Break Up the Baysox: Week 9
I approached Neal with the concept for Break Up the Baysox because of weeks like these.
The Fremulon Insurance Player of the Week
Orioles prospect Caleb Joseph
Picture in your mind a catcher that can hit the cover off the ball (1.278 OPS this week, .852 on the year), is projected to move through the minor leagues quickly, and is tall for his position (6′ 3″). You are picturing the top catcher in the Orioles’ farm system, Caleb Joseph, a 7th rounder from the 2008 draft and 2 time All-Star (for the Ironbirds last year and the Keys this year). The worst part of Joseph’s game is easily his strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.73 in 63 games last year, 4.6 in 40 games this year), but the power (.441 in ’08, .494 in ’09) he has shown is very impressive and helps to alleivate the low OBP (.303 in ’08, .358 in ’09). You can read more about Joseph on his blog, and don’t surprised to hear more about him as time goes on.
Norfolk Tides: 35-20 (1st IL South)
How the hell the Tides are in first place after losing 11 players and counting is anybody’s guess. Chris Tillman might be the last interesting Tide left standing, and luckily his recovery from a groin injury seems to be complete (10 IP, 11 K, 1 BB). Meanwhile, a trio of former Orioles are pitching well: Chris Ray (2.2 IP, 1 BB, 2 K, 0 HR), Radhames Liz (9 IP, 3 BB, 7 K, 2 HR), and Bob McCrory (4 IP, 0 BB, 2 K, 0 HR).
Bowie Baysox: 29-27 (4th EL South)
Brandon Snyder suffered from some back problems this week, but that didn’t stop his bat at all, as he collected a tidy 1.071 OPS despite taking no walks. Jake Arrieta couldn’t be stopped either, ringing up 14 Ks in 13.2 IP. This week also saw the debut of Bowie’s first asian player, Ryohei Tanaka, who pitched a couple of scoreless innings in relief. Less impressive has been Wilfrido Perez, the much talked about lefty reliever. On the season, Perez has a staggering 19 walks in 22.1 innings. I will grant that his numbers against lefties are very impressive (8.2 IP, 2 BB, 10 K, 5 H), but that kind of control problem has me greatly worried.
Frederick Keys: 27-30 (4th CL North)
Brian Matusz continues his reign of excellence (of course he does), and his 2.16 ERA is made all the more impressive when you account for the up-and-down defense of the Keys. This week, for example, featured 4 outfield assists (3 from Kraig Binick) but also 8 errors (3 from Tyler Henson). Flying under the radar is 24 year old right-handed relief pitcher Luis Lebron, who in 20 games (25.2 innings) this year has amassed 41 punchouts and a BAA of .138. You hear a ton about Perez in Bowie, but you ought to be hearing less about him and more about Lebron, who is actually pitching extremely well.
Delmarva Shorebirds: 28-23 (2nd SAL North)
The Shorebirds’ pitching took a break from their usual dominance this week, with Rick Zagone (2 IP, 3 BB, 2 K, 1 HR) and Cole McCurry (4.1 IP, 0 BB, 6 K) turning in pedestrian outings. Poor pitching is not something Delmarva can afford, as the team combined for 11 errors in just 5 games this week (the worst offender is supposed defense-first shortstop Greg Miclat with 5). The Orioles top Dominican prospect, Garabez Rosa, made his debut with the Shorebirds this week, going 2 for 12 with no walks, three strikeouts, and an error, but we’ll cut the 19 year old a break for his first week.
(photo via)
Again, move Matusz up, please.
Most signs seem to be pointing to Zach Wheeler today if Crow is off the board.
@sci – Personal hero Keith Law is saying that Crow might fall all the way into the supplemental or second round due to signability concerns. Not that that makes much sense to me (it seems like much of his leverage is gone), but apparently his advisors were calling around trying to find a team to take him.
A lot of signs are pointing to Wheeler, I guess. Roch is saying that the Orioles seem to like him more than Matzek or Turner (who has some serious signability issues). Which is fine – Wheeler should sign without the hassle of Matusz or Wieters and projects A LOT (great arm action, great velocity).
But we shall see…
(Oh, Neal, I’m assuming that if you’re interested in a draft review on Thursday or Wednesday night, you’ll handle it. But if you don’t want to (or whatever) but still want a recap, let me know and I can do it)
I can’t imagine Crow falling that far. For one thing, he’d never fall past the Yankees at the end of round 1. They’re always waiting for exactly that scenario and they’re always willing to pay.