The Boys of Summer league allows teams to offer players minor league contracts beginning on February 1st. The Caesars are hoping to ultimately add ten or twelve minor league free agents. Here is a quick rundown of the first batch of signees:
Felix Doubront, LHP CHC: Doubront has confounded baseball analysts for years as he's left handed with good stuff and has flashed brilliance at the MLB level. His ability to provide long relief in the 2013 World Series was a critical aspect to the Red Sox win and inspired optimism from the team and fanbase about his 2014 prospects. He failed miserably compiling a 2-4 record with a 5.12 ERA in his first nine starts. Following his start on May 20th, he hit the DL with a left shoulder strain.. He returned on June 20th to make what would be his final start as a Red Sox but didn't make it out of the fifth inning while walking four. He made a couple of relief appearances in mop up duty before the Sox traded him to Chicago at the trade deadline for a PTBNL. He made another trip to the DL with a calf strain but returned to make his best start of the season - a seven inning, one earned run, one walk performance - on August 30th and he made two more solid starts for the Cubs before a six earned run clunker against the Dodgers to end the season. All in all, it was basically a lost year for him.
2015 brings a new beginning in Chicago and more importantly the National League. For his career, Doubront has performed much better as a starter than a reliever. He has a 4.45 ERA in over 400 innings as a starter vs. an 8.58 ERA in 29 relief appearances. The problem with Doubront continues to be walks. He must reduce them in order to be successful. The Cubs had success turning Jake Arrieta around and the parallels between him and Doubront are obvious. Both have tremendous stuff but struggled with walks earlier in their careers before being traded to the Cubs. Doubront is out of options and will look to challenge for one of two rotation spots with Kyle Hendricks, Edwin Jackson, Travis Wood, and Jacob Turner.
Tyler Holt, OF CLE: The Caesars acquired Kevin Kiermaier earlier this offseason and see Holt as a very similar player. He doesn't have as clear of a path to playing time in Cleveland, though some analysts are calling for him to start, or at least platoon, in CF with Michael Bourn. Like Kiermaier, Holt is an outstanding defensive outfielder capable of playing all three outfield positions. His minor league career line is .269/.363/.348 with more than half of his 2,000+ PA coming at AA or AAA. He's a low power, on base, strong defensively, and has some speed (127/161 SB in minor leagues). The Caesars are very excited to see what Holt can do on a platoon or full time basis as Bourn is declining rapidly and a major injury risk.
Kyle Crockett, LHP CLE: Crockett was a top target of the Caesars who believe he will be a key component to the team's bullpen in 2015. He was drafted in the fourth round of the 2013 draft out of UVA and made his MLB debut less than a year later. He doesn't throw much harder than 90 MPH but he has some deception and a good slider which both play up due to his stellar command. In 43 games last year, he compiled a 1.80 ERA with 28 strikeouts and eight walks. He was even more dominant in his minor league career, zooming through four levels and posted a 0.48 ERA in 42 games. He's particularly effective against left handed hitters as he held them to a .433 OPS in 102 PA across all levels in 2014 while right handed hitters hit .245/.306/.353 against him. Baseball Prospectus' PECOTA loves him and two of his three comparable players are Kelvin Herrera and Drew Storen. At the very least he'll be one of the top LOOGYs in baseball but he has upside to be a valuable set-up man.
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