Alex Muren - 2015

[ashbury]

Alexander (Alex) Richard Muren

 

Born: November 6, 1991 (age 23 this season)

Birthplace: Ramona, California

Drafted in the 12th round of the 2012 June draft, signed for $100K(?) slot

School: California State University Northridge

Height: 6' 3"

Weight: 200

Position: Pitcher

Throws: Right

Bats in theory: Right

Pitching arsenal: fastball (high 80s, touches low 90s), cutter, change

 

http://www.milb.com/images/571973/t509/180x270/571973.jpg

 

Alex Muren was my Adopt-a-Prospect player in 2012 when he was drafted, so it seemed fitting if I took on those duties again. It's fun to compare then and now. His listed weight is 5 pounds higher now - I'm sure it's all muscle, just look at him.

 

It's fair to say that Alex was not a highly regarded prospect when he was drafted - a multi-sport player in high school, he was never a full-time pitcher in college until his final year as a junior - and he has flown pretty much under the radar in the time since, residing strictly in the bullpen. He doesn't strike out a lot of batters, usually somewhere below 6 per 9 innings. However, that does not mean he hasn't put up some very nice ERAs, with a seasonal WHIP ratio that has never exceeded 1.133 and only very few home runs.

 

2012 - Ft Myers (GCL) 1.46 in 24.2 IP

2013 - Cedar Rapids 2.85 in 60 IP

2014 - Cedar Rapids 2.89 in 56 IP

2014 - Ft Myers (FSL) 2.45 in 18.1 IP

 

His fastball has a lot of sink - something he apparently has learned in the time since his college scouting reports - and this induces many ground balls. Fun fact: he has never committed a balk as a professional. (Perhaps that comes with permitting few base runners.)

 

Alex is being brought along slowly, and begins 2015 in Ft Myers again. I listed him among my 30 Twins prospects to watch this year, as there is nothing in his resume to indicate he can't eventually make the grade and have a productive major league career.

 

http://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-7r72j4g/1/M/i-7r72j4g-M.jpg

[ashbury]

Alex Muren is off to another good start in 2015. For the Ft Myers Miracle he has appeared in 14 games covering 24.2 innings, with an ERA of 2.19. He continues to allow few base runners (1.054 WHIP) and few home runs (just 1 this season). If he continues at this pace, I'll be disappointed if he doesn't get the opportunity to try things in Chattanooga before the season is over.

[ashbury]

Since last report, this reliever has appeared in three more games, going 3 2/3 innings and giving up one earned run. He struck out 5 and walked 1. Even at that, he may have been a bit unlucky during this stretch: opposing batters had a colossal .575 batting average on balls put in play, suggesting a few of the 6 hits were of the seeing-eye variety.

 

For his season through May, then, Alex has pitched 28.1 innings in 17 games, allowing 22 hits and 11 walks (that's the only nit to pick) for a nice WHIP of 1.165. He's struck out 22 batters and allowed only one home run. All in all, an ERA of 2.22 is something he can be quite proud of.

[ashbury]

Alex's June so far has been even better than his previous months in Ft Myers.The 0.84 ERA over 10.2 innings appears to be no fluke, as his hits have been only 0.563 per inning and he has walked no one. For the season his ERA is 1.85. Give this young man a mid-season promotion!

[ashbury]

Ask and ye shall receive: Alex moved up and pitched his first game for Chattanooga on July 3. Two innings of spotless work, six up, six down, with one strikeout.

 

The book on him in Ft Myers is hopefully closed for good. An ERA of 1.60, 42 strikeouts in 45 innings, only 13 walks and 1 homer.

[ashbury]

According to Seth's minor league leader board, Alex leads all Twins relief prospects (fewer than 3 starts) in innings, with 51, and he has the third best ERA at 1.41.

 

http://twinsdaily.com/topic/19126-article-twins-minor-league-leader-board-through-july-10/

[ashbury]

Alex has had some success in Chattanooga, but it hasn't been as smooth and effortless as in the lower levels of competition. In 9 games and 14 1/3 innings the ERA stands at 5.02 and the SO/9 is a paltry 4.4.

 

But almost all the damage has come in his two most recent games - an inning each, 3 runs each. That'll put some lumps on a reliever's record in a hurry. Hopefully the coaches and he figure something out and turn it right around.

[ashbury]

Season wrap-up:

 

Alex dominated at high-A, which he needed to do since he's a college prospect who is not getting younger. An ERA of 1.60, 42 strikeouts in 45 innings, 13 walks and just one homer, at the end of June. Very very nice!

 

This resulted in a mid-season promotion to AA. Unfortunately, the move to Chattanooga did not meet with success at all. A month and a half there, and his ERA ballooned to 4.82, with only 11 strikeouts in 22+ innings of work. He also walked an uncharacteristic 9 in that span.

 

Back to Ft Myers he went, to try to turn things around in the final few weeks. This did not prove to be the hoped-for tonic: in 4 appearances, totaling 4 innings, his ERA was 9 and he struck out only 1. This slightly affected his high-A numbers, giving a revised season ERA of 2.20. Still nice, but you can't ignore the trend.

 

So... did something at AA shatter his confidence? Did the poor finish coincide with some minor ailment he couldn't work around? Or are his mechanics simply out of whack? Regardless, this is the first real bump in the professional road for Alex. Next season he'll be 24, and if he is assigned again to high-A it won't bode well for the organization having confidence in him. Conversely, if he gets another crack at AA, he needs to approach it with full confidence that what brought him this far (plus learning from the coach) can carry him forward.