Five Young Talents poised for Stardom

[Pwillows]

Anticipation is high for Moore, Darvish, Harper, Trout, Cespedes

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?...s_mlb&c_id=mlb

Matt Moore: Classic southpaw form.

Yu Darvish: More pitches than a used-car salesman.

Bryce Harper: More power than a locomotive.

Mike Trout: Faster than a speeding bullet.

Yoenis Cespedes: Able to leap tall fences in a single bound.

Every year at this time, young performers arrive on the scene with abundant talents and hype to match, summoning images of comic-book heroes.

Some prove to be everything we'd imagined -- and even more, in special cases. Some are around for years but never seem to reach their full potential. Then there are the unfortunate few who fall by the wayside, knocked down by injuries or a fatal flaw in their game or makeup.

This season is like any other in the level of anticipation building over five players we can't wait to see. It could be a season almost unlike any other if all five manage to connect on the big stage and show they are every bit as good as we'd anticipated.

The quintet has an international flavor, with a man from Japan (Darvish) and another from Cuba (Cespedes) joining budding stars from Nevada (Harper), New Mexico (Moore) and New Jersey (Trout).

Tampa Bay's Moore and Texas' Darvish are the most likely candidates to be instant hits. Both are being counted on to contribute handsomely to deep rotations capable of leading their clubs back to a third consecutive postseason confrontation between the Rays and Rangers.

Moore, who turns 23 in June, already has delivered a postseason performance for the ages. With only one big league start on his resume, during his September callup, he was the surprise choice of manager Joe Maddon to open the American League Division Series in Texas.

Showing remarkable poise and command, he shut down the powerful Rangers across seven innings in a 9-0 victory. It would turn out to be the Rays' final triumph in an amazing late-season run.

"He looks like he's barely throwing and it's 97 [mph]," said slugging Texas catcher Mike Napoli. "He got a lead and attacked. That's what you want to do. We've done it before against guys we haven't seen. I was seeing the ball good. He just got me."

Moore, solidly constructed at 6-foot-2 and 205 pounds, has dominated at every level with his smooth, easy delivery and exploding fastball, complemented by all the right off-speed stuff.

Before yielding three earned runs in 9 1/3 September innings while striking out 15 big league hitters, Moore was 12-3 at two Minor League stops with 210 punchouts in 155 innings.

Slotted in as the fifth starter behind James Shields, David Price, Jeremy Hellickson and Wade Davis, Moore would be the lead dog on a number of Major League staffs -- right now.

Darvish, billed as the most polished young pitcher ever to come out of Japan, was the subject of a bidding war before Texas prevailed with the highest bid -- $51.7 million -- ever posted for a Japanese star.

The total investment for the 25-year-old, who signed a six-year, $60 million contract, came to $111.7 million. Texas appears happy with its commitment in the right-hander, whose repertoire is estimated to include nine to 10 pitches. They all revolve around a 95-97 mph heater he can pinpoint on both corners.

It quickly became clear as Spring Training opened that Darvish is all business.

"I'm not here to play around," he said through an interpreter upon his arrival in Arizona. "I'm here to play baseball. That's what I do."

As for the rock-star treatment he's received, especially from his homeland's media, "it's definitely not normal," he said. "Am I the type of player who should get all this attention?"

When you're 93-38 in 167 professional appearances with a 1.99 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, 55 complete games and 18 shutouts, the answer is a resounding "yes" in any language.

It's unclear where Darvish will open the season in a Texas rotation that lost 16-game winner C.J. Wilson to free agency. But it wouldn't be surprising to find Darvish leading the staff in wins and innings by season's end.

Harper and Trout, teammates with the Scottsdale Scorpions in the Arizona Fall League, are in the same position: they are seemingly can't-miss athletes whose only obstacles are a lack of professional experience.

Harper's thunder would be welcomed with open arms by highly supportive Nationals manager Davey Johnson, who has a history with right fielders blessed with almost supernatural talent -- and light-tower power. With the 1980s Mets, Johnson managed a young Darryl Strawberry, giving him a personal road map to follow with Harper.

