Hagerstown Blog
Corey Luebke, 26, P B-
Mike Olt, 22, 3B B-
Drew Cumberland, 22, SS B-
Mauricio Robles, 22, P B-
Jedd Gyorko, 22, 3B B-
Salvador Perez, 21 C B-
Slade Heathcott, 20, CF B-
James Jones, 22, OF C+
Starling Marte, 22, CF C+
Sebastian Valle, 20, C C+
Tony Watson, 26, P C+
Tyson Gillies, 22, CF C
Welington Castillo, 24 C C
Adam Carr, 27, RP C
Josh Rodriguez, 25, IF C
Eric Hurley, 25, P
Stephen Marek, 27, RP
Junichi Tazawa, 24, P
Jeremy McBryde, 23, P
03/13/2011 The 2011 Hobgoblin Draft
2. Kenly Jansen, RP
3. Corey Luebke, SP
4. Sammy Solis, SP
4. Mike Olt, 3B
6. Starling Marte, OF
7. Salvador Perez, C
8. Jedd Gyorko, 3B
06/07/2010 - Minor League Update. With the midpoint of the minor league season fast approaching, Hobgoblin management is quite happy with the progress of our prospects, especially our infielders.
B+
Desmond Jennings, 23, CF. Jennings injured his wrist during spring training and missed all of April. The injury still may be a problem as he is hitting a paltry .236/.328/.300. He is still drawing walks and stealing bases, but the power is gone. We hope he will rebound in the second half.
Nick Franklin, 19, SS. One of the few 19-year-olds playing full season ball, the switch-hitting Franklin has been incredible, posting a .953 OPS in the Midwest league thus far, with 12 homers and 9 SBs. Hopefully he can stick at SS.
Drew Cumberland, 21, SS. It's always hard to judge any performance in the Cal league, but Cumberland's .380/.421/.598 with 16 steals impresses even there. Like Franklin, he could stand to draw more walks, but the main question is will he be moved to 2nd or CF?
B
Jose Iglesias, 20, SS. Although he has shown little or no power, Iglesias has held his own in AA, posting a .306/.340/.408 slash line. Five walks in 40 games makes one wince, but his defense is such that he, at least, should stick a short.
Mauricio Robles, 21, P. At 4-2, 3.31, Robles has handled the jump to AA well thus far. 60 Ks in 52 innings indicates good stuff, but he needs to improve his control.
Zach Heathcott, 19, OF. Another 19-year-old in full season ball. Missed April and May but is hitting well thus far in June. Will he stick in centerfield?
B-
Oscar Tejeda, 20, 2B. Oscar has cooled off after a torrid April, but his .823 OPS is fine, especially given the fact he walks even less than Iglesias. I recently saw him play against Frederick - went 3-5 with a triple but made two errors and often seems to lose his focus defensively.
Mat Gamel, 24, 3B. Has only recently returned from a shoulder injury, but has hit well in limited ABs. Made 3 errors in one game, and may not stick at 3rd, though.
Dillon Gee, 24, P. Has pitched fairly well at AAA after missing 2009 with an injury. Although his K rate is surprisingly high he has surrendered a whopping 10 HRs in 65 innings.
Lars Anderson, 22, 1B. After crushing the ball in AA in April, the Sox rushed Anderson to AAA where he has struggled, especially against lefties. Still, he has 9 homers and 21 walks between the two levels. He is still young, but some consistency would be nice.
C+
Mike McKenry, 25, C. Slow but steady progress up to AAA. Hitting with less power than usual this year but a .374 OB%.
Welington Castillo, 23, C. Although he will never hit for average, good power and a strong arm could make him the Cub's catcher of the future. Is sporting a .905 OPS in AAA thus far.
Matt Dominguez, 20, 3B. Has come around recently after a slow start and is still young for AA. 17 doubles, 6 homers and a fair number of walks still gives reason to hope.
Jared Goedert, 25, 3B. Although old for the league, something has finally clicked for Goedert. Posted a .922 OPS at AA and has just been promoted.
Oswaldo Navarro, 25, IF. Another older prospect posting a nice .887 OPS at AAA.
