A Diamonds’ Value
We know that the Twins have been quite high
on left-hander Scott Diamond for a few years, back to the days he was pitching
at Binghampton University in New York. The Braves
signed him and he has become a solid starting pitching prospect for the
Braves. However, following the 2010 season, Atlanta made the decision not
to protect him on the 40 man roster. They left Billy Wagner on their 40 man
roster, and they protected just 39 on their 40 man roster.
The Twins, who drafted late in the Rule
5 draft, had him as the top player on their wish list. They were shocked that
Diamond was available to them with their selection.
The Twins like his four-pitch mix, his
presence on the mound, how he works quickly, etc. He has just ten games at
Triple-A and another half-season or more in the minor leagues would be
beneficial for him. However, the rules of the Rule 5 draft dictate that the
Twins have to keep him on their 25 man roster all season or offer him back to
the Braves.
Diamond has struggled at times this spring.
The coaching staff expressed disappointment in him control and in his slow pace
on the mound. They said that it was not the Diamond that they had been
scouting for years. Clearly the Twins will trust what their scouting reports over
the past several years over what they saw in spring training's first week or
two of games.
Diamond is still with the Twins, and he is
still a candidate for one of three bullpen spots believed to be remaining.
Dusty Hughes appears to all but have one. Glen Perkins is out of options and
pitching well again this spring. Diamond likely would not make the Twins 25 man
roster, so reports indicate that the Twins will attempt to work out a trade
with the Braves in order to keep him.
Oddly enough, next week the Twins will play
two exhibition games in Atlanta against the Braves. This situation could go
right up to that series. At the end of those two games, Diamond could pack up
his stuff and head back to Gwinnett to play for the Braves Triple-A affiliate again. He could pack up his bags and make the
trip to his native Canada, joining the Twins in Toronto for Opening Day. The
other option is that the Twins and Braves work out a trade and he goes back to
Ft. Myers before heading up to Rochester and joining the Red Wings.
The question I often get is "What would
the Braves need to get back in return for Diamond?" or "What
would be a fair deal to keep Diamond?" The general feeling on Diamond
is that his ceiling is probably a #4 starter and his fall-back would be a
bullpen spot.
I assume that the Braves will ask for too
much. Bill Smith will wisely say no. The two teams will go back and forth. For
some reason, I assume that the Braves woujld
prefer to get a non-40-man roster
player.
If the Braves would require a Top 10 type of
prospect for Diamond, well, he will be going back to the Braves. In my Twins
Prospect Handbook, I rank Scott Diamond as the Twins #28
prospect. According to the Baseball
America Prospect Handbook, they rank Diamond as the Twins
#29 prospect. I wanted to look at which Twins prospects Baseball America and
myself ranked in that 26-30 range to determine fair return..
Seth's Rankings: 26.) Niko Goodrum, IF, 27.) Steve
Singleton, IF, 28.) Diamond, LHP, 29.) Martire
Garcia, LHP, 30.) Tom Stuifbergen, RHP.
Baseball America's Rankings: 26.) Bruce
Pugh, RHP, 27.) Tom Stuifbergen, 28.) Anthony Slama, RHP, 29.) Diamond, 30.)
Brian Dozier, SS.
John Sickels is
another well-respected minor league evaluator. In his The
Baseball Prospect Book 2011, he gives Diamond a grade of C+.
Other Twins with that same ranking include: Joe Benson, David Bromberg,
Pat Dean, Carlos Gutierrez, BJ Hermsen, Angel
Morales, Nate Roberts, Eddie Rosario, Manuel Soliman,
Tom Stuifbergen.
Again, the Twins aren't going to trade
Benson, Bromberg, Gutierrez, Hermsen, or Morales for
Diamond. 2010 draft picks (Goodrum, Dean, Rosario,
Roberts) can't be traded until July (1 year after they sign). I would have a
hard time trading Bruce Pugh and Martire Garcia
because the Twins don't havce a lot of guys that
would classify as 'hard-throwers.'
There is one name that appears on all three
of these lists, Tom Stuifbergen. The 22 year old went
6-4 with a 2.98 ERA last year in Beloit. He struck out 88 in 93.2 innings
on the season. Unfortunately, he had a couple of stints on the Disabled List
with arm issues. If he can stay healthy, he can jump quickly up these rankings.
We all remember what he did in his 2009 WBC start against the Dominican Republic
team. He is very smart and knows how to pitch. I have heard rumblings on a
couple of occasions that Stuifbergen's name has
appeared in trade discussions this spring, so it would not surprise me if a
Diamond for Stuifbergen deal went down. I would be
disappointed, but it would be a very fair trade.
The other name that jumps out to me is Steve
Singleton. He spent the entire 2010 season in New Britain and led the
organization in doubles. He has played a lot of second base, but also is solid
at SS and 3B. The fact that the Twins loaded up on minor league veteran
middle infielders makes me think he could be a trade candidate. It might be a
great thing for him to get an opportunity with another organization.
If the Braves are fair and are asking for a
'fair' return for Diamond, you've seen some names here that might make sense.
Of course, it is also possible that it would take two minor leaguers to get the
job done. It's possible that the Twins would not want a pitcher. Maybe they
would want a middle infielder and names like Brian Dozier and James Beresford
would be in this range.
It would be great to be a fly on the wall of
the discussions between the Twins and the Braves. Hopefully this helps people
understand what would be fair return for Diamond.
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Sometime on Wednesday morning, the Maple Street
Press Twins 2011 Annual will be updating its price to just
$9.99 PLUS free shipping in the U.S. It's really a very good deal for the 128
page, full-color, ad-free magazine full of terrific Twins content.
Congratulations
to the Perham Boys Basketball team for their 57-40
win against Virginia in the first-round of the state tournament. One Big Clap, Zach Gabbard surprised
his teammates by being at Williams Arena for the game! They advance to play
Waterville-Elysian-Morristown on Friday night.
If you like, please feel
free to comment.