22 replies to this topic

[SoxScout]

He has been abusing AAA since he was 24...

1043 AB
.310/.391/.516
75 2b, 7 3b, 42 HR
142 BB, 193 K...... hello



Looks kinda... lumbering.

Edited by SoxScout, 19 November 2008 - 03:23 PM.

[Hairps]

Looks kinda... lumbering.

There was some talk of McAnulty "rededicating" himself before last season. From Padres' 2008 Spring Training:

"The year didn't go like he wanted it," Padres manager Bud Black said. "He proved that he could play, but he got caught in a spot where we decided to go with Sledgie [Terrmel Sledge], and when you make that decision, you give the at-bats to the guy that you have decided on.

"He never really got on track."

To ensure that wouldn't happen again, McAnulty dedicated himself to getting in the best shape of his career in the offseason. He worked out three times a day -- that's right, three times a day -- six days a week, an arduous mix of weight training, conditioning, riding the stationary bike and, of course, hitting, at his home in Oxnard, Calif.

"I worked my [tail] off and it's going to show," said McAnulty, who estimates that he lost 20 or so pounds. "My main goal was to get back to 100 percent. I feel I can help this club tremendously."

McAnulty joked this week that his workout at the Peoria Sports Complex was actually a lot tamer than the one that he put himself through, leaving him with more free time than he knew what to do with.

McAnulty, 26, has carefully watched what he has eaten since October and has somehow had the stomach to throw down a blue-green algae energy drink that provides nutrients that he might otherwise be missing.

http://sandiego.padr...l...jsp&c_id=sd

[Bosoxman2004]

This is a nice depth signing. I remember several years ago this guy being mentioned as options at third base and first base I think before they moved him to the outfield. Even heard a lot of wally joyner comparisons from Padre fans but with more strikeouts.


A nice depth signing and he is still pretty young (27) to take a chance and throw the dice on.

[TheYellowDart5]

Dopes, perhaps this belongs on the main board, as it sounds like McAnulty has a shot to break camp with the big league club.

The numbers he's put up against LHP (which you posted) would seem to contradict that.

[Eric Van]

The numbers he's put up against LHP (which you posted) would seem to contradict that.

What? Guys with big platoon splits are often more useful as bench players, not less.

Add his 2008 MLB line to his MLE according to minorleaguesplits.com: .260 / .373 / .450. Adjust upwards for ballpark (64% of his PA were at Petco) and downward for the NL West, and it's probably a bit better than that.

McAnulty was signed for the Padres by Jason McLeod, which explains the quick signing. He was the Padres #10 prospect in 2005 and #8 in 2006, then fell to #18 in 2007 after an unsuccesful attempt to convert him to 3B, then off the top 30 entirely last year after a bad 2007 (when he was apparently out of shape).

Oh, and a pretty obvious career comparison.

Edited by Eric Van, 19 November 2008 - 04:58 PM.

[Cuzittt]

Moved to the Main Board by request... especially since he is now part of the potential OF equation for the Sox.

[Crazy Puppy]

McAnulty agreed to a one-year contract with a guaranteed three-month minor league stint.

What does that mean? Is that a weird way of saying he has an opt-out clause after three months?

[TheYellowDart5]

What? Guys with big platoon splits are often more useful as bench players, not less.

I suppose he could make for a decent 1B/OF, but ideally, this team's 4th OF would be able to hit LHP, given the fact that 2/3 of the starting OF is left-handed.

[xjack]

I suppose he could make for a decent 1B/OF, but ideally, this team's 4th OF would be able to hit LHP, given the fact that 2/3 of the starting OF is left-handed.

If the Sox keep 12 pitchers, there should be 4 bench jobs -- backup OF, backup middle-infield, backup C and backup 1B/DH. I don't think McAnulty would be competing to be the 4th outfielder. He'd be competing with Chris Carter, Jeff Bailey and whomever else Theo & Co dredges up for the Sean Casey/Eric Hinske job.

Personally, I'd like to see Carter on the team, but I think he's got another option left -- which given Theo's track record means he'll probably start the season in PAW.

[TheYellowDart5]

If the Sox keep 12 pitchers, there should be 4 bench jobs -- backup OF, backup middle-infield, backup C and backup 1B/DH. I don't think McAnulty would be competing to be the 4th outfielder. He'd be competing with Chris Carter, Jeff Bailey and whomever else Theo & Co dredges up for the Sean Casey/Eric Hinske job.

Personally, I'd like to see Carter on the team, but I think he's got another option left -- which given Theo's track record means he'll probably start the season in PAW.

Fair enough. I'll admit, the thought of backup 1B slipped my mind when thinking about McAnulty. My mistake.

On that note, has there been any news about whether or not Casey's retiring or what not?

