tepid participation

Well, here we are. It’s the end of another minor league baseball season. Do you know how many young men have been through a season like this? Lots. That’s not an exact number. I’ll leave the exact number up to someone with a subscription to the Internet or Wikipeeedia, or a VCR, or an encyclopedia. Anyway, every season begins with heralded kids from all over the western hemisphere (and some from the far-east) being written about by blibber-blabberers like me and zillions more kids who aren’t mentioned in preseason rankings or blogs or Baseball Ameri-spectus. I kinda like these kids, the unmentioned, the unranked. I think you do to. I love Jurickson Profar. But he’s part of the chosen. The kid made an entire nation dance when he was 11 years old for pete’s sake. Jurickson’s been ranked since he was born. So Ima gonna shine a flashlight’s worth of wattage on the unranked. Unfortunately the fleeting nature of being unranked is that it’s only a coat you can wear for one winter. Next spring, the unranked will be written about, but this past spring they weren’t, they worked hard and now they’re here. So here:

Jared Hoying “Rabbit” Hoying is a left-handed hitter. So that’s cool. He can play all 3 outfield positions, which is also cool. I’ve seen him take solid routes on balls while playing left, center, and right. He makes a ton of contact and he handled the formidable jump to AA ball with aplomb. He’s damn near hit .300 since being called up and despite being extricated from the hitters doom that is the Carolina League, this is no small feat. He’d been in that league’s dense air for more than a season. Jared hit like it was easy in short-season Spokane after being drafted in the 10^th round of 2010 from baseball megalith, University of Toledo. Then in 2011, he met the Myrtle Beach pitcher’s parks, sea breeze, 140 game schedule, and interminable bus rides.  He picked himself off the floor, came into 2012 with a publicly stated goal to be promoted to AA, and I’ll be damned if he hasn’t done just that. He’s an aggressive hitter who could probably stand to work the count a little more. He enjoyed the first pitch of many at-bats I’ve seen. But that’s cool, because he often puts the good part of the bat on it. His above-average speed translates more into extra-base hits than it does stolen bases, but he’s got 9 of the latter. According to his bio, i.e. his Twitter feed, he really likes to hunt and fish and as a Midwest boy, he could probably use some help from a couple of you folks on good spots down here to do both. He signs a crapton of autographs after games, something I’ve noticed time and time again. He’s often the last player signing even when the cheap bastards that own the Riders have turned off many of the lights. That’s a true story. I’ve seen him keep signing in a partially dark stadium on a number of occasions. I know what you’re thinking, so I’ll go ahead and get the comparison out of the way. He’s an affable, left-handed hitting, outfielder that can play all three outfield positions and likes to hunt and fish- so go ahead with you’re David Murphy comps. They’re inevitable.  I like the kid. Welcome to the prospectdome, Rabbit Hoying.

Phil Klein Phil is First-Team All Bus. This is the dude you want to amble off the transport right after rolling into a village you aim to conquer. You tell the swerving opponent, “That’s our relief pitcher.”  Phil is not sleight. He’s not fat, not even chubby, but he’s listed at 6’7” and 245lbs. That’s a big baseball player, and not a very heralded one. Coming into this season, the 30^th rounder from 2011, was more of a project than anything else. Another Ohio native, Klein finished a rather unspectacular four year baseball career at Youngstown State (well, there was that Second-Team All-Horizon League honor following his senior year), and began the 2012 campaign as a 23 year-old at low-A Hickory. Texas felt like there was more velocity in his robust frame and they’ve been right. While not a traditional power pitcher, Klein regularly works in the low-90s and could feature even more velo with continued refinement. He also throws a slider that seems to confound most radio folks into thinking it’s a cutter. I have yet to see the pitch in person or ask the kid what the hell it is, but Jason Cole says it’s a slider, and that is certainly good enough for me. He’s got good command for a big fella and has a long stride that must be quite a physical presence for hitters. He’s never started a minor league game and probably won’t. He’s succeeding following a late-season promotion to Myrtle Beach, but the big jump awaits. He’s going to have to work hard on his secondaries in the off-season if he wants to succeed at the higher levels and possibly one day the fancy-pants world of major league baseball bullpens. But I think the kid can do it. He’s a smart kid, right? I mean, he did spend four years in college.

