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Ranking the talented prospects moved during deadline week


The non-waiver trading deadline has come and gone, and though there were some big names dealt, led by Ubaldo Jimenez (now with the Indians) and Carlos Beltran (now a Giant), the deadline brought far more trades involving complimentary and role players such as centerfielder Michael Bourn, starters Edwin Jackson and Doug Fister and relievers Mike Adams and Koji Uehara. Even Hunter Pence, the only 2011 All-Star other than Beltran to switch teams in July, is arguably no better than league average at his position. Rather, the most significant players traded at this deadline just might prove to be the prospects heading the other way. Here, then, is a quick look at the best prospects dealt over the last week or so and their potential roles down the road for their new teams.

1. Drew Pomeranz, LHP, Rockies
Acquired For: Ubaldo Jimenez

The fifth overall pick in the 2010 draft, Pomeranz is a stud starting pitching prospect and the key to the deal that sent Ubaldo Jimenez to the Indians even though, officially, he's not in it yet. MLB rules say Pomeranz isn't eligible to be traded until one year after he signed so he'll technically be the player to be named later once he is eligible in a few weeks. Drafted out of the University of Mississippi, the 22-year-old Pomeranz is a 6-foot-5 lefty with mid-90s heat and a devastating curveball who is working on developing his changeup and refining his control. He made his professional debut at High-A this April and had already been promoted to Double-A before he was flipped to the Rockies. Along the way, he posted a 1.98 ERA and struck out 11.1 men per nine innings in 18 professional starts. He'll likely need another season in the minors to refine his stuff and stretch out his innings, but he has emerged as one of the top pitching prospects in the game this year and could well emerge as the next Rockies ace as soon as 2013.

2. Jarred Cosart, RHP, Astros
Acquired For: Hunter Pence

The 21-year-old Cosart was the Phillies' top pitching prospect, and immediately takes over that spot in the weaker Astros system. A lanky, 6-foot-3 lefty from the Houston suburb of League City, Cosart has a similar repertoire to Pomeranz (mid-90s fastball, wicked curve, and a superior changeup) and nearly as much potential, but he has yet to dominate his minor league competition in the same way. Cosart struck out more than a man per inning in his first two professional seasons and had a 4.81 K/BB in the Sally League last year at age 20 in what was his first year in a full-season league. At High-A this year, however, his strikeout rate has dropped, his walks have increased, and his results have been mediocre (3.92 ERA, 1.31 WHIP). Still, he has front-of-the-rotation potential and now that he's with the Astros, he can take as much time as he needs to fulfill it.

3. Zack Wheeler, RHP, Mets
Acquired For: Carlos Beltran

Another 21-year-old righty, Wheeler was the sixth-overall pick in the 2009 draft and possess a nasty fastball that spikes to 97 miles per hour with sink and a hard curve that gives him front-of-the-rotation potential. However, like Cosart, the results haven't been there at High-A thus far this year. Wheeler is getting his strikeouts, more than 10 per nine innings over his two professional seasons and exactly that many this year, but he has walked roughly half that many while posting a 3.99 ERA and 1.38 WHIP. He trails Pomeranz in the development of a third pitch and has been susceptible to lefties due to his three-quarters arm angle, but unlike Pomeranz and Cosart, his ultimate destination is now a very friendly ballpark in which to pitch, and while he may be further away from reaching his ceiling, it is arguably just as high as those other two.

4. Jonathan Singleton, 1B/LF, Astros
Acquired For: Hunter Pence

Singleton is a brutal defender with no speed, but those are minor drawbacks compared to the potential in his left-handed bat. Just 19 years old, Singleton is a career .288/.391/.447 hitter in the minor leagues and was hitting .284/.387/.413 in the offense-stifling home park of High-A Clearwater prior to the trade. A solid 6-foot-2, he has significant power potential, and his approach at the plate is already better than that of half the men in the majors (did I mention he's only 19?). That allows the Astros to project him as a middle-of-the-order masher worthy of that status on a contending team, which the Astros now have a much better chance of assembling with Cosart and Singleton in the pipeline.

5. Alex White, RHP, Rockies
Acquired For: Ubaldo Jimenez

White, the 15th pick in the 2009 draft, is the only man on this list to have cracked the majors, though he has been on the disabled list since spraining the middle finger on his pitching hand throwing a slider in just his third major league start back in late May. Nonetheless, he projects as a solid mid-rotation innings-eater thanks to his low-90s sinker and a good changeup, and his nasty split-finger suggests he could be even more than that. Most importantly, though his potential isn't as great as the top three pitchers on this list, he is much closer to realizing it. White, who is in the midst of a rehab assignment, will turn 23 at the end of August and should be in the Rockies rotation next year if not before.

6. Robbie Erlin, LHP, Padres
Acquired For: Mike Adams

The Rangers third-round pick in 2009, Erlin doesn't have the pure stuff to compare to Pomeranz, Cosart, Wheeler, or even White's splitter, but he has shown an impressive ability to get the most out of his more pedestrian repertoire thanks to remarkable control (just 30 walks in 240 professional innings, good for a 1.1 BB/9) and tremendous mound presence. In addition to his outstanding control, Erlin has struck out more than a man per inning as a pro, resulting in a Halladay-like 8.57 K/BB, a ratio he has thus far surpassed in 10 starts at Double-A at the age of 20. That dominance in the strike zone has been undermined slightly by an excess of home runs, but now that he's headed toward Petco Park rather than the Ballpark in Arlington, that's less of a concern.

7. Trayvon Robinson, CF, Mariners
Acquired For: Erik Bedard

Part of the three-team trade that sent Erik Bedard to the Red Sox as the clock struck 4 p.m. Eastern on Sunday, Robinson is an athletic centerfielder who has made great strides at the plate over the last three seasons. Drafted out of high school way back in 2005, Robinson didn't post an OPS over 800 in his first four professional seasons, but over the last three, spanning High-A to Triple-A, he has hit .298/.384/.494, hitting for average with both patience and power (though his 26 home runs this season are surely the result of playing for Albuquerque in the Pacific Coast League). Robinson, who will be 24 on September 1, could still stand to make similar strides in translating his great speed into high-percentage basestealing and something other than a cover for his bad routes in the field, but he nonetheless looks ready to be a part of the Mariners outfield immediately and projects as a valuable leadoff man for the post-Ichiro M's


Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/w ... z1Tn6dEGR7

Does this mean that Pomeranz sits until Aug 15? What if he doesn't, and gets injured?

Your question seems to suggest that the answer is he sits. What a mess if he were hurt between now and then!

