braves acquire nate mclouth

[Kenny Hates Prospects]

BTW I'm all for trading Poreda but I'd have never given up Poreda for McLouth.

[Kenny Hates Prospects]

Pittsburgh would love to trade Sanchez. He has an $8 mil option for 2010 that automatically vests with 635 PA or 600 PA + All-Star appearance this season (which he's likely to get). Jack Wilson, Sanchez, and Adam LaRoche are all players the Pirates would love to trade. They are putting an incredible emphasis on the draft and Latin America. They just opened a $4 mil academy in the DR, are looking to sign the best Latin American prospect (a 16 year old SS) in the neighborhood of $3 mil, and have the 4th overall pick in the draft. Any payroll outside of Doumit and Maholm can probably be had.

If that is the case then I want:

 

Ian Snell: $3M in 2009, $4.25M in 2010, $6.75M in 2011 (club option), $9.25M in 2012 (club option)

 

He's actually a candidate for Coop because he has the stuff. Perfect change of scenery guy because he's only committed $4.25M in 2010 and if we get him back on track we've got him at a bargain through 2012.

 

I'd been thinking about Snell and Nyjer Morgan as potential KW buys and I wouldn't be surprised to see him make a move for either one.

[chw42]

If the Sox played in the NL, McLouth would have been what this team needed. A good left handed bat that plays a good center field with good speed and can leadoff. Too bad he would suck in the AL, as shown by him getting shutdown by our pitching.

[sircaffey]

McLouth wasn't the greatest player, but he was the Pirates best player, and they traded him for practically nothing. And now their replacing him with a rookie who has a career .285 BA in the minors and doesn't hit for much power, and will likely have a bad K:BB ratio in the majors.

The Pirates are still a joke of an organization.

 

How does your obsession with minor league stats project that? McCutchen has hit .291 w/ an 89:122 BB:K ratio as a 20-22 year old at AAA. That looks pretty good to me.

 

The trade for McLouth might not have been optimal value, but the promotion of McCutchen was the right move. He's ready.

Edited June 4, 2009 by sircaffey

[Chisoxfn]

Their #4 and #7 prospect with Charlie Morton as an add-in is a nothing package? Huh...

#4 and #7 prospect plus a guy like Morton, who I'd probably put in a similar mold of Broadway/Marquez/Egbert isn't that big of a haul for one of the better offensive Cfers in the game. One whose in his prime and signed to an affordable deal.

 

I do agree with whomever posted it that the Sox are holding onto Poreda as bait to get a front line starter, not a position player. I figure they'll draft an outfielder early and than focus on more pitching as the club seems to have quite a few middle of the order impact bats in the system.

[sircaffey]

#4 and #7 prospect plus a guy like Morton, who I'd probably put in a similar mold of Broadway/Marquez/Egbert isn't that big of a haul for one of the better offensive Cfers in the game. One whose in his prime and signed to an affordable deal.

 

I do agree with whomever posted it that the Sox are holding onto Poreda as bait to get a front line starter, not a position player. I figure they'll draft an outfielder early and than focus on more pitching as the club seems to have quite a few middle of the order impact bats in the system.

 

While I agree it's a not a spectacular package, Morton's not similar to those 3. His stuff is much better, and has had success in the upper levels. Morton's the best player in the package, imo.

[Jordan4life_2007]

And McCutchen wastes no time making an immediate impact. 2/4, 3 R, 1 RBI, 1 SB.

[ChiSox_Sonix]

And McCutchen wastes no time making an immediate impact. 2/4, 3 R, 1 RBI, 1 SB.

 

Just grabbed him for my fantasy team

[ThunderBolt]

Just grabbed him for my fantasy team

I got Hanson and Beckham within an hour of each other. It's been a special two weeks for prospects.

[witesoxfan]

Thoroughly unimpressed with what I saw from Moss when the Pirates came to town.

 

He played 3 games in Chicago (if that...I'm not bothering to look at if he actually played all 3 games or not cuz I'm drunk).

 

Yet...

 

McLouth is alright out there, and that's good enough considering his bat.

 

...how many times, exactly, have you seen McLouth play CF?

 

Because, according to Bill James' statistics, he was the WORST CF in the majors last year.

 

If you base everything off 3 games, Mike Morse must be the next Albert Pujols!

 

my bad, that's more than 3 games.

 

Also, for such a top prospect, McCuthcen has put up very "meh" numbers in the minors. I'll wait until I see him play in the bigs to make more of a judgment though.

