NL Callup Report

Jason Michael Barker

It feels a bit weird to write about baseball, just as I'm sure it was a bit strange for those who attended games Monday night or will do so Tuesday. It's particularly weird for me, since I was the last writer here at Strikethree.com to compose a column before last Tuesday's tragic events. I wrote last week's AL Callup Report late Monday night and updated the website just before going to bed, only to be awoken a few hours later with the news of a plane crashing into one of the World Trade Center's towers.

It's a bit weird to write about baseball, but I'm going to do so anyway. Partly because I think you came here to read about baseball rather than world events, and partly because so many other baseball writers have spent enough time away from the sport. Also because I think Michael Cox did a better job expressing things yesterday than I could put into words, and also because I personally am ready to move on, even if just a little bit, and writing a column is one way I can go about my "normal" business.

Back to baseball it is, then, with a look at some of the more interesting September callups around the National League.

Arizona
Moving in order from least likely to help a major league club, we begin with SS Alex Cintron. Cintron gets rave reviews from scouts because of his tools and athletic ability, but so far -- as is often the case -- those skills haven't translated into baseball performance. That's not entirely fair; he has a .287 average in five years in the majors, but as you might guess, his lack of power and unwillingness to draw walks hinder his production. He also made 32 errors this year in 107 games, so there's work to do there as well.

Lyle Overbay draws comparisons to Mark Grace, as they play the same position but don't hit for the power traditionally associated with it. Overbay hit .352 at AAA El Paso, drew 67 walks for a .423 OBP, and smacked 49 doubles as well. The downside here is that he mostly plays first and isn't overly young (25). He'll certainly hit enough to be useful if he can handle the outfield corners.

Hitting is the least of Jack Cust's concerns -- he hit .293/.440/.526 at AA last year, and .278/.415/.525 at AAA in 2001. He strikes out a ton, but also draws a ton of walks... in many respects he's quite similar to Jim Thome. Unfortunately Cust's glove in the outfield will likely lead him to first base or designated hitter, unless a team is willing to put up with him in an outfield corner. Somehow the A's seem to fit that description.

Atlanta
If nothing else, love Tim Spooneybarger for his name. If that's not enough for you, perhaps his 0.71 ERA at AAA this year will be. He did allow just over one baserunner per inning, so that ERA is deceptively low, but he had a 1.71 mark entering the year -- he must be doing something right. It doesn't hurt that he's only allowed three homers in 156 minor league innings. Spooneybarger throws a fastball and good curveball. It might be interesting to see if he can be a starter; in another organization he probably already would be.

If the Braves weren't already blessed with Rafael Furcal, you might here more about Wilson Betemit, who hit .352 at AA this year -- at age 19. OK, so it was only 183 at-bats, and sure, he hit .277 at high-A to start the year. But any player who can hold his own, let alone hit .352, at AA at age 19 is worth watching, particularly a shortstop. Betemit is a switch hitter with good power from both sides, and he should develop more as he gets older. The only thing missing from his game is walks, but in his defense he doesn't strike out much, either. In terms of future development, that's far from a mark against such a young player.

Chicago
The Cubs called up a pair of young pitchers this month in Juan Cruz and Carlos Zambrano. Cruz exploded on the scene last year as one of the top pitching prospects in baseball after an extremely mediocre 1999 season and he continued his success this year at AA, fanning 137 batters in 121.1 innings to go along with 107 hits and 60 walks. If there's a concern, it's his control -- in addition to the 60 walks, he also hit 16 batters. Most recently he's put together a 1.90 ERA in four starts for the Cubs, and Don Baylor has wisely limited to just 87 pitches per outing.

Zambrano began his career as a starter, was converted to the bullpen last year in the hopes that he'd become the "closer of the future," and then returned to the rotation this year at AAA Iowa. He walked 40 men in 56.2 innings as a reliever last year, but this year allowed just 68 in 150.2 innings, surrendered just 124 hits and fanned 155. At this point it's safe to say the move back to starting was a good one.

