Q&A: Ben Rowen, Texas Rangers [Submariner] Pitching Prospect

It‘s right there on page 458. “Rowen’s pure stuff might be the worst in the 2014 Prospect Handbook.” His Baseball America write-up goes on to say Rowen — the No. 23 prospect in the Texas Rangers system — has “a chance to crack the big league bullpen in 2014.”

Ben Rowen is a submariner. The 25-year-old right-hander out of Virginia Tech is also a sinkerball specialist. Last year between Double-A Frisco and Triple-A Round Rock, he logged a 3.4 GB/FB rate. In 51 relief appearances he had a 0.69 ERA.

Rowen talked about his down-under delivery earlier this week. Read the rest of this entry »


Q&A: Neal Cotts, Evolution of a Comeback

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 »


Q&A: A.J. Pierzynski on Pitch Selection

A number of factors dictate pitch selection. Scouting reports and reads play a role — as do game situations, counts and repertoires. Some pitchers are more predictable than others — often to their detriment — but once the starter has delivered his first pitch in a game, it becomes a chess match.

The game’s first pitch isn’t unpredictable. According to Jeff Zimmerman’s research, 95.6% of all first pitches thrown in 2012 and 2013 have been fastballs. Of those pitches, 51.1% have been taken for strike, 35.9% have been taken for a ball and 13.1% have been swung at.

Overall, hitters have seen a fastball 63.5% of the time. Of all pitches thrown, 36% have been taken for a ball, 17.9% have been taken for a strike and 46.1% have been swung at.

A.J. Pierzynski probably doesn’t know all of those numbers, but having spent over 1,600 big-league games behind the plate, he has a pretty good idea of how the pitch-selection chess match works. The Texas Rangers catcher weighed in on the subject earlier this month at Fenway Park. Read the rest of this entry »


Chris Davis and David Murphy, in the [Pitching] Zone

For Chris Davis and David Murphy, “in the zone” doesn’t extend to the mound. Each has a successful pitching performance on his resume, but in neither case was there a feeling of being in command. Their scoreless outings — in distinctly different situations — were more “lucked out” than “locked in.”

Murphy made his pitching debut last week, at Fenway Park. With his team trailing 17-5 in the eighth inning, the Rangers outfielder retired three of the four Red Sox batters he faced. After allowing a double to Daniel Nava — on a nine-pitch at bat — he struck out Mike Carp and got Dustin Pedroia and David Ortiz to fly out.

Read the rest of this entry »


Q&A: Lance Berkman, Humble OPS Legacy

Lance Berkman has numbers worthy of the Hall of Fame. The longtime Houston Astro — and current Texas Ranger — boasts a career slash line of .295/.408/.540. His post-season rate stats — accumulated in 52 games — are even better.

Berkman isn’t the boastful type. The 37-year-old switch-hitter acknowledges his accomplishments, but in a humble and understated manner that mirrors his legacy. Had he spent his career in a large media market — and not been overshadowed by Jeff Bagwell and Craig Biggio — his fame would be far greater. As for a plaque in Cooperstown, he will merit serious consideration once his playing days are over.

Berkman talked about his evolution as a hitter — and the relative value of OPS and RBIs — when the Rangers visited Fenway Park earlier this month. Read the rest of this entry »


Scouting Rule 5 Eligible Prospects

The MLB Rule 5 draft is scheduled for Dec. 6 during the final day of the 2012 Winter Meetings. It’s become a fan favorite over the years but the draft is not as valuable as it used to be for clubs. In the last Collective Bargaining Agreement update roster rules were changed to give organizations one more year of protection for prospects before they had to be added to the 40-man roster and therefore protected from the selection process.

The key thing to remember about players chosen in the amateur draft is that they cannot be optioned down to the minors (expect for an injury rehab assignment) and must remain on the big league roster for the entire season. There are basically two approaches for teams to take: 1) Take a very raw player from the low minors and use him sparingly for the year expect perhaps in blowouts, basically spending the year with a 24-man roster, or 2) Look for a player that is MLB ready and can hopefully provide at least league-average production for a league-average salary.

Below, you’ll read three scouting reports on prospects who I personally feel could make solid Rule 5 selections in 2013. For those of you new to the process, here is a quick primer for the Rule 5 draft by our own Bradley Woodrum.

  • Odubel Herrera | Texas Rangers | 2B/SS

    The Texas Rangers minor league system boasts an impressive glut of middle infield prospects – including Jurickson Profar, Luis Sardinas, Rougned Odor, Leury Garcia, and Hanser Alberto – which is likely one of the reasons that led to the exclusion of Herrera from the 40-man roster. The situation actually reminds me a bit of the Toronto Blue Jays system back in the late 90s when the organization had the likes of Felipe Lopez, Cesar Izturis, Michael Young, Joey Lawrence, Tomas Perez, and Brent Abernathy, many of whom contributed at the big league level but with modest overall results.

    Read the rest of this entry »


  • Q&A: Mike Olt, Power on the Texas Pine

    From April through July, Mike Olt was the most prodigious slugger in the minor leagues. The former University of Connecticut star hit .288/.398.579, with 28 home runs, for Double-A Frisco. His power explosion helped prompt Baseball America to rank the right-handed-hitting corner infielder 11th on its midseason top-prospect list. It also prompted a call-up to the big leagues.

    Since debuting for the Texas Rangers, on Aug. 2, the 24-year-old has mostly languished on the bench, logging just 39 plate appearances. There is little doubt that he has a bright future. Whether his development was advanced or hindered by riding the Texas pine — instead of getting regular playing time in Triple-A — is the question.

    Olt talked about his whirlwind season, including the call-up and his emergence as a power hitter, when the Rangers visited Fenway Park in August.

    ——

    Olt on playing in this summer’s All-Star Futures Game: “It was obviously a great game to be a part of. There was a lot of talent on that field, and being there, competing with them, gives you the confidence that you belong. I hit the ball hard three out of four times and that had me feeling like I could compete at any level.

    “I knew that I was getting closer to the big leagues, but I still felt that I had some things to work on. Playing in the Futures Game definitely had me making sure to keep pushing myself every day to get better.”

    On hearing his name in trade-deadline rumors: “Everyone was saying that it must be hard to deal with that, but it really wasn’t. I knew that it was a win-win for me. If I got traded, there was going to be something good for me in that organization. And if it didn’t, I knew that I was already in a great organization with a winning atmosphere. If I stayed here, I was going to be a part of something special, and whatever happened was going to happen. I mostly just blocked it all out.”

    On getting promoted from Double-A: “I was very surprised, despite the fact that some things were happening in Frisco. Read the rest of this entry »


    Q&A: Roy Oswalt, Evolution of a Career

    Much like the old gray mare, Roy Oswalt isn’t what he used to be. That doesn’t mean the 35-year-old right-hander is ready to be put out to pasture. He can still be an effective pitcher, he simply can’t be ridden as hard as he was from 2001-2010. During that period, Oswalt was a 200-innings-a-year workhorse who twice won 20 games, captured an ERA title, and represented the Astros three times in the All-Star Game.

    Now a member of the Texas Rangers, Oswalt finds himself working out of the bullpen as well as the rotation. In 12 games, he has a record of 4-2 and a 5.85 ERA that is well above his career mark of 3.28.

    Oswalt talked about his evolution as a pitcher when the Rangers visited Fenway Park in August.

    ——

    Roy Oswalt: “When I first started out, I had four pitches, like I do now. My main two pitches were my fastball and my curveball. I probably threw 75 percent fastballs, 20 percent curveballs, and mixed in a slider and changeup. Later, in 2009 and 2010, I started throwing a changeup a lot more. I finally learned how to actually throw it the right way, I guess you might say.

