Mrh182
Jai Guru Deva OM
msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/5201924
Even if the Arizona Diamondbacks had done absolutely nothing this winter, an exceptionally bright future was already in the offing.
However, in recent days, rookie GM Josh Byrnes has improved an already astounding lot of young talent; and as a result, the D-backs are uniquely coiled (snake metaphor!) for a run of dominance in the otherwise lackluster NL West.
But when will that run begin?
Arizona already has in the fold talents, such as Carlos Quentin, Conor Jackson, Stephen Drew, Dustin Nippert, Carlos Gonzalez, Garret Mock and — provided he signs — Justin Upton. That's arguably the best collection of prospects in the game (and don't forget they'll enjoy the 11th overall pick of the 2006 amateur draft).
Now, thanks to the recent trades Byrnes and company have made with the White Sox and Blue Jays, the Snakes have gotten even stronger in terms of young (or semi-young) performers.
Starting pitcher Javier Vazquez had a contractual right to demand a trade, and that's just what he did. Considering how little leverage Byrnes had — and considering that teams around the league were aware of his straits, he netted a tremendous return package. Chris Young, the centerpiece of the deal from Arizona's standpoint, is quite simply the most underrated prospect in all of baseball.
While Young has two failings that cause him to be overlooked in many quarters — relatively low batting averages and lofty strikeout totals, what he does well — draw walks, hit for power, play excellent defense in center, run the bases well — far outweighs those over-emphasized negatives.
Last season, Young, at age 21, hit .277 AVG/.377 OBP/.545 SLG in the pitcher-friendly Southern League — despite skipping over the High-A level altogether, and buried in that batting line are 26 homers, 41 doubles and 32 stolen bases against only six caught. In 2004, Young put up similar numbers in the Sally League; so his performance this past season is no fluke.
Since the D-backs have failed in their bid to sign a veteran center fielder this winter, there's a strong chance that Young will break camp as the regular in Arizona. Considering he has no experience in Triple-A, it's possible Young will endure some fits and starts at the highest level.
Long-term, however, he's one of the 10 best prospects in the game. If Young lives up to his astounding potential, we could find out what kind of career Eric Davis might have had if he'd been able to stay healthy. Young's that good.
Also, by shipping off Troy Glaus and his onerous contract to Toronto, Byrnes and the Snakes were able to add Orlando Hudson, the best defensive second baseman in the game. The 28-year-old Hudson has probably already experienced his ceiling, but he still figures to be a useful contributor for at least another handful of seasons.
Hudson isn't a particularly valuable hitter (but he's not exactly awful by second-base standards); however, it's his defense that will be most critical to his new team's future hopes. That's because Hudson's prowess with the glove dovetails nicely with the tendencies Arizona's pitching staff.
In 2005, the D-backs' pitching staff ranked fourth in all of baseball in groundball-fly ball ratio, and now that Vazquez is out of the rotation and Miguel Batista is in (Arizona intends to deploy Batista as a starter), they'll show even stronger groundball tendencies.
That means having a skilled glove man like Hudson patrolling the middle infield will be a boon to the team in terms of keeping runs off the board. In particular, Brandon Webb, who had far and away the highest groundball-fly ball rate in the league, will benefit greatly from having Hudson behind him.
Now, with that pair of trades accomplished, fathom the lineup the Diamondbacks could trot out circa 2007 or so:
Possible D-Backs lineup:
C-Miguel Montero
1B-Conor Jackson
2B-Orlando Hudson
3B-Justin Upton
SS-Stephen Drew
LF-Carlos Gonzalez
CF-Chris Young
RF-Charles Quentin
That lineup represents a tremendous amount of offensive upside and also makes for a highly capable defensive unit. If the front office can cobble together a rotation behind Webb and perhaps Nippert, the Snakes could sway in the senior circuit for quite a while.
Of course, this is the laughably down-cycled NL West we're talking about, and Arizona, even in the throes of rebuilding, has a shot at the flag. If, however, they do fade from contention next season, Byrnes can flip guys like Batista, Orlando Hernandez, Russ Ortiz (Heaven willing), Shawn Green and others at the deadline for even more young talent — ideally pitching prospects.
Overall, the Snakes have a stable of young talent that's the envy of almost every other organization in baseball, and they have a GM who, despite his youth, seems to know how to play his hand. What was true about the Snakes a couple of weeks ago — that they were poised to rule over the division for years to come — is even more true now that Byrnes has made these two heady deals.
