NEW ORLEANS (AAA)

 

Rick VandenHurk SP/RP

June - 27.2 IP, 3.58 era, 1.03 whip (21 H, 7 BB), 26 K, .208 BAA, 1 HR

Season - 32.2 IP, 3.31 era, .84 whip (24 H, 7 BB), 34 K, .200 BAA, 1 HR

 

Got shelled his last outing, but still has had a dominant first 6 starts in AAA. He just needs innings right now, so working him as a starter is the right way to go. I believe he'll eventually end up in the pen as he could be great in bursts, but we could see him make some starts end of July/August if West continues to struggle and Anibal does not come back right away. One other important thing to note, RVH is out of options after this season so he will have to pitch his way onto the Marlins staff this year, or break his way onto the team next year. The organization loves him, so I'd expect an extended stay for RVH either this year, or next year.

 

Brett Sinkbiel RP

June - 10 IP, 1.80 era, 1.10 whip (7 H, 4 BB), 8 K, .194 BAA

Season as a Reliever - 15.2 IP, 2.87, era 1.53 whip (16 H, 8 BB), 12 K, .267 BAA, 1 HR

As a starter, 34 IP, 10.59 era, and I'll leave it at that.

 

For anyone unware, Sink was our first round draft pick in 2007 and has so far been beyond horrible everywhere. But now, the transformation has occurred. They have finally given up on him as a SP, and thank god. What's really important to note is, he has a 1.89 GB/FB which is awesome. 1.92 as a reliever. So he gets a lot of ground balls and he strikes out a few guys. I don't believe he is in for a call up, but look for Brett to establish himself as a reliever the rest of the year, early next year, and maybe work himself into the bullpen soon after that. Very encouraging first 15 innings for Sink, and June was excellent. Some good news.

 

Other players not needing a full update:

-Nate Field is pitching alright, and could be a pen candidate if there are a rash of injuries

-Hayden Penn has pitched 5 innings in June. Maybe we'll see him pitch some more in July

-Tim Wood has been up and down with the staff, but he's pitching alright and is likely to get a strong look at some point in the next 1-3 years of becoming a bullpen mainstay

 

DL - Dallas Trahern, Ryan Tucker (coming back very soon), David Davidson, Taylor Tankeresly

 

JACKSONVILLE (AA)

 

Aaron Thompson SP

June - 30 IP, 2.70 era, 1.30 whip (26 H, 13 BB), 17 K, .226 BAA, 1 HR

Season - 82.2 IP, 4.20 era, 1.53 whip (92 H, 36 BB), 51 K, .273 AVG, 6 HR

 

Thompson was a first round pick in 2005, along with Volstad, West, Tucker, and Marceaux (who is gone). Still a bit to many walks, but check out the average against. Big improvements in June. His GB/FB has been a solid 1.4+ all year. Thompson is interesting because he's a lefty, is very young, and has the potential to have four plus pitches so he could develop into a # 4 SP and eat tons of acceptable innings. Even if not, maybe a lefty reliever. Hopefully his calendar year slump is over and this is a sign of things to come. I've always liked Thompson so I'm optimistic. Great to see him succeeding.

 

Graham Taylor SP

June - 31 IP, 2.90 era, 1.32 whip (23 H, 18 BB), 13 K, .204 BAA, 5 HR

Season - 68.1 IP, 3.56 era, 1.42 whip (59 H, 38 BB), 35 K, .233 BAA, 7 HR

 

Nice walks Graham. In case you were wondering, he had 33 in 164 IP last year. This was very predictable because Graham has 'ok stuff' and a lot of deception, so better hitters were going to start tieing off of him just like former Marlins prospect Yusmiero Petit. Ideally, Taylor can turn into a lefty Badenhop in 2 years. Spotting a bit, and finding a place in that 6th or 7th bullpen spot to pitch OK innings in a 1.40 whip kind of way.

 

Chris Leroux RP

June - 12.2 IP, .71 era, 1.18 whip (11 H, 5 BB), 10 K, .224 BAA, 0 HR

Season - 34.1 IP, 3.67 era, 1.40 whip (36 H, 12 BB), .273 BAA, 0 HR

 

He has a good 1.33 GB/FB on the year, as evidenced by the -0- HR allowed, and he's been lights out May and June (9 of 14 ER allowed in April). You've seen him up with the squad, and it seems it'll only be a matter of time for him to pull it all together and become one of our RHP options. Most recently, you saw him pitch 1.2 scoreless June 30th. It's unlikely it'll happen this year, but he'll be a prime candidate for the 6th or 7th bullpen spot next year.

