Alonso has been compared to Pujols. I don't really care if that comes true, but if he's even close, I'll be more than pleased.
Alonso has been compared to Pujols. I don't really care if that comes true, but if he's even close, I'll be more than pleased.
Last edited by OnBaseMachine; 10-16-2008 at 07:40 PM.
Alonso was the #2 prospect in the cape cod league in 2007 - the top collegiate wooden bat/pro showcase summer league. He started three years and two elite years at the highest level of college ball. When drafted, he was deemed to be at the high A/AA level right away.
This guy is very skilled, very determined and has conducted himself as a MLer since early on at Miami. He was a very safe pick - he is a far superior hitter than Soto, Frazier and Valaika.
I'm a Frazier guy. Guy can hit and he's ready to take-off on a march to the big leagues in 2009.
All my posts are my opinion - just like yours are. If I forget to state it and you're too dense to see the obvious, look here!
Really? 8.3 K/9 and 2.46 BB/9 in AAA not impressive? Look into what he did this year, it was the best season of his career. It's just hidden behind the fluky HR/F%. He always had a power guys' peripherals, and that included some not so great control. This year he drastically cut his walks, while keeping good strikeout numbers.
Seriously, "what has he done"? If nobody had ever seen these guys play Maloney would be penciled in to our rotation for the next ten years. The concern with Maloney has always been projection of his stuff to the bigs... what he has done on the field is mow down hitters at every level of the minors. The progression of his control this year bodes extremely well for his ability to succeed in the majors. Thompson was the reason I said top eight - Maloney is #5 or 6 for me. The groupthink that goes on regarding Maloney is ridiculous.
I actually think Ramon Ramirez and Danny Dorn should be mentioned in future polls. Ramirez performed on the field in September with the Reds, and looks like he will be a major league starting pitcher next year. I have Ramirez with the inside track to be our fifth starter next year. Danny Dorn was very impressive last year in AA. Neither is the top prospect; however both should be in the top 10.
Maloney had the highest FIP of his career this year in a pitchers ballpark in a pitchers league. His 'fluky' HR rate wasn't all that fluky as it was at 7% HR/FB, which is 4% lower than the major league average. I watched him pitch a lot last year, there was nothing fluky about it, you can't work up in the zone with mediocre stuff and get away with it, even in AAA.
Yeah, expect watching him play suggests that he isn't likely to carry his numbers over to the major leagues because he isn't going to miss too many bats there with a 90 MPH fastball that he throws up in the zone. Matt Maloney isn't one of the Reds top 5 starting pitching prospects, much less one of their top 5 prospects. He doesn't have a single plus offering, is an extreme flyball pitcher (60% flyball rate, just 40% grounders), his fastball is mediocre at best and he pitches up in the zone. Nothing about that suggests he is going to go to the majors and have success. I mean really, what separates Matt Maloney and Sam Lecure? The hand they throw with is about it. Both work in the 87-91 MPH range with average offspeed stuff, are fly ball pitchers and get by with how they work the batters.Seriously, "what has he done"? If nobody had ever seen these guys play Maloney would be penciled in to our rotation for the next ten years. The concern with Maloney has always been projection of his stuff to the bigs... what he has done on the field is mow down hitters at every level of the minors. The progression of his control this year bodes extremely well for his ability to succeed in the majors. Thompson was the reason I said top eight - Maloney is #5 or 6 for me. The groupthink that goes on regarding Maloney is ridiculous.
I have no misunderstanding.
My post did not challenge Soto's power. As I said, it is likely Soto will hit more homers as he develops.
My point is simply that, for his fans who emphasize Soto's "high contact, low strikeout" performance -- you have to view that in the context of a player who isn't hitting home runs. Usually power hitters strike out much more and if Soto begins to try for homers he may strike out much more.
According to minorleaguesplits, Maloney's luck-adjusted FIP in AAA this year was 3.36. What a bum. If you want to believe that Maloney can control his HR/F% even though studies suggest no pitchers really can, go for it. By the way, Maloney's HR/F was over 11%, I don't know where you are getting your numbers.
Your "extreme flyball pitcher" line is blatantly wrong... I don't know if you are purposely exaggerating, or misinformed. Actually, I've corrected you on it before, so I'm going to assume you are purposely being misleading. His GB% in 2008 was 41.3%. The past two years it was 42.7% and 45.7%. An average groundball rate is between 43-44%. Those are the facts.
And what separates Lecure and Maloney? Nothing I suppose other than the fact that they are the same age and Maloney has performed way better at every level. I would absolutely love to hear the five starting pitching prospects that the Reds have who are better than Maloney.
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