Can we collectively agree that Tommy Hanson's ongoing presence on a minor league roster has crossed over into the realm of complete and utter absurdity? In his last start, the 22 year-old went seven strong, giving up only five hits and one earned while striking out nine (2 BB). This means that Hanson has allowed only ten earned in 60.2 innings this season (1.48 ERA), while registering 82 strikeouts (12.16 K/9) and issuing a measly 17 walks (2.52 BB/9). Not to mention his qualitative attributes, most notably, the nastiest four-pitch repertoire in the minor leagues (a few scouts have even said 'some of the best stuff in all of baseball'). Atlanta is 5-5 in their past 10 games, and currently sit 3.5 GB of division-leading New York. Call up your dynamic workhorse righty stallion prodigy, already! Jesus tapdancing Christ.
David Price, on the other hand, was promoted to 'the show' after posting a 1-4, 3.93 in 34.1 innings (Triple-A), including 35 strikeouts (9.17 per nine) and eighteen walks (4.72 per nine); he lost his first start against Cleveland, going 3.1 innings and allowing two earned, while striking out six and walking five. His second start was against the Twins, today (5/30) in Tampa; as I am typing, he has just been pulled after an impressive outing. Easily his best performance of 2009, the brawny southpaw threw 101 pitches in 5.2, fanning eleven while walking only two. Early-season reports of his velocity settling in the 91-92 mph range were either apocryphal or context-dependent, as Price routinely sat between 92 and 94 mph Saturady, and threw pitches #97 and #100 in excess of 96 mph (albiet on Fox's juiced radar gun). Perhaps Price, during his time in the minors, was focusing on generating additional movement on his fastball at the expense of velocity, with the understanding that the onus of each start was on implementation (i.e integration of a change-up, mechanical tweaks), not results. Whatever the reason, this start has to be encouraging for the Rays (although Price needs to find a way to be more economical with his pitches), and equally frustrating for Tommy Hanson, who should expect his call-up to come [yesterday].
Price, however, is not the only Rays prospect deserved of attention; Desmond Jennings, an uber-athletic center fielder for Double-A Montgomery, has been raking in the tough Southern League after having his 2008 season dismantled by injuries. Jennings is boasting an impressive .370/.438/.597 line (24 XBH, plus 16 steals) for the Biscuits, noteworthy as current Rays CF B.J. Upton continues to experience the repercussions of a rushed return from serious shoulder injury. Upton is currently posting a measly .228 EqA for the Rays, and surely will not remain in the lineup much longer if results do not improve; still, as of May 30, manager Joe Maddon has yet to drop him from the lead-off spot, let alone the lineup entirely, suggesting the Rays are still at least one step away from a benching/D.L. stint for the elder Upton brother. Nevertheless, if and when the Rays decide that this is the best course of action, would they consider promoting Jennings?
The answer, unfortunately for prospect-lovers, is no; we fans will most likely have to wait until September to see Jennings on a big league roster, with 2010 being his likely ETA as a starter. Rather, the Rays will likely apply a multitude of creative, band-aid fixes to their unsettled outfield in '09, and they certainly have enough warm bodies to produce an offensively competent three-man outfield on a nightly basis. However, with Fernando Perez out for the season (multiple knee ligament tears), no obvious defensive replacements exist for Upton in center. Carl Crawford, a tremendous athlete who was once recruited to run the point for UCLA and to man the option quarterback position for the Cornhuskers, could presumably slide over; Crawford has logged 54 career games in center over an eight year career, though he hasn't manned the middle for more than ten games in any season since 2004 (30 G). Still, this may be the most logical solution for the Rays, who have a bevy of serviceable corner outfield options, namely utilityman Ben Zobrist, (formerly elite) SS prospect Reid Brignac, the Gabes (Gross and Kapler), and current Durham Bulls masher (and former Detroit Tiger) Matt Joyce, acquired in the Edwin Jackson trade this offseason (Jackson, by the way, has 4 wins and a 2.78 ERA in '09). Joyce, who has produced a laudable .315/.408/.530 line this season in Triple-A (21 XBH), would likely be the first call-up, perhaps providing an opening for Jennings in Durham. Joyce and Gross, who are both essentially right-handed platoon players at this point, could share time with Kapler (who has hit lefties at a .313 clip since un-retiring last season), although it is likely that the promotion of Joyce would lead to the end of Gross' tenure with the team. Zobrist would thus occupy the other outfield position, and his .685 SLG in '09 indicates that he has more-than-enough brawn for the task, at least in the short-term, until Upton and/or Pat Burrell are healthy enough to contribute.
