moragasoxfan

QUOTE (fathom @ May 9, 2009 -> 09:23 PM) Looks like Poreda ran out of gas in the 7th. Still, a promising start. Aaron said that his back was stiff the whole game. He was told that he would just have to "sack up" and keep pitching. It probably explains why he was up in the zone so much. He was struggling with command of his FB the whole game, but he kept getting out of trouble. He thought he could do it one more time in the 7th.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Nov 17, 2008 -> 07:28 PM) Armstrong is #9. Funny that Kyle McCulloch has fallen so far off the map that a first rounder in our system doesn't even merit a mention anymore. I guess that's a good thing. Oops! Forgot that Armstrong was already on the Top 10 list. Rogers comment on McCulloch: "He still has value but more as an organizational guy."

Although BA doesn't post its Top 30 until January, one can get a pretty good idea of the approximate order of the next 12 prospects, based on the Rogers chat. Brent Morel Jon Link Jhonny Nunez Jeff Marquez Jose Martinez Adam Russell Dexter Carter Dan Hudson Jack Egbert - "20 or below" Lucas Harrell - "20 or below" Juan Silverio - low 20s You would have to believe that Lance Broadway is rated somewhere in the 11 to 20 range although Rogers never specifically says that he's still in the Top 30. Other prospects mentioned as Top 30: Justin Cassell, Cole Armstong

QUOTE (3E8 @ Aug 18, 2008 -> 01:16 PM) Of course he's not ready. But we need a spot start from someone in the heat of a playoff race and Poreda is a lefty who can throw 100 mph Just to be clear, the only times that Poreda registered 100 mph were last year when he was coming out of the bullpen in Great Falls. There was one time that he registered 99 mph on the stadium radar gun this year, but the team gun said 97. Typical FB velocity during his game is 92 to 96.....but remember, it's not the speed, it's the movement and the command.

QUOTE (Heads22 @ Aug 9, 2008 -> 02:31 PM) I sure hope so. I wonder if this means his breaking/offspeed stuff is developing? It has been a continuous improvement process. Several things have improved: 1) he had a break through (of sorts) with his change when he made a slight adjustment to his grip; 2) Better command of slider (fewer hangers/more in the dirt); 3) Better FB command (more first pitch strikes) He's still throwing about 70% FB.

QUOTE (dasox24 @ Aug 9, 2008 -> 02:01 AM) The last couple of outings for both Poreda and Ely have been absolutely rock solid. Can't wait to see what happens with Poreda come September... Always nice seeing Shelby do well. He's had himself quite a season. Let's hope he keeps it up. And Retherford went hitless for what seems like the 1st time in forever. Guess it had to happen sooner or later, lol. I think that Poreda is starting to figure out the Southern League. It'll be interesting to see if he can continue this trend: Month IP ERA AVG K/9 BB/9 GO/AO June 18.0 5.00 .303 0.88 0.22 0.57 July 33.2 3.48 .250 0.65 0.39 1.88 Aug 14.0 1.29 .176 1.21 0.00 2.13

QUOTE (bighurt4life @ Jul 6, 2008 -> 11:15 PM) Poreda's looking good so far in AA. He's only had one really bad game so far, pretty good strikeout numbers and few walks. If he keeps it up he may be a late season call-up a-la Bobby Jenks '05. This all presupposes however that we're in contention In the early innings, Poreda was commanding both sides of the plate with his FB and was getting ahead on every hitter with first pitch strikes. That's what he needs to do to set up the off speed pitches. Approximately 25% of his 94 pitches were offspeed pitches; that percentage has been pretty consistent for the past few games. Ground outs/Fly outs was 11-2. In the 7th inning he kind of lost his rhythm. He gave up a leadoff walk (of course, the runner scored). This was probably his overall best pitching performance, even though he didn't get the win. He was equally dominant in his one-hitter vs. Lynchburg, but this one was against a very good hitting Huntsville team.

QUOTE (JPN366 @ Jun 27, 2008 -> 11:34 AM) Jon Link is lights out for B'ham, so I don't see Texeira being promoted just yet. W-S needs someone to replace Rote who was bumped up to B'Ham. They're probably looking at Mabee to be the closer in W-S next year.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Jun 26, 2008 -> 11:39 PM) Rough first inning, but he picked up after that. The Sox are clearly working on a few things with Poreda and long-term it will really be beneficial for him. As long as he stays healthy I have no doubt he'll make an impact at the major league level, the question is whether he'll be able to develop the secondary stuff to become a starter of if he'll end up being a reliever. Regardless, he has a future in the bigs as long as he stays healthy. Hudson was one of many rock solid picks by the Sox. I hope the developmental people in the org can do there job because the past two years the Sox have actually started collecting some "raw" arms and now they'll need to teach and develop those arms. The system still has a long long way to go, but they had to start somewhere and I've liked the approach they've taken, although it still isn't perfect in my eyes (if they sign Upchurch and Danks I'll be a lot more pleased though, haha). The basic problem with Poreda in the 1st inning yesterday was command of the FB (two walks); in order to throw strikes, he had to take a little off (90 to 94 mph) and was aiming it. He was always behind in the count and didn't have a chance to use the offspeed stuff. After the 1st inning, he was able to establish the offspeed stuff (20 to 25 offspeed pitches for the game). He got several outs on change ups (Ks and pop ups) and a nice K on Kotsay with his slider.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Jun 26, 2008 -> 11:56 AM) Sweet, I love this sort of info. I'm real excited to see how Aaron progresses at this next level. I know from some discussions I've had with some people in the org, the Sox have been working a lot with Aaron on having him improve his secondary stuff and I was going to see if you could provide us with any insight as to how that is going? Have they gotten to a point where they have him throw some of those pitches in situations where he wouldn't usually (so that he gets more comortable with it)? I know in the past organizations have done that sort of things with there top prospects where they essentially tell them to focus on improving there weaknesses and to stop relying on there strenghts so that the weaknesses get better (cause the strengths' will always be there). The change and slider are both progressing, and he is throwing them more often in key game situations. He's been working to get the velocity of the change down into the low 80s and still maintain the appearance of the FB (arm speed, mechanics, etc). With the slider, the main thing that he's working on now is command. He often has a target for how many off speed pitches to throw in a game. However, since they're still a work in progress, sometimes it costs him (in terms of BB, ERA, etc). In his last start he threw about 25 offspeed pitches (out of 90).

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Jun 26, 2008 -> 08:42 AM) Interesting. So we apparently have a friend of his on the board? By the way, what's with all the italics? Apparently

QUOTE (JPN366 @ Jun 25, 2008 -> 04:35 PM) Standing next to catcher Cole Armstrong, who is 6'3" 220, Aaron looked leaner and barely taller. I have a mark on the kitchen wall that puts him at a little over 6' 5", and at spring training, he said he was down to about 230; however, at his last official weigh-in (last month), he checked in at 240.

QUOTE (JPN366 @ Jun 21, 2008 -> 02:47 PM) Poreda was what I expected. His velocity was in the high 90's, touching 99 at one point. Although his delivery was almost effortless. You wouldn't think he'd generate that kind of speed with his throwing motion. One thing that is not true about Aaron...he's not 6'6" nor 240. I'd say he's about 6'4" and 1/2 and about 220. The radar gun on the field in B'Ham is a little hot; he actually topped out at 97 on Friday, according to other sources. You're right about his height; he's probably closer to 6'5". However, he does weight 235 - 240 lbs.