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OOTPRealTime · 12-26-2013, 05:16 PM

I hope everybody had a good Christmas, back at it!

I had a voicemail from Coco Crisp's agent saying that he likes the offer and they are going to sit on it for a few days but that it's the front-runner at this point. It is most likely going to get it done. But, that if another team jumps in, they'll let us know. At this point, our stance is that we've offered the max we can for him and would probably go in another direction (like Cruz) if Crisp gets a better offer. Though, we'll evaluate and cross that bridge when/if we get there.

I had my first meeting with our minor league staff starting today with the Triple-A Memphis Redbirds staff. We'll meet today and tomorrow to go over the roster and organizational strategy for them this year. Manager Pop Warner has two new assistants just recently hired this off-season in hitting coach Milt Thompson and pitching coach Mark Riggins.

We met in our upstairs conference room and we decided that we'd talk mainly about the hitters in today's session. We included Double-A Springfield manager Mike Shildt to weigh in on the guys he had last year. I had an intern take notes throughout all of our discussions and send us all a recap on the meeting in general and each player...

C Audry Perez - 25 years old.
Good, not great defensively. Not much with the stick either. Played well at AA-Springfield in '13 hitting 19 homers, driving in 84 and posting a .279 BA, .802 OPS. He is on a minor-league deal but is on the 40-man roster. He still has some room to grow. Assuming Tony Cruz doesn't make the big league roster (with both Molina's ahead of him) the plan is for these two to split time. Warner agrees with that strategy.

C Cody Stanley - 25 years old
4th round pick in 2010 draft. Also, good, not great behind the dish. Even less with the bat than Perez. Struggled at HiA-Palm Beach to a .211 BA with 8 HR, 52 RBI and just a .614 OPS in 436 AB's there. Likely will be pushed down to AA-Springfield, though would be the call-up if/when injury strikes. Warner mentioned not liking his work ethic. Has more growth potential than Perez but is behind in current levels. Because he has a brighter future, we will need to get him AB's so he'll likely find them at AA-Springfield this year. At 25 years old though, we'll really need to see something quickly.

1B Xavier Scruggs - 26 years old
Schildt says that he really likes Scruggs for his leadership ability and work ethic. The skills just may not quite be there. At 26 years old, he hit just .258-11-53 with a slash line of 334/395/729 in 329 AA at-bats. With the stick, DK still really thinks there is room to grow and Shildt agrees. He will hit some gaps. Defensively, he profiles as an OK player with minus-range but decent skills at first base. Warner is looking forward to having him and we feel he should get plenty of AB's at Memphis this year. Could be a September call-up guy this year.

2B/SS Greg Garcia - 24 years old
First thing that Warner mentions about Garcia is that he is unhappy in his role and doesn't want to be stuck behind Wong/Leury Garcia and second base is his only ticket to the show. He hit .286 with 6 homes and 45 RBI in 339 AAA at-bats last year. He was a 7th round pick in the 2010 Draft out of a JUCO in Hawaii. Shildt said he should worry more about playing better than his status on the organizational depth chart. Says he hasn't shown a great work ethic. DK says that he has pretty much grown as much as he will. Decent speed, not going to steal many bases and limited power other than gaps. He is a plus second baseman defensively. He should be the starter at second base unless something changes drastically. Can play shortstop if called upon.

2B Starlin Rodriguez - 24 years old
Not much to speak of here, mainly a depth guy. Only managed 146 AB's at AA last year. Hit .240 with seven homers and 22 RBI in that span. Shildt mentioned that he just goes through the motions and is pretty uninspiring as an all-around player and person. DK thinks he can grow a bit with the bat and says the homer every 20.8 at-bats last year was a fluke - no real power to speak of. He doesn't have a great batting eye and it's not going to get any easier. Good straight line speed but not a base-stealing threat. Again, a depth guy.

2B/SS/3B Vance Albitz - 25 years old
Depth guy here also. Played last year with Shildt in Springfield. Hit .289-4-35 with a .744 OPS in 246 AB's there. Played mainly second base but can play shortstop or third base as well. That may be his biggest plus. Shildt hinted towards his baseball IQ being below average and doesn't make up for it with a great work ethic. Another "motions" guy. He can handle the bat. Doesn't have much power to speak of. Will put the ball in play. Another decent speed guy but no stolen base threat. Good defensively at second base, decent at shortstop and below average at third base. More likely will end up back a AA-Springfield to start the season.