 

Other players not needing a full update:

-Christian Martinez, who has been up and down with the MLB squad, is pitching well in Jacksonville. 55 IP, 1.96 era, .95 whip. He is not much of a prospect as he is much older, but he could prove to be AAA depth/spot starter/back end of the bullpen kind of guy. A nice organizational arm to have, but nothing to pencil in down the road. Nice year in Jax though.

-Kyle Winters is injured, and is following up his awesome start of the year in Jupiter with a sub-par Jacksonville stint. When he pitches more, full update

-Henry Owens is back, and has pitched 9.2 scoreless innings with a 1.45 whip. Will be an update next month to see how his recovery is going.

-Grant Parcell, a fringe prospect arm but who some like very much, has pitched 8 IP, 1.13 era, and a 1.13 whip. Full update with more innings, but he could be a keeper.

 

DL - Ceda. Apparently he needs Labrum surgery. Not good.

 

JUPITER (A+)

 

Alejandro Sanabia SP/RP

June - 25.2 IP, 6.31 era, 1.67 whip (30 H, 13 BB), 14 K, .291 BAA, 3 HR

Season - 77 IP, 3.16 era, 1.17 whip (67 H, 23 BB), 53 K, .232 BAA, 5 HR

 

He killed people April and May, and has slipped quite a bit in June. I wouldn't call him a great prospect just yet, but he's still in the middle of a breakout season and he could sneak into the back end of our top 10 if he ends strong. He is a flyball pitcher (.80 GB/FB on the year), but he has OK control, misses a few bats, and is very projectable with top end 'stuff.' Depending on how well his secondary offspeed offerings develop, will determine if he could continue being a SP, or if he's destined to be a hard throwing bullpen arm. For now, the Marlins are going to develop him as a starter to simply give him innings as he needs them, and to see if they have something more substantial than another power RP arm.

 

Kris Harvey RP

June - 17 IP, 2.12 era, 1.18 whip (17 H, 3 BB), 14 K, .266 BAA, 0 HR

Season - 46.2 IP, 2.89 era, 1.22 whip (38 H, 19 BB), .222 BAA, 0 HR

 

He is literally pitching his way onto the 40 man roster. Remember, this is his first full year as a pitcher so these numbers could get better very fast (as evidenced by his improved control in June 3/14 BB/K) as he pitches more. This is a great story. He'll be in the minors to work on his control all this year, and probably all next year, but the Marlins may have something here in 2011 if he continues this transformation to a RP. GB/FB is 1.26.

 

Steven Cishek RP

June - 15.1 IP, 3.52 era, .58 whip (6 H, 3 BB), 11 K, .118 BAA, 0 HR

Season - 40.1 IP, 2.45 era, .77 whip (22 H, 9 BB), 32 K, .159 BAA, 0 HR

 

He's exactly the kind of pitcher the Marlins like, huge. He's 6'6 and has a big fastball. He is murdering right handers, having a little bit of trouble with left handers. But that average against is awesome, and he has a 1.93 GB/FB so it's nice he's keeping the ball real down. He was up/down in GBO last year, 75 whiffs in 75 innings, but he had a 1.36 whip, a 1.01 GB/FB, and gave up 8 HR. Jupiter is a fantastic pitchers environment so hopefully this is not a result of that and this is real progression. Guess we'll find out within the next year. I guess you can say the same about Harvey as well.

 

Other players not needing a full update:

-Jeff Allison is doing OK. He's just not the same guy he was. 76.2 IP, 3.29 era, 1.17 whip. I'd be more impressed if this wasn't a repeat year, and if he wasn't 24 and still in A ball.

-Elih Villanueva is probably a product of Jupiter. Great year, 85 IP, 9 BB's, a 3.78 era, but he's one of these guys who has great control so he dominates A ball, and then a real quick rude awakening happens in AA. Can't discount the solid work he's doing, but we probably don't have anything here to be excited about.

-Jose Rosario. Probably another product of Jupiter, but I'd rank him the best of the 3 SP guys in this section. 55 IP, 1.96 era, and a sub 1 whip. Looking good, we'll see what happens in Jacksonville next year.

