September 1, 200719 yr Notes: Pitching prospects to get the call Hernandez, Volstad to join Marlins after Double-A season ends By Joe Frisaro / MLB.com MIAMI -- Compiling as much young pitching as possible has been a trademark of the Marlins' organization through the years. While a number of the young arms, like Josh Johnson and Anibal Sanchez, have been lost for the season because of injuries, the organization is grooming more pitching at the Minor League levels. With the September callup period beginning on Saturday, the Marlins will eventually bring up about six to eight prospects, according to manager Fredi Gonzalez. No one is expected to be promoted on Saturday, because the organization is allowing the Minor League seasons to end. Triple-A Albuquerque and Double-A Carolina finish up their regular seasons on Monday. Albuquerque is in a playoff race, and the team will see how that pans out. "We're not bringing up too many guys," Gonzalez said. "We've got guys here who need to play." Two promising pitchers who are expected to be brought up are Gaby Hernandez and Chris Volstad, both at Carolina. "We've talked about him," Gonzalez said of Hernandez. "But we haven't made a decision either way." Volstad, who opened the season at Class A Jupiter, was the organization's first pick in the 2005 First-Year Player Draft, in which the team had five first-round choices. Gonzalez noted that pitching help will be brought up, because the team is cautious about several players already seeing a lot of work. Matt Treanor caught both Hernandez and Volstad in Spring Training. We have a lot of talent that we haven't seen at the big league level, as well -- guys that before the season were talked about as possibly getting brought up during the season," Treanor said. "Gaby Hernandez is a name that comes up. "Our organization is really good at developing young talent, and acquiring young guys in trades or whatever. I think that the trust factor with young players is huge, because [at first] they are kind of lost out there anyway. I think it's fun to handle a young staff, because sometimes they are more willing to be flexible."
September 1, 200719 yr According to Joe Frisaro of FlaMarlins.com, the Florida Marlins will be calling up two of their top pitching prospects in the next few days, among other prospects. Those 2 pitching prospects being righthanders Chris Volstad and Gaby Hernandez. We went with Chris as our #1 prospect going into the season and well.... his Jupiter stint wasn't anything too special. He then showed up in Carolina and decided to be awesome. There?s just so much to like with Volstad, that I stuck with Chris. He was the first Marlin taken in the 2005 draft(16th pick) and he signed a $1.6mil bonus. At 6′7, he has fantastic mechanics, something you don?t see in many tall pitchers coming out of high school. His fastball is inconsistent at times, as he hits 94 and it sometimes dips into the upper 80s. This problem should go away as he matures and adds on some more muscle. His curveball and changeup need some work, but they are more advanced than most prospects his age. He sometimes tips off his changeup by slowing down his arm action, another thing he needs to work on. He shows good poise, sound mechanics, an easy and repeatable delivery, and a willingness to take instruction. In Jupiter, Chris went 8-9 with a 4.50era in 126 innings. FSL hitters connected at a .293 clip as he had a 37/93 bb/k ratio. These numbers didn't warrant a promotion to Carolina but he got that change of scenery anyway. In 6 games, he went 3-2 with a 3.11era and .239baa but those numbers don't tell you the entire story of his time in AA. Below is a breakdown of his 6 starts: 7.2ip 7h 0er bb 6k 6ip 4h 1er 3bb 3k 6ip 3h 0er bb 2k 7ip 5h 2er 2bb 4k 7ip 3h 1er bb 5k 4ip 12h 9er bb 3k So as you can see, he was absolutely lights out for his first 5 starts and then got treated like a red-headed step child in his 6th start against Montgomery. His numbers should even be better. The other major arm on his way up (or down) to South Florida is Gaby Hernandez. Acquired in the Paul Lo Duca deal from the New York Mets last winter, Hernandez upped his prospect status with a fine season at high-A Jupiter in 2006. His second stint in the Florida State League went much more smoothly than the first one. Two years ago, while with St. Lucie, he had a 5.74era in 42.2 innings in high-A ball. Hernandez commands a two seam fastball in the low 90s, with excellent life. He also has a potentially very good changeup. He has an effortless delivery that helps out his command, and he is not afraid to challenge hitters. Gaby?s curveball is a work in progress, as it still lacks depth and he tends to reveal itself a bit early. Because his fastball isn?t hard enough, Gaby cannot get by without a + breaking ball, as hitters would just sit on the fastball all day and punish it. He has the potential to be a #2-3 starter, depending on how much he can develop his secondary pitches. This year in Carolina, Gaby went 9-10 with a 4.07era and a .244baa. He walked 32 while striking out 109. His numbers look even better when looking at a month by month basis: April: 2-2, 3.38era 29.1ip 26h 12r(11er) 4bb 25k May: 0-4, 6.28era 28.2ip 32h 26r(20er) 2bb 27k June: 2-1, 1.35era 33.1ip 20h 7r(5er) 1bb 25k July: 3-1, 2.41era 33.2ip 29h 12r(9er) 8bb 15k August: 2-2, 8.61era 23ip 31h 23(22er) 9bb 17k No signs of arm tiredness as 2 starts in August where he got shelled totally change the statline of how good he was pitching. It will be good to see what Volstud(not a spelling error there) and Gaby can do with the big club. Hopefully one of the few bright spots in a dismal season for the Marlins. pic c/o Steve Mitchell/AP
