Late Innings

I did this back before, when there were oddly enough two Ryan Bruans in the majors. I wanted to do the same thing back when there were two Bobby Joneses pitching as well. In either case, there are a pair of Josh Fieldses in the majors, one is a closing prospect for the Mariners, the other is a third baseman for the White Sox.

Starting with the infielder, Peter Gammons of ESPN said the following about the slugging infielder:

Josh Fields hit 23 homers in 100 games for the White Sox in 2007, but his 2008 season was a waste because of right knee problems. The former Oklahoma State quarterback finally gave in and had knee surgery. He also underwent LASIK eye surgery, and he claims it has made a significant difference in seeing the ball this spring as he opens the season at third base.

Surgery will quite possibly help him somewhat, however it was the departure of Joe Crede that played the most to his advantage. He’ll go deep from time to time, however the strikeouts will put him in Ozzie Guillen’s dog house from time to time.

2009 Outlook: .255 AVG, 525 AB, 31 HR, 95 RBI, ass-load of strikeouts

He’s set to take in a good chunk of playing time in Chicago this year. Yes, Dayan Viciedo is there to put pressure on him, however Paul Konerko’s struggles could also play in his favor as well.

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The Mariners (under Bill Bavasi) burnt the 20th overall pick in last year’s Amateur Draft on a closer, drafting Joshua Fields. He signed a month ago, and then at that point people started to speculate as to whether he’ll be closing for the M’s at sometime this year. The big news of today, that’s not going to happen.

I like what David Pinto wrote about this, comparing the situation to the one that Jonathan Papelbon faced a few years ago. Brandon Morrow has ridiculous stuff, and I’ve always wanted to see him as a starter. However given the forearm issues, maybe having him close is the best for both him and the team. Fantasy owners of Morrow must have been happy to hear this news today (he is NOT available in any of my leagues, and is owned in 89% of ESPN’s leagues.) Still this move essentially doomed Fields to remain in the minors for the year. However, the possibility of him being up in September should not be out of the picture at all…