2009 Providence Grays

[Providence A's]

The Grays went 4 - 6 last sim to maintain their .400 winning percentage.

3 - 0 vs. Orlando (The grays 1st sweep!)
1 - 2 vs. San Diego (including a 17 inning loss where we took the lead in the top of 17th, only to give it right back)
0 - 3 vs. Washington (another extra inning loss)
0 - 1 vs. Anaheim

18 - 27 overall

Yaten Sugita finally got his 1st win...he actually got 2 wins. The Grays also threw their first shutout of the year over Orlando winning 1 - 0. Here is the good development experienced:

Eric Anthony increases his Power vs Righties from 3 to 4 .
Eric Anthony increases his Overall Power from 3 to 4 .

hopefully, Eric can move up to AA this year.

Kevin Appier increases his Control vs Righties from 6 to 7 .
Kevin Appier increases his Control vs Lefties from 5 to 6 .
Kevin Appier increases his Movement vs Righties from 6 to 7 .
Kevin Appier increases his Movement vs Lefties from 6 to 7 .
Kevin Appier increases his Overall Movement from 6 to 7 .

Kevin Appier continues his development. Currently, he is 8, 6, 7, 8 out of 9, 8, 8, 8

Pablo Baca increases his Stuff Talent from 5 to 7 .
Pablo Baca increases his Control vs Lefties from 5 to 6 .
Pablo Baca increases his Control Talent from 5 to 7 .
Pablo Baca increases his Movement vs Righties from 7 to 8 .
Pablo Baca increases his Movement vs Lefties from 8 to 9 .
Pablo Baca increases his Overall Movement from 8 to 9 .
Pablo Baca increases his Movement Talent from 7 to 8 .

Pablo has been a pleasant surprise as my number 5 starter. He is now 4 - 0 with an ERA of 3.00...hitters are batting .199 against him Currently he is 5, 6, 9, 10 out of 7, 7, 8, 10

Travis Blackley increases his Overall Movement from 5 to 6 .

A nice little increase after some decreases.

Derek Jeter decreases his Overall Contact from 7 to 6 .
Derek Jeter decreases his Overall Strikeouts from 6 to 5 .

the demise of Derek Jeter continues...he basically killing off any trade value...6, 7, 5, 5, 5 out of 6, 7, 3, 6, 6

Ted Lilly decreases his Stuff vs Lefties from 7 to 6 .
Ted Lilly decreases his Overall Stuff from 7 to 6 .
Ted Lilly decreases his Stuff Talent from 7 to 6 .
Ted Lilly decreases his Movement vs Lefties from 7 to 6 .
Ted Lilly decreases his Movement Talent from 7 to 6 .
Ted Lilly decreases his Velocity from 6 to 5 .
Ted Lilly decreases his Duration from 9 to 8 .

Yikes! Lilly may have decreased himself into a demotion...he's also 1 - 4 with an ERA over 6.00. 6, 6, 6, 8 out of 6, 7, 6, 8...those declines hurt

John Verrett increases his Stuff Talent from 5 to 7 .
John Verrett increases his Movement Talent from 6 to 8 .

nice little talent increases for this reliever...7, 7, 8 now

[Providence A's]

The Grays went 1 - 6 in the last sim. We are now 19 - 33 (.365) for the year.

0 - 3 vs. Milwaukee
1 - 2 vs. Alaska (all 1 run games...one in extras where we gave up a run in the 7th and 8th to let them tie it and another in extras where we gave up the tying run in the 7th as well...the game we won was extra innings)
0 - 1 vs. San Antonio

SP Clay Buchholz had a horrible sim to bring his already shaky season to an even lower point. He went 0 - 2 and had an ERA of 15.00 He didn't even record an out in his start against Milwaukee giving up 6 earned runs. His ERA is 8.40 for the season. He was sent to AAA with the hope that he'll finish developing.

Ted Lilly was recalled and will be a mopup / middle reliever now with Bruce Chen moving from the bullpen to the #4 spot...Victor Santos will be the #2 temporarily. The only spots in the rotation that have had success are Sugita at the one, Blackley at the three, and Baca at the five.

