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The Old Dogs Report -- 2005 Year in Review
Written November 12, 2005.
We've got a new wave of major league pitchers. We've got Raphael Palmeiro absolutely decimated his standing in the public eye and casting doubt on the great performances of his career.
The usual disclaimer: These are all guys that I love and respect, but this is the extreme end of the talent curve we're talking about, and there's no shame in being one of the 3000 best in the world at something -- what it takes to make it to high A ball -- instead of being one of the few hundred best that it takes to get to the big leagues. This is as honest and accurate an assessment as I can make.
Dubose, Eric Baltimore Baltimore American MLB
Dubose, Eric Ottawa Baltimore International AAA
Dubose, Eric Bowie Baltimore Carolina High A
G ERA IP R ER SO H BB HR W L SV
Dubose 15 5.52 29.1 21 18 17 28 19 4 2 3 0
Dubose 2 11.4 8.2 13 11 7 17 1 5 0 1 0
Dubose 21 3.25 122. 52 44 114 113 29 10 8 10 0
This is not the season he hoped for. Last year, it looked like Dubose had managed to come back to a spot in the middle of the Orioles' rotation that might last for a few years. Unfortunately, he struggled in spring training, ended up in the bullpen, and never really found his groove until he had slid all the way to AA. He performed fine there, but not well enough to get himself back to Baltimore. He's not a guy that I'd ever count out, but he's going to have to do some climbing again.
Ginter, Matt Detroit Detroit American MLB
Ginter, Matt Toledo Detroit International AAA
G ERA IP R ER SO H BB HR W L SV
Ginter 14 6.17 35.0 25 24 15 49 9 6 0 1 0
Ginter 17 4.33 68.2 35 33 49 72 10 9 4 3 0
This isn't the season he was hoping for, either. Guys on the year-to-year free agent treadmill can't really afford ERA's over 6. Still, Ginter was useful recently enough -- his 2004 in New York would have benefitted any team -- that I think he'll get another chance in the spring, anyway.
Maholm, Paul Altoona Pittsburgh Eastern AA
Maholm, Paul Indianapolis Pittsburgh International AAA
Maholm, Paul Pittsburgh Pittsburgh National MLB
G ERA IP R ER SO H BB HR W L SV
Maholm 16 3.20 81.2 32 29 75 73 26 5 6 2 0
Maholm 6 3.53 35.2 19 14 21 40 12 2 1 1 0
Maholm 6 2.18 41.1 10 10 26 31 17 2 3 1 0
Ah, now that's we were waiting for. Showing no signs of trouble coming back from his injuries in 2004, Maholm finished up the trek to the majors in style. As part of the Pirates' current batch of young prospects, his potential ceiling is about as high right now as they get.
Medders, Brandon Tucson Arizona Pacific Coast AAA
Medders, Brandon Arizona Arizona National MLB
G ERA IP R ER SO H BB HR W L SV
Medders 36 2.48 36.1 11 10 44 31 18 3 3 2 8
Medders 27 1.78 30.1 6 6 31 21 11 2 4 1 0
Being the bright spot of the bullpen for a really bad team isn't usually part of the road to riches, but Medders got quite a bit of positive press coverage this year. His shoulder will be a continuing concern, but it looked great this year.
Papelbon, Jonathan Portland Boston Eastern AA
Papelbon, Jonathan Pawtucket Boston International AAA
Papelbon, Jonathan Boston Boston American MLB
G ERA IP R ER SO H BB HR W L SV
Papelbon 14 2.48 87.0 28 24 83 59 23 9 5 2 0
Papelbon 7 2.93 27.2 9 9 27 21 3 2 1 2 1
Papelbon 17 2.65 34.0 11 10 34 33 17 4 3 1 0
Papelbon had a great year as well, getting to be an essential part of the pen during the stretch run that got the Sox into the playoffs again. Management changes in Boston mean that it's going to be a lot harder for youngsters to break in there, so it's good that he got through the gate before it slammed shut.
