Author Archive: David Laurila

Kyle Crick isn’t a nibbler. The 6-foot-4 right-hander’s approach is to attack hitters, and while his command isn’t where it should be, he’s going about things the right way. In 14 starts this year for high-A San Jose — an oblique injury kept him on the shelf for part of the season — he logged a 1.57 ERA and struck out 12.5 batters per nine innings.

Crick is a power pitcher. The 49th overall pick in the 2011 draft is also the top prospect in the San Francisco Giants organization. More refinement is needed, but it’s only a matter of time before he’s pitching at AT&T Park.

Crick — who celebrated his 21st birthday last week — finished the 2013 campaign in the Arizona Fall League with the Scottsdale Scorpions. He talked about his attack-dog mentality at the tail end of the AFL season. Read the rest of this entry »

When the Houston Astros hired Brent Strom to be their new pitching coach, they didn’t bring on board an old dog. The 65-year-old former big-league lefthander is amenable to learning new tricks. In an organization with an analytical bent, it could be no other way.

For the past seven seasons, Strom has been a part of The Cardinal Way. As the club’s minor league pitching coordinator, he helped nurture many of young arms that helped lead St. Louis to the World Series. His player development experience will be helpful in Houston, where there is no shortage of young arms.

This is Strom’s second tenure in the Astros’ organization. He was a minor league pitching instructor from 1989-1995, and the club’s big league pitching coach in 1996. He was Kansas City’s pitching coach in 2000 and 2001.

Strom — who assumed his new position on October 22 — talked about the pitching philosophy he brings with him from St. Louis, and the importance of keeping up with the times. Read the rest of this entry »

Andy Burns is used to moving around. On the field, he has played all over the infield since being selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 11th round of the 2011 draft. His route to prospect status has been equally circuitous.

Originally drafted in 2008, the former two-time Colorado Baseball Player of the Year bypassed an opportunity to sign with his home-state Rockies, and opted instead to play collegiately at the University of Kentucky. Two years later, he transferred to the University of Arizona, but eligibility issues prevented him from seeing game action. Since signing a professional contract, he has hopscotched between minor-league outposts in British Columbia, Michigan, Florida and New Hampshire.

But this year he emerged as legitimate prospect. Splitting the season between High-A Dunedin — where he was voted the best defensive third baseman in the Florida State League — and Double-A New Hampshire, the 23-year-old hit .288/.346/.470. His right-handed stroke produced 56 extra-base hits, including 15 home runs. He also swiped 33 bases.

Burns continued his hot hitting in the Arizona Fall League, batting .312 for the Salt River Rafters. He talked about his path to prospect prosperity — including an adjustment to his hitting approach — during the final week of the AFL season. Read the rest of this entry »

Richie Mirowski is intriguing. The Washington Nationals pitching prospect features a unique array of offerings, as well as a “Who is this guy?” profile. A 24-year-old right-hander, he was selected in the 45th-round of the 2011 draft out of Oklahoma Baptist University.

This year, Mirowski had one of best seasons of any bullpen arm in baseball. Pitching at high-A Potomac and Double-A Harrisburg, he went 10-3, 1.83 with 7 saves. In 45 appearances, covering 68-and-two-thirds innings, he had a .903 WHIP and 11.5 punch-outs-per-nine. The numbers were no mirage. In 2012, Mirowski logged a 1.85 ERA between Auburn and Hagerstown.

Mirowski wrapped up his 2013 campaign by pitching in the Arizona Fall League for the Mesa Solar Sox. He discussed his repertoire — which includes a split-change and a spike curveball — during the last week of the AFL season. Read the rest of this entry »

Nolan Arenado excelled defensively in his rookie season. The Colorado Rockies third baseman won a Gold Glove, and he had the numbers to back it up. The rifle-armed 22-year-old ranked second at his position in assists, fielding percentage, and Defensive Runs Saved. He ranked third in UZR.

