Jeff Niemann. More than a Trade Piece.

by davelrogers on Mar 14, 2009 8:35 PM EDT Comment 5 comments

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Before Price. Before Shields, Sonny or Garza. Before there was any sliver of hope; there was, at least, the idea of a top of the rotation starter in 2004, first rounder, Jeff Niemann.

Massive, national championship winning, first round draft pick, Jeff Niemann. Way back in '04 and '05, the reports of the fastball, and especially the nasty slider, were plenty to make me think of a better rotation with him as the Ace, or maybe #2 behind Kazmir.

When I first starting checking in on Drays Bay, it was to get updates on Niemann. Oft injured but still tantalizing, he was some hope where there was not much else to look forward to.

Then, something happened. Pitching prospects started popping up all over the place, Jeff missed some games, and guys we never really saw coming, like Shields and Sonny became top notch MLB pitchers. So he somewhat fades to black and today seems to be a potential trade piece or bullpen piece. All the while, he has become healthy and has really pitched lights of in the minors. For most other teams, this guy would be their top pitching prospect. For us (or some of us) we can't wait to see what we can get in a trade for him, or if he would be a decent closer.

I'm here to say no, or maybe I'm hear to say wait. I want to see what he can do in the rotation for a few months. I know we are in a hurry to see Price, but lets see what we have in the Big, Red, Lumberjack looking mother first.

Pitching is so valuable. I would love to avoid a knee jerk trade of a guy who looks like a MLB ready pitcher, with some potential to be a 2 or 3, because we can't find the room in the rotation. All the while we are in a frenzy to get up our 2007 first rounder.

There was a time....at least to me.....when Niemann was Price. Get excited for this guy; we will get to Price soon enough.

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Comments

I completely agree

I dont think we can get proper value for Niemann today. He has no history in the Majors, he has been hurt, and hes old for a prospect. We might be able to get something decent in return for him but he will be much more valuable in the near future

This is also why I dont think moving Niemann to a bullpen role should be thought of as a longterm fix. You only move failed starters to the bullpen, and Niemann aint that. For the short term that may be his destination, but I dont think the team has any plan of converting Niemann into a reliever for more than a short stint.

by Rays4242 on Mar 14, 2009 9:26 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Rec'd

Why would I watch Transformers when I can play with them at my house?

by Taylor H on Mar 14, 2009 11:39 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Niemann 4 rotation

PLZZZZZZ. He is good at baseball kthxbai

I could be wrong though

by staplemaniac on Mar 15, 2009 3:22 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Sorry, but he wouldn't be the top pitching prospect for most orgs

Maybe a couple.

Not saying he’s useless, but let’s not overstate it either.

by nyyfaninlaaland on Mar 18, 2009 3:00 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

If we consider Kevin Goldstein's ranking at BP,

Niemann does not show up at all, but 21 teams (including the Rays) have at least one pitcher in the top 100, so the most possibilities for him being the #1 prospect are 9 teams. (NYY, Clev, KC, Minn, NYM, Fl, Cin, Hous, Pitt.) Of course there is no guarantee he would be #1 on any of them either. Note too that many of the teams in the top 100 have more than one pitcher listed there, including Baltimore with four and LAD, Texas & Oakland with three each. Six other teams have two pitchers in the top 100, so according to Goldstein, on 10 teams he wouldn’t even be the second best pitching prospect.

On the other hand, Wade Davis, coming in at #29, would be the top pitching prospect on 22 teams as well as the Rays. He would still be the 3rd best on Baltimore and the 4th best on Oakland however.

Of course this is just one analyst’s list, and some evaluate Niemann higher, but I doubt he is the number 1 pitching prospect in many organizations. Still, I do think he can be a useful pitcher for the Rays and hope they find a place for him.

by bobr on Mar 18, 2009 11:33 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs