Major League Baseball

LA welcomes its latest budding star

Published Jun. 2, 2013 1:00 a.m. ET

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Ken Rosenthal

The team that gave us “Mannywood” is at it again.

“Yasiel Puig will wear No. 66. You will not want to miss his #Dodgers debut. Trust us,” the Dodgers tweeted from their official account Sunday night, complete with a link to purchase individual game tickets at Dodger Stadium.

A rival executive offered a more sober perspective, saying his team’s reports on Puig boiled down to a relatively simple analysis:

“Tools and holes.”

One way or another, this will be interesting.

Puig, 22, has played all of 63 minor league games, and now the Dodgers want to turn him into the second coming of . . . what exactly? Manny? Bo Jackson?

No, in a perfect world . . . Mike Trout.

“You don’t want to build him up to where it’s impossible for him to live up to all the hype,” Dodgers manager Don Mattingly told reporters Sunday. “In my mind, he’s still a young player, obviously with huge potential.

“There’s still so much baseball, and I don’t say that in a flippant way that these games don’t matter. But you saw with the Angels and Mike Trout last year, he came up and things completely turned around what he brought to the table. It’s unfair to say that happens here, but he could make a big impact.”

Could, no question. Puig was ridiculous in spring training. He was close to ridiculous at Double-A. But unlike Trout, who would have opened last season with the Angels if he had not been ill during spring training, Puig never was expected to advance this quickly.

The Dodgers signed the Cuban defector to a seven-year, $42 million contract less than a year ago. They only promoted him Sunday night because center fielder Matt Kemp is on the disabled list and left fielder Carl Crawford is dealing with a hamstring cramp.

Puig still is quite raw, and he didn’t exactly ease questions about his maturity when he was arrested in Chattanooga, Tenn., in April for speeding, reckless driving and driving without insurance after allegedly driving 97 mph in a 50-mph zone.

But remember spring training?

Puig had a .517 batting average, .500 on-base percentage and .828 slugging percentage in 58 at-bats. At Double A, he looked slightly more human, batting .313/.383/.599 in 147 at-bats – and drawing 15 walks. He did not walk once in the spring, in part because he crushed just about everything he saw.

“Great talent, will wow at times,” another rival executive said. “But I will be curious to see if anyone throws him a strike. I’ve got to believe that people will bounce him a ton of sliders until he shows he won’t bite.”

The Dodgers need Puig most in center, but would prefer him in right, the position where he is most experienced. Of course, right is where Andre Ethier plays. Puig likely will see time at all three outfield spots, a club official said.

If he plays deep enough in center, he should at least be as serviceable as Skip Schumaker, who currently is filling in at the position. Puig is an above-average runner, and will make up for some of his mistakes with his raw speed. Watching him run the bases, though, could be interesting – Puig has yet to master the nuances of baserunning.

In any case, the show starts Monday night.

“Trust us,” the Dodgers said.

“Tools and holes,” the rival exec replied.

PIRATES’ ‘PEN: NOT THAT STRESSED OUT

The Pirates’ greatest strength is their bullpen, which leads the National League in both opponents’ OPS and ERA.

The question is, will closer Jason Grilli, setup man Mark Melancon and multi-inning lefty Justin Wilson wear down?

Both Melancon and Grilli rank among the NL leaders in appearances. Wilson, meanwhile, leads the NL with 35 relief innings.

But those facts, in the view of club officials, do not tell the whole story.

Other numbers, they say, are more revealing.

• Grilli has pitched three consecutive days only once, totaling just 43 pitches in that span. He has thrown 20 or more pitches just four times in 28 outings.

• Melancon has yet to pitch three consecutive days and gone back-to-back only eight times. He has thrown 20 or more pitches in just four of 30 outings.

• Wilson has gone back-to-back just twice and never after throwing 20 or more pitches. Only once has he thrown more than 30 pitches and then not taken at least two days off.

“We have played a lot of close games with late leads that has resulted in a good number of appearances for our high-leverage relievers,” general manager Neal Huntington said. “At the same times, there have been opportunities where (manager) Clint (Hurdle) has not used Grilli and/or Melancon in hold/save situations because he is cognizant of their workloads and recognizes the need for recovery.

“We are aware and working to take proper care of the two back-end guys — and the rest of the bullpen — that has pitched so well for us to date. The last thing we want to do is abuse anyone.”

