Mariner Minors: 11/06/2005

Mariner Minors

Monday, November 07, 2005

Aric Van Gaalen signed

The Mariners Mailbag today had some draft-related info today, stating that Mariners have signed 30th round pick LHP Aric Van Gaalen.

PRC did some great digging work on the guy over at SportSpot, so I won't try to steal his thunder (though, it must be asked, what is a Cracker-Cat? probably just the merging of two teams, but...), but I think that it's worth noting that BA wrote a blurb on him in their area reviews and MLB.com had a brief scouting report in their draft tracker, and they don't usually do that unless there's something interesting about the kid.

To recap what's been said already, it seems like Van Gaalen gets high marks on his coachability and potential. He's a tall dude, 6'6 or so, and the pitch of his that gets the most mention seemes to be his sinking fastball, which is about average in terms of velocity. But, it seems that he doesn't have a great deal of experience pitching, so he's more of a project right now. Not a bad guy to spend a 30th round pick on, though.

Edit: 11/13
Chaney figured out what a Cracker Cat is...
"Where did the name "Cracker-Cats come from?

The name was derived from reversing the wording of an oil-related term. Fluid catalytic cracking or "cat cracking" involves the conversion of high-boiling hydrocarbons into smaller molecules. This process revolutionized the refining of crude oil to produce gasoline."
Riiight. Remind me to name my baseball team after an industrial process. If I ever own a team, that is.

posted by Jay Y. @ 4:07 PM

Sunday, November 06, 2005

Winter League Stats Wrap (11/6/05)

Arizona Fall League:
RHP Chris Buglovsky: 1-1, 10.34 ERA in 15.2 IP, 20 runs (18 ER), 28 hits (3 HR), 6/4 K/BB
C Jeff Clement: .298/.385/.491 in 57 at-bats, 5 2B, 2 HR, 11 runs, 10 RBI, 8/12 BB/K
RHP Mike Flannery: 0-0, 5.74 ERA in 15.2 IP, 14 runs (10 ER), 24 hits, 17/6 K/BB
OF Gary Harris: .269/.290/.388 in 67 at-bats, 6 2B, 3B, 12 runs, 6 RBI, 1/12 BB/K
OF Adam Jones: .225/.276/.434 in 71 at-bats, 3 3B, 3 HR, 12 runs, 7 RBI, 5/16 BB/K
RHP Clint Nageotte: 1-1, 1.64 ERA in 22.0 IP, 4 runs (4 ER), 16 hits (2 HR), 21/3 K/BB

When I said last week that I thought Flannery's peripherals would catch up to him and his ERA would climb a bit, I didn't anticipate him giving up nine hits, two walks, and six runs in three innings. Jones is improving, and had another triple and a home run this week. Harris improved as well, but Clement lost a bit of ground, just in time to be left off a top 10 AFL prospect list (Garko over Clement? Seriously?). Nags had an outing that was a bit off par, but his line hasn't suffered too much from it.

Venezuelan Winter League:
RHP Nibaldo Acosta: 0-0, 5.40 ERA in 3.1 IP, 2 runs (2 ER), 2 hits, 0/2 K/BB
RHP Yorman Bazardo: 0-0, 2.08 ERA in 8.2 IP, 2 runs, 5 hits, 5/5 K/BB
OF T.J. Bohn: .282/.370/.394 in 71 at-bats, 5 2B, HR, 8 runs, 13 RBI, 9/15 BB/K
SS Asdrubal Cabrera: .182/.250/.182 in 11 at-bats, RBI, 1/3 BB/K
RHP Renee Cortez: 0-0, 10.13 ERA in 5.1 IP, 6 runs (6 ER), 10 hits (HR), 2/4 K/BB
RHP Rich Dorman: 1-0, 3.63 ERA in 17.1 IP, 8 runs (7 ER), 19 hits (HR), 26/13 K/BB
RHP Emiliano Fruto: 1-1, 2.70 ERA in 10.0 IP, 4 saves, 4 runs (3 ER), 9 hits, 9/2 K/BB
IF Jesus Guzman: .387/.394/.581 in 31 at-bats, 3 2B, HR, 4 runs, 8 RBI, 1/4 BB/K
RHP Jeff Heaverlo: 0-2, 11.05 ERA in 7.1 IP, 10 runs (9 ER), 13 hits (3 HR), 6/5 K/BB
LHP Cesar Jimenez: 0-1, 2.11 ERA in 21.1 IP, 5 runs (5 ER), 17 hits, 13/5 K/BB
LHP Chris Key: 0-0, 6.75 ERA in 6.2 IP, 6 runs (5 ER), 9 hits (2 HR), 4/2 K/BB
IF Jose Lopez: .261/.414/.261 in 23 at-bats, 1 run, 6/4 BB/K
IF Oswaldo Navarro: .296/.296/.444 in 27 at-bats, 4 2B, 7 runs, 1 RBI, 0/3 BB/K
C Luis Oliveros: .000 in 3 at-bats
LHP Ryan Rowland-Smith: 0-0, 3.18 ERA in 5.2 IP, 2 runs (2 ER), 4 hits, 2/3 K/BB
C Yorvit Torrealba: .200/.333/.200 in 5 at-bats, 0/1 BB/K

On the topic of the Lara Cardenales, I've heard that Ivan Blanco might be heading to their rotation sometime soon. Something about Adrian Hernandez going on the DL, but it's hard to pick up accurate information through the translators. Bohn dropped off a bit in terms of average and power this week, but he kept walking, which is one of the things I like about him. Jimenez has started to tear apart the LVBP again, which isn't unusual for him. Cabrera and Acosta are probably down in the minor league again.

Dominican Winter League:
IF Ramon Sanitago: .167/.375/.167 in 6 at-bats, 3 runs, 1/1 BB/K
RHP Rafael Soriano: 0-0, 9.00 ERA in 4.0 IP, 8 runs (4 ER), 12 hits, 4/1 K/BB

I remember when I used to follow guys like Aquilino Lopez, Enmanuel Ulloa, Gustavo Martinez, and Jose Paniagua down here. Now, there isn't a lot to follow here. This week, for Soriano, was near identical to last week.

posted by Jay Y. @ 12:51 PM