Drew Robinson DROB! Apparently in 2010, amidst stumbling home values and the dust like disintegration of the financial wherewithal for new high rises, Las Vegas was pumping out ball players. Texas’ 4^th round pick, a University of Nebraska commit, Drew Robinson was one of those. (side note: Gobbles Gallo sprang from the similar LV fountains two years later). Ranked by Baseball America as having the second best, well everything, Robinson was perpetually behind preternatural Vegas wunderkind, Bryce Harper. No worries for DROB though, he was snatched up by TEX, and now figures to be the top 3^rd base prospect in the system. I mean, Olt is a big leaguer, Villanueva was traded and Gobbles may not stick at the position. Drew plays a crisp third. Good actions and an arm strong enough to make all the throws. His footwork is a strength as was to be somewhat expected from the HS shortstop. But he’s made his biggest impression on me at the plate. He has shown a little pop in the form of 11 homers, something that should increase as he physically matures, and strikes out too much. But he has a trait not often seen amongst 20 year olds. He leads all Texas teams, including the dudes at the top, in walks. 81 free passes he’s taken this year. Second is Joey Butler’s 75 in Round Rock, Mike Napoli leads the MLBers with 50. That’s the sign of a good approach and above-average pitch recognition and it’s generally, a skill that translates well as you move through the levels. If he keeps walking and hitting and walking and hitting and playing a good third base and walking and hitting, he’ll get somewhere. That’s what we all want anytime we walk, to get somewhere.

So there you have it, three dudes who began the year as underdogs and who won’t wear that cape ever again. Now we know who they are and with that knowledge comes an entirely new set of expectations. Frankly, none of these guys project as big league stars and even more frankly, it’s very likely they may not even be big leaguers at all. But they’ve busted their tails, had a good 2012, and deserve to be recognized in the most public of all forums, the Internet.

As always, thanks for reading and, please, enjoy baseball. Love Ya!

Your Friend,

Tepid

Writing about scouting a pitcher is tough. It’s tough because of the natural tendency to get swept up in the numbers and results. This is an important distinction because, for the most part, the numerical metrics you’ve become accustomed to using while measuring the effectiveness of a big league pitcher are far less important at the prospect level. The assumption is that if the “stuff” is good enough, the results you desire will follow at the big league level. In the minor leagues, you want to see “stuff”. This is why writing about Frisco pitcher Barret Loux is a challenge.

Most of you reading this are familiar with Barret’s story. Drafted 6th overall by Arizona in the 2010 draft, he was unable to pass the Diamondbacks’ physical and did not reach an agreement with them. All of this was due to reported fraying in parts of his labrum(shoulder) and bone chips in his elbow. It’s even more dramatic than you think. Loux and his family flew to Arizona for what appeared to be a formality. Take the physical, sign the previously agreed to $2 million deal, pose for pictures, start your career. None of that obviously happened. Arizona chose not to sign him and per a Bud Selig-ordered edict, Barret became an unrestricted free agent in September of 2010. He’s a Houston dude, Stratford High, and a proud Texas A&M former student, so he signed, in November of 2010, with the Rangers organization for $312,000.

Barret is a big guy, 6’5″ 225lbs with shoulders that can obviously bear more than just their own weight. Given his age and advanced experience (Big 12 baseball- and lots of it), Texas somewhat aggressively sent him to High-A, Myrtle Beach for his first assignment in 2011. He started 21 games and was basically a beast in the pitcher-friendly Carolina League. 127 strikeouts in 109 innings against only 34 walks and 6 home runs. Reports of his velocity sitting in the low-90s, touching the mid 90’s in many of his starts, had the Rangers looking especially sagacious, all while the concerns of his long-term durability remained.