Multiple factors led Colorado Rockies to trade Ubaldo Jimenez to Cleveland Indians

By Troy E. Renck

The Denver Post

POSTED: 08/01/2011 01:00:00 AM MDT

SAN DIEGO — Ubaldo Jimenez was a superstar who walked to the ballpark. Nobody liked him, other than the owners, the general manager, his teammates, fans, autograph seekers, reporters and stadium ushers.

That left the raw question Sunday as his trade to the Indians became official when he passed a physical: Why did the Rockies trade their greatest pitcher ever?

There were a confluence of factors, beginning with his curious mediocrity over the past 13 months and the club's desire to fill pitching gaps in a minor-league system weakened by misses on first-round picks Greg Reynolds and Casey Weathers.

"This isn't rebuilding, this is restocking," general manager Dan O'Dowd said while acknowledging misses in the draft. "Even if we were 10 games up instead of 10 games back, it would have been hard to say no to this deal."

The Rockies received hard-throwing left-hander Drew Pomeranz, who can't be announced until the one-year anniversary of his signing last Aug. 15, along with right-hander Alex White, Double-A reliever Joe Gardner and Double-A utilityman Matt McBride.

Players were disappointed to see Jimenez go, but there were no smashed water coolers or broken bats. Believing they were World Series contenders in spring training, the Rockies sit six games under .500.

"We are not a good team right now, so things like this happen when you don't play well and live up to expectations," 15-year veteran Todd Helton said. "They did what they thought was best for the team now and the future. This is not like 2003 (with Todd and the Toddlers). I know what that feels like, and this isn't that."

O'Dowd agonized over the decision. He knows baseball's creed: Every team needs an ace, and trading one begins an unnerving pursuit for the next one. Originally, O'Dowd made Jimenez available to motivate him. Then as the trade proposals began crossing his desk, he began to wonder: Is this as good as it's going to get?

Jimenez is 10-16 with a 4.19 ERA since he started the All-Star Game in Anaheim last season. O'Dowd explained that the industry viewed his ace as a No. 2 who was pitching like a No. 3. Rather than take him into the winter when all teams would have been suitors, O'Dowd moved Jimenez for two pitchers — Pomeranz and White — who are expected to join the rotation in September, if not earlier.
"We felt to maximize (Jimenez's) value, this was the time to do it. The closer he got to free agency, you would see a falloff in what clubs would offer," O'Dowd said of Jimenez, who went 56-45 with a 3.66 ERA in 138 games for the Rockies.

"You never know with young players. But we think we have added two top-of-the-rotation starters."

Pomeranz is the centerpiece. O'Dowd can't discuss him for two weeks, when he's eligible to join the Rockies. Pomeranz will throw bullpen sessions for Cleveland's Akron affiliate in the meantime, held out of games.

White will be in Denver today. He will begin a rehab assignment this week, testing out a sore finger on his pitching hand. White started briefly for the Indians this season.

"Ubaldo was one guy. He wasn't the same pitcher this season. And we haven't been the same team. We are getting two guys that are close," shortstop Troy Tulowitzki said. "This doesn't signal we are rebuilding or waving the white flag this season."

Indians GM Chris Antonetti said he wouldn't have traded Pomeranz and White for anyone but Jimenez. O'Dowd was drawn to White because of his arm and confidence.

"We traded a special talent to get White, but I think when you ask him, he will say he thinks he can be better," O'Dowd said.

Gardner and McBride will join the Double-A Tulsa club.

O'Dowd understood that Jimenez would have liked to receive a contract extension after Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez were rewarded. But O'Dowd insisted that it wasn't possible to do "three in the same winter." He also wanted to see how Jimenez — who was under contract for the next three years for a total price of $17.95 million —- performed in the first half after his modest finish last year. The trade voids Jimenez's 2014 club option.

Jimenez, if nothing else, was a proven winner at Coors Field, going 30-19 with a 3.67 ERA in 67 games. Even with the humidor, Coors Field remains a difficult place to pitch because of the number of cheap hits created by the big outfield and the toll on the body.

"The deal will be judged on Mr. White and the other player," O'Dowd said. "We were looking for the most impactful deal, and we believe we got it."

From CBS Sports:


Trade deadline winners and losers


Posted on: July 31, 2011 8:07 pm
Edited on: August 1, 2011 12:05 am

By Evan Brunell

Now that the trade deadline is over and the dust has settled, who are the winners and losers of the trade deadline?

There were plenty of big names dealt over the past week, including Colby Rasmus, Ubaldo Jimenez and Hunter Pence. Other players also moved that should impact teams for the next several years, and there were also plenty of minor deals to shore up holes. Over the coming months and years, the deals consummated today will be analyzed to death. We'll kick things off the same day with this uncompromising, unscathing look at your trade deadline winners and losers.

WINNERS

1. ACE IN THE HOLE

In today's trade deadline chat, a commenter who appeared to be an Indians fan was rather upset with the deal to acquire Ubaldo Jimenez from the Rockies, pointing to Jimenez's decreased production and velocity as to why the deal was a failure from the start. While Jimenez's fastball velocity drop is concerning (96.1 mph average last year, 93.4 mph this season), his peripherals line up to what he produced last season. Jimenez may not be an Ace in the Roy Halladay mold, but at the very least, he's an excellent No. 2 who would serve as an ace on oh, 20 teams?

And unlike most top pitchers traded, Jimenez is under team control through 2013 and is just 27. He gives the fanbase a jolt of optimism as Cleveland attempts to win the division, and then most importantly, gives the Indians the premium pitcher necessary to compete the next two years, when Cleveland's core solidifies around a young, talented infield and an upcoming rotation. All they gave up were four minor-league players (three of them pitchers), none of which are guaranteed to turn into anything resembling Jimenez. This deal could still yet work out for Colorado, but it's already working out for Cleveland.

And of course, the Indians also added outfielder Kosuke Fukudome, who will help Cleveland withstand the losses of Shin-Soo Choo and Grady Sizemore, then become part of a nice stable of outfielders when these players return. They also were hoping to get outfielder Ryan Ludwick, but lost him to the Pirates. That may have been for the best anyways, as Cleveland was reportedly balking at San Diego's price for who wouldn't have significantly upgraded the outfield corps.

2. BOURN TO WIN

Atlanta made out like bandits in the deal for Michael Bourn, acquiring a leadoff hitter who plays a premium defensive position... and not surrendering any top prospects. The Braves gave up a no-hit center fielder in Jordan Schafer plus three minor-league pitchers in Brett Oberholtzer, Paul Clemens and Juan Abreu. There are some intriguing aspects to these pitchers, but none are can't miss and only Oberholtzer appeared on Baseball America's top 10 Braves prospects list prior to the season. That hardly seems like fair value for Bourn.

