5th Round - Colin Poche: LHP, Marcus HS (TX)

Why? There are rumors that he's going to college, to the point where some of us are taking it as a foregone conclusion. He's contradicting them based on what he's heard. If it was just one guy in the comment section, then yeah, but it's not just that at this point.

He said "a reader." That's one guy despite how many other rumors there are. The responsible thing would be to follow up on it or leave it in the comments and say nothing about it instead of helping spread more, possibly, unfounded rumors. There are rumors about guys going to college every year by every player who wants to squeeze more money out of the team.

Why is it irresponsible? He's passing on what he heard. Would it be better if the rumor wasn't part of him passing that info on?

Are you joking? He got it from the comment section on his blog. That's not a credible source.

Are you joking? He got it from the comment section on his blog. That's not a credible source.

I still don't get what's wrong with refuting it. He's not adding to anything, he's putting a stop to a rumor that's out there. That seems the opposite of irresponsible journalism. He's letting people know what's going on.

Really, if an athlete wants the degree bad enough, it can be done in three years especially given the tutoring the kids receive.

An initial caveat --- my information might be out of date. I would rather not reveal the name of the player who said this, but I will say that he pitched for an American League team. I met him in the context of a business function, and he was with two other players, both position players. One in the American League, one in both leagues. All three are now out of the game (unless they're coaching somewhere.)

I got the chance to ask them some baseball questions, which they were discussing amongst themselves anyway. One had to do about leaving college to turn pro in the third year. The pitcher did. I asked him about giving up the chance to get a degree, etc. He snorted. As close as I can remember, he said, "My freshman year, I actually wanted to study and tried, but the coaching staff actively discouraged it. Since it was possible to get passing grades without studying or attending many classes, I figured why bother."

This was at a large university that everyone knows. Perhaps it is different nowadays there and everywhere else, perhaps not. Really dedicated students can probably overcome that, but how many of those are there in major college athletic programs?

Another story they told me that I probably shouldn't tell, but I was reminded of last year with the business in Boston about the beer and the chicken in the clubhouse. One position player said he was told when he was with a particular team that a former perennial All-Star who played for that team (before his time) ended his career as a DH. The guy evidently would sit in the clubhouse drinking a six-pack every game, and only come out when it was his turn to hit. Evidently it did not affect his performance to an extent that caused the team to worry.

Please, no PMs, because it is hearsay. Though it is definitely from a Major League source.

None of the players involved in this story were Orioles related. We were talking about the use of other-than-traditional statistics to measure performance, and one of them said that "Manto told him once" that RBIs should be counted, but only if the player subtracted his home run totals. That was the only time an Oriole came up in the conversation, and I think Manto was no longer an Oriole then.

Gone to Arkansas college.

Unfortunately, Colin and his buddy were acting the fool at University of Arkansas- arrested for shoplifting beer and sandwiches from WalMart. Razorbacks are supposed to have one of the top teams in college ball this year.

http://www.wholehogsports.com/news/2013/jan/21/two-arkansas-baseball-players-arrested/

Although he is still playing apparently.

http://www.uatrav.com/2013/02/26/poche-named-conference-freshman-of-the-week/

Although he is still playing apparently.

http://www.uatrav.com/2013/02/26/poche-named-conference-freshman-of-the-week/

What is a little shoplifting and underage possession of alcohol compared to the glory that is SEC athletics?

What is a little shoplifting and underage possession of alcohol compared to the glory that is SEC athletics?

Lifting two cases of beer from WalMart..it made me yearn for my college days.

Poche ended up throwing just 19.2 innings in eight games including five starts. He struck out 23, walked 11 an batters hit just .176 off him. This is one of the drawbacks of going to a top program like this. He would have gotten at least 30 innings last year and would have had about 40 innings so far this year had he'd gone pro. Still, the numbers he put up we pretty good.

Remember this guy? 15th round pick of the Diamondbacks this year. He had Tommy John surgery on 2016 then transferred to Dallas Baptist for 2016. He was 9-1 with a 2.38 ERA in 16 starts this year. He is 22=years old now.

[video=youtube;fcHOyUg8_-A]

Yeah, I was pretty bummed when he didn't sign. He had some bumps along the way as I recall. Good luck to the young man.

It figures:

https://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/the-most-unhittable-arm-in-the-minors/

Poche debuted for the Rays yesterday and took the loss.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/gl.fcgi?id=pocheco01&t=p&year=2019