It’s never easy to develop impact catchers. When FanGraphs rolled out the recent mid-season Top 50 prospects list there were only three catchers represented on the list: Travis d’Arnaud, Austin Hedges, and Gary Sanchez. Cleveland is an organization that has certainly struggled to develop big league catchers. The 40-man roster currently features three catchers and all three were developed by other organizations: Carlos Santana (Dodgers), Yan Gomes (Blue Jays), and Lou Marson (Phillies). The club’s Top 20 prospect list didn’t feature a catcher until the announcement was made that Tony Wolters — who ranked ninth on the list as a middle infielder — was being converted to catcher.

The move has caused the California native’s value to skyrocket. His above-average athleticism has allowed him to smoothly transition into his new position. A talent evaluator I spoke with recently said Wolters has a good chance to be an everyday catcher at the big league level. “Tony has embraced it completely and every coordinator, scout or coach that has seen him catch has been extremely impressed with how quickly he’s taken to the position and how natural it appears to be to Tony,” he said. “He has shown more than enough potential to remain there.”

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In 29 games out of the Texas Rangers bullpen, Neal Cotts is 4-1 with a 0.85 ERA. The 33-year-old left-hander is having a very good season. Not long ago, it looked like his career might be over.

When he took the mound in late May, it was his first big-league appearance since May 2009. When he logged a win on June 5, it was his first since 2006. During the past four years, Cotts has undergone multiple surgeries and been released by multiple teams.

Cotts, who appeared in 284 games with the Cubs and White Sox from 2003 to 2009, was signed by the Rangers in February. He talked about the evolution of his career — including the speed bumps — when Texas visited Fenway Park earlier this summer. Read the rest of this entry »

Ben and Sam discuss whether an owner overruling a GM can ever be a good thing, then revisit the Tigers’ decision to extend Justin Verlander well before he was a free agent.

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Table of Contents
Here’s the table of contents for today’s edition of the Daily Notes.

1. Featured Game: Pittsburgh at Miami, 13:10 ET
2. Today’s MLB.TV Free Game
3. Today’s Complete Schedule

Featured Game: Pittsburgh at Miami, 13:10 ET
The Purpose of This Post
The purpose of this post — besides serving to keep the present author employed through the weekend — is to announce, for the benefit of the wide readership, how young and hard-throwing Pittsburgh right-hander Gerrit Cole (48.2 IP, 100 xFIP-, 0.6 WAR) faces young and hard-throwing Miami right-hander Jose Fernandez (111.2 IP, 92 xFIP-, 2.0 WAR) at 1:10pm ET today.

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Table of Contents
Here’s the table of contents for today’s edition of the Daily Notes.

1. A Brief Review of Jenrry Mejia’s Season Debut
2. Today’s MLB.TV Free Game
3. Today’s Complete Schedule

A Brief Review of Jenrry Mejia’s Season Debut
Introduction
Formerly a top prospect in the Mets system, right-hander Jenrry Mejia threw 39.0 generally ineffective innings for New York in 2010 (as a 20-year-old) before undergoing Tommy John surgery in May of the next year. Rehab prepared him for a September call-up last season (2012), during which interval, despite sitting at 93-95 with his fastball, he struggled once again. After beginning the present season on the disabled list with forearm tendinitis, the Dominican made his debut with High-A St. Lucie in mid-May. Still just 23, Mejia returned to the majors on Friday night to face Washington.

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Episode 364
Rob Neyer has been a champion of sabermetrics for about 20 years and an ally of emerging baseball writers for nearly as long. He’s also the guest on this edition of FanGraphs Audio.

Don’t hesitate to direct pod-related correspondence to @cistulli on Twitter.

You can subscribe to the podcast via iTunes or other feeder things.

Audio after the jump. (Approximately 1 hr 13 min play time.)

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It’s July 3. No it isn’t! But it is in this paragraph. It’s July 3, and it’s Texas, and it’s the bottom of the sixth of a game between the Rangers and the Mariners. There’s a score, but it doesn’t matter. Adrian Beltre leads off against Felix Hernandez, and on the third pitch, Beltre blasts an automatic double to right-center field, Dustin Ackley watching as the ball bounces over the fence. Beltre coasts into second, and he tries to get Hernandez’s ear. Hernandez, in turn, tries not to listen, but Beltre keeps boasting. Hernandez looks back at second before throwing his next pitch.

The first thing that makes Beltre easy to love is his talent. He’s a power hitter who doubles as one of the greatest defensive third basemen in recent history. The second thing is his drive. Beltre, as you’ve surely heard, once played through a destroyed testicle, and even scored the winning run. And the third thing is his personality. Beltre has an endearing sense of humor, and he’s also got his quirks. His happy feet, his aversion to being touched on the head, his rivalry with Felix Hernandez. Beltre and Hernandez are always playfully talking trash whenever they go head-to-head, and for Beltre, this particular double was revenge for the plate appearance prior.

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Coming into the 2013 season, The National League East was supposed to be a competitive division. The Nationals won 98 games last year, the Braves won 94 and added two Upton brothers to their outfield, and while the Phillies had disappointed in 2012, it was possible to hope that a bounceback year from Roy Halladay would anchor a rotation that could hang with anybody. Instead, the Braves are 57-44 (a 91-win pace) and every other team in the division is under .500. As a matter of fact, it is extremely historically rare for so many teams in a division to finish the season below .500.
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Today is the beginning of “Hall of Fame Weekend”, where the Baseball Hall welcomes new members and celebrates its history. As you probably know, the Hall will not induct any living people this weekend, as the celebration will focus on former Yankees owner Jacob Ruppert, umpire Hank O’Day, and Deacon White, the man credited with inventing the wind-up. White is the only player going in, as he was the Veteran Committee’s choice this year, and the BBWAA famously decided that there were no worthy candidates for this summer’s inauguration.

I happen to disagree with my peers in the BBWAA, and think there is a very long list of deserving players on the ballot. I am admittedly a larger Hall guy, preferring that the game’s premier museum represent a large share of history rather than being a shrine to only the inner circle, but regardless of where you draw the line, there are HOF eligible players worthy of celebration. Let’s do just that.

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It isn’t easy being the pitching coach for the Colorado Rockies. The reasons are multitudinous, and well-known to fans and physicists alike. Coors Field is simply not conducive to suppressing offense.

Jim Wright is currently entrusted with helping Rockies hurlers succeed in that hitter-friendly environment. He can’t do anything about the effect of altitude on batted and thrown baseballs, but he can help his mostly-inexperienced staff approach the challenges in a productive manner.

Wright, who pitched for the Royals in 1981-1982, has previously served as a minor-league pitching coach, roving pitching coordinator, and bullpen coach. This is his 17th season in the Rockies organization. Read the rest of this entry »