Texas League Report: Missions v Rockhounds

By Simon Gutierrez

Saturday night. It’s 98 degrees in San Antonio. For some reason, I find myself drawn to Nelson Wolff Municipal Stadium, to sit in the sweltering, record heat. Why? The Missions’ Will Inman is on the mound, opposite Henry Rodriguez and the Midland Rockhounds.

Rodriguez and Inman are two of the brighter pitching prospects in the Texas League. Baseball America ranks Inman as the 7^th best prospect in the Padres’ system, and Rodriguez the 8^th best prospect in the Oakland A’s system. To me, it looked like an intriguing matchup, and worth a trip to the park, even in the sticky, south Texas heat.

Inman didn’t disappoint. He pounded the strike zone, and kept Midland hitters off balance for five innings, yielding only two hits, and striking out seven. Inman used his fastball, coming in consistently at 90-91 mph, to get ahead of hitters, mixing in a decent curve, and the odd changeup. He showed good control of the strike zone, and worked both sides of the plate, ultimately walking away with his fourth win of the season, and lowering his ERA to 1.85. Scouts and prospect hounds aren’t real big on Inman, because none of his three primary pitches is exceptional, but if he keeps the ball down consistently and works on his changeup a little bit, I could easily see him working his way into a fourth or fifth starter role for the Padres in the next year or two.

Unlike Inman, scouts have been raving about Henry Rodriguez since spring training. He’s a fireballer, touching 98 on the stadium gun Saturday night, and he also has a sharp, tight slider he can throw for a strike. That said, Rodriguez looked nowhere near as sharp as Inman on Saturday. After a quick first, he gave up a home run to Jose Lobaton on a hanging slider in the 2^nd, then fell apart in the third, walking the bases loaded, then giving up three straight singles to fall behind 4-0. Missions hitters seemed to be sitting on his fastball, which averaged around 94 mph, and they chased him from the game after 2 2/3 innings. Rodriguez’ ERA shot up to 7.00, and he’s now walked 22 batters in 18 innings at AA. Still, he’s only 21 years old, and if he stays healthy, there’s a pretty good chance a major league team will find a use for that sizzling fastball. I’d say you could conceivably look for him in the A’s bullpen in the next couple years or so.

As for the rest of the game, the Mission got off the schnide, avoiding the sweep at home, and going on to win 5-0. Kyle Blanks kept up his hot hitting, driving in his 22^nd and 23^rd runs of the year, and upping his average to .314. Next up for the Missions, a home series against the Astros’ AA team, the Corpus Christi Hooks, which will feature top Astros pitching prospects Bud Norris and Brad James, who are in line to pitch on the 13^th and 15^th, respectively.

Simon Gutierrez is a reporter for KSAT. Before coming to Texas, he spent two years at ESPN, working on sports documentaries and Sports Center.

LOST: Cabin Fever

OK. I did NOT count the number of WHAT?!?! moments last night. But, man, do I have questions about last night’s show. My recap (and questions galore) is after the jump. If you missed last night’s show, watch it here.

DWTS: Mario’s Out

Just when Mario was starting to find his groove, he found himself in the red light, then getting the boot. If you missed it last night, you can watch it here. Now, here’s my recap of the elimination, the special performances and the list of the judges’ top 10 dances over the last five seasons.

Scouting Rangers Prospects

By Simon Gutierrez

Lots to love about the San Antonio Missions game Thursday night… if you’re a Rangers fan. Some of the Rangers’ brightest young prospects were in the starting lineup for the Frisco Roughriders, and they didn’t disappoint. Don’t get me wrong, Missions fans – there’s a lot to like about the defending Texas League champs, too. But these young kids in the Rangers farm system are something else.

Elvis Andrus started the game at shortstop for Frisco, and looked poised and confident far beyond his 19 years. Rated by Baseball America as the Rangers’ number one prospect, he’s a slick fielder who showed soft hands, looking very good turning a double play in the third. He also flashed a rifle arm, making a great play in the hole and throwing a perfect strike to first across his body, with his momentum carrying him toward left field. At the plate, he looked very comfortable, working the count in his favor and waiting for his pitch. In his first at bat, he came through with the bases loaded, laying off a curve for strike one then ripping an outside fastball the other way into right, scoring two. Andrus finished the day 1-4, but he drew a walk, and probably should have drawn another in the third, when a questionable call on a low outside fastball turned into strike two instead of ball four. His on base percentage and power numbers aren’t great this year, but, again, he’s only 19. To me, he looks like he could develop into a patient, selective hitter with gap power to either field. Lock him in the weight room for a while, and we could see an Edgar Renteria type hitter, capable of maybe 15-20 homers a year.

Chris Davis started the game at first, even though he’s listed as a third baseman. The Ranger’s #2 overall prospect (again, Baseball America), Davis didn’t look out of his depth at first, making a couple good saves on bad throws and showing quick reflexes. A big time power prospect, Davis flexed his muscle in Frisco’s 8-run second, crushing a hanging curve from Stephen Faris to right center for a three run bomb, his 7^th on the season.. Davis finished 3-5 with 4 RBI, raising his average to .320 on the year. The only concern on Davis is that he seems to be a free swinger. He whiffed on three straight low breaking balls in the 5^th, swinging out of his shoes on each one. His strikeout to walk (K/BB) ratio so far this season is a little scary: 28 K in 98 AB, with only 7 walks. Over a full season, that projects to in the neighborhood of (gulp) 180 strikeouts. But, boy, the kid can rake. His 2007 numbers, between Frisco and single A Bakersfield: .297, 36 HR, 118 RBI and, well, 150 strikeouts. But with power numbers like that, will anyone really care if he misses a few? With the Rangers looking shaky both at first and third, Davis looks like he might have a bright future with the club. He’s only 22, but if he keeps hitting like this, the Rangers might not be able to resist the temptation of bringing him up sooner rather than later.

Max Ramirez started the game at DH instead of catcher, his listed position. He came into the game hitting a cool .350, and left the game at .364. He seems like another guy that works the count in his favor, drawing a walk to load the bases in the first, and fouling off a tough curve in the second before ripping a fastball up the middle for a two-run single. In the fifth, he took an outside fastball the other way for another single. His numbers right now are just ridiculous. .364 batting average, .452 on base percentage, .636 slugging percentage, and a 1.088 OPS. That’s just off the charts. You doubt that he can keep that up for a whole season, but last year, he finished with very solid numbers. .304/.419/.504, with 16 homers in less than 400 at bats. Catcher’s a pretty crowded position in the Rangers organization, but this kid looks legit.

That’s all for now. We’ll have some scouting reports on the Missions players from the game later in the week.

Simon Gutierrez is a reporter at KSAT. Prior to joining the news team, he spent two years at ESPN working on documentaries and SportsCenter.

May 2nd Emilio Update

The toxicology tests are in and it does not look good for Emilio. The blood tests have determined the Tejano singer was intoxicated when he crashed his tour bus on Easter weekend.

On Baseball: Rangers/Missions Prospects

By Simon Gutierrez

Heading out to catch the Missions v Frisco game tonight, and I’m looking forward to checking out some future Rangers and Padres players. I reserved a ticket right behind home plate, and it’s dollar hot dog night, so it should be a good time.

Here’s who’s on my radar:

1) Elvis Andrus - SS - Frisco: Andrus is ranked by Baseball America as the Ranger’s top prospect. The Rangers picked him up in the Mark Teixeira trade from the Braves. He’s only 19, and he’s already playing AA ball, so it wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility to see him up in the big show some time in 2009 or early 2010. Scouts love his quick wrists, and ESPN.com’s Keith Law says the ball just jumps off his bat. He’s scuffling a little bit early in the year, hitting .260/.302/.310 (BA, OBP, SLG %) so far, but I’m interested to see this sweet swing of his for myself.

2) Max Ramirez - C - Frisco: The Rangers are loaded with catching prospects, with Jarrod Saltalamachia in the majors now, Taylor Teagarden at AAA Oklahoma, and Ramirez at AA Frisco. Ramirez probably ranks third among them as a prospect, but he’s still just 23, and he’s tearing the cover off the ball this year, hitting .357/.444/.643, with 6 homers and 17 RBI. If I had to bet on it, I’d say Saltalamachia’s future is at 1B, with Teagarden behind the plate. Ramirez could be the odd man out, but he might make for decent trade bait, maybe for a CF like Coco Crisp, who doesn’t seem to have a position any more in Boston, and would allow Josh Hamilton to move over to left field. At any rate, Ramirez is raking right now, and I’m excited to see him in action.

3) Kyle Blanks - 1B - Missions: Baseball America ranks him as the 10th overall prospect in the Padres system. He’s hitting .300 so far this year, with an OBP over .400, and he’s second on the team in RBI with 14. BA also ranks him as the best power hitting prospect in the Padres system.

So take me out to the ballgame! First pitch is 7:05. First hot dog shortly thereafter.

John McCain: Mission Accomplished?

by Samantha Hayes

By now they must expect it. Every year, on May 1st, the networks air the same video, now five years old, of President Bush standing under a banner reading “Mission Accomplished” on an aircraft carrier. While the Bush administration may not like the annual reminder, next year, the Iraq War won’t be their mission to define.

Miley Cyrus Picture Controversy

I’m stepping outside of my usual trivial Bachelor-show banter to sound off on the celebrity controversy of the day. I’m sure you have not not been able to avoid hearing about miss Miley’s provocative pictures in Vanity Fair.

(Annie Leibovitz/Vanity Fair)

Some people say she looks slutty, other people don’t see what the fuss is all about. We’ve all got opinions, here’s mine …

Rangers and Astros Notes

By Simon Gutierrez

Rangers: Looking perhaps to jumpstart what has been a disappointing and unproductive offense so far, the Rangers today called up 23-year-old super prospect Jarrod Saltalamachia. Hitting .291 with 13 RBI in 15 games in Triple-A, expect he’ll be plugged in at 1B, C, and DH in an attempt to shake up an offense that ranks 9th in the league in batting average, 9th in home runs, and holds the dubious distinction of leading the league in strikeouts. Expect some moon shots from Salty going forward, but plenty of swings and misses to go with them.

Losers of 6 straight going into Friday’s contest, the Rangers just plain stink right now. Besides a stagnant offense, the Rangers currently have the worst pitching staff in the American League, ranking last in ERA, last in strikeouts, and leading the league in walks. Key setup men Wes Littleton and Joaquin Benoit have seen their ERAs balloon to 8.64 and 7.56, respectively, but the best stat line comes from Dustin Nippert: a 16.62 ERA, with 16 earned runs in 8.2 innings. Yikes.

Astros: Flip the Rangers’ coin, and you have the Houston Astros. Winners of five straight going into Friday night, they’re just a game under .500. Miguel Tejada has been tearing the cover off the ball of late, hitting .348 so far this year, with 4 HR and 19 RBI. Lance Berkman leads the team with 6 HR and 20 RBI, and Hunter Pence is starting to pick up the pace, lifting his average over the last week and a half to .268. The downside? With the exception of Roy Oswalt, who has struggled, the starting pitching has been overachieving. Expect Shawn Chacon’s 2.77 ERA to come back down to earth, and don’t expect Wandy Rodriguez to continue his hot start once he returns from the DL. Also, closer Jose Valverde has been a mess, as predicted. He’s blown three saves compared to three converted, has an ERA of 8.18, and has given up 16 hits in 11 innings of work. Not the stopper Astros fans were looking for at the back of the bullpen. Anyone miss Brad Lidge yet?

April 22 Emilio Update

Another big step in Emilio’s recovery…literally.

He’s reportedly walking! Read for yourself here.

You can continue to leave well wishes on our website. Just click here.