This is the fourth time a member of the Bulls has received an IL weekly honor in 2010, but the first time for a hitter. Jennings joins pitchers Jeremy Hellickson (2x) and Aneury Rodriguez.
DESMOND JENNINGS, Durham Bulls, IL BATTER OF THE WEEK
Outfielder Desmond Jennings sparked his red-hot Durham club to a 6-1 record this week, extending their lead in the IL South to a whopping 10.5 games. For the week, Jennings led the International League with 14 hits, a .538 batting average, 7 extra-base hits, 3 triples, 9 runs scored, 11 RBI, and a .581 on-base percentage. He collected multiple hits in five of the six games in which he played, and drove in at least one run in all of them. He had three games with three hits, two games with 3 runs and two games with 3 RBI. In the course of a single week, Jennings raised his average on the season from .228 to .286 and increased his RBI total from 7 to 18.
23-year-old Desmond Jennings is in his fifth season as a professional player, all coming within the Tampa Bay farm system. Last year he was named the Rays Minor League Player of the Year and Most Valuable Player of both Double-A Montgomery and the Southern League, despite being promoted to Durham in late July. He is ranked as the #1 prospect in the organization according to Baseball America. Jennings is a native of Birmingham, Alabama.
Period G AVG H AB R 2B 3B HR RBI SLUG BB SB Week: 6 .538 14 26 9 4 3 0 11 .923 4 2 Season: 41 .286 40 140 29 11 3 0 18 .407 17 14--From IL Release.
It's too bad we probably will not resign Crawford.We then could trade Upton,then put Jennings in CF next year.2011 Lineup??
ReplyDelete1B-Dan Johnson
2B-Sean Rodriguez
SS-Reid Brignac(if Bartlett is traded to save $
3B-Evan Longoria
LF-Carl Crawford
CF-Desmond Jennings
RF-Ben Zobrist
C--John Jaso
DH-?...Willie Aybar/Leslie Anderson?
Reply to Anonymous:
ReplyDeleteIt makes me so mad that people want to trade Upton. He is hitting better this year, except for May, and he has great defense. Why would you want to trade him? Some people are just so...
This is from Kevin Goldstein at BP: Jake McGee, LHP, Rays (Double-A Montgomery)
ReplyDeleteOnce one of the top left-handed prospects in the game, McGee has simply never been the same since 2008 Tommy John surgery, and after getting roughed up for five runs over four innings on May 21, his ERA for the Biscuits sat at an imposing 6.66. Since then, he's been on the most-successful run of his post-surgery career, as the one earned run he gave up on Sunday was the first he allowed in his last four starts. The 98-mph fastball from McGee is a thing of the past, but he's still getting up to 94-95 nearly every time out. That is enough for one scout to still characterize his fastball as special, especially for a southpaw, although his secondary offerings remain average at best. If starting doesn't work out, some think he'll dominate out of the bullpen, but either way it's a huge upgrade from where we were on McGee a year ago.
Sounds good. Thanks. I still think he can get that velocity higher. If his secondary pitches improve, I think elite closer.
ReplyDeleteAs a reliever going only an inning or two, McGee very well be able to hit 98 in the future.
ReplyDeleteUpton will soon want a small fortune.I would MUCH rather give the $$ to Crawford over Upton, if were given a choice between the two.
ReplyDeleteHaha...Anonymous is killing me. Upton=5million, Crawford=17 million. Yeah, think again.
ReplyDeleteIn a couple of years,Upton will want more than Crawford will be asking for this winter. YOU....think again.Jennings has it all over Upton as a ball player!! I wonder if this anonymous Upton lover,IS Upton.
ReplyDeleteMy thoughts...
ReplyDeleteCrawford: I've heard the $17m figure too, for 5 years or so. The Rays can't do that. Now the free agent period is 6 months away, so who knows what the market will be, but the Rays can't even do half that. I don't think he'll be traded, not if the Rays are still in it on July 31st. 1st, can't punt a key player in a pennant race. 2nd, how much would you get? The other team is basically getting a 2 month rental, and then faces the same free agency issues the Rays are with him. Can't see trading Crawford for who-knows-what but not much while trying to win it this year.
