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I think he just needs some more time to heal up. I don't know if playing him in the AFL was the best decision with him just returning from the DL. Hopefully he heals up and returns to form before the start of the Minor League season.Tonight with be an interesting matchup for the Saguaros against the Mesa Surprise. Tommy Hanson (Braves) will be pitching for Mesa and he has done amazing thus far, pitching 8.2 innings and letting up only a single hit. He has allowed only 3 BB while striking out 14. Some people may remember him from earlier in this season when he pitched against the Potomac Nationals as part of the Myrtle Beach Pelicans. He pitched against the P-Nats twice in the 2008 season, before being promoted to the Mississippi Braves for the second half of the season.Here is how Hanson fared against the P-Nats:04/09/08 (@POT): 6.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 7 SO05/05/08 (@MYR): 6.0 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 SO- In the first game, Marvin Lowrance had the only hit, a single to right field. Chris Marrero struck up both of his at-bats against Hanson, but he later would homer in the 8th inning to tie up the game and steal Hanson's win (Spearman later singles in Baez to win the game in the 9th). Consequently, Chad Cordero picked his first win with Potomac in this game.- In the second game, the only run off Hanson was thanks to him hitting the first Potomac batter, Michael Martinez. Martinez later steals second and is eventually knocked in by a Chris Marrero sacrifice. Rhinehart did not play in either games against Hanson, but Davis was in the lineup for the second match. Davis walked in his first at-bat and then laid down a bunt single in his second. He stole second, but was picked off trying to steal third. In the ninth, after Hanson had left the game, Davis started the inning with a single and eventually scored the tying run that sent the game to the ninth. Unfortunately, Adam Carr blew the game in the bottom of the 10th after he let up a home run to the second batter.I don't know who will be playing today, but I would expect Rhinehart and Davis to both be in there. It will be a good look at how they can handle top pitching. It would also be worthy to note Hanson's progress, as we will probably see him regularly once he pops up in the majors (likely next season).
Gameday shows the Sags are facing Matusz today.
Detwiler pitched another scoreless inning for the Sags today: 1 IP 3 H 0 R 0 ER 0 BB 1 K.Much like he did all year for the P-Nats he got the first 2 outs quickly and then gave up 3 straight singles before finally recording the final out without letting in a run. He's got to find a way to buckle down with 2 outs and not turn into another Tim Redding who completely wilts after getting 2 outs. BTW, the 1 guy that Detwiler struck out today was Matt Wieters. Anyways, here are Detwiler's numbers so far in the AFL: 7 IP 7 H 0 R 0 ER 0 HR 2 BB 2 K (0.00 ERA, 1.29 WHIP).
Carr: The right-hander had a rough season for Class A Potomac and Double-A Harrisburg in 2008, but he is showing signs of improvement in the AFL, giving up one run in 8 1/3 innings for the Peoria Saguaros. It helps that Carr fixed his mechanics."He made a lot of progress," St. Claire said. "He has settled down and his delivery is a lot more controllable. His control is a lot better. He has made progress for a kid who hasn't pitched much."However, St. Claire said he would like Carr to increase the velocity on his slider and have more control of the pitch.
Detwiler: The left-hander had an up-and-down season for Class A Potomac this past season, but he has yet to give up a run in seven innings for the Saguaros. According to St. Claire, Detwiler is not throwing the ball across his body as much as he did when he was drafted by the Nationals in 2007. The Nationals want him to throw the ball on a straight line."He has been working very hard on keeping his lines to where he can [throw the ball on] both sides of the plate," said St. Claire. "Ross commanded the ball pretty decently. It was really nice to see him make that adjustment. I know he is working hard at it. That is something it takes a little while to correct. He was a little inconsistent with the curveball. He did throw some good ones, however."
Van Allen: Of the four pitchers, Van Allen is having the roughest time in the AFL, giving up 12 earned runs in 9 2/3 innings. However, St. Claire believes Van Allen could be another John Lannan-type of pitcher who is able to locate all of his pitches. He did have some difficulty with his delivery when he was out of the stretch."He is pretty quick to the plate and, at times, I think he wants to be too quick. His arm drags and he elevates the ball," St Claire said about Van Allen's delivery.Known as a fastball and changeup pitcher, Van Allen has added a slider to his repertoire. St Claire said the pitch has come a long way since Spring Training.
Zinicola:The right-hander has shown so much progress with his mechanics that St. Claire told general manager Jim Bowden that he would like to see Zinicola get an invitation to Spring Training. It helped that St. Claire saw Zinicola throw split-fingered fastballs that struck out two left-handed hitters in the AFL. Zinicola set up those hitters by using his fastball and slider to get ahead in the count."I saw him pitch twice and he threw [exceptionally well], especially the second time after we worked on a couple of little things," said St Claire. "I don't know if they are inviting him to Spring Training, but I told Jim I would love to see him in Spring Training. He really impressed me."
Leonard Davis? Injured?
Davis is out for family reasons and will be returning to the AFL
VanAllen's value isn't too high at this point after getting injured and then struggling ever since then.
yes, but with more starts like these and his value goes up. opposing scouts/think tanks know how well he did this season. if not it's good for us to see him have a start like this.
I just don't think we could get much for him right now. I'm excited to see what he'll do next year.Possible Starting Rotation in Harrisburg in '09:-LHP Ross Detwiler-LHP Cory VanAllen-RHP Adrian Alaniz-RHP Luis Atilano-RHP Jordan Zimmermann/LHP Justin Jones/Minor League FA
I like it, but I'm pretty sure there's a good chance JZ may start the year in AAA-Syracuse.
Probably. Justin Jones, if he's still in our system, would be a decent option.
