Diamondbacks Notes: January 28, 2009
* HELLO, DIAMONDBACKS NATION! - Welcome back. After a test-run in 2008, we're rolling out DBN v. 2.0 in earnest for the 2009 season. A schedule of preseason features will be posted soonly to whet your appetite for Arizona Diamondbacks baseball. DBN is also looking for correspondents to contribute game recaps, notes and features to the site, so if you're up to the task, we'd love to hear from you. Now, without further ado, let's get to the juicy news for this week ...
* AND YOU MAY GATHER GARLANDS THERE - The Arizona Republic's Nick Piecoro reports this morning that the Diamondbacks have agreed to terms with righty starter Jon Garland, who recently rebuffed the club's offer of a two-year contract. The pending deal is believed to be for one year at a guaranteed salary of $6M-8M, with an option for a second season. We'll look more closely at the signing when we release our season preview, but DBN's gut reaction is that Garland is a useful mid- to back-of-the-rotation starter whose chief asset is his durability and consistency. He has made at least 32 starts and thrown not less than 191.2 IP annually since 2002. Garland is a workhorse, not a show horse, if you'll pardon the borrowed phrase. His 90 K over 196.2 IP resulted in a 4.12 K/9, which ranked 86th out of 89 pitchers who threw 160 IP in 2008. And he was middle-of-the-pack w/ 2.70 BB/9. So he's not going to dominate anyone, nor will he issue an inordinate number of free passes. Instead, Garland challenges batters to put the ball in play, which will put the onus on an Orlando Hudson-less defense. Like the bargain signing of Felipe Lopez, Garland is no stud, but he's looks like a good value at the price.
* PROSPECTY - Baseball America's much anticipated list of Diamondbacks' Top 10 Prospects was released today. No surprise at the top, as righty starter Jarrod Parker heads the list. After Parker, the Arizona system appears largely bereft of high-end talent, with BA ranking low-pop OF Gerardo Parra at No. 2 and RP Daniel Schlereth at No. 3. They're followed by a few position players whose impact-potential is questionable and a collection of potential mid-rotation starters. DBN can forgive the overall weakness of the farm system given the array of young talent already in the majors and the presence of co-Ace Dan Haren to anchor the rotation. But the continued development of Parker and the Diamondbacks' selections in the 2009 draft will be critical to the long-term vitality of the franchise. Fingers-crossed.
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