Earlier today, the Astros agreed to a deal with relief pitcher Jesse Crain to a one year deal. Crain began last year with the Chicago White Sox, before being traded to the Tampa Bay Rays at the trade deadline. Crain was hurt when e was traded, though, and ended up not throwing a pitch for the Rays during the season. Crain came up with, and played 7 years for the Minnesota Twins before signing with the White sox in 2011. With the White Sox, Crain finally reached his potential, becoming one of the leagues best setup men. During his time in Chicago, he was worth a combined 6.1 WAR over three year which is astounding for a non closing reliever. If he is properly recovered from his injury, he will provide a much needed boost to the Astros bullpen. This signing, along with other signings of Scott Feldman and Chad Qualls, represent a change in strategy from the Astros front office. After a few years of futility, they are finally making some much needed investments into their pitching staff. No, it won't allow them to compete now or anytime soon, but it's a start.
As many of you know already, over these next few days I will be profiling some of the international free agents that figure to have an impact on the MLB in the next year or so. These guys are some of the best international players from all sorts of different places that are thinking about making the jump to Major League Baseball. Some of these guys you may have heard of, and others maybe not. There will be many different types of players that I will be looking at, but they all have one thing in common, they are the best of the rest throughout the world. Next up is Vladimir Garcia, a Cuban starting pitcher. Vladimir Garcia, 31, is a 6"2' 250 pound righty that spent last season playing for the Ciego de Avilla Tigers in the Cuban Serie Nacional. This year in the split season of Cuba, Ciego didn't make the second round of the season so Garcia will inevitably be moved to another team when the second half begins. Garcia has been a starter over the course of his career in Cuba and has become one of the best pitchers on the island. He has decent stuff and is one of the hardest throwers in Cuba. He usually works off his fastball which ranges from the low to mid 90s and is his best pitch. He also utilizes a very strong slider in which he changes speeds well and can get it into the low 80s. He doesn't have a very effective third pitch at the moment, and developing a third pitch could be the difference in him becoming a major league starter or transitioning into the bullpen. He has big, strong build, and definitely has the velocity to make the jump to the MLB.
In the 2012-2013 Serie Nacional, Garcia make 13 starts pitching to a 2.02 ERA with 57 strikeouts and 18 walks in 84 2/3 innings. The ERA is solid, but the surrounding stats aren't anything special. For a guy with some of the best velocity in his league, one would expect his strikeout totals to be higher, but this could be due to the fact that he doesn't have a true third pitch in his arsenal. From what I've seen from him, if he can add a third offering, he has a chance to be a low end major league starter, but if not his ceiling is as a reliever. Even if he becomes a reliever, I don't see him as ever being closer material, but that would depend on how he fares if he does in fact come over soon. He is over 30 years old, so the chance that he just finishes his career out in Cuba looks more and more likely with each passing year. If he does come over he will likely just straight to the majors as a reliever. He is a little old to be a true prospect, but could definitely make a contribution in the majors and there are plenty of teams that could use him. As many of you know already, over these next few days I will be profiling some of the international free agents that figure to have an impact on the MLB in the next year or so. These guys are some of the best international players from all sorts of different places that are thinking about making the jump to Major League Baseball. Some of these guys you may have heard of, and others maybe not. There will be many different types of players that I will be looking at, but they all have one thing in common, they are the best of the rest throughout the world. Tonight I bring you Alfredo Despaigne, a defected Cuban outfielder who spent last year playing in Mexico. Alfredo Despaigne is a 27 year old, Cuban born, corner outfielder. He stands at only 5'9", 215 pounds, but is one of the best power hitting prospects in the world. He defected from Cuba just last year and spent his previous season with the Piratas de Campeche in the Mexican League. When I say defected, it was really that the Cuban government allowed him to leave the country and play in the Mexican League. This type of thing doesn't happen all that often, but reports are that the Cuban government with the Mexican team Piratas de Campeche and allowed for him to move there. Despaigne had previously been a three-time MVP in the Cuban Serie Nacional, and is a star on their national team. He has, time and time again, hit well during world showcases like the Olympics and the World Baseball Classic, and has proven himself to be one of the best players in Cuba. He still holds the Cuban home run record of 36 that he set in 2011-2012. Despaigne's game is based off of power, and he will probably stick in a corner outfield position for the rest of his career. He is not athletic and it often shows in his defense, but his bat is where he finds his success. He has an all or nothing approach at the plate which often results in big swings and misses. This all or nothing approach works for Despaigne because of his raw power, and some scouts even see his power grade out as an 80. Despaigne could become a 30+ home run hitter in the majors if he can keep his swing and miss rate down.
