A's One Year Wonder Watch
Posted: Mon May 05, 2008 6:32 pm
Every team with playoff aspirations winds up with several non-descript guys who sim well (like Hiram Bocachica). Well the A's are no exception, and I thought it would be fun to check out what these guys are doing in real life.
First of all, newest to the group is lefty Charlie Manning, who projects a 4.24 ERA but more importantly can pitch to lefties and righties and doesn't walk a ton. He sims pretty well in Oakland, but in real life with the Columbus Clippers he 0-0 with a 1.93 ERA and 2 saves in 18 2/3, with a 24/9 K/BB and and opponents are hitting only .197 off of him. He's in the Washington system so who knows, he could find his way to the majors at some point this year.
Jon Van Every, a platoon type playing for the Pawtucket Red Sox, is starting for the A's in CF against righties. He projects to an OPS slightly over .800 against them with VG power, and also plays VG defense in center. In real life Van Every is playing every day for the Red Sox and putting up a .289/.373/.505 line with 5 homers and 16 RBI. The big concern for him is clearly strikeouts, as he has 36 in 97 ABs. Hopefully he does better than that ratio for the IBC A's.
Robby Hammock, the catcher against lefties and defensive replacement, has struggled with the Diamondbacks, but remains on the roster despite the activation of Miguel Montero. He's struggled in limited action this year, but he's in the show.
Finally, we have the eventual 2008 IBC Cy Young Mark DiFelice. You look at the guy's numbers over the years and wonder how it is that he never got a shot. Over 10 years he's gone 77-57 with a 3.57 ERA 1.16 WHIP and a K/BB of almost 4.5 to 1. Last year in 124 innings between AA and AAA (with some starting and relieving in both) he was 10-3 with a 2.31 ERA, 123 Ks and 15 walks. That's 8.2/1 folks, that's ludicrous. He also had a .210 BAA, leading to a WHIP of 0.88. This year has been even more ridiculous, as through 3 starts he is 3-0 with a 2.65 ERA, and 25/0 K/BB, having allowed 13 hits in 17 innings. Small sample size? Sure. 31 year old career minor leaguer? Sure, but with his track record and the piles of steaming crap that a number of teams are running out on the mound this guy has to be worth a shot somewhere. If not he can keep destroying AAA and I'll have another nice SIM from a no one next year.
First of all, newest to the group is lefty Charlie Manning, who projects a 4.24 ERA but more importantly can pitch to lefties and righties and doesn't walk a ton. He sims pretty well in Oakland, but in real life with the Columbus Clippers he 0-0 with a 1.93 ERA and 2 saves in 18 2/3, with a 24/9 K/BB and and opponents are hitting only .197 off of him. He's in the Washington system so who knows, he could find his way to the majors at some point this year.
Jon Van Every, a platoon type playing for the Pawtucket Red Sox, is starting for the A's in CF against righties. He projects to an OPS slightly over .800 against them with VG power, and also plays VG defense in center. In real life Van Every is playing every day for the Red Sox and putting up a .289/.373/.505 line with 5 homers and 16 RBI. The big concern for him is clearly strikeouts, as he has 36 in 97 ABs. Hopefully he does better than that ratio for the IBC A's.
Robby Hammock, the catcher against lefties and defensive replacement, has struggled with the Diamondbacks, but remains on the roster despite the activation of Miguel Montero. He's struggled in limited action this year, but he's in the show.
Finally, we have the eventual 2008 IBC Cy Young Mark DiFelice. You look at the guy's numbers over the years and wonder how it is that he never got a shot. Over 10 years he's gone 77-57 with a 3.57 ERA 1.16 WHIP and a K/BB of almost 4.5 to 1. Last year in 124 innings between AA and AAA (with some starting and relieving in both) he was 10-3 with a 2.31 ERA, 123 Ks and 15 walks. That's 8.2/1 folks, that's ludicrous. He also had a .210 BAA, leading to a WHIP of 0.88. This year has been even more ridiculous, as through 3 starts he is 3-0 with a 2.65 ERA, and 25/0 K/BB, having allowed 13 hits in 17 innings. Small sample size? Sure. 31 year old career minor leaguer? Sure, but with his track record and the piles of steaming crap that a number of teams are running out on the mound this guy has to be worth a shot somewhere. If not he can keep destroying AAA and I'll have another nice SIM from a no one next year.