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Post by heathcliff on Jun 22, 2013 14:51:45 GMT -5
I was reading this article on red sox draft busts and thought to myself, how come I never hear Ryan Dent mentioned as a bust? It has appeared to me the last few years the Red Sox keep letting him dabble around in spring training and they continue to pretend he has performed enough to advance in the minors--all the way to AAA, let alone AA--with no performance basis whatsoever...but why? Are they trying to squeeze out the label of MLB utility player just to make themselves feel better? If we are getting ready to write off Kolbrin Vitek, why on earth is Ryan Dent around any longer than Jason Place? bleacherreport.com/articles/1654941-the-five-biggest-draft-busts-in-red-sox-history
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Post by threeifbaerga on Jun 22, 2013 15:12:27 GMT -5
As an aside, surprised to not see Mike Rozier on there.
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Post by heathcliff on Jun 22, 2013 15:16:14 GMT -5
agreed...missing Rozier and Jon Curtice. I was also disappointed the Sox gave up on Caleb Clay. I saw him a couple times towards the end of the year in Portland (when he was pitching better) and his stuff was solid. Curveball/slider were at least average, fastball 92-94. The overall results didn't look good on paper at the end of the year but I'm surprised the Sox didn't see something click in him in the second half of 2012 and try to re-sign him
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Post by heathcliff on Jun 22, 2013 15:19:30 GMT -5
...in the same way I can't believe that Ryan Pressly and/or Josh Fields, who I also saw pitch, couldn't be accommodated on the 40 man at the expense of maybe...clayton mortensen
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Post by threeifbaerga on Jun 22, 2013 15:19:35 GMT -5
You may be on to something. Seems to be having a decent season in Washinton's system.
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Post by grodozer on Jun 22, 2013 15:29:47 GMT -5
First of all, that bleacher report article is just awful and indicates a pretty staggering ignorance of the success rates of the baseball draft. A guy drafted 27 washing out in the minors hardly qualifies as a noteworthy draft bust.
As to your specific question about Dent - there isn't much to talk about, and it certainly has nothing to do with the Red Sox trying to make themselves feel better about his selection. Dent is no longer a prospect. He hasn't been for a while. At the same time, he can play all around the diamond including, quite importantly, the middle infield positions. Not every player on each minor league affiliate is a prospect, and guys like Dent are necessary to fill out rosters and play so a team can be fielded. Guys usually see the writing on the wall and retire eventually, like Hee did not too long ago. But Dent is valuable in an organizational sense, so I'm sure the organization is happy to have him around as a depth guy for as long as he is willing to play. He certainly won't be blocking any actual prospects.
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Post by heathcliff on Jun 22, 2013 15:37:34 GMT -5
that's a good point. I still find it strange that he's kept around playing so far above his head offensively simply because he can plug roster holes and is versatile defensively (like being a warm body?). There have to be plenty of versatile middle infield minor league journey men depth options that are better than Ryan Dent with a bat.
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Post by chavopepe2 on Jun 22, 2013 15:53:40 GMT -5
He's essentially a utility bench player in AA. The bar is pretty low. Come to work with a good attitude, have a little versatility, and get on base occasionally. Thats about all it takes really.
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Post by iakovos11 on Jun 22, 2013 19:45:29 GMT -5
Agree with Grodozer and Chavo. And to emphasize a point I think Chavo was making - I'm pretty sure he's a great teammate and guy to have around the younger players. Every minor league system needs several guys like this.
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Post by Chris Hatfield on Jun 23, 2013 0:01:16 GMT -5
He plays great defense and has utility. I don't see what the big deal is. Not every player on the roster can be a top 100 prospect. He's one of the Pawtucket-Portland shuttle guys this year. He was the 62nd pick and got a $571k bonus - it's not like he was supposed to be a superstar. Side note: Kind of funny that in that 2007 draft, other than Rizzo and WMB, the best picks were probably the ones that didn't sign (Grandal, Grimm, Tepesch) Also, I don't read Bleacher Report pieces on principle. thebrreport.kinja.com/
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Post by jdb on Jun 23, 2013 9:48:50 GMT -5
Just looking back like the article did on guys drafted after Dent was depressing. Dent wad 62 while Jordan Zommerman was 67 and Giancarlo Stanton 76, Freddie Freeman 78. We could do that for just about every pick though.
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alnipper
Veteran
Living the dream
Posts: 638
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Post by alnipper on Jun 23, 2013 11:02:09 GMT -5
The Dent pick seemed bad to most of us when it was made. I liked Grandal that year. I was luke warm on Grimm and didn't know very much on Tepesch to have an opinion.
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Post by GyIantosca on Jun 23, 2013 15:03:08 GMT -5
Every time Dent is mentioned I think of Gibson also.
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Post by bentossaurus on Jun 24, 2013 0:01:24 GMT -5
I don't remember the Dent pick being dissed at the time. There was quite the upside back then, he just never developed the way everyone hoped.
Grandal and Tepesch were the ones who bugged me, funny thing is Grandal was a defense-first catcher.
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Post by scotian1 on Jun 24, 2013 6:54:27 GMT -5
I see Dent coaching in a few years. He obviously has numerous qualities besides his playing ability that have made him valuable to the organization.
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Post by beasleyrockah on Jun 24, 2013 13:07:35 GMT -5
I don't remember the Dent pick being dissed at the time. There was quite the upside back then, he just never developed the way everyone hoped. Grandal and Tepesch were the ones who bugged me, funny thing is Grandal was a defense-first catcher. Wow am I the first to acknowledge this masterpiece avatar? Well done sir.
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