Athletics prospect: Chih Fang Pan

Chih Fang Pan is a member of the Oakland Athletics and is playing for the Taiwan National Team against Major League players in the "Taiwan Series". 4.23 Range Factor at short (Elvis Andrus has a 1.5 D-WAR in 3 seasons with a Range Factor of about 4.46). Fielding percentage of .901 (Yuniesky Betancourt, a terrible fielder, has a .970 fielding percentage and a range factor of 4.25). Fielding statistics are not always helpful, but all signs pointing to Pan not being a good fielder. However, he does have a .386 OBP in both Rookie ball and A-ball. His OPS is .799, but he only walks 7.4% of the time. He has a PPG of 1.225, and a PAPP of 2.6. None of these numbers are that impressive for A-ball. He is only 20, and certainly could improve, but Baseball Cube rankings only give him a 35 patience, 17 power, and 60 speed.

Free Agent Watch: Seth Etherton

As the Taiwan Series wrapped up, former major league pitcher Seth Etherton found himself in a key role, pitching in the final game. Etherton threw major league innings for the A's, Angels, Reds, and Royals. However, he hasn't pitched in the big leagues since 06, and has been in the minors since. In his career, he posted a -.7 WAR, an incredibly bad 5.815 PE, and a pitiful Throwing Rating of 3.60. He actually spent 2011 in Mexico, and in 10 starts posted a very solid -1.063. However, there is no way without creating a metric for the Mexican league and the United States to measure the difference in competition. In 2010, he pitched in AAA for the Dodgers, and posted a pretty mediocre 1.25 PE. In those 2 levels of baseball, he had a great K/BB ratio (5.1 in Mexico, and 4.13 in AAA). The ability to miss bats and throw strikes is basically the essence of pitching that any franchise wants. However, he still struggles with the longball, giving up over 1 every 9 innings in both leagues. I think it would be wise to bring Etherton in as a minor league free agent or a non roster invitation to spring training. Some of the numbers look promising, and if there is no risk then why not?