-Brett Harker. Another Jupiter RP dominating. Season total, including quick stops in NOLA and Jax, 46.2 IP, 1.15 whip. A little old for A ball, but he's pitching well. See how he does in Jax next year.

 

GREENSBORO (A)

 

Kyle Kaminska SP

June - 25 IP, 2.88 era, 1.28 whip (22 H, 10 BB), 19 K, .237 BAA, 1 HR

Season - 78 IP, 4.04 era, 1.41 whip (83 H, 27 BB), 68 K, .271 BAA, 6 HR

 

Best month of the year. Good to see him starting to figure out the bandbox in Greensboro. The goal of this year is probably get him 120ish IP, so he can throw 140 in Jupiter next year. I'd expect the major breakout in Jupiter, but this is a nice season for Greensboro. He's got the 'stuff' factor working for him, and although he's a little bit older than everyone else, he's still not insulting low for the level considering his prior arm injuries. He's going to have to show up big next year though, but I currently take his performance this year as a major step forward.

 

Brad Hand SP

June - 22.1 IP, 4.84 era, 1.57 whip (28 H, 7 BB), 15 K, .311 BAA, 3 HR

Season 61.33, 6.42 era, 1.76 whip (73 H, 35 BB), 51 K, .292 BAA, 8 HR

 

Still a bit wild, but it's leaps and bonds better than his April. Brad's only 19 so he has plenty of time, but it would be nice to see him finish off the year strong.

 

Peter Andrelczyk RP

June - 12.2 IP, 4.26 era, 1.42 whip (11 H, 7 BB), 8 K, .229 BAA, 1 HR

Season - 37.1 IP, 2.17 era, 1.15 whip (32 H, 11 BB), 52 K, .227 BAA, 2 HR

 

Slight set back, but still an overall dominating year. A bit old for A ball as a college player, but he's doing what he should be doing.

 

Others:

-Graham Johnson. 2008 5th round draft pick, thrown 47.2 IP, 3.02 era, and a walk every other inning. He's 19 this year, but maybe he'll develop in a year or two. Nice start.

 

JAMESTOWN (A-) and GCL ®

 

These guys just started so there will be a bigger update in July. But there are a few interesting names here: Blake Brewer (2008 9th round), Edgar Olmos (2008 3rd Round), and eventually Chad James and Bryan Berglund our 2009 1st and 2nd rounders. Anything eventful will make it in July.

This is quite an encouraging month, or so it seems. Really solid work, as usual. Thanks Lou.

Wow, so Jacob Marceaux just disappeared?

 

 

Edit: Never mind, I read his story. Thanks Lou.

There's a lot of good news there. I didn't realize that Thompson was pitching so well. The talent has always been there and hopefully the performance will continue.

There's a lot of good news there. I didn't realize that Thompson was pitching so well. The talent has always been there and hopefully the performance will continue.

 

Yea, it'll be real nice if he could turn into, at least, the second lefty in the bullpen with Meyer.

 

We have one hell of a bullpen developing.

Aaron Thompson is one of those examples that you don't judge a pitcher by his wins and losses.

Jeff Allison isn't doing too bad either. He never gets any run support, but his age and the fact that he's only in A+ ball heavily goes against him.

Not a big deal but THompson will miss his next start do to a suspension for "violation of team policy"

Jeff Allison isn't doing too bad either. He never gets any run support, but his age and the fact that he's only in A+ ball heavily goes against him.

 

 

The problem is the lack of K's. He's just not the same Jeff Allison that he was before the drug problems. But I really don't see how him staying in A ball could be of any benefit at all. Despite the lack of K's though the numbers are very good, and while that does suggest a bit of FSL influenced luck, there's just no reason to not see what he can do in AA.

Interesting as usual, Sinkbeil was #1 pick in 2006 BTW

Dallas should be cleared to start throwing in 2 weeks.

Tucker pitched for GCL Marlins today 3IP 1 ER

wow a lot of promising news there.

 

Good to see that Sinkbeil may be useful after all. And what a nice story in Kris Harvey if it all works out. Lots of good stuff. :thumbup

Sink's peripherals as a reliever have been horrible and the era is a smoke screen. infact i believe after this month it's now horrible but i'm too lazy to do the calculation again. unless something changes i have basically no hope in him.