David Newman, 24, P. Extreme groundball pitcher. Gives up hits but limits the damage. 3.17 ERA and just 1 homer allowed in 54 AA innings.
Mitch Atkins, 24, P. 4-2, 2.63 ERA in AAA. Nice BA against, but susceptible to longball.
Tyson Gillies, 21, OF. Terrible start in first go at AA. Was just beginning to hit in May when injured. Still out.
Brock Huntzinger, 21, P. 5-3, 2.83 ERA at high A. Disturbingly low K rate could spell trouble at higher levels, but only 1 HR allowed in 57 innings.
Junichi Tazawa, 23, P. Pitched well at AA last year but will miss the season with TJ surgery.
C
Mitch Moreland, 24, OF. Posted a much better May after a disappointing April. Needs to convert doubles into homers to make the majors. Posting an abysmal .580 OPS against lefties.
James Jones, 21, OF. We knew the toolsy ex-pitcher would be a project and he is - .217/.330/.397 thus far. The problem is batting average and Ks. He has flashed some power and speed, draws lots of waks and has a great arm, so we will give him time to progress.
Jordan Parraz, 25, OF. Tale of two months - posted a .475 OPS in April and then a 1.005 in May. Gets on base but lacks power.
Sebastian Valle, 19, C. Has struggled thus far in full season ball. Saw him play Friday at Hagerstown - smacked his 4th HR. Needs time, which we may not be in a position to give him prior to next year's draft.
Incomplete
Madison Younginer, 19, P. Starting in short season ball.
04/04/2010 - Hobgoblin preview. Hagerstown enters the 2010 season trying to reload on the fly. We doubt we have the pitching to contend, unless some of our younger, back-of-the-rotation starters really step up.
The Goblins rate a little below average behind the plate, where Nick Hundley and Ronnie Paulino will split time. Mike McKenry and Mark Wagner lurk in AAA. The infield looks to be both productive and deep, with Mark Teixeira, Brandon Phillips, Eric Aybar and Panda Sandoval manning the bases, backed up by Russ Branyan, Luis Valbuena, Everth Cabrera and Kevin Kouzmanoff. The real wildcard may be Sean Rodriguez, who had a heck of a spring, but it remains to be seen where and how much he will play for the Rays. The outfield lacks pop, and that's being kind, but Johnny Damon and Conor Jackson should get on base. CF Julio Borbon is a bit of a mystery, but he also has the potential to get on base and swipe a fair number of bags. John Bowker has forced his way onto the Giants roster and we feel he will hit if given a chance. Elijah Dukes' sudden disappearance form organized ball really hurts our depth here. On the farm, only our #1 prospect Desmond Jennings is close to helping this year.
On the pitching side, staff ace Cliff Lee will not be ready for the start of the season, but his injury is not arm-related and we expect him back by mid-April. Lee will be followed by youngsters Yovanni Gallardo and John Lannan, but after that the quality falls off sharply. Last year's 5th round pick Clayton Richard had the good luck to land in Petco and has won the fourth spot, while Jason Vargas has nipped Jon Niese and Jeremy Guthrie for the last spot in the rotation. Dana Eveland and Scott Olsen also may give us some depth. In the pen, we are crossing our fingers that Billy Wagner can dominate again as the closer. With JP Howell out for at least April, the cromulent Darren Oliver and Brad Zeigler are the setup men, while Claudio Vargas, Brandon Medders, Jose Veras, Jesus Colome and Brandon Boyer, any of whom could completely implode, round out the pen.
The Hobgoblins have gone 82-80 in each of the two years since we last reached the finals, and this year we seem fated for about the same outcome. But the team is very young, and with some cap room opening up next year, we hope to be able to contend again shortly.
04/03/2010 - Goblin draft class, 2010. Hagerstown management approached the 2010 draft with a decidedly different philosophy from that of our recent drafts, looking for upside even if it means taking extremely young players with little or no minor league experience. It's fun to draft these high-risk, high reward kind of players - until, of course, they prove that, despite their tools, they cannot post a .700 OPS in high A!
Round 2 - SS Jose Iglesias, 20, Red Sox. Defensive wiz, with good reviews from Red Sox camp this spring. Will open the season in AA.
