million for 2012, then either $5.75 million club option or $1 million buyout for 2013).
Contract details courtesy of Cot's Baseball Contracts.
Club (League) YEAR W L ERA G GS SV IP H R ER HR BB SO WHIP
Colorado (NL) 2011 6 9 4.20 20 20 0 122 116 64 57 10 47 116 1.34
3-Year Totals 40 29 3.40 86 86 0 561.2 463 224 212 33 224 528 1.22
Indians Package Top Pitching Prospects In Deal For Ubaldo
By Matt Eddy and John Manuel
July 30, 2011
E-mail Print
The Deal
The Rockies set their sights high when they placed 27-year-old righthander Ubaldo Jimenez on the trade block. Colorado felt justified in making lofty demands because they were offering a durable strikeout pitcher (only nine other big leaguers have more punchouts since 2008) who is under contract for two seasons beyond this one. The Red Sox, Reds and Yankees all reportedly kicked the tires on Jimenez, but only the Indians submitted an offer that Colorado deemed acceptable.
Cleveland agreed to trade to the Rockies three pitchers, including the organization's first-round picks from 2009 and 2010, as well as two other Double-A prospects. Headlining the deal were lefty Drew Pomeranz (officially a player to be named until Aug. 16, one year after his signing date), righthanders Alex White and Joe Gardner and Matt McBride, an offensive-oriented player who plays mostly first base and right field but who also has dabbled at catcher.
Despite going just 12-18 in their past 30 games, the Indians played so well early in the season that they remain in the thick of the American League Central race, two and a half games off the pace set by the Tigers (who earlier in the day acquired starter Doug Fister from the Mariners). But even if Cleveland falls short this season, Jimenez will impact the AL Central race for the next two seasons.
The Indians traded for Cubs outfielder Kosuke Fukudome earlier in the week, and they appeared poised to acquire outfielder Ryan Ludwick from the Padres as the July 31 trade deadline loomed.
Rockies Acquire
Drew Pomeranz, lhp
Age: 22.
Born: Nov. 22, 1988 in Collierville, Tenn.
Ht.: 6-5. Wt.: 230. Bats: R. Throws: L.
School: Mississippi.
Career Transactions: Selected by Indians in first round (fifth overall) of 2010 draft; signed Aug. 16, 2010.
Club (League) Class W L ERA G GS SV IP H R ER HR BB SO WHIP
Kinston (CAR) HiA 3 2 1.87 15 15 0 77 56 22 16 2 32 95 1.14
Akron (EL) AA 0 1 2.57 3 3 0 14 10 4 4 1 6 17 1.14
The Indians cannot officially trade Pomeranz until Aug. 16, the one-year anniversary of his signing date. A similar situation transpired last summer in the Dan Haren deal involving the Angels and Diamondbacks. Los Angeles agreed to send 2009 first-rounder Tyler Skaggs to Arizona, but he remained in limbo, working out with his low Class A South Bend teammates but not playing in games, until he became property of the D-backs in mid-August.
Alex White, rhp
Age: 22.
Born: Aug. 29, 1988 in Greenville, N.C.
Ht.: 6-3. Wt.: 215. Bats: R. Throws: R.
School: North Carolina.
Career Transactions: Selected by Indians in first round (15th overall) of 2009 draft; signed Aug. 17, 2009.
Club (League) Class W L ERA G GS SV IP H R ER HR BB SO WHIP
Columbus (IL) AAA 1 0 1.90 4 4 0 23.2 19 7 5 1 5 28 1.01
Cleveland (AL) MLB 1 0 3.60 3 3 0 15 14 7 6 3 9 13 1.53
White was part of the state of North Carolina's epic 2006 draft year. The state produced three first-round picks that year in Andrew Miller, Daniel Bard and Matt Antonelli, plus prep arms Ryan Morris, Chris Archer and White. The state's top high school bats that season as ranked by BA were Lonnie Chisenhall and Dustin Ackley. White didn't sign as a Dodgers 14th-rounder, while Ackley wasn't even drafted. They wound up as teammates at North Carolina, following the departures of Bard and Miller, with White taking one of their rotation spots and going 27-14, 3.87 in three college seasons with 317 strikeouts in 307 innings.