 

Now a game called "Guess who"

 

#1 - AA - .271/.335/.385/.720

#2 - AA - .308/.383/.648/1.031

 

if you guessed Hanley Ramirez for #1, you are correct!

if you guessed Brandon Berger for #2, you are correct!

 

Minor league numbers are nothing but helpful indicators for major league scouts of whether the player is ready to play in the majors. Hanley Ramirez has never touched AAA pitching. Wonder if Florida's scouting is good or bad?

 

This is more of a general statement in regards to actual baseball players. Berger was a guy who could catch up to a 95 MPH fastball or any mediocre breaking pitch a young AA pitcher was working on, while Hanley was always good at it, but perhaps became bored or tired of facing the same type of stuff after a while (afterall, he did have 658 plate appearances against AA pitching and absolutely 0 against AAA pitching). If the Pittsburgh organization, under Huntington, feel that McCutcheon is ready, regardless of the statistics he has put up (but worthwhile noting them), they will make that trade, because Morton has very good stuff, but has never put up results, and he gets two top 10 prospects in the process, all the while trading a CF who is, as previously mentioned, a terrible STATISTICAL defensive CFer in McLouth while he has his own Granderson/Maybin/Upton/nameyourbust in the wings.

 

It's not like the Pirates are going to be good this year, and they get a package where they can get 3 players who can be on the major league roster 3 or 4 years from now who can contribute, along with giving McCutcheon playing time. I see no problem with this move from them.

 

McLouth wasn't the greatest player, but he was the Pirates best player, and they traded him for practically nothing. And now their replacing him with a rookie who has a career .285 BA in the minors and doesn't hit for much power, and will likely have a bad K:BB ratio in the majors.

 

The Pirates are still a joke of an organization.

 

I would say Freddy Sanchez is their best player.

 

The rest has been covered above.

 

I'm looking at the minor league numbers, and they aren't crap. Morton could be decent, as he has done good in AAA, but then again, before he hit AAA, he got hit good in all his previous stops and had an ERA of over 6 in the majors. Could go either way, depending on if he just figured out minor league hitters, or if he's figured it out altogether.

 

Jeff Locke has had 1 good year in the minors, but other than that, he has sucked and his peripherals are terrible.

 

Hernandez might hit for a high average, but he doesn't walk a lot, and has really no power. He's the best prospect the Pirates got back in return, and he isn't all that great of a prospect, IMO.

 

You don't trade your best player for a mediocre group of prospects.

 

If that is how in-depth you look into the minor leagues - by the looks of it, you are looking at ERAs close to 4 and then looking at periphs - you should probably look closer. He's struggled with control this season, but he's struck out damn near 1 per inning (8.5 K/9), and he's allowed ONE home run in 45.2 IP. I will personally challenge you two find 5 lefties, from AA and below, who have put up a K/9 of 8+ and a HR/9 of 1 (let alone the 0.2 HR/9 Locke has allowed).

 

Gorkys Hernandez is on pace to walk 40 times in a 120 game season, which roughly translates 54 walks in the regular season. The only thing, as far as I am concerned, that would keep Gorkys out of the majors (and the only thing that keeps Danks from becoming a star) is the strikeout percentage. He's striking out almost once per game...if he can make better contact, he is going to make it, whether as a 4th outfielder or a starter of some type. I am not as high on Gorkys Hernandez as some, but he has the potential to be a damn good #1 or #2 hitter, and all of it depends on how his power develops.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Overall, I'm very happy with this trade for the Pirates...they get 3 legitimate prospects, all of whom have question marks, but they also open up a spot for McCutcheon. 3 years from now, this is either going to look like a terrible mistake for either team, or, what I believe is going to look like a win, but just that, for the Pirates. I don't care for Morton nor Hernandez, but, though I don't know what Locke throws, he's a guy I like for the Pirates and a guy I think could spend a while in their rotation. If Hernandez can get that doubles power I mentioned previously, he's a leadoff hitter and a guy you have to have in your lineup. If Morton can figure it out, he's a #2-3 for the Pirates. I don't see Morton doing that, and Gorkys is too young to draw conclusions, as he has time to grow into his body a bit and add a bit more power. Funny comparison I found though...

 

(Gorkys 21 AA (thru whatever date BR has up) - .071 IsoSLG; Jerry Owens 24 AA .075 IsoSLG)