Wednesday, June 25, 2003
I went to two Vermont Expos/Lowell Spinners games this past weekend basically to watch David Murphy, the Red Sox 2003 first round draft choice but the two most impressive Spinners were Arthur Santos and Claudio Arias. I'll discuss those players and a couple others below.
Claudio Arias (Nova) - 3B - R-R - 6-2 - 200 – 5/9/82 from the Dominican Republic
Arias hit every ball hard. Arias had a home run, two solid singles, flied deep to right and center and struck out twice. He missed a double on a liner just foul down the third base line too. Arias worked the count during the seven at-bats as well. He did not appear to be the stereotypical free-swinging Dominican.
The most impressive thing is Arias’ attitude. The Spinners were trying a double steal with runners on first and third. Arias was on third. The Expos catcher threw down to second, then Arias came home and the middle infielder threw back to the Expos catcher. He tried to knock over the catcher, but was called out; the catcher hung onto the ball. Arias did not hang his head or show any kind of negative body language. Just the opposite, he stared down the catcher as if to say next time the outcome is going to be different. Arias showed confidence and determination traits that are necessary in order to make it to the show. I am probably reading way too much into this one event but it was something.
David Murphy - CF - L-L – 6-4 - 195 – 10/18/81 2003 - first round pick out of Baylor
Murphy looked as good as advertised. He works pitchers getting into hitter's counts. Unfortunately, he only got one hit, a double, which Paul DePodesta (A’s Assistant GM and co-star of MoneyBall) would probably state that the hit was 70% of a double. It was line drive to right that the RF should have gotten to quicker and held Murphy to a single. The play did demonstrate that Murphy has above average speed which should aid in his transition to centerfield.
Murphy's batting stance is somewhat of a concern from this very amateur evaluator. He starts with his back or left elbow down by his chest out of the normal hitting position. Then as the pitcher goes into his delivery, Murphy shifts his weight to his back or left-side while moving his elbow up into the usual position prior to the swing. My concern is that the elbow movement could throw off Murphy’s timing when he faces tougher competition in the near future. Theo stated on WEEI:
I'd say the expected progression is that he'll move sometime during this season up to A-ball. He should finish next year in AA. So you're looking at 2005 when he goes to AAA and can make majors at the end of the season...The jump to AA is a huge jump and that takes certain guys two years in itself. I'd say anywhere from a year and a half to three and a half years for Murphy (sonsofsamhorn.com).
If Theo is not worried, then I am not either.
Arthur Santos – P – R-R – 6-0 – 175 – 2/20/82 – 34th round from Florida International
Santos threw about 52 pitches over four innings while allowing two hits, no walks and two strikeouts. Santos got ahead of nearly every hitter. By my count he threw 42 strikes and 10 balls. Santos had control of both his fastball and breaking pitches. He could be worth watching this season even though Santos was chosen in the 34th round.
Justin Sturge – P – R-L – 6-4 – 190 – 5/4/81 - 12th round pick out of Coastal Carolina
Sturge came in as a reliever. He allowed a double and a bunt single while walking none and striking out three over three innings. Sturge seemed to have good stuff as he got many swing-and-misses but did not get ahead of the hitter as well as Santos.
Jeremy West – 1B – R-R – 6-0 – 200 – 11/8/81 7th round selection from Arizona State
I was unimpressed by West. I saw seven at-bats. In that very small sample, he went two for seven with three strikeouts. The two hits were weak – an infield single and a well placed grounder up the middle. He did not appear to work pitchers either. I probably saw him on a couple of bad days. Currently, he is hitting 406 and in the PAC-10 his line was 381/513/693 this past season.
Claudio Arias (Nova) - 3B - R-R - 6-2 - 200 – 5/9/82 from the Dominican Republic
Arias hit every ball hard. Arias had a home run, two solid singles, flied deep to right and center and struck out twice. He missed a double on a liner just foul down the third base line too. Arias worked the count during the seven at-bats as well. He did not appear to be the stereotypical free-swinging Dominican.
The most impressive thing is Arias’ attitude. The Spinners were trying a double steal with runners on first and third. Arias was on third. The Expos catcher threw down to second, then Arias came home and the middle infielder threw back to the Expos catcher. He tried to knock over the catcher, but was called out; the catcher hung onto the ball. Arias did not hang his head or show any kind of negative body language. Just the opposite, he stared down the catcher as if to say next time the outcome is going to be different. Arias showed confidence and determination traits that are necessary in order to make it to the show. I am probably reading way too much into this one event but it was something.
David Murphy - CF - L-L – 6-4 - 195 – 10/18/81 2003 - first round pick out of Baylor
Murphy looked as good as advertised. He works pitchers getting into hitter's counts. Unfortunately, he only got one hit, a double, which Paul DePodesta (A’s Assistant GM and co-star of MoneyBall) would probably state that the hit was 70% of a double. It was line drive to right that the RF should have gotten to quicker and held Murphy to a single. The play did demonstrate that Murphy has above average speed which should aid in his transition to centerfield.
Murphy's batting stance is somewhat of a concern from this very amateur evaluator. He starts with his back or left elbow down by his chest out of the normal hitting position. Then as the pitcher goes into his delivery, Murphy shifts his weight to his back or left-side while moving his elbow up into the usual position prior to the swing. My concern is that the elbow movement could throw off Murphy’s timing when he faces tougher competition in the near future. Theo stated on WEEI:
I'd say the expected progression is that he'll move sometime during this season up to A-ball. He should finish next year in AA. So you're looking at 2005 when he goes to AAA and can make majors at the end of the season...The jump to AA is a huge jump and that takes certain guys two years in itself. I'd say anywhere from a year and a half to three and a half years for Murphy (sonsofsamhorn.com).
If Theo is not worried, then I am not either.
Arthur Santos – P – R-R – 6-0 – 175 – 2/20/82 – 34th round from Florida International
Santos threw about 52 pitches over four innings while allowing two hits, no walks and two strikeouts. Santos got ahead of nearly every hitter. By my count he threw 42 strikes and 10 balls. Santos had control of both his fastball and breaking pitches. He could be worth watching this season even though Santos was chosen in the 34th round.
Justin Sturge – P – R-L – 6-4 – 190 – 5/4/81 - 12th round pick out of Coastal Carolina
Sturge came in as a reliever. He allowed a double and a bunt single while walking none and striking out three over three innings. Sturge seemed to have good stuff as he got many swing-and-misses but did not get ahead of the hitter as well as Santos.
Jeremy West – 1B – R-R – 6-0 – 200 – 11/8/81 7th round selection from Arizona State
I was unimpressed by West. I saw seven at-bats. In that very small sample, he went two for seven with three strikeouts. The two hits were weak – an infield single and a well placed grounder up the middle. He did not appear to work pitchers either. I probably saw him on a couple of bad days. Currently, he is hitting 406 and in the PAC-10 his line was 381/513/693 this past season.
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