White sprained a ligament in the middle finger of his pitching hand during his May 20 start for Cleveland and has not pitched since. Prior to the setback he had breezed through the International League on his way to the big leagues, completing the journey from college campus to Cleveland in fewer than two years. He threw off a mound on July 22, throwing both of his secondary pitches, a split-finger and slider, to go with his four-seam fastball. White had a superlative slider in high school, but his arm action is longer now than it was then and he's struggled to regain the pitch. Instead he relies on aggressive use of his two- and four-seamers and his above-average splitter, which has helped him combat lefthanded hitters. Even in his first three big league starts, lefthanded hitters were just 4-for-20 against him. He still throws his slider with power, and when it's on he uses it in concert with his heavy fastball to get a good amount of groundballs. White can sit in the average range with his velocity but bumps 94 mph or higher when needed. His competitiveness and athleticism have long endeared him to scouts as much as his raw stuff.
Matt McBride, 1b/rf/c
Age: 26. Position: 1B (49 G), RF (29 G), C (9 G).
Born: May 23, 1985 in Bethlehem, Pa.
Ht.: 6-2. Wt.: 215. Bats: R. Throws: R.
School: Lehigh.
Career Transactions: Selected by Indians in supplemental second round of 2006 draft; signed June 14, 2006.
Club (League) Class AVG G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB OBP SLG
Akron (EL) AA .297 84 346 50 92 24 4 14 53 30 44 3 .359 .535
Columbus (IL) AAA .156 12 45 3 7 2 0 1 3 2 8 0 .191 .267
McBride may not have a defensive home, but he has hammered lefthanded pitchers at the Double-A level. With Akron this year he batted .361/.442/.556 with thee homers in 72 at-bats; last season he batted .333/.368/.622 with eight of 17 homers in just 135 at-bats. In two pop-ins at Triple-A, however, McBride has run up a meager .645 OPS in 43 games, which is an issue for the sixth-year pro. If his production stabilizes at the Triple-A level—not a bad bet given his likely assignment to Colorado Springs—then he could emerge as a righty power bat off the bench. At worst, he's a quality organizational player.
Joe Gardner, rhp
Age: 23.
Born: March 18, 1988 in Santa Clara, Calif.
Ht.: 6-4. Wt.: 220. Bats: R. Throws: R.
School: UC Santa Barbara.
Career Transactions: Selected by Indians in third round of 2009 draft; signed June 18, 2009.
Club (League) Class W L ERA G GS SV IP H R ER HR BB SO WHIP
Akron (EL) AA 7 8 4.99 19 19 0 97.1 108 73 54 6 47 60 1.59
Gardner led all minor league starters in groundout-to-flyout ratio (3.29-to-1) in 2010, and after moving up a level to Double-A this season he ranks just outside the top 30 (1.91-to-1). He throws sinker after sinker at 89-92 mph from a low three-quarters arm slot. Gardner's low arm angle can make staying on top of his slider and changeup difficult at times, and the development of those pitchers will determine whether he starts or relieves. The low angel also gives lefty batters a good look at the ball, and the Eastern League variety battered Gardner for a .319/.411/.454 batting line in 185 at-bats this season.
Indians Acquire
Ubaldo Jimenez, rhp
Age: 27. Remaining Commitment: Approximately $933,000 ($2.8 million salary for 2011, plus $4.2 million for 2012, then either $5.75 million club option or $1 million buyout for 2013).
Contract details courtesy of Cot's Baseball Contracts.
Club (League) YEAR W L ERA G GS SV IP H R ER HR BB SO WHIP
Colorado (NL) 2011 6 9 4.20 20 20 0 122 116 64 57 10 47 116 1.34
3-Year Totals 40 29 3.40 86 86 0 561.2 463 224 212 33 224 528 1.22
Re: Articles
654SI doesn't like it:
Cliff Corcoran>INSIDE BASEBALL
Jimenez trade doesn't make much sense, especially for Indians
The Indians may have slipped into second place in the American League Central. They may be just two games over .500. The sum of their hitting and pitching performances may be more indicative of a team five games below .500 (per third-order wins). As far as the Cleveland front office is concerned, however, the Indians are for real. Indians general manager Chris Antonetti made that announcement in bold type Saturday night when he traded four players, including his team's top three pitching prospects, to Colorado for Rockies ace Ubaldo Jimenez.
