Observations from the Frisco Game Tonight

by hillcrest on Aug 29, 2008 11:29 PM CDT Comment 27 comments

First a disclaimer, I am by no means a professional judge of talent or execution.

That said... This was my first time seeing Feliz pitch. Not sure if it is arm fatigue due to increased innings or if he was just anxious, but there seemed to be way too many pitches that "sailed." His change up did appear to be up to par, Texas League quality at least. I do believe the ump was squeezing a bit, but that can also be attributed to sitting down the 3rd base line without a great vantage point.

Whittleman did exhibit great patience at the plate, almost to a fault. It appeared as though he let some quality pitches go without lifting the bat. Looked just fine in the field. One play early on did seem odd as he let Feliz go for a grounder on a soft grounder down the line where Feliz had to eat the ball. More advanced 3B will call the pitcher off as they have their momentum carrying them towards the play. It will come to him I'm sure.

Overall, boring game. Andrus has INCREDIBLE range at SS, much more so than we are accustomed to seeing in Arlington night in and night out. I cannot wait to see him in the bigs at the end of next summer. I would like to see him in OKC first thing next year though, CC did not challenge his arm at all, most throws to 1B were "rainbows."

They must do something with the presentation at Dr. Pepper Ballpark as the video board had the same AVG./HR/RBI for everyone, it must have gotten stuck on the first batter for CC.

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Feliz / Whittleman

That was Feliz’s mistake. Whittleman was coming towards the ball and might have had a play. Feliz was moving towards the 3B line and should have backed off to let Whittleman field the ball. Whittleman pulled up when he saw the Nefti wasn’t going to stop. You could see Feliz apologize to Whittleman after the play.

One of the worst things that can happen to a Rangers fan right now is to go see Andurs play, because it so dramatically underscores what a stick in the mud Michael Young is at short. I have to avert my eyes when a ball is hit back up the middle in a Rangers game, and imagine how easily Elvis would have gotten to the same ball that Young doesn’t sniff.

by mjh on Aug 30, 2008 5:35 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

If it takes watching a AA kid

to realize that MY has the range of a fence post, I’d suggest that person doesn’t watch much MLB.

"Oh well, McCain is pretty communist anyway,... we can be 70% communist with McCain,"-Sharky

"I just hope enough dumb oversexed over self-esteemed American public educated female liberals (yeah, you know the type) vote for a woman because she has a vagina, to swing some things."- Sharky.

by DJCahill on Aug 30, 2008 6:28 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

No doubt

A bunch of midgets with no arms could pitch better than us. -iorange555

by boomer1 on Aug 30, 2008 9:56 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

For whatever reason...

…there are people who follow the Rangers who continue to insist that Michael Young isn’t a bad defensive shortstop.

I don’t get it.

by Adam J. Morris on Aug 30, 2008 2:03 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I understood

cutting him some slack his first year or two, and thinking he would improve with experience. However, now you have to concede he is what he is, and he just flat doesn’t have the range to be average at SS.

The big Ranger question is when is Andrus going to be ready, and assuming thats 2010, or late 2009 at the earliest, what do you do with Blalock, 3B, and SS. Personally, I’d dump Blalock, start MY’s transition to 3B, and get a one year contract at SS. Sure, you take a hit in the hitting department, but a back of the envelope calculation I did says fielding probably will end up costing this team around 7 games. It’s time for them to address fielding, so they don’t wreck their upcoming pitchers confidence.

"Oh well, McCain is pretty communist anyway,... we can be 70% communist with McCain,"-Sharky

"I just hope enough dumb oversexed over self-esteemed American public educated female liberals (yeah, you know the type) vote for a woman because she has a vagina, to swing some things."- Sharky.

by DJCahill on Aug 30, 2008 2:33 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Amen

Sacrifice some offense up the middle for some guys that can catch the ball.

by T Coleman on Aug 30, 2008 4:51 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Elvis

When do you predict he’s up with the big club?

Go Strangers.

by hightowersmith on Aug 30, 2008 7:55 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

andrus

his range really is amazing, the guy gets to balls that im not sure many mlb ss’s could get to. but this also leads to more errors because he’s getting to balls and trying to make some plays on athleticism alone.

combine andrus with vallejo’s range at 2b and thats one awesome middle infield.

"I'm against picketing, but I don't know how to show it." - Mitch Hedberg

by rentz on Aug 30, 2008 9:37 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

how does vallejos range

compare to kinslers?

Every pitch thrown to Josh Hamilton is recorded as an E1. -- clark

by knockoutking on Aug 30, 2008 3:52 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

range

probably better answered by people who know more than myself.
i’ll just say vallejo plays a solid 2b, and is fast as hell but he will never hit like kinsler does.

"I'm against picketing, but I don't know how to show it." - Mitch Hedberg

by rentz on Aug 30, 2008 3:55 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Thinking about WS Champions

What does it take to win the World Series? I believe a whole lot more than one ace pitcher to the rotation. I feel that most Rangers would be SO pumped just to make the playoffs that as Rangers fans we sell out too easily. After watching the Rangers trade away too many good players, I hope we don’t make any moves “forward” this off season. The front office seems to do a great job of late to find quality diamonds in the rough. But it does a horrible job of evaluating that talent “upwards”. I would rather the Rangers struggle in the bigs for the next two years, while the organization (like the Twins and Rays) continues to build for the WS for the next decade and beyond. IE, please don’t rush Elvis, Feliz, or Dutch. I want to be watching them for the next 10 years with a T than anywhere else.

