Baseball. I receive more questions via Twitter and Email about Jordan Akins than any other player, and that includes Profar and Jorge #ElOso Alfaro. The fairytale of his potential has been required reading over the last 12 months, and when multiple publications and prognosticators mention Matt Kemp as a potential high-end comp, people are rightfully giddy with anticipation. Because of such lofty praise, it needs to be remembered that baseball has a its fair share of ultra-toolsy athletes that could be special if they become ultra-toolsy baseball players. Akins fits into this category. Baseball only has one Matt Kemp. He’s the best player in the game, and if you look at his production over the last year, its not really close. Kemp is everything Jordan Akins has a chance to be, with a huge emphasis on the word chance. Let’s look at Jordan Akins the ultra-toolsy athlete and see what he might look like as Jordan Akins the baseball player. (more…)
Well, yesterday was fun. What started as a casual comment on Twitter that was specific to observed behavior on Twitter, escalated into a painful day of seeing my name trashed and my words manipulated to the point where people were accusing me of things that didn’t come close to touching my lips. I have no problem with people who want to disagree with my opinion; heck, debating subjective point of view is one of the fundamental tenets of my profession. My comments on Twitter weren’t extreme or sensational for effect, but I understand why they might have pissed people off and I absolutely respect those that disagreed with my comment about acting like you’ve been there before. What I don’t respect are people who disagree with comments or beliefs that I didn’t say or I don’t hold, and criticize or attack me for them. I can take the heat for my opinions, and I welcome any civil debate on the subject. But it really bothered me that some had such an extreme reaction to things that I never suggested in any form, to the point that I lost five subscribers to this site, received numerous hateful email about my desire to ruin the fan experience, and had a thread on LoneStarBall dedicated to the subject. Not every poster in that thread was out for blood or irrational in their commentary, and it wasn’t all that focused on me, to be honest. But a few hateful comments were thrown in my direction, ones that were attacking positions that I don’t stand for. (more…)
Last night on Twitter (which sounds like the lead-in for a serial drama), Kevin Goldstein tweeted a criticism towards some in the Rangers community that scoreboard watching in April was gauche. I am assuming this was directed in the vicinity of Jamey Newberg, but I didn’t see any of Jamey’s previous tweets, so I can’t say with any certainty. The comment arrived from Kevin Goldstein’s fingers and I acknowledged the comment by re-tweeting it, which brought me into the social storm. (more…)
During the Fall Instructional League of 2010 and Spring Training of 2011, Hanser Alberto emerged as a legit infield prospect, showing chops at the plate and the game awareness of a seasoned veteran. Before my first viewing, I only knew Hanser as the 17-year-old kid who hit .358 in the Dominican Summer League, but the scouting information was limited. That fall he introduced himself to me by squaring up every ball he was thrown and gobbling up every grounder in his vicinity, earning praise from his coaches and respect from his teammates. A few months later he was up to the same tricks, working his way into Double-A level games on the backfields, showing off a hit tool that had many observers writing 6s in their reports. He was still somewhat limited as a prospect in the sense that his defense was good but not great, and his body was good but not great, and his hit tool could shine but his offensive skill-set was a bit one-dimensional and his ultimate projection reflected that. I was enamored with the hit tool and the gamer mentality, and that was enough for me to project him as a future big leaguer. He wasn’t a top tier guy, but I thought he was advanced enough to jump to the college heavy Northwest league and hit for average and hold his own. I was shocked when things fell apart. (more…)
Lost in the Rangers infield thickness is Luis Marte, an 18-year-old prospect that will flash five-tool potential. Because of his age and experience level, opinions will be mixed and his futures will fluctuate, but having seen the talented shortstop on multiple occasions in multiple environments, I feel comfortable labeling him as a player that can become a top prospect if the tools develop to their projection. Let’s take a look at the player and see what we are working with. (more…)
