Who said being a prospect is easy!

Being traded or released does not mean you still are not a prospect with potential and sometimes the best option for a player who has spent years (or one year) in their drafting organization before they might make a MLB roster and stick. Take the example of Andrew Miller.
I have seen the show, it's alot about getting stuck in the parking lot. Many good players with no place to go.
The business is all about supply and demand. Each team has different needs. Those players that accept and understand it, get good even sometimes better second chances. Then they have to make the most of it.

Please show me where I stated these players are no longer prospects to play MLB ball. They're all playing in the majors or AAA. You don't have the knowledge of the universe just because your son plays pro ball. There's nothing you stated I didn't know. Besides, I've followed these six closely since watching the show. The point was how much can change in two years for those posters who never looked beyond high school.

Two of the five were traded due to the D'backs being loaded with young talent. Byrnes season and resigning made Quentin expendable. However (three) being released is a sign that organization doesn't believe the player is a prospect. It doesn't mean they won't make the majors. Organizations make mistakes. Some players mature later than others. Some just need to be the right fit for the right organization.

Barden was called a tweener for the D'backs GM. He said he's done all he can do at the AAA level, but doesn't have the speed to play middle infield or power to play corner infield in the majors. Maybe he'll catch on as a utility player. He's played all four infield positions. Daigle criticized himself for lack of maturity. Maybe the D'backs tired of it. Murphy is in his fifth organization in five years. Lefty pitchers have a place in baseball until three years after their death certificate is notarized.

I hope Bill Murphy makes it. He's a character. I hope Carlos Quentin becomes a starter. As a first round pick, former college All-American he has perspective. He called can't miss prospect nothing but a label. He said he still has to perform every day. Plus you have to like a guy who signed a big bonus, but his eyes still lit up when he got his first per diem money for a MLB road trip. He laughed and stated it was more than his AAA paycheck.

I never quoted or said you implied that they were not prospects, did I? I was expanding on your post and giving info to people who think being released means your through.

Don't revert back to TG stuff.

quote:

Byrnes season and resigning made Quentin expendable.

Add a major component to the mix ... namely one young sprout named JUSTIN UPTON, now playing right field ... and poor Carlos had nowhere to play. He also had to deal with Melvyn's seeming dislike of fielding younger players several years ago and when he first came up, if memory serves me correctly, sat on the pine a lot. (Hmmm ... makes me wonder if his mom or dad got involved ... do you think they called the GM to voice their opinions?)

Our son has had the opportunity to work with several of those 6 guys and was sorry to see all but one of the 5 leave the organization. He is thankful that they have found 'homes' with other organizations because he has come to learn how hard it is for the player to be told they are headed elsewhere ... even when tho they have come to realize that baseball is a business first.

quote:

Don't revert back to TG stuff.

But you just continue being you. I've noticed how well that's received by plenty of people on this board. Obviously if the released players have been signed by other organizations and are playing AAA they're not through.

Take the post for what it was written for, you and I may know they were not done, others not familiar with the business of pro ball may not. Are you telling me that one can't expand on a post?

If I posted something wrong than blast me, I wrote nothing to cause you to make your above comments.

BTW, for your information, the unnamed pitcher you spoke about in another thread not being a weekend starter until junior year then getting drafted high as an example about not getting enough playing time in as a young player, mine didn't sit the bench, he was a weekday starter, weekend reliever, closer who put in 70+ inning his first year and 60+ approximately his second and 100 his third, he got in more than his fair share of playing time. Bad example, but I UNDERSTOOD why you posted it and your point.

I think that you understood my point here as well.

To take a greater (longer term) perspective, in 1993 the Richmond Braves (AAA) won the International League championship despite having pitifully little pitching, behind a starting lineup that was referred to as the "Great 8", supposedly 8 future MLB stars.

Well, some of them have indeed done quite well for themselves. But others missed instead of hit.

Chipper Jones was the SS; at this point, a future Hall of Famer as a 3B. All the more impressive when you remember that 1994 was supposed to be his rookie season before he blew out a knee in spring training. Before that, he was considered a base stealing threat. He hasn't put that many SB's on the stat sheets, but the average, HR's and RBI have justified his being the # 1 overall pick way back when.

Ryan Klesko (1B) was at that time projected as perhaps the best pure power hitting prospect in the minors. He's enjoyed a long career but has never really lived up to that hype. Still, pretty successful.