Even if the Arizona Diamondbacks had done absolutely nothing this winter, an exceptionally bright future was already in the offing.
However, in recent days, rookie GM Josh Byrnes has improved an already astounding lot of young talent; and as a result, the D-backs are uniquely coiled (snake metaphor!) for a run of dominance in the otherwise lackluster NL West.
But when will that run begin?
Arizona already has in the fold talents, such as Carlos Quentin, Conor Jackson, Stephen Drew, Dustin Nippert, Carlos Gonzalez, Garret Mock and — provided he signs — Justin Upton. That's arguably the best collection of prospects in the game (and don't forget they'll enjoy the 11th overall pick of the 2006 amateur draft).
Now, thanks to the recent trades Byrnes and company have made with the White Sox and Blue Jays, the Snakes have gotten even stronger in terms of young (or semi-young) performers.
Starting pitcher Javier Vazquez had a contractual right to demand a trade, and that's just what he did. Considering how little leverage Byrnes had — and considering that teams around the league were aware of his straits, he netted a tremendous return package. Chris Young, the centerpiece of the deal from Arizona's standpoint, is quite simply the most underrated prospect in all of baseball.
While Young has two failings that cause him to be overlooked in many quarters — relatively low batting averages and lofty strikeout totals, what he does well — draw walks, hit for power, play excellent defense in center, run the bases well — far outweighs those over-emphasized negatives.
Last season, Young, at age 21, hit .277 AVG/.377 OBP/.545 SLG in the pitcher-friendly Southern League — despite skipping over the High-A level altogether, and buried in that batting line are 26 homers, 41 doubles and 32 stolen bases against only six caught. In 2004, Young put up similar numbers in the Sally League; so his performance this past season is no fluke.
Since the D-backs have failed in their bid to sign a veteran center fielder this winter, there's a strong chance that Young will break camp as the regular in Arizona. Considering he has no experience in Triple-A, it's possible Young will endure some fits and starts at the highest level.
Long-term, however, he's one of the 10 best prospects in the game. If Young lives up to his astounding potential, we could find out what kind of career Eric Davis might have had if he'd been able to stay healthy. Young's that good.
Also, by shipping off Troy Glaus and his onerous contract to Toronto, Byrnes and the Snakes were able to add Orlando Hudson, the best defensive second baseman in the game. The 28-year-old Hudson has probably already experienced his ceiling, but he still figures to be a useful contributor for at least another handful of seasons.
Hudson isn't a particularly valuable hitter (but he's not exactly awful by second-base standards); however, it's his defense that will be most critical to his new team's future hopes. That's because Hudson's prowess with the glove dovetails nicely with the tendencies Arizona's pitching staff.
In 2005, the D-backs' pitching staff ranked fourth in all of baseball in groundball-fly ball ratio, and now that Vazquez is out of the rotation and Miguel Batista is in (Arizona intends to deploy Batista as a starter), they'll show even stronger groundball tendencies.
That means having a skilled glove man like Hudson patrolling the middle infield will be a boon to the team in terms of keeping runs off the board. In particular, Brandon Webb, who had far and away the highest groundball-fly ball rate in the league, will benefit greatly from having Hudson behind him.
Now, with that pair of trades accomplished, fathom the lineup the Diamondbacks could trot out circa 2007 or so:
Possible D-Backs lineup:
C-Miguel Montero
1B-Conor Jackson
2B-Orlando Hudson
3B-Justin Upton
SS-Stephen Drew
LF-Carlos Gonzalez
CF-Chris Young
RF-Charles Quentin
That lineup represents a tremendous amount of offensive upside and also makes for a highly capable defensive unit. If the front office can cobble together a rotation behind Webb and perhaps Nippert, the Snakes could sway in the senior circuit for quite a while.
Of course, this is the laughably down-cycled NL West we're talking about, and Arizona, even in the throes of rebuilding, has a shot at the flag. If, however, they do fade from contention next season, Byrnes can flip guys like Batista, Orlando Hernandez, Russ Ortiz (Heaven willing), Shawn Green and others at the deadline for even more young talent — ideally pitching prospects.
Overall, the Snakes have a stable of young talent that's the envy of almost every other organization in baseball, and they have a GM who, despite his youth, seems to know how to play his hand. What was true about the Snakes a couple of weeks ago — that they were poised to rule over the division for years to come — is even more true now that Byrnes has made these two heady deals.
