Tag Archive for 'Cole Hamels'

Did the Phillies Give Cleveland Too Much?

Published
by
thesportsidiot
on July 30, 2009
in AL Central, Carlos Carrasco, Cleveland Indians, Cole Hamels, J.A. Happ, Joe Blanton, Kyle Drabek, MLB, MLB Prospects, NL East, Philadelphia Phillies and Roy Halladay
. 0 Comments
When the Phillies pulled the trigger on the Cliff Lee trade yesterday, the immediate thought was that Phillies GM Ruben Amaro had gotten over on the Tribe.  In acquiring Lee, the second best pitcher on the market behind Roy Halladay, the Phils added a Cy Young winning arm to their rotation, without giving up either J.A. Happ, Kyle Drabek, Michael Taylor or Dominic Brown.  Now that the dust has had a little bit of time to settle, it is time for a better breakdown of the deal.

Carlos Carrasco entered this season as the “co” number one prospect in the Phillies’ farm system with Dominic Brown being the other “co” number one guy.  Carrasco has seen his stock go down this season, as he has toiled away to a 5.18 this season, his first full season in AAA.  While his strikeouts are still there, he does have 112 of them in 114.2 innings, so are the hits and walks, to the tune of a 1.36 WHIP.  Carrasco, who is only 22 years old at this point, could still turn out to be a top line pitcher, but right now his cap is looking like a three in the rotation.

Jason Donald has recently been described as a future utility man in the Majors.  For your fourth ranked prospect, you hope for a better fate than that, and the Phillies used to hope he would supplant Jimmy Rollins at short.  Well, before this season even started those expectations had shifted towards the utility role, and after dude has raked to a .235 batting average this season you can guess where those expectations are at this point.  Maybe Donald, who is 24 years old, can turn it around in the batters box, but in order to do so he will have to stop striking out so much (he has 58 Ks in 234 at-bats, which projects out to over 150 over a full season in the Bigs).

Jason Knapp is 6′5″ of raw talent.  Dude can hit triple digits on the radar gun, has a decent changeup, a power slider and a breaking ball.  Problem is Knapp can not seem to develop a consistent delivery, which causes him to change planes and lose his command.  As things stand, Knapp is projected to be an overpowering set-up man in the Majors, and possibly a closer.  He is young as well, though, at only 18 years of age, so there is time to refine his approach and develop him into a starter if he is durable enough.

Lou Marson was the catcher of the future for the Phillies.  Through 63 games, the third ranked ranked prospect is hitting for a .294 average and a .751 OPS in AAA.  During a brief stint in the Majors, he hit .235 with a .644 OPS.  Like Donald, Marson has been missing too many pitches, as he does strikeout a bit too much.  Will Marson be a top tier catcher in the Majors at some point?  No one knows, but the 23 year old has talent to go with his professional approach. 

Those are the prospects being sent to Cleveland.  A probable utility man, a power bully, a future three in the rotation, and a catcher.  Well, they are giving up something else as well, as someone is going to lose a starting rotation spot. 

Who will Lee replace?  It will not be Joe Blanton or Cole Hamels.  Rodrigo Lopez is slated to lose his spot to Pedro Martinez.  That leaves us J.A. Happ and Jamie Moyer.  Word is that Happ will get sent to the bully, but with Happ being arguably the best pitcher for the Phillies so far this season that will put some strain on things with the fans if Moyer falters or Lee does not come in smoking.

So in the end, what the Phillies gave up for Lee is hard to quantify.  This entry will be added to the “featured posts” section for easy reference next year when we revisit this deal.

Ryan Howard/Cole Hamels K Watch

Published
by
thesportsidiot
on July 23, 2009
in Cole Hamels, Fantasy Baseball, MLB, NL East, Philadelphia Phillies and Ryan Howard
. 2 Comments
You may have noticed that all season long there has been a poll asking who will rack up more Ks this season, Ryan Howard or Cole Hamels.  Just a quick update for you:

Howard: 111
Hamels:  90

While certain Philly fans will see this as “more Philly bashing” from me, it really is not.  I find it a fascinating question, but yet one that holds no bearing on anything.  My stance on strikeouts, which are wasted at-bats (for the most part) but no worse than grounding out of popping out (when you do not advance any runners), has evolved into one of annoyed acceptance at this point.

Is Joe Blanton the Ace in Philadelphia?

Published
by
thesportsidiot
on July 21, 2009
in Cole Hamels, J.A. Happ, Joe Blanton, MLB, NL East and Philadelphia Phillies
. 1 Comment
Joe Blanton has been pitching extremely well of late, to the tune of a 2.44 ERA over his last nine starts.  Seven of said starts have been quality starts, meaning he has pitched at least six frames in each game.  With Cole Hamels pitching rather pedestrian of late, it poses the question who is the real ace of the Phillies?  Is it J.A. Happ, the “rookie” sensation who has yet to lose a game this season while posting a 2.68 ERA and seven wins?  Is it Jamie Moyer, the aged veteran who is old enough to be called Grandpa but yet still finds ways to pitch late into games, with eight quality starts over his last ten games?  Or is it Cole Hamels, who owns a 4.72 ERA and a 90:19 K:BB ratio?