Jorge Cantu hit a walk-off homer in the 12th inning of the Grays only win of the sim. Pablo Baca took his 1st loss of the season against Milwaukee. He only pitched 1 inning and gave up 7 runs. He's now 4 - 1 with a 4.50 ERA out of the 5 spot.

Here are the increases in development:

Greg Aquino increases his Movement vs Lefties from 6 to 7 .
Greg Aquino increases his Overall Movement from 6 to 7 .

Greg gets back to his 7, 7, 7 ratings from when I signed him

Pablo Baca increases his Stuff vs Righties from 5 to 6 .
Pablo Baca increases his Overall Stuff from 5 to 6 .
Pablo Baca increases his Control vs Righties from 6 to 7 .

Pablo is turning into a nice pitcher...he is currently 6, 6, 9, 10 out of 7, 7, 8, 10...he must look pretty weird being 6'7" and only 170 pounds though

Jon Moran increases his Eye vs Lefties from 4 to 5 .

Jon is currently 6, 6, 5, 5, 6 out of 7, 7, 8, 6, 7...I'm hoping he'll be ready for next year.

As I said earlier, Kevin Appier had the only decrease this sim, which I hope will only be a temporary thing...

Kevin Appier decreases his Control Talent from 8 to 7 .

He is now 9, 7, 8, 8 talent-wise and is currently 8, 6, 7, 8...so he's getting close...I hope he's ready for next year, too.

Next sim we have 2 more against San Antonio then 3 against Savannah and Puerto Rico...1 more against Louisville. 5 games at home where we are 12 - 14 and 4 on the road where we are 7 - 19.

[Providence A's]

I forgot to mention that the Grays have already made more money in revenue than their payroll for the year. This is of significant note to me because the team lost money last year spending more than they made.

2008
Total Revenue $74,231,857
Total Player Expenses $78,749,992
Total +/- $-4,518,135

2009
Payroll $39,262,572
Total Revenue $41,478,377
Total Player Expenses $12,941,684
Total +/- $28,536,693

The payroll might change a little bit for the remainder of the 2009 season, but I think it's safe to say the Grays will turn a nice little profit.

[Providence A's]

1st round draft recap

#16 Evan Jacobs SP RHP 18
The Grays were planning on taking a SP with the 16th pick (from Louisville in the Halladay trade) and we got one. We were not expecting Evan Jacobs to be on the board at that pick and were pleasantly surprised that he was. We had expected to get one of the pitchers that were ranked outside of the top 10. Jacobs was the 8th ranked pitcher on the board.

Evan's talent ratings are great at 10 stuff, 8 control, 8 movement, and 10 endurance (currently 6, 6, 5, 10). His consistency is good, he suffers in the clutch, and his injury rating is normal. This 5.0 spec throws 91 - 94 MPH and his ground ball percentage is 39. His pitch list consists of fastball, change up, screwball, and slider.

#19 Austin Church SP LHP 20
The Grays had originally planned on taking a starting pitcher and a third baseman with our two 1st round picks. Kevin Kidman was our top rated third baseman and with only 2 picks between our picks we had hoped he'd slip through to 19, but he didn't. We had a tough choice at 19 between Austin Church and 3B Travis Aldean. Ultimately, we felt that we could not leave a pitcher of Austin's caliber and talent level on the board at that pick (he was the 9th rated pitcher).

Austin's talent ratings are just as good as Evan's at 10 stuff, 10 control, 8 movement, and 8 endurance (currently 4, 4, 3, 8). His consistency is good, he is normal in the clutch, and his injury rating is normal. He is a 5.0 spec that throws 89 - 92 and is left handed. His ground ball percentage is 46 and his pitch list consists of fastball, change up, and slider.

2nd round draft recap

#51 Travis Fryman 3B 21
For the 2nd round the Grays turned their focus to offense. Based on our position and the ratings, we felt Travis would be there for us to take. We are very happy that he was because third base is a very weak position throughout our minor league system right now. We currently have a SS playing 3B at the major league level, too.

Travis has pretty good talent ratings with 7 contact, 8 gap, 6 power, 7 discipline/eye, and 6 avoidance of k's. He isn't too far from being ready with his ratings currently at 5, 6, 3, 5, 5. He has good consistency, normal clutch, and a normal injury rating. He's not very fasty with 3 speed, but that's fine. He can play both 3B (6 range, .915) and SS (4 range, .961) and he has a cannon for an arm at 10.

The owner had this to say about the draft so far: I'm really excited about the pitchers that John was able to get. We did not expect to get one starting pitcher of that talent level with our position, nevermind two! And we love Travis Fryman...he's the kind of player that should be a solid addition for this organization for a long time.

[Providence A's]

Here are the rest of the picks from the draft:

Round 3 pick: P George Rameriz.
is a starter, but could be an OK reliever if he develops

Round 4 pick: P Dan Villanueva.
this guy would need to improve his stuff talent to have a chance (4,8,8,9)

Round 5 pick: P Bill Drysdale.
same as Rameriz as far as what I said about him

Round 6 pick: CF Victor Havard.
umm, would need some talent boosts to help at all

Round 7 pick: 1B Delbert Brisson.
see above

Round 8 pick: P William McEachern.
limited by stuff talent and lack of more than 2 pitches

Round 9 pick: P Korin Go.
piss poor stuff talent at 3

Round 10 pick: P Andrew Sweet.
another 2 pitch guy...meh

Round 11 pick: P Vincent Mundt.
if he had a couple talent boosts would actually be a decent reliever

Round 12 pick: P Orestes Azevedo.
another 2 pitch wonder...

[Providence A's]

The Grays had their worst sim of the season last night going 1 - 9 against some tough teams in San Antonio, Savannah, and Puerto Rico. A tough loss against Louisville, too.

0 - 2 vs. San Antonio (one shutout and one blowout)
0 - 3 vs. Savannah (Paul Konerko got PoG in one of the losses going 4 - 4 with a double, homer, 2 runs, and 2 RBIs)
1 - 2 vs. Puerto Rico (another shutout, another blowout, and our only win of the sim in quite convincing fashion 8 - 1 against Dustin McGowan)
0 - 2 vs. Louisville (a 1 run loss tying it in the top of the 9th only to lose in the bottom of the 9th and another blowout)

Pablo Baca continues to pitch surprisingly well. He went 7 1/3 in a loss to Savannah giving up 5 earned runs, 3 hits, 6 walks, with 2 k's. He almost got the Grays 1st CG of the year going 8 1/3 against Puerto Rico getting the win giving up 1 earned run, 3 hits, 3 walks, with 4 k's. He was PoG for the 3rd time this year.

Overall	G	GS	W	L	SV	ERA	IP	HA	R	ER	BB	K	WHIP
Overall	8	8	5	2	0	4.20	55.2	40	28	26	28	19	1.22

He has more walks than k's for the year, but that hasn't really hurt him yet as he has only given up 40 hits in 55 2/3 innings for a WHIP of 1.22. He's been a solid starter at the bottom of the rotation for the Grays. (6,6,9,10 out of 7,7,8,10)

Yaten Sugita has actually pitched better (as expected), but his record doesn't reflect as much. (10,9,8,6 out of 10,9,8,6).

Overall	G	GS	W	L	SV	ERA	IP	HA	R	ER	BB	K	WHIP
Overall	15	15	2	7	0	3.68	88.0	80	40	36	27	70	1.22

He has a decent ERA and his peripherals are pretty good with the 72/27 K/BB ratio. His WHIP is also 1.22.

C Brandon Snyder has been the Grays most consistent hitter.

Batting	G	AB	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	R	BB	K	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
Overall	51	181	54	11	1	5	33	24	17	23	.298	.355	.453	.808

2B Jorge Cantu has also been solid this year.

Batting	G	AB	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	R	BB	K	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
Overall	58	228	64	14	1	8	34	28	13	37	.281	.331	.456	.787

[Providence A's]

Since the Grays had another terrible sim, which saw them go 2 - 13 and drop to 22 - 55 on the season (3rd place in the division), I thought I would do a review of the better prospects in my minor leagues...that and BOSI is down, which makes it harder to tell about development and give me something positive to take from the recent sims. There will be two categories of prospects.