The trade, which won't become official until Jimenez passes a physical, is part of the Indians' shocking turnaround this season. Just a year ago, they were putting the finishing touches on stage one of their rebuilding process by trading away veterans Jhonny Peralta, Jake Westbrook, Kerry Wood, and Austin Kearns, the fourth straight season in which the Indians had sold off veterans for prospects at the trading deadline dating back to the CC Sabathia trade in 2008. This season was supposed to be about evaluating the young talent in the system, breaking the upper levels of that talent into the major leagues, and planning for the future. Instead, the future came early.
After losing the first two games of the 2011 season, the Indians peeled off eight-straight wins, quickly ascending to first place in their division. Then, shockingly, they remained there through mid-June. A look back at the Indians season, however, shows a team consistently playing over its head. The Indians did play great baseball in April, but 11 of their 18 wins that month came against the Mariners, Orioles, and Royals.
They put up a winning record in May, but were outscored by their competition in a month in which they won one game 19-1 (against the Royals) and another 12-4. Since May 24, the Indians have gone 23-36, a miserable .390 winning percentage that, not coincidentally, isn't that far out of line with what many expected from them coming into the season. Their win over the Royals on Saturday night was just their second in their last nine games.
Looking at the season as a whole, entering Friday night's action the Indians had scored fewer runs per game than the American League average and allowed more runs per game than the average AL team, missing the former mark by a larger margin than the latter. That makes a big buy for an ace starter somewhat perplexing, though, as was the case with the Phillies and Hunter Pence, the Indians are getting Jimenez for more than just the stretch run.
Jimenez, who finished third in the National League Cy Young voting last year, is signed for a mere $4.2 million next year with a similarly inexpensive $5.75 million club option for 2013. As of this writing, his contract, signed in January 2009, also includes an $8 million club option for 2014, but that option can be voided if Jimenez is traded, which he just was, and if Jimenez pitches well enough for Cleveland to want to pick up that option, you can be sure he'll void it to get market value for his services a year earlier. The Indians thus traded for Jimenez not only to make a serious run at a playoff appearance this season, but to have him head their rotation for the next two years at the bargain basement price of $9.95 million. By way of comparison, the Red Sox will pay more than three times as much for John Lackey over the same period.
That's a tremendous value, and one that prompts questions about why the Rockies were willing to trade Jimenez in the first place. Before his name surfaced in trade talks earlier this month, Jimenez was believed to be one of the Rockies three core players, along with Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez, both of whom received massive extensions over the winter. However, the 2011 season hasn't gone according to plan for either Jimenez or his former team. Jimenez missed most of April with an infected cuticle on his pitching hand, then went 0-5 with a 5.64 ERA in his first eight starts after his return. The Rockies jumped out to an 11-2 start, but have gone just 40-54 (.426) since and, though they have a better third-order record than the Indians, are double-digit games behind in both their division (which contains the defending world champions) and the NL wild-card race.
Jimenez has been better since the calendar flipped to June, posting a 3.03 ERA with seven quality starts in 11 turns and 71 strikeouts in 71 1/3 innings (not counting his disaster outing Saturday night, from which he was nearly scratched due to the developing trade, and after which he confessed he was driven to distraction by his knowledge of the deal), but there are lingering concerns about the two-mile-per-hour drop in his average velocity this season, which is likely one reason why the Indians have insisted on a physical.
When a team trades away a seemingly untouchable player, like the 27-year-old Jimenez, there will always be lingering concerns that they "knew something" about that player's health, conditioning, or disposition.
However, the Rockies said they wouldn't trade their ace unless they were blown away by the return, and in getting the Indians' top three pitching prospects, Drew Pomeranz (who can't officially be named as part of the trade until mid-August, but is the key player in the deal for Colorado), Alex White, and Joe Gardner, it's reasonable to believe that they were indeed blown away. However, the most impressive thing about that return may have been Cleveland's willingness to pay it. That is to say that while Pomeranz, White, and Gardner are all legitimate prospects, only Pomeranz projects as a potential star pitcher, and the odds of him becoming the ace that Jimenez has, early season struggles aside, remain long. However, losing those three pitchers sets the Indians' organizational pitching depth back significantly.