The Braves, meanwhile, gain a 28-year-old who is the sixth-best center fielder in 2011, according to Fangraphs' Wins Above Replacement metric. With dazzling defense, scorching legs and a capable bat. Hitting .303/.363/.403, Bourn has added 39 stolen bases into the conversation to become a dynamic leadoff hitter that will cause problems right off the bat to start the game. Atlanta controls his rights through 2012 as well, so he's not a short-term rental. Again, remember: they didn't give up any of their top prospects for someone who, at least this season, has performed as a game-changer.

3. BULLPEN JACKPOT

Texas gave up a pretty penny, there can be no doubt on that. The Rangers didn't make this list because they hoodwinked another team. Baltimore has to be pleased with the Chris Davis - Tommy Hunter haul for Koji Uehara, and the two minor-league pitchers sent to San Diego for Mike Adams will be heard from again. But Texas belongs on this list simply because of how impressively they upgraded their bullpen in the blink of an eye.

No longer are the Rangers handicapped by a shaky bullpen with a volatile closer. While the closer remains, the bridge to Neftali Feliz just got a lot more stable, with Adams and Uehara able to get the game from the starter to Feliz without breaking a sweat. Even better, the presence of Adams allows the Rangers to move Feliz out of the closer's role in October if need be, as well as grease the skids for a conversion to starting pitcher next season with Adams in the fold to close.

LOSERS

1. QUANTITY OVER QUALITY

In the morning, Los Angeles' deal sending Rafael Furcal -- who was injured most of the year and not producing when he was in the lineup -- to St. Louis was finalized. They received a 24-year-old outfielder crushing Double-A but without much promise, and $1.4 million in saved money. Whatever, right? The Dodgers aren't listed here because of that deal.

There was only one trade made the entire week in which a team was instantly ridiculed for its move. The Cardinals were headed for the loser's seat before the waning minutes of the deadline, but Los Angeles took it away with a staggering display of incompetence. To help Boston facilitate acquiring Erik Bedard, the Dodgers agreed to trade away Trayvon Robinson, one of the few bright spots in the high minors that could actually hit. Robinson, along with Jerry Sands, could have made a pretty decent first base-left field combo over the next few years. Instead, Robinson will take his .293/.375/.563 line with 26 home runs in Triple-A to Seattle while the Dodgers come away with three organizational pieces.

And really, that's all they are. You've got catcher Tim Federowicz, who has a strong defensive reputation but whose hitting will be challenged enough that he best profiles as a long-term backup catcher. Those aren't tough to find. Add in starter Stephen Fife, who has pitched to Federowicz all season for Double-A Portland, who profiles as a back of the rotation starter or solid middle reliever. Lastly, Juan Rodriguez, a reliever who throws smoke but is 22 years old and in Class A. Splendid. Oh, and all three will be Rule 5 eligible after the year, meaning they need to be added to the 40-man roster or risk being lost in the draft -- and all three would be strong candidates to be taken. The Dodgers, in one fell swoop, traded away one of their few high-ceiling prospects for three organizational players who will all require 40-man spots, which are incredibly valuable.

2. STANDING PAT

You will hear much more on Monday about the Cubs' massive failure at the trade deadline thanks to GM Jim Hendry, who really should be fired on the spot. But while we're here, we might as well recap the Cubs' situation. That situation is a 42-65 record, which is just a few losses away from a 100-loss pace. The Cubs are loaded with unseemly contracts, ranging from the obscene (Alfonso Soriano) to the bad (Carlos Zambrano) to the unnecessary (John Grabow).

And yet, not only was Hendry content not to move any pieces but he was fine encouraging Aramis Ramirez to stay in town. He was fine ruling out the trading of a backup platoon infielder in Jeff Baker. (Read that last sentence again.) The only player Hendry parted with was Fukudome, and he never had fans in the front office and was a lock to leave after the season, anyways.

Instead of trying to set the Cubs up for future success, Hendry seemed paralyzed by which direction to go and while choosing to become buyers would have been ludicrous, it would have been a more palatable direction than just staying pat. Of course, the Cubs aren't flush with a deep farm system, especially after trading for Matt Garza. So Hendry's stuck pretending to be a contender for what, at least from this side of things, seems to be nothing more than a desperate attempt to save his job by pretending his team is close to contention and does not need a fire sale -- a fire sale that would have been entirely Hendry's fault.

3. MASTER PLAN FOILED

Let's think back to before the season started. Baltimore was coming off a 66-96 season, but optimism abounded thanks to Buck Showalter's 34-23 record to cap off the year. Brian Matusz was emerging into a top young pitcher and Zach Britton wasn't too far behind. The offense needed some help, but was young enough and projectable enough to have some optimism moving forward. In an attempt to make baseball relevant again in Baltimore and give the players some leadership, as well as something to strive for, the O's went veteran heavy in their free-agent signings.

Understandable, even if Baltimore knew it wasn't going to make any type of postseason run. It could still jack up energy in the city, then deal these players at the trade deadline for solid prospects or young players that might help the O's take the next step forward. Alas, Justin Duchscherer has been hurt all season. Vladimir Guerrero has taken his $8 million and crumbled before our very eyes, then hit the disabled list and destroyed his trade value. Only Derrek Lee's recent hot streak saved his trade value, and even he was only able to fetch a 23-year-old currently doing pretty decent ... in high-Class A. Hardly the return to make Baltimore relevant. The Orioles took a risk in the offseason, and even if you don't blame them for Lee and Guerrero's failures at the plate, they are losers because they came away from these moves with a net negative. All these millions of dollars and playing time allocations wasted, rather than giving Felix Pie and Nolan Reimold an entire year to establish themselves.

For more baseball news, rumors and analysis, follow @cbssportsmlb on Twitter or subscribe to the RSS feed.

Skeptics should read this one.

From Yahoo sports:

Jimenez deal forces closer look at prospect value

By Jeff Passan, Yahoo! Sports
Jul 31, 4:29 am EDT

Earlier this week, a scout in the middle of his 130th straight day on the road – or maybe it was his 131st; he loses track sometimes – doled out a homework assignment. He’s been around for a while and turns sour when he hears all the talk about prospects.

“Go look!” he said. “Look at the last 10 years. And tell me how many pitching prospects blow their arms out or just stink or don’t even make it. I think you’ll be surprised.”