Round 3 - SS Nick Franklin, 19, Mariners. Switch-hitting middle infielder gets good reviews for offense and defense.
Round 3 - CF Zach Heathcott, 19, Yanks. Intriguing combo of speed and power. Led off for the Yankees future team in recent exhibition game.
Round 5 - OF/1B Mich Moreland, 24, Rangers. Stats indicate he is an excellent hitter with developing power, but defensively challenged.
Round 5 - CF Tyson Gillies, 21, Phillies. Speedy centerfielder hit .341 and led the Cal league in SBs while garnering 60 walks. AA bound.
Round 5 - C Sebastian Valle, 19. Phillies. Slugged .531 in the NYP league, but will he stick at catcher?
Round 6 - P Madison Younginer, 19, Red Sox. "wicked stuff" say the scouts, but it's all projection at this point.
Round 6 - P Junichi Tazawa, 23, Red Sox. We were excited to get him this late, until the TJ surgery.
Round 6 - P David Newman, 24, Rays. Has missed lots of time due to injury. Lefty should begin the season in AA.
Round 7 - P Mauricio Robles, 21, Mariners. Love the name and the Ks - 145Ks, 102 hits in 123 innings. CAL league ERA of 2.78 in 7 starts.
12/20/2009 Offseason notes. With limited roster and cap space, the Goblins don't plan on being very active in the impending free agent draft. We like the team's depth but doubt we can compete for a playoff spot without some good luck and a few breakout seasons from some of our younger players. We will be shedding over 30 million in salary at the end of the year and hope to be in a position to add some veterans in 2011 that, combined with our emerging youngsters, will put us back in a position to compete.
Fun Hobgoblin Facts: Should Tony Abreu win the starting job both in Arizona and in Hagerstown, the Hobgoblins could have an all switch-hitting infield, with Teixiera, Abreu, Aybar and Pablo Sandoval. Backup IF Everth Cabrera also hits from both sides.
Matt Dominguez, 21, 3B B
03/12/2018 - 2018 Hobgoblin Draft
2. Luis Ortiz, P 22
3. Matt Whatley, C 22
3. Cristian Santana, 3B 21
4. Tristen Lutz, OF 19
4. Jake Burger, 3B 21
5. Nick Goody, RP 26
6. Daniel Johnson, OF 22
7. Aaron Civale, P 22
8. Jose Lopez, P 24
9. Phil Bickford, P 22
10. Wander Suero, RP 26
10. Romer Cuadrado, OF 20
11. D.J. Snelton, RP 25
12. Sherten Apostel, 3B 19
01/23/2018 BA Top 100 - For a third year in a row, 6 Goblins on the list, but out first ever #1!
OF Ron Acuna #1
OF Victor Robles #5
SP Triston McKenzie # 33
SP Justus Sheffield #41
OF Brett Phillips #80
3B Mike Chavis #85
A 2nd, 5th, 7th, and 8th rounder and two waiver claims!
10/21/2017 Goblins in the AFL
Hagerstown has 8 players in the Arizona Fall League -
Victor Robles
Ron Acuna
Michael Chavis
Alex Jackson
Max Pentecost
Anthony Santander
Justus Sheffield
Elniery Garcia
10/21/2017 - Season Review
For the fourth year in a row Hagerstown made the playoffs, winning 92 games and leading the league in ERA. But yet again we failed to make the finals, much less win the Shoe, blowing a 3 games to 2 lead to lose to the rival Thanes in the first round. While we didn't have a lot of injuries, we did lose some impact players. Adam Eaton was gone for the year in mid-April, Starling Marte missed 80 games due to suspension, Drew Smyly never pitched, eventually succumbing to TJ, and vets Ryan Braun and King Felix were injured for much of the season as well.
On the positive side, Jose Berrios established himself as a better-than-average major league pitcher and Mike Foltynewicz had a great first half before fading in the second. CC Sabathia and Jhoulys Chacin surprised, giving solid performances. The bullpen was great once again, with Kenly Jansen leading the league in saves. Justin Smoak was plucked from the waiverwire and had a career year, while Mitch Haniger, Travis Shaw and Orlando Arcia established themselves as regulars. Yasiel Puig had a bounce back year, and Andrew Heaney returned from TJ, albeit with poor numbers.
