I haven't seen his stats but he was at AAA. His dad told me he was getting fed up waiting so he may have had a change in attitude which could have hurt him. He hung up his spikes but was talking into playing Senior Intercounty BB.
I have seen him over the last 2 years and he has made some of the most spectaclar plays I have ever see at 3B.
He also hits for power and contact.Just an all around great ball player.
"

It also has to do alot with age relative to league.
A 24 year old shouldn't be repeating AA for any reason. Also, there are some teams that just can not development players. A player in the Devil Rays organization is going to have a better chance then a player in the Yankees organization. You might eat better while in the Yankees organization but the Devil Rays will be more patient with you.

Is that still true regarding the Yankees? Haven't they begun to make an effort at developing players again? I don't know, I just pose the question for clarification...

quote:

Originally posted by floridafan:
Is that still true regarding the Yankees? Haven't they begun to make an effort at developing players again? I don't know, I just pose the question for clarification...

floridafan,
There are some teams that will always be better at developing talent, but I think that many teams that
used to rely on trade and free agency (including the one son plays for) are now developing new pilosophies regarding bringing up their young players.

I don't know if the Yankees develop young talent or not.... But it sure would be tough to crack into that starting line up

quote:

A 24 year old shouldn't be repeating AA for any reason. Also, there are some teams that just can not development players. A player in the Devil Rays organization is going to have a better chance then a player in the Yankees organization.

When a player gets cut on the eve of opening day he takes what he can get or waits until the dust settles. I know a player and a teammate who were cut in this manner last spring. They are very similar players with similar stats. They both signed on in AA. One with the Marlins. One with the Yankees. The one with the Yankees got the call. Go figure. He wasn't having as good of a season as the other player. The one with the Marlins will be in camp this spring after being a AA all-star. He had already hit .289 in a previous AAA season and been a minor league all-star at every level. These two guys had the misfortune of being in an organization that preferred signing 30 something veterans for the bench rather than bring up a rookie.

quote:

Originally posted by njbb:
I don't know if the Yankees develop young talent or not.... But it sure would be tough to crack into that starting line up

The Yankees have always developed talent. They just traded off a lot for proven players. until recently their minor league system was having some down years. They have some young studs now.

The Yankees released 33 players last week. That is crazy.

Cardinals, Yankees, Rangers, and Red Sox all have improved with grooming talent.

teams that can not groom their own players:

1. Giants
2. Astros
3. Pirates
4. Mariners
5. Orioles

The way baseball works is odd. The Marlins do not like sending their top prospects that are pitchers to their AAA club because its in the PCL which is a huge hitters league and they are afraid their pitchers will suffer some mental abuse watching their ERA skyrocket. They rather sign a 28 year old filler which creates a log jam in the lower levels causing some players to eventually get cut.
Then you have some teams that have their affilates spread out across the US and factor in travel cost for player movement.

How does the "dance" prceeding the draft work? If a player is being contacted by more than one organization, not really getting any onther indication than "interest" and casual conversation, does a player have any input on who he is drafted by? If he wants to play pro ball, does he just want to get into the system any way he can?

quote:

Originally posted by floridafan:
If he wants to play pro ball, does he just want to get into the system any way he can?

IMO, a player out of HS has options, if he doesn't like the team, he can go to college and try to improve for the next draft. Lots of factors can go into the decision, where the player will start off in rookie, how the team develops it's players, etc. For some, the first few years are very difficult to adjust to especially if they go to the opposite end of the country away from home. College players aren't so fortunate for the decision, they know they might not get the chance again. But most have been away from home for at least 3 years and the adjustment is easier. Even mine, being so far from home for 3 years felt pretty lonely when he first got to ss. The nice part was that many of the players he played with, or against where in that league so for the short time he was there, every team had a familiar face, and a chance to spend a lunch or dinner together. You have no say in who drafts you, your only choice is yes or no after you are drafted. Sometimes you can have teams watch your every HS game and then out of nowhere you get drafted by another team where you never met the scout. Out of HS, there was a team very interested in son, he didn't think it was a good option but since then their farm system has changed. However, it's a team where you would have to have superstar status to break into the line up, someday. Problem is, you get drafted by a team with a solid line up, you can be back logged for many years if they don't trade you or release you. I have friends whose sons have asked for releases just because they felt they were going nowhere and wanted to get on with their lives. They did not want to be professional milb players forever. This is a personal choice.

