Nice find Tirk. Good to see Gomez having some success. The talent is there, but he's still a young player and could probably use more minor league seasoning. 3/29 BB to K ratio is aweful. He is leading the AL in stolen bases, however. Johan has been Johan. I thought he'd struggle a little more than he has. It will be interesting to see how the second half goes, since a lot of hitters are seeing him for the first time. Other player of note from that trade were Deols Guerra, Phillip Humber, and Kevil Mulvey. Most considered Guerra and Humber to be the real talent, but it's been Mulvey that has outperformed the other two so far.
I'm still waiting for that home/road split to kick in, but so far he seems like the real deal we all expected last year.
I'm looking forward to next month's draft. There are a few SEC players that have a shot at going #1 to the Rays. Pedro Alvarez-3b-Vandy- He's probably the best pure hitter in the draft, but hasn't totally come back from last year's injury. Plus, Tampa already has a very talented, young 3b in Evan Longoria...maybe Alvarez could be moved to 1st or corner outfield. Gordon Beckham-SS-Georgia- Should go top 10. I think his little brother is also a big talent that could go top 5. Justin Smoak-1b-South Carolina- Maybe the best power hitter coming out. Should be a top 5 pick. It'll be interesting to see if Tampa drafts based on talent or on need. My guess is they end up taking Aaron Crow, a pitcher out of Missouri.
and dont forget david price from vandy whom they selected one overall. he blew out his elbow, well more like a strain right at the beginning of season but has already begun throwing and looks to make a good recovery. elbows are never a good thing to be injured in any way for a pitcher. should join single-a vero in a week or two. smoak is a beast. speaking of power, laporta would be called up already if he was in the AL but milwaukee has no room for him just yet. he cant be any worse than braun in the outfield but they cant afford to have 2 with holes in their gloves without being exposed. rickie weeks is batting under .200 yet has 5 homers and quite a few steals and a billion runs scored. hes an enigma.
LaPorta needs to be brought up to triple-A. There's not much left for him to prove in Huntsville. He may end up being traded. Braun and Hart are both young, and there's no way Laporta can play center. His only hope is that when Cameron moves on they move Hart to center and Laporta could play right. Forgot to mention Price. From what I understand the injury isn't very bad--he's already throwing again. Reid Brignac is another stud SS in the Tampa system that may keep them from considering one of the Beckhams.
humber outright released so they could sign juan morillo released from the rockies. another rice university disappointment.
Still tough to evaluate that trade for now. Gomez, as expected, has struggled at the plate but has been excellent in center and on the base paths. Guerra is still a project. The talent is there; it's just a matter of whether he's able to harness it. Mulvey has pretty good but not spectacular. Humber is a real disappointment for them I'm sure.
