And the nominations for An Outstanding Spring..

[Atlas]

....Followed by a Disastrous Start are..

1. Brandon Maurer

2. Aaron Hicks

3. Jackie Bradley, Jr

...anyone else..??


They get the big "Spring Training Don't Count" Trophy

[King of Queens]

Teheran? Or should we give him one more start before calling in the National Guard?

[Oaktown]

Brandon Belt?

[Captain Hook]

....Followed by a Disastrous Start are..

1. Brandon Maurer

2. Aaron Hicks

3. Jackie Bradley, Jr

...anyone else..??


They get the big "Spring Training Don't Count" Trophy

common theme there - ROOKIES - so it shouldn't come as a big surprise

[Quahogs]

Porcello still can't K dick. Arrieta still sucks.

[Glenneration X]

Teheran? Or should we give him one more start before calling in the National Guard?

I'm watching tonight's game. At least in this game, the kid can't throw his secondary pitches for strikes (barely throws them period) and can't locate his fastball for strikes. I hope this isn't his best, because if it is he's not ready.

[Hells Satans]

Teheran? Or should we give him one more start before calling in the National Guard?

I'm watching tonight's game. At least in this game, the kid can't throw his secondary pitches for strikes (barely throws them period) and can't locate his fastball for strikes. I hope this isn't his best, because if it is he's not ready.

Personal opinion....was the most overdrafted player in all of NFBC this year. Was not effective in AAA last year. Nowhere near ready.

[King of Queens]

Teheran? Or should we give him one more start before calling in the National Guard?

I'm watching tonight's game. At least in this game, the kid can't throw his secondary pitches for strikes (barely throws them period) and can't locate his fastball for strikes. I hope this isn't his best, because if it is he's not ready.

Personal opinion....was the most overdrafted player in all of NFBC this year. Was not effective in AAA last year. Nowhere near ready.

Going into 2012, Teheran was a Top 5 overall prospect on just about every list. He had an unbelievable spring, so a lot of people guessed that he had finally turned it around. As a result, his draft position rose very rapidly between the beginning (25th round) and end (12th round) of March. He even went as high as the 7th Round in the final draft of the year.

One day, we're all going to learn: Spring Training means very little.

[COZ]

Glenn,

While I agree spring training means very little and I usually try not to put much credence into it, there is much to be learned, i.e. Tim Lincecum's velocity last year carried into the year, Roy Halladay's struggles and velocity this year, etc. I, for one, did not "guess" that Teheran had turned it around, I relied on his 2011 AAA numbers as a mere 20-year old (2.55 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 7.6 K's/9), his pedigree as a top prospect, a great fastball and change-up, as well as his success in the Winter League carrying over into Spring Training. But more so, I relied on this fascinating nugget from his scouting report in the Baseball America Prosepct Handbook regarding some mechanical adjustments he was working on:

"Teheran has an electric arm, but his delivery had some violence that the Braves wanted to iron out in order to reduce his risk of injury. In 2012, they decided to reduce the bend on his back leg during his windup. He had been turning and coiling his body to generate more momentum toward the plate, placing additional strain on his right knee and elbow. Atlanta worked with Teheran on keeping his back leg straighter in order to create a better center of balance, particularly in his core. The alterations not only led to less initial success, but also to a reduction in fastball velocity. After sitting at 93-95 mph and reaching 97 in 2011, Teheran operated mostly at 90-93 last season. To his credit, he stuck with the changes and showed signs of regaining his previous velocity during the latter weeks of the campaign....His changeup remains the best in the system, a 79-81 mph offering with outstanding depth and fade....After struggling with his confidence for most of 2012, he regained his swagger as he became more comfortable with the way he was throwing the ball. He has an impressive knowledge of how to set up hitters, along with impeccable work ethic and determination."

So, to me, his Spring Training was a sign of possible growth as a pitcher....a guess, possibly, but an educated one based upon the above scouting report, pedigree as a top prospect, coupled with a dominant Spring. I'll take a player with that upside any day over a beaten down Lincecum and Halladay any day. And as the guy who took Teheran in the 7th Round of the Super, it was only because of the nature of the draft, 35 pitchers had already been taken, Gino Yu took pitchers with his first 6 picks so we were deep into the pitcher pool and after having taken hitters with my first four picks I was left with the Halladay's, Lincecum's, Josh Johnson's & CJ Wilson's, etc. I gambled on upside. In retrospect I should have taken Matt Harvey, but hindsight is 20/20. In hindsight, I'd still take Teheran over Halladay, Lincecum & Wilson. I play to win, not to take the safe, Baseball HQ-high-reliability type pitchers who have definitely "lost" it, despite their past reliability. Anyone who ignored what was going on with Timmy Lincecum in Spring Training last year got burned. And I may get burned by Teheran, but it was based on the above, not a mere "guess."

COZ

P.S. Hyun-Jin Ryu, now that was a guess.