CanOfCorn Posted January 12, 2007 Share Posted January 12, 2007 Chris Stewart traded to Rangers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
To LA from Chicago Posted January 12, 2007 Share Posted January 12, 2007 QUOTE(CanOfCorn @ Jan 12, 2007 -> 01:23 PM) Chris Stewart traded to Rangers I thought the Sox were high enough on Stewart as a possible A.J. of the future that they'd keep him. I didn't see that one coming. Blindsided by K-Dub again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockRaines Posted January 12, 2007 Share Posted January 12, 2007 Wow, I really liked Stewart big time. Guess they thought his bat would never be good enough for the majors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kalapse Posted January 12, 2007 Share Posted January 12, 2007 John Lujan: R/R, 6-1, 200, Born: May 10, 1984 A 22 year old at high A ball last year, it's another one of those big arm guys who throw in the upper 90's with NO control. QUOTE(rangersfarmreport.mlblogs.com @ May 10, 2006 -> 03:23 PM) 3) Johnny Lujan: “The Epiphany” Coming out of New Mexico Junior College in 2004, Lujan was among the national JUCO leaders with a sub-1.00 ERA before his final outing and finished 11-2, 1.61 with 103 strikeouts in 78 innings. There was a consistent theme in all of the reports on Lujan coming out of NMJC as the Rangers picked him in the 15th round: talented, but very unrefined. The MLB scouting report on Lujan called him “very raw; just a thrower now.” Baseball America noted that he had “so-so command.” The Core Numbers: 4-4 with a 2.80 ERA for Low-A Clinton; fanning 56 and walking 27 in 64.;1 innings. The Misunderstanding: Big deal. A nice season, but nothing special there. The Story Behind the Core Numbers: Lujan’s 2005 season at Low-A Clinton was good but far from dominant...until August rolled around. The Waco native went on a dominant run down the stretch, posting a 0.44 ERA with 19 strikeouts in 20 innings while holding the Midwest League to a .143 average during the final full month of the season. Over the winter, Lujan virtually erased any notion that his huge August was just a fluke. He went off to the Puerto Rico Winter League where he exploded, tossing 20 scoreless innings while holding the league to a miserable .131 average. That’s right: 20 innings, no runs. None. And his fastball sat at 97 mph. When guys like Lujan–with big raw arms but not much of an idea of what to do with them–start to figure it all out, they can explode. We saw it two years ago with Frankie Francisco who, in spite of a 98 mph fastball and wicked exploding slider, posted a 6.34 ERA in 72.1 Double-A innings before suddenly figuring it all out and putting together a 3.33 ERA in 55 big league innings, playing a key roll in the Rangers surprising 2004 campaign. There’s never really been any doubt about Lujan’s essential talent. The question about Lujan was, and is, whether he can harness his excellent stuff and learn to control the strike zone. As Lujan continues to refine his approach and improve his control, his extraordinary stuff and deceptive delivery should allow him to go all the way and perhaps, just perhaps, become a significant member of the Texas Rangers staff. The Lesson: When the moment of clarity comes to an extremely talented but raw prospect, his ascent can be breathtaking and it appears that the breakthrough has happened for the Waco Kid. John Lombardo, the Rangers director of minor league operations credits Lujan for “[working] very hard, refining his craft under the guidance of Rick Adair and the rest of our development staff and we are certainly starting to see the fruits of this labor. This should only continue through 2006. A lot of credit needs to go to our Scouting staff for recognizing this raw ability and what could be made of it." QUOTE(To LA from Chicago @ Jan 12, 2007 -> 03:29 PM) I thought the Sox were high enough on Stewart as a possible A.J. of the future that they'd keep him. I didn't see that one coming. Blindsided by K-Dub again! He's a damn good defensive catcher but his offense is pretty putrid, this is still a major surprise. There's absolutely no depth in the system at catcher behind Hall now. I suppose Gustavo Molina moves up to the #3 catcher spot now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
