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Volstad and Maybin On Marlins' radar for call-ups?


CyggyMarlin
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04/10/2008 4:30 PM ET

Volstad, Maybin making strides

Prospects bidding hard for call up to Marlins this season

By Joe Frisaro / MLB.com

 

WASHINGTON -- Another start, another strong impression by prospect Chris Volstad.

A first-round pick in the 2005 First-Year Player Draft, Volstad is making strides and putting himself in position for a fast promotion to the big leagues. On Wednesday night, the 6-foot-7 right-hander gave up one run on five hits in six innings.

 

Volstad improved to 2-0 with a 2.25 ERA in two starts for Double-A Carolina.

 

With such a young rotation, the Marlins are constantly monitoring the developments of their pitchers. The initial starting pitching unit to open the season suffered a setback last Sunday when 22-year-old Rick VandenHurk was optioned to Triple-A Albuquerque after a second straight rough outing.

 

The Marlins promoted Burke Badenhop from Double-A to replace VandenHurk. If necessary, the team won't wait in bringing up Volstad.

 

Marlins president of baseball operations Admin Beinfest says the club will provide opportunities for the Minor League pitchers who are showing they can perform at the Double-A level or higher.

 

That bodes well for Volstad, who has gone six innings in each of his first two starts. A year ago, the Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., native opened at Class A Jupiter, but he finished up 4-2 with a 3.16 ERA in seven starts for Carolina.

 

By gaining some Double-A experience in '07, Volstad is ahead of some other top pitching prospects, like Aaron Thompson, Brett Sinkbeil and Ryan Tucker.

 

"In Volstad's case, he was there the last month or so from last year," Beinfest said. "So he's had experience, and he had a great Spring Training. He's probably a little bit ahead of [some of the other prospects].

 

"But there is no question that we have young guys that we won't hesitate to go to."

 

In the case of VandenHurk, Beinfest said a change needed to be made to get him more refined.

 

Double-A outfielder Cameron Maybin is also gaining confidence. The 21-year-old is considered the team's center fielder of the future. After struggling with a mild hamstring strain issue and a rough Spring Training, Maybin is off to a fast start with the Carolina Mudcats. He's batting .474 (9-for-19) with two homers. He's also drawn seven walks while striking out six times.

 

"It's great. It's good for his confidence," Beinfest said. "Spring Training was a little rough for him. Not being on field the whole time, and then he struggled a little bit at the end. It's good for him to get off to a good start. He just needs to work on getting the experience and getting ready."

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Because averages are so volatile at this point in the season for example, Maybin lost 80 points yesterday going 0-4 with two more strikeouts so I wouldn't read too much in the .474 number above.

 

For me at least the key to watching Maybin's performance at AA is strikeouts and OBP. He's struck out 8 times in 23 at bats BUT the good news is he walked seven times as well. Hopefully the walks percentage stays the same or goes up and the strikeouts come down.

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Because averages are so volatile at this point in the season for example, Maybin lost 80 points yesterday going 0-4 with two more strikeouts so I wouldn't read too much in the .474 number above.

 

For me at least the key to watching Maybin's performance at AA is strikeouts and OBP. He's struck out 8 times in 23 at bats BUT the good news is he walked seven times as well. Hopefully the walks percentage stays the same or goes up and the strikeouts come down.

 

Agreed 100%.

 

We'll have to check out his numbers in June to see how he is progressing. I get the feeling he'll be hitting .330+ with good power and a high OBP. If so, we should not hesitate to bring him up.

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Because averages are so volatile at this point in the season for example, Maybin lost 80 points yesterday going 0-4 with two more strikeouts so I wouldn't read too much in the .474 number above.

 

For me at least the key to watching Maybin's performance at AA is strikeouts and OBP. He's struck out 8 times in 23 at bats BUT the good news is he walked seven times as well. Hopefully the walks percentage stays the same or goes up and the strikeouts come down.

I agree (I think it's important to point out these moments).

 

It's all about the BB/K. The average and power is going to come naturally with age. He just needs to keep up that BB rate and get the K's to even "Granderson" levels.

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At 6-7, we can have the tallest rotation in the majors- imagine:

 

hendrickson-Miller-volstad- followed by bradenhop and the midget, scott olsen

 

Don't forget JJ when he comes back. He's 6'7" also.

And everyone is leaving the 6'4", 6'5" with a peg leg, Sergio Mitre out of this.

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