So jump to 2012. Barret is assigned a position in the Frisco starting rotation. The roads are littered with pitchers who excelled in High-A environments and essentially had their asses handed to them upon making the jump to Double-A, widely considered among the most difficult in a player’s development. Here’s where things get tricky. After tonight, Barret’s season numbers are as follows:

22 Games Started: 14W – 1L, 3.38 ERA, 117.1ip, 110h, 44er, 35bb, 91k, 9hr

Pretty salty stuff. Until you see it in person. The fastball that once touched the mid-90s, now sits in the high 80’s. In 5 innings of charting every pitch tonight, I counted 8 pitches that reached 90 mph. This is especially important because the FB has always been considered Loux’s best pitch. His command is impressive, as you can see by the low number of free passes he’s issued, but 88 mph FBs aren’t very impressive. He also features a curveball that has good spin and relatively late break. He’s able to throw it for strikes and he used it a lot tonight. As a matter of fact, by my chart, he used the CB as his strike out pitch, inducing swings and misses, on 5 of his 7Ks tonight. He mixed in a pinch of CH and SL as well, but was groovin’ with the FB and CB. A scout I spoke with remarked that “it’s really ordinary stuff, but kinda awesome results”.  That’s the mystery of Barret Loux.

I often look at a pitcher and simply think, “could he get batters out at the next level with his pitches.” For most hurlers it’s a pretty obvious answer. With Barret, I don’t really know. I, obviously, have my doubts, as most probably do, but the Texas League is no slouch. He’s faced great, young hitters this year. His stuff isn’t unique, but his command is good, and his pitchability is fantastic. One can’t help but wonder what happens to the velocity as his shoulder and arm continue to tire, or structurally worsen?

If it seems like I’m rambling, it’s because I don’t know what to say about this kid. His stuff is average, but his results aren’t (and this is no longer a small sample size). The strikeouts are down, but the pitching is up. I’m rooting for the kid, ’cause he’s had some weird, crappy situations happen to him that he had no control over and he just perseveres. Is he a good enough pitcher to go to the next level and more importantly, the one after that? In short, I don’t know. But, I know he’s one of the guys I enjoy watching and one of the few for which I take off my prospect-writer hat and simply root for.

(Non-existent editors note: I didn’t attend Texas A&M and I’m basically weirded out by anyone who’s really, really into the college they attended, and kind of, by college sports in general. Or, worded another way, that ain’t my bias. I love ’em all. HA!)

As always, enjoy baseball. Love Ya!

Your Friend,

Tepid

Her name is Gladys.  She lives in Midlothian. Ever met her? Sure you have. She’s a huge baseball fan and the last few years have reignited her love of the game. Gladys still has over 50 Porter Wagoner albums in their original sleeves. She most certainly has already celebrated birthday number 65, but is not too old to drop your ass if you say one bad thing about Josh Hamilton or Michael Young. Gladys is, however, entirely suspect of Ian Kinsler. He pouts too much for her taste. She thinks he argues with the umps too much and gets himself kicked out of games when he really shouldn’t. Loves Nelson Cruz, has no idea what a boomstick is. Next month she’s going to Canton with one of her daughters and two of her granddaughters. They’re looking for a couple of nice, antique nightstands, but Gladys is hoping to score the 1980’s Rangers felt pennant she regrets not having bought when they were out there last fall. Given the chance, the first question she asks Ron Washington is “why doesn’t David Murphy play more?” Gladys loves baseball and she loves the Rangers and she LOVED the game tonight.