One will be of prospects that I have added to the system this year to demonstrate what I have done to strengthen the organization as it may appear to the casual viewer that the team is in bad shape. It is not in good shape at the major league level, but it was not in the best shape when I took over anyway. The minors were not in good shape either and with the team the way it was, I saw the minors as the area that I could address more effectively to secure a brighter future for the team. The second category will be of prospects that were already in the system.

Grays Prospects Added in 2009
CF Matthew McBride 18 5.0
Matthew is the Grays top prospect. He was acquired in the deal that sent SP Roy Halladay to the Louisville Sluggers. He has 9 contact, 10 gap, 7 power, 9 discipline, and 9 avoidance of k's talent ratings. His speed ratings are 7, 8, and 8. He has great range in center at 9, but a weak arm of 3. He may be better suited for left field if he can learn it. He has shown some development this year and is getting closer to being ready for the show. He did, however, have a contact drop from 10 to 9. The Grays are not too concerned about that at all and he could very well get that back.

RF Moises Alou Jr. 18 5.0
Moises Alou Jr. was acquired in the deal with Edinburgh that involved Mark Buehrle, Scott Rolen, and prospect Daniel Nadeau. Moises has learned how to play right field, but if McBride can learn left field, then Moises will be in center due to his stronger arm of 5. His 8 range in center is not much of a drop from McBride's 9 and they both have 7 speed. Moises also has 8 contact, 6 gap, 8 power, 8 discipline, and 7 avoidance of k's talent ratings. He might be a little closer to being ready than McBride, but the Grays hope both will be manning the outfield for a very long time.

SP Austin Church 20 5.0
Left-handed pitcher Austin Church was drafted in the 1st round of the 2009 amateur draft with the 19th pick. He has 10 stuff, 10 control, 8 movement, and 8 endurance talent ratings. For more on Austin see my review of the 1st round on the main forum for the league.

SP Evan Jacobs 18 5.0
Right-handed pitcher Evan Jacobs was also picked in the 1st round of the 2009 amateur draft with the 16th pick as part of the Roy Halladay deal with Louisville. He has 10 stuff, 8 control, 8 movement, and 10 endurance talent ratings. Also see the draft review for more on Austin.

SP Kevin Appier 22 5.0
Right-handed pitcher Kevin Appier was acquired from Edinburgh along with Alou Jr. He is just about ready for the show. He lost a control talent point, but gained a stuff talent point and now has 9 stuff, 7 control, 8 movement, and 8 endurance talent ratings. His overall control and control vs. left-handed batters are the only ratings that have not peaked yet. Kevin should make for a good middle of the rotation pitcher. He holds runners well and has a good ground ball percentage.

3B Travis Fryman 21 4.0
Travis was chosen in the 2nd round of the 2009 amateur draft. Travis fills the organization's desperate need for a solid 3B prospect. He has 7 contact, 8 gap, 6 power, 7 discipline, and 6 avoidance of k's talent ratings. He should not take too long to reach his potential as he is only 2 points away from peaking in almost all of the categories. He is not very fast with 3, 4, 5 speed ratings. He has slightly above average range at third at 6 and slightly below average range at short stop at 4, but he has a cannon for an arm at 10.

SP Cris Carpenter 25 3.5
Right-handed pitcher Cris Carpenter was acquired along with Bobby Thigpen from CSKA in the Tim Hudson deal. He is old for a prospect and is on the verge of peaking, but has not shown a lot of progress so far this season. He has 9 stuff, 7 control, 6 movement, and 8 endurance talent ratings. He also holds runners well and has a good ground ball percentage. If he peaks and does not have any talent boosts, then he might make for a good reliever.

CL/MR John Verrett 20 3.5/4.0
Closer John Verrett was signed in the off-season. He is left-handed. He has 7 stuff, 7 control, 8 movement, and 4 endurance ratings. He holds runner decently and has a good ground ball percentage. He needs to peak his stuff talent a little more to be really close. Unless he has a talent boost, he most likely will not be a closer, but a middle reliever.