Powell, Jay Mississippi Atlanta Southern AA
Powell, Jay GCL Braves Atlanta Gulf Coast Rookie
Powell, Jay Atlanta Atlanta National MLB
G ERA IP R ER SO H BB HR W L SV
Powell 11 0.64 14.0 1 1 8 6 3 0 2 0 0
Powell 2 4.50 2.0 2 1 1 4 1 0 0 0 0
Powell 5 0.00 3.1 0 0 1 1 4 0 0 0 0
There are advantages and disadvantages to peaking early -- it's worth a lot more money, but by this point everyone's going, "Is he still around?" Powell's only 34 next year, and showed signs of usefulness before he got hurt this year; we'll see what effect the Leo Mazzone departure has on the Braves' ability to make stars out of guys like Powell.
Palmeiro, Rafael Baltimore Baltimore American MLB
G OBP SLG AVG AB H BB 2B 3B HR SB CS R
Palmeiro 110 .339 .447 .266 369 98 43 13 0 18 2 0 47
500 home runs, 3000 hits, and getting caught by a steroid test followed by some of the most disgraceful public behavior this side of Kobe Bryant. I don't know how history will judge him, and I'm too emotionally invested to be able to do it.
Blakeney, Jacob Myrtle Beach Atlanta Carolina High A
Blakeney, Jacob Jackson Central Indy
G ERA IP R ER SO H BB HR W L SV
Blakeney 24 3.27 41.1 16 15 36 41 22 2 2 0 3
Blakeney 6 5.22 29.1 17 17 22 32 13 4 2 2 0
He didn't actually look that bad in Myrtle Beach, but it wasn't enough. I'd assume he's done at this point.
Buckley, Allen Rancho Cucamonga Anaheim California High A
G ERA IP R ER SO H BB HR W L SV
Buckley 54 4.20 79.1 43 37 96 76 52 7 4 4 3
Pitching relief in the low minors is still no way to make a living, but he did get to try out the closer spot for part of this year, so there's some hope for a future still. He'll be 26 next season, so it's getting to be make-or-break time.
Doolittle, Todd Jamestown Florida New York-Penn SS A
G ERA IP R ER SO H BB HR W L SV
Doolittle 22 4.03 58.0 36 26 71 61 20 4 4 5 2
The NYP is usually a pitchers' league, so this isn't a great start.
Ebers, Eric River City Frontier Indy
G ERA IP R ER SO H BB HR W L SV
Ebers 6 8.31 13.0 18 12 10 21 10 3 0 1 0
You ever wonder how tired they get of Music Man references, especially over numbers like these?
Freed, Mark Tucson Arizona Pacific Coast AAA
G ERA IP R ER SO H BB HR W L SV
Freed 34 4.86 129. 75 70 83 149 39 14 8 6 0
Freed is showing some dangerous signs of having peaked a little short of the summit; I think he'll get a chance to improve next year, but there haven't been any signs yet that he's going to turn into a big leaguer.
Gant, Jamie Tri-City Houston New York-Penn SS A
Gant, Jamie Lexington Houston South Atlantic Low A
G ERA IP R ER SO H BB HR W L SV
Gant 5 3.09 11.2 4 4 11 7 9 0 0 0 0
Gant 17 2.63 27.1 8 8 26 25 12 1 0 0 0
The first promotion is the hardest one, and he got that. He needs to either get into the rotation next year or manage to get a closer spot; it's hard to climb any other way.
Johnson, Alan Casper Colorado Pioneer Rookie
G ERA IP R ER SO H BB HR W L SV
Johnson 15 3.97 79.1 44 35 78 90 24 1 3 2 0
Major program college pitchers are supposed to do better than this in the Pioneer League. Pitching in the Rockies' system usually isn't fun, though, so we'll see where it goes from here.
Young, Chris Tulsa Colorado Texas AA
Young, Chris Lynchburg Pittsburgh Carolina High A
G ERA IP R ER SO H BB HR W L SV
Young 35 4.75 53.0 29 28 35 53 17 6 3 2 1
Young 10 3.00 15.0 5 5 14 9 5 1 0 1 2
I think Young's probably about done. He made it further than a lot of folks thought that he would and showed a good bit of grit along the way.