"Purity of heart is to will one thing" - Kierkegaard

by outofnace on Aug 30, 2008 8:37 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

feliz's throwing motion is truely effortless

if he overthrew he could probably get up to 102mph

he looked great out there, it looked he had great command of his fastball

I give up

by Steal Home on Aug 30, 2008 10:38 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

No if/probably about it

He hit 102 twice in his first start at Frisco.

Offense doesn't doubt me, but my first and primemost thing is defense and punt return and kickoff return

by Brett Perryman on Aug 31, 2008 5:17 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

is it safe to rank Boscan

up among Feliz, Holland, Main, and Beavan yet? If this kid had been a first round pick out of high school instead of an international signing, it seems like he would be getting a lot more national attention for what he is doing again mostly college hitters.

The pitchers over whom Rangers fans most tend to salivate in the bigs (Billingsley, Josh Johnson, etc) are strikeout/ground out pitchers. there is not a pitcher in our system who better fits that mold than Boscan.

by clark on Aug 30, 2008 11:58 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Yeah

I was thinking of that when I saw Billingsley’s numbers lasty. He is Boscan on the ML level. Hope Fredo has a nice big poster up in his room.

Go Strangers.

by hightowersmith on Aug 30, 2008 12:10 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yes

It is safe. He ranks right behind them on my pitcher list. Maybe ahead of Beavan next year if they were to both continue pretty much as 2008 went.

O Freunde, nicht diese Töne!
Sondern laßt uns angenehmere anstimmen,
und freudenvollere.

by t ball on Aug 30, 2008 12:51 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

wow

thats high

so you like boscan taht much or like beavan that little (sounds like you like boscan)

im interested to see how the 5-10 and 10-20 rankings look for the rangers next yr..

Every pitch thrown to Josh Hamilton is recorded as an E1. -- clark

by knockoutking on Aug 30, 2008 3:53 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I think he means he likes Boscan that much.

He said “if they were to both continue pretty much as 2008 went.” I take that to mean that if Boscan continues to put up his ridiculous peripherals at Clinton while Beavan continues to have a low k/9 while not having any noticeable increase in velocity, Boscan would leapfrog Beavan.

I’d tend to agree with that.

by LiamP on Aug 30, 2008 3:55 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yep,

I like Boscan that much, and I should clarify that I do not expect Beavan to make that choice obvious next year. He’s improved throughout this year and I expect him to keep doing so next year. Feliz, Holland, Main, Beavan, Boscan, and Kiker are my top 6 arms in the system. (I’m excluding Harrison and Hurley from that list.)

O Freunde, nicht diese Töne!
Sondern laßt uns angenehmere anstimmen,
und freudenvollere.

by t ball on Aug 30, 2008 8:25 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Boscan's prospect ranking

He’s up to #10 on my list and has replaced Kiker as my fifth favorite Ranger pitching prospect (along with Feliz, Holland, Main, and Beavan). I really like the movement and command that Boscan has with his fastball and his curveball is a strikeout pitch. Four other prominent Rangers prospects have pitched in Spokane as 18 year olds and Boscan looks to be the best of the bunch.

Boscan – 69.1 IP, 3.12 ERA, 70K, 11BB, 1.11 WHIP
Kiker – 67 IP, 4.13 ERA, 51K, 35BB, 1.51 WHIP
Feliz – 42.1 IP, 2.55 ERA, 55K, 24BB, 1.33 WHIP (combines APP and NWL)
Hurley – 28 IP, 5.40 ERA, 21K, 8BB, 1.31 WHIP
Danks – 12.2 IP, 8.53 ERA, 13K, 7BB, 1.50 WHIP

Based on age and performance, Boscan appears to be the top prospect in the NWL. If a scouting report pegs his fastball in the 90’s, I think it likely that Boscan will be included on a Top100 National Prospect list or two at the end of the year. Does anyone know the velocity on Boscan’s fastball?

by spurdynasty on Aug 30, 2008 4:04 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Goodness no

Offense doesn't doubt me, but my first and primemost thing is defense and punt return and kickoff return

by Brett Perryman on Aug 31, 2008 5:16 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Frisco rotation next year

i am sure this has been discussed, but is it pretty much assured to be Feliz, Holland, Poveda, Kiker, and Phillips/Reed? I would rather see Phillips stay in the rotation and let Reed go back to a late inning role, where i think he could be dominant.

by clark on Aug 30, 2008 12:04 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Frisco

The only question mark I can think of is Poveda. He didn’t get a ton of innings this year (83.2).

But yeah that’s the rotation I bet on with the farm as is.

Go Strangers.

by hightowersmith on Aug 30, 2008 2:48 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

The fifth pitcher in the Frisco rotation

In my opinion, Feliz, Holland, Kiker, and Poveda are locks. Personally, I would prefer to see a more veteran guy like Diamond or Hyatt or even Schlact as the fifth starter. Having a savvy pitcher who gets by as much on intelligence as on stuff provides the young guys in that rotation an opportunity to learn the trade by watching a veteran pitcher take the mound every fifth day.

by spurdynasty on Aug 30, 2008 4:11 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs