New Marlins Enjoying Success in Winter League

[buccanes]

Possessing an overpowering fastball isn't always a requirement to being a dominant pitcher. But to Marlins fans it may seem that way, because over the past five years, they were accustomed to watching blazing heat from their starters.

 

Now that hard throwers like Josh Beckett and A.J. Burnett are no longer with the club doesn't mean the Marlins are void of quality arms. They just aren't as electrifying as what the team has showcased in the past.

 

Newcomer Yusmeiro Petit has a history of winning with an 89-93 mph fastball.

 

Acquired from the Mets as part of the Carlos Delgado trade, Petit is currently dazzling hitters while pitching for Magallanes in the Venezuelan Winter League.

 

The right-hander, who will challenge for a rotation spot in Spring Training, doesn't throw 99 mph like Burnett. And his overall "stuff" isn't in the class of Beckett's. But Petit has a knowledge of pitching that has the Marlins high on his potential.

 

For Magallanes, Petit is 3-1 with a 2.13 ERA, 31 strikeouts and just eight walks. He's showing the ability to log innings, and already he's had outings of 7, 6 2/3, 6 and 5 2/3 innings.

 

Petit is on a Magallanes squad that includes his new Marlins teammate, Anibal Sanchez, brought in from the Red Sox as part of the Beckett deal.

 

A projected starter in Florida, Sanchez has seen most of his action out of the bullpen in winter ball. The right-hander is 0-0 with a 5.27 ERA in 13 2/3 innings. He has struck out 13 and walked two.

 

"Petit's stuff is seen as average, but he has a very lively fastball," said Jim Fleming, the Marlins' vice president of player development and scouting. "Our fans have been a little jaded seeing Beckett and Burnett throw 97-98 [mph]and be successful. These guys throw 90-93 [mph] with pitches that have sink to them, and they've been successful. Life on a fastball is as important, if not more important, on fastballs than velocity."

 

More than what the speed guns are reading, the Marlins are looking to see if these pitchers know how to pitch.

 

"It's can you win?" Fleming said. "These guys can win. It's a combination of having good stuff and having the ability to win."

 

The Marlins have a number of players participating in various winter leagues, including outfielders Chris Aguila and Eric Reed and shortstop Hanley Ramirez, who joined the Marlins as part of the Beckett-Mike Lowell-Guillermo Mota trade to Boston.

 

Aguila: Playing for Gigantes in the Dominican Republic, Aguila is getting some much-needed at-bats after he spent much of last season receiving limited playing time for the Marlins.

 

At every Minor League level, Aguila has hit. Through 26 games for Gigantes, he was batting .241 with one homer, four doubles and 12 RBIs. Aguila is a candidate to start in either center or left field. Some Major League scouts feel he is a fourth outfielder, but he is getting plenty of playing time in the Dominican.

 

"This is big for Chris," Fleming said. "He needed some extra at-bats."

 

Ramirez: A focal point in the trade with Boston, Ramirez is projected as a future star. He draws comparisons to Edgar Renteria, who was recently traded to the Braves. Competing for Licey in the Dominican Republic, Ramirez has been used frequently at third base. He will be given every chance to win the Marlins' starting shortstop job.

 

"The book on him is he's an extremely talented athlete with a big ceiling," Fleming said.

 

In his first 24 games, Ramirez was batting .267 with six doubles and eight RBIs.

 

In the Winter League, the Marlins just want Ramirez to keep playing, see better pitching and come into Spring Training ready to win a job.

 

Reed: The speedy Reed's style of play is very similar to Juan Pierre, who was recently dealt to the Cubs.

 

A left-handed hitter without much power, Reed has outstanding speed and he is in line to fight for the starting center field position. The Marlins are in discussions with other teams, including Tampa Bay for Joey Gathright, for a more seasoned center fielder.

 

However, Reed has been impressing since joining Mayaguez in the Puerto Rican league. Through 15 games, he was batting .324 with six stolen bases, three doubles and two triples.

 

The Marlins are wanting Reed to work on being more patient and going deeper into counts.

 

http://florida.marlins.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/...t=.jsp&c_id=fla

[Guest FishFanInPA]

Aguila will never amount to anything more then a mediocre bench player....no matter how many AB's you give him.

[Fish4Life]

Finally some pretty good news... Will see what happens when it comes down to the REAL season

[TSwift25]

I don't know if it's good or bad that Reed is outshining Hanley and Aguila stats-wise, and that Petit (on the same team) is bettering Sanchez.

[MarlinatPenn]

wow, look out for Reed...

[Shamrock]

Anyone know what level of American minor league ball these leagues compare well with? AAAA type players? AA? And park factors would also be interesting to know.

[GatorsfortheMarlins]

good to see that reed is hitting well

[NewRaysFan]

Loria never intended on putting up hard cash, his contribution towards a new stadium was money that was to be spent on rent of the stadium. AGAIN, Loria doesn't have what it takes to own a team.

Sell this friggin team please!! You're not going to get someone to build you a stadium so that you can get rich off of it.

[TSwift25]

Anyone know what level of American minor league ball these leagues compare well with? AAAA type players? AA? And park factors would also be interesting to know.

 

 

It's a 'tweener grade, don't put too much stock in the numbers unless they're exceptionally low.

[Spork5812]

with these guys logging innings in winter ball, is it going to hurt us late in the season if the pitchers are all worn out?

 

didn't this happen to vincente padilla when he was in philly?

[Marlins2003]

The numbers are so close to meaningless they remind one of what happens sometimes in the minors or the AFl.