Trade-deadline duties left the project unfinished until Saturday night, when the research actually served a purpose. Pitching prospects came into focus during the most shocking deal before the July 31 deadline: Cleveland acquired the best player on the market, Colorado Rockies starter Ubaldo Jimenez(notes), for left-hander Drew Pomeranz, right-handers Alex White(notes) and Joe Gardner, and first baseman Matt McBride.

Industry sentiment called it a win for Colorado, especially with the inclusion of Pomeranz and White, two of the game’s most highly touted young pitchers. Pomeranz is a 6-foot-5, 230-pound left-hander who figures to rank somewhere among the top 25 prospects in the game after he finishes this season at Double-A. White, a right-hander with a big fastball, entered the season No. 47 on the list of Baseball America, the prospect bible.

Both fit the scout’s criteria, though since it wouldn’t be fair to judge players on Baseball America’s 2009 or 2010 lists – many of whom remain in the minors – the 2008 rankings made the most sense, with the majority included now in the big leagues. And so it went: Scan a decade’s worth of Baseball America’s top 50s, and see how the pitchers did.

Now, this was not scientific. More eyeballs and guts to divide players into three categories: Good, OK and Bad. The Good were the sort of players Colorado dreams Pomeranz and White become – aces, innings eaters or top-flight relief pitchers. The OK were serviceable major leaguers – league-average ERA for a couple years, nothing special. And the Bad – well, they ran the gamut, from blown-out arms to flamed-out chances to scorched-out stat lines.

By the time all 10 lists were scanned and vetted, the scout was due a call that would contain two messages.

1) That homework assignment was mind-blowing.
2) The industry is wrong. The Indians made a great deal.

“Here’s the thing,” the scout said Friday. “If you have a chance to get a known quantity, someone who has been there and done that, you do it. Do you understand?”

Ubaldo Jimenez is 27 years old. He arrived in 2007 with an odd delivery in which his arms seem to cantilever in the wrong direction. Somehow he coaxed 100-mph fastballs from that funk. Last year, his fastball, splitter, slider and curveball played together with harmonic beauty. Jimenez started 13-1 with a 1.15 ERA – one of the best starts in history and the blossoming of a toolset that reminded scouts why they value projection over production.

It’s that sort of dreaming that has birthed the prospect revolution. It’s funny: The majority of scouts employed by baseball teams file reports on amateur and minor league players, and the scouts bellyache about the overvaluation of the very prospects whose existence necessitates their employment.

Baseball’s prospect fetish is more pragmatic than some font of avant-garde theory. In a nutshell: Prospects are cheap. Whether it’s the Indians, with their revenues in the bottom 10, or the New York Yankees, everybody likes a sale. So the smartest teams horde prospects and use them judiciously – sometimes to trade for the best player on the market, like the Indians did with Jimenez, and other times to complement their major league team, as they’ve done with third baseman Lonnie Chisenhall(notes) and second baseman Jason Kipnis(notes).

It’s no surprise the Indians left both out of the Jimenez trade. Top position-playing prospects have found success at a far greater rate than their pitching counterparts. Over the last 10 years, Baseball America has placed a pitcher among its top 50 exactly 200 times. It’s only fair to exclude Nick Adenhart’s(notes) two years on the list, as he died early in his major league career. Of the remaining 198, just 67 made the Good list. Which means 131 times – almost exactly two-thirds – the pitcher ended up at best middling starter or a reliever with a worthwhile career and at worst on the Bad list.

And the vast majority were Bad, 96 of 131. In other words, nearly half the time a pitching prospect ranked in Baseball America’s top 50 over the past decade, his career bombed.

This isn’t limited to the players toward the bottom of the list, either. In 2000, for example, the top six pitching prospects were Rick Ankiel(notes) (No. 1 overall), Ryan “The Little Unit” Anderson (No. 9), John Patterson (No. 10), Mark Mulder (No. 12), Kip Wells(notes) (No. 14) and Matt Riley (No. 15) – all ranked higher than Pomeranz and White. Ankiel forgot how to pitch, Anderson ended up in culinary school, Patterson threw his last pitch at age 29, Mulder threw his at 30, Wells gave up more than 1½ baserunners per inning in his career and Riley debuted at 19 and finished at 25.

The next pitcher on the list is Josh Beckett(notes), and the one after that A.J. Burnett(notes), and Francisco Cordero(notes) and Jon Garland(notes) and Barry Zito(notes) and Eric Gagne appeared that year, too. So did Chris George and Wes Anderson and Chad Hutchinson and Jason Standridge, who, like Alex White, Baseball America ranked 47th.

In sabermetric circles, the acronym TINSTAAPP – there is no such thing as a pitching prospect – isn’t intended for literal interpretation. It’s more a warning that kids in their late teens and young 20s are doing something very unnatural with their arm, and that some arms – a lot of them, actually – aren’t up to throwing 100 pitches every five days. Some even fall apart, at the elbow or the shoulder, and require surgery that necessitates painful and strenuous rehabilitation that’s as much a mental test as it is physical. And if the pitcher can come back then, often he becomes a new pitcher, because an arm with a scar just ain’t the same as one unscathed.

Maybe Drew Pomeranz and Alex White are different. Perhaps the velocity Pomeranz lost late last year as a junior at Ole Miss was an aberration and he’ll throw 10 healthy seasons. It’s possible the middle-finger injury that has kept White on the disabled list since May is nothing more than a fluke at which he’ll laugh when the Rockies are celebrating another World Series that came from the Jimenez trade. Luck could well be on their side.

It’s just that history says it isn’t.

“We’re out there on almost everybody,” Cleveland general manager Chris Antonetti said last week, and he meant it. Cleveland is 53-51, deadlocked with first-place Detroit in the loss column and 1½ games back. For the Indians, who have gone 23-36 since their incredible start, whose opponents have outscored them by 10 runs this season, whose starting outfield today consists of Michael Brantley(notes), Ezequiel Carrera(notes) and Kosuke Fukudome, the trade for Jimenez was a monumental gamble.


They gave up six full seasons of club control on four players – that’s 24 potential seasons – for two years, two months of Jimenez. Which Jimenez they’re getting is what ultimately will determine the deal as much as Pomeranz and White. If it’s the 2010 version, the Indians now can stack Jimenez alongside Justin Masterson(notes) as a potent 1-2 combination, and with Kipnis and Chisenhall and Asdrubal Cabrera(notes) and Carlos Santana(notes) and Travis Hafner(notes) and a great bullpen and the returning Shin-Soo Choo(notes) and Grady Sizemore(notes), they can give the Tigers a run for the American League Central title this year and sustain a nice core for a couple more.