    “When I first started throwing it, I never really had the right feeling of the ball coming off my index finger. No one ever explained it, they just said to throw it like a fastball. Well, the way I throw a fastball versus another way a guy throws a fastball can be totally different. A lot of guys think about being on top of the ball; I think about staying behind it. When they explained to throw a changeup like a fastball, I was staying behind it instead of on top of it. I never really got the concept of it until probably 2010.

    “The grip is somewhere between a fosh and a circle change. Read the rest of this entry »


    Q&A: Matt Harrison, Low K-rate Success

    I rarely mention my fantasy team, but I’ll make an exception here because it says a lot about today‘s interview subject. I play in a Scoresheet league with a bunch of baseball-media types — many of us stat nerds — and we’re allowed to protect up to 10 players. I didn’t keep Matt Harrison.

    I offered Harrison in a trade before formally cutting him, but no one was interested. Like myself, the other 23 so-called experts were guilty of greatly underestimating the Texas Rangers left-hander.

    Harrison is making us — everyone but MLB Network Radio’s Casey Stern, who smartly grabbed him at the tail end of the 12th round — pay for our disrespect. In 24 real-life starts, the 26-year-old has gone 14-7 and his 3.19 ERA and 3.2 WAR rank in the top 10 among American League pitchers. His strikeout rate is predictably sub par, at 5.37 per nine innings, but given his other numbers, does that really matter? Last season, with a lackluster 6.11 K-rate, he went 14-9 with a 3.39 ERA and a 4.2 WAR.

    Harrison discussed his repertoire and approach — including the lack of strikeouts — on a recent visit to Fenway Park. Mike Maddux, the Rangers pitching coach, also offered his thoughts on the underrated lefty in a separate interview.

    ——

    Harrison on his most-important pitch: “I’m a big sinkerball pitcher. I like to keep the ball down in the zone and make them put it on the ground most of the time. I started throwing my sinker more and more a couple of years ago, and it’s gotten better and more consistent in the strike zone. That’s allowed me to be more aggressive with it. I try to get strike one with it and try to move it in and off the plate.

    “I think the [improvement] came mostly from just using it more. I knew what the break was, it was just a matter of where I wanted to start the pitch. Now I know where to start it for a strike, and where to start it for it a swing-and-miss, off-the-plate type of pitch.

    “The break is more down than side-to-side, but there is some arm-side break. Read the rest of this entry »


    Q&A: David Murphy, Underrated Ranger

    David Murphy isn’t a star. The former first-round draft pick — 17th overall by the Red Sox in 2003 — has never been able to establish himself as more than a solid player. Coming into the season, his high-water marks included an .806 OPS and 2 WAR. But that doesn’t mean he isn’t getting better.

    Murphy now is having a career year in Texas. Entrenched as an everyday cog in a star-studded Rangers lineup, the 30-year-old outfielder is hitting .298/.379/.475, with 10 home runs. Once considered a liability against left-handed pitchers, he’s hitting .372 against them this season.

    Murphy, who came to Texas at the 2007 trade deadline, discussed his career and his evolution as a hitter.

    ——

    Murphy on getting an opportunity: “I was a high draft pick, but realized pretty early on — a few years into my minor-league career — that it was going to be tough to get to the big leagues with the Red Sox and stay there. Getting traded was the best possible opportunity for me. I had a chance to establish myself as a big-league player the second I got to Texas, and fortunately, I was able to take advantage. Since then, the team has gone nowhere but up. To be able to say that I’ve played in two World Series in my first four full years in the big leagues is something that not many guys can.

    “I didn’t really care about it being a big-market environment in Boston, but from my perspective, as an outfielder, I was going to have to put up monster minor-league numbers in order to be looked at as an everyday type of player. That was definitely discouraging at times. I just wanted an opportunity to be up on the big league club and seeing what I could do, and it felt like I wasn’t going to get that chance anytime soon. My best opportunity was going to come with another organization, and I’m happy that it turned out to be the Rangers.”

    Read the rest of this entry »