"It's great having him on my side, keeping an open mind and telling everyone to keep an open mind," Harper said. "That is really helping me. It takes a lot of pressure off of me. He just lets me go out there and just play my game, have fun like I do. Hopefully, I can show him a little bit, just keep going every single day, getting better every day and work hard."

Harper, one of the most natural hitters to come into the game in years, was getting early exposure to Grapefruit League play before a calf muscle interrupted his progress. If it's determined that he needs more Triple-A seasoning, Harper isn't expected to be gone for long. Johnson is a big believer in nurturing young talent with on-the-job experience, and Harper's confidence is visible in his body language and words.

"If I can come out here, work in the outfield, work hard [on my] hitting, I'm going to try and make their decision hard," Harper said. "That's the most I can do. ... I want to be up here, I want to play, and I want to play in D.C."

In 109 Minor League games last season, he hit a combined .297 with 17 home runs and 58 RBIs for Class A Hagerstown and Double-A Harrisburg. Moving on the Arizona Fall League, Harper hit .333 with six homers and had a .400 on-base percentage in 93 at-bats.

"When I'm out on the field, I think I play the game a certain way, I play hard," Harper said. "That's what they like. I go out there and I bust my butt every day. That's what they are going to get from me. I play 110 percent. I'm going to go out there and try to beat the team that is playing in the other dugout. That's the fire in me. I want to win every single game."

That same passion is apparent in everything Trout, 20, does on the field. A quarterback before focusing entirely on baseball in high school in Millville, N.J., he brings a football mentality to the game -- and a wide receiver's speed. Scouts have compared him to a young Mickey Mantle in his ability to get down the line to first base in under four seconds.

While Harper has a real shot at nailing down an everyday job, Trout is blocked by an Angels outfield featuring Vernon Wells, Peter Bourjos and Torii Hunter, with Bobby Abreu as the fourth outfielder and Mark Trumbo also a candidate to play one of the corners.

Equipped with plate discipline, a line-drive bat with emerging power and skill at all three outfield spots to go along with his blinding speed, Trout is destined to find regular work in the near future. The early consensus is that he'll open the season at Triple-A Salt Lake, unless one of the veterans goes down with an injury. He had a .326/.414/.544 line at Double-A Arkansas last season and has stolen a total of 93 bases the past two seasons.

Trout is more concerned with his progress than his destination, knowing it's not his decision.

"I don't know," he said. "They always made the right decision in the past. If they're going to win, they're going to put the right lineup out there. ... It's still up in the air right now. If they put me in Salt Lake -- or wherever they're going to put me -- I'm always going to accept that. It just makes you want to work harder."

Trout had two flings in the big leagues in 2011. He struggled the first time around but was much more comfortable in his second stint, finishing with a .220/.281/.390 line in 123 at-bats. When he settles in as an everyday player, those numbers could jump close to 100 points in each category. He's capable of hitting anywhere in the top third of the order with his multiple skills and emerging power.

Behind closed doors, the Angels must be salivating at the prospect of lining up Bourjos and Trout - two of the fastest players in the game -- in front of Albert Pujols when the two young outfielders are ready to take full flight. That could be as early as next season, perhaps even later this year.

Cespedes is the wild card in this hand of aces. Cuban players often have been difficult to read as they come to the Majors, but this is an experienced player at 26, with all five tools at his disposal. How well he adapts to a new culture and uses his skills will determine whether he gives the Oakland A's bang for their four-year, $36 million free-agent investment.

Given his salary and the lack of star power on the Oakland roster, the A's naturally want to see Cespedes earn a starting role out of the chute, whether in center field, his natural position, or a corner spot. Coco Crisp, an accomplished veteran, is the incumbent in center.

"Based on the contract, the sooner [he gets to the big leagues] the better," A's general manager Billy Beane said. "I think we're going to be open-minded, but I think we also don't want to immediately say, 'He's going to be here on Opening Day.'"