If it’s the 2011 Jimenez – the version who threw one of the single worst innings of the season Saturday night – the trade could be another miscue on par with the Indians not receiving a single high-impact player from the trades of CC Sabathia(notes) and Cliff Lee(notes). Jimenez, clearly distracted by the deal and yanked after that one inning, threw 44 pitches, allowed four runs and never cracked 94 mph with his fastball.

It’s been a concern all season, Jimenez’s velocity. It regularly reached 100 mph last season. Now he’s lucky to hit 97 mph once a game. He used to be the hardest-throwing starter in baseball. Now he sits at 93.7 mph – about three-quarters of a mph harder than White. One Rockies source said the team believes Jimenez is healthy. Before the trade is official, the Indians will run Jimenez through a physical and see for themselves.

With a clean bill of health, they’ll reap the other benefit of Jimenez aside from his arm: his contract. For the next two years, Jimenez is due a total of $9.95 million. The Indians might make that in beer sales. Should Jimenez right himself – his ERA as well as his Fielding Independent Pitching number since the beginning of June was 3.03 before Saturday’s disaster – Cleveland will have the single best post-arbitration contract in baseball.

And that’s why they paid 24 years’ worth of prospects: Opportunities such as this come along so infrequently, it’s imperative to seize them. Is it risky? Hell yes. Is it something that can waylay a franchise for years? Uh-huh. It’s also the sort of go-for-broke deal other low-revenue franchises simply wouldn’t pursue because they lack vision, fortitude or both.

Antonetti is staking his reputation on this deal, and it’s admirable considering the red flags. He’s also not dumb. He understands that unless Jimenez bottoms out in Cleveland, value will remain in his arm, and should the Indians need to extract something from it next season, he’ll be the same Jimenez with the same excellent contract available for one year and two months – or, in 2013, with two months and draft-pick compensation attached to him. By acquiring him now, Antonetti bought himself two potential deadlines to re-deal Jimenez.

“If you can get yourself an ace,” the scout said earlier this week, “you get yourself an ace.”

Ubaldo Jimenez has been an ace. He still may be. The Indians weren’t going to get one of those on the free agent market, and unless they were one of the lucky few, they probably weren’t going to develop one, either.

So they gave up a lot – a lot of potential unrealized, a lot of risk for the Rockies to assume and, yes, a lot of years of control they may regret losing. No matter.

The Indians made a great deal.

Now it’s time for Ubaldo Jimenez to prove it.

From the Tribe web beat writer:

Betting the farm

by Jordan Bastian

While talking to an Indians player a couple afternoons ago, the idea of trading highly-touted left-hander Drew Pomeranz was floated.

“You can’t do it,” he said. “No way.”

You see, Pomeranz, all 6-foot-5, 230-pounds of him, was considered a can’t-miss, a cornerstone, an integral part of the future. The lefty was also, however, an asset. One with exactly zero Major League innings.

Plenty of ceiling. Nothing else but projection.

Well, on Saturday night, the Indians and Rockies agreed to a major swap that sent Pomeranz, right-hander Alex White, Minor League pitcher Joe Gardner and first baseman Matt McBride to Colorado and brought star pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez to Cleveland. The deal is pending a physical, which was expected to be completed Sunday.

I’ve written it before and I’m not going to back away from my stance in the aftermath of all of this: I wouldn’t have traded Pomeranz for anyone. But part of my reasoning is selfish. As a baseball writer, you root for talents like that to make it so you can chronicle their rise to stardom in the bigs. Pomeranz has front-line potential and could be the type of player a team seriously regrets parting with years down the road.

But that’s down the road…

How many prospects flame out? How many suffer an injury or simply don’t live up to all the hype? More than you think. A vast majority of the time, that is the end result. So in sending Pomeranz and White to the Rockies, the Indians are taking a chance that a proven Jimenez is more of a sure thing than two “top pitching prospects.” And Cleveland isn’t wrong in rolling the dice that way.

In reeling in Jimenez, the Indians now have a rotation witht he likes of Justin Masterson, Josh Tomlin, Fausto Carmona, Carlos Carrasco, David Huff, Jeanmar Gomez and Zach McAllister, plus the crop of prospects pulling up the rear. That’s a formidable group to have in place for the next couple of seasons (we can talk about Carmona’s club option for 2012 another time).

But the Indians needed offense, you say. There is no denying that, but Shin-Soo Choo and Grady Sizemore are expected to be coming back at some point (fingers crossed) and the Tribe might have another more or two in them before today’s 4 p.m. ET Trade Deadline expires. This was a chance to land a stud pitcher and that’s hard to pass up.

Besides, if the Indians do pull this off and make the playoffs this year, they have a rotation that is set up great for a postseason run.

As Indians closer Chris Perez said late Saturday, it’s a lot to give up, and the team might be kicking itself five years down the road, but a team can’t not make moves due to possible regrets a half-decade in the future.

Just as prospects are no sure thing, though, Jimenez is hardly a lock for roaring success, either.

He had that incredible first half a year ago, when he went 13-1 with a 1.15 ERA through June 17 en route to a start for the National League in the All-Star Game. He ended 2010 19-8 with a 2.88 ERA in 33 outings and placed third in balloting for the NL Cy Young Award. He threw a no-hitter on April 17 against the Braves.

Since that 13-1 opening act, however, Jimenez has been inconsistent to the point of some concern. He’s gone 15-19 with a 4.03 ERA since then and his pitch velocity has dropped. Last year, he averaged more than 96 mph with his fastball. That’s down to slightly over 93 mph this year. Granted, he dealt with some spring injuries (hip flexor, groin, thumb cuticle) that have undoubtedly played a role.

Jimenez, 27, is under contractual control through 2013 — his club option for 2014 can be voided now that he’s been traded. If anything, taking a chance by landing him in a trade shows that the Indians want to increase their chances of making the postseason in the immediate future. The window for competing certainlyhas been shortened.

And, as for the prospects given up, McBride and Gardner do not project to be impact players at the big league level. Sure, they could prove everyone wrong, but this deal was about Pomeranz and White. As for White, there is always the chance that middle finger injury he suffered in May has created cause for concern. There’s also a chance that Pomeranz’s jaw-dropping curveball doesn’t break as well through that thin Denver air.

