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Minor League Question


BrandoFan

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It says Sox acquired Ross Gload from Rockies in exchange for Parrish. Now Parish I couldn't give a flying f*** about but Gload is the name that sounds familiar in that Kelton/Nady/Cust/Piatt/Texeira//Cuduyer flat-out killing minor league pitching but underachieving in the majors due to premature promotion, confidence issues, etc...kinda way.

 

What's the story with this kid? I vaguely recall Cubs fans like Huskers braggin' about the fellow back in 2000. Will he be immensely-talented-but-with-a-huge-unfixed-hole-in-his-swing type bargain ala Brooks Kieshniek? Could he end up beating Valenzula and Daubach for LF/1B job if god forbid Lee or Konerko are traded? I hope it's a steal of Jimenez/Olivo-esque proportions...

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It says Sox acquired Ross Gload from Rockies in exchange for Parrish.  Now Parish I couldn't give a flying f*** about but Gload is the name that sounds familiar in that Kelton/Nady/Cust/Piatt/Texeira//Cuduyer flat-out killing minor league pitching but underachieving in  the majors due to premature promotion, confidence issues, etc...kinda way.

 

What's the story with this kid?  I vaguely recall Cubs fans like  Huskers braggin' about the fellow back in 2000.  Will he be immensely-talented-but-with-a-huge-unfixed-hole-in-his-swing type bargain ala Brooks Kieshniek?  Could he end up beating Valenzula and Daubach for LF/1B job if god forbid Lee or Konerko are traded?  I hope it's a steal of Jimenez/Olivo-esque proportions...

I was thinking the same thing Brando.......... His numbers speak for themselves..... but if he was so good..... why would everyone give up on him?????

 

However.... I think Colorado had no space for him and that may be the case.

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He's pretty much a career minor leaguer. The Cubs got him from Florida if I recall and then the next year he went onto Colorado. This guy has a solid bat, but I'd say he's another Rosie Brown or something along those lines, but a bit less talented. He isn't very good defensively so it will be hard for him to find a job considering offensively he's yet to prove himself at the major league level.

 

If he ever got back to Florida or to someone like San Diego, Milwalkee or Montreal he could have a shot.

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He is a AAA bat. A AAAA player, if you will.

 

How's his batspeed? What about weaknesses in his swing? How's his eye/pitch recognition?

 

Kieshniek could flat out hit in his day and his batspeed was godgiven. The problem became apparent after Cubs rushed him bigs without fixing a little hole in his swing which major league pitchers exploited, messing up his confidence, etc. Then it wad back to minors time and he never really regained composure or worked enough to fix mechanical problems. The result is a a

superbly talented hitter going a-bust....

 

 

Is Gload the same story or was he never really good to begin with?

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He is a AAA bat. A AAAA player, if you will.

 

How's his batspeed? What about weaknesses in his swing? How's his eye/pitch recognition?

 

You are asking questions that I think none of us can answer, unless someone has seen him up close and for more than a handful of at bats.

 

Brando, there are lots of players that fall into the Kieshnick category of good hitters that never make it out of AAA or land back there after limited time in the bigs. AAA is full of 30-something year olds that can play, but just weren't good enough to stick or never got the proper chance. Every once in awhile one of them gets a break and makes waves in the Show, but it usually doesn't last long.

 

Many of these guys put up serious numbers in AAA, but they never translate to the Majors. Remember Mario Valdez? Most of the time, once they get to a certain point, they are never really given a chance because there is always a younger guy in line ahead of him.

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And ocassionally like Hudler mentioned a player slips through the cracks and appears for someone else and just sticks. David Eckstein and Paul LoDuca fit that bill and Aaron Miles could fit it for the Sox if things go right.

 

Heck so do Ben Weber and Brandon Donnelly. To me it seems like more pitchers slip through the cracks then hitters. Pretty much everyone in AAA can play ball and with a little luck, the right situation and hard work they could potentially sneak onto a roster and stick, but its just so difficult, especially if you aren't a high pick or aren't hyped/talked about. Those higher picks get the chances ahead because of the money involved and because the scouts "love them", "drool over their tools", etc. Not necessarily saying thats the right way to do it. Of course most minor league scouts are wrong to a point, because its so hard to judge whose going to make the majors and what type of player they are going to turn into. One of the hardest things to tell is how an offensive player will adjust to wood. WIth pitchers its how their arm will develop.

