Hobgood 7/23 Start

[tennOsfan]

We should have drafted Salazar.

Or a distant cousin of Jack Cust at least.

[alexei606]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't it somewhat unusual for a pitcher, even a top draft pick, to go straight to minor league short-season competition right out of high school? It seems like most of the time that we draft someone out of high school, we send them to Sarasota and don't see them for more than a couple of token appearances until next season.

Brandon Erbe at age 17 (2005), went to Bluefield in his first year (Orioles did not have a GCL team that year; still think that he would have started at Bluefield anyway) and was rated number 4 in BA's Appalachian League Top 20 (BTW, Snyder was rated #1). Here is his write-up:

4. BRANDON ERBE, rhp, Bluefield Orioles

Age: 17 Ht: 6-4 Wt: 180 B-T: R-R Drafted/Signed: Orioles '05 (3)

Erbe eschewed a commitment to Miami to signed with his hometown Orioles as a third-round pick. Appy managers couldn't believe he lasted that long in the draft after seeing his fastball, which sat at 91-94 mph and peaked at 97. At 17 he was the youngest pitcher to qualify for this list, and also the most promising.

“Erbe could be electric,” Princeton manager Jamie Nelson said. “He’s not done growing and he could still add to his frame. He’s got something of a funky delivery: He stays tall, then jumps at you. It looks like everything’s coming at you at once, and it probably makes him deceptive to the hitters.”

At times Erbe showed a sharp slider but he had difficulty commanding the pitch. Because he didn’t need to use a changeup much as an amateur, he's still learning how to maintain his arm speed with the pitch. He still had no trouble in the Appy League, striking out more than half the batters he faced and limiting them to a .103 average.

G 11 GS 3 W 1 L 1 SV 1 ERA 3.09 IP 23.1 H 8 R 10 HR 1 BB 10 K 48 AVG .103

Link: http://www.baseballamerica.com/online/minors/05league20s/app.html

Zach Britton was #10 in the Appalachian League (Orioles still did not have a GCL team that year; still think that he would have started at Bluefield anyway) in his first year at age 18 in 2006 (BTW, Rowell was #2). Here's his write-up:

10. Zach Britton, lhp, Bluefield (Orioles)

B-T: L-L Ht: 6-2 Wt: 172 Age: 18 Drafted: Orioles '06 (3)

Though Britton struggled for much of his pro debut, his live left arm and athletic frame made him one of the most promising young pitchers in the league. His fastball soared to 92-93 mph before his velocity tailed off late in his high school season, but he showed enough to get drafted in the third round.

Britton pitched at 88-91 mph in his pro debut, and scouts expect him to have a consistent plus fastball once he matures physically. Because his heater was more than enough to dispense with high school hitters, Britton’s offspeed stuff is underdeveloped.

His slider can flatten out and he throws his changeup too hard at times. He lacks deception in his delivery, so a refined changeup will be a must to deal with righthanders at higher levels.

G 11 GS 11 W 0 L 4 SV 0 ERA 5.29 IP 34 H 35 R 22 ER 20 HR 4 BB 22 SO 20 AVG .271

Link: http://www.baseballamerica.com/online/prospects/features/262508.html

In 2007, the Orioles added a GCL team. Tyler Kolodny (3B) made the GCL top 20 at #16. As stated earlier by TakebackOpacy , the highest HS pitcher selection, Dan Klein at #24 did not sign and Justin Moore (#26) is now at Bluefield. Moore had 7 IP in 2007 in the GCL and returned in 2008 with 57.1 IP in the GCL. As TakebackOpacy stated, Bundy is essentially starting his career at Bluefield. Jesse Beal (#14 in 2008) only had 7 IP in the GCL in 2008 and is also now in Bluefield (also, essentially starting his career in Bluefield). I also believe that Beal signed fairly late, so he was assigned to GCL.

[PBR Street Gang]

I think the whirlwind of Hobgood getting drafted, signing, moving across the country, and finding yourself pitching against a college all-star team within a month is probably a little overwhelming. By his 5th start he'll be rockin'.

[Big Mac]

Hobgood's ERA is higher than Jamie Walker's, are threads like this really neccessary?

He has accomplished nothing so far in pro ball yet he is being treated as the "savior" of this organization.

We should all take a step back and re-review what marvels us.

[PBR Street Gang]

Hobgood's ERA is higher than Jamie Walker's, are threads like this really neccessary?

He has accomplished nothing so far in pro ball yet he is being treated as the "savior" of this organization.

We should all take a step back and re-review what marvels us.

Let's all hope that Hobgood's curveball is sharper than your wit.

[Lucky Jim]

Hobgood's ERA is higher than Jamie Walker's, are threads like this really neccessary?

He has accomplished nothing so far in pro ball yet he is being treated as the "savior" of this organization.

We should all take a step back and re-review what marvels us.

Where do you see this?

[sangar]

You can see the talent is there. Once he gets back into routine I think we will see dominance.

Yep, nerves.

[Tony-OH]

Hobgood's ERA is higher than Jamie Walker's, are threads like this really neccessary?

He has accomplished nothing so far in pro ball yet he is being treated as the "savior" of this organization.

We should all take a step back and re-review what marvels us.

Hmm, maybe you could point me to the post that talks about him being a savior because I didn't see it. It appears to me that people would just like to discuss the first round picks start. Seems logical to me...

[Satyr3206]

The kid is barely out of High School. Give him a little time to get acclimated and then evaluate.

[glenn__davis]

Where do you see this?

Hmm, maybe you could point me to the post that talks about him being a savior because I didn't see it. It appears to me that people would just like to discuss the first round picks start. Seems logical to me...

He's responding to Street Gang's posts in another thread.

[QBsILLEST1]

Yup.

1st Inning

• Walked the first batter.
• Batter advances to 2nd on Wild Pitch
• Walks second batter.
• Third batter flies out. Runner on 2nd base must've advanced.
• Fourth batter grounds to SS. Lead runner scores. Force out at 2nd. Throwing error (must've gone for the double play and thrown it away.)
• Fifth batter strikes out looking.

2nd Inning

• First batter walks.
• Runner advances on a passed ball.
• Second batter hits a double. Runner scores. Batter advances to third on throw home.
• Third batter out on sac fly. Runner scores.
• Fourth batter strikes out swinging.
• Fifth batter strikes out looking.

Wow, you can see the mistakes are killing him. Once he gets his nerves under control, and cuts down on the walks and wild pitches we are gonna see a good pitcher....Not getting hit hard at all....

[SoBo]

Maybe a small glimpse into the make up that Jordan raved about, striking out the last two batters he faced.

[QBsILLEST1]

Hobgood's ERA is higher than Jamie Walker's, are threads like this really neccessary?

He has accomplished nothing so far in pro ball yet he is being treated as the "savior" of this organization.

We should all take a step back and re-review what marvels us.

Wow, his ERA is higher than Jaimie Walkers after 4 IP? How can you make a serious judgement with such a small sample size? The kid obviously has talent, all the runs he has allowed were self inflicted, walks and wild pitches. He is also kbnown as having decent control, so its easy to tell this is just nerves. Give him a bit of time to get acclimated to the pros. Most HS pitchers initially struggle making this jump from HS to the pros. If you cannot see his potential, I dont honestly know why you would even read or post in the minors forum...There is something you arent seeing here....For this kid to be as developed as he is at the age of 18, imagine where he will be once he gets 2 or 3 developmental years under his belt.

[QSII]

Maybe a small glimpse into the make up that Jordan raved about, striking out the last two batters he faced.

Yeah, seeing the sequence put it in a different light. He went out strong. It might be the clutch is now engaging, and he'll come out in a higher gear next time.

[Lucky Jim]

He's responding to Street Gang's posts in another thread.

No more cross-thread sub-referencing. This #$%* is hard enough to follow as it is.