At the plate, he wasn’t as good. The right-handed hitter had a .267/.301/.405 slash line, with 10 home runs. Discipline was an issue, as his 4.5 walk rate was one of the worst in the National League.

His track record suggests Arenado will always be an aggressive hitter. His minor-league walk rate ranged between 4.8 and 8.1, and his strikeout rate between 8.0 and 13.0. Despite his free-swinging ways, he’s shown plenty of potential on the offensive side of the ball. In four-plus seasons on the farm, he hit .299/.345/.473.

Arenado talked about his offensive approach during the 2013 season. Read the rest of this entry »

When the Arizona Diamondbacks took Braden Shipley with the 15th-overall pick of this year’s draft, they brought on board a pitcher with a mid-90s fastball and a high ceiling. They also acquired a student of the game. The 21-year-old University of Nevada-Reno product can overmatch hitters, but he has the mentality of a power-pitching technician.

Shipley’s advanced feel for his craft is especially impressive considering his relative inexperience. A native of Medford, Ore., the right-hander didn’t begin pitching until his junior year of high school. During his freshman year at Nevada, Shipley was primarily a shortstop.

Shipley — who split his first professional season between short-season Hillsboro and Low-A South Bend — talked about his game earlier this month. Read the rest of this entry »

The St. Louis Cardinals have a well-earned reputation as one of the best organizations in baseball. From scouting to player development to the Win column, they excel in all areas. The people putting the pieces together are a big reason why.

Michael Girsch, the club’s assistant general manager, is part of that brain trust. Working under GM John Mozeliak, Girsch is a perfect fit for a front office that integrates analytics into The Cardinal Way. The 37-year-old has a math degree from Notre Dame and an MBA from the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business. Read the rest of this entry »

Young, first-year managers are a growing trend in Major League Baseball. That’s good news for David Wallace. The 34-year-old wasn’t a candidate for any of this off-season’s openings, but he almost certainly will be in future years.

A catcher in the Cleveland system for six seasons, Wallace moved from the playing field to the coaching ranks in 2009. An assistant on the Indians’ big-league coaching staff in 2009 and in 2010, he has spent the past three seasons as a minor-league manager. This past summer he skippered Cleveland’s high-A affiliate, the Carolina Mudcats.

Wallace — a product of Vanderbilt University — recently discussed the approach he’d bring to a big-league managerial position. Read the rest of this entry »

The Seattle Mariners may have gotten the steal of the 2013 draft when they selected Austin Wilson in the second round. The 21-year-old outfielder is a five-tool player with a world of potential. And he has a Stanford pedigree.

He is also a bit of an enigma. Wilson has never quite lived up his billing: Expectations have been sky high since he was dubbed a potential first-round pick coming out of high school. He hit .295 in three collegiate seasons, but the 6-foot-5, 245-pound right-handed hitter remains more of a work-in-progress than a burgeoning superstar.

Wilson needs to rebound from an up-and-down campaign that has some doubting his future. He missed more than a month of his junior year due to an elbow injury; and in 56 games with Seattle’s short-season affiliate, the Everett AquaSox, he hit a lackluster .242/.319/.414.

Wilson talked about his hitting approach — and his introduction to pro ball — late in the minor league season. Read the rest of this entry »

Rick Porcello was better in 2013 for a number of reasons. For one, the Detroit Tigers right-hander was a year older and wiser. Because he broke into the big leagues at a young age, it’s easy to forget he’s just 24. For four seasons, he had largely been learning on the job.

Another reason was the development of his breaking ball. The lack of an effective off-speed pitch had burdened the former first-round pick, especially against left-handed hitters. That changed this year when he put his slider in his back pocket and began featuring a much-improved curveball. The results were telling, as he lowered his ERA from 4.59 to 4.32, and his FIP from 3.91 to 3.53.

Porcello talked about the development of his curveball — including how it impacts his reliance on scouting reports — during the ALCS. Read the rest of this entry »