PGP Moderator
Heed the call-up.
September call-ups to keep an eye on. For fairness, they’re in alphabetical order. Except the first guy. Because he’s the one everybody wants to see.
David Price , SP, Tampa Bay: Worry not, Rays fans, however many of you there actually are. Price will be here soon enough after pitching for Durham in the Triple-A playoffs. And when he arrives, most likely as a reliever, the pea-throwing left-hander will be a weapon a la
Francisco Rodriguez in 2002. Like K-Rod, Price will be eligible for the postseason in spite of not being on the Rays’ roster Sept. 1 because of a loophole that allows teams to use disabled-list spots – currently
Chad Orvella and
Jae Kuk Ryu – for those in the organization by Aug. 31.
Matt Antonelli , 2B, San Diego:Kyle Blanks, 1B, San Diego: The 6-foot-6, 270-pound Blanks tore through Double-A, culminating with a nine-RBI game Aug. 25. The Padres have discussed calling him up, and if they do, fans will see a player one scout said looks, offensively, “like a bigger, stronger Derrek Lee .” Albeit mainly in pinch-hitting spots, as Adrian Gonzalez is entrenched at first base.”Michael Bowden , SP, Boston:Josh Beckett ’s arm falters, he’ll be right back in the rotation for the stretch, giving the Red Sox another young arm to complement Daisuke Matsuzaka , Jon Lester , Justin Masterson and Clay Buchholz .Aaron Cunningham , OF, Oakland:Dan Haren deal plays for the A’s. Cunningham is the latest, joining Carlos Gonzalez , Greg Smith and Dana Eveland . The scary part: The two best prospects in that deal, left-handed starter Brett Anderson and power-hitting first baseman Chris Carter , haven’t arrived.Alcides Escobar , SS, Milwaukee:Josh Fields , 3B/OF, Chicago White Sox :Joe Crede leaves via free agency, he’s likely the solution. If not, he’s as good as gone.Dexter Fowler, OF, Colorado: Dynamic tools finally came together for the long, lanky switch hitter. After getting on base at a .431 clip and slugging .515 at Double-A, Fowler could take over center field for the Rockies next season.Mat Gamel , 3B, Milwaukee:Greg Golson , OF, Philadelphia:Pat Burrell and Ryan Howard for the remainder of the regular season.Micah Hoffpauir , 1B/OF, Chicago:Philip Humber , SP, Minnesota:Johan Santana trade arrives, and he’s been tremendous at Triple-A: 6-1 with a 2.60 ERA and 51 strikeouts in 55 1/3 innings over his last eight starts.Will Inman, SP, San Diego: Somehow, despite stuff that scouts rate across-the-board average, he strikes out more than one hitter an inning and has done so his entire minor-league career. May come with the second wave of Padres callups – and, boy, do they need them.Kila Ka’aihue, 1B, Kansas City: Complete non-prospect entering the season turned into an absolute terror. Between Double-A and Triple-A, he hit 37 home runs and got on base an incredible 45.6 percent of the time. With Ross Gload spending the majority of the time at first for the Royals, the 24-year-old Ka’aihue better get a chance to play.Lou Marson , C, Philadelphia:Carlos Ruiz or Chris Coste gets hurt – and to show he’s ready to take the full-time job next season.Shairon Martis , SP, Washington:Scott McClain , IF, San Francisco:James McDonald , SP, Los Angeles Dodgers :Clayton Kershaw at Double-A, the 6-foot-5 right-hander was even better at Triple-A, where he struck out 28 in 22 1/3 innings. He should pitch in long relief as the Dodgers and Diamondbacks fight the Battle of Futility.Dallas McPherson , 3B, Florida:John Meloan, RP, Cleveland: Converted by the Indians back to the relief role in which he thrived, Meloan arrived from the Dodgers in the Casey Blake trade and is a candidate to close for Cleveland next season. He’s big, mean and throws hard. Sounds right for the job.Kam Mickolio , RP, Baltimore:Erik Bedard deal wasn’t already one-sided enough for Baltimore, here comes Mickolio, the towering right-hander who was OK at Double-A, excellent at Triple-A and adds to the Orioles’ Bedard booty: starting center fielder Adam Jones , closer George Sherrill and 20-year-old Chris Tillman, who’s arguably the best starting-pitching prospect in the minors.Jose Mijares , RP, Minnesota:Dennys Reyes and Craig Breslow .Jon Niese , SP, New York Mets :Fernando Perez , OF, Tampa Bay:Eric Hinske and Rocco Baldelli .Angel Salome , C, Milwaukee:Max Scherzer , SP, Arizona:Travis Snider , OF, Toronto:Matt Tuiasosopo, 3B, Seattle: Last name sound familiar? Yeah, it’s former NFL quarterback Marques’ brother, and it took a $2.3 million signing bonus in 2004 to keep him away from football at Washington. Though Tuiasosopo wasn’t spectacular at Triple-A this season, the Mariners want to see what he can do before deciding how to proceed with Adrian Beltre , who, with one year at $12 million left on his contract, could be a trade chip.http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_yl...yhoo&type=lgns
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Last edited by cruzg24; 09-03-2008 at 04:18 PM .
09-03-2008, 04:16 PM
Heed the call-up.