In the minors, young Ron Acuna had an amazing year, making it to AAA at age 19, and Victor Robles made it to the majors for a brief cup of coffee. Both should be top 10 prospects this winter. Brett Phillips held his own in his major league debut. 3B Mike Chavis hit 31 dingers in a breakout season and P Triston McKenzie put up excellent numbers and made it to AA. P Ryan Borucki also impressed, and Alex Jackson broke out somewhat while making the difficult transition to catcher. CF Anthony Alford put up a .406 OBP with 18 steals in AA.
2/11/2017 BA top 100 6 Goblins on the list this year -
OF Victor Robles #13
OF Clint Frazier #39
OF Anthony Alford # 59
OF Ron Acuna #67
P Triston McKenzie #68
P Justus Sheffield # 91
2/5/2017 Sickles Grades thus far - last year was a disaster for many of our highly rated prospects, leaving us with too many C+ this year. Orlando Arcia and Jose Berrios graduated.
OF Victor Robles B+/A-
OF Clint Frazier B+
P Justus Sheffield B+
P Triston McKenzie B+
3B Hunter Dozier B/B+
OF Anthony Alford B
OF Ron Acuna B
IF Marco Hernandez B-
OF Mitch Haniger B-
P Chase DeJong B-/C+
OF Brett Phillip B-/C+
3B Drew Ward C+
C Max Pentecost C+
SS Chad Pinder C+
2B Jesmuel Valentin C+
P Walker Lockett C+
P Ryan Borucki C+
4/02/2016 - 2016 Outlook
The Hobgoblins hope to put our injury-ravaged 2015 behind us. At this time last year we had 7 pitchers either out for the year or on the DL, and Jake Lamb was about to join them. This year, after dodging a bullet with Andrew Miller, only SS Jhonny Peralta is currently out, albeit for a good while.
Hagerstown management has decided to move Joey Bats to first on a permanent basis, allowing us to mix and match in the outfield with Braun, Eaton, Puig and Starling Marte. Jake Lamb, coming off a superb spring, starts at third, with Iglesias and Gyorko joining Bautista in the infield. Welington Castillo and Salvador Perez share the catching duties. Backups include Lind, Moss, ARod, Gregorius, Souza, and 6th round pick Adonis Garcia.
On the pitching side, the newly acquired King Felix leads the staff, followed by Smyly, Heaney, and Odorizzi. The fifth starter could be any one of Niese, Dickey, Shane Greene or Colin Rea, with Jhoulys Chacin and Rich Hill adding depth. Kenley Jansen anchors a strong pen that includes Andrew Miller, Kelvin Herrera, Brandon Maurer and the little known but extremely useful waiver claim Will Harris.
Down of the farm, the Goblins have eight of BA's top 100 prospects, with Orlando Arcia, Jose Berrios and Brett Phillips possibly getting called up this season.
Last year we out-performed our pythag by a good margin and were lucky to win 89 games and make the playoffs. On the whole, we hope the addition of Felix and Braun, and the subtraction of the accursed Matt Cain, along with general improvement on the injury front, will add a good 10 wins - for a low-to-mid 90's win total. Key questions are: can Smyly, who only pitched 66 innings last year, remain healthy? Can Puig remain healthy and become the impact player of a few seasons ago? Can Lamb become an average or better thirdbaseman? Much will depend on these young players.
3/15/2016 Sickels grades - 22 graded prospects this year
SP Jose Berrios A-
SS Orlando Arcia A-
OF Brett Phillips B+
OF Clint Frazier B+
SP Justus Sheffield B+
OF Anthony Alford B
OF Victor Robles B
SS Javier Guerra B
SS Chad Pinder B
OF Alex Jackson B-
SS Drew Jackson B-
SP Triston McKenzie B
SP Duane Underwood B-
SP Colin Rea B-
SS Yairo Munoz B-
OF Ronald Acuna B-/C+
SP Chase DeJong B-/C+
C Max Pentecost B-/C+
SP Justin Steele C+
SS Marco Hernandez C+
C Mike Ohlman C+
SP Tyler Anderson C+
03/15/2016 2015 Hobgoblin Draft
We are pleased to have added our first ever Adonis, Triston and Justus.