[philly sox fan]

McAnulty was signed for the Padres by Jason McLeod, which explains the quick signing. He was the Padres #10 prospect in 2005 and #8 in 2006, then fell to #18 in 2007 after an unsuccesful attempt to convert him to 3B, then off the top 30 entirely last year after a bad 2007 (when he was apparently out of shape).

I was going to post that. But it's amazing how often that is the case for these little waiver wire/minor league free agents. I remember a couple years ago when Yorman Bazardo was on waivers I said to myself I bet if Miguel Garcia was still with the Sox they would pick him up. He ended up with the Tigers and although I didn't know it at the time, that's where Garcia ended up after he left the Sox.

It seems like once a scout beleives in a player (and/or his evaluation of the player), they never give it up.

[Talon]

I've always liked McAnulty despite his obvious problems adjusting to big league pitching. If he adjusts quickly to Fenway Park, as he probably should as most of his career MLB games were at that dead zone called PETCO Park, he should become a great doubles hitter.

[Pumpsie]

Very smart signing. McAnulty could make an ideal bench player as a 1B/DH/5th outfielder hitting from the left side to go along with a RH 4th outfielder, such as Gabe Kapler. And he'll come cheap this year and he wants to be here. It's all good.

[xjack]

Very smart signing. McAnulty could make an ideal bench player as a 1B/DH/5th outfielder hitting from the left side to go along with a RH 4th outfielder, such as Gabe Kapler.

Off topic, but here's a question: does our 4th outfielder really need to be someone capable of playing CF like Kapler? Or can JD Drew be the de facto backup at CF the way Youk has been the backup at 3B?

Obviously if Drew can backup in center, that opens up more options for the bench. They could sign Juan Rivera, for instance.

[Hairps]

All of the talk about McAnulty's "body type" got me to thinking about his likely outfield defense, which I guess I just assumed was really bad:

In limited MLB time last season, Tango's Fans' Scouting Report puts him in the defensive company of such luminaries as Jason Giambi and Wily Mo Pena.

I then tried converting THT's RZR fielding stats into +/- runs, which is something I've been wanting to try for a while, using the process laid out by Justin Inaz. I'd love for someone to check my work (just PM me and I'll send you the stuff), because I have McAnulty as an non-regressed +14 runs in left field over about a 1/6 of a season. Maybe just write that off to very small sample sizes, the state of defensive metrics, and the likelhood that I screwed something up?

Lastly, Dan Fox's minor league defense data from 2007, placed McAnulty about average for a minor league left fielder, which considering I'd assume a minor league left fielder is worse defensively than an MLB left fielder (without knowing if that's true, of course) that actually "feels" about right.

Edited by Hairps, 20 November 2008 - 03:00 PM.

[Eric Van]

All of the talk about McAnulty's "body type" got me to thinking about his likely outfield defense, which I guess I just assumed was really bad:

In limited MLB time last season, Tango's Fans' Scouting Report puts him in the defensive company of such luminaries as Jason Giambi and Wily Mo Pena.

I then tried converting THT's RZR fielding stats into +/- runs, which is something I've been wanting to try for a while, using the process laid out by Justin Inaz. I'd love for someone to check my work (just PM me and I'll send you the stuff), because I have McAnulty as an non-regressed +14 runs in left field over about a 1/6 of a season. Maybe just write that off to very small sample sizes, the state of defensive metrics, and the likelhood that I screwed something up?

Lastly, Dan Fox's minor league defense data from 2007, placed McAnulty about average for a minor league left fielder, which considering I'd assume a minor league left fielder is worse defensively than an MLB left fielder (without knowing if that's true, of course) that actually "feels" about right.

Fielding Bible has him -15 runs per 150 games last year in LF, but absolutely average career as a corner OF. It's not a lot of data (379 innings) -- if they didn't round plus/ minus off to a whole number, I might be coming up with anything from +7 to -5.

I think that studies have shown that AAA defenders are as good as MLB. The selection for promotion is for hitting talent. This is also why there is no PT adjustment for defense, because replacement level is average.

[Hairps]

Thanks, EV. If true, and McAnulty ends up being something average-ish at a corner OF, this is just a great signing.

If used primarily in a limited LHH vs. RHP platoon (where his career MLE OPS is .954) or pinch hit situations, there was just a ton of potential value acquired for essentially nothing.

[Talon]

Something to keep in mind here is that Paul signed a Minor League Contract with a Spring invite meaning he's (obviously) not on the 40 man roster and is exposed to the Rule 5 draft.

Taking a MLB quality player recently signed to a team is not uncommon in the Rule 5 draft. It most recently occured when the Yankees selected Josh Phelps from Baltimore in the 2006 Rule 5 draft a month after Phelps had signed a Minor League Contract for 2007 with Baltimore. In 2005 Kansas City lost 2 recently signed veterans in the Rule 5: Seth Etherton and Victor Santos. So the precedent is there.