Future Shock: NL West Notebook
July 23, 2008
by Kevin Goldstein
Arizona Diamondbacks
Torra Torra Torra?: A first-round pick in 2005 whose career was all but
derailed by labrum surgery, Matt Torra had a 6.01 ERA at High-A Visalia in his
first year back in '07. This season, however, Torra had a 2.85 ERA in 13
Double-A starts before moving up to Triple-A, and one scout who has been
following him feels that, while he's a completely different pitcher from his
pre-injury days, he still only projects as a back-of-the-rotation starter.
"When you first see him, you just don't believe in him at all," said the scout.
"His velocity is maybe average, the body isn't very athletic, but he really
just gets it. He's 87-89 mph, touches 91, he's got good command, and the
changeup is pretty good. He pitches with no fear and he's aggressive, and he
just grows on you."
More Than Just A Four-A Guy: Jamie D'Antona, a 26-year-old corner infielder,
has had an explosive .367/.407/.612 season at Triple-A Tucson, but he's been
written off by many as just a minor league performer, although at least one
scout is convinced that D'Antona has big-league value as a bench player.
"You know, I always thought he was overrated back when he was grouped with
[Carlos] Quentin and [Conor] Jackson back in the day, but now I'm convinced
that guy could help somebody off the bench," explained the scout. "He's
developed some feel for hitting, and somehow his swing plane is much shorter
this year. There's no doubt in my mind that he'd torch left-handers in the big
leagues right now—maybe he could be a Wes Helms kind of guy who will always
hit southpaws but come up short everyday against righties—that might be a
career." [Editor's Note: No sooner had this been filed than the Snakes called
up D'Antona last night.]
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