White, who will turn 23 at the end of August, was taken out of the University of North Carolina with the 15th pick of the 2009 draft and made his major league debut this April in just his second professional season. However, he sprained the middle finger on his pitching hand while throwing a slider on May 20 and has been on the disabled list ever since. He was scheduled to make a rehab start Saturday night before being scratched due to the trade. The right-handed White projects as a mid-rotation sinkerballer, though he does have an outstanding split-finger pitch and less than 190 professional innings under his belt from which we can draw conclusions. He'll slide right into the Colorado rotation once he's healthy.
Gardner, a 23-year-old righty drafted out of UC Santa Barbara two rounds after White, has a similar projection (mid-rotation sinkerballer), but lacks a pitch comparable to White's splitter that would suggest greater potential and seems more likely to end up in the bullpen than as an impact starter. Indeed, Gardner has stumbled badly at Double-A this season, with a miserable strikeout rate that has barely out-paced his walk rate and a 7.35 ERA in six July starts. That both White and Gardner are groundball pitchers, and Gardner's sinker is considered one of the best in the minors, makes them good fits for the Rockies, but neither will make Rockies fans forget Jimenez. That will be Pomeranz's job.
The fifth overall pick in the 2010 draft, out of the University of Mississippi, Pomeranz is a six-foot-five lefty who throws in the mid-90s with a devastating curve and is already excelling in Double-A in his first professional season, having made the jump to that level just two weeks ago. Pomeranz made his pro debut in High-A this April and has thus far posted a 1.98 ERA and struck out 11.1 men per nine innings in 18 pro starts, three of which have come at Double-A. He still needs to work on a third pitch, currently an underdeveloped changeup, and his mechanics and control can break down at times, but he has emerged as one of the best pitching prospects in the game.
The last player in the deal, catcher/first baseman/corner outfielder Matt McBride, is a 26-year-old who has had just 174 plate appearances in Triple-A in his career and none higher. He can hit a little (.282/.345/.467 in his minor league career, during which he has consistently been old for his league), but he's ultimately an organizational player of little significance beyond his defensive flexibility.
Ultimately, this trade seems to come down to two teams overreacting to unexpected seasons. The Rockies stumbled and decided to cash in their ace despite having him signed to one of the most team-friendly contracts in baseball. Meanwhile, a fluky early-season surge and a bad division convinced the usually very smart Indians to accelerate their rebuilding plans by unloading their top pitching talent in the unlikely pursuit of a postseason berth that seems likely to stall out in the first round if it does happen. Yes, the Indians will enjoy Jimenez for two more seasons, but Pomeranz's development pace was more in sync with the team's, and White and Gardner could have provided much-needed depth. Perhaps most curiously, Jimenez will now join a team that, at least prior to his arrival, was weaker than the one that just traded him. Other than that, this deal makes perfect sense.
Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/w ... z1TihKIhnU
Cliff Corcoran>INSIDE BASEBALL
Jimenez trade doesn't make much sense, especially for Indians
The Indians may have slipped into second place in the American League Central. They may be just two games over .500. The sum of their hitting and pitching performances may be more indicative of a team five games below .500 (per third-order wins). As far as the Cleveland front office is concerned, however, the Indians are for real. Indians general manager Chris Antonetti made that announcement in bold type Saturday night when he traded four players, including his team's top three pitching prospects, to Colorado for Rockies ace Ubaldo Jimenez.
The trade, which won't become official until Jimenez passes a physical, is part of the Indians' shocking turnaround this season. Just a year ago, they were putting the finishing touches on stage one of their rebuilding process by trading away veterans Jhonny Peralta, Jake Westbrook, Kerry Wood, and Austin Kearns, the fourth straight season in which the Indians had sold off veterans for prospects at the trading deadline dating back to the CC Sabathia trade in 2008. This season was supposed to be about evaluating the young talent in the system, breaking the upper levels of that talent into the major leagues, and planning for the future. Instead, the future came early.
After losing the first two games of the 2011 season, the Indians peeled off eight-straight wins, quickly ascending to first place in their division. Then, shockingly, they remained there through mid-June. A look back at the Indians season, however, shows a team consistently playing over its head. The Indians did play great baseball in April, but 11 of their 18 wins that month came against the Mariners, Orioles, and Royals.
They put up a winning record in May, but were outscored by their competition in a month in which they won one game 19-1 (against the Royals) and another 12-4. Since May 24, the Indians have gone 23-36, a miserable .390 winning percentage that, not coincidentally, isn't that far out of line with what many expected from them coming into the season. Their win over the Royals on Saturday night was just their second in their last nine games.