3B/2B/LF Jermaine Curtis - 26 years old
Curtis was a mainstay in Warner's Memphis lineup last year, hitting .299 with 9 homers and 56 RBI (.775 OPS). Plays mainly third base but can play second or left field if called upon. 5th rounder in the 2008 Draft out of UCLA. Had a couple of nice moments in 2013, hitting for the cycle against the Iowa Cubs and winning the PCL Gold Glove at third base. DK doesn't have him as a plus-plus defender there still. Warner likes his work ethic but keeps to himself and doesn't rub off on anybody else. He can handle the bat but doesn't have enough power to be a corner infielder in the Bigs. No real speed to speak of either. Fringe big league player who could be called upon this year at some point to fill in when injuries strike. Warner has him penciled in as the everyday third baseman and likely to hit second.

3B Matt Cerda - 23 years old
Mainstay in Shildt’s Springfield lineup last year, hitting .264 with 14 homers and 67 RBI to go with a .779 OPS. Drew 80 walks to 77 K’s. Made the Texas League All-Star team. Shildt speaks very highly of him and his leadership and work ethic. Really likes this kid. Thinks he should get some AB’s. Can only play third base though. May spend more time at AA for that reason. Handles the bat well and manages the zone. Doesn’t produce much pop though - not good for a third baseman. Decent foot speed on the basepaths and just average defensively. At 23, we’ll need to find him AB’s either at AA or AAA this year to see if there is growth.

SS Jake Lemmerman - 24 years old
Played most of 2013 at AA - hit .271 with .811 OPS (21 homers, 22 doubles) in 462 AB’s there. Shildt thinks there is more there to come. Hit .316 in 38 AB’s at AAA. Strikes out a lot. Has nice pop for middle infielder though and could be a big leaguer. Projects as the starting shortstop at Memphis due to Ryan Jackson being traded and Kozma expected to be in St. Louis. He’ll really need to show something and we’re excited to see it. He is decent defensively and can play second base too if needed. May be a 40-man addition and invite to big league camp if things play out that way.

LF/CF Mike O’Neill - 25 years old
Posted an uninspiring .671 OPS in 496 AB’s in Springfield last year. He plays plus defense in left and has the ability to play center if needed but there is just no power to speak of. That is going to limit his ability to make the show. He does have some good speed and can swipe a bag or two (23 steals in 33 attempts last year). He handles the bat well and can put it in play. He has an average arm but nothing special. A solid player and he could lead off and play either left or center (if no other CF option) at Memphis this year. However, it is expected that Shane Robinson and Justin Christian may be making their way down and could push him back to AA-Springfield this year. Campbell also informs all that there is an offer to Juan Lagares, who, if he doesn’t make it would be in Memphis also.

LF Jake Shaffer - 26 years old
More likely a AA guy, he played most of last season at HiA Palm Beach, hitting .305 with 10 homers, 82 RBI and .835 OPS there. Only on this radar because of his advanced age (26). Decent power, but a plus defensive player in left field. Has decent pop but not the greatest of plate discipline. Plus-plus arm in left field. Again, he will more than likely be pushed to AA-Springfield after final cuts. Solid player but needs to really show something if he wants to stick around.

RF/LF Chris Swauger - 27 years old
Decent player. Hit .282-13-63 (.667 OPS) for Shildt last year in AA. At 27, there isn’t much to get excited about other than plus-plus defense at both corner outfield positions. Decent hitter all the way around but doesn’t do anything particularly well. Again, he’s probably looking like a AA player this year and at 27, if there isn’t a lot there - his days are numbered.

LF/RF Kyle Conley - 26 years old
Another older player (26) who was stuck at Hi-A ball last year. He hit .266 with 10 homers, 52 RBI and 104 K’s in 364 at-bats. That profile doesn’t project well at the higher levels. Like Swauger, he’ll more likely be at AA and only has one more year to show us that he belongs.

It was a positive meeting today. We’ll talk about the arms tomorrow and then come up with our goals for the 2014 season in Memphis.

