Jun
18
2009 Draft: Scheppers may need shoulder surgery
ByI was one of many fans miffed on draft day when the Yanks passed up Tanner Scheppers and his electric arm with the 29th overall pick, but I figured the team knew what they were doing. Well, it turns out that Scheppers may need surgery to repair a 50% labrum tear in his throwing shoulder. Obviously a huge red flag. However, in his chat today Keith Law says to ignore the story because the “damage in Scheppers’ shoulder is no worse than what you’d find in the shoulder of a typical major-league starter, and it does not seem to be impacting his stuff or command right now.” Who’s right, I don’t know.
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That didn’t stop the Yanks from drafting Bleich last year, and he averages a Tommy John surgery per week.
To be fair, shoulder issues are usually viewed with a lot more trepidation than elbow problems these days.
Two words: Shoulder Transplant.
Scheppers arm is about to fall off. Too many injury risks with him.
A labrum tear would worry me. I’ve never heard anything good about one.
Rotator cuff wouldn’t. I knew someone who had two torn rotator cuffs. It was something he could live with, but he was going to get them fixed so that he could keep playing amateur baseball. His doctor informed him that something like 50% of men over the age of 35 have at least one torn rotator cuff. If your average person is that likely to have damage, a pitcher without rotator cuff damage is a pretty rare beast.
This is correct about the severity of a labrum tear. I have no idea where Law gets his information that a high percentage of pitchers work through them. The labrum ligaments hold the shoulder in place and provide critical stability. If torn in the wrong place, the shoulder effectively slides out during a throwing motion, an action akin to a self-dislocating process. suregery can correct it, but the recovery is uncertain.
Labrum wear over time is common, but not until a pitcher is in his late 20s. If there is damage to a 20-year-old, that is an unusual condition and very much a red flag.
K Law just made a negative comment about Ajax/Heathcott. Ajax is gonna be good, so shut the fuck up Keith.
FYI…This is what K Law said:
Kyle (Beverly Hills)
Will the Yankees have any trouble signing Slade Heathcott, should fans worry about him being another Gerrit Cole? And how does he project as a player?
Keith Law
He’ll sign. Five-tool guy, chance to be the player that Austin Jackson … well, that Jackson probably isn’t going to be now.
Keith Law’s followup posted just a sec ago:
“I think his [Jackson's] ceiling has dropped every year. I don’t see much chance remaining of him becoming a star.”
Did he explain why?
Charlie (NY, NY)
Ajax is hitting over 330 this year in AAA. He’s fast, athletic, will hopefully develop more power. His only problem is too many strikeouts.
Keith Law
He’s hitting .330, but has too many strikeouts. That usually works out well.
No. The chat’s ongoing as I type. I simply followed the link Mike provided. The insider wall hasnt gone up yet. Those are the only 2 Ajax related questions Law’s fielded.
- I stand corrected. feel free to strike the above comment so to avoid clogging up this line of posts with incorrect info.
i asked klaw 3 q’s about him. he answered all 3 but seems pretty down on ajax. i, for one, am a big Ajax fan, so I don’t really believe him
Honestly, I don’t think he’s going to be a star either; I think he’ll be an above average player:
.270-.285 AVG
.340-.360 OBP
.420-.440 SLG
10-15 HR
25-30 SB
Above average D. I’d be happy with that.
better than Tacoby and he’s one of the best CFers in the game
*according to MSM, not me
See, I’d think your take is different than KLaw’s, based on your expectations. If you have those expectations for a player, then I think it’s unreasonable to say “I don’t see much chance remaining of him becoming a star,” like KLaw did. If you expect that kind of production, it wouldn’t take much of an uptick to make that player a star. KLaw said he doesn’t see much chance of him becoming a star, which would lead me to believe that his expectations for the player would actually be lower than yours, and I find that interesting. Just my take.
It’s all about how you define ‘star,’ I mean he’s not going to be Carlos Beltran, but did anyone expect that? People think McLouth is a star CF, except he sucks in CF.
How many star CF are there? Granderson, Adam Jones, Beltran, Kemp. That’s all that come to mind, so he’s not going to be a top 5 CF in the majors, doesnt mean hes not good
Grady Sizemore says hi
yea him too, like i said i was just going off top of my head
Who thinks McClouth is a star CF?
That’s good reasoning.
Sidebar: myself and someone else from Greenwich is in the chat.
Heh. Represent.
/fist pump
I think graduation is tonight. Fail. It rained on mine, too.
I know we’re not supposed to be happy if a living being gets injured but…Woo-hoo?
Mike… re: KLaw’s comments about Austin Jackson… What do you think? How/why would KLaw think Jackson’s ceiling has dropped every year? Is it the lack of power and high K rate? From what I’ve read I thought his glove is well-regarded and his offensive game is rounding into shape, pending the development of some power and better plate discipline. Still, though, the guy’s a young AAA player who is holding his own and seems to be progressing nicely. Where would you put his ceiling now? Do you agree/disagree with KLaw’s assessment?