Looking at the season as a whole, entering Friday night's action the Indians had scored fewer runs per game than the American League average and allowed more runs per game than the average AL team, missing the former mark by a larger margin than the latter. That makes a big buy for an ace starter somewhat perplexing, though, as was the case with the Phillies and Hunter Pence, the Indians are getting Jimenez for more than just the stretch run.
Jimenez, who finished third in the National League Cy Young voting last year, is signed for a mere $4.2 million next year with a similarly inexpensive $5.75 million club option for 2013. As of this writing, his contract, signed in January 2009, also includes an $8 million club option for 2014, but that option can be voided if Jimenez is traded, which he just was, and if Jimenez pitches well enough for Cleveland to want to pick up that option, you can be sure he'll void it to get market value for his services a year earlier. The Indians thus traded for Jimenez not only to make a serious run at a playoff appearance this season, but to have him head their rotation for the next two years at the bargain basement price of $9.95 million. By way of comparison, the Red Sox will pay more than three times as much for John Lackey over the same period.
That's a tremendous value, and one that prompts questions about why the Rockies were willing to trade Jimenez in the first place. Before his name surfaced in trade talks earlier this month, Jimenez was believed to be one of the Rockies three core players, along with Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez, both of whom received massive extensions over the winter. However, the 2011 season hasn't gone according to plan for either Jimenez or his former team. Jimenez missed most of April with an infected cuticle on his pitching hand, then went 0-5 with a 5.64 ERA in his first eight starts after his return. The Rockies jumped out to an 11-2 start, but have gone just 40-54 (.426) since and, though they have a better third-order record than the Indians, are double-digit games behind in both their division (which contains the defending world champions) and the NL wild-card race.
Jimenez has been better since the calendar flipped to June, posting a 3.03 ERA with seven quality starts in 11 turns and 71 strikeouts in 71 1/3 innings (not counting his disaster outing Saturday night, from which he was nearly scratched due to the developing trade, and after which he confessed he was driven to distraction by his knowledge of the deal), but there are lingering concerns about the two-mile-per-hour drop in his average velocity this season, which is likely one reason why the Indians have insisted on a physical.
When a team trades away a seemingly untouchable player, like the 27-year-old Jimenez, there will always be lingering concerns that they "knew something" about that player's health, conditioning, or disposition.
However, the Rockies said they wouldn't trade their ace unless they were blown away by the return, and in getting the Indians' top three pitching prospects, Drew Pomeranz (who can't officially be named as part of the trade until mid-August, but is the key player in the deal for Colorado), Alex White, and Joe Gardner, it's reasonable to believe that they were indeed blown away. However, the most impressive thing about that return may have been Cleveland's willingness to pay it. That is to say that while Pomeranz, White, and Gardner are all legitimate prospects, only Pomeranz projects as a potential star pitcher, and the odds of him becoming the ace that Jimenez has, early season struggles aside, remain long. However, losing those three pitchers sets the Indians' organizational pitching depth back significantly.
White, who will turn 23 at the end of August, was taken out of the University of North Carolina with the 15th pick of the 2009 draft and made his major league debut this April in just his second professional season. However, he sprained the middle finger on his pitching hand while throwing a slider on May 20 and has been on the disabled list ever since. He was scheduled to make a rehab start Saturday night before being scratched due to the trade. The right-handed White projects as a mid-rotation sinkerballer, though he does have an outstanding split-finger pitch and less than 190 professional innings under his belt from which we can draw conclusions. He'll slide right into the Colorado rotation once he's healthy.
Gardner, a 23-year-old righty drafted out of UC Santa Barbara two rounds after White, has a similar projection (mid-rotation sinkerballer), but lacks a pitch comparable to White's splitter that would suggest greater potential and seems more likely to end up in the bullpen than as an impact starter. Indeed, Gardner has stumbled badly at Double-A this season, with a miserable strikeout rate that has barely out-paced his walk rate and a 7.35 ERA in six July starts. That both White and Gardner are groundball pitchers, and Gardner's sinker is considered one of the best in the minors, makes them good fits for the Rockies, but neither will make Rockies fans forget Jimenez. That will be Pomeranz's job.