MR Jessie Mota 19 3.5
Left-handed reliever Jessie Mota was also signed in the off-season. He has 6 stuff, 6 control, 8 movement, and 3 endurance. He does not hold runners as well as Verrett and has a lower ground ball percentage. He is a step below Verrett really and would need a talent boost to have a shot.

SP George Rameriz 19 3.0
Right-handed pitcher George Rameriz spells his last name weird...I mean is a marginal prospect that will need some talent boosts as well. He has 6 stuff, 6 control, 7 movement, and 10 endurance talent ratings. He does not hold runners well and has a low ground ball percentage.

Grays Prospects Already in the System
MR William Battista 24 5.0
Right-handed pitcher William Battista could be an OK mop up reliever if he develops fully, which he almost has. He has 6 stuff, 6 control, 7 movement, and 8 endurance ratings. His current movement rating is above talent. He has a low ground ball percentage and probably will not help the team too much unless he gets a magic boost.

MR Maels Iglesias 24 5.0
Right-handed pitcher Maels Iglesias is currently up with the Grays, but has not peaked yet. He is similar to Battista, but with slightly different ratings. He has 8 stuff, 6 control, 6 movement, and 6 endurance. His stuff has not peaked yet and his movement is over his talent. He, like Battista, could use a boost or would make an OK mop up reliever.

MR Thomas Babineau 5.0
Right-handed reliever Thomas Babineau is probably the better relieving prospect of the three that were already in the organization. He has 8 stuff, 8 control, 7 movement, and 4 endurance talent ratings. He is only 19 and has a ways to go as far as developing. His ground ball percentage is a little low and he does not hold runners that well either. If he develops, he could make for a decent middle reliever.

RF Eric Anthony 22 4.5
Eric Anthony can play both right field and left field, but is better suited for right field, which is why I hope McBride can learn how to play left. Eric could use a boost to his contact talent, but otherwise will make for a decent bottom of the order hitter with 6 contact, 6 gap, 7 power, 8 discipline, and 6 avoidance of k's. He has 8, 7, 7 speed ratings. He has an average arm with good range in right and slightly above average range in left.

SP Carlo Martinez 22 4.5
Left-handed pitcher Carlo Martinez could become a solid option at the back end of the rotation if he develops. He has 8 stuff, 7 control, 8 movement, and 9 endurance talent ratings. He is probably a couple years away from peaking, but I like this guy if he develops. He holds runners well, has a good ground ball percentage, and has great makeup/intangibles.

1B Jon Moran 23 4.0
Jon looks like he will be the 1B for a long time once he has finished developing. He has 7 contact, 7 gap, 8 power, 6 discipline, and 7 avoidance of k's. Only his power is lagging behind the rest of his development. He has 5, 6, 4 speed ratings and is an average fielder. He destroyed AA pitching last year and is doing quite well at AAA this season, too.

SP Pablo Baca 26 4.0 (now 2.0 SP)
Right-handed pitcher Pablo Baca just "graduated" from prospect status, but he has pitched well for the Grays and deserves to be mentioned...even if he has been more lucky than great. He has not fully developed yet and his movement is above his talent. He has 7 stuff, 7 control, 8 movement, and 10 endurance talent ratings. He has a good ground ball percentage, holds runners well, and has 4 pitches to choose from. Hopefully, he continues to pitch well at least until other prospects are ready. At that point he could be a decent long reliever.

SP Clay Buchholz 24 3.5
Right-handed pitcher Clay Buchholz was probably brought up too early under the prior general manager. He has not fully developed and got hammered with the Grays this year. He was recently sent down to AAA where the Grays hope he can finish developing. He has 7 stuff, 8 control, 7 movement, and 9 endurance talent ratings. He is very close to peaking, has a good ground ball percentage, holds runners well, and has 4 pitches to choose from. The Grays hope that he will get straightened out down at AAA. He could use a talent boost or two, but he could make for a decent bottom of the rotation pitcher until Church and Jacobs are ready.