All Things Valley League

Jay in St. Louis Chat

In Baseball America's 2007 Prospect Handbook, Jon Jay (Staunton 04) came in at #5 in the Cardinals' system. He fell to #11 in 2008, and then #12 in 2009. He did not make the top 10 for the 2010 list, either, but he was named in the Derek Goold chat (subscription only).

Jon Jay (My Computer): How far off the Top 10 did I fall this year, and how can I get back in your good graces?

Derrick Goold: Never fear, Jon Jay. You didn't fall that far, and while your start to the season was cause for concern the strong finish and a good turn in winter ball so far (.323/.418/.431) has buoyed your place in the rankings. A spot on the 40-man roster says it all. Follow Skip Schumaker's lead, save for that whole changing positions to second base thing.

Those numbers are what Jay still has in the Winter Liga Venezuela Beisbol Profesional.

Since ATVL helped with the Waynesboro Generals last year, he learned what can happen what a roster suddenly changes. For example, Matt Adams, from Slippery Rock, was recruited by Lawrence Nesselrodt to be the big batin the middle of the Generals' lineup. Adams, however, was drafted by the Cardinals, and turned pro instead. He went on to hit 355/400/547 in 245 at-bats at two levels. As a bonus, here is the question about Matt in Goold's chat:

Michael Stern (Rochester NY): Is Matt Adams considered a legit prospect? He had a great year with the bat in Rookie ball at 2 stops. Can he play anywhere else besides 1B? - because you might say he's blocked there if he wants to play in St. Louis.

Derrick Goold: You might say? Nah, you can go ahead and say it. Adams is a monster of a first baseman. The pride of Slipper Rock U led the nation in hitting this past season and fits the profile of the college player the Cardinals find under a Slippery Rock — excuse me, it had to be done — by sifting through and normalizing a cagillion stats from college baseball around the country. Adams can hit. But he's got to hit above rookie ball to move onto the prospect radar. It's too early in his career to start thinking that he's blocked in this organization. See what he does at a higher level this year and check back.

So, although Adams isn't technically a Valley League alum, I thought I would include some info on him here.

Kratz in Pittsburgh Chat

In scouring the John Perrotto chat on Baseballamerica.com about the Pittsburgh Pirates' system, I came across this nugget:

cliff jordan (chicago, il): Who will be the Garrett Jones of 2010?

John Perrotto: How about Eric Kratz, who was re-signed as a six-year free agent? He is a catcher with some pop and the pitchers at Indianapolis loved the way he handled them last season.

Well, now.

Erik Kratz (Waynesboro 00-01, Harrisonburg 01) is an ATVL favorite. He helped get this website off the ground with a monster two-part interview back in December, 2006. Seeing his name mentioned as a possible break-out/surprise major league player is a good thing!

To put this in perspective, Garrett Jones exploded onto the major league scene in 2009 in Pittsburgh, hitting 293/372/567 with 21 home runs in 82 games. If Erik can do that, there will be some serious celebrating in Harrisonburg!

(For the record, I ran into Erik at Eastern Mennonite School's homecoming, where his sister-in-law was receiving an alumni award. He is cautiously optomistic about the upcoming season!)

Manzella in Houston Chat

Baseball America is continuing to run down the top prospects in each system, and then holding a chat (subscription only) with interested fans.

No former Valley Leaguers were on the Houston Astros' top 10 prospects list, but one, Tommy Manzella (Waynesboro 03), was mentioned in the chat. Manzella made his major league debut with the Astros in 2009, getting one hit in 5 at-bats, with 4 strikeouts.

Here's the question and answer:

GR (Jersey): Were Chris Johnson and Tommy Manzella considered prospects or did their weak cups of coffee eliminate them?

Ben Badler: They'll be in the top 30, but they look more like fringy big leaguers or backups. Johnson shows some flashes of ability to hit and hit for some power, but he needs to learn to work the count better, not chase so many pitches out of the zone and bring his footwork and agility up to par at third base. There's talk within the organization that Manzella might take over their starting gig at shortstop. He does have a solid arm, hands and footwork, but he's really more of a spray hitter without much pop, so it's hard to see him as more than a slightly above replacement-level player at best.

Well, I'm not sure that 5 at-bats can be a clear judge of a "weak cup of coffee," but Manzella, a 3rd round pick in the 2005 draft, has steadily worked his way up the system, and deserves a shot. Maybe he'll win that starting job!