The fifth overall pick in the 2010 draft, out of the University of Mississippi, Pomeranz is a six-foot-five lefty who throws in the mid-90s with a devastating curve and is already excelling in Double-A in his first professional season, having made the jump to that level just two weeks ago. Pomeranz made his pro debut in High-A this April and has thus far posted a 1.98 ERA and struck out 11.1 men per nine innings in 18 pro starts, three of which have come at Double-A. He still needs to work on a third pitch, currently an underdeveloped changeup, and his mechanics and control can break down at times, but he has emerged as one of the best pitching prospects in the game.
The last player in the deal, catcher/first baseman/corner outfielder Matt McBride, is a 26-year-old who has had just 174 plate appearances in Triple-A in his career and none higher. He can hit a little (.282/.345/.467 in his minor league career, during which he has consistently been old for his league), but he's ultimately an organizational player of little significance beyond his defensive flexibility.
Ultimately, this trade seems to come down to two teams overreacting to unexpected seasons. The Rockies stumbled and decided to cash in their ace despite having him signed to one of the most team-friendly contracts in baseball. Meanwhile, a fluky early-season surge and a bad division convinced the usually very smart Indians to accelerate their rebuilding plans by unloading their top pitching talent in the unlikely pursuit of a postseason berth that seems likely to stall out in the first round if it does happen. Yes, the Indians will enjoy Jimenez for two more seasons, but Pomeranz's development pace was more in sync with the team's, and White and Gardner could have provided much-needed depth. Perhaps most curiously, Jimenez will now join a team that, at least prior to his arrival, was weaker than the one that just traded him. Other than that, this deal makes perfect sense.
Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/w ... z1TihKIhnU
" I am not young enough to know everything."
Re: Articles
655I don't think the part of that quote that I underlined is quite factual.Indians general manager Chris Antonetti made that announcement in bold type Saturday night when he traded four players, including his team's top three pitching prospects, to Colorado for Rockies ace Ubaldo Jimenez.
Re: Articles
656Not at all. Two prospects and two bums is more like it. The two bums I woulda gave away if a team asked nicely.
Re: Articles
657Gardner is a lot more than a bum. He had an excellent 2010 which propelled him to our No. 9 prospect and BA compared him to Masterson as a tall guy with a side-ways delivery that is easy for LH batters to pick up. It took Masterson a little while to become a success, and I wouldn't write Gardner off because he's been inconsistant at AA. Based on the preseason prospect ratingt the only pitcher who rated higher for the Tribe was Jason Knapp and hasn't pitched one inning this year, so the "top prospects" from a start of 2011 perspective is not inaccurate. And from a today perspective no starter above Class A has really proven that he's any better a prospect than Gardner.
It's trade of one super prospect. One good prospect. On marginal prospect. And one bum.
It's trade of one super prospect. One good prospect. On marginal prospect. And one bum.
Re: Articles
658These publications are looking at this as a deadline deal only. Not the case at all.
Which leads to the question. Would you trade a super prospect and a good prospect for the #7 rated MLB pitcher (rated above CC) before this season that you have under control for the next 2 1/3 seasons ?
Which leads to the question. Would you trade a super prospect and a good prospect for the #7 rated MLB pitcher (rated above CC) before this season that you have under control for the next 2 1/3 seasons ?
Re: Articles
659I would do that trade very day and twice on Sunday, as long as the talent level of the rest of the team seemed worthy enough to get on a good run through the playoffs.rusty2 wrote:These publications are looking at this as a deadline deal only. Not the case at all.
Which leads to the question. Would you trade a super prospect and a good prospect for the #7 rated MLB pitcher (rated above CC) before this season that you have under control for the next 2 1/3 seasons ?
If you have any hope that the bats, base-running and defensive play of the Indians can return to anything close to what we had in the first several months then as a GM you have to pull the trigger to give them that chance.
Re: Articles
660MtFan wrote:Bats have gone to sleep in recent weeks. One thing about baseball, as quickly as hitting cools off, it can pick back up again. No guarantees but typically the pendulum swings the other way sooner or later. Our pitching has been good enough and consistent all season.
No way I'm giving up on anything with the team still in the race for their division.
Maybe a day or two late....
But....Hear, Hear.
I strongly agree. Let's get the Red Sox tomorrow.