Here's Tuesday's edition of Saber-Links:
Jeff Moore of The Hardball Times highlights a few prospects who could have an impact on the playoff race this month: Call-up season--THT
But coming behind Trout and Harper, the latter coming on of late despite a rough August, is another wave of prospects who are ready to make an immediate impact. And only one prospect is in that class.
Mark Simon of ESPN names Paul Janish August's Defensive Player of the Month: Defensive Player of August: Paul Janish - SweetSpot Blog - ESPN
Janish was credited with nine Good Fielding Plays (GFPs) by that same video-review crew that charged him with the misplays, including two that were No. 1 Web Gems on Baseball Tonight. That 4.5-to-1 Good Play/Misplay ratio is excellent by any standards. The typical shortstop, when judged by video review, usually has about one Misplay/Error for every Good Fielding Play he makes.
Bradley Woodrum of FanGraphs discusses how bad Drew Pomeranz' curveball has been: Drew Pomeranz Needs Better Secondary Pitches | FanGraphs Baseball
So why is Pomeranz’s curve not working? Why does it have a ridiculous 96% contact rate in the zone? Why do hitters know to lay off when it is out of the zone? Scouts have suggested his curve is a plus, yet hitters think it’s an easy minus.
Rob Neyer of Baseball Nation attempts to figure out what the Rangers should do with Jurickson Profar: What Should Rangers Do With Jurickson Profar? - Baseball Nation
Really, that's the easy part. The hard part comes later, when it's clear that Profar's ready to post big numbers in the Big Boy League, and Andrus is still under team control. With Young gone, one way or the other, Kinsler could become the DH (even without the numbers you'd like to see), with Profar taking over at second base. But is that the best use of Profar's considerable talents? Or should the Rangers trade Andrus this winter -- with his value still extraordinarily high -- and hand Profar the shortstop job, caution flung into the wind?
Saber-Links will return tomorrow