You friends with Nick?  He lives in Addison. I bet you are. Nick’s a huge baseball fan and the last few years have reignited his love of the game. He finished high school in the oughts. He’s a pretty big fan of Fleet Foxes, but, you know, “mostly their early stuff”. Beard? Sure, but only sometimes. He has an ironic relationship with Rougned Odor and loves the potential his bat brings to the middle infield. bWAR, BABIP, fWAR, rWAR? Yep, yep, yep, yep. He will absolutely drop your ass (in a non-physically confrontational way. Probably through Twitter, actually) if you say one bad thing about Ian Kinsler. Nick instantly writes you off as a baseball bubba if you utter even so much as a slight compliment towards David Murphy. He’s really excited about Jurickson Profar, but worries about moving Kinsler to left field and what that does to his “value”. The hat the Rangers wore tonight? The ’76 throwback lid, that’s his everyday hat. He wears a red shirsey with Beltre on the back, but he also has one in blue emblazoned with Elvis’ name and number. Hopefully you listen to The Ticket, ’cause if you don’t you’re not going to understand half of his tweets. Next month, he’s going with friends to College Town X for a weekend. They’re looking forward to tailgating, he’s hoping to score the vintage Japanese NPB jersey he saw last year, or the holy grail, the original Larry Parrish pullover he’s certain is long gone from that store. Given the chance, the first question he asks Ron Washington is “why does Michael Young play at all?” Nick loves baseball, and he loves the Rangers, and he LOVED the game tonight.

No matter how you see the game, no matter what it means to you, tonight moved you.

As always, enjoy baseball. Love Ya!

Your Friend,

Tepid

I have a new piece on Texas Farm Review. I summarize the season, thus far, for Kellin Deglan, Hanser Alberto, and Leury Garcia. Each profile is followed up by insight from Jason.  Hope you like it.

Love Ya!

-Tepid

www.texasfarmreview.com

I’m a fan of Wayne White and his work. I’m usually a fan of all weird people making a living doing weird, artistic things. If you have any interest in this, I hope you learn more about Wayne and I hope you see this film. (on Twitter @seewaynewhite) Love Ya!

It took some stones. They keep showin’ em, and for some reason, I keep being surprised. I’ve written in this space before about the calculated risks the Texas front office takes. One of the things I haven’t yet addressed is the stones they show sometimes, too. The Darvish signing? Stones. Promoting a 20 year old shortstop and moving the face of the franchise regardless of his wishes? Stones. Swooping in, literally in the last minutes of the trade deadline to snap up the last remaining, viable, starting pitcher? Stones. Aggressively promoting your 19 year old Curacao Kid with preternatural ability? Stones. And the latest, may be the greatest. Bringing up a slugging prospect whose rather clear MO will be to play first base and provide relief at third while lumbering some righthanded wood in the lineup. It may be the greatest because, too often front offices in sports, while armed with exponentially more information than any of us, lack the chutzpah to make the difficult moves. We see it all the time. We see it directly across the parking lot from RBiA.  We’ve all seen the regression from the 35 year old, super utility/DH. Some have near violent reactions to his continued inclusion in the lineup. But I don’t think many of us thought they’d actually do something about it this quickly. Well, they did. I’m not necessarily one who is either prone to, nor loathe, to heap praise on the actions of a front office. I admit, most fans vastly underestimate a front office’s collective intelligence and ability, however most fans properly size most FO’s desire to rock the boat, or to do what is necessary. People are involved, and allegiances, and families, and loyalties. But in the current professional sports universe, the successful organizations seem to be the ones unafraid of having difficult conversations and even less afraid of making difficult moves. [he types as Bill Belichick goes stomping across his television screen] I’m not sure why the Rangers’ front office’s moves to do what they feel puts the team in the best position to win, continues to surprise me. But it won’t anymore. Michael Young is struggling mightily, there is a better alternative. Period. Call him up. Put him in the lineup. It’ll be fine. It’ll be better.

This won’t last forever. Nothing does. But it’s pretty cool right now. Stones. Big ones, as a matter of fact. Purrettty big stones.

As Always, Enjoy Baseball.

Love Ya!

Your Friend,

Tepid

I wanted to share this footage of former Giants farmhand Tommy Joseph shot just after the trade deadline expired. Joseph was the catcher for the Giants’ AA Richmond Flying Squirrels, until he was traded to the Phillies as part of the Hunter Pence deal. It just so happened Richmond was hosting the Phillies AA affiliate, Reading. So Tommy simply loaded his gear, said his goodbyes, and began a strange walk, along with a team employee, to the other side of the stadium to meet his new teammates. This is a unique look at a unique part of the baseball business. Enjoy.

First- Trade stuff. I don’t know. Neither do you. Obviously, I’m going to be a little bummed to lose a player I’ve been tracking, but as I’ve said on Twitter, you have to give up stuff to get stuff. Actually, I said a top of the rotation pitcher is like a panda bear- a zoo doesn’t just trade a panda for 2 chimps and a llama. Even an oldish panda’s gonna cost you a kimodo dragon, an albino alligator, and an baby hippo.  Anyways, I’m kinda just ready for the deadline to pass. You know who the Rangers hold in highest esteem and they are a sharp front office. If they make a change and move some key prospects, I feel confident they’ll be getting a piece(s) they feel can help them fly a flag this year.

Second- Speaking of flying flags. If the Angels don’t fly a flag in the next 1-5 years, this could mark the beginning of a long period of futility for that club. They are incredibly stacked right now. Adding Greinke solidified a rotation already anchored by an ace. Pujols is Pujols, Trumbo is way better than I thought he’d be and Trout could simply be “generational”.  If you don’t think the Angels are a legitimate championship contender you’re both delusional and kidding yourself, not to mention wrong. They’re good. Except when it comes to their farm system. I can’t recall a team going for it in the current sphere while sacrificing the long term future, more than this team is. Their system was not strong before the Greinke trade, it is baby-pool shallow now. I saw Segura, Hellweg, and Pena play on several occasions, and they are all quite good. I was behind homeplate when Hellweg hit Mike Olt on the hand a few weeks ago with a 95 mph heater that cost Olt a week on the shelf. (he hits a lot of batters)  The system is now led by 20 year old Kaleb Cowart and 22 year old CJ Cron, both currently in High-A. Cowart is a stud and could be a first division star, Cron is a 6’4″ 235lb 1B/DH. Cron has huge power, but a quick roster check indicates at the big league level, the 1B/DH positions are currently taken by a guy with 9 years left on a guaranteed contract and another guy with realized MLB power and no real defensive home. The point is, the Angels are flat-out goin’ for it. I say good for them. It makes baseball more exciting and it damn sure makes the AL West more exciting. I know they have a huge TV contract ready to kick in and a fantastic team, but there is next to nothing coming down the pipes to help them, so the team you see now is the one they’re set to roll with for the next 5 years. That is unless they can’t sign Greinke at the end of this season, at which point, they’ll have some serious questions to answer.

-Engel Beltre. Getting a lot of questions about him lately, because he’s hitting like crazy. This is true. The hits are flying all over the place for him right now, including the long ball. He’s a plus runner, plus defender, plus arm centerfielder who hits from the left side. He is still not doing what the team wants him to do which is see more pitches and generally make pitchers work harder, but hey, he’s hitting the crap out of the ball, so, ok. Repeating a level is never really a good thing for any prospect and Beltre is in his second year in Frisco at age 22. He’s earned a chance to move to AAA next year assuming his quasi-doppleganger Julio Borbon has moved on. The kid has raised his season average by 20 points in the last 3 weeks, so he deserves some credit even is he is still swinging at damn near every flying pill coming his way. Also in the last month, he dropped his head and jogged on a pop-up to left field which was dropped- he barely made it a single, and in another game he was doubled off of first on a pop-up to second, which is both stupid and actually kinda hard to do. At this point I’d project him as a 4th OF type, but only if he continues to have a poor approach. If he could improve that facet as well as becoming an overall more heady player, he could be an everyday MLB outfielder in a couple years.