Cespedes appears to have the explosive skills similar to those of former Houston Astros center fielder Cesar Cedeno, an All-Star in the 1970s. If that talent translates into production, the A's will have a much-needed star and draw on their hands. Fellow Oakland newcomer Manny Ramirez won't be eligible to play until his 50-game suspension ends on or around May 29.

The six-foot, 215-pound Cespedes played eight seasons for Granma in the Cuban League, producing 33 home runs, a .333 average and 99 RBIs in 90 games during the 2010-11 season. Cuba's starting center fielder in the 2009 World Baseball Classic, he batted .458 in six games.

"Really, to find a potential center-of-the-diamond player in the prime of his career, those players usually aren't available," Beane said.

[umbrellavoid]

Matt Moore looks great on the mound. Will he be able to crack the rotation in Tampa is another question? Maybe they run him out as a reliever, but why would you do that. Tampa needs to open up a hole in the starting rotation. Why hasn't the GM traded a pitcher for another hitter of some relief help. Farnsworth is not a closer.

[umbrellavoid]

Yu Darvish has looked great early on and will likely have no problem making the transition to the Majors. Yoenis should get a real long look in Oakland. They don't have any reason not to play him everyday. Harper and Trout are another story for me. Trout is battling an illness and can't get into the lineup now. Maybe he gets put down to AAA to get some at bats before making it back up to the big club. Harper is still so young that it might be good to give him some time in AAA.

[Pwillows]

Harper and Trout are another story for me. Trout is battling an illness and can't get into the lineup now. Maybe he gets put down to AAA to get some at bats before making it back up to the big club. Harper is still so young that it might be good to give him some time in AAA.

Bryce Harper has been sent down and Trout will likely be sent down to begin the season as well. We will have to wait to see these guys in the Majors. These two Centerfielders are touted as the top two prospects in all of baseball.

I might still draft them in my keeper league and let them sit for a while.

[umbrellavoid]

What kind of Keeper League do you play?

[Pwillows]

I've got a league that my friends and I started about ten years ago. We play a points system as its much better than rotissere or head to head.

[Pwillows]

Montero wants to prove catching skills are no joke

http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;...s_trade_032012

There are certain truths in baseball. The ball weighs 5¼ ounces. Ninety feet separate the bases. And Jesus Montero is a dreadful, wretched, miserable excuse for a catcher. Enough scouts, executives and professional baseball men, after all, have said so that this opinion has morphed into an aphorism: Montero behind the plate is the LOLcat of baseball.

I wanted to see how reputation and truth collided Tuesday. Montero was catching a full nine innings for the Seattle Mariners, who acquired him from the New York Yankees for Michael Pineda this offseason in one of the most ballyhooed trades in years: kid for kid, upside for upside, risk for risk.

Almost all of Montero’s uncertainty centers around his acumen behind home plate. His bat is special. Montero hits with rare power to the opposite field, the sort of right-handed inside-out stroke that leads to superlatives and exclamation points on scouting reports – the same reports that spend equal time pointing out his faults.

Before Tuesday’s game, I asked a pair of veteran scouts who saw Montero at Triple-A and with the Yankees last season their thoughts on him defensively. The reports fell in line with popular thinking.

Scout 1: “[Poor] overall receiving skills. Lacks good footwork. Erratic with accuracy throwing.”

Scout 2: “I don’t like how he calls a game and how he throws. He doesn’t move well either.”

In other words: Montero is a 22-year-old designated hitter. That is the main reason the Yankees traded him: They didn’t believe he was an everyday catcher, either. The team had signed him for $1.6 million out of Venezuela as a 16-year-old and watched him grow into one of the best hitters in the minor leagues. The Yankees haven’t developed an everyday player since Brett Gardner in 2008, and the last positional star they grew was Robinson Cano, who arrived in 2005. Pineda’s top-of-the-rotation potential and Montero’s supposed clumsiness at catcher fit too well for the Yankees to say no.

