Just as I have done the past few years, I have uploaded and attached the new Top Prospects Compilation file to this blog posting. Prospect rankings from Baseball America, BP’s Kevin Goldstein, and MiLB.com are just some of those that you’ll find in the file. …
Spreadsheet: 2009-2010 Top Prospect List Compilation.xls.
Ely is one of the prospects the Sox send to the Dodgers in the Juan Pierre deal:
Ely was very impressive last season in Double-A for the White Sox. He had solid peripherals across the board including a 7.20 K/9 rate, 2.88 BB/9 rate, and a 0.52 HR/9 rate which added up to a 3.33 FIP (the super low HR/9 immensely help his FIP). Stat Corner’s version of tRA really liked Ely last year and his tRA was 3.75 in a league where the starting pitcher’s average tRA was 4.59. …
Last week, the Tigers designated right-hander Freddy Dolsi for assignment as part of a flurry of moves to make room for the four players acquired in a three-team trade with the Yankees and D-backs.
On Friday, Dolsi found a new home, as the White Sox claimed him off waivers and added him to their 40-man roster.
The 40-man roster is now at 40.
Stats: FG.
B-R shows a 3.55 ERA and 1.629 WHIP with 32 BBs and 32 Ks in 58.1 IP on his 2 years with the Tigers.
The Dodgers on Friday received right-handed pitchers John Ely and Jon Link from the Chicago White Sox to complete Tuesday’s Juan Pierre trade. …
Right-hander Ely, one of the top Sox pitching prospects, found out from his agent he was on the short list of potential compensation for the Dodgers as Internet reports claimed he and pitcher John Link would be the players dispatched. Should he depart for Los Angeles, that will end a childhood dream of pitching for the Sox.
“I’d be excited either way, but I grew up a Sox fan,” said the 6-foot-1, 190-pound Ely, a Homewood-Flossmoor alum who was the Sox’s third-round draft pick out of Miami (Ohio) in 2007. “I wanted to pitch for a team I grew up watching.”
“Honestly, I was a little surprised,” he said of being on the list. “But the Sox have a very solid rotation. The more I thought of it, the more excited I was. There would be plenty of opportunity (as a Dodger).”
To get Pierre, the White Sox agreed to send two players to the Dodgers, providing a list of prospects from which to choose.
and
“I’ve talked to my agent and nothing is set in stone with this trade,” said Ely, who led the Southern League in wins and strikeouts (125). “I might not be traded. But if I am, I’ve got a lot of opportunities with the Dodgers and I’ll make the best of it – just like I will if I’m not traded. Of course, you’d like to stay with the team you grew up rooting for. I’m a diehard White Sox fan. It could take a couple of weeks before something happens. I’m just going to take it one day at a time.”
Sob…
Kenny Williams got his guy.
Again.
Earlier, it was Mark Teahen. Then, it was Omar Vizquel and Andruw Jones. Now, it’s Juan Pierre. This move didn’t come out of left field, though, as the Sox’ interest in Pierre was reported eight days ago at the Winter Meetings.
At the time, though, it looked like the Sox weren’t going to end up getting Pierre. The Dodgers wanted pitching in return and it was uncertain how much of Pierre’s contract Los Angeles could pick up given the team’s messy ownership situation.
But with Hideki Matsui off the market, the White Sox’ left field options took a hit. Maybe the team never was interested in Matsui, maybe they were. The timing of the Pierre trade—one day after Matsui signed—is somewhat curious, though. Maybe Williams wanted to lock up a left fielder before all his favorite options went elsewhere.
Obviously, this trade will have a whole lot of implications for the rest of the offseason and into next season. A look at the good, the bad, and the ugly: …
UPDATE: Here are a couple more posts analyzing the Pierre trade.
Dyck:
Guillen said either Gordon Beckham or Alexei Ramirez would bat second, although he prefers Beckham in an RBI role in the middle of the order.
As for the outfield alignment, Pierre will play left, Alex Rios center and Carlos Quentin right. And Pierre expects to play every day after sitting for much of his first two years in Los Angeles, or as he calls it, in the “witness protection program.”
We project Ely as a 5th starter type, but if you listen to Phil Rogers he is worth more than Pierre by himself. Ely had a great season, playing in the Southern League All-Star Game, earning a place on the league’s post-season all-star team and recently being named to our All-FutureSox team. Sure, performance isn’t everything in the minors and Ely doesn’t have top tier stuff as even Rogers admits. He has a great changeup, good control and his fastball and curve are decent pitches. He was a 3rd round pick in 2007 so clearly the Sox liked him then. This year was a bit of a breakout year for him, but his peripherals were slightly down from 2008 and he played in a pitchers’ park. …
“Three years ago we started talking about it and it came together a couple of days ago – I’m not kidding,” Williams said with a laugh. “We’ve asked about Juan over the years, so much so that I’ve probably irritated (Dodgers GM) Ned (Colletti) more than once or twice.”
Ozzie likes the team as it is now and doesn’t want a full-time DH:
“Ozzie and I have been speaking on that, and we spoke on it again [Tuesday],” Williams said of the DH spot. “Right now, what he would like to do is sit where we are right now because he likes flexibility with the DH position, whether it be a guy getting a break or keeping your bench players fresh. Guys like [Andruw] Jones, [Mark] Kotsay, [Omar] Vizquel, getting [Paul] Konerko off of his feet and getting into the DH spot … he likes the flexibility that comes with it.
“I’ve given him some names – this is a very critical last thing on our list. I certainly don’t want to do anything from my seat that conflicts with what my manager wants, so regardless if I think there may be a need for a bigger left-handed bat in the middle of the lineup, he’s the one in there and I fully support how he and his coaching staff see the situation fitting. That’s something we’ll continue to think about.”
Yeah, like June or July, come trade deadline time.
… “I don’t want people in Chicago now to say, we need a power-hitter,” Guillen said. “The last four years they have been on Kenny and myself, ‘we’re too slow.’ We’re excited with what we have. We have a more athletic ballclub and can do a lot of things. Kenny has done a miracle, I don’t know how he did it. It’s going to be fun. You’re going to see a different ballclub. And I was looking for a challenge, looking for the challenge to see how good I can be, moving the pieces the way I like to move them.”
Mercy! Save us Big Jim!
What’s your thoughts on replay, Ozzie? “I like to see the umps do their jobs and I don’t like delays. But if there is replay it will save me money because every time I argue it costs me $500 or $1000.”
More funny stuff at the link.
ZiPS Projection - Juan Pierre (LF)
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AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB BA OBP SLG OPS+
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2010 434 65 125 17 5 1 33 28 29 38 .288 .339 .387 85
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Top Near-Age Offensive Comps: Luis Polonia, Dave Collins, Eric Owens
