Baseball in Fort Wayne

Posts Tagged ‘Chase Headley’

• Eddie Bonine Works Quick, Might Stick Around: Last night, former Wizard and current Detroit Tigers pitcher posted the best outing of his short career and made quick work of the Colorado Rockies. “Colorado put the ball in play on Bonine 27 times. Eleven of the 27 came on the first or second pitch of the at-bat. Eighteen of the 27 were ground balls, and 17 of those were outs”. Tigers’ left fielder called it “classic Eddie Bonine right there.”
• LaTroy Hawkins Disappointed with Mop-Up Duty: Latroy Hawkins thought he would be the late inning reliever to set-up Mariano Rivera when he signed a one-year, $3.5 million contract with the Yankees last winter. Instead, he’s trudging out of the bullpen to pitch in mop-up game situations. “Is it eating me up? Yeah . . . You like competing and you like to be at your best all of the time. You want to succeed. When you go out there and you don’t have the success that you’re looking for, it eats you up. This is the big leagues, and you’ve got to keep fighting.”
• Javiar Valentin Makes First Career Appearance at Third Base: Typically a back-up catcher, former Wizard, Javier Valentin made his first career appearance at third base late in Sunday’s game at New York and made a similar cameo there on Tuesday vs. the Blue Jays. Reds manager Dusty Baker informed Valentin on Tuesday he would be starting on Thursday. Valentin thought Baker was joking. He wasn’t.
• Chase Headley Doesn’t Walk This Way: The rookie Padre’s slugger is still looking for his first walk of the season, having not drawn one in 24 at-bats. In 2005, between his junior year at the University of Tennessee, short-season Eugene and Class A Fort Wayne, Headley walked 98 times in 128 games.

Interesting. Four former Wizards headlines. Four different Big League clubs.

Few prospects in the San Diego system have been more highly anticipated than Chase Headley. Many were surprised when he was sent down near the end of Spring Training. But now he’s here and seemingly garnering a new headline on a daily basis.

If you’re seeking more info on the former Wizard, SignOnSanDiego has an interview with Headly that you should check out.  Among the things he discusses is his relationship with former Fort Wayne manager Randy Ready, who did his best to keep Chase from getting to discouraged:

My manager these past two minor league seasons has been Randy Ready. He did a great job filling me in and letting me know as best he could what everyone was thinking. Randy had been in my situation. He really helped me

Ironically, Headley played third base in place of the injured Kevin Kousmanoff, who missed the past six games because of a back ailment. Now that their everyday third basebman is back, Headley appears headed back to left field.

Scott Miller (CBS Sports) speculates that the Padres may trade third baseman, Kevin Kouzmanoff, to open the position for former Wizard, Chase Headley. San Diego brass “don’t believe Headley, who has worked hard in left field this spring and early summer, can adequately cover the large outfield in Petco Park, a source with knowledge of the Padres’ thinking says.” Looks like I wasn’t too far off.

• Chase Headley: He’s back. And thanks to a Kevin Kouzmanoff injury, Chase Headley (who recently converted from third base to outfield) is going to get some starts at third. Oh the irony.
• Jake Peavy: He’s back too. “Peavy (5-3) combined with three relievers on a five-hitter in his first start in nearly a month since being sidelined by a strained right elbow. The reigning Cy Young winner looked as if he hadn’t missed a turn.” Even more important, his elbow was fine after the outing.
• Josh Barfield: He was back. Now he’s on the DL and likely out for 6-8 weeks. If Jamey Carroll keeps playing well, me may not return to the Majors this season (IMHO).
• Oliver Perez: He may have had a good start to getting back on the right track. Sseven innings, with Josh Hamilton home run being the only flaw. “So Perez, in spite of that blast, gave the Mets seven innings and 116 pitches’ worth of breezy baseball.” It still wasn’t enough to save his manager.
• Michael Cuddyer: Friday the 13th got the best of him and he left the game in the second inning after being hit in the right hand by a pitch. Doesn’t appear serious.
• Grady Fuson: He oversees the Friar’s farm system and he’s serious about changeups. Former Wizard, Michael Ekstrom lost his starting gig and current Wizard, Jeremy McBryde might be in line for the same fate unless he changes his way (hat tip to Friar Forum).
• Kyle Blanks: Apparently he’s trade bait due to a stockpile of first basemen (including the coming of age by current Wizard, Felix Carrasco) in the Padres’ organization. “Blanks is having a solid season; the 21-year-old is batting .306 with a .402 on-base percentage and five home runs.” Big mistake to let go of el Gigantor.
• Matt Bush: On draft day, Kevin Czerwinski used the Matt Bush saga to remind us that being the top overall pick doesn’t mean a sure thing.

