Sure, Billy Beane has had some awful luck, with injuries and/or poor play plaguing most of his talent. But on the field, the A's have been full value for their sorry last-place standing; the club is 7-9 in one-run games and 7-15 in games decided by four or more runs (they were 5-15 before the visit by T-Bay). The club struggles mightily to hit righthanded pitching, fields an unquestionably subpar starting rotation (at least until Rich Harden returns), and has a badly depleted bullpen. The A's can creep back into contention with simultaneous returns to health and form from most of the roster, but to assert that they definitely will is by no means obviously true.
This week's Scout features a big-league debut of a minor-league star, a fading rookie and a starting pitcher with more important things on his mind.
On to the Advance Scout!Dunedin had an excellent month in May, and now stand at 32-20, the second best record in the Florida State League. Unfortunately, they play in the same division as the Lakeland Tigers, who possess the best record in the league at 34-17. Still, the gap was closed this month, and with a good run in June, the D-Jays stand a chance at the first-half title.
Not a whole lot, really. It's Frank Catalanotto in the on-deck circle, adjusting his batting gloves:
Okay, I'll stop whining now.
I admit, I thought the Suzy Q's team, with just 43 candidates for roster spots, would end up being the hardest to fill. But then, there are exactly the same number of candidates, 43, for an "All-I," team -- that is, a team made up entirely of players whose last or family name begins with the letter "I." Let's just hope we don't end up with a team of (sorry) I-sores ...
Pelfrey, Romero, Hochevar, Hansen. You're probably familar with the pitchers at the top of the draft, but the draft doesn't end after the first round.
Much like with the hitters last week here's several pitchers that could be available for the Jays to pick in the third round and beyond.The minor league season is approximately one third complete. The half way point will come soon after the draft, a busy time for minor league followers, so this is a good time to have a quick look at how the Jays top prospects are doing. The starting point was Baseball America's top 30 list, Russ Adams and Gustavo Chacin have been excluded, leaving 28 prospects to review. Da Box's Jordan, Mike Green, Rob and yours truly have combined to deliver our report cards on the Jays top prospects.
There is one question to ask. Has the player improved, stayed at the same level, or regressed, in their prospect status? There are three possible answers, Improve, Flat, or Regress. On with the show...
Here, as usual, is my monthly report card for the Blue Jays.