 

John Doe has a great first half in AA ball, get's promoted to AAA where if you looked at his stats you'd think he bombed out, but what really happened he was sent there to work on something, if a pitcher his changeup or a his slider, etc, or as a batter to concentrate on hitting to opposite field or making contact vs powering the ball.

 

Same thing holds true in winter ball. You really can't draw any conclusions based on the numbers unless you know what the back story is.

[Texfish]

Winter stats are misleading. (remember Castro) Aggie is the better hitter of the two, and obviously has a greater power upside. Reed simply needs to work on making contact, then run like hell. He is exceptionally quick, and IMO has a better arm than Pierre. He went DL in Albuquerque this year trying to take down the wall while chasing a fly ball. Both are good kids.

[prinmemito]

Miggy won the VWL triple crown in the playoffs last season. Hit like .440 with 9 HR and 32 RBI in like 15 games. It was a sign of things to come.

[MarlinatPenn]

I hope Eric Reed makes the team, just so that every time he gets a hit I can say, "Ka-boom!"

[ultimopain]

Thought this was a good a place as any to post this...

 

From Rotoworld:

 

Yusmeiro Petit - S - Marlins

 

Yusmeiro Petit struck out seven in six scoreless innings to win for Magallanes of the VWL yesterday. Petit is 5-1 with a 2.01 ERA and a 43/8 K/BB ratio in 49 1/3 IP this winter. He'll get a chance to contend for a spot in Florida's rotation.

 

:plain

 

Wow.

 

Awesome numbers.

[PBMarlin]

Thought this was a good a place as any to post this...

 

From Rotoworld:

 

Yusmeiro Petit - S - Marlins

 

Yusmeiro Petit struck out seven in six scoreless innings to win for Magallanes of the VWL yesterday. Petit is 5-1 with a 2.01 ERA and a 43/8 K/BB ratio in 49 1/3 IP this winter. He'll get a chance to contend for a spot in Florida's rotation.

 

:plain

 

Wow.

 

Awesome numbers.

 

Good stuff!

[Guest Moneyball]

Thought this was a good a place as any to post this...

 

From Rotoworld:

 

Yusmeiro Petit - S - Marlins

 

Yusmeiro Petit struck out seven in six scoreless innings to win for Magallanes of the VWL yesterday. Petit is 5-1 with a 2.01 ERA and a 43/8 K/BB ratio in 49 1/3 IP this winter. He'll get a chance to contend for a spot in Florida's rotation.

 

:plain

 

Wow.

 

Awesome numbers.

 

Poor poor Yusmeiro, gets no love because of his stuff. :confused

[Fishfan79]

Thought this was a good a place as any to post this...

 

From Rotoworld:

 

Yusmeiro Petit - S - Marlins

 

Yusmeiro Petit struck out seven in six scoreless innings to win for Magallanes of the VWL yesterday. Petit is 5-1 with a 2.01 ERA and a 43/8 K/BB ratio in 49 1/3 IP this winter. He'll get a chance to contend for a spot in Florida's rotation.

 

:plain

 

Wow.

 

Awesome numbers.

 

Poor poor Yusmeiro, gets no love because of his stuff. :confused

 

neither did a guy named Greg for years.

 

any news on the rest of the guys from anywhere possible?

[The_Punisher]

Great article.

[Everlong204]

Thought this was a good a place as any to post this...

 

From Rotoworld:

 

Yusmeiro Petit - S - Marlins

 

Yusmeiro Petit struck out seven in six scoreless innings to win for Magallanes of the VWL yesterday. Petit is 5-1 with a 2.01 ERA and a 43/8 K/BB ratio in 49 1/3 IP this winter. He'll get a chance to contend for a spot in Florida's rotation.

 

:plain

 

Wow.

 

Awesome numbers.

 

 

thats what I like to hear :cool

[Shamrock]

quick. trade him for gaithright.

[Hotcorner]

Thought this was a good a place as any to post this...

 

From Rotoworld:

 

Yusmeiro Petit - S - Marlins

 

Yusmeiro Petit struck out seven in six scoreless innings to win for Magallanes of the VWL yesterday. Petit is 5-1 with a 2.01 ERA and a 43/8 K/BB ratio in 49 1/3 IP this winter. He'll get a chance to contend for a spot in Florida's rotation.

 

:plain

 

Wow.

 

Awesome numbers.

 

Poor poor Yusmeiro, gets no love because of his stuff. :confused

 

neither did a guy named Greg for years.

 

any news on the rest of the guys from anywhere possible?

[BullDurham]

Thought this was a good a place as any to post this...

 

From Rotoworld:

 

Yusmeiro Petit - S - Marlins

 

Yusmeiro Petit struck out seven in six scoreless innings to win for Magallanes of the VWL yesterday. Petit is 5-1 with a 2.01 ERA and a 43/8 K/BB ratio in 49 1/3 IP this winter. He'll get a chance to contend for a spot in Florida's rotation.

 

:plain

 

Wow.

 

Awesome numbers.

 

Poor poor Yusmeiro, gets no love because of his stuff. :confused

 

Does anyone know what Maddux's "stuff" was? Because I remember hearing how he won not with a fastball, but with ball placement in the strike zone.

[Iowa]

Alfredo Amezaga went 2-for-5 and hit his fourth homer yesterday for Obregon of the MPL.

 

He is batting .292/.358/.415 with a league-leading 17 steals in 21 attempts in Mexico. Amezaga got some very bad news yesterday with the Marlins signing Pokey Reese, but he still might be a candidate to make the team, depending on how Hanley Ramirez and Rule 5 pick Dan Uggla look during spring training.

 

If he can hit even a little bit, with his defensive ability, should be a pretty decent guy to have on the bench.