1. Jose Berrios, P, 22
2. Justus Sheffield, P, 20
3. Alex Jackson, OF, 20
4. Drew Jackson, SS, 22
4. Chad Pinder, SS, 24
4. Duane Underwood, P, 21
5. Colin Rea, P, 25
5. Triston McKenzie, P, 19
5. Justin Steele, P, 20
6. Adonis Garcia, 3b, 30
02/15/2016 Hobgoblin prospects in the BA top 100
SS Orlando Arcia #8
CF Anthony Alford #25
CF Victor Robles #33
CF Clint Frazier #44
SS Javier Guerra #52
CF Brett Phillips #57
Interesting note: This list comprises 1 first rounder, a fourth rounder, a seventh rounder, an eighth rounder and two snagged off the waiverwire.
10/02/2015 2015 BA prospect rankings by league
CF Victor Robles #2 NY-Penn league, #2 Gulf Coast League
SS Javier Guerra #4 SAL League
OF Jairo Beras #12 SAL League
CF Anthony Alford #2 Midwest League, #8 Florida State League
SS Yairo Munoz #19 Midwest League, #10 California League
CF Brett Phillips #8 California League, #8 Texas League
CF Clint Frazier #5 Carolina League
SS Orlando Arcia #3 Southern League
P Andrew Heaney #6 Pacific Coast League
04/04/2015 2015 Hobgoblin Outlook
Injury news - Hagerstown begins the new season with our best starter from last year, Drew Smyly, slated to miss at least April with shoulder tendonitis. Closer Kenly Jansen will also miss April and possibly May after having a bone tumor removed from his foot. Luke Hochevar, Tsuyoshi Wada and Casey Janssen open the season on the DL, as does 2b Nick Franklin, but all should be back in May. P Gavin Floyd re-injured his elbow and is out for the season and his contract has been voided, as has P Scott Baker's.
Spring training news - P Andrew Heaney failed to win a spot out of spring training, ditto Mike Foltynewicz, but Jake Lamb won the 3B job in the desert with a great spring performance, and Rafael Montero made the Met's bullpen. Odrasimer Despaigne failed to win the Padres 5th starter job and landed instead in the pen, but he will be next in line should any of the Padres starters falter. P Zach McAllister has apparently added 4 MPH to his fastball and had a great spring. Brandon Moss also recovered from off-season hip surgery to have a strong spring. Welington Castillo is now the 3rd catcher on the Cubs, a situation that doesn't figure to last. A trade to the DBacks would seem to make sense. Matt Cain is pitching better after elbow surgery. Only time will tell if he can re-establish himself as an ace. late news - RP Brandon Maurer has been demoted to AAA after the Kimbrel pickup by the Padres, and Lamb may not have won the 3B job after all.
2015 opening day lineup looks like:
CF Adam Eaton
RF Yasiel Puig
LF Jose Bautista
1B Brandon Moss
SS Jhonny Peralta
C Salvador Perez
3B Jake Lamb
2B Jedd Gyorko
with Starling Marte, Adam Lind and Mike Olt also starting/platooning.
Kendrys Morales, Cody Asche, Steven Souza, Didi Gregorius and Welington Castillo round out the bench.
The rotation isn't completely set and will depend on weekly matchups.
Jon Niese
Jason Hammel
Zach McAllister
Jake Odorizzi
R.A. Dickey
Matt Cain
Shane Greene
Jason Vargas
Drew Smyly
The pen contains Kelvin Herrera, Andrew Miller, Brandon Maurer, Junichi Tazawa, Rafael Betancourt and Will Harris, at least until Kenly Jansen, Luke Hochevar and Casey Janssen return.
Hobgoblin management has assembled an interesting blend of youngsters and vets in our attempt to defended the Northern Division title. We have a lot of depth, but do we have enough talent to win the division and take the Shoe? Question marks surround the health of Smyly, Jansen, Hochevar and Niese, and the performance of youngsters like Lamb, Gyorko, Eaton, Gregorius, Franklin, as well as Smyly, Heaney and Odorizzi on the mound. A return to form for Matt Cain, a bounceback year from Gyorko, and a solid year from Lamb and Brandon Moss would seem to be necessary for the Goblins to impact the post season, as well as big numbers from Puig and Bautista.
