All of a sudden Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, is the place to see the best young pitching in the Minor Leagues. The Braves advanced A-ball affiliate already has two of the Braves top three pitching prospects in Julio Teheran and Randall Delgado. Now they will receive the final piece of the trinity as Arodys Vizcaino was promoted from low-A Rome to Myrtle Beach today.
Vizcaino was the main prospect the Braves received in the trade this winter that sent Javier Vazquez to the Yankees. He was the Yankees top pitching prospect and some feel he's better than either Teheran or Delgado. Vizcaino is in the midst of a 34.2 inning scoreless stretch spanning five games. He was clearly dominating the Sally League, and will now have his chance in the Carolina League.
When Teheran was promoted he made an immediate impact on his new, more advance, team. Will Vizcaino be able to do the same? These three prospects continue to shoot up, not only the Braves, but baseball's prospect charts. As Teheran, Delgado, and Vizcaino could all be considered the Braves top-3 prospects, and among the top-100 prospects in all the minor leagues.
Another promotion this year from Rome to Myrtle, left-hander Brett Oberholtzer, is also doing well of late in the Myrtle Beach rotation. Along with J.J. Hoover, likely the fourth-best pitching prospect in the Braves system, the Myrtle Beach rotation is now the best rotation in the minor leagues.
Too bad they didn't tell Arodys he was getting promoted yesterday, he could have gotten a ride with shortstop Mycal Jones, who made the drive from Rome to the Beach on Wednesday. Now there are two Mike Jones' in Myrtle Beach.
Exciting times for Braves fans!
UPDATE: Julio Teheran, Randall Delgado, and J.J. Hoover have all been named Carolina League All-Stars.
0 recs | 71 comments
Speaking of our top pitching prospects…maybe I missed this, but what’s going on with Zeke?
Zeus12888 - June 10, 2010
He punched a wall… and now he’s out for a while. He’ll probably crank it back up when the GCL season gets going.
gondeee - June 10, 2010
*facepalm*
Zeus12888 - June 10, 2010
That should be like the #1 rule for all players. No punching walls. Nothing good comes from it.
Sparhawk - June 10, 2010
Or as Bull Durham told them...
“when you get in a fight with a drunk you don’t hit him with your pitching hand”
Mr. Sanchez - June 10, 2010
Must find a way to convince the Mrs. to go to Myrtle Beach for vacation...
KoKo the Monkey (T-Bone) - June 10, 2010
if the Mrs. declines,
I’d be happy to keep you company.
VivaLosBravos - June 10, 2010
We need a dentist and we would have a sequel to The Hangover!
bwellnjonesco - June 10, 2010
lots of movement.....
here is the Rome press release…
Pitchers Ryan Weber & Dalton Acord have been moved to the Danville. Rome also sends infielders Mycal Jones & Osman Marval along with pitcher Arodys Vizcaino to Myrtle Beach of the Carolina League. Rome activates LHP Stephen Kent from the disabled list, & RHP Steven Figueroa & RHP Caleb Brewer are received from Danville along with infielder Chris Lovett.
rbravesfan - June 10, 2010
Nice to see Brewer moving up too.
gondeee - June 10, 2010
We just keep bringing the arms. While these 3 are probably several years away from the majors, it’s nice to know we are well stocked with pitching for years to come.
DawgB - June 10, 2010
Hoover a better prospect than Minor? We’ll see.
VivaLosBravos - June 10, 2010
BIG Hoover fan. He’s got the talent and skills, and you’ll be hard pressed to find anyone who works harder.
rbravesfan - June 10, 2010
I think once he gets up higher and they move him into the bullpen he’s going to be damn near unhittable.
cbwilk - June 10, 2010
moving him to the bullpen will diminish his value though. At this point, minor is flat out nasty and at a higher level
telemakhos - June 10, 2010
A thought...
could Vizcaino be going to the bullpen, at least to start out with Myrtle? He’s already more than 25 innings over his total in either of his previous two seasons on the Yankees farm (69+ right now, after 40-44 in 08 and 09). Perhaps they limit his innings a little by sticking him in their bullpen until Delgado goes up, or a spot opens up in their rotation another way.