And finally, I want to say a few words about Newberg Night at the Ballpark. I think I’ve been to all but one of these unique events. There really isn’t another way to phrase the night as anything other than the ultimate Rangers dork-out. It is the single greatest collection, in one room anyway, of well-versed and articulate Ranger fans. I know there are other events like Fan Fest or whatever, but not very many people at Fan Fest are worried about calling up Olt and costing him a year of team control. Very few people at other events are going to ask Coach Welke questions about Gobbles Gallo or Jorge Alfaro. I often call Jamey “The Godfather” and the term was also used by JD to describe Welke yesterday. Newberg has built an online army of fans seeking more information than the traditional media outlets provide. He is an unabashed fan and I’m proud to say he is my friend. Every year I make new friends at Newberg Night. That is, at times, hard for me-as it is for anyone, but somehow easy at this event. I have a tacit enough understanding of how the machinations are working right now to understand JD’s decision to bring the entire brain trust up from the war room was nothing more than a quick break given to these guys by their boss during a stressful time. Nonetheless it was absolutely fantastic to see him lead in the troops. I surmise it was an opportunity for many in the room to put a face to names like Thad Levine, Josh Boyd, and Tim Purpura. Hell, even Director of International Scouting, Mike Daly was there. Until yesterday I’d never seen Daly, primarily because I don’t live in the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Colombia, Honduras, or Curacao.  So yeah, it’s a pretty remarkable night. I hope you were there. If not, next year, don’t hesitate, just go. Duh.

This concludes my brain dump, you may now resume your regularly scheduled activities.

Thanks for reading and, as always, Enjoy Baseball! Love Ya!

Your Friend,

Tepid

It’s neither tangible nor distinctly quantifiable. It’s not always manifested in results and it’s not always apparent in physical attributes. Yet, it’s somehow always obvious. Swagger. There really isn’t a more articulate and accessible word for “it” in current parlance. It is one of the most fun attributes to reference when discussing prospects and player development. It is fun as hell to see some of these kids who know they are good, and they know the other team knows they are good, and they know you know they are good. Make sense? Well, I guess it’s a little like internet porn- you’ll know it when you see it. Let’s discuss.

I got a heapin’ helpin’ of swagger recently at a Frisco Rough Riders game. Maybe it was  because I was looking for it, but it was in ridiculous abundance that night. I mean, even the national anthem had swagger. Usually the minor league baseball national anthem is the territory of a local church singer or a teenaged progeny whose inner circle has mistakenly convinced her of an uncanny vocal likeness to Kelly Clarkson, but that night, Frisco had some out-of-towners from the touring cast of the musical Jersey Boys. Needless to say with a couple of Tony nominations tucked securely in their back pockets, they nailed it. So much so that even the crankiest of scouts- I’m talking about you, Mr. AL East Guy- raised both eyebrows in tacit approval and pleasant surprise.  It was actually, really kind of breathtaking to hear it sung like that in a small, sparsely attended stadium. And I won’t soon forget the look on the cast member’s face as he strolled out to the area behind home plate. He knew he was about to, sort of, melt our faces with a flawless rendition of a song so close to our hearts. He’s probably done that dozens of times before and he knew how we were going to react before we did. Swagger.

Long before the national anthem, I wandered down the third base side of the field to watch the pitchers warm up. It was a rather unique night in that Frisco was to feature two starters. Justin Grimm had just been sent down from his brief foray into MLB and he needed to get in some live game work before leaving for his slightly more permanent home in Round Rock. And it was Cody Buckel’s regular turn in the rotation, so the word was that Grimm would go 3 innings then hand it over to Buckel. I was properly excited by this scenario. So I watched intently as Grimm began his warm-ups on the flat outfield grass. The other players begin to trickle out of the clubhouse for their stretches and it was clear they had already said “hello” to him as they just casually walked past, toward that spot on the grass behind 3^rd base where all baseball players lay down and “stretch”(read: bullshit with each other). I’ve seen Grimm rather extensively this season and, well, frankly, this was a different guy. It was an absolute pleasure to watch him. He had been given a taste. He’d seen the Promised Land. He had pitched on a Saturday night in a huge stadium, in front of a sellout crowd for a first place team. He wants to do it again, and again, and again. You could see it on his face. You know how some people juxtapose being laid-back and intense?  That’s Grimm. But not this night. It was a business trip. I stood literally 5 feet from him during his bullpen session and apart from some quick reminders and exchanges regarding mechanics with the pitching coach, he was as intense as I’ve ever seen him. He was there to get his work in and move on. Swagger.

While Grimm was finishing his flat ground work, a few feet away was 20 year old Cody Buckel. If you have yet to see Cody, he goes ‘bout 6’1” 180lbs. About 4 or 5 of those pounds appear to be hair, which is straight and, though recently cut(which he announced on Twitter following a trip to minor league diet staple, Chipotle), still protrudes out from under his prohibitively flat-billed hat. He’s not a big fella. You’re probably already aware that Cody is part of a new group of pitchers. They are interesting. They have interesting philosophies, interesting warm-ups, interesting pitches and they are bright, cerebral young slingers. Cody is a close friend of Trevor Bauer, a pitcher whose been called a lot of things but “wanting for confidence” has never been one of them. Frankly, these guys do their own thing, and they know they’re good. Cody is no different. Double earbuds in, he does a series of somewhat odd-looking stretches up and down the left field line. In his own world, but focused. Then the warm-up tosses begin. Using Val Majewski as a throwing partner, he begins in left field with Val on the warning track essentially under the foul pole. A few tosses, then Buckel scoots back. A few more tosses, scoots back, now he’s standing exactly where the center fielder would when the #4 hitter is up. A few tosses, scoots back. At this point there is tremendous arc in the tosses and they begin to resemble pop flys. Also at this point, Majewski begins short hopping the return, so catcher Zach Zaneski steps in as his cutoff man. Buckel doesn’t need a cutoff man. He just keeps scooting back. The last few tosses are literally almost foul pole to foul pole. The stadium is not highly populated, but all eyes including to those belonging to all the players on both teams are on the small, 20 year old with the shaggy hair and his highly unorthodox warmup routine. Swagger.

“It’s their first game back from the All Star game”, I told a couple of polite, baseball savvy 12 year olds who noticed me taking pictures of Jurickson Profar and Mike Olt. I filled in the gaps the kids had about the Futures Game, JP and MO’s respective paths to being on the Rangers, and some positional questions the tweens had about the two phenoms . After using YouTube to dismiss the boys’ incredulous belief that a guy Profar’s size could hit home runs in big stadiums, one of the boys asked me something pertinent. He said, “Is that why they look like they’re goofing off right now?”  “No” I said, “that’s just they way they are”. It’s true. I hope many of you reading this have had a chance to go see these two guys.  Especially Profar. He plays with a joy that only comes when the game is easy. Don’t misread that. He’s known to be one of the hardest working, most coachable kids in the system. He’s just very good and the act of playing clearly brings him joy. He’s loose. He’s confident. He was stretching and greeting teammates he hadn’t seen in a few days. He jogged out behind second base and exchanged a quasi-hug with Futures teammate, Jean Segura. Then as the players began to make their way into the dugout, both Profar and Olt were the only ones, who took a quick moment and jogged over to the railing to sign 3 or 4 autographs with some folks they’d made eye contact with. Just easily going about their job. Swagger.

It’s been around forever. It is crazy fun to watch. It is nothing if not compelling. It’s a legitmate component to a prospect’s makeup.

Oh,yeah, about midway through the top half of the first inning, Coach Don Welke came and sat down with all the scouts behind home plate. Swagger, personified.

I now present photographic, non-playing field evidence of swagger in motion. It’s a shot of one of baseball’s most charismatic cats, Satchel Paige, leading a cavalcade of kiddos down a street in Harlem. Swagger.

As always, be well and enjoy baseball.

Love Ya,

Tepid

I wrote a piece about swagger for Jason Parks’ fantastic site, www.texasfarmreview.com . The piece is about swagger in general and Justin Grimm, Cody Buckel, Mike Olt and Jurickson Profar, specifically. And of course, there is some Satchel Paige thrown in for good measure. Check it out.

Thanks for reading!