In dealing Pomeranz and White — Cleveland’s top picks in the 2010 and 2009, respectively — the Indians are sticking by history, which says position players tend to pan out more in line with projections than pitching prospects. Second baseman Jason Kipnis and third baseman Lonnie Chisenhall remain very much in the fold and a part of the future.

And, clearly, rookie general manager Chris Antonetti has now officially made his mark on the organization. This could be a move that helps the Indians make a serious run at the playoffs this year and again in 2012 and 2013, but it could also be a move that ends with Pomeranz and White leading a strong Rockies rotation.

Really, we won’t know who won this deal for a few years.

My first reaction was that Cleveland was giving up way too much for Jimenez. The more I think about the trade, however, the more I feel that it’s fair to call this an educated risk for the Indians and a good return for the Rockies.

Cleveland clearly wants to win now, and it’s hard to argue with that approach.

I really doubt we'll go all that far this year, but we have certainly set the stage for next year. lI hope we pick up a good bat this winter. And, we kept Kipnis and Chisenhall who should be ready next year. Anything we can do this year will be a plus, but next year could be the year.

Here's BA analysis of players traded. White is still described as a possible reliever.

CHICAGO—Choices at the top of the draft are so valuable that it's harder to pry one loose than it is to get the Democrats and Republicans to agree on the debt ceiling. Before this summer, it had been nine years since a club had traded a top-six-overall pick before promoting him to the big leagues.

The last such deal, which sent Justin Wayne (No. 5 overall, 2000) from the Expos to the Marlins in a seven-player swap in July 2002, did little for Montreal but helped Florida win the World Series the following year. While Wayne didn't contribute, Carl Pavano, another piece of the Cliff Floyd trade, won 18 regular-season games and two more in the postseason.

This July, two teams broke from tradition and relinquished recent premium draft picks. The Giants, who develop pitching as well as anyone and are well-stocked on the mound in the majors, decided they could afford to give up Zack Wheeler to the Mets in order to bolster their lineup with Carlos Beltran and their chances of defending their 2010 World Series championship.

The Indians, who weren't expected to contend in the American League Central this year, decided to go all-in and send three of their best pitching prospects to the Rockies as part of a four-player package for Ubaldo Jimenez. The headliner surrendered by Cleveland was lefthander Drew Pomeranz, who might be a better version of Jimenez in a couple of years.

Wheeler, the No. 6 pick in the 2009 draft, and Pomeranz, the No. 5 choice in 2010, were the two best prospects to change addresses in trades made just prior to the July 31 deadline for deals without waivers. Here's how we rank the Top 10:

1. Zack Wheeler, rhp, Mets. Beltran may make the Giants a better team today, though they may rue losing Wheeler down the road. He's 21 and still figuring out consistency and command like a lot of young pitchers, but he also throws 90-96 mph with a loose, easy delivery. Secondary offerings? Both his curveball and changeup are potential plus pitches. He just needs time to mature into a frontline starter.

2. Drew Pomeranz, lhp, Rockies. Pomeranz has a pair of strikeout pitches in his 91-95 mph fastball, which he can throw up in the zone or sink at the knees, and his hammer curveball. That stuff stands out even more because he's lefthanded, and his changeup isn't bad either. Some scouts don't love his arm action, but there are others who wonder about Jimenez's long-term health because the veteran's fastball velocity has been down this season. Pomeranz can't officially become a Rockie until Aug. 16, the one-year anniversary of his signing.

3. Jonathan Singleton, 1b/of, Astros. The Phillies won the Hunter Pence sweepstakes in return for two blue-chip prospects (Singleton, Jared Cosart), reliever Josh Zeid and a player to be named. Only 19, Singleton has the bat speed, strength and mature approach to produce for both power and average. With Singleton now on board, Houston probably wishes it had held onto center fielder Anthony Gose rather than flipping him to the Blue Jays for Brett Wallace after the Roy Oswalt deal a year ago.

4, Jarred Cosart, rhp, Astros. Cosart was one of the more impressive pitchers at the Futures Game, pitching at 96-97 mph with his fastball and registering strikeouts with his curveball and changeup in one inning of work. He has had shoulder and elbow issues since signing, and inconsistent command has meant that he hasn't dominated as much as his stuff says he should. Still, it's difficult to deny his upside.

5. Robbie Erlin, lhp, Padres. In return for the top reliever who got traded (Mike Adams), the Rangers gave up Erlin and Joe Wieland. Erlin is an undersized lefthander whose stuff plays up because he has exceptional command (his 123-12 K-BB ratio ranks third in the minors). He can work the corners with an 88-92 mph fastball, change a hitter's eye-level with an 11-to-7 curveball or confound him with a changeup.

6. Alex White, rhp, Rockies. Along with Pomeranz, Colorado also acquired White, righthander Joe Gardner and first baseman Matt McBride for Jimenez. The 15th overall pick in 2009, White reached the majors in April but hasn't pitched since May with a finger injury. His best pitches are a 91-94 mph fastball and his splitter, though his lack of a reliable breaking ball may make him a reliever in the long run.

7. Joe Wieland, rhp, Padres. Wieland is a taller, righthander version of Erlin and ranks right behind him (fourth overall) with a 132-15 K-BB ratio. Wieland lives on the corners with an 88-92 mph fastball and mixes in a curveball, newly developed slider and a changeup.

8. Francisco Martinez, 3b, Tigers. To upgrade its pitching staff with Doug Fister and David Pauley, Detroit shipped Martinez, lefthander Charlie Furbush, outfielder Casper Wells and a player to be named (reportedly an early 2010 draft pick, either righty Chance Ruffin or lefty Drew Smyly). Martinez, who's playing in Double-A at age 20, has the highest ceiling of anyone involved in the deal. He has solid tools across the board, should tap into his power potential once he adds more strength and loft to his swing and runs better than most third basemen.

9. Brett Oberholtzer, lhp, Astros. In exchange for a center fielder with leadoff skills and Gold Glove defense (Michael Bourn), Houston somehow failed to get an upper-tier prospect. Oberholtzer is the best part of a package that also included righthanders Paul Clemens and Juan Abreu and outfielder Jordan Schaefer. Oberholtzer profiles as a No. 3 or 4 starter as a lefty with three solid-to-plus pitches in a 90-92 mph fastball, slider and changeup.

10. Trayvon Robinson, of, Mariners. Robinson is a quality athlete putting up the best numbers of his career (.293/.375/.563), albeit in an extremely hitter-friendly environment at Triple-A Albuquerque and in the Pacific Coast League. A switch-hitting center fielder with average power and plus speed, he's potentially a regular and at least a fourth outfielder. It's unclear what the Dodgers' motivation was for turning Robinson into catcher Tim Fedorowicz and righthanders Stephen Fife and Juan Rodriguez in a seven-player, three-team deal that sent Erik Bedard from Seattle to Boston.