#2 Hitter: Michael Lang, Haymarket

Michael Lang, now a junior at Rutgers, started his 2009 summer season with the Orleans Cardinals in the Cape Cod League. As a temp player, Lang knew he wouldn't be there all summer. When the time came to look for another opportunity, a coach put Lang on to the Valley League, and he ended up in Haymarket.

Orleans' loss became the Senators' gain, as that move had a tremendous amount to do with the Senator's eventual Valley League championship.

Fast forward to the end of the regular season. Haymarket is in real trouble; it looks like the team will miss the playoffs entirely. They are 19-22 with three games to play. They were 1.5 games behind Fauquier for third place in the Northern Division, and tied for third in the wild card standings. They were in real danger of missing the 8-team tournament. Add in the fact that the team was playing against Front Royal, the eventual first seed in the league, AND that Front Royal held an 8-1 lead in the 8th inning... things looked bleak for the Sens.

Not coincidentally, Michael Lang led off that 8th inning. He doubled, and came around to score on a Dan Perrine single. After two outs, the score now 8-6, Lang was up again, with two men on base. Completing the comeback, Lang ripped a three-run home run off Jeff DeCarlo to put the Senators ahead, 9-8.

The Senators would have to score again in the bottom of the 9th to win the game, but that comeback, in ATVL's opinion, was the inning that sent the Senators on to the championship.

Starting with that game on July 29th, Michael Lang was on fire. In the 11 games left (obviously including the playoffs), Lang went 26-49 for an average of .531. He scored 17 runs, drove in 12, hit 6 doubles, one triple, 4 home runs, stole one base, and had a 5/8 BB/K ratio. He had four hits in a game once (the championship clinching game at Covington- three of those hits were doubles!), three hits in a game 4 times, and 2 hits in a game 4 times. He hit safely in all 11 games.

In the finals, Lang was 11-19 at the plate, and was named the finals MVP. Greg Hopkins, Haymarket's third baseman and MVP of the Valley League, said this about Michael: "Mike Lang gets my vote for MVP; we wouldn't have even made the playoffs if it wasn't for him."

Of course, Michael rebutted Hopkins' thought with the following: "It was not me who engined that team. Every single person on the Senators played a very important role in the success of that championship run. Every person made their plays, had timely hits, and came through when we needed them. Greg was obviously a huge part and it shows in him being named MVP."

Indeed. For the season, Lang hit 357/455/579 in 35 games and 140 at-bats. He scored 40 runs, drove in 21, hit 8 doubles, 1 triple, and 7 home runs. His BB/K ratio was 19/27, and he stole 7 bases in 8 attempts. He finished third in the league in average, third in runs, and 2nd in OPS (one-base percentage plus slugging percentage).

Of course, Lang has performed tremendously well at Rutgers, too. In his freshman year, he hit 388/467/551, albeit in only 49 at-bats. In his sophomore season in 2009, he hit 343/440/560 in 53 games and 207 at-bats, with 17 doubles, 2 triples, 8 home runs, and a 26/43 BB/K ratio. He scored 58 runs, drove in 38, and even stole 10 bases in 12 attempts. He finished first on his team in average, runs, hits, home runs, total bases, slugging, and on-base percentage.

ATVL asked Lang how the team pulled together and won the championship as the #7 seed. His answer:

"Everyone on our team stuck together and never gave up. Most kids you talk to can't wait to be done with summer ball. They don't want to make the playoffs and just want to go home and hang out with there friends and relax. That wasn't the case with this team. From the moment I got to Haymarket I knew there was something special about that place. I immediately made close friends on the team and we all meshed and bonded together really well. It was literally the best summer of my life. None of us wanted to go home early because we were there to win a championship. It definitely helped having coaches that were young and could relate to us. They were the biggest part in our success and I give all the credit to our championship run to them. Phil Meyers made the inspirational speech of the year after a loss to Front Royal which then sparked us winning our next 10 out of 11 games. Not one person on that team gave up. Everyone played with heart, desire, motivation, and the hunger to win a championship. No one played for themselves. We all played with each other and for each other. We knew we could compete with any team out there and although our record didn't show it we knew we were better. Our success this was just a mere conclusion to an unbelievable summer and I couldn't pick another group of guys I would have rather done it with. I would also like to add that the support from our owners and fans was incredible. Our owners did anything for us and guided us through the playoffs and championship. Our fans were there with us the whole way. Even down 7 runs going into the bottom of the 8th against the best team in the league Front Royal they stay. Sure enough we came back and won which started our tear through the playoffs. Then they all showed up at Covington for the championship, a 3 1/2 hour bus ride. Clearly there was dedication from the owners, fans, coaches, and players. It was a group effort which was well rewarded."