Upton: He'll keep getting more expensive through arb, and Boras doesn't seem willing to look up long term. Might as well keep going and lose him through free agency. Trade him? Other teams would have to pay him just like us, and they know about Boras too, so what would he bring? Like Crawford, I don't think it's enough to lose him this year.
Pena: Another soon to be free agent. He might sign a more team-friendly deal, but how much can we afford given his age? Trade value? Again a rental, and has only been hot for a week, can't imagine we'd get enough to lose him for the stretch run.
Maybe I'm wrong, but I'd rather stand pat this season with us tied with the NYY's for the best record and hope to win it all.
Next year the OF could be Joyce-Jennings-Zobrist, and figure out 1b and DH. Might as well get used to this, with a small budget team, the only constant is change. To stay competitive we have to keep getting lucky in the draft, trades (Bartlett, Garza, Zorbist, etc.) and milb free agent flyers (Pena). Unlike the Yankees/Red Sox, we can't risk making big money free agent signings that bust (Burrell) and just say oh well and sign another one or three the next year. We have to be both smart and lucky, and so far lately we have been.
Make that next year the OF can be Upton-Jennings-Zobrist with Joyce ready if needed or maybe as DH.
ReplyDeleteDoug,
ReplyDeleteYeah, after leavilng Upton out, I was a little worried there. ;)
Upton will probably be in 2011=5 million, 2012=7.5 million, 2013=9.5 million
That is alot cheaper than Crawford at 5 years for 17 million a year.
Sorry, was considering a worst case scenario and went back and deleted a paragraph, but I really could live with Joyce/Jennings/Zobrist.
ReplyDeleteHard to tell on arb figures, it's based on comps and which of the two offers is closest, so far away on Upton. If he asks for silly money and Rays are reasonable, Rays win, and vice versa.
I think the Crawford figure is high, but who knows what the market will be at this point. Like I said before, can the Rays even handle half that (say $9m x 5 years)?
I could google RI or DRB, but I read lots of statements from the FO that payroll is going down next year. With the built in bumps from other players, no way we can pay Crawford.
One possible fly in the ointment. Say the Rays win the World Series, make a ton of $ off that, and player X is a hero (4 HR's in Game 7! or something, but clearly THE HERO). If player X is Crawford or Pena, wouldn't they HAVE TO keep them at almost any price?
Am I being too simplistic with the let's keep them all, try to win it all this year, and worry about replacing them next year from within and take the extra draft picks?
I just can't see trading away any key players mid-summer while still at or near the top of the AL East, which I think we will be. More money to be made through a pennant drive and playoffs than talent to be gained through trades.
Oh, and Anon1 (can't you guys use names!!), I'd bet money that Dan Johnson will be in another org than the starting 1B for the Rays next season. Nothing against him, great story and I've heard nice things about him, but that's not going to happen.
And last Anon, are those figures from RI on Upton's arb projections? Just wondered, Tom Tango does great work on that, don't know if Cork uses his values (40%/60%/80%) or not. As I said above, arb comes down to which proposal is closest to correct, not his actual value. So a lot depends on the quality of the submissions by the Rays and Boras.
Hey, I am the anon who put the Crawford figures up and the Upton figures up.
ReplyDeleteThere really is no way we can keep Crawford. He has made it clear that there will be no discount, and the Yanks have loved him for a while. Even if he is a hereo, we can't afford him. Yes, 15-17 a year for 5+ years is an accurate projection.
My Upton projections for price were guesses assuming that .250 with 15 homers and great defense. If he plays better, it could be much more so only till 2012. If he plays worse, I doubt we keep him knowing that he can still make money for his defense. Hopefully Glaesman can be ready if something like that happens.
The Pena situation is different. He loves it here, and has made it clear that he will stay at a discount. I see him signing for 6 million with an option for 6 million. Or maybe 2 years for 12 million.
The lineup next year will not be too different. Crawford will be gone and Jennings will take his place. Kapler will be replaced by Joyceif not this season already. Blalock and Aybar will likely be pushed out by Ashley and Anderson. I'm not sure that that the lineup will get worse.
Hope this helps!