Live game notes of the two marquee prospects sent to Houston via the Hunter Pence Deal.
Via Fox
Rosenthal reports that the Astros will get first baseman Jonathan Singleton, right-hander Jarrod Cosart and two players to be named in retirn for Pence. Rosenthal says the PTNBs will not be major prospects, which would seem to rule out May.
Note: These notes are rough hard drive notes I wrote after watching multiple games in Clearwater. I have not edited the text in order to ‘keep it real’, thus it may be a little messy.
Jonathan Singleton
A tall 1B, LF, Singleton appeared to have an injured right leg (knee, ankle?) during the 4 games I watched. He jogged in the outfield and noticeably limped while on base.
While BA pushes a compact swing, I thought Singleton’s swing was long at all times. Now whether this is due to his leg injury (physiologically trying to drive the ball to compensate for the injury) remains to be seen. He also had a hard time with outside fastballs, attempting to pull each and every one. He didn’t do much but I can see why scouts love him. He’s 19, 6’2 & 215 (although I could believe 225).
I’ll reserve judgement on Jonathan until I can see him play injury free.
Update Note 07/28/11: I watched three more games after writing the above note. Singleton did in-fact have a knee injury but was playing through it. He still had a hard time with outside fastballs, as his stance really limited him going out and handling a FB. He’s young and very projectable. Could be a stud or AAAA in the future. Risk vs Reward play.
Jarred Cosart
This kid can throw gas! BA puts his fastball at 94 – 98 and I can believe it.
6’3 thin framed righty, Cosart just turned 21 years old. He complements his FB with a 80 mph curveball.
During his April 22nd start, Cosart overpowered hitters in the early innings with his plus fastball. Later in the game, when he began to get hit, he had a pout on the mound, slowly walked to backup third on a double hit to the outfield, etc.
Stuff wise this kid has it. Make-up? I’m not too sure. The best comparison I can think of is AJ Burnett. Cosart’s fastball measures up to AJ’s (or exceeds), although his curve falls short. Even with the make-up issues, this is a power arm that’s worth watching.