In the end it does not matter who the “ace” of the staff is, it only matters that the Phillies are leading the NL East by 6.5 games and have won nine straight slates.  As a matter of fact, they have only lost one game since returning home from being swept in Atlanta on July 3rd.  So even though the Braves have only lost five games this month, they have still lost two games in the standings as the Phillies have only lost three.

Hamels Set for Friday Return – Park Set to Lose Rotation Spot

Published
by
thesportsidiot
on May 6, 2009
in Chan Ho Park, Cole Hamels, Fantasy Baseball, J.A. Happ, MLB, MLB Prospects, NL East and Philadelphia Phillies
. 0 Comments

Cole Hamels’ ankle performed well in his bullpen session yesterday, and is all set for Friday night’s game against the Braves.  You may not want to start him Friday, but rather give him a game to get his feet back under him.  He is pitching at home, which is good for his win chances but bad for his ERA and WHIP.  Proceed with caution.

In other starting rotation news, it looks like tonight’s start against the Mets could be Chan Ho Park’s last for a while.  If he does not pitch well, which he will not, then he is in dire straights of getting sent to the bully in favor of J.A. Happ.  That would be good news for both the Phillies and fantasy players, as Happ has way more upside than Park does.  Both should be ignored for now, but keep Happ on your radar as he has shown he can pitch well and be effective.

Hamels Set to Return on Friday

Published
by
thesportsidiot
on May 5, 2009
in Cole Hamels, Fantasy Baseball, MLB, NL East and Philadelphia Phillies
. 0 Comments

Cole Hamels participated in some conditioning drills in St. Louis on Monday, and the report was good.  He gets his final pre-start test today when he throws another bullpen session.  Everything is pointing towards him making his return to the mound on Friday against the Braves.  So unless there is a surprise setback in today’s session, then Cole can go back to giving up homerruns just in time for Brian McCann to return to Philly, where he loves to hit the ball deep.

Obligatory Cole Hamels Update

Published
by
thesportsidiot
on May 4, 2009
in Cole Hamels, Fantasy Baseball, J.A. Happ, MLB, NL East and Philadelphia Phillies
. 0 Comments

On Saturday Phillies ace Cole Hamels threw a bullpen session at Citizen’s Bank Park.  Apparently it did not go as well as hoped.  Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr said that he “felt some soreness on a couple pitches when he dragged his foot.”

Since the Phils were washed out yesterday, they now have the flexibility of pushing Hamels’ next start back to Friday.  That would be a great idea, considering it is his left ankle that is bothering him, which is the one he pushes off with on each pitch.  It is also a great idea since yours truly will be in the house.  If Hamels can not go on Friday, look for J.A. Happ to get the nod in his place.

Lidge Gives a Thumbs Up, Hamels Throws Today

Published
by
thesportsidiot
on May 2, 2009
in Brad Lidge, Cole Hamels, Fantasy Baseball, MLB, NL East and Philadelphia Phillies
. 0 Comments

Before yesterday’s game against the Mets, Phillies closer Brad Lidge threw a 30 pitch bullpen session.  Apparently it went well, as he did not experience any discomfort in his knee.  Lidge should resume closing the next time the Phils have the lead in the ninth.  Move him back into the starting lineup immediately.

Cole Hamels was also supposed to throw a bullpen session yesterday, but the Phillies held him back.  They apparently did not want him to throw in the rain with a sprained ankle, which was the right move.  He will try to throw today instead, and if it goes well he will only see his next start pushed back one day to Tuesday rather than skipped altogether.  So it is still wait and see mode with Cole.

Hamels and Lidge Updates – May 1, 2009

Published
by
thesportsidiot
on May 1, 2009
in Brad Lidge, Cole Hamels, Fantasy Baseball, MLB, NL East and Philadelphia Phillies
. 0 Comments
Don't worry guys, I'm watching this for you.

Don't worry guys, I'm watching this for you.

Tonight we should learn more about the health of both Cole Hamels and Brad Lidge.  They are set to throw bullpen sessions before tonight’s game against the Mets.  Hamels, who left Tuesday’s game with a left ankle sprain, is set on making his next start on Monday in St. Louis.

Lidge, on the other hand, could wind up pitching in tonight’s game if he makes it through the bullpen session unscathed.  When more information comes out, you’ll know where to find it.

Hamels Has a Sprained Ankle

Published
by
thesportsidiot
on April 28, 2009
in Cole Hamels, Fantasy Baseball, MLB, NL East and Philadelphia Phillies
. 0 Comments

Yes, Cole Hamels has a sprained left ankle.  Cole was rolling along when he tried to field a bunt and turned over his left ankle.  Watching it live, you knew it was a sprained ankle, but could be a bad one.  Whether or not this will land Hamels on the Prior List is currently unknown.

Hamels Will Not Miss His Next Start

Published
by
thesportsidiot
on April 26, 2009
in Cole Hamels, Fantasy Baseball, Heidi Strobel, MLB, NL East, Philadelphia Phillies and Verducci Effect
. 0 Comments

Those of you worried about whether or not Cole Hamels will make his next start, you can now rest easy.  Hamels, who was drilled by a Prince Fielder line drive on Thursday, did not suffer any real damage as he was just bruised up a little.  Dude was pitching well when he was removed from Thursday’s game due to precautionary reasons, and looks to be getting stronger and stronger each time out.  Maybe he will prove the Verducci Effect wrong, but it is still early.  Do not worry, though, because Heidi is watching over this situation for us.

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