4/01/2015 2015 Hagerstown off-season moves
Hagerstown signed RP Andrew Miller for 5 years, RP Casey Janssen for 1 year, RP Brad Ziegler for 1 year and 1B Adam Lind for 2 years.
We also claimed 1B Kendrys Morales from the waiverwire.
Hagerstown released RP Ian Krol, RP Chris Perez and P Chris Narveson and P Clayton Richard and RP Andy Oliver.
Hagerstown traded OF Rymer Liriano and 4 late draft picks to Mudville for a 2nd rd pick 2016
Hagerstown traded Stolmy Pimentel & 7th rd pick to Aldwych for $4.
Hagerstown released Joe Savery, Kris Negron, Rossmel Perez, Sammy Solis, Enrique Burgos.
Hagerstown signed P Scott Baker, P Glavine Floyd and RP Rafael Betancourt.
3/20/2015 2015 Hagerstown Draft
2. Max Pentecost, 22, C
3. Brian Anderson, 21, 3B
3. Shane Greene, 26, P
4. Odrasimer Despaigne, 27, P
4. Javier Guerra, 19, SS
5. Ryan Borucki, 21, P
5. Sean Reid-Foley, 19, P
7. Jose Briceno, 22, C
8. Victor Robles, 17, OF
2/20/2015 Hagerstown prospects in BA's top 100
Hagerstown placed four prospects in BA's top 100:
Steven Souza #37
Andrew Heaney #42
Jake Lamb #78
Orlando Arcia #94
But we also had three more in the 15 who just missed:
Clint Frazier
Brett Phillips
Mike Foltynewicz
And two more who received consideration:
Rafael Montero
Kyle Crick
10/11/2014 2014 Prospect rankings by league
SS Yairo Munoz #6 NY-Penn league
OF Brett Phillips #8 Midwest League
OF Clint Frazier #9 Midwest League
SS Orlando Arcia #9 Florida State League
OF Rymer Liriano #8 Texas League
3B Jake Lamb #9 Southern League
P Andrew Heaney #13 Southern League, #6 Pacific Coast League
P Chris Reed #14 Southern League
OF Steven Souza #5 International League
1B Jon Singleton #7 Pacific Coast League
P Mike Foltynewicz #12 Pacific Coast League
P Rafael Montero #14 Pacific Coast League
Also toolsy OF Anthony Alford left the Mississippi football program to commit to baseball full time.
03/13/2014 The Hobgoblin 2014 Draft
1. Clint Frazier, 19, OF
1. Andrew Heaney, 22, P
4. Jake Lamb, 22, 3B
5. Stephen Souza, 24, OF
5. Gavin Floyd, 31, P
7. Gabriel Quintana, 21, 3B
10. Ian Krol, RP 24
03/13/2014 Hobgoblin prospects in the BA top 100
Andrew Heaney #30
Kyle Crick #33
Clint Frazier #48
Mike Foltyniewicz #59
Jake Odorizzi #67
Rafael Montero #68
John Singleton #82
06/02/2013 Memorial Day Prospect review
The bad and the ugly: March and April was a bit of a disaster for the Goblin's youngsters. First the news that Rymer Liriano would miss the season with TJ, then, just as the season began, Adam Eaton went down, and is still not rehabbing. Junior Lake cracked a rib and has yet to play. Mike Olt's April was a disaster, and May was spent attempting to correct his vision problems. Trevor Story has been terrible and looks like a colossal waste of a second round pick. 1st round pick Kyle Crick has missed all of May and is still not back. Onelki Garcia also went down after just a few starts. Gregorius hurt his elbow in March and missed much of April. Heathcott, Arcia and Villanueva also started slowly. Drew Smyly lost the 5th starters job in Detroit, and last year's wunderkind Kelvin Herrera was demoted after struggling badly in May. C Sebastian Valle has been dreadful and was cut from the team.