Acta tells Tribe to enjoy the ride

By Jason Mastrodonato / MLB.com | 08/01/11 7:43 PM ET

BOSTON -- Indians manager Manny Acta held a meeting with his squad prior to Monday's series opener with the Red Sox, just to make sure his players understood what kind of opportunity they had.

Despite being 2-8 over their last 10 games, the Indians entered play Monday just 2 1/2 games back of the first-place Tigers in the American League Central, with a four-game series against the AL East-leading Red Sox and three more games in Arlington against the AL West-leading Rangers on the horizon.

"In a way, I felt like I needed to let them know that we're still in it," Acta said. "Just take the team's temperature and let the guys know that this is fun when you're focused and say, 'Hey, we're a couple of games out and two months to go. Every game is important. Enjoy it.'"

Acta said his players have held a strong attitude through the non-waiver Trade Deadline that passed at 4 p.m. ET on Sunday. While the Indians made a pair of moves to acquire outfielder Kosuke Fukodome and starter Ubaldo Jimenez, sending six Minor Leaguers to new teams, the only mainstay from the Cleveland clubhouse to be dealt was Orlando Cabrera.

"Our guys are fine," Acta said. "We're blessed we have a bunch of guys that are high-character, and a lot of them have been together for a while. The guys that are gone haven't been together that long. Our core group has been here for a while, and they handled everything pretty good. They're excited that we're making the club even better."

Choo on road trip, BP likely this week
BOSTON -- Shin-Soo Choo was with the Indians as they began a four-game series in Boston on Monday, and manager Manny Acta said Choo will likely take batting practice at some point this week.

"I think he's ahead of schedule," Acta said. "He's a quick healer."

Choo hasn't played since June 24 after an injured left thumb required surgery. After icing it for a while before Monday's game, he was able to warm up with the team while wearing a brace on his left hand.

He was all smiles in the Cleveland clubhouse, and while the team has been optimistic about his progress, Acta remained level-headed.

"After batting practice, there's the next step and the next step, so I'm not going to talk about when he's going to start [a rehab assignment], or anything like that," Acta said. "He should take it one day at a time."

Smoke signals
• The Indians purchased the contract of infielder Argenis Reyes from the New Jersey Jackals of the Canadian-American Association of Professional Baseball, which operates independent of Major League Baseball. Reyes was assigned to Triple-A Columbus.

Reyes had been hitting .306 in 60 games with the Jackals while serving primarily as the club's starting second baseman and leadoff hitter. The 28-year-old has spent parts of eight seasons in the Minors, touching the big leagues in two separate seasons with the Mets.

• Manager Manny Acta was sure to give his young outfielders a quick lesson on the confines of Fenway Park before Monday's game. "If you come in and you're not prepared, this ballpark will swallow you alive," he told them. "If you're not paying attention, it can make a lot of people look like fools."

• Justin Masterson spent time before the game mingling with his former teammates. He shared a few laughs with members of the Red Sox bullpen as they warmed up on the field. Masterson, who is 9-2 at Fenway in his career, is scheduled to pitch Thursday.

• The Indians finished July 11-15, marking the second straight month they finished with a losing record. Since May 24, they are 23-37 (.383) and have lost 9 1/2 games in the division standings.

A historical note to shake the pessimists among us:

2006 St. Louis Cardinals season

The St. Louis Cardinals 2006 season was the team's 125th season in St. Louis, Missouri and the 115th season in the National League. The season started out with a bang, as the team raced out to a 31-16 record by late May. Momentum would be slowed by injuries, as starting pitcher Mark Mulder was lost for the year, while center fielder Jim Edmonds and shortstop David Eckstein missed large amounts of playing time in the second half. Poor performance from several key players also hampered the team: starting pitcher Jason Marquis compiled a 6.02 ERA, starting pitcher Sidney Ponson was cut due to ineffectiveness, closer Jason Isringhausen blew ten saves before undergoing season-ending hip surgery in September, and catcher Yadier Molina had a poor offensive year, batting .216.

All this led to a difficult that quick start, one that included two eight-game losing streaks (the longest such streaks for the franchise since 1988) and a seven-game losing streak, losing months in June, August and September, and an 83-78 record, the worst for the Cardinals since the 1999 team finished 75-86. However, that record was good enough to finish first in a weak National League Central division, edging the second-place Houston Astros by a game and a half, and the Cardinals made the playoffs for the sixth time in the last seven seasons. Once the playoffs began, the lightly regarded Cardinals surprised baseball fans everywhere by beating the San Diego Padres in the Division Series, beating the New York Mets in the NLCS, and beating the Detroit Tigers in the 2006 World Series four games to one, winning the tenth, and probably most unlikely, World Series championship in franchise history.

All this led to a difficult that quick start, one that included two eight-game losing streaks (the longest such streaks for the franchise since 1988) and a seven-game losing streak, losing months in June, August and September, and an 83-78 record



29-27 gets us to 83 wins, presuming we play all 162 as The Cardinals did not.

Touches on some of the issues in the deal from the Rockies angle:

Rockies are years away from being contenders
By Woody Paige
The Denver Post
POSTED: 08/02/2011 01:00:00 AM MDT


In their first home game since The Big Deal, the Rockies blew a victory against the Phillies.

Big deal.

Phillies in 10. Rockies inept.

The Rox and the Phils, who met in the playoffs in 2007 and 2009, won't be meeting in the postseason in 2011. They were merely passing strangers in the night Monday. The Phillies, the best team in baseball, are what the Rockies, mired among the mediocre in the majors, intended to be.

According to doomsayers, the world will come to an end in 2012.

Let's hope not.

Because, if apocalyptic predictions are true, we won't see the Rockies in the postseason again in our lifetime.

You can't even utter optimistically today: Wait 'til next year.

Call me a gloom crier, but the Rox, in August of '11, now are years away.

Ubaldo Jimenez, instrumental in the two playoff series against the Phillies, is gone, and the Rockies don't feel so good.

The departure of one of the three Rockies' O-Men is an omen. The Rox have returned to being pretenders, not contenders.

Dealin' Dan O'Dowd dealt Jimenez for four prospects, or suspects — three minor-league pitchers and a throw-in first baseman. So, he's become Reelin' Dan — staggering backward toward nine of his 11 seasons when the Rockies averaged fewer than 75 victories.