Congratulations on your fantastic season, Michael!

Lang chatting with ATVL

(Action pictures courtesy of Haymarket Joe Photography)

Have I Mentioned that Yonder Alonso is a Top Prospect?

Yeah, I know, ATVL covers Yonder Alonso (Luray 06) to an excruciating extent, but there he is, once again named to a top 10 prospect list- this time the Arizona Fall League top prospect list (subscription only).

Baseball America's Ben Badler named Alonso the #8 prospect in the AFL, with the following writeup:

Like [Freddie] Freeman, Alonso has been difficult for some scouts to evaluate in the AFL due to injury. Alonso hasn't been the same hitter since missing two months in the second half of the minor league season because of a broken hamate bone. Alonso hasn't been able to drive the ball with as much authority as he recovers from the hamate injury, and he seemed visibly frustrated at times in the AFL.

When healthy, Alonso has above-average power and good bat speed, allowing him to let the ball travel deep in the zone and wear out the gaps. His plate discipline helps him get into good hitter's counts and get on base at a high clip. All of his value should come from his hitting, as he's a well below-average runner and a limited fielder.

Alonso hit 267/353/395 in 86 at-bats in the AFL; he's currently playing winter ball in Puerto Rico.

Simpson #81 College Player

The College Baseball Blog is continuing its countdown of the top 100 college players in the nation, and the Valley League can claim a second entry: Ali Simpson (Harrisonburg 09), a lefty hurler from Bethune-Cookman.

Simpson went 4-1, 2.89, with 43 strikeouts in 37 1/3 innings for the Turks. For Bethune Cookman in '09, Ali went 9-2, 3.23, with 79 strikeouts in 75 1/3 innings. 

Will Simpson follow another lefty from the Turks, Ashur Tolliver, into pro ball eventually?

Roster Moves

This is the time of year when major league organizations start to cut the chaff, so to speak, and add players to the 40-man roster they see as important pieces for the future.

Recently, four players that have a Valley League background were added to their respective team's 40-man roster, therefore protecting the player from the Rule V draft coming up soon.

Those four players:

Jon Jay (Staunton 04) was added by the St. Louis Cardinals. Jay hit 281/338/394 for Triple-A Memphis.

Tyler Norrick (Harrisonburg 04) was also added by the Cardinals. Over two levels (AA and AAA), Tyler went 3-1, 4.39, with 5 saves and 85 strikeouts in 65 2/3 innings.

Rob Delaney (New Market 03) was added to the Minnesota Twin's 40-man. Rob went 8-4, 3.44 with 7 saves in 83 2/3 innings in Double-A and Triple-A.

Scott Cousins (Harrisonburg 05) was added to the Florida Marlin's 40-man. Scott hit 263/323/448 in 482 at-bats for Double-A Jacksonville.

In one other move, the Baltimore Orioles claimed Craig Tatum (Covington 02) off waivers from the Cincinnati Reds. Tatum hit 239/300/338 in Triple-A, and also received 63 at-bats for the Reds in Cincy.

Hardest Throwers in the AFL

I have two children, so I seem to spend an inordinate amount of time watching movies like Dreamer, Wallace and Gromit, and Bolt. One of my favorite characters in Bolt is Rhino, the hamster with ADHD. At one point, or many points is more like it, he yells, "That is totally awesome!"

Well, I'm a sucker for scouting reports and numbers, as my brilliant readers know. So, even though I didn't say it out loud, I definitely THOUGHT "this is totally awesome" when I stumbled across this Baseball America blog post by JJ Cooper, in which he lists the maximum and average fastball velocity of every pitcher in the Arizona Fall League. 