Mr. Sanchez - June 10, 2010
I doubt they’d move him up to put him in the bullpen. Matt Crim is either going to go to the pen or Delgado is going to move up. It just wouldn’t make sense to move him up and have him pitch in a place he’s not familiar with.
cbwilk - June 10, 2010
Fair enough...
I guess if his innings total was that much of a concern, they could always just sit him for a while, or use Crim (assuming he’s the one who loses his spot) as a long man bracketed with him kind of like they do early in the season. Still, a full season as a starter would possibly triple his innings total from previous years, and the guy did have I think it was a back issue last year that got him shut down.
Mr. Sanchez - June 10, 2010
He had a little bit of a back issue that kept him out of most of August.
cbwilk - June 10, 2010
Thought that was it...
remember you harping on that when we got him. Not like it was a bad thing, just when people tried to make out like Julio should be lower because of his injury in 08.
Still, jumping to 120+ innings after only going 40 the previous two years has to cause a little concern.
Mr. Sanchez - June 10, 2010
Great to see you remembered the thrust of my argument. Yes, I think the increase in innings is worth looking at, but I also guarantee the Braves wouldn’t do it if they didn’t think he could handle it.
cbwilk - June 10, 2010
True enough...
but I’d still think Minor has to be above him, and somewhere in the top 4 if not top 3.
Mr. Sanchez - June 10, 2010
Right now I’d go Teheran, Delgado, Vizcaino, then Minor.
cbwilk - June 10, 2010
Outside of improving his change up and feel/approach...
I’d think Vizcaino is closer to a finished product, ala Minor, than Delgado or Teheran. Reports have them as longer and lanky, with frames that will continue to mature and get stronger (possibly adding a little more velocity to their heat, etc). Vizcaino, when I saw him, appeared pretty mature physically, around 6’ and pretty stout and muscular, and I wouldn’t expect his body to change as much between now and 25 as Teheran’s will.
Am I way off with that line of thinking?
Mr. Sanchez - June 10, 2010
Physically he’s probably the closest to what he’s going to be, though my guess is Minor is probably where he’s going to be at, but I’d say of these 4 Minor is the closest to finished and Vizcaino is maybe the farthest away.
cbwilk - June 10, 2010
Vizcaino
is closer to 6’2" than 6’0".
apoxonbothyourhouses - June 11, 2010
Do they not list him at 6’2"?
cbwilk - June 11, 2010
Nope...
6’, 189#.
http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?pos=P&sid=t521&t=p_pbp&pid=527055
Mr. Sanchez - June 11, 2010
MInopr is a lot closer to being Major League ready than any of these other guys. Hard work alone does not make a great ballplayer. It’s different coming out of the pen for an inning or so and being unhittable, as opposed to being a startyer. Starters are expectyed to give up some runs, most days.
DawgB - June 10, 2010
Relevant?
acie4mvp - June 11, 2010
Anyone else think our MB rotation
might be better than a couple MLB rotations right now? OK, probably not, but it’s still pretty awesome to have all those guys in one spot. Most teams would kill to have even 1 pitching prospect as good as JT, AV, or RD, and we’ve got them all on one farm team.
Jacob Peterson - June 10, 2010
can you say....
Pittsburgh?
apoxonbothyourhouses - June 11, 2010
Man, I really need to get all these guys together and get a picture. That would be sweet.
cbwilk - June 10, 2010
Your mission, Mr. Wilk, should you choose to accept it….
….this message will self destruct in 5 seconds.
Dave_D - June 10, 2010
LOL
Nice!
Jay212033 - June 10, 2010
Good news. This is his first full season, so did we make this move a little to early? I think that this is a good move because he was dominating, but is rushing a bit? Just wondering.