September 1, 200719 yr a month should be long enough for them to get f***ed by Kranitz and need to have surgery
September 1, 200719 yr a month should be long enough for them to get f***ed by Kranitz and need to have surgery :lol :lol :lol :lol :|
September 1, 200719 yr a month should be long enough for them to get f***ed by Kranitz and need to have surgery At some point, blame needs to be pointed at the FO too. They brought up Olsen and Johnson pretty good, maybe abused Olsen for 3 or so starts last year, but we're already facing issues with some of the guys in the next wave. I think this organization looks a little to heavily into, "oh but he still looks strong and hasn't lost any velocity, so we don't need to shut him down." Maybe they'll realize one day, it's not the velocity or looking tired. It's he amount of innings on a player's arm who hasn't physically developed, and it's eventually going to wear their arms out. Maybe not now, but in the next few seasons. You think we'd learn after this year. But I guess they are all 'flukes.' Right. (sarcasm). Perfect example is Jose Garcia. I'm not sure if he played extensive winter ball in 2005, or went to Hawaii, or something which would raise the innings a bit, but in 2005 he threw 32 INN for the Marlins farm system. In 2006, between A, AA, AAA, and the MLB squad, he threw 177 innings. Dear god, what were they thinking. I could tell you he was going to blow his arm out before it happened. Innings pitch progressions (MiLB, MLB, and added Hawaii for RVH. No Venezuelan/Latin Winter Leagues) Vanden Hurk 43-65-132+ Gaby 134-113-150+ Volstad 65-152-159+ Thompson - 52-134-115+ Ryan Tucker 45-131-130+ The presumed theory is, once you get them over 100 in their first full year (which is the 2nd year for all of them in the stats above, except Gaby, whose a year ahead of them) you want them to throw 20-30 additional competitive innings per year, and don't let them get to 180 (30 starts, 6 IP is the idea) until they are physically filled out, usually around 22/23. Which these guys certainly are not. Vanden Hurk is unusual as he hasn't played a lot, but I have serious reservations about him pitching anymore. It's time to absolutely shut him down, and prep him for a solid 150-160 innings next year. Gaby has been pitching awhile, so he can probably get to 170 and be OK without a huge threat of risk. I'm hopeful it doesn't get much higher than that though. Best case would be to shut him down as well and not risk it in a non-contending year. Giving him a taste? Who cares. He'll be a front runner for a rotation spot next spring taste or not. Volstad should have never gotten to 150 last year. And even more scary, is he'll probably get to 180-190 this year. They say his mechanics are perfect, and he will fill out and become an animal. Let's hope they are right and the additional weight not only keeps his velocity constant, but strengthens his arm. I believe Thompson had a minor injury this year in the minors, which thankfully has caused a perfect situation in innings for him. One of those benefit in disguise moments. Tucker, seems to be right on track. Would have liked it to be 120/150 if it has to be that inning gap. But I'll take a 130/160 from this organization anyday of the week. The other major SP prospect, Sinkbeil, played college, and his innings are way down so I didn't list him. Of course, to be fair and balanced. You do never know, and it really can be pitcher to pitcher as I'm sure the Marlins would argue. Marlins did a pretty good job with Johnson, but I guess we can blame that one on Girardi's rain delay shenanigans. Nolasco was groomed perfectly (imo anyways, and by the cubs of all people), and he still got hurt. Nolasco 90-149-147-161-140-2007. I personally would err in the side of caution. I'd like to see all the SP prospects go X-120-140-160-180 years 1-5 as professional players, regardless of level. It's not babying them and it's protecting them just enough to not raise huge red flags like Anibal, J. Garcia, Vanden Hurk, and Volstad do. But yea, none of this explains why the RP are dying too. I think we need a new pitching coach for performance issues, let alone injury concerns.
September 1, 200719 yr lets see...Gaby, Volsted, Kensing(if he's ready), Wolf, Zurate, KMart, Borchard, Carroll, Pascucci, Reggie/Gall are all players I want to see up. Don't know how many off that list will see action though.
September 1, 200719 yr Oh, Reggie....Why do you tease us so? July: 108 AB, .352 AVG, 8 2B, 2 3B, 4 HR, 20 RBI, 1 BB, 29 K, 11 SB, .372 OBP, .574 SLG, .946 OPS August: 100 AB, .370 AVG, 7 2B, 3 3B, 8 HR, 18 RBI, 1 BB, 26 K, 12 SB, .388 OBP, .740 SLG, 1.128 OPS Season Totals: 341 AB, .326 AVG, 23 2B, 8 3B, 16 HR, 52 RBI, 11 BB, 93 K, 41 SB, 6 CS, .364 OBP, .581 SLG, .945 OPS
September 1, 200719 yr Author I'll go with the following: Volstad, Hernandez, Andino, Baker, Reggie, Carroll, Kensing, and Zuarte. We'll see where Nolasco goes, but something tells me he may just be shut down. I think Harvey Garcia may also be an option. I really hope we use the extra pitchers to limit others. In the final month Volstad/ Hernandez should get 1/2 starts each, replacing Vandenhurk and Mitre. Mitre's obviously done this year, and Hurk needs to limit his pitches. Would not mind seeing Barone getting a spot start or two in order to limit the other's innings. Also, give Reggie and Carroll playng time and see what they can do- regggie's last shot.
September 2, 200719 yr Gaby got shelled tonight in Carolina (second game in a row) that was probably his last start
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