Javy Lopez (C) would fall somewhere in between -- not quite the career Chipper has had, but stronger in many ways than Klesko.

(Klesko and Lopez are also among the many players whose HR power mysteriously evaporated with the institution of steroids testing. No other evidence, but it makes you wonder.)

The rest, though:

2B Ramon Caraballo -- later traded to Cardinals, had the proverbial "cup of coffee" in the bigs.

3B Jose Olivo -- did pretty well in his rookie campaign with Atlanta, later part of the trade to the Cardinals. Showed power but had difficulty getting his average above .240. Went home one winter to the Dominican Republic and wrapped his car around a tree, died in the accident.

LF Melvin Nieves -- had some strong power numbers for a couple of years with Detroit and San Diego, but never could overcome the strikeout bug and fell out of MLB after a few years.

CF Mike Kelley was a "five tool" guy who got multiple opportunities with several teams, most notably Cincinnati, but I doubt many of you would remember him.

RF Tony Tarasco had a cannon arm that faded after a shoulder injury. He had some years in the bigs but at this point is mostly the answer to a trivia question. (The question being: When Jeffrey Mayer caught the fly ball hit by Derek Jeter that should've been an out but was incorrectly ruled a homer, who was standing at the wall ready to catch it prior to the interference?)


You've heard it many times. If you think getting to MLB is hard, those who get there find that staying is even harder.

I'd bet this group of 8 was well above the norm. All 8 played at least some in the bigs, 3 became standouts with long careers, one is a franchise player on his way to Cooperstown. And yet, 2 never got very far at all and another 3 had what might be called forgettable careers.

In most cases, being a prospect only means you are still in the hunt for an opportunity, at a point when the vast majority of players have since fallen by the wayside. But being in the hunt, and having "arrived", are two points a very long way away from each other.

I don't remember ever reading that being a prospect was easy. But remember this: As hard as it is, there are literally thousands if not millions who would love to be in their position.

quote:

Originally posted by Bulldog 19:
I don't remember ever reading that being a prospect was easy. But remember this: As hard as it is, there are literally thousands if not millions who would love to be in their position.

...even if only for a short while.

bulldog19,
your observation is quite correct. It is also exactly what MLB knows.
It is why Milb players are not organized, why they sign a 6 year contract for far below the minimum wage, in most circumstances, and why MLB should be reexamined as to why/whether they truly deserve their antitrust exemption that allows them to do with their employees what no other business in the USA can do.
What should be the case is that every player in Milb is playing for for an opporunity with any of those 31 teams and their minor league franchises. That would allow more players the opportunity to advance based on talent. It would also drive salaries in ways that would reflect talent and competition, just as every employer must do in this country.

quote:

What should be the case is that every player in Milb is playing for for an opporunity with any of those 31 teams and their minor league franchises. That would allow more players the opportunity to advance based on talent. It would also drive salaries in ways that would reflect talent and competition, just as every employer must do in this country.

A friend's son was cut as spring training ended last year. He did everything a player could do to prove himself in the minors and spring training. But the organization perferred to sign and call up thirty-five year old washups with MLB experience. Only one panned out for a year.

Getting cut wasn't the end of the world. Multiple teams were interested in signing him. The competition for his services doubled his minor league salary. After another good year in the minors last year he's a hamstring pull away from the majors. He was with the parent team through the "home stadium" exhibition games. He's now with an organization that prefers low salary MLB'ers.

Follow-up on the former R-Braves:

I saw in the paper where Ryan Klesko announced his retirement yesterday. He was not picked up by anyone this year. He joins Lopez, who attempted a comeback but retired after the Braves cut him at the end of spring training. I did see that in Klesko's career numbers, they show him with 987 RBI. Remember when 1,000 was your ticket to the Hall?

Meanwhile, Chipper marches on, currently putting up triple crown numbers! Pretty amazing.

Klesko was a fine ball player but he is no Hall of Famer

Not saying he is, I don't think he's even close. Just saying, look how baseball has changed in the modern era. Guys are having longer and longer careers. Numbers that used to bespeak excellence now accumulate if you are just good enough to make the lineup for 15 years.

But then, two of the most prolific passers in NFL history are David Krieg and Vinny Testaverde, so it's not unique to baseball.