The Good: Jedd Gyorko won the Padres second base job and has done well. Ditto Starling Marte in the Pittsburgh OF and Justin Grimm in Texas. Didi Gregorius has kicked butt after his promotion, and recently Jose Iglesias and Nick Franklin have been called to the show. At 23, Salvador Perez has become the Royals starting catcher, and 25- year-old Zach McAllister has become a consistent starter for the Indians. Brad Peacock, Mike Kickham and Hiram Burgos also won promotion but have not fared well in the majors. Waiver pickup Anthony Gose, 22, has also been called up. Drew Smyly, 22, has pitched very well in relief.
On the farm 4th rounder Rafael Montero has pitched very well and Yasiel Puig, after an incredible spring, has shown that AA pitching is no problem and is pushing the Dodgers to give him the call.Young SS Orlando Arcia, just 18, struggled through a cold Wisconsin April but has had a great May. Foltynewicz and Kickham have both shown flashes but need to cut down on the walks. Waiver pickup Matt Lipka is showing potential as well.
Sammy Solis has finally returned from TJ surgery, still waiting on Juan Oramas. With Olt and Garcia returning just this week, things seem to be trending in the right direction.
03/18/2013 The Hobgoblin 2013 Draft
1. Yasiel Puig, OF 22
1. Kyle Crick, SP 20
2. Trevor Story, SS 20
2. Mike Foltynewicz, P 21
3. Cody Asche, 3B 22
3. Onelki Garcia, SP 23
4. Rafael Montero, SP 22
5. Mike Kickham, SP 24
6. Hiram Burgos, SP 22
7. Orlando Arcia, SS 18
01/26/2013 Hobgoblin minor league ratings from Sickels
Nick Franklin, SS B+
Rymer Liriano, OF B+
Jedd Gyorko, 3B B+
Mike Olt, 3B B+
Justin Grimm, SP B
Adam Eaton, OF B
Slade Heathcott, OF B
Didi Gregorius, SS B-
Chris Villanueva, 3b B-
Sammy Solis, SP B-
Brad Peacock, SP B-
Junior Lake, ? C+/B-
Jose Igelsias, SS C+
Marco Hernandez, ss C+
Leon Landry, OF C+
Robinson Yambati, P C+
Neil Ramirez, SP C+
Sebastian Valle, C C+
Carlos Triunfel, SS C
T J House, SP C
James Jones, OF C
10/18/2012 BA League ranking & callups
A ridiculously weak crop in the International League allowed us some higher rankings than we deserved, but all told not bad.
SS Marco Hernandez #6 prospect Short Season A Northwest League
3B Chris Villaneuva #9 prospect High A Carolina League
OF Slade Heathcott #17 prospect High A Florida State League
OF Rymer Liriano #6 prospect High A California League / #10 prospect AA Texas League
OF Leon Landry #15 prospect High A California League
SS Didi Gregorius #15 prospect AA Southern League / #7 prospect AAA International League
3B Mike Olt #4 prospect AA Texas League
3B Jedd Gyorko #11 prospect AA Texas League / #10 prospect AAA PCL
2B Nick Franklin #7 prospect AA Southern League / #16 prospect AAA PCL
SS Jose Iglesias #11 prospect AAA International League
P Zach McAllister #16 prospect AAA International League
CF Adam Eaton #12 prospect AAA PCL
OF Starling Marte #2 prospect AAA International League
Callups 2012:
Drew Smyly SP
Kelvin Herrera RP
Junichi Tazawa RP
Starling Marte OF
Zach McAllister SP
Welington Castillo C
Mike Olt 3B
Adam Eaton CF
Didi Gregorius SS
Jose Iglesias SS
Jeff Bianchi SS
Carlos Triunfel SS
Justin Grimm SP
03/12/12 The 2012 Hobgoblin draft
2. Brad Peacock, SP
2. Rymer Liriano, OF
4. Drew Smyly, SP
4. Chris Villanueva, 3B
4. Didi Gregorius, SS
5. Marco Hernandez, SS
5. Aaron Shipman, OF
5. Juan Oramas, SP
6. Kelvin Herrera, RP
6. Junior Lake, SS
7. Justin Grimm, SP
7. Tyler Gibson, OF
8. Dismasther Delgado, P
01/08/2012 Hobgoblin minor league grades from Sickels
Jedd Gyorko, 23 3B B+
Neil Ramirez, 22 P B
Starling Marte, 23 CF B
Mike Olt, 23 3B B
Nick Franklin, 21 SS B
Sammy Solis, 23 P B-
Sebastian Valle, 21 C B-
Jose Iglesias, 22 SS B-
Ehire Adrianza, 22 SS C+
Slade Heathcott, 21 OF C+
Wellington Castillo, 25 C C+
Junichi Tazawa, 26 P C+
Andrew Carignan, 25 RP
Tyson Gillies, 23 CF C
Zach McAllister, 24 P C
Graduated:
Desmond Jennings, 25 CF
Salvador Perez, 22 C
Corey Luebke, 27 P
Tony Watson, 26 RP
Kenly Jansen, 24 RP
06/21/2011 Minor League Update
Half way through the minor league season there has, as always, been some good and some bad in Goblin prospect performance. Lots of B- grades.
