Q&A with MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo About the AFL and Oriole Prospects

With the Arizona Fall League ending this past weekend, MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo took some time out to answer a few questions about the AFL and Oriole prospects in general.


Jonathan Mayo is a senior writer for MLB.com and covers the minor leagues and the draft. Mayo compiles MLB.com's annual list of the Top 50 Prospects in baseball and is their resident prospect expert. Additionally, Mayo is an author and with his latest book titled, "Facing Clemens: Hitters on Confronting Baseball's Most Intimidating Pitcher".

Dempsey's Army: The Hawaiian Winter Baseball league folded and the Arizona Fall League is still just AA and AAA players. Will MLB move to replace the gap the HWB has left and create a similar league for Rookie league, Single A and recently drafted high school players? I was thinking a small league on Florida’s west coast would work geographically.

Jonathan Mayo: Yes. There are plans for an “AFL Jr,” of sorts, hopefully in 2010. It will be in Arizona and be played in some of the new facilities out there, Goodyear and Glendale . A bunch of the teams that have instructs out there formed a co-op league this year to give the lower-level players a chance to get some game action. Also, the AFL allowed for an extra exemption for A-ball players, up to two from the usual one.

DA: Brandon Snyder looked pretty good in the field during the AFL Rising Stars game. Is his defense improving?

JM: That’s just one game, so you don’t want to draw too much from it. I’ve heard good things about his defense at first. I think he’ll be just fine there. He may not be the kind of guy who is your typical power-hitting 1B, but he’ll drive the ball enough to be a good run producer who hits for average and gets on base.

DA: Two Josh Bell questions: Does it look like he plays the field well enough to stick at 3B? Can he ever learn to hit lefties?

JM: I think he’ll be OK at third. Remember, injuries cut him short for a while when he was with the Dodgers, so I think he’s still learning over there. As for lefties, time will tell. He’ll likely never be great vs. LHP, but he really doesn’t need to be. Very small sample size in the AFL, but he’s had some good ABs against lefties. Hopefully, that’s a good sign.

DA: For the Orioles, CF Matt Angle has gone under the radar in their farm system. His skills are limited but he gets on base and steal bases at outstanding rates. If he can duplicate that success in AA Bowie, should he be considered a decent prospect?

JM: There are always guys who go under-appreciated. Whether Angle is one of those guys will depend on what he does at the upper levels. Guys like him have a hard time getting “prospect buzz.” He’s small, he has no power and he’ll play all season at age 24, putting him on the older side of guys who’ll be in Double-A. But every year there are guys who sneak up and make it when no one is looking.

DA: Outside of Matt Wieters, which Oriole under the age of 26 has the biggest impact in Baltimore next season? (This list includes Adam Jones, Felix Pie, Brad Bergesen, Chris Tillman, David Hernandez, Brian Matusz, Brandon Snyder, Josh Bell and Troy Patton)

JM: Remember a time where you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone on a list like this? I’m one to usually go with the every-day player, though there are some really good starters on there. But I’d have to say Adam Jones is the guy. He showed last year what he’s capable of and he’s still learning. Any time you can have a five-tool guy who can impact the game in so many ways, you have to be excited.

DA: One of the silver linings of the 2009 season is that Baltimore will have the #3 pick for the 2010 Amateur Draft. It’s really early but what player (or what type of player) will be available at the 3 slot?

JM: Umm, a good one? Seriously, it’s hard to know exactly what’s going to be out there. It does look like there will be some good college arms, though as you said, it’s so early, anything can happen and players can emerge. But you can never have enough pitching, right?

DA: What do the Orioles need to add to compete at this point? Is 2011 too soon to ask for a winner?

JM: Get the Red Sox and/or Yankees moved to another division? It’s not just that they spend money. The Sox have a terrific farm system to boot and the Yankees spent their money more wisely and if they continue to do it that way, it’ll be an uphill struggle. And I’m not even mentioning the Rays, who are set up to be very competitive for a long time. But that’s the model the O’s are going for, right? Having young talent coming up every year will give them a chance. I think 2011 or 2012 is a realistic time to expect this talent to start paying dividends.

DA: I check in on the Around The Minors video segments on MiLB.com that you and Lisa Winston produce. Any chance of reviving the Around the Minors podcast? There is really nothing else out there to fill that demand.

JM: We would love to revive that, but I’m not the person to ask. For now, you’ll have to get by with the video segments on MiLB.com. Maybe we can convince someone to bring something back, a podcast or how about a show on MLB Network?

Q&A With MLB.com Writer Jonathan Mayo About His New Book, "Facing Clemens"

This is kind of a book review but with a different twist. The book is called "Facing Clemens" by Jonathan Mayo. No, it's not a rehash of the whole steroid mess. It's a look back at Roger Clemens' career between the lines...told by the hitters who had to face him.

What's the Oriole connection? Well, Cal Ripken, Jr. faced Clemens more than any other batter during his career and he sat down with for a very in depth interview about what it was like facing arguably the best pitcher of his generation.

Jonathan Mayo is a senior writer for MLB.com. He joined Major League Baseball’s official website in April 1999 and has covered every facet of the game. More recently Jonathan has focused his efforts on covering minor league baseball and, notably, the baseball draft. Mayo worked on the broadcast team assembled for ESPN’s coverage of the first televised baseball draft in 2007, interviewing draftees after their selections.