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Of course most minor league scouts are wrong to a point, because its so hard to judge whose going to make the majors and what type of player they are going to turn into. One of the hardest things to tell is how an offensive player will adjust to wood.

 

Not sure what you meant there Chisoxfn. You do know they use wood in the Minor Leagues, right?

 

 

 

Also, note pitchers like the guys you mentioned (Donnelly, Weber) usually only have a shelf life of 2-3 years max. Not many that come up late, stick around for a long time. Though there are always exceptions.

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Of course most minor league scouts are wrong to a point, because its so hard to judge whose going to make the majors and what type of player they are going to turn into. One of the hardest things to tell is how an offensive player will adjust to wood.

 

Not sure what you meant there Chisoxfn.  You do know they use wood in the Minor Leagues, right?

 

 

 

Also, note pitchers like the guys you mentioned (Donnelly, Weber) usually only have a shelf life of 2-3 years max.  Not many that come up late, stick around for a long time.  Though there are always exceptions.

Ya, I was referring to the players coming out of higschool and college that they have to evaluate.

 

In the minors, they have a it bit easier projecting out players, but its so hard to project them straight from higschool or college.

 

I agree with you with those pitchers having a shorter shelf life. I don't see Weber continuing to be sucessful, but I think Donnelly has pretty darn good stuff. It surprises me that he could slip through the cracks with his type of fastball and life. Then again some guys are injured or they happen to find the proper mechanics later on in life.

 

Still more likely they show up for a year or two and then dissapear, but they always know they gave it their all and all that hard work paid off.

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Remember Mario Valdez?

 

That was before my time. What was wrong with him?

 

Minor league-dominating hitters like Kieshniek don't just fail. Usually they lack patience/eye, mechanics and/or confidence to consistenly hit major leaguers. Brooks had just a slight (at first) hole in his swing and that was enough for pitchers at the Show to expose. expand and exploit. His eye was also only so-so even for a rookie...I mean, part of the reason your Heltons and Pujols succeed where a bunch of equally gifted players fail is not necessarily because of batspeed or strenght (although they help) but primarily because they possess an unusually well developed "eye", stong psyche and impeccable mechanics that allows them to adjust and adjust and adjust still....

 

 

I do remember Jeff Abbott though. He was actually better than Maggs and Lee and Leifer but failed to translate it into ML success. Where is he now I wonder?

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Jeff Abbott was released by the Mets at the end of ST.  I always liked him.

 

Regarding Parrish:  We got him from the Dodgers for McKay Christiansen, and he was list as Sox prospect # 30 by Mark Jacobsen on 9-1-02.

Speaking of McKay.. anyone know if he is still in the system or is he back doing missions again..?

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Jeff Abbott was released by the Mets at the end of ST.  I always liked him.

 

Regarding Parrish:  We got him from the Dodgers for McKay Christiansen, and he was list as Sox prospect # 30 by Mark Jacobsen on 9-1-02.

Speaking of McKay.. anyone know if he is still in the system or is he back doing missions again..?

He isn't listed with the Dodgers anywhere. I have no idea where he is at though :huh:

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Jeff Abbott was released by the Mets at the end of ST.  I always liked him.

 

Regarding Parrish:  We got him from the Dodgers for McKay Christiansen, and he was list as Sox prospect # 30 by Mark Jacobsen on 9-1-02.

Speaking of McKay.. anyone know if he is still in the system or is he back doing missions again..?

He isn't listed with the Dodgers anywhere. I have no idea where he is at though :huh:

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/featu...phillies03.html

 

There we go, he is with the Phillies AAA team.

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Jeff Abbott was released by the Mets at the end of ST.  I always liked him.

 

Regarding Parrish:  We got him from the Dodgers for McKay Christiansen, and he was list as Sox prospect # 30 by Mark Jacobsen on 9-1-02.

Speaking of McKay.. anyone know if he is still in the system or is he back doing missions again..?

He isn't listed with the Dodgers anywhere. I have no idea where he is at though :huh:

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/featu...phillies03.html

 

There we go, he is with the Phillies AAA team.

Thanks southsider!

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Now, if I had my choice of Abbott or Christiansen, I would take Abbott in a heartbeat.  Furthermore, if I had a choice between Abbott and Gload, I would take Abbott.  I wonder if Jeff wore out the Sox brass with some of his comments when he was sent down?

Let me put it this way, how many people have blasted the organization and are still here to talk about it? I can think of one.

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