Jedd Gyorko - B+. .381/444/650 15 hrs. CAL league. Excellent numbers in the Cal league. Hopefully he will get a taste of AA soon. Sounds like he can stick at third.
Desmond Jennings - B. .282/376/469 10 hrs, IL. Power has returned - looking like a right-handed Granderson, .260 BA with some pop and speed?
Zach McAllister - B-. 7-2 2.96 IL. Solid numbers, eating innings at AAA.
Mat Gamel - B-. .313/376/545 14 hrs, PCL. Has added some power. Could take over for Fielder next year?
Mike Olt - B- . .286/395/508 10 hrs, Carolina League. Broken collar bone interrupted a decent rookie campaign.
Starling Marte - B-. .336/369/475 4hrs, Eastern League. Good numbers for a CF in AA.
Sebastian Valle - B- .354/.356/497 - FSL. Stopped trying to hit homers - seems to be working. But only 2 walks thus far?
Wellington Castillo - B-. 305/366/565 10 hrs, PCL. Brief call up when Soto was injured. Flashing some good power in the PCL.
Sammy Solis - B-. 1-0 3.62 in 5 starts, South Atlantic league. Missed 7 weeks with an injury, but .210 BA against, 9+ K rating since.
Tony Watson - B-. Excellent numbers out of the pen in AAA. Solid since making the show.
Cory Luebke - B-. Decent in pen for Padres. just now getting a chance to start.
Kenly Jansen- C+. Very inconsistant. Great K rate. Still young.
Matt Dominguez - C+. .270/339/441 at AAA. Missed time with a fractured elbow. Still just 21.
Rey Navarro - C+. .283/333/484 29 XB hits. Decent power for 2nd base. Interesting.
Nick Franklin - C+. .275/356/411 in High Desert? Where did all that power go? Still just 20.
Jefry Marte - C+. .284/.356/404 FSL. Just turned 20 and holding his own in a pitcher's league. Can he stick at third?
Salvador Perez - C+ .265/313/373. Texas league. Just turned 21 in AA. Very good defensive rep. We will give him time to develop.
Matt Antonelli - C+. .316/380/462. IL. Old. Missed all of last year and beginning of this. Solid thus far.
Jose Iglesias - C. .223/263/234 - Don't care how good a defensive player he is or how young he is, only 2 XB hits in 184 ABs, only 8 walks. Should be in high A, Theo.
Slade Heathcott, - C. .271/342/419. Had a great April, then fell off the map. Hopefully due to injury? K rate too high, Started a brawl. Need to see something in the second half.
Ehire Adrianza - C. .238/329/392. His numbers only look good next to Iglesias'. Missed the first 6 weeks, has picked it up recently. Good defensive rep as well.
Drew Cumberland - INCOMPLETE. Still not back from Vertigo?
Mauricio Robles - INCOMPLETE. Finally made first start (disasterous too) after shoulder woes. Crossing our fingers.
Junichi Tazawa - INCOMPLETE. Slow return from TJ. Last 12 innings, 7 hits, 1 walk, 10ks.
03/13/2011 - Post Draft Prospect Rankings - Sickel's grades
Desmond Jennings, 24, CF B+
Nick Franklin, 20, SS B
Jose Iglesias, 21, SS B
Kenley Jansen, 23, RP B
Sammy Solis, 22, P B