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April 12, 2010

2010 Atlantic League: Names you might know

The first week of major league baseball is all about hope. There is hope that your team will perform well this season. There is hope that your favorite player will put up big numbers this season. There is hope that the struggling prospect will finally put it all together and become a useful major league baseball player. And finally, there is hope that a player who no one has any idea actually exists will work his way through the system, up the depth charts, into the starting lineup, and eventually into the hearts and minds of baseball fans all over the country.

Why yes, in April, hope does spring eternal.

But how about for those players who are just searching for a way back into the major leagues? Where's the hope for them? The Atlantic League, of course. Every season, former major league players, former minor league players, and countless others play ball in the Atlantic League, hoping for another chance to play in affiliated baseball. The hope is if you play well enough, a major league team will come calling and just like that, opportunity knocks.

With two weeks to go before the Atlantic League gets underway, rosters are still in the process of being finalized. But luckily for us, some big names have already signed on with Atlantic League clubs! If you're a die-hard baseball fan like me, then I'm sure you'll enjoy knowing that Hiram Bochachica and Brian Barton are teammates on the Bridgeport Bluefish! So without further ado, I hope you enjoy this mini look into the players of the Atlantic League.

Bridgeport Bluefish

"This pitching staff would have been great in 2002"

Jorge Julio, RP: Way back in 2002, Julio put together a dominant season for the Orioles out of the bullpen by sporting a minuscule 1.99 ERA and saving 25 games. But Julio was never able to produce those numbers again at the major league level and since 2006, Julio has bounced around the majors.

Fun fact: Two members of the 2006 Mets were acquired thanks to Jorge Julio. (John Maine was traded with Julio to the Mets at the beginning of 2006 and Orlando Hernandez was traded for Julio in the middle of the 2006 season.)

Antonio Alfonseca, RP: Aside from having some stellar seasons as a relief pitcher, Alfonseca is best known for having six fingers and toes! I was amazed to find out that Alfonseca won the Rolaids Relief Award in 2000 when he was the closer for the Marlins. Alfonseca led the league in saves that season with 45, but his ERA was an unimpressive 4.24 and his WHIP, was an astounding 1.514.

Esteban Yan, SP: Fun fact about Esteban Yan-he hit a homerun in his first at bat in the majors. Another fun fact- Yan has lifetime batting average of 1.000. Oh yeah, Yan was a pitcher. Even though Yan put together some decent seasons in the latter half of his career, his 5.14 ERA highlights how badly Yan struggled at points throughout his career.

Denny Stark, SP: Stark put together a solid 2002 season with the Rockies and seemed destined for a long career in the majors, but that plan never panned out thanks to arm injuries.

Adam Greenberg, OF: Greenberg's name might sound familiar to you not because of his production as a major leaguer. During his first (and only) at bat in the majors, Greenberg was hit in the head by Marlins pitcher Valerio de los Santos. Greenberg left the game with a concussion and has not played in the majors since. As it stands, he is one of only TWO players in major league history to get hit in his first major league at bat and never play the field. Also, Greenberg has an OBP of 1.000, zero recorded at bats, and no batting average or fielding percentage. It would be fantastic to see Greenberg work his way back into the majors.


Camden Riversharks

"AAAA"

Mike Costanzo, 3B: Costanzo was one of the pieces the Orioles acquired in return for Miguel Tejada. Costanzo was known in the minors for his ability to hit for power, but he never got the opportunity to show what he could do consistently in the majors. The Orioles cut ties with Costanzo after he struggled at the plate in 2009.

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Posted by: Josh Levitt

March 18, 2009

THT Projected Standings, as of March 9

We've re-run our projected standings with some help from SG of the Replacement Level Yankees Blog, and I thought I would share the results below the fold. Note that the standings are based on 100 simulations in Diamond Mind Baseball. The "DIV" column tells you the percentage of the time that a team won their division in our simulations, and "WC" tells you the same for the Wild Card. The rosters are accurate as of March 9.
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Posted by: David Gassko

March 29, 2008

Foulke tales

Keith Foulke returns to the major leagues this year after a one-year retirement. After battling knee injuries in 2005 and 2006, Foulke retired just prior to the 2007 season. He has rejoined the Oakland Athletics for 2008 and is expected to fill a key role in their bullpen.

We have PITCHf/x data for his appearance against the Giants today, and I thought it would be interesting to see how hard he was throwing and what his pitch selection was.
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Posted by: Mike Fast

Masahide Kobayashi brief scouting report

The Cleveland Indians signed Masahide Kobayashi from the Chiba Lotte Marines over the winter to join their bullpen. The PITCHf/x system was turned on in Atlanta tonight, and Kobayashi pitched the 7th inning in a rain-shortened game. The Braves scored five runs against Kobayashi on five hits, one walk, and three errors, and it would appear that the weather was affecting the results. Nonetheless, I wanted to give a short report on Kobayashi's pitch repertoire in the game since is he new to Major League Baseball this year.
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Posted by: Mike Fast

Friday fastball speeds

I'm browsing through the pitch data from Friday's games where the PITCHf/x system was turned on, and here are some of the average fastball speeds for pitchers who pitched in those games. Take them for what they're worth.
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Posted by: Mike Fast


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