The San Diego Padres are set to call up former Wizards, Chase Headley, who is widely regarded as the team’s top prospect. Reportedly, he will join the team this weekend in Cleveland.

The converted third baseman is in his first season playing the outfield and was hitting .305 with 13 home runs and 40 RBIs in 65 games for Triple-A Portland. The switch hitting Headley also had a .383 on-base percentage at Portland.

No word on who else will be involved in the roster move that will bring him to the team, but it is likely that an outfielder will outfielder will be sent down to make room. Methinks it means Scott Hairston is heading for the DL or possibly an end to former Wizard, Paul McAnulty’s stay.

If you’re looking to keep up with some of your favorite former Wizards, here’s some links you’ll enjoy, courtesy of SignOnSanDiego.

• Chase Headley: “The jewel of the Padres’ minor-league system, the player that every other major league team mentions first when San Diego’s looking to make a trade, Headley’s a big-time ballplayer in the making and likely not much longer for Triple-A.” [See Also: "Headley's Portland apprenticeship is a matter of dollars and sense" by Tim Sullivan]
• Will Venable: “Desperate for a center fielder who can handle the spaciousness of Petco Park, the Padres think that guy could very well be Venable, whose gait is built more for chasing down fly balls and legging out triples than stealing bases.”
• Matt Antonelli: “Even with his batting average under .200, Antonelli is among the PCL leaders in walks (28). His patience at the plate belies the belief that Antonelli put way too much pressure on himself the first several weeks of the season.”
• Luke Carlin: “I wanted to call my dad (to tell him about the call-up), but he’s a civilian contractor in Iraq. The funny thing was we were in Omaha when I was promoted. We were headed for Iowa and my wife and daughter were coming down from Wisconsin. I called Kim and when I said `There’s a change in plans,’ she was silent for a moment.”
• Paul McAnulty: Fun short Q/A where McAnulty, an American retro car buff, reveals his five favorite machines.

A while back, I suggested the Padres throw in the towel. It’s time for prospects to show what they can do, and some of them have hit their strides at the right time.

The most obvious is one that many had predicted would have a roster spot coming out of Spring Training. Yes, Chase Headley. The number of headlines I have seen that have included his name over the last several days is quite impressive.

Baseball America recently named him to the top of their prospect hot sheet.

For the record, Headley is hitting .471/.550/.647 in 34 May at-bats. And if he keeps that up, it’s precisely the type of bat-wielding the offense-starved Padres could use.

Headley, led the Padres in slugging percentage at the time of his demotion – an area that the Friars could certainly use help. After starting slow in Triple-A Portland, the converted outfielder has performed well. Over the first 38 games he batted .288 with 12 doubles, six home runs and 42 strikeouts; his overall OPS was .839. Oh, and he’s a switch hitter. That’s gotta account for something.

Portland Manager, and former Wizards skipper, Randy Ready thinks he might be ready:

He’s been swinging that bat well as of late, driving the ball, slugging a little bit right now. He’s doing the same thing he was doing at the beginning of the year except for all of a sudden he’s getting the count in his favor and his swing has smoothed out. He’s letting the ball travel a lot longer than he was earlier this season.

Yet, despite his improvement, when the Padres shed Jim Edmonds from their roster, they didn’t call up Headley, they called up Jody Gerut instead. And Headley took being bypassed like a professional:

“To be honest, Jody didn’t belong here,” Headley said. “In the time he was here, he was pretty dialed in. He deserved a callup before I did. When things started to pan out, it was obvious what was going to happen. It didn’t bother me one bit” [source: MLB.com].

Don’t worry Chase. You’ll get your chance soon enough.

• South Bend Silverhawks (Diamondbacks) and Norwell standout Jarrod Parker earned his first professional win over the Beloit Snappers (Twins) 7-1. Parker allowed nine runs over his first three starts, but all but two were unearned. Parker righted the ship with this latest start though. He worked five innings and allowed just one run on two hits. [source: Baseball America]
• Former Wizards pitcher, Jack Cassel has been optioned to Round Rock, the Triple-A affiliate of the Houston Astros. Cassel, 27, was 1-0 with a 5.59 ERA over two starts. On Tuesday, Cassel threw 4 2/3 innings and gave up three runs on four hits to take a no-decision. The move comes as the Astros prepare to bring some players off the disabled list.
  

  “I knew I was limited in my time here pretty much, coming up on Wandy’s injury, and I know Wiggy’s down doing his rehab assignment, so essentially it was going to be a numbers game,” he said. “I was pleased with how I threw the ball in two outings and very happy that I was able to get that opportunity. I’ll go down and [have] the same plan — be the first guy they call” [source: MLB.com].

