That's encouraging at least.but throwing out nearly 40 percent of opposing basestealers.
That's encouraging at least.but throwing out nearly 40 percent of opposing basestealers.
Unfortunately, it's not. I would love to be wrong on this one, but the fact that he was a three year college player, a top 10 draft pick, and is still playing at low-A ball (and not exactly tearing it up)... that is pretty much the definition of a bust.Originally Posted by dougdirt
Again, I would like to eat crow on this one, but I have a feeling I'll be having fried chicken instead. Or maybe some ribs on this grill I just bought (charcoal of course, none of this gas stuff).
A bust is someone who isn't succeeding after a year? Wow. You know, if you wanted to maybe drop that label on BJ Szymanski.... go for it, at least he has had a full season under his belt. Drew Stubbs has not even played a full year of baseball yet and you are calling him a bust at the age of 22 years old. Just wow.
If Stubbs is 25 and still in A ball or kicking around with a sub .700 OPS in AA ball, then it's time for the bust label.
Games are won on run differential -- scoring more than your opponent. Runs are runs, scored or prevented they all count the same. Worry about scoring more and allowing fewer, not which positions contribute to which side of the equation or how "consistent" you are at your current level of performance.
Szymanzki was a sandwich pick, not the No. 8 overall pick of the draft (or wherever we reached for Stubbs). If you want to call him a bust, feel free. I am very comfortable calling Stubbs a bust and hoping he proves me wrong.
But I'm glad you are confident in him. We need fans like that.
So, Devin Mesoraco went 1-3 with a single and a HPB today. He also threw out 2 of 3 basestealers... OOPS, wrong thread...
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Props to DougDirt for being right...
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2974338
I like Stubbs. Look how valuable Adam Everett is for the Astros.
I realize tangents happen, but we should try not to hijack the Official Prospect Threads if we can help it.
Reading comprehension is not just an ability, it's a choice
Well, you were right and so was I. His signing bonus is 3.5 million dollars. He however got a Major League deal worth 7 million dollars. Its always nice when two people are both right with completely different answers.
Just thought I would add this on Mesoraco, from the Sarasota Herald Tribune
http://www.heraldtribune.com/article...708150622/1006
Has overcome setbacks, now real journey begins
BY TIM BELLA
As more than 30 prospects from the Gulf Coast League Reds file off a bus for a doubleheader on a sweltering summer day in Fort Myers, they're a long way from the major-league lifestyle they hope to live. But the excitement around one player has the Reds thinking he might be a step closer to living the dream.
At 19, Devin Mesoraco, who was the 15th overall pick by the Cincinnati Reds in Major League Baseball's First-Year Player Draft in June, is already considered one of the top catching prospects in baseball.
Mesoraco expects to capitalize on the opportunity given to him in Sarasota but realizes how close his dream came to being a nightmare; he has the scar typical of "Tommy John" surgery patients on his right elbow to remind him.
During a high school playoff game, Mesoraco, at the time a Punxsutawney (Pa.) High School sophomore, was sent from behind the plate to the mound to serve as the team's closing pitcher.
"I just tried to throw hard and it usually worked," Mesoraco said.
On this day, however, Mesoraco knew something was wrong while warming up in the bullpen. His arm felt awkward.
The news of Mesoraco's arm troubles silenced the stadium.
"I was just really scared," Mesoraco said. "I had never been through anything like that before."
The talented teenager with the humble personality was faced with a rigorous recovery and rehab process that would wipe out his junior season of high school baseball.
Tommy John surgery, or ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, is a procedure to replace a medial elbow ligament with a ligament from elsewhere in the body, such as a forearm or a knee. Named after a former major-league pitcher, the procedure has helped extend the careers of baseball players and has a success rate of 80 to 85 percent.
One year after the injury occurred and after about 10 months of rehab, Mesoraco made a full recovery in June 2006 and began to prepare for his senior high school season.
"Dev was really positive through the whole process," said Zack Martin, a close friend and one of Mesoraco's high school teammates. "He had a great attitude. He's the only one of us that could have pulled through like he did."
Player of the Year
In his first game back as a senior, Mesoraco answered critics and weathered the doubts. In front of what Martin recalls as being about 25 major-league scouts, he hit two home runs and threw out a player trying to steal a base, a performance that put to rest speculation that the injury would affect him.The opening-day performance sparked a memorable season that saw the 6-foot-2, 200-pounder collect individual accolades, such as the Gatorade Player of the Year honoring Pennsylvania's best high school baseball player. He was also named the starting catcher on USA Today's All-USA team.
As a senior, Mesoraco hit .467 with four home runs and 21 RBI. He had a .632 on-base percentage and a .911 slugging percentage.
Mesoraco was ranked by Baseball America as one of the country's best prospects.
Despite the success, Mesoraco was never one to get too excited, his mother said. Family, friends and teammates gathered at a sports bar to watch draft day and celebrate his first-round selection by Cincinnati. Even on a day the catcher described as the greatest day of his life, people might not have been able to tell from his humble reactions.
"I was so proud of him that day because ... it's one of those things when you lay down at night and review things in your mind, I review that whole day in my mind a lot because he was just so Devin," Laura Mesoraco said. "A lot of people got the event on their cell phones and we make them play it over and over because everyone was screaming so loud and Devin was just like 'Oh, you know, I got drafted.'"
Eight days later, Mesoraco capped the first chapter of his journey by leading Punxsutawney to its first baseball state championship, on the same day as his high school graduation.
When he joined the Reds' GCL team, Mesoraco started with a bang, hitting safely in seven of his first eight games and carrying a .333 average.
Since then, the numbers have tailed off. Entering this week, his average had fallen to .222 (22-for-99) with one home run and seven RBI.
Sitting in the Sarasota Reds' locker room at the City of Sarasota Sports Complex, Mesoraco reflects on what the injury meant to him, saying that it was a blessing.
"In the end, it all worked out," Mesoraco said. "I'm not happy it happened, but it wasn't a terrible thing."
Approaching his locker, he points out the nameplate above a locker that reads "37 Mezoraco."
"They spelled my name wrong," he said with a half-smile.
If Mesoraco has his way, baseball fans will know how to spell his name soon enough.
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"Sit over here next to Johnathan (Bench)...sit right here, he's smart."--Sparky Anderson
^ very cool
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Came in the mail today, thought I'd give everyone a look. Probably his first card.
0 Value Over Replacement Poster
"Sit over here next to Johnathan (Bench)...sit right here, he's smart."--Sparky Anderson
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