Give 'Em A Shot: AAAA Players

So most die-hard fans know their team's top prospects, but what about the forgotten guys, the guys who are role-players, fillers, the like. Fact of the matter is some of these role-players for one team, could be a true contributer to a different major league club. In this weekly feature we will look at two "AAAA" players who could be a help to your big-league club.

Brian Barden
Age: 30
Height: 5'11"
Weight: 200
Organization: Rangers
Bats/Throws: R/R
Position: 3B/INF

Barden was drafted in the 6th round in 2002, and while he does have 119 games of MLB Experience, the guy has spent parts of the last EIGHT years at the AAA-level. He has played over 100 games at 2B, SS, and 3B. Barden is a reliable fielder, and is a career .300 hitter in the minors. He isn't a huge power-threat but he has a career .805 OPS in the minors, and can hit a bit. His time in the majors hasn't been great, .211 in 175 ABs. But he has also shown that he can have a role. I think of Andres Blanco when I see Barden, they are about the same build, and I think he could fit a Blanco-esque role quite nicely with the right-team. In fact they have nearly identical fielding percentages in the minors, with Barden holding a slight edge. Barden is a better hitter, and while he may not have the range of Blanco, I think he has greater value than Blanco. He does swing and miss more frequently than the average Major Leaguer, and this could be a hinderance, his career (combined MLB/MiLB) K rate is 20.8%.

Barden is the perfect utility infielder for a team that could use an above average fielder, and a decent hitter. He is tearing up AAA at the moment, (as of 6/28/11: .360/.405/.557) and really deserves a full-time MLB Bench gig. Surely there is some-team willing to flip a AAA-Reliever or low-level prospect for some quick and easy bench help.

Jose Constanza

Age: 27

Height: 5'9"

Weight: 150

Organization: Braves

Bats/Throws: L/L

Position: CF/OF

Ok, so looking at him, Constanza doesn't look like a ballplayer. But all he has done so far in 2011 is PRODUCE. He started 2011 as a Caribbean World Series All-Star, and has kept it rolling. Even historically Constanza produces, he was the DSL MVP in 2004, was an NYPL All-Star in 2005, and was an International League all-star in 2010, and repeating in 2011. His game is built around speed, in fact he was named the International League's fastest player last season. He made his AAA debut last season with Columbus (Indians AAA) and raked at a .319 clip. This season he isn't slowing down, through June 28th he is hitting .339/.386/.392. He has no power to speak of (his OBP is actually HIGHER than his slugging for his career, .367 vs. .360), so far he has a TOTAL of 7 extra base hits...and 76 singles. But he hits for average no denying that and can make things happen with his speed, 224 SB in 6+ professional seasons and an 80% success rate. His success rate has been 81.5% in AAA, and overall he has the potential to swipe one at anytime.  He is a good OF, with good instincts, and great closing speed. He has a decent arm, recording 7 assists in 110 games last season, and doesn't make many mistakes (2 errors in 110 games). 

He could be a valuable late season add for a team looking for a speed-boost and a good defensive replacement. That likely won't happen with the Braves, though I wouldn't count it out as they only have 5 OF on the 40-man roster and only Matt Young isn't with the MLB-team now. Instead Young is teaming with Constanza in Gwinnett and is hitting .310. Both Young and Constanza are similar players, but Constanza has the speed advantage and in my mind that makes him more valuable. Young being on the 40-man though will likely keep him with the Braves.

The Forgotten Verlander

With all the hype surrounding Justin Verlander it is easy to forget that he wasn't highly regarded out of high-school. In fact his senior year he was topping out in the mid-80s. Old Dominion University gave him a shot, and within a year Justin was topping the high-90s. Now ten years later another Verlander is climbing atop the mound in Norfolk. Ben Verlander was drafted by the Tigers in the late rounds of the 2010 draft, but ultimately decided to attend ODU, where his brother has a strangle-hold on the majority of the pitching records. Size-wise there is some good projection on Ben, he is 6'4" and only weighs 180 pounds, and the bloodlines certainly point to Ben having some growth.

His first season at ODU was actually semi-successful, he made 21 appearances, and posted a 4.83 ERA 31.2 IP. That said the numbers aren't that pretty. 23 walks to only 18 K's, though he only allowed 30 hits. Opponents only hit .254 against him, and he only gave up 7 XB hits, which is impressive for a freshman with little to no velocity. He was second on the team in one category, hit batsman, with 7 (aka a little over 2 a game...) So let's take a look at his "true" value in terms of potential threats. In 31.2 IP Ben put 30 baserunners on via Walk or Hit Batsmen, he also allowed 30 hits. That's 60 baserunners in 31.2 IP, adjusted BRPIP (Baserunners per IP, WHIP with HBP included) is 1.90, UGLY. Especially when you compare it to his statistical WHIP, which was only 1.67). Other disturbing trends. Of his 95 outs, only 18 (18.9% came via K). The reason I find this disturbing is the fact that this means 81.1% of his outs he does record come on balls-in-play. The fact that he only allowed 18 runs (17 earned) shows that he definitely had some luck, especially when you consider nearly two baserunners per inning reached base.

Opponent's hit .276 against ODU meaning that taking this as the "baseline" for every 100 AB, 27.6 will be hits, futhermore, including Ben's K numbers, of the 72.4 "non" hits, 18.9 will be K's, meaning 53.5 balls will be put into play but result in outs. So on balls in play opponents should be hitting .340. When in reality against Verlander they were hitting, .313.

More fun, created on the spot numbers for you... ODU this season allowed 303 runs in 497.2 IP, they also allowed a total of 804 baserunners (via BB+HBP+base hit). So 1,493 outs were recorded by ODU. As a team they struck out 26.8% of those outs. The teams BRPIP was 1.62, so Ben was allowing baserunners at a rate of 2.52 more PER GAME than his teammates, yet his ERA, 4.83, was only slightly above his teams ERA of 4.58 (.35 more per game). So Ben was getting lucky.

Overall his Mid-80s fastball, and mid-range secondary pitch will get him by, but he isn't to be considered a serious prospect... At least yet. If there is one thing I wouldn't count out is him growing, gaining velocity, and becoming a stronger pitcher... That said, if it doesn't happen, I expect him to regress in 2012.

*Please note, all these numbers and my analysis is more for the fun of it. I'm not a sabermetrician, nor a mathematician, so I bet some of these are WAY off...but that said, I will say that as I expand this, i'll get more into the numbers.

I've captured some pretty low quality footage of Ben, but I might as well post it.

http://www.vimeo.com/20264123

Introduction

Well long promised, finally delivered. The AltitudeSports blog is going to focus on all things baseball. My biggest goal is to not cover the typical, Major League news, Top Prospect news, and the like, but rather focus on the stories that may go untold, the players unseen, and the leagues you don't follow regularly. I'll regularly feature stories/updates on the "AAAA" player who may be able to help your team, or the Independent player who deserves a shot. I'll also take time to cover the NPB, KBO, and on occasion the Euro Leagues. During Winterball season I'll definitely be covering the teams and players who are tearing it up.

For the most part this blog will be for fun, but you never know what'll develop.

So without further ado, welcome to AltitudeSports.