Jonathan was kind enough to participate in a Q&A about his book. Here it is:

Dempsey's Army: Examining a great pitcher’s career through the eyes of the opposing batters seems to be a pretty unique format for a baseball book. Where did you get the idea to write about Roger Clemens from this angle?

Jonathan Mayo: To give credit where it’s due, it was the publisher’s idea. They had done a pair of boxing books – “Facing Ali” and “Facing Tyson” – and felt the format would translate well to baseball. Clemens seemed to be the perfect subject at the time due to the length of his career and the level of his success.

DA: This book does not focus on steroids or the Mitchell Report. Indeed, you must have been in the middle of some of these interviews when the Mitchell Report was released. Did the report change the tone of the book at all or were you able to keep it strictly between the lines?

JM: Actually, the book was completely done before the Mitchell Report came out. So while there was a little helplessness when everything happened, there also was nothing I could do. Looking back, it’s sure been interesting timing, but I’m glad in a way that it is what it was meant to be: just a simple, pure baseball book.

DA: Cal Ripken, Jr. did not hit particularly well against Clemens during his career and he struck out against him more times than against any other pitcher (17 times). Ripken is known to be a standup guy but he couldn’t have been excited to sit down and talk about his struggles against Clemens. How did you talk him into it?

JM: I asked. Seriously. I had had the opportunity to do an interview with him for MLB.com when the NY-Penn League All-Star Game was in Aberdeen. That went really well and I think that helped pave the way. I think – or at least hope – that he liked the concept of the book. His recall for their matchups was uncanny and I think it’s the strongest chapter in the book as a result.

DA: Ripken said, “He was just a serious competitor. I know that some pitchers pride themselves on being a little intimidating, where they’ll move you off the plate. Certainly Roger had that ability to move you back and move you off the plate, but to me, he was a consummate professional and under control at all times.” Was this just a very nice way of saying Clemens would fire one in at your hip without batting an eye? Were other players you interviewed for this book so diplomatic?

JM: I think the thing Ripken appreciated was that while he could knock you off the plate, he was never a guy looking to hurt you, at least in his opinion. He always knew where the ball was going. That’s one of the things that makes his early career so amazing. He was a pure power pitcher, but with command. It was an amazing combination of skills at the time and I think Ripken had a lot of respect for what he could do. Other players did tend to take that aspect of things in stride. Maybe it’s old school thinking now, but a lot of players felt that getting knocked down was just a part of the game. In some ways, it was a badge of courage to get knocked down by Clemens.

DA: You have an impressive list of players that you interviewed for this book. Who surprised you as an interviewee? Is there anyone you would have liked to talked to but couldn’t?

JM: For obvious reasons (think 2000 World Series), I really wanted to talk to Mike Piazza. But he wasn’t interested. I had thought Spike Owen would’ve been a good one – he played with Clemens at Texas, then was on the Mariners team that struck out 20 times against him in 1986, only to get traded to Boston for the postseason run that season. But I never was able to connect with him. Surprises? All were good, really. I’d never really spoken with Chipper Jones at length before this and he was simply amazing and had Ripken-like recall. Maybe the most surprising was Koby Clemens. I thought that would make for a nice little chapter and we had such a good and interesting conversation that it turned out much better than I anticipated.

DA: You interviewed Phil Bradley who was the 20th strikeout victim during Clemens’ dominating game versus Seattle. Ripken struggled against Clemens most of his career but recalled a three-run homer against Clemens on Opening Day in 1989 as one of the few times that he got the best of Roger. How ironic is it that Phil Bradley was one of the men on base when Ripken hit that shot?

JM: That’s the beauty of baseball, isn’t it? Even within that 20-strikeout game, Bradley pointed out that the Mariners weren’t even totally aware of what was going on because they were leading for much of it and they were really focusing on getting the win. Imagine what the reaction would have been had Clemens set that record and actually lost the game!

DA: So after all this research, what’s the best way to get a hit off of Roger Clemens?

JM: Swing early, I guess. The one common theme, even as he evolved as a pitcher, was to get him early in the count. Especially after he added that splitter, if you fell behind, you were in big trouble.

DA: OK, I’m going to pick your brain about the Orioles’ prospects. True or False: Adam Jones will be a star player.

JM: True. Give him some time. He’s learning on the job. When all is said and done, you’ll be quite happy.

DA: Excepting Matt Wieters, what Oriole farmhand will be the next regular contributor for the big club?

JM: Next? Instead of going with someone who’s close – literally the next – I’ll stay there in Frederick. I think Jake Arrieta’s going to move pretty quickly. Heck, might as well just keep him and Wieters together. Seems to be working so far, doesn’t it?

DA: The farm system has been strengthened by the offseason trades and the 2007 draft but still has a long way to go. What player do you expect Baltimore to draft in the 2008 amateur draft?

JM: There are several players that could fit into the O’s plans with the No. 4 pick. In my first crack and projecting the top 10 picks, I had them taking University of San Diego lefty Brian Matusz, who’s much more than a pitchability college southpaw. He’s got some serious stuff and could be a top of the rotation type quickly. If they wanted to go bat, they could go with University of Georgia shortstop Gordon Beckham or maybe South Carolina first baseman Justin Smoak.

Jonathan Mayo's book "Facing Clemens" can be purchased here on Jonathan's website.

http://www.jonathanmayo.net/