Despaigne has always been a standout player on the world stage. In the 2008 Olympics, he slashed .382/.400/.765 with 3 home runs in 9 games, and in the 2013 World Baseball Classic he slashed .389/.522/.944 with 3 home runs in 6 games. He seems to have some big game ability in him, and that could be a great plus to a MLB contender. He holds the Cuban home run record and has 3 MVPs to his credit, and is a power threat on every pitch. Despaigne played in 33 games this past year with the Pitatas de Campeche and proved that he is still one of the best hitters in the world. He slashed .338/.364/.564 with 8 homers and 24 RBI in 133 at bats. There is a few numbers that really stick out from his last season, and those are 27 strikeouts to only 4 walks. For many power hitters to be successful in the MLB, they have to be able to draw walks, and Despaigne doesn't seem to be able to do this that effectively. Numbers almost always get worse for players transitioning to the MLB so we could see his average drop as well as seeing his K to BB ratio get even worse which does not bode well for Despaigne. He does have world class power going for him and there is definitely a need for power in the bigs, evidenced by the Mark Trumbo trade, so he should be able to find a new home when he wants one. If he can figure out how to draw walks a little more effectively and makes some adjustments to his all or nothing approach at the plate, he has the potential to be an above average starter, or even an All-Star corner outfielder in the MLB and not all that many prospects can say that. When does decide to head to the MLB there should be a starting major league spot waiting for him, so it is just a matter of time until he introduces himself to us MLB fans. As many of you know already, over these next few days I will be profiling some of the international free agents that figure to have an impact on the MLB in the next year or so. These guys are some of the best international players from all sorts of different places that are thinking about making the jump to Major League Baseball. Some of these guys you may have heard of, and others maybe not. There will be many different types of players that I will be looking at, but they all have one thing in common, they are the best of the rest throughout the world. Today will be Odrisamer Despaigne, a recently defected Cuban pitcher. Odrisamer Despaigne is a 26 year old, right-handed pitcher from Cuba. He stands at about 6 feet tall and around 200 pounds. He recently defected from Cuba when in Europe with Team Cuba, and will soon be a major league, unrestricted free agent. Despaigne originally entered the Cuban Serie Nacional as a reliever, but was quickly turned into a starter. He has found some success as a starter in Cuba, and has steadily improved his game over the years. He has a somewhat funky pitching style, as he utilizes a big leg kick and then throws his pitches from many different angles. He has a fastball that usually rides in the low to mid 90s, but he utilizes different arm angles most effectively when he throws breaking balls. He has a few different kinds of breaking balls that he uses including a normal curve, a 12/6 curve, and a slider. He will also mix in a change up, which is reportedly major league ready. With a strong repertoire of pitches, Despaigne looks to be ready for the jump, so lets now look at his Cuban stats to see just how he may fare. Despaigne entered the Cuban Serie Nacional in 2005-2006, and was used as a closer for most of his first 3 seasons. He finished those first three years with an ERA of 3.68 as well as 28 saves. He also finished fourth in the league in saves his 3rd year with 10. He was then transitioned to starter during the 2008-2009 season and struggled a bit. He finished the year with an ERA 4.83 with a WHIP north of 1.50. The good this about Despaigne's Cuban career was that he continued to improve over each new year, with his ERA below 3.30 over his last two years, and his walk rate also falling a bit. There are some red flags with him though, and they are not all that encouraging. The first is that he hasn't has a K/9 over 6.6 in any of the past 3 years, which is not particularly good, especially not in a lesser league. This might mean less if he had strong control of his pitches, but his BB/9 numbers were also not all that spectacular, having only dropped below 3.5 only once over his 5 years as a starter. The Serie Nacional is known as a hitter's league, and Despaigne pitched a ton of innings, probably more that he should have at points, but still the numbers aren't all that encouraging. I do think he will be signed by a major league team though, and he should be given a chance to be a starter. If he can prove that he indeed has good control of his pitches, and he doesn't walk too many, I believe he can be a very successful middle of the rotation starter. If not, I view his floor as a middle relief pitcher in the majors, as he has the pitches to be successful somewhere in the MLB. He should have a new home this spring and could very well be pitching in the majors sooner rather than later this summer. Only time will tell how effective he can be.
On a otherwise, expectedly slow holiday break, there was one piece of news that broke that gave baseball fans the gift they were truly hoping for. Word spread that Japanese ace Masahiro Tanaka would indeed be posted by the Rakuten Golden Eagles, his current team in Japan, and would be allowed to pursue a career in the MLB. This is major news for any pitching needy teams in the MLB, as he will now be the best pitcher on the market, as well as finally allowing the market to take shape when he does in fact sign. Earlier this winter, I looked at Tanaka's pitches as well as how he might profile as a major league pitcher. If you missed it you can check it out right here, but in short I believe he will be a quality number 2 guy for the team that ends up signing him. I think this announcement is a fantastic development for Major League Baseball, as it shows that the new posting system shouldn't be a hindrance to the movement of the best Japanese players to the states. On the flip side, this announcement can only cripple support for Japanese baseball and it only reinforces the notion that they are a feeder league to the MLB. Either way, seeing if Tanaka can make the jump successfully will be one of the biggest storylines of the upcoming season,
The number one position player still left on the board was signed earlier today by the Texas Rangers. Shin-Soo Choo has agreed to a 7 year $130 million monster contract with the Rangers. This move highlights a big offseason for the Rangers that also saw them acquire Prince Fielder. This move solidifies the hole left by the departure of Nelson Cruz, and Choo could very well contribute more than Cruz would have if he was resigned. Choo has been one of the best OBP guys in the league for a few years now and his OBP has been at or above .373 in 6 of the last eight years. His OPB also helps Choo manage a level of consistency from year to year. Having spent last year with the Reds, Choo slashed an astounding .285/.423/.462. His high OBP will help the Rangers immensely at the top of their lineup and will help make up for the loss of Ian Kinsler. Choo does struggle with lefties and may eventually platoon a few years down the road, but for now, this move only proves the fact that the Rangers want to win now. The Rangers will look to win what now may just be the toughest division in all of baseball as the Rangers, Mariners, Athletics, and even the Angels have all made bold moves this offseason and should be contenders for next years. It also looks like it will be another tough year for the Astros, btu that's a
As many of you know already, over these next few days I will be profiling some of the international free agents that figure to have an impact on the MLB in the next year or so. These guys are some of the best international players from all sorts of different places that are thinking about making the jump to Major League Baseball. Some of these guys you may have heard of, and others maybe not. There will be many different types of players that I will be looking at, but they all have one thing in common, they are the best of the rest throughout the world. This time around, we're going to look at Erisbel Arruebarruena, a slick-fielding Cuban Shortstop. Erisbel Arruebarruena is a 23 year old shortstop who just recently defected from Cuba. He is 6'0" and a little under 200 pounds. He has also played in the Cuban Serie Nacional for six years so he will be able to sign as an unrestricted free agent once he is cleared by the US Office of Foreign Assets. Much like another Cuba product Jose Iglesias, Arruebarruena is very talented in the field. Although he isn't overly fast, Arruebarruena has fantastic first step, as well as overall instincts. He also has a great arm and has shown the ability to make tough throws with ease. He has great awareness at the position, and some scouts have even gone as far as saying he has legitimate gold glove potential. The other half of his game is a major problem though. His bat has been his true liability thus far in his career, and many scouts don't think he will be able to hit in the majors. He has a very long swing, doesn't take good paths to the ball with the bat, and has very little power in his swing. To top it off he doesn't have very good pitch recognition skills, which doesn't help him behind the dish much at all. Most scouts don't believe he will able to work out the kinks in his swing and will struggle in the majors, but maybe having some quality major league coaching can help him out some. It seemed to work for Iglesias last year.
Some of you might recognize Arruebarruena from when he played shortstop for Cuba in the World Baseball Classic last spring (he was the guy with the letters of his last name stretched all the way down the back of his jersey if that helps any). At the WBC, Arruebarruena hit .375 in 16 at bats with a pair of walks. He also stole a base along with a pair of RBI but he had no extra base hits and struck out three times. Its obviously a small sample size but the thing that most concerning to me is the lack of extra base hits. If he is can only be a singles hitter, he will have limited value in the MLB, even with his superb defense. Arruebarruena debuted in the Cuban Serie Nacional in 2007 at the age of 18 and only managed 21 hits in 100 at bats. He then improved slightly each year until 2012 when he hit .320. Despite his rising numbers, Arruebarruena took a major step back this past year, only slashing .275/.324/.366. These numbers are also inflated a little bit as well due to the strong hitters league that is the Serie Nacional. So there are still some serious concerns with his ability to hit in the majors, and he will need some seasoning in the minors before he is ready to contribute on a major league roster. It will also take a team that is pretty desperate for shortstop help to take a chance on him, as many don't project him to be a major contributor. The Mets have been the team rumored to be scouting him the hardest thus far and would be a likely landing spot due to their current situation at shortstop. I see Arruebarruena as a future defensive specialist/ bench guy in the MLB, but his lack of hitting ability combined with his limited speed really takes away potential homes for him on a team. He's not going to be the next Puig or Cespedes, but who knows, he could contribute down the road. It all depends on the bat, and whether or not his last name can fit on the jersey... Earlier today, former All-Star Kevin Youkilis agreed to a contract with the Rakuten Golden Eagles of Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball League, and will spend next year playing in Japan. The contract he signed is worth $4 million over just the one year, and there is $1 million of earnable incentive money. Youkilis spent last year with the Yankees but was only able to stay on the field for 28 games as he battled injuries all year long. Over those 28 games, Youkilis was only able to manage a .219 average with 2 HRs. Youkilis has been better in past years, but every year seems to deal with injuries at some point during the season. He will hope that a season in Japan can bring him back to his old form from 2008-2010 when he hit over .300 with an OBP over .390 in all three years and clubbed 75 homers. He insisted that this year will be his last year playing baseball, but a good year could possibly change that. Rakuten is also the same team that is currently deciding whether or not to post ace Masahiro Tanaka which would allow him to pitch in the MLB next year. Rakuten is coming off a championship victory last year and will only get better with adding Youkilis to their lineup. Their true fate still depends on whether or not Tanaka is posted but if he in fact is, Youkilis could lighten the blow a little.