I never thought Jackson was a star, more of a solid regular, maybe an above avg CF in his prime. Too many strikeouts and no enough plate discipline to compensate. It’s not like he’s working deep counts and K’ing as a result of that, he’s just straight up swinging and missing.
Current player comp? Was thinking a righty Granderson with less power (well I guess he’s not really a great comp then)
I have no idea, maybe Marlon Byrd?
that good, huh
looked up byrd’s #s and i think you may be spot on:
2007: .307/.355/.459/.814 (10 HRs, 5 SBs)
2008: .298/.380/.462/.842 (10 HRS, 7 SBs)
2009: .293/.317/.459/.775 (4 HRs, 2 SBs)
think we’d more than take his 2007-08 lines (with maybe a couple more HRs and a few more steals)
Scale those down a bit because of Texas’ park.
But scale up Ajax’s playing in his future home
I think A-Jax can way out perform Byrd in terms of SBs.
personally don’t see him stealing 25-30 like yourself. mainly because i’m not sure he’s going to be a top-of-the-order hitter striking out as much as he does.
Just ’cause he’s not at the top of the order doesn’t mean he can’t steal.
of course that’s true, but less opportunities and more big bodies in front of you clogging up the bases
True–but I could see him as a 9 hitter like Gardner and stealing for the top of the order.
yeah, but doesn’t have gardner’s raw speed and gardner’s minor league SB totals (37, 32, 19, 12 so far)
I don’t think he steals that many because he won’t get on base enough. He’s fast, but not that fast.
Jackson’s 112 out of 143 (78.3%) in his MiL career and has stolen 30+ twice and is 12/12 this season to go along with 19 last year (76%).
but as his body has filled out and as he’s moved up levels, his SB totals have come down
I think if he can put up a .340 OBP, he can do 20-30 steals.
That’s true. Well, I guess we’ll just have to wait and see, huh?
i’m with you on him running, but i personally think he tops out at 20 or so.
Word. If he could do 20/25 or so with good defense, I’d be quite happy.
absolutely. i actually liked your “Cameron lite” comparison
I just agreed with it and gave it a moniker, THCM came up with it!
But I’ll take credit for it.
he only had 400ab the each of the 08 and 07 seasons, 200 less then a ‘regular full season’
jackson or byrd?
because ajax actually had 550 PAs in 2007 and 584 in 2008
i was talking about byrd’s numbers, because i know thats what you guys were comparing ajax to but i was confused if you were saying ajax would match those numbers in a full season or in the same ABs
I could see that, but with many more steals and maybe a hint more power.
Yeah… I guess I just thought it was a bit harsh to say he doesn’t really have a chance to become a star. I’ve always, just from reading about him, thought we were maybe dealing with a Mike Cameron with a little better average and less power, it’s not like anyone’s holding their breath for Carlos Beltran or anything. But even that pseudo-Cameron has a chance to develop into a star if things go well for him.
I could see that Cameron “lite” comp. coming true.
No one likes to hear bad things about their favorite team’s prospects.
True. I don’t think I fall in love with prospects, really, though. It was just surprising I guess.
Yankee fans always overrate their prospects. That’s a fact of fan life. The problem is Yankee Management is doing it now too.
Oh please ALL fans overrate their own teams prospects. A freaking sox fan wanted to trade bard for mauer straight up because thats the best talent the Twins could get for him.
LOL read this one:
RSN (Boston)
KLAW -Mauer would look great in Boston and everyone knows the Twins won’t resign him so they’ll have to trade him, either this year or in the offseason. Why don’t the Sox offer Bard for him straight up now, b/c that’s the best talent the Twins are going to get from anyone that can afford him?
Keith Law
Because the people who run the Twins are not Red Sox fans.
Lets trade Cervelli for Maur.
Bard for Mauer. Straight-up. Sweet. Merciful.
Wouldnt you have to throw in Morneau as well? It is afterall Bard…
Guys like Law and the other clowns at the Egotistical Sox and Pats Network (ESPN) make me sick. They will do anything to promote an favor those two teams at everyone else’s expense. I am shocked they have not discussed the possibility of acquiring Teixeira for Lars Anderson. Keep in mind, these are the guys who ranked the Pats #1 less than TWO months after the Steelers won the Super Bowl. Pure New England bias.
Epic fail of a comment.
Keith Law was mocking someone for making that offer.
Matt – That Montero question was you, right?
Yessir.
Speaking of shoulder surgeries, Brad Suttle just had another one like 2 weeks ago, he’s done for the year.
yea saw that on nomaas, funny as hell