Cincinnati
In general it's not a good idea to get too excited about minor league closers. Chris Piersoll is no exception, but he pitched well enough at AA this season that there's probably a relief job in his future, though probably not as a closer. Tossing aside his save total for a minute, Piersoll struck out 78 hitters in 56 innings and only allowed two homers all year. The 30 walks are troubling, but aren't a big deal when you get hitters out via strikeouts and groundballs, the latter of which mean doubleplays with a runner on base, and don't allow many homers.

Colorado
Jason Jennings has gotten a great deal of attention since his callup, both because of the 1.23 ERA he put up in his first three starts and because he hit a homer in his first start. Reality set in during his fourth start, which coincidentally enough was his first at Coors Field after three on the road. 5.2 innings, 9 hits and 4 earned runs later, his ERA jumped to 2.28. Jennings' numbers at AAA this year were nothing special, and on top of that I'm just never sold on a young pitcher who must toil half the time in Colorado.

Florida
The baseball world caught their first glimpse of Josh Beckett two weeks ago, when the 21-year old right-hander shut the Cubs down on one hit over six innings. Because they have so much riding on him I don't think the Marlins are likely to overwork Beckett, though of course the temptation will be there, particularly if he continues to pitch well. In any event, he should be in the starting rotation out of spring training next year barring injury (which of course is always a concern with young pitchers).

Next comes the trio of Jason Grilli, Blaine Neal, Kevin Olsen. Each has their own story -- Grilli is a former #1 pick who came over from the Giants in exchange for Livan Hernandez a few years back, but has never panned out as either the Giants or Marlins had hoped. Neal supposedly has a good fastball and slider, though you wouldn't know it from his low strikeout total at AA this year. He has a chance to help a club in relief if his 2.36 ERA this year is any indication. Neal's teammate Olsen started 26 games at Portland this year, allowing just 123 hits and 21 walks in 154.2 innings. He's a soft-tosser, but one who struck out 144 hitters this year. His approach will be tested next year at AAA, where the hitters are often more patient.

Houston
Before being diagnosed with a partial tear in his left-rotator cuff, Carlos Hernandez made three brilliant starts after being recalled from AA Round Rock, where he went 12-3 with a 3.69 ERA and 167 K's in 139 innings. He dramatically improved his strikeout rate this year, which bodes well for his future. As David Cameron points out on the Prospect Ten, the Astros just might crank out two starting rotations from their farm system.

Tim Redding was up with the big club earlier in the year after essentially skipping AAA -- he made a lone start there after 14 starts at Round Rock -- but struggled in six starts and was shipped down to New Orleans for more seasoning. He pitched well for the Zephyrs, but struggled with his control. Like teammate Roy Oswalt, Redding is yet another of the Astros hard-throwing, short right-handers. Oswalt is more polished at this point, but Redding might have the higher ceiling if he develops his changeup.

The Astros hoped Adam Everett was their shortstop of the future when they acquired him from the Red Sox for Carl Everett a few years back, but so far the slick fielding shortstop hasn't hit AAA pitching. After hitting .245 there last season, he "improved" to .249 this year, and his walk rate fell off dramatically as well, leading to a .330 OBP, and he doesn't hit for power either. He isn't particularly young, so he'll have to pick up his offensive game in a hurry if he's going to be more than a middle infield reserve.

Los Angeles
The Dodgers hadn't called up anyone of consequence as I wrote this, but Phil Hiatt deserves a mention for his monster season at AAA Las Vegas. At 32 he's too old to be considered a prospect, and he owns a .211 average over 412 scattered major league at-bats. Check out his line in the minors this year: .330/.406/.722, with 44 homers and 52 walks in 436 at-bats. He did this mostly while playing third, and while he won't win a Gold Glove, a team that's not overly concerned about defense at the hot corner might be willing to give him a shot based on his stellar 2001 campaign.

This is getting quite a bit longer than I originally intended, and as such I'll save the remaining teams -- Milwaukee, Montreal, New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, San Diego, San Francisco and St. Louis -- for next week.

Until then, I hope you find a way to do whatever you need to do to regain some semblance of "normal." For me, that means a baseball game tonight, and another this weekend (in addition to a college football game Saturday).

about the author

Jason Michael Barker can be reached at jmb@strikethree.com. He invites you to donate money to the Red Cross.

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