One Ray's Opinion
I am fortunate enough to have a contact in the Tampa Bay Devil Rays' front office, who was kind enough to offer some remarks regarding the recent Aubrey Huff trade.
Interestingly, Mitch Talbot garnered more attention from this official than Ben Zobrist. This official, who requested anonymity, described Talbot as having "great command" and a "Major League changeup". He went on to say that Talbot gets a "fair amount of strikeouts", which indicates that "he is pounding hitters with quality pitches when it counts". His hope was that Talbot got a taste of AAA late in the season, but acknowledged that he may finish out the season at AA, which still is not bad progress at all for a 22 year old.
As for Zobrist, this official described Zobrist as a "quality player" and a "good SS" but agreed that the jury was still out as to whether he could play SS at the big-league level. This official did opine that as a former Team USA player who "has had success at every level of baseball", it would be a big mistake to "put a cap" on Zobrist.
For what it is worth, Zobrist is 4-14 so far in AAA Durham, with three RBI, two walks and a stolen base. Mitch Talbot pitched six scoreless innings to earn a win in his first start for the Double-A Montgomery Biscuits. Aubrey Huff had a big three-run home run in his Astros' debut Thursday night and was 4-16 in the four-game series in Miami.
Interestingly, Mitch Talbot garnered more attention from this official than Ben Zobrist. This official, who requested anonymity, described Talbot as having "great command" and a "Major League changeup". He went on to say that Talbot gets a "fair amount of strikeouts", which indicates that "he is pounding hitters with quality pitches when it counts". His hope was that Talbot got a taste of AAA late in the season, but acknowledged that he may finish out the season at AA, which still is not bad progress at all for a 22 year old.
As for Zobrist, this official described Zobrist as a "quality player" and a "good SS" but agreed that the jury was still out as to whether he could play SS at the big-league level. This official did opine that as a former Team USA player who "has had success at every level of baseball", it would be a big mistake to "put a cap" on Zobrist.
For what it is worth, Zobrist is 4-14 so far in AAA Durham, with three RBI, two walks and a stolen base. Mitch Talbot pitched six scoreless innings to earn a win in his first start for the Double-A Montgomery Biscuits. Aubrey Huff had a big three-run home run in his Astros' debut Thursday night and was 4-16 in the four-game series in Miami.
posted by Scott | 9:59 AM
1 Comments:
Interesting take. Have to admit that his doubts about Zobrist's ability to succeed at the major league level make me feel a little better about the deal. Of course, Adam Everett isn't exactly succeeding at the major league level either. I need a drink.
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