Of course, there are three former Valley League pitchers in the AFL: Omar Aguilar (Covington 04), Garrett Parcell (Covington 04), and Josh Judy (Haymarket 06-07). Here are their numbers:

Max Fastball:

Judy: 95.1

Aguilar: 93.8

Parcell: 93.8

Average Fastball Velocity:

Judy: 92.68

Parcell: 92.29

Aguilar: 91.19

Well, as you can see, oh brilliant reader, these three guys throw hard. Any of the three could find himself in the major leagues next season...

Agreste Signed by San Diego!

Back on October 21st, ATVL said this at the end of a post about Joe Agreste (Winchester 06-08): "ATVL would not be surprised in the least if an organization takes a shot on him- stay tuned!"

Well, that time has come! Word came down from brilliant reader Michael Smith (via ATVL's Facebook page, of course), that Joe has signed a free agent contract with the San Diego Padres!

Joe, who hit 303/402/537 for the Gateway Grizzlies in the Frontier League in 2009, certainly deserves to play pro ball for an major league organization. ATVL guesses that he'll get a shot at a full season team in Spring Training.

Congratulations, Joe!

(By the way, Joe was ATVL's #7 hitter in 2008)

Alonso Named #2 Reds' Prospect

And now, the big gun.

Of all the former Valley League players I've covered over the three years this site has been in existence, not one matches Yonder Alonso's (Luray 06) ceiling. In ATVL's opinion, Alonso has a better chance for stardom than any other Valley League alum. Hopefully, more players will reach a state of stardom, but Alonso seems to have the best shot.

Baseball America certainly knows all about Alonso- they've been covering him pretty carefully ever since his junior year in college. Alonso was the 7th overall draft pick of the Cincinnati Reds in the 2008 draft, and he instantly became one of the best prospects in that system.

At this point, BA believes that he is #2 (subscription only).

Here is his scouting report:

Background: With the No. 7 overall pick in the 2008 draft, the Reds narrowed their choices to Alonso and Gordon Beckham. They chose Alonso in part because they considered him easier to sign, then watched Beckham sign more quickly for less money. While Beckham reached the big leagues in 2009, Alonso was slowed by a broken hamate bone.

Strengths: Alonso is the purest hitter in the system and has above-average power. He has a good understanding of the strike zone, working counts in his favor to get a pitch he wants. He has a balanced swing that allows him to drive the ball to all fields.

Weaknesses: Alonso has struggled to hit lefthanders in college and pro ball. Some scouts think he should be more aggressive, as he sometimes lays off pitches he could drive. His well-below-average speed (35 on the 20-80 scouting scale) limits him to first base. Cincinnati has toyed with playing him at third base, but his limited range would be a liability.

The Future: The hamate injury sapped Alonso's power and slowed down his timetable, postponing a difficult decision. He plays the same position as Joey Votto, the Reds' best big league hitter, and Cincinnati will either have to move Votto to left field or trade one of them. Alonso likely will spend all or most of 2010 in the minors, but his bat could hasten his path.

Go back up and read the "strengths" section again- impressive, eh? Just what major league organizations want. Assuming Yonder bounces back from his hamate injury, and there is no reason he shouldn't, he will force the Reds to make a difficult decision sooner or later.

Of course, Alonso showed up in JJ Cooper's chat as well. The question asks why Todd Frazier was named #1 over Alonso:

Andrew (Canada): Frazier over Alonso surprised me, In terms of pure upside would Alonso take the #1 spot?

J.J. Cooper: I figured some people would be surprised by the choice of Frazier No. 1, so I'll try to explain the thinking that went into it. Frazier's potential at the plate isn't far behind Alonso's. Alonso projects as a better hitter, but it's not by much. At this point, Frazier has a much longer track record than Alonso, partly because the hamate injury wiped out a good bit of Alonso's first pro season, so that's a minor argument for Frazier—we've seen more of what he can do. Frazier is a signficantly better runner than Alonso, which is again a minor point in his favor. But what it really came down to was Frazier's defensive versatility. Maybe Frazier can stick at second base long-term or maybe he can't, but there is little doubt he can play third base in the big leagues if the Reds would put him there full-time, and he can also be a corner outfielder if needed and even could play a game or two for them at shortstop if it was needed. Frazier can fill one of several holes for the Reds going forward. Alonso on the other hand is an adequate first baseman and there's not really another position for him, so all of his value is tied up in the bat. Alonso's bat may be a little better than Frazier's (he has more raw power and a swing that should hit for a tick more average), but Frazier's defensive value in my mind outweighed the differences at the plate.