Braves24 - June 10, 2010
IMO, and CB can chime in
But the jump from Rome to Myrtle is not as big as from Myrtle to Mississippi. I think the organization takes the latter move quite a bit more deliberately. If Teheran or Viz got moved up again this year, that would surprise me and be candidate for the “rushing” label.
fphjr01 - June 10, 2010
Oh yea A to AA is believed to be the biggest jump. I guess they wanted JT and AV to be together?
Braves24 - June 10, 2010
I think people underestimate the jump from Low A to High A. It’s a lot bigger than folks make it out to be. Because in Low A you may have some older guys, but they’re still pretty inexperienced, but in High A you have quite a few guys who are in the league for the 2nd or 3rd time. And the Carolina League only has 7 teams, so you end up seeing everyone a lot, which gives them a much greater advantage over you.
But yes, AA is the seperator between guys who might make it and guys who have no chance. Because you end up with players who are working on 8 plus year careers, guys who have played in the Majors, and generally just guys who are good.
I highly doubt either Teheran or Vizcaino move up again.
cbwilk - June 10, 2010
The overall quality of the hitters will be better. We need to see if he can perform at the next level. Some players progress faster than others. Also, he did pitch in short season ball last year for the Yankees, so he’s got close to a full season under his belt.
DawgB - June 10, 2010
when a guy hasn’t walked anyone in over 40 innings, I wouldn’t say it’s rushing him to promote him.
telemakhos - June 10, 2010
cool frijoles...............unrelated question....
Anybody know why the Mets/Pads opted to have a double header, and the Fish/Phils didn’t ?
Chief Noc-A-Homa - June 10, 2010
B/c the mets/pads only play one series a year in each other's park
Phils / Fish is in the division, and they can reschedule more easily on a mutually open date or double header for one of the several remaining series of the year.
fphjr01 - June 10, 2010
Something to do with scheduling later in the year, would be my gess. The Padres will only visit NY 1 time this year, while the Phills and Fish probably have 1 or 2 more series left, to tak the game on to an off day or maybe a double-header later on this year.
DawgB - June 10, 2010
good calls
Chief Noc-A-Homa - June 10, 2010
HUMAN TEAMMATE HEYWARD JASON FOR FRANCHISE MVP AFTER TAKING MATTERS INTO OWN HANDS AND REMOVING MCLOUTH NATE FROM LINEUP
Zeus12888 - June 10, 2010
yay Cyborg!
MBL1 - June 10, 2010 via mobile
Now...if only Schafer was hitting...
so he could replace McSlump.
DolphinNation - June 10, 2010
Hahaha
That’s awesome
vooodooo - June 10, 2010
Utterly uncalled for
Intent on preserving the lead, and with full knowledge of the risk, McClouth ran full-tilt toward a 240 pound player rushing full-tilt at him.
Regardless of his problems at the plate, the man put everything on the line and could have suffered very serious injury.
Making light of a person’s injuries is about as uncouth and immature as it gets.
JohnDrake6 - June 10, 2010
buzz killington
bpk228480 - June 10, 2010
Seems like every year
We’ve got some ridiculously good pitching at Myrtle.
Bronn - June 10, 2010
If only 1 or 2 of them pan out, we are in great shape down the road.
DawgB - June 10, 2010
'cause MB
is the ballpark where hitters go to struggle.
unless you’re Heyward.
apoxonbothyourhouses - June 11, 2010
Kinda discounting Minor IMO. All four might be top 50 prospects.
timmy3 - June 10, 2010
Minor was discounted by most
after the drat last year, too. But he is definitely a top prospect, even though he has seemed to struggle lately. I can see him making the team in 2012. That will be after KK’s contract is up. He could even get the call next year, if the need for a starter arises.
DawgB - June 10, 2010
Everyone discounted him because they assumed he didn’t have any more projection left. So far this year, he’s added velocity to his fastball and improved his secondary pitches. Instead of talking about him as a safe pick with a ceiling of a mid-rotation starter, people are saying his ceiling is higher than that now.
telemakhos - June 10, 2010
Delgado
It’s about time we hear him getting moved up to AA.