12-26-2013, 05:16 PM	#93
OOTPRealTime Minors (Double A) Join Date: Nov 2013 Posts: 147	Coco response and meeting with Memphis (AAA) staff I hope everybody had a good Christmas, back at it! I had a voicemail from Coco Crisp's agent saying that he likes the offer and they are going to sit on it for a few days but that it's the front-runner at this point. It is most likely going to get it done. But, that if another team jumps in, they'll let us know. At this point, our stance is that we've offered the max we can for him and would probably go in another direction (like Cruz) if Crisp gets a better offer. Though, we'll evaluate and cross that bridge when/if we get there. I had my first meeting with our minor league staff starting today with the Triple-A Memphis Redbirds staff. We'll meet today and tomorrow to go over the roster and organizational strategy for them this year. Manager Pop Warner has two new assistants just recently hired this off-season in hitting coach Milt Thompson and pitching coach Mark Riggins. We met in our upstairs conference room and we decided that we'd talk mainly about the hitters in today's session. We included Double-A Springfield manager Mike Shildt to weigh in on the guys he had last year. I had an intern take notes throughout all of our discussions and send us all a recap on the meeting in general and each player... C Audry Perez - 25 years old. Good, not great defensively. Not much with the stick either. Played well at AA-Springfield in '13 hitting 19 homers, driving in 84 and posting a .279 BA, .802 OPS. He is on a minor-league deal but is on the 40-man roster. He still has some room to grow. Assuming Tony Cruz doesn't make the big league roster (with both Molina's ahead of him) the plan is for these two to split time. Warner agrees with that strategy. C Cody Stanley - 25 years old 4th round pick in 2010 draft. Also, good, not great behind the dish. Even less with the bat than Perez. Struggled at HiA-Palm Beach to a .211 BA with 8 HR, 52 RBI and just a .614 OPS in 436 AB's there. Likely will be pushed down to AA-Springfield, though would be the call-up if/when injury strikes. Warner mentioned not liking his work ethic. Has more growth potential than Perez but is behind in current levels. Because he has a brighter future, we will need to get him AB's so he'll likely find them at AA-Springfield this year. At 25 years old though, we'll really need to see something quickly. 1B Xavier Scruggs - 26 years old Schildt says that he really likes Scruggs for his leadership ability and work ethic. The skills just may not quite be there. At 26 years old, he hit just .258-11-53 with a slash line of 334/395/729 in 329 AA at-bats. With the stick, DK still really thinks there is room to grow and Shildt agrees. He will hit some gaps. Defensively, he profiles as an OK player with minus-range but decent skills at first base. Warner is looking forward to having him and we feel he should get plenty of AB's at Memphis this year. Could be a September call-up guy this year. 2B/SS Greg Garcia - 24 years old First thing that Warner mentions about Garcia is that he is unhappy in his role and doesn't want to be stuck behind Wong/Leury Garcia and second base is his only ticket to the show. He hit .286 with 6 homes and 45 RBI in 339 AAA at-bats last year. He was a 7th round pick in the 2010 Draft out of a JUCO in Hawaii. Shildt said he should worry more about playing better than his status on the organizational depth chart. Says he hasn't shown a great work ethic. DK says that he has pretty much grown as much as he will. Decent speed, not going to steal many bases and limited power other than gaps. He is a plus second baseman defensively. He should be the starter at second base unless something changes drastically. Can play shortstop if called upon. 2B Starlin Rodriguez - 24 years old Not much to speak of here, mainly a depth guy. Only managed 146 AB's at AA last year. Hit .240 with seven homers and 22 RBI in that span. Shildt mentioned that he just goes through the motions and is pretty uninspiring as an all-around player and person. DK thinks he can grow a bit with the bat and says the homer every 20.8 at-bats last year was a fluke - no real power to speak of. He doesn't have a great batting eye and it's not going to get any easier. Good straight line speed but not a base-stealing threat. Again, a depth guy. 2B/SS/3B Vance Albitz - 25 years old Depth guy here also. Played last year with Shildt in Springfield. Hit .289-4-35 with a .744 OPS in 246 AB's there. Played mainly second base but can play shortstop or third base as well. That may be his biggest plus. Shildt hinted towards his baseball IQ being below average and doesn't make up for it with a great work ethic. Another "motions" guy. He can handle the bat. Doesn't have much power to speak of. Will put the ball in play. Another decent speed guy but no stolen base threat. Good defensively at second base, decent at shortstop and below average at third base. More likely will end up back a AA-Springfield to start the season. 