The situation actually turned urgent Sunday, when the Pirates had to cover 10 innings out of the bullpen after right-hander Jeanmar Gomez lasted only one inning due to tightness in his right forearm.

The team was considering a number of moves late Sunday night, including the promotions of right-handed relievers Ryan Reid and Jared Hughes from Triple-A.

Reid had a 0.52 ERA in 34 2/3 innings at Indianapolis, with 31 strikeouts and nine walks. Hughes had a 0.69 ERA in 13 innings, with 10 strikeouts and four walks.

THE REDS’ FLAW?

It’s difficult to find much fault with the Reds, who are 22-10 after their 13-12 start. But left-hander Sean Marshall’s second trip to the disabled list due to shoulder trouble is legitimate cause for concern.

The Reds’ bullpen ranked first in the NL in ERA and opponents’ OPS last season, in part because left-handed hitters had little chance in the late innings against Marshall and lefty closer Aroldis Chapman.

This season, with Marshall contributing only seven innings, the team is eighth in ERA and sixth in opponents’ OPS. Manny Parra is not Marshall (not many left-handed relievers are), and righty setup man Jonathan Broxton is again showing decreased velocity.

Broxton, who blew a 4-2 lead in the eighth inning against the Pirates on Sunday, has declined steadily since averaging 97.5 mph with his fastball in 2009, and this season is down to 93.8 mph.

Marshall is expected to be out for close to another month, and that’s assuming his recovery progresses smoothly. Right-hander Curtis Partch, throwing 97 to 99 mph with a hard slider at Triple-A, could be promoted at some point.

NEED THAT PICK!

Looks like the struggling Brewers will regret signing free-agent right-hander Kyle Lohse and forfeiting the No. 17 choice in the draft.

Granted, the Brewers could not have anticipated the impact of losing both of their first basemen, Corey Hart and Mat Gamel, and the struggles of second baseman Rickie Weeks and right-hander Yovani Gallardo.

On the other hand, did anyone seriously expect them to challenge the Cardinals and Reds — and, as it turns out, the Pirates?

Here is a team that, in an effort to remain a contender, has parted with a number of prospects in recent years, including third baseman Brett Lawrie, shortstop Alcides Escobar, right-hander Jake Odorizzi and outfielders Michael Brantley and Lorenzo Cain in trades for pitchers CC Sabathia, Zack Greinke and Shaun Marcum.

At some point, the Brewers were headed for a transition. They actually started down the right path last season, acquiring shortstop Jean Segura and right-handers Johnny Hellweg and Ariel Pena from the Angels for Greinke. They’ve got some other impressive prospects coming — right-hander Taylor Jungmann, second baseman Scooter Gennett, etc.

But in their position, they needed the No. 17 pick more than they needed Lohse, who is 1-6 with a 4.37 ERA and signed through 2015 at $11 million per season.

HUGHES: A WINNING PICK

In my latest Full Count video, I talk about how Yankees right-hander Phil Hughes will be the youngest starting pitcher on the free-agent market at 27 — and more in demand than the average fan might think.

Here’s another thing that might surprise you about Hughes: He has won more games for the Yankees than any pitcher the team has chosen in the first round since the inception of the draft in 1965 — and it’s not even close.

Hughes has 54 wins for the Yankees, followed by Bill Burbach, who had six, and Ian Kennedy, who had one before getting traded to the Diamondbacks. Among all-time Yankees draft picks, Hughes ranks fourth in wins, behind Andy Pettitte (208), Ron Guidry (170) and Stan Bahnsen (55).

The Yankees have chosen 20 pitchers in the first round — not including Mark Prior and Gerrit Cole, whom they did not sign. The list includes Scott McGregor, Brien Taylor, Eric Milton, Jeffrey Marquez and Joba Chamberlain.

Hughes was the Yankees’ compensatory selection for the loss of Pettitte to the Astros in 2004.

JACOBY BYE-BYE

As I mentioned on the FOX broadcast Saturday, center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury looks like a goner in Boston. Jackie Bradley Jr. could replace him in center next season. Bryce Brentz, sporting an .809 OPS at Triple-A, might be ready in right. And the Red Sox almost certainly are more inclined to seek long-term deals with left-hander Jon Lester and second baseman Dustin Pedroia than Ellsbury, a potential free agent.

The Red Sox aren’t necessarily in a rush with Lester and Pedroia; Lester, 29, is under club control through 2014, while Pedroia, who turns 30 on Aug. 17, is under control through ’15. Then again, if both players continue to perform at high levels, their prices only figure to rise.