To LA from Chicago Posted January 12, 2007 Share Posted January 12, 2007 QUOTE(Kalapse @ Jan 12, 2007 -> 01:33 PM) John Lujan: R/R, 6-1, 200, Born: May 10, 1984 A 22 year old at high A ball last year, it's another one of those big arm guys who throw in the upper 90's with NO control. He's a damn good defensive catcher but his offense is pretty putrid, this is still a major surprise. There's absolutely no depth in the system at catcher behind Hall now. I suppose Gustavo Molina moves up to the #3 catcher spot now. I was thinking the same thing about the #3 catcher. We have enough pitchers for 3 teams now.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockRaines Posted January 12, 2007 Share Posted January 12, 2007 Another project power arm. Not bad, but I still liked Stewart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kalapse Posted January 12, 2007 Share Posted January 12, 2007 Chris Widger, Sandy Alomar Jr., Todd Pratt, Mike DiFelice, Todd Greene, Miguel Perez (Reds non-tender), Jose A. Reyes (Cubs non-tender). Will any of these guys be playing at Charlotte next year? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RibbieRubarb Posted January 12, 2007 Share Posted January 12, 2007 (edited) Kenny sneezes and many of you still think he should cough. Edited January 13, 2007 by RibbieRubarb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TitoMB345 Posted January 12, 2007 Share Posted January 12, 2007 ugh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kalapse Posted January 12, 2007 Share Posted January 12, 2007 QUOTE(Tony82087 @ Jan 12, 2007 -> 03:45 PM) I suppose Stewart became more expendable with Toby on the roster, but Lujan seems like a total project, and Stewart would have been nice to have around if AJ or Toby went down for some insurance. It's clear Lujan has far more upside, but the C spot seems like an odd area for the Sox to deal away. It does seem like he dealt Stewart just to deal him, I'm not really sure what he's going to do now that we don't have anything left in the organization at catcher. I understand the idea of loading up on power arms but trading the #3 catcher in the org, a guy who is projected to atleast be a serviceable backup in the future for a 22 year old reliever at high A ball? Seems a bit counter productive to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maggsmaggs Posted January 12, 2007 Share Posted January 12, 2007 i guess i like the move, if he can harness his stuff, but like people have mentioned we have 0 catching depth. However, Gustavo Molina is a defensive stud, as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoodAsGould Posted January 12, 2007 Share Posted January 12, 2007 (edited) good trade, Stewart had very little upside... and he didnt even catch Haeger in Charlotte so its not like you could use that excuse to keep him. If one of Hall or Pierynski goes down we can always bring back Alomar Edited January 12, 2007 by SoxFan101 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanOfCorn Posted January 12, 2007 Author Share Posted January 12, 2007 QUOTE(Kalapse @ Jan 12, 2007 -> 03:42 PM) Chris Widger, Sandy Alomar Jr., Todd Pratt, Mike DiFelice, Todd Greene, Miguel Perez (Reds non-tender), Jose A. Reyes (Cubs non-tender). Will any of these guys be playing at Charlotte next year? I would imagine Widge, Alomar, Pratt and Greene would retire before they went back to the minors. But I could be wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kalapse Posted January 12, 2007 Share Posted January 12, 2007 QUOTE(maggsmaggs @ Jan 12, 2007 -> 04:02 PM) i guess i like the move, if he can harness his stuff, but like people have mentioned we have 0 catching depth. However, Gustavo Molina is a defensive stud, as well. And Gustavo is also an incredibly dreadful hitter at this point in his career, as a 24 year old at B-Ham last season he was beyond brutal. I like having an outstanding defensive catcher in the fray but he has to be able to hit a little bit. QUOTE(CanOfCorn @ Jan 12, 2007 -> 04:07 PM) I would imagine Widge, Alomar, Pratt and Greene would retire before they went back to the minors. But I could be wrong. Well, Todd Greene did play at AAA in '05 for the Rockies so he could be a possibility. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soxfest Posted January 12, 2007 Share Posted January 12, 2007 More KW stockpiling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigruss Posted January 12, 2007 Share Posted January 12, 2007 Im guessing KDUb was looking at the deal this way: 1) We have another great defender/ horrible offensive catcher in Gustavo Molina in the minors (and i remember reading somewhere that he was the best liked catcher by pitchers in our system) 2) We dont have a need for a young catcher right now with AJ and Hall and its more of a luxury 3) We can try to get a high ceiling guy that needs alot of work 4) Our lower class teams suck and we need to add some depth to those teams for the future Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShoeLessRob Posted January 12, 2007 Share Posted January 12, 2007 As mentioned before we have enough pitchers for another team... I love the depth we have in the minors etc. but uhh... what about position players? Last time I checked we have virtually no one at SS or 2nd... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthSideSox72 Posted January 12, 2007 Share Posted January 12, 2007 QUOTE(TheOcho @ Jan 12, 2007 -> 04:32 PM) As mentioned before we have enough pitchers for another team... I love the depth we have in the minors etc. but uhh... what about position players? Last time I checked we have virtually no one at SS or 2nd... In the current market, SS and 2B are relatively much cheaper than pitchers. Therefore, stockpile young pitchers while they are affordable. KW's theme continues. Also, the more we make moves like this, the more I think we may still trade for a LF, SS or even CF before April 1st. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoSox05 Posted January 12, 2007 Share Posted January 12, 2007 Why is everyone worried about depth? How often do you blow through two catchers in one year. If that happens you sign a Vet, but it won't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hi8is Posted January 12, 2007 Share Posted January 12, 2007 i dont see how you cant like this trade. good stuff kenny. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EvilMonkey Posted January 12, 2007 Share Posted January 12, 2007 A nice minor move. I like it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balta1701 Posted January 12, 2007 Share Posted January 12, 2007 QUOTE(Tony82087 @ Jan 12, 2007 -> 02:51 PM) BTW, 39 on the active roster now, correct? Excellent point, this frees up a spot on the 40 man. Pelfrey and Milledge for Buehrle is again possible! yay! (I'll stop dreaming now) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthSideSox72 Posted January 12, 2007 Share Posted January 12, 2007 QUOTE(Tony82087 @ Jan 12, 2007 -> 04:51 PM) BTW, 39 on the active roster now, correct? *insert ominous background music* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanOfCorn Posted January 12, 2007 Author Share Posted January 12, 2007 QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Jan 12, 2007 -> 04:52 PM) *insert ominous background music* I think it's probably for flexibility's sake...juuuuuussssst in case something comes up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevHead0881 Posted January 12, 2007 Share Posted January 12, 2007 QUOTE(Kalapse @ Jan 12, 2007 -> 04:02 PM) It does seem like he dealt Stewart just to deal him, I'm not really sure what he's going to do now that we don't have anything left in the organization at catcher. I understand the idea of loading up on power arms but trading the #3 catcher in the org, a guy who is projected to at least be a serviceable backup in the future for a 22 year old reliever at high A ball? Seems a bit counter productive to me. I don't know. Stewart is 25 years old and still is a crummy hitter. I'd say at best he's a serviceable backup catcher. And he was only the #3 catcher in or organization because our depth at catcher is pretty slim. It makes our depth worse, but I can't say I feel much worse about our catching depth today than I did yesterday. If I had a higher opinion of Stewart, maybe I'd feel worse about this trade. But since I don't, the more arms the better. And if one of A.J. and/or Toby Hall goes down, we can always find a journeyman catcher to fill the spot. We've done it before, we can do it again. That journeyman catcher may be worthless, but I wouldn't feel any more comfortable with Stewart as the backup. The kid we got back seems to have a live arm. Its a long shot, but for the cost, he's worth a try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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