Seattle, meanwhile, didn’t spend a whole lot of time thinking about Montero’s defense. That bat – the knees-bent stance, the scary-quick wrists, the all-fields juice – played anywhere, even at Safeco Field, where the Mariners have struggled to score runs for four years. They’d work out the defense as time went on.

When Montero arrived at spring training, he met with manager Eric Wedge and third-base coach Jeff Datz. Wedge caught for nine years in the major and minor leagues. Same with Datz. They would tutor Montero, give him tips, ease him into the job. The responsibility of calling games, of melding with 12-man pitching staffs, of squatting so long that knees lock up and backs tighten and bodies age faster than a president in office, these are duties that can consume anyone.

“I love it,” Montero said.

Minutes after the Mariners wrapped up an 8-1 win, Montero stripped off his shin guards, chest protector and mask. He said he has caught since he was 4 years old and can’t fathom not doing it. Catching is part of his baseball identity. He’s OK with the Mariners’ plan to catch Miguel Olivo most of the time, giving Montero about one-third of the games behind the plate and the rest at DH, as long as he can transition into full-time duty next season.

I asked him if he thought he was good enough defensively to do that.

“I don’t know,” he said. “What do you think?”

I am no professional scout, I said, but I thought he looked fine. And when I asked a pro scout sitting behind the plate, he agreed: “Better than he’s been.”

For one, Montero’s pop time – the number of seconds from when the ball hits his glove to when it reaches second base on a throw – was 1.9, a very respectable number. The stopwatch reading came when Montero threw out Brandon Phillips in the first inning.

“It’s not easy to make a good throw there every time,” Montero said. And that, of course, is part of the problem. For every 1.9 he pops, there may be a 2.0 or 2.1, and those fractions of a second make the difference between catcher and DH. Scouts believe catching skills are among the most difficult to learn, which means Montero’s growth could depend more on his conditioning – he’s always teetered on the edge of lumpy at 6-foot-3 – helping enhance what’s already there.

When the Mariners head to Tokyo this week for exhibition games that precede their season-opening series March 28-29 against the Oakland Athletics, Montero will spend most of his time at DH – a bit begrudgingly. He doesn’t want whatever progress came this spring – the scout said he noticed better footwork, though Montero’s receiving remained shaky – to atrophy as the season starts.

“He’s hungry to be back there,” Wedge said. “He’s a good worker. We’re always looking to get better. He’s done a great job this spring. And we’ve got every reason to believe he’s going to be an everyday catcher.”

If he can, the Mariners almost certainly will win the trade. A great designated hitter is a valuable commodity, sure, though one that can come from any position and thus isn’t exactly a rare find. A great-hitting catcher, on the other hand? Well, an oft-used comparable for Montero, because of his incredible bat and not-so-incredible defense, is Mike Piazza, a certain Hall of Famer.

And while this is not to enshrine Montero as a first-ballot no-doubter, the point is more that if bad defense is tolerated, then certainly Montero can get by with being mediocre, especially when beyond Mike Napoli (suspect defensively), Matt Wieters (excellent), Alex Avila (average), Miguel Montero (average), Brian McCann (slightly below average) and Carlos Santana (slightly below average), it’s tough to name a catcher with anywhere near the offensive promise of Montero.

“I just want to show the people I can catch,” Montero said. “I try to block balls. I try to make good throws. I try to do the best for the pitchers every time.”

Trying and doing are often incompatible, and as Montero’s career blossoms, the baseball world will watch with great interest to see if the two can intersect, if truth separates from reputation, if dreadful and wretched and miserable are but adjectives of the past. If Jesus Montero, it turns out, can be the last one laughing.

* Jesus Montero should be included in this category of young talents poised for stardom

[umbrellavoid]

Jesus Montero, Chris Sale, Mike Moustakas, Lorenzo Cain, Henderson Alvarez, Mike Moore, Jarrod Parker, Paul Goldschmidt, Drew Pomeranz, and Dee Gordon are also poised for stardom in my opinion.