I think it is important for a HS player to develop on a team that is known for development of young players out of HS. Some teams also work very hard at developing their young players because it increases their trade value. Teams are learning this. And remember chances are the team that drafts you might not be the team you end up with eventually. While you are playing, someone from your team is writing up a report on you while the opposing team is doing the same thing.

I beleive W77's statement to be true. Some teams will not send pitchers to their AAA club if it is not a pitchers league. Same for hitters. These days you see more players on many teams going to AA then onto the 40 man.

There's a lot more to pro ball system than some realize.

quote:

I beleive W77's statement to be true. Some teams will not send pitchers to their AAA club if it is not a pitchers league. Same for hitters. These days you see more players on many teams going to AA then onto the 40 man.

There are teams that load up their AAA with ex-MLB'ers to keep them ready in case of injury or September pennant race callups. Many of their propsects jump from AA or don't make it. The Mets recent history comes to mind.

TPM,

is there a site you can reference on teams and their histories of developing talent?....interesting points all around !

The only way a player can influence a team from not selecting him is by his agent or immaturity.

Funny story about Josh Beckett influencing who drafted him:

Days before the 1999 draft, the Devil Rays didn't know who they wanted to take between Josh Beckett and Josh Hamilton. The front office of the Rays invited Josh Beckett to come over and talk to the owner of the Devil Rays. Their choice was made for them by Josh's arrogance. Lounging around like the place was his with his feet on the coffee table, he called Naimoli “Vince.” and told them what it would take to sign him. At that moment, many of the Devil Rays execs in attendance decided that Hamilton was the better fit for the organization.

Josh was elated to realize one of his childhood dreams, but he also understood he was in excellent bargaining position. Determined to get every last nickel out of the Marlins, he played hardball with the club. Florida initially offered a package that topped out at $4 million. Josh wanted nearly twice that much. The negotiations dragged on through the summer. When August rolled around, Josh enrolled at Blinn Junior College in Texas and prepared to start his freshman year.

The Marlins finally blinked, inking him for four years at $7 million, including a signing bonus of nearly $4 million. The team announced the deal during a press conference at the Astrodome in Houston. Helping seal the deal was that fact that Florida agreed to a big league contract. That meant Josh was placed on the team’s 40-man roster, and the Marlins would be compelled to promote him to the majors sooner rather than later.

W77:

Had to chuckle when I saw the Giants at the top of your "Failure to Develop" List. It's no secret in the Northwest League why Salem-Keizer wins the league so often. If your short-season A team sported an average age of 25, it might win, too!

Ain't that the truth, P. Of course, given the average age of the parent team....it makes sense .

I think the general rule for a draft to be considered a success is a draft that brings a team one everyday player and one part time player. Looking at the possible Opening Day lineup and rotation for the Giants:

Catcher Bengie Molina
First Base Rich Aurilia
Second Base Ray Durham
Third Base Kevin Frandsen ( 04 Draft 12th Round)
Shortstop Omar Vizquel
Left Field Dave Roberts
Center Field Aaron Rowand
Right Field Randy Winn
SP- Barry Zito
SP- Matt Cain ( 02 Draft 1st Round)
SP- Noah Lowry ( 01 Draft 1st Round)
SP- Tim Lincecum ( 06 Draft 1st Round)
SP- Kevin Correia ( 02 Draft 4th Round)
RP- Vinnie Chulk
RP- Randy Messenger
RP- Tyler Walker
RP- Brad Hennessey ( 01 Draft 1st Round)
RP- Jose Capellan
Closer- Brian Wilson ( 01 Draft 24th Round)

Thats pretty sad.

Why are you picking on the Giants?????

First of all, if you check their roster you'll see that Salem-Keizer's average age was more like 21-22, which in typical for short season A...and they were named 2007 Minor League Team of the Year. Secondly, I think I read that the Giant's affiliates had the best combined record in all of minor league baseball this past season.

Actually, if you check their roster, you'll see the players are primarily 23-24 and in (at least) their second season of pro ball, in spite of having come out of college programs for the most part.

Most organizations will send college players to ss for their first year (hs players being more likely to go to rookie ball); development would then dictate that those players are promoted to one of two A level clubs.

I checked out son's roster on the milb web site.
They list my son as 22, his birthday was in Dec. so he was 21 during the season.
I'm guessing all the rosters show players current age.