Rosenthal: Yanks Interested in Olivo

But what about our catching depth?!?!

11 months ago RoyalsRetro Comment 18 comments 0 recs |

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Awesome

This means we are getting Wilson Betemit.

by Gopherballs on Jul 23, 2008 5:01 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

He might not be Christian enough

And he’s not a pitcher. So Dayton Moore definitely wouldn’t acquire him. Also, he’s not completely worthless, so that’s another strike against him.

This is just my opinion. I could easily be wrong.

by NYRoyal on Jul 23, 2008 5:21 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

But he is an ex-Brave

Actually, I’d like to pick up Betimet. Given a chance, I think he could provide some pop. And he’s still youngish. I can’t see us getting him for Olivo, but who knows?

Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com

by RoyalsRetro on Jul 23, 2008 5:24 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Betemit is essentially the same player as Jhonny Peralta

just cheaper and used more appropriately. Some team is going to be very happy when Betemit has his career year, followed by an unhappy team that signs him to a contract based on that career year.

by Gopherballs on Jul 23, 2008 5:31 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

that would be nice

landing Betemit would make me feel better that the Yanks got him for Scott Proctor last year and all we got for Dotel was Davies

This space intentionally left blank.

by marbotty on Jul 24, 2008 4:43 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Tupman has a major-league batting average of 1.000

If that’s not depth, I don’t know what is.

Chaim Mattis Keller New York City's # 1 Royals fan!

by cmkeller on Jul 23, 2008 6:11 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Could they get Gardner for him?

NY in the past just buys new players given their new so called develop within stance would they give up a Top 10 org prospect? Other than Gardner and a few pitching prospects the Yanks just don’t have a whole lot to give up. Man they are lucky Joba came out of no where and cruised thru their system otherwise they would be totally hamstrung.

Who cares about RBI's, how many HDB's you got?

by kcscoliny on Jul 24, 2008 11:28 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Austin Jackson, Jose Tabata, and Jose Montero say hello

The NY system is deep on pitchers, and has some very high upside bats. Joba was a highly regarded collegiate pitcher who dropped in the draft due to injuries his last year of college, so he did not exactly come out of nowhere.

Gardner is a step above Gathright due to a better glove and an ability to hit the ball into the outfield once in awhile, but Gardner’s future might be as a 4th OF type. I doubt the Yankees view him as a cornerstone of the future.

by Gopherballs on Jul 24, 2008 12:28 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I'd trade Olivo for Gardner in a heartbeat.

by loyal2sdad on Jul 24, 2008 2:03 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Gardner

Seems a lot like a white Joey Gathright to me. Maybe a Reggie Willits-type, stat-wise and ethnically.

Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com

by RoyalsRetro on Jul 24, 2008 3:18 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Gardner vs Gathright

I think Gardner may be better than Gathright. Let’s compare minor league career stats:

Gardner: 288/388/385
Gathright: 319/394/369

Gardner: 150/180 SB (83.3%)
Gathright: 196/256 SB (76.6%)

Gardner: 224 BB 282 K 1397 AB
Gathright: 175 BB 255 K 1475 AB

Gardner: 90 XBH in 1397 AB
Gathright: 59 XBH in 1475 AB

I think the last line is the most telling. Gardner’s ISO, while not teriffic, is at least .097, significantly better than Gathright’s .050

Other factors – Gardner is younger, and as such has not had the opportunity in the majors that Gathright has. Why did Gathright fail to live up to his translations? Well, to me the most telling problem is the poor ISO. This leads to major league pitchers realizing it is far better to throw one right down the middle than to walk Joey. While Gardner does not possess power either, I’ll bet he can at least drive a ball to the gaps or down BOTH lines far more often than Gathright. If true, then perhaps he could hang on to his best skill, which to me is his plate discipline.

Should add – Joey’s minor league numbers are boosted by a good year he had at an older age than Gardner, so the difference may be a bit more pronounced than my analysis above.

by loyal2sdad on Jul 24, 2008 6:23 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Scouts seem to like Gardner a lot

This is just my opinion. I could easily be wrong.

by NYRoyal on Jul 25, 2008 1:03 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I gotta say

that I’m not sure I agree with them at all.

A mind without purpose will walk in dark places.

by NHZ on Jul 25, 2008 12:50 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Well, they like his skills

I don’t think we’ve seen his skills. I’m not saying evaluating a prospect is all about raw skills. But that should be part of one’s evaluation of a prospect. On the performance side, he looks like a high OBP guy with low power. His minor league career totals are .288/.388/.385. That’s a high OBP which is not primarily BA driven. He usually draws about as many walks as strikeouts. And he’s maintained his high OBP in the high minors. Add to that a good deal of SB’s at a high success rate. I’m not saying he’s a top prospect, but he looks like a pretty good prospect to me. I think Olivo for Gardner would be a steal for the Royals.

This is just my opinion. I could easily be wrong.

by NYRoyal on Jul 25, 2008 2:08 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs