Archive for jerry sands

The Pittsburgh Pirates enter 2013 with higher expectations than what we’re probably used to. They are, after all, the same Pirates that haven’t had a winning record since before there was anything called the National League Central division (1992) and their 79 wins in 2012 matched their best season in fifteen years. So the bar might not be set terribly high. But after starting the season 47-38, there is residual optimism left over, and much of it is wrapped up in some of the great young talent they will feature in 2013. And the Pirate outfield happens to be one of the bright spots.

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It’s really, really difficult to overstate just how bad the first base situation is in Los Angeles right now. Of the possibly dozens of different ways to describe how awful James Loney & Juan Rivera are, my favorite might be “Juan Uribe still exists, and even despite that third base isn’t the biggest problem on this club.” Loney (.252/.300/.328 & .265 wOBA entering Thursday) and Rivera (.243/.280/.355 & .271 wOBA) have combined to start 112 of the first 118 games at first base this year, and all the Dodgers have received for that time investment is a combined .268 wOBA, just a tick above Seattle for the worst in baseball. (If we go by WAR, which factors in Rivera’s below-average defense, they are dead last.) I’m not sure what’s more surprising – that Loney has just three homers this year, or that he hasn’t had an unintentional walk since June 23.

This couldn’t have come as any shock to the Dodgers, of course. Loney has been struggling (and mostly failing) to live up to his prospect reputation for years, and re-signing Rivera because of a few good weeks in Los Angeles after being DFA’d by Toronto last year never really made sense in the first place. As the Dodgers upgraded elsewhere with Shane Victorino & Hanley Ramirez this July, they attempted to find a solution at first as well – they were reportedly going after Adrian Gonzalez, and did agree to acquire Carlos Lee from Houston before Lee refused to waive his no-trade clause – but were unable to find a good fit.

Barring a surprising August waiver deal for someone like Justin Morneau, the first-place Dodgers are stuck making their playoff push with this atrocious duo. But does it need to be that way? Down at Triple-A Albuquerque, Jerry Sands is crushing the ball all around the PCL, and with every disappointing day from Rivera & Loney, it gets harder and harder for the Dodgers to justify keeping him there. Read the rest of this entry »

Today we’re looking at a couple of deep sleepers for keeper leagues that are intriguing but a little old for the leagues that they’re dominating.

Jerry Sands | 1B | Los Angeles (NL): Sands, 22, got off to a slow start to his pro career with two seasons in short-season ball. Last season, he split the year between short-season and low-A ball. Combined, he produced a triple-slash line of .306/.386/.590 in 288 at-bats but struggled to hit for average in low-A ball. Overall, he slugged 19 homers. Back in low-A to begin 2010, the right-handed hitter is batting .378/.456/.750 in 156 at-bats. He’s slugged 14 homers and driven in 34 batters in 43 games. At 6’4’’ 225 lbs, he’s even swiped eight bags in nine attempts. He’s creaming southpaws with a 1.275 OPS; his career OPS against left-handers is 1.122. Given his age and level of play, you definitely want to be cautiously optimistic over his output. Sands, though, could turn into a pretty intriguing prospect if he can continue to hit for both power and average at upper levels of the system.

Cody Overbeck | 3B | Philadelphia: A 2008 ninth round pick out of the University of Mississippi, the third baseman struggled in ’09 after he was pushed to high-A ball. He hit just .230/.282/.399 in 361 at-bats. His approach was clearly the issue as he posted a walk rate of 5.9 BB% and a strikeout rate of 29.1%. Left back in high-A for 2010, Overbeck has impressed the organization with the improvements that he’s made. He’s currently hitting .329/.393/.621 with 10 homers and 33 RBI in 43 games. Overbeck has been a real run producer for the club and is hitting .400 with runners in scoring position. He’s also made strides in both his walk and strikeout rates. Placido Polanco is not the long-term answer at third base for the big league club, so Overbeck could end up with a key role if he continues to develop.