Michael Salfino’s latest contribution to SNY.tv is entitled “Yanks have hit-and-miss draft.” Click here to read the feature.
Salfino met with a National League scout to talk about the Yankees draft and “other pinstripe matters.”
The scout likes Gerrit Cole. However, he agrees with me that Jeremy Bleich was an overdraft. The scout also concurs with my opinion that Scott Bittle was an odd pick at # 3 – considering how he projects.
What I truly found interesting was what the scout had to say about another Yankees pick:
Our scout liked Brett Marshall the most of the remaining picks. The high school righty from Texas fell to 200, “but he was in my top 100. This is strictly a signability issue. The Yankees are a good bet to come up with enough cash” to persuade him to forgo college.
Marshall reportedly gained 10 mph on his fastball, but we’re warned not to take these types of reports too seriously.
“Yes, sure, guys gain some muscle on their fastball; but when you see a report of a guy throwing 96 or 98 like it’s big news, it almost always means that he might have hit it once or twice. This is really bad for the industry and the player because then the guy gets into the Majors and people think something is wrong with him. Look at Phil Hughes and Homer Bailey being advertised as having huge fastballs when they simply don’t. And they never did.”
Amen.
9 Responses to “Salfino: Yanks Have Hit-And-Miss Draft”
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June 10th, 2008 at 10:26 pm
Zzzzzzzzzzzzz
June 11th, 2008 at 1:14 am
However, he agrees with me that Jeremy Bleich was an overdraft. The scout also concurs with my opinion that Scott Bittle was an odd pick at # 3 – considering how he projects.
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Others strongly disagree with both of those statements. Big ups for being able to knock Hughes’ fastball in a discussion that had nothing to do with him. And for what it’s worth, Bailey did and does throw hard — all he had was a power fastball. For this guy to say that he never threw hard calls into question his opinion on everything baseball-related.
June 11th, 2008 at 1:49 am
On a completely unrelated note: looks like “Living on the Black” is worth a read. Found this bit pretty fascinating (via Ken Davidoff):
“When the Yankees demoted Mussina from the starting rotation to the bullpen last August, Mussina was livid with pitching coach Ron Guidry, who essentially stopped speaking to Mussina. ‘I’d go by him in the clubhouse, and he’d look right through me,’ Mussina said of Guidry. ‘It was as if I’d become a ghost.’
“Prior to that, however, Guidry comes off as surprisingly involved in Mussina’s work.”
June 11th, 2008 at 6:59 am
so it takes one scout out of the 1000’s of scouts to call this draft a “hit and miss draft?” unreal…
June 11th, 2008 at 9:18 am
~~On a completely unrelated note: looks like “Living on the Black” is worth a read.~~
I’m reading three baseball books now at the same time. And, once I’m done with two of them, I’ll start reading “Living on the Black” too – so, expect a review on that here someday.
June 11th, 2008 at 9:39 am
Your opinion on Scott Bittle doesn’t address the fact that he had a 16.5 K/9 this year. I’m not sure I see anything wrong with drafting a relief pitcher with that kind of effectiveness.
Do you ever post a dissenting view or do you just comb the internet for anyone that might agree with you?
June 11th, 2008 at 9:56 am
Zzzzzzzzzzzzz
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Agreed. Since players wash out more often than not, I’d say every team has a hit or miss draft…
June 11th, 2008 at 10:46 am
~~Do you ever post a dissenting view or do you just comb the internet for anyone that might agree with you?~~
If I find a dissenting view that makes sense, I’d be happy to post it.
June 11th, 2008 at 1:56 pm
If I find a dissenting view that makes sense, I’d be happy to post it.
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So I guess what you’re saying is that, thus far, everyone that has disagreed with you on this blog — be it commenters or people in sports media — have views that don’t make sense. Of course.