• Turns out, Chad Moeller wasn’t on the move at all. Literally. The 33-year-old veteran (an former Wizards) catcher “returned to the Yankees under a strange set of circumstances, passing through waivers before briefly becoming a free agent before the Yankees signed him to a Major League contract on Wednesday.” Moeller batted .350 (7-for-20) with one home run and three RBIs in six games for New York. [source: MLB.com].
• The Padres opened two spots on their 40-man roster on Tuesday. Infielder Oscar Robles was claimed off waivers by the Phillies and Mauro Zarate was outrighted to Portland. Might this mean spots for a couple former Wizards? Say . . .Headley? Antonelli? LeBlanc? Hundley?

• Former Wizard – the one who got away from the Padres – Joakim Soria finally showed signs of vulnerability. David Eckstein’s one-out single ended Soria’s streak of retiring 24 batters in a row. But he still has no ERA to accompany his six saves and 11 strikeouts.
• Matt Latos made his first start of the season for the Wizards and pitched very well. Some see him moving up to Lake Elsinore before the season is out. While I hope Latos pitches well (and I believe he will), I hope those folks are wrong.
• Wade LeBlanc picked up his first loss this year. He allowed seven earned runs on 10 hits and five walks over 3.1 innings. It was the worst outing of his career. It follows another bad start that saw him giving up six runs on eight hits. (hat tip to Denis Savage at MadFriars) Wonder what’s going on there. Speaking of LeBlanc, it appears that the Cubs had tried to get him in return for Matt Murton. As much as I would love to see Murton get a chance with a team willing to give him one, and as much as I would have loved to see LeBlanc with the Cubs, I don’t blame the Padres for turning that one down.
• Angel Mercado homered in his first game off the disabled list. Mercado had been out the last nine games but the hit extended his on-base streak to eight games. He also homered on Opening Night.
• It appears that Jake Peavy has pitched the idea of brining veteran outfielder, Kenny Loften, in to help shore up the Padres offense. But it seems that Padres’ GM, Kevin Towers would rather give some of the former Wizards now playing in Portland a shot.
  

  . . . some of the players Towers is most eager to promote would warrant demotion if judged solely on their Triple-A statistics. Chase Headley, the left fielder of tomorrow, is hitting a soft .236. Matt Antonelli, the heir to second base, has been hovering near the Mendoza line. Though Antonelli has drawn 12 walks in 16 games, his batting average is .212. Closest to a call-up, Towers said, is probably catcher Nick Hundley, who has hit four home runs in 11 games and whose arm would represent an improvement on Padres’ regular Josh Bard.

  “Hundley’s a guy I think our pitching staff felt fairly comfortable with in spring training,” Towers said. “He’s got a chance to be an offensive catcher and he’s somebody we feel comfortable enough to where we could put him back there (as much as 40 percent of the time) and not kill Bard.”

• Michael Cuddyer has returned to the Twins’ lineup.

After being released by the Indians in Spring Training, former Wizards pitcher Aaron Fultz quickly caught on with the Detroit Tigers and was assigned to Triple-A Toledo. However things haven’t transpired exactly the way he had hoped (or thought they would). It’s no secret that th eTigers have pitching issues. Following the Tigers’ decision to promote Clay Rapada to the Major League level, Fultz requested his release from Detroit. It was granted.

On the other hand, the good news continues for Josh Barfield. At Triple-A Buffalo, Barfield is batting .344 through his first 32 at-bats. However, he does have eight strikeouts, an attribute that has plagued him in the past. However, the fact that he has drawn 4 walks is a step in the right direction. His on base percentage had been hovering a little over .400.

Cedric Hunter is off to a great start in Lake Elsinore. In 9 games, he’s hitting .378 with 14 hits, 5 walks and a stolen base. His on base percentage is .465. Wonder how long it will take those who wrote him off following his Wizards performance last season to hop back on the bandwagon.

Will Venable is putting up similar numbers at Triple-A Portland.

Finally, Tim Williams lists his Prospect Watch at AccuScore. He lists Chase Headley as one of the “Situations to Watch”:

There was talk that the Padres were going to keep Headley around in the majors as an outfielder, but that ended when Headley became one of the final cuts. The solid performance of Kevin Kouzmanoff and Scott Hairston right now is enough to keep Headley down, but don’t expect this to be a permanent situation. Headley hit for a .330 average with 20 homers in 121 games at AAA last year. Headley will be up at some point early in the season.