Jay212033 - June 10, 2010
So who leaves the rotation, Oberholtzer or Crim?
and it can’t be too much longer before Delgado goes to AA, can it? We’ve got enough starters in Myrtle, and how much more can he prove than his first half of dominance? Besides, it’s not like Mississippi can’t make room moving Sullivan or Thompson to the bullpen.
And did Myrtle have to disable someone or send someone down? The release mentioned by rbravesfan above doesn’t say anything about it, and I’ve got no idea if minor league teams have a strict 25 man roster.
Mr. Sanchez - June 10, 2010
They do have strict roster limits. Benino Pruneda was moved up and Ryan Barba was released. Right now they have 24 players on their roster and they have Scott Proctor, who doesn’t count because of his rehab.
cbwilk - June 10, 2010
thanks...
there could be a pretty big logjam in Myrtle once Rohrbough and Spruill get healthy, without more movement up or down considering they already have 6 potential starters in Crim, Ober, Hoover, and “the trinity”.
Mr. Sanchez - June 10, 2010
rohrbough isn’t worth much anymore. They could very easily demote him, move him to the bullpen, or flat out release him
telemakhos - June 10, 2010
Im guessing
Delgado is going to AA. There is no reason to keep him down any longer
drumzalicious - June 10, 2010
What happened to Chris Masters? I haven’t heard his name in a while.
Michael Pesce - June 10, 2010
Still scary good.
1.88 ERA, 60 K/18 BB, .194 BAA
ShawnG - June 10, 2010
How come everyone forgets Robinson Lopez
isn’t he suppose to be have some of the best stuff out of all of these guys. We all believe Teheran is #1 with his stuff and makeup but behind him you have to consider everyone else equal in terms of projection.
In 2013 this team will have a problem in terms of dealing with all these guys that will deserve rotation spots of major league spots:
Teheran
Vizcaino
Minor(maybe 2012)
Delgado(maybe 2012)
Lopez
-all 5 if project out and develop properly will deserve rotation spots, more than likely 1 will fail to meet his projections.
Plently of bullpen help too with Hoover, Redmond, Oberholzer, Masters, RSF, Kimbrel, Marek and Dunn
jaypatel - June 10, 2010
BTW
a good problem to have
jaypatel - June 10, 2010
Robinson Lopez isn’t in that same group because he hasn’t proven it to the degree that the others have. As far as respect is concerned, he’s about where Randall Delgado was last year. Randall wasn’t a well known prospect but his performance has spoken for itself and now he’s being given serious looks on top prospect lists. Lopez has to do the same thing. Teheran and Vizcaino were highly touted right from the start. They were big names that have lived up to every bit of hype about them so far, so they’re absolutely in that elite prospect category.
minor will be ready next year if he keeps up decent performance.
Also, most likely, more than one will fail to live up to potential. Minor league prospect attrition rates are terrible. Assume half of them won’t make it in the long run.
telemakhos - June 10, 2010
Lopez is the same age as Teheran and Vizcaino without their stats behind him. He hasn’t pitched as much and hasn’t had as much success. I won’t disagree that he could be as good or better than them, but for right now I’ll go with the guys who have done more, and are doing more, at the same age.
cbwilk - June 10, 2010
Agreed, but telemakhos makes a good point on Delgado...
he had his bumps at 19 in the first half season at Rome, before finding his groove going into the second half and not looking back. Now, what you said is true, and it takes Lopez making that similar step going forward from here. But the comparison as of the moment isn’t off. I don’t expect Lopez to go on a run like RD has over the next 18 months, but at 19 with a half season in Rome, they are a bit similar.
Mr. Sanchez - June 11, 2010
interesting...
but you can NEVER have enough pitching. also, some will be traded for positional players and another impact bat (maybe 3B? maybe LF? maybe 2B, allowing prado to move to 3B?)
apoxonbothyourhouses - June 11, 2010
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