The Yankees’ Robinson Cano is another potential free agent, and his next contract will raise the bar for second basemen, benefiting Pedroia. Lester, likewise, will profit when the Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw signs his new deal, and even big contracts for lesser pitchers such as Hughes could push the market upward.

A number of agents expect that the market this offseason will be stronger than it was last offseason. Some clubs held off spending in advance of their new national TV money last winter, knowing that payments would not start until April 2014.

THE NEW WIZARD

Jose Iglesias, fastest glove-to-hand transfer in the majors? Well, he’s certainly in the conversation.

Iglesias charged a ball Saturday night and got rid of the ball so quickly, FOX cameras caught his manager, John Farrell, saying, “Wow,” in the dugout.

Farrell now seems inclined to keep Iglesias as a utility infielder even after third baseman Will Middlebrooks comes off the disabled list this week, calling the 23-year-old “a wizard” defensively.

Iglesias, of course, is a natural shortstop, and his play at third is particularly impressive considering that he played only one game at the position in the minors before the Sox summoned him back on May 24.

The team had also wanted him to play second at Triple-A Pawtucket, but had not yet gotten around to it. Farrell said he would be reluctant to ask Iglesias to make such a transition in the majors, fearful that he would get tangled up in the pivot.

The question, then, is whether the Sox can find enough at-bats for Iglesias at short and third to keep him from regressing in his development. Well, they could start by playing him at short against certain left-handers; Stephen Drew has only a .688 career OPS against lefties, and a .504 OPS this season in 55 plate appearances.

LUKE’S MOMENT

Luke Farrell, the youngest of John’s three sons, is a senior right-hander at Northwestern who could go in the first five rounds of this week’s draft.

That achievement alone would make any parent proud, but the moment will be even more poignant for John and his wife Sue, considering the difficulty of Luke’s journey.

Luke underwent three extensive surgeries to remove golf-ball sized tumors from his neck, the first two in the fall of his freshman year of college, the third just before he was a junior.

Each of the surgeries could have left him paralyzed, but Luke endured. This week, his courage and perseverance will be rewarded.

ATTENTION, GEORGE BRETT!

Through Friday, the Royals’ left-handed hitting first baseman, Eric Hosmer, had hit only 10 balls in the air to right field the entire season while grounding that way 49 times, according to Inside Edge.

The typical left-handed hitter hits 19 percent of balls in the air to right field, but Hosmer’s rate of seven percent ranked as the lowest in the majors (minimum, 70 balls in play).

This sure isn’t the guy we all fell in love with in 2011. Hosmer hit 10 homers to right that season. This season, his only homer has gone to left, and he’s last among AL first basemen with a .333 slugging mark.

AROUND THE HORN

• John Farrell calls Daniel Nava a “self-made player,” and while the outfielder is drawing the most attention for his offensive breakthrough, he also has made significant improvement defensively.

“I had to,” Nava says. “My defense wasn’t going to keep me in the league, that’s for sure. I knew I needed to make adjustments.”

His biggest adjustment? Becoming more aggressive going after flyballs.

• To understand the difference in the Yankees’ offense without their injured stars, just look at how many fewer opportunities Robinson Cano is getting with runners in scoring position.

Through 54 games last season, Cano had 85 plate appearances in those situations. Through 54 games this season, he had just 54.

Cano, though, has done a good job remaining disciplined - his chase rate on pitches outside the strike zone is in line with his career average, and his numbers overall are at about their usual levels.

• Difficult to imagine the Tigers going into the postseason with Jose Valverde as their closer, but if power pitching wins in the playoffs, the team still is in excellent shape.

Anibal Sanchez, Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander rank 2-3-4 in the majors in strikeouts per nine innings, behind only Yu Darvish. Doug Fister, meanwhile, has the fourth highest groundball rate.

• Impressive recovery by Orioles closer Jim Johnson, who blew four of five saves from May 14 to 26, allowing 12 runs in five innings.

Johnson converted his third straight save opportunity Sunday against the Tigers, and now has pitched three straight scoreless innings, striking out three, walking none.

“His confidence is back,” one scout said.

 • And finally, I’m not sure I want to live in a world where the Astros (four straight wins) and Marlins (three straight) are the hottest teams in baseball.

Ah, just kidding, folks, JUST KIDDING!

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