"Maybe our expectations were too high" this season, O'Dowd told me three weeks ago. This was supposed to be the year the franchise won its first division title.

O'Dowd can't be blamed completely for the fiasco — Jorge De La Rosa's season-ending injury, Carlos Gonzalez's wall collision, the dismal efforts of his acquisitions Jose Lopez and Ty Wigginton, the continuing embarrassment by Ian Stewart, Chris Iannetta and Dexter Fowler as major-league hitters, Jimenez's first-half breakdown (combined with his second-half collapse last season), the farcical home record, the preposterous Sunday losing streak, the lack of clutch


Rockies right-hander Jhoulys Chacin, pitching Monday night against the Phillies at Coors Field, allowed only one run in 7 1/3 innings of the series opener and lowered his ERA to 3.38. Chacin (8-8) hasn't had a victory since June 15. (Doug Pensinger, Getty Images )
hitting, the others starters' inconsistencies and immaturity and the overall ill being.
However, O'Dowd, as the Rockies "executive vice president, chief baseball officer, general manager," must be held accountable, but won't be.

O'Dowd should take the blame for the Jimenez trade — and his failure at the deal deadline to get rid of the veteran players who have proven they're incompetent.

He should accept the blame for manager Jim Tracy having to start a pitcher knowing Ubaldo already had been traded.

By making the deal, Dealin' Dan, despite what the unwashed masses may wish, did buy himself another two years with the Monfort Bros.

A chief baseball officer should acknowledge blame for the Rockies' appalling pitching picks since 2000, O'Dowd's first year of overseeing the draft.

The current roster includes only two relievers — Rex Brothers (2009) and Matt Reynolds (2007) — and no starters selected by the Rockies.

Perhaps they wouldn't have felt the urge to dump Ubaldo if they had done their drafting job correctly. Thank goodness the Rockies have a solid Latin America scouting department, or they would have zero starters. How long before more untouchables — Jhoulys Chacin (who was sharp again Monday night), Juan Nicasio and Esmil Rogers — are exiled in "impact," "restocking" trades?

The Rockies are getting two of Cleveland's No. 1 choices — Drew Pomeranz and Alex White, who, it's claimed, will be top-of-the-rotation starters. But does anybody honestly expect those two, the Rockies' three kids and a Tommy John surgery- recovering De La Rosa to form a championship nucleus in 2012?

Who's on third, at catcher and second base, in two outfield positions? Fowler, Charlie Blackmon, Tim Wheeler (Tulsa) as outfielders? Wil Rosario (Tulsa), Jordan Pachecho (Colorado Springs) and Eliezer Alfonso (Rox) as catchers? Nolan Arenado (Modesto) at third and Angelys Nina (Modesto) at second, or Nelson (Rox)?

The ownership won't spend for a homer-hitting third baseman, an outstanding right fielder and a strong-armed veteran starter.

The only sure position players next year are Gonzalez, Troy Tulowitzki (No. 1 in 2005) and Todd Helton (No. 1 in 1995).

Those three will have to wait three, five, eight years. One doesn't have the time to wait.

That's assuming the world doesn't end in 2012. The Rockies' world in 2011 is over.

Drew Pomeranz deals with whirlwind last few days after trade to Rockies
By Troy E. Renck
The Denver Post
POSTED: 08/02/2011 01:00:00 AM MDT
UPDATED: 08/02/2011 09:10:46 AM MDT


Drew Pomeranz says he's ready for the craziest year of his life. (Christian Petersen, Getty Images)
Rain pounded on the windshield Monday as Drew Pomeranz made his way from Akron, Ohio, to his hometown of Memphis, Tenn.

"Hold on. I can't see anything right now," Pomeranz told The Denver Post.

He can be forgiven. The 6-foot-5 left-hander's head has been spinning for 48 hours as the central figure for the Rockies in the trade that sent ace Ubaldo Jimenez to the Cleveland Indians on Saturday. Pomeranz, 22, wandered out to the bullpen at Canal Park in Akron that night, believing he was going to take another small step to the big leagues. Five pitches into his warm-up session, Pomeranz was told to stop.

"I had heard some rumors, but I never thought they would trade me," Pomeranz said. "I called my agent and tried to figure out what was going on. It was a crazy few hours."

His full name is Thomas Andrew Pomeranz. He currently answers to Player To Be Named Later. The Rockies can't discuss him by name because he's not allowed to join their organization until the one-year anniversary of his draft signing. He accepted a $2.65 million signing bonus as the fifth pick overall on Aug. 17, 2010. So he won't officially be a Rockie until Aug. 18.

The Rockies cleared him to take his car back home. He will fly to Phoenix on Wednesday and begin throwing closely monitored bullpen sessions at the Indians' spring training facility in Goodyear, Ariz.

Can you say awkward?

"It's such a weird situation. No one knew what I could and couldn't do. I want to leave now and start pitching for them," said Pomeranz, who will likely miss three to four starts because of this unusual situation. "But I will just stay in shape and be ready to go. I have probably been to every city in the big leagues, but of course, I have never been to Denver."

He could be in a Rockies uniform by September if all goes as planned. General manager Dan O'Dowd didn't rule out Pomeranz and right-hander Alex White, also acquired in the Jimenez trade, starting games this season. Pomeranz, a star at the University of Mississippi, gave the Rockies a glimpse of his potential March 6 by striking out three batters in a two-inning spring training appearance against them. White, a 2009 first-round pick, has pitched in the big leagues with Cleveland this season and will begin a rehabilitation assignment this week.

Pomeranz has moved quickly through the minor leagues. He mauled high Single-A competition, striking out 95 in 77 innings. The Double-A transition, while brief, has been seamless with Pomeranz posting a 2.57 ERA in three starts this season.

Pomeranz doesn't know much about Coors Field.

"Everyone has been telling me it's a hard place to pitch," he joked. His older brother, Stuart, pitched for the Rockies' Double-A Tulsa team last season.

Now, just over a year into professional baseball, Pomeranz finds himself the centerpiece of a trade that has drawn criticism in Denver and Cleveland.

Rockies fans are angry that their team traded its ace, a pitcher who started the All-Star Game last season. Indians fans believe their team surrendered too much for Jimenez.

"I don't feel any pressure or anything like that," Pomeranz said. "But really, it hasn't set in and probably won't for a few weeks until I am in the Rockies' (farm) system. To be included in this deal, obviously the Rockies think highly of me. I am anxious for the challenge. But, yeah, it looks like this is going to be the craziest year of my life."

Troy E. Renck: 303-954-1301 or trenck@denverpost.com