Seitzer finished his college career off nicely with a solid junior season at OU, a season in which he hit .358. But scouts have projected him as more of a line drive hitter, with perhaps not enough power to be the prototypical Major League first baseman. This caused Seitzer to slip into the 11th round of the 2011 Amateur Draft, but Cameron says the key for him is to keep the approach he has at the plate.
"The biggest thing for me is sticking with my approach," Seitzer revealed. "Maybe I'm not as powerful as other first baseman, but I'm more concerned with getting on base and helping my team win."
See also Adam's pieces on Josh Sale and Ian Kendall.
Jerry Crasnick weighs in on Montgomery shortstop Tim Beckham:
The more Beckham floundered, the more fun revisionist historians had second-guessing the 2008 draft. In picking Beckham, the Rays passed on Eric Hosmer, who went to Kansas City in the third spot, and Buster Posey, who landed in San Francisco with the No. 5 pick. Among the other players selected in the first round: Justin Smoak, Jemile Weeks, Brett Wallace, Ike Davis, Lonnie Chisenhall and Casey Kelly.
...
"He's a decent athlete, but his lower half is getting bigger, and I'm not sure if he has the instincts to play short,'' said an NL talent evaluator. "But the bottom line is, he's a 21-year-old kid playing in a tough hitters' league, and he's holding his own. I don't think he's going to be a superstar. But he's going to play in the big leagues, and he has a chance to be an everyday guy.''
Ex-Rays news:
Yuma player-manager Jose Canseco tossed six innings of one-run ball, Joey Gathright played catcher and virtually the entire lineup was made of pitchers. Oh, and the last-place Scorpions defeated the first-place Fielders 8-3 in Zion, Ill.
As if that isn't enough hijinks, Willy Aybar is also on the Yuma Scorpions roster.
I'll miss reading FreeZo with the end of The Process Report:
So, as of tonight, we’re going to close the doors here, because sometimes you just have to admit something isn’t worth continuing, and right now, it’s difficult to justify keeping this place active.
Oscar Hernandez had a single in four at-bats, was hit by a pitch, and scored two runs yesterday for the VSL Rays. He's batting .405 on the season.
Moves: John Jaso to Tampa DL (right oblique strain, retro to 7/10); Jose Lobaton and Jake McGee promoted to Tampa; Trevor Shull to GCL on rehab (still on Bowling Green DL); Wilking Rodriguez to Bowling Green DL (shoulder); Julio Cedeno activated from Bowling Green DL.
Alex Cobb only pitched two innings for Durham last night so he can start for Tampa on Monday or Tuesday. Andy Sonnanstine should take Cobb's next turn in the rotation for Durham. This is starting to look like a lost year for Rodriguez, only 3 starts so far between Hudson Valley and Bowling Green and now back on the DL.
Stat 'O The Day: Walks >= strikeouts (minimum 10 walks):
Batter Team AB H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS Robby Price* BWG 268 67 12 2 2 31 9 5 56 45 .250 .409 .332 .741 Tyler Bortnick CHA 308 93 19 5 3 50 27 2 49 40 .302 .416 .425 .841 Cole Figueroa* MTG 251 68 14 3 2 27 5 3 30 30 .271 .357 .375 .731 Dan Johnson* DHM 161 39 12 0 3 18 0 1 30 27 .242 .361 .373 .734 Adderly Rosa# DSL 102 27 4 0 1 9 10 4 26 23 .265 .417 .333 .750 Robi Estrada# BWG 118 29 2 2 3 13 7 1 22 21 .246 .359 .373 .732 Taylor Motter PRI 69 23 4 0 1 5 14 2 15 8 .333 .459 .435 .894 Julian Morillo# GCL 56 11 3 0 0 6 2 3 10 10 .196 .324 .250 .574Trivia: What do the two righthanded-only batters in the list above have in common?
Love this new format Doug!!! One idea for a name is Bull Durham (or some play on that name as one of our minor league teams is in Durham e.g., Bull-shot Durham).
ReplyDeleteAs to your trivia question, that one is just too easy for me :)
Motter and Bortnick (both right-handed hitters)were the last two shortstops drafted out of Coastal Carolina in the 17th and 16th rounds, respectively. Obviously, the Rays hope to catch lightning in a jug again with another middle-round pick.
There is also a connection to Robbie Price here as well. In the 2009 Chappel Hill regional, Coastal Carolina played Kansas where Motter was the shortstop and Bortnick was at 3rd base for Coastal, and Price was at 2b for Kansas who also was coached by Price's Dad Denny.
I think the Rays might be on to something here scouting mid-draft infielders like Price, Motter, Bortnick, Wunderlich etc. who have shown good batting eyes in college with the ability to get on base and play multiple positions on the field. Kind of a southeastern version of Billy Beane's money ball.
Keep up the good work!
I almost added that Daniel couldn't answer the trivia, but I didn't think you'd see it that quickly. Going to have to add the fine print contest rules!
ReplyDeleteI was going to go with "name the only non-middle infielder", but thought that was too easy. Then I saw the Coastal Carolina connection and thought it was neat. Guess we need to start following whoever plays SS for CC next year as we get ready for the 2012 draft.
Didn't Price's brother recently leave his head coaching job to join his dad as an assistant at Kansas? Thought I read that somewhere.
The Canseco story is actually interesting. He and Yuma went to Lake County to play the Fielders and the Fielders manager (notorious Tim Johnson from Toronto fame) and many of the players refused to play because they hadn't been paid. The Fielders had been on the road the whole season up to that point so no home gate = no $ for paychecks. Pete LaCock (old Royals 1B) took over as manager of the Fielders and had to play pitchers at almost every position, so Canseco put his players out of position too to make it fair (and get attention, this is Jose after all). Following the game the Fielders traded or released every player on their roster but one, a catcher who had just joined the team. So if you're looking to join an indy ball team call the Lake County Fielders of the North American Lg.
Here are a few more name ideas
ReplyDelete"Climbing to the top"
"Up and Down"
"On the way to the top"
Per Joe Davis:
ReplyDeleteTonight's game between the Biscuits and Stars has been postponed due to inclement weather. The teams will play a doubleheader Sunday with the first game beginning at 5:05.
Saturday's Baseball Clinic and 7:05 game remain as scheduled.
Matt Moore will start on Saturday as scheduled, with Jim Paduch getting bumped back to Sunday's second game.