FAST TRACK? BAUTISTA REPLACEMENT IN THE CAROLINA ROTATION

 

D.Marchbanks a draft pick in June is already in Carolina(AA). He pitched OK going 6IN allowing 4H's with 2ER BUT 5 walks with 3K's. The SEC pitcher of the year last season should be ready next start on what to expect with this start under his belt.

What school did he pitch for?

Ed, would you agree our system looks AWFULLY thin right now?? I've been following it for 2 years now and it just doesnt have much at all.

Marchbanks was a 7th rd pick this year out of South Carolina University.

or University of South Carolina

We are definitely thinner in the minors. At least in the AAA and AA. But, I think Hermida, and Allison and co. give us some depth in the minors...just lower divisions.

We still have a few studs, but our depth is non-existent. I can seriously see us ranked 25th or lower when the new rankings come out. Its not pretty.

meh....it will suck to be a Marlin fan if we dont make the playoffs this year.

Shamrock are depth is not the same with call-ups and trades ...BUT the lower minors has alot of talent that is moving up to Carolina(AA) and Jupiter (HighA). The Marlins pitching prospects are just not well know. Scot Olsen is a stud in the making Yorman Bazardo and Ronald Belizario are young power guys in Greensboro who you'll hear from next season. Bullpen studs Lincoln Holdzkom and Casey Blalock are really turning the corner. Plus the team drafted four good lookin pitchers in the June draft in Jeff Allison(the HS in draft), Logan Kensing (who is already in low single A) , David Marchbanks (who is pitching in Carolina AA) and LHP Jon Nickerson(who was one of the top pitcher in the GCL plus has a combined no-hitter). Also guys coming back from injury like Allen Baxter and Garrett Berger who were very good lookin prospects. So Shamrock its not as thin as some might think.

I admit, we are thin at the AAA level, but certainly not the AA, A levels. We have a lot of pitching talent, most of which has come from the last draft and recent trades (which has seen that talent then depart to bring in veteran help). Also, think about Willis and Cabrera at the AAA level and we might look a little more dense in our farm system. We have had to bleed our farm a little this year but most of the recent deals have been made with guys who are not necessarily irreplaceable. Bautista? Hutchinson. Adrian Gonzalez? Jason Stokes. Our depth is not as apparent, but considering all the deals we made, we stand to be in pretty good shape for years to come while the big club wins and the talent is developed. It is key that we re-sign most of this team though.

Hutchinson is not half the pitcher as Bautista was...maybe #4, but probably middle relief. I cant say this year was a breakthrough year for Stokes...looks like he stayed about the same or even regressed some. I hope he performs well in the Arizona Fall League. Edcanes is right though we had a good draf in terms of pitchers and guys like Holdzkom and Blalock are some of the top relief prospects in the game.

 

We have no adequate replacements up and coming for SS, 2B, RF, LF, or catcher. Ryan Bear could be another good 1B prospect, but our hitting and pitching his quite thin not considering the studs. We either had complete bombs or studs in our draft. Time will tell and I hope I'm wrong, but I still believe we are quite thin at almost every level.

I admit, we are thin at the AAA level, but certainly not the AA, A levels. We have a lot of pitching talent, most of which has come from the last draft and recent trades (which has seen that talent then depart to bring in veteran help). Also, think about Willis and Cabrera at the AAA level and we might look a little more dense in our farm system. We have had to bleed our farm a little this year but most of the recent deals have been made with guys who are not necessarily irreplaceable. Bautista? Hutchinson. Adrian Gonzalez? Jason Stokes. Our depth is not as apparent, but considering all the deals we made, we stand to be in pretty good shape for years to come while the big club wins and the talent is developed. It is key that we re-sign most of this team though.

johnny thats the main reason some posters are so opposed to this trade. We are most likely going to be a 4th place team next season and we just traded away one guy who could have made a major impact NEXT season. I hope it all plays out well and I'm going to absolutely ENJOY this season. But next season is looming in my mind.

Just a quick update on Blalock and Holdzkom:

 

last night both pitcher an inning with Holdzkom striking out the side and Blalock K'ing 2 in his inning....both scoreless. These guys could provide a 1-2 punch by 05'

One more stud reliever you forgot about Ed!

 

*LHP Frank Gracesqui who last night went (2IP, 1H, 0ER, 1BB, 4K)

 

Over the course of the season hes gone (58IP, 43BB, 75K, 44H, 0HR!)

 

 

I'm also wondering about Carolina OF Chris Aguila? He seems to be playing extremely well.

It's great to see Chris doing well. When I saw him, he had one of the best arms I had seen since Mark Kotsay. He does seem to be a bit injury plauged, though.

...We have no adequate replacements up and coming for SS, 2B, RF, LF, or catcher. Ryan Bear could be another good 1B prospect, but our hitting and pitching his quite thin not considering the studs. We either had complete bombs or studs in our draft. Time will tell and I hope I'm wrong, but I still believe we are quite thin at almost every level.

If we're so thin, and we have so little talent at all these positions explain to us all why our AAA team has just clinched their division and our AA team the Mudcats are tied for the lead in theirs? In the second half of the their season, they've won 37 games, lost 31. Bautista went 4-5.

 

Can't be THAT thin Sham, just can't, unless the rest of minor league ball is that much worse than us. You can't have it both ways.

Non-prospects are doing most of the winning. Guys who MIGHT project as bench players. Im not saying we dont have some nice prospects, we just arnt as deep compared to most other systems. You guys might be a little biased towards our sysyem because you know it better then any other clubs. Ive been keeping tabs on most systems in the NL and we just arnt nearly as deep as they are. Albeit we brought up two very impact players throughout the course of the season who were top 20 prospects in baseball at the time of arrival. Looks like our latest draft class is performing well, so hopefully they can restock us.

I thought I'd pass this e-mail down to you guys from someone I respect in the game.

 

I'm absolutely stunned. I'll even go as far to say I'm flabbergasted. The Mike Lowell injury not only hurt the Marlins' chances of making the playoffs, it's now hurt their future, too. Unbelievable. I think Jim Beattie and Mike Flanagan have many compromising pictures of GMs. They have to. They continue to pull off good trades. Remarkable trades. Denny Bautista was my Marlins #1 prospect. He's a 20-year-old Dominican righty with a lightning-quick arm. He can be electric at times. He has a chance to be a #1 starter in the majors. That's how much I like Bautista. I can't believe the Marlins would trade a prospect the caliber of Bautista for Jeff Conine. Flabbergasted. Don Levinski ain't too shabby of a prospect, either. The 20-year-old right-hander throws a hard sinker that can tear up righties. He has a hard time commanding this pitch, though, thus he can struggle mightily. Still, his raw stuff is very good and he projects to be a #2 or #3 starter in the majors. Bautista and Levinski for Jeff Conine. Flabbergasted. Conine is a winner. He plays the game right. He gives you everything he's got. He can play LF, 1B, and 3B. He's a positive player. Is he a differencemaker? No. He's a good complementary player. The Marlins just panicked. I hope they make the playoffs just so that they get some kind of reward for giving up Bautista and Levinski. They paid a hefty, hefty price to stay in this wildcard race. Flabbergasted.

 

 

***Shamrock I disagree with you and agree with Marlins2003. The Marlins have more talent then people give them credit for. This new regime has really develop that talent that Dave left behind and add it well with the past two drafts. I think in the next few years your going to be surprise. Perfect example look at Josh Willingham.

im not too worried about the future....

im not too worried about the future....

Simply, but well put.

 

Agreed.

im not too worried about the future....

You're worried about losing in the playoffs or not even making it?

we are awesome in the playoffs....

 

im not too worried dude, your braves suck in the playoffs

 

and by future, i meant our minor league players.... dont be such a douche