As many of you know already, over these next few days I will be profiling some of the international free agents that figure to have an impact on the MLB in the next year or so. These guys are some of the best international players from all sorts of different places that are thinking about making the jump to Major League Baseball. Some of these guys you may have heard of, and others maybe not. There will be many different types of players that I will be looking at, but they all have one thing in common, they are the best of the rest throughout the world. Today, I will be looking at Jose Fernandez. No, not that Jose Fernandez, a different one, a second basemen who also happens to be out of Cuba.
Jose Miguel Fernandez is a 25 year old, 5'10", 185 pound second baseman from Cuba. Even as a small guy, Fernandez is known as one of the best hitting prospects still in Cuba. He is a left handed hitter at the plate and he is commonly thought of as a top 5 international prospect. Fernandez is known for his hitting which includes his great ability to cover the plate. Fernandez is also thought to be a quality defensive second baseman and has the ability to play elsewhere around the diamond if need be. His first major showcase for MLB scouts was in the 2013 World Baseball Classic in which he performed spectacularly. In 21 at bats he had 11 hits, 3 XBH all doubles, a walk, and 7 runs scored. He also played quality defense, and put his name firmly onto international prospect boards. In a five game exhibition a little later in 2013 against US college players, he struggled a bit against the better college pitchers, but should be able to acclimate a bit better if he were to come over permanently. Fernandez has been a very good player over his years in the Serie Nacional. He debuted in 2008 to a strong slash of .291/.343/.350. His best year came in 2010 when he was able to slash .346/.391/.469. In his next year, 2011, he regressed a little bit, but he rebounded well in 2012 with a slash of .317/.444/.453. I wasn't able to locate his stats for his most recent year in Cuba but there were some reports that he batted an astounding .393. If those were in fact true, his MLB stock, should he defect from Cuba, would skyrocket. Already one of Cuba's most consistent and productive hitters, Fernandez looks as if he could hit for a major league team right away. He seems to have a plus hit tool along with developing power potential judging from the rise in slugging percentage. Should he become available, he wouldn't have a problem finding a team to take a chance on him, as he could be an enviable plus hitting middle infielder. I view him as a future starting second baseman in the MLB with a floor of a quality utility man. The Twins and the Braves have agreed on a deal that will send catcher Ryan Doumit to Atlanta while the Twins will receive pitcher Sean Gilmartin. This trade fills a need for both teams as the Braves were looking for another strong catcher and the Twins have been adding pitching all offseason. For the Braves, Ryan Doumit will help to fill the hole at catcher that appeared with the departure of Brian McCann. Before the addition of Doumit, the Braves were going to utilize Evan Gattis and Gerald Laird in the starting catcher role, but now Doumit gives them a third option. Doumit struggled to a .247/.314/.396 slash last year but was much better in 2012 with a slash of .247/.314/.396. He also brings with him some power, but not a ton. Doumit is now 33 years old and dealt with some concussion issues last year, but he has the potential to return to his previous form this next year, and if he does, he will see a lot of time behind the dish for the Braves in 2014. The Twins will receive triple A pitcher Sean Gilmartin in the deal. The Braves number 4 prospect entering the year last year, Gilmartin struggled a little bit last year, but has a real chance to become a middle of the rotation starter in a year of two. Probably now a top 20 prospect in a loaded Twins system, if Gilmartin can regain his old form, he could be penciled into the Minnesota Twins rotation soon.
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