This week also saw the placement of SS Jason Bartlett and 2B Aki Iwamura on the D.L. Bartlett will return, allowing Willy Aybar to assume utility-IF duties (assuming Zobrist is relegated to an outfield spot), but Iwamura is done for the season. What this means is a time-share situation with Brignac at second base, at least until one man asserts dominance and wrestles the job from the other. And I wouldn't count on that. Defensively, the once-highly-regarded offensive SS prospect Brignac has the edge, as he has turned himself into a tremendous defensive player over the past several years. Concurrently, however, his offense has suffered, as Brignac hit only .260 (AA) and .250 (AAA) respectively over his past two minor league campaigns. Aybar, on the other hand, is a career .274 EqA hitter--not bad for a temporary 2B fix . Additionally, Aybar boasts a very good 14.1 UZR/150 at second, although this is over an inadequate sample-size of only 38 games (81 attempts). Aybar's physique screams corner infield (he is listed at 5'11", 205...nope), and his numbers at both first and third suggest he could be an above-average defender at those spots for extended periods of time. But second base is a position requiring a great-deal of lateral mobility, and for a two-sacker with a lot of meat on his bones, he doesn't exactly move like Ronnie Belliard. A platoon seems the most prudent course of action, in this regard. As for whether any of this will actually happen... I don't blame the Rays for being a little trigger shy about placing starters on the D.L. (Burrell, Kasmir, Percival, Bartlett, Iwamura). Still, Upton does not appear to be improving, and he is far too talented a hitter to attribute this to a mere slump, especially given the temporal proximity of his injury rehab to his struggles. Critics of this approach will point to his monster October as evidence that the shoulder can withstand the rigors of major league baseball, after all, he did have all offseason to rehab, the shoulder should only be stronger. In addition, Upton has improved his average by eight points over the past 15 games, while logging hits in four straight games, and eight of nine. But injuries do not always progress in an idealized fashion. And Upton's average is still only .200, hardly encouraging, especially since during this same 15-game stretch he has 23 strikeouts, including three turkeys, and only three XBH. Upton may not be aggravating his injury by playing, but a stint on the 15 day D.L. may just give him the rest he needs to reboot his season; it's sure worth a try, the Rays won't compete in the A.L. East if B.J. imitates 2008 Michael Bourn all season.
Also lighting up the prospect wire, Matt Weiters debuts tonight. And I am positively giddy. I've only seen him a handful of times, but from what I can tell, Weiters is going to be an offensive force, tall and strong with a gorgeous swing and a genuine presence at the plate. (Despite some reports to the contrary, the towering Weiters will--at least in the foreseeable future--be a more-than-competent defender in the Joe Mauer mold, though he hardly an athletic equal to the MN backstop). He carries himself with the confidence and conviction of a ten-year vet, and his swing is simple, unadorned and extremely quick through the hitting zone from the right and a left sides. More coming on the Orioles phenom in a week or two, no doubt. In addition, it appears the Cubs have finally called-up Jake Fox this week, after growing tired of his bugs-bunny offensive explosion going to waste in AAA Iowa (.424/.503/.881, 17 HR, 51 RBI in 41 games). I expect he wil play primarily third base in Aramis Ramirez's absence, with Fontenot taking over at second, however Fox could also spell Lee at his natural position of 1B, allowing Fontenot to see time at third and Aaron Miles to man second. Other notable call-ups either (a) already consummated or (b) rumored to be on the imminent horizon: Texas' Derek Holland (a), Pittsburgh's Andrew McCutchen (b), Colorado's Carlos Gonzalez (a) and, possibly by weeks end, the Chicago White Stockings' Gordon Beckham (b).