Chapman, Travis Sarasota Cincinnati Florida State High A
G OBP SLG AVG AB H BB 2B 3B HR SB CS R
Chapman 13 .327 .354 .271 48 13 4 1 0 1 0 3 4
He's a minor league free agent, of course, and there are lots of low-level spring training slots out there if he wants to try it, but it doesn't feel good right now.
Corley, Brad Williamsport Pittsburgh New York-Penn SS A
G OBP SLG AVG AB H BB 2B 3B HR SB CS R
Corley 68 .331 .408 .279 265 74 16 10 6 4 3 7 29
As I said earlier, the NYP is a pitcher's league, so this is an acceptable start for Corley; he'll have to pick up the power and patience both a bit to advance starting next year, though.
Curry, Chris Norwich San Francisco Eastern AA
G OBP SLG AVG AB H BB 2B 3B HR SB CS R
Curry 72 .264 .390 .219 228 50 10 12 0 9 1 1 31
Ah, the life of the organizational soldier. You'd think Curry would manage to grab a weekend in the bigs one of these days just due to the vagaries of catcher availability patterns.
Gendron, Steve Greensboro Florida South Atlantic Low A
G OBP SLG AVG AB H BB 2B 3B HR SB CS R
Gendron 128 .311 .357 .252 485 122 40 22 1 9 14 5 65
Sorry, but it looks like he's done.
Knott, Jon Portland San Diego Pacific Coast AAA
G OBP SLG AVG AB H BB 2B 3B HR SB CS R
Knott 134 .333 .483 .250 503 126 55 34 4 25 1 0 81
There have to be very few places in the world more frustrating than AAAA, that mythical place for players who have shown they have nothing more to prove in the minors but who can't, for some reason or another, can't get a spot in the bigs. Knott is just as good as anyone who's playing the outfield for San Diego right now, but he's not obviously better than any of them. Portland's nice, but average salary for AAA is around $35K, and major league minimum is $300K now, and he's not getting any younger. He's playing in Venezuela this winter to try and draw some attention.
Maniscalco, Matt Visalia Tampa Bay California High A
Maniscalco, Matt Montgomery Tampa Bay Southern AA
G OBP SLG AVG AB H BB 2B 3B HR SB CS R
Maniscalco 52 .343 .340 .278 209 58 23 7 0 2 21 6 31
Maniscalco 71 .355 .321 .280 243 68 27 10 0 0 5 3 31
It's a slow progression, and B. J. Upton is still looming on the horizon, but he's doing all he can. Maniscalco's big problem is that he really doesn't hit well enough to be a utility infielder, and most teams aren't carrying pure backup shortstops these days.
Obradovich, Mark Lake County Cleveland South Atlantic Low A
G OBP SLG AVG AB H BB 2B 3B HR SB CS R
Obradovich 9 .235 .219 .188 32 6 2 1 0 0 0 0 3
He's done, but he did get to pitch one scoreless inning before he left this year. There's probably something pithy to say here about the antipathy some seem to have toward guys who transferred out from MSU, but I'll let you make your own decisions about that.
Tatum, Craig Dayton Cincinnati Midwest Low A
G OBP SLG AVG AB H BB 2B 3B HR SB CS R
Tatum 37 .311 .281 .188 128 24 21 7 1 1 0 2 16
He started off on most prospect lists, so he'll get another chance (especially since some of this was injury-related), but shine doesn't last forever, so he needs to show something next year.
Tucker, J. B. Everett Chicago W Sox Northwest SS A
G OBP SLG AVG AB H BB 2B 3B HR SB CS R
Tucker 48 .361 .580 .259 174 45 23 19 2 11 4 0 34
Another guy who transferred out, Tucker basically knocked the crap out of the ball this year in a reasonably advanced league for his age. Keep an eye on him.
Players who played or were on a roster in 2004 and not in 2005:
Lacher, Jeff Jamestown Florida New York-Penn SS A Larson, Adam Charlotte Chicago W Sox International AAA Brown, Michael Kansas City Northern Indy Rath, Gary Doosan Bears Korean Baseball League
It was much harder to search for guys in the independent leagues this year, so I could have missed someone. Gary Rath has had limited visibility for years, so I honestly don't know about him.
| Boyd's World-> The Old Dogs Report -- 2005 Year in Review-> Current Report | Write the author, Boyd Nation |