3B/2B/LF Jermaine Curtis - 26 years old Curtis was a mainstay in Warner's Memphis lineup last year, hitting .299 with 9 homers and 56 RBI (.775 OPS). Plays mainly third base but can play second or left field if called upon. 5th rounder in the 2008 Draft out of UCLA. Had a couple of nice moments in 2013, hitting for the cycle against the Iowa Cubs and winning the PCL Gold Glove at third base. DK doesn't have him as a plus-plus defender there still. Warner likes his work ethic but keeps to himself and doesn't rub off on anybody else. He can handle the bat but doesn't have enough power to be a corner infielder in the Bigs. No real speed to speak of either. Fringe big league player who could be called upon this year at some point to fill in when injuries strike. Warner has him penciled in as the everyday third baseman and likely to hit second. 3B Matt Cerda - 23 years old Mainstay in Shildt’s Springfield lineup last year, hitting .264 with 14 homers and 67 RBI to go with a .779 OPS. Drew 80 walks to 77 K’s. Made the Texas League All-Star team. Shildt speaks very highly of him and his leadership and work ethic. Really likes this kid. Thinks he should get some AB’s. Can only play third base though. May spend more time at AA for that reason. Handles the bat well and manages the zone. Doesn’t produce much pop though - not good for a third baseman. Decent foot speed on the basepaths and just average defensively. At 23, we’ll need to find him AB’s either at AA or AAA this year to see if there is growth. SS Jake Lemmerman - 24 years old Played most of 2013 at AA - hit .271 with .811 OPS (21 homers, 22 doubles) in 462 AB’s there. Shildt thinks there is more there to come. Hit .316 in 38 AB’s at AAA. Strikes out a lot. Has nice pop for middle infielder though and could be a big leaguer. Projects as the starting shortstop at Memphis due to Ryan Jackson being traded and Kozma expected to be in St. Louis. He’ll really need to show something and we’re excited to see it. He is decent defensively and can play second base too if needed. May be a 40-man addition and invite to big league camp if things play out that way. LF/CF Mike O’Neill - 25 years old Posted an uninspiring .671 OPS in 496 AB’s in Springfield last year. He plays plus defense in left and has the ability to play center if needed but there is just no power to speak of. That is going to limit his ability to make the show. He does have some good speed and can swipe a bag or two (23 steals in 33 attempts last year). He handles the bat well and can put it in play. He has an average arm but nothing special. A solid player and he could lead off and play either left or center (if no other CF option) at Memphis this year. However, it is expected that Shane Robinson and Justin Christian may be making their way down and could push him back to AA-Springfield this year. Campbell also informs all that there is an offer to Juan Lagares, who, if he doesn’t make it would be in Memphis also. LF Jake Shaffer - 26 years old More likely a AA guy, he played most of last season at HiA Palm Beach, hitting .305 with 10 homers, 82 RBI and .835 OPS there. Only on this radar because of his advanced age (26). Decent power, but a plus defensive player in left field. Has decent pop but not the greatest of plate discipline. Plus-plus arm in left field. Again, he will more than likely be pushed to AA-Springfield after final cuts. Solid player but needs to really show something if he wants to stick around. RF/LF Chris Swauger - 27 years old Decent player. Hit .282-13-63 (.667 OPS) for Shildt last year in AA. At 27, there isn’t much to get excited about other than plus-plus defense at both corner outfield positions. Decent hitter all the way around but doesn’t do anything particularly well. Again, he’s probably looking like a AA player this year and at 27, if there isn’t a lot there - his days are numbered. LF/RF Kyle Conley - 26 years old Another older player (26) who was stuck at Hi-A ball last year. He hit .266 with 10 homers, 52 RBI and 104 K’s in 364 at-bats. That profile doesn’t project well at the higher levels. Like Swauger, he’ll more likely be at AA and only has one more year to show us that he belongs. It was a positive meeting today. We’ll talk about the arms tomorrow and then come up with our goals for the 2014 season in Memphis.