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Monday, January 30, 2006
 
top prospects: cardinals
astros done. cardinals time.


1. Anthony Reyes, rhp
2. Colby Rasmus, of
3. Tyler Greene, ss
4. Chris Lambert, rhp
5. Mark McCormick, rhp
6. Adam Wainwright, rhp
7. Travis Hanson, 3b
8. Cody Haerther, of
9. Nick Webber, rhp
10. Stuart Pomeranz, rhp


reyes is the only real prospect here. it's the opposite of the astros: a potential star, but no depth.

it's been that way for a while. they developed albert pujols, yadier molina, rick ankiel, but very few role players.

course, if you could develop albert pujols and no one else for a period of five years, you'd take it.

don't tell me you wouldn't.


Career Pitching Statistics for Anthony Reyes:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2000 USC NCAA 18 0 NCA 89.0 95 11 42 76 .104 .790 .038 4.15
2001 USC NCAA 19 0 NCA 109.0 111 4 25 97 .054 .779 .012 3.72
2002 USC NCAA 20 0 NCA 65.0 69 6 17 49 .060 .814 .028 3.46
2003 USC NCAA 21 0 NCA 49.1 53 7 11 41 .052 .796 .044 4.38
2004 Palm Beach FSL 22 Stl A 36.2 41 5 7 38 .044 .748 .044 4.66
2004 Tennessee Sou 22 Stl AA 74.1 62 3 13 102 .044 .642 .016 2.91
2005 Memphis PCL 23 Stl AAA 128.2 105 13 34 136 .065 .723 .037 3.64
2005 Stl Cardinal NL 23 Stl MLB 13.1 6 2 4 12 .080 .739 .059 2.70


alright. anthony reyes struck out 102 batters in 74 innings in 2004 in the southern league. and he walked 13. and he gave up 3 home runs. i mean, what? what? are you kidding me?

last year he struck out 136 in 128 innings in triple-a. then he made the majors.

all systems are go. draft him in your fantasy leagues. keep him.


Career Batting Statistics for Colby Rasmus:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2005 Johnson City App 0 Stl Rk 219 24 73 7 21 .099 .667 .192 .296


colby rasmus was drafted in 2005. he showed power in rookie ball but had trouble making contact. in case you're wondering, we're into the non-prospects section of the list. it's bad from here on.


Career Batting Statistics for Tyler Greene:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2004 Georgia Tech NCAA 0 0 NCA 258 41 68 7 19 .137 .736 .137 .273
2005 Georgia Tech NCAA 0 0 NCA 269 44 71 12 18 .141 .736 .152 .372
2005 Palm Beach FSL 0 Stl A 85 7 28 2 4 .076 .671 .105 .271
2005 New Jersey NYPL 0 Stl A 139 20 37 1 12 .126 .734 .127 .261


tyler greene is a shortstop. he went to georgia tech. he had patience and power in college, but lacked contact. he played a-ball last year, and lacked contact. he's not gonna make it.


Career Pitching Statistics for Chris Lambert:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2003 Boston Colle NCAA 20 0 NCA 79.2 61 2 38 88 .112 .707 .009 2.71
2004 Peoria Midw 21 Stl A 38.1 31 2 24 46 .141 .685 .020 2.58
2005 Palm Beach FSL 22 Stl A 54.2 53 4 15 46 .065 .788 .023 2.63
2005 Springfield Tex 22 Stl AA 85.0 97 10 48 69 .120 .804 .035 6.35


chris lambert is a pitcher. he's not good.


Career Pitching Statistics for Mark Mccormick:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2003 Baylor U. NCAA 0 0 NCA 64.1 56 2 50 66 .167 .735 .011 5.32
2004 Baylor U. NCAA 0 0 NCA 46.0 41 2 36 42 .167 .765 .015 4.70
2005 Baylor U. NCAA 0 0 NCA 112.2 73 4 66 115 .138 .720 .014 2.96
2005 New Jersey NYPL 0 Stl A 6.0 1 0 3 10 .136 .474 .000 0.00
2005 Quad Cities Midw 0 Stl A 42.2 41 4 28 45 .142 .734 .032 5.48


mark mccormick is also a not good pitcher. he has worse control and better stuff than lambert.


Career Pitching Statistics for Adam Wainwright:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2000 Danville App 18 Atl Rk 29.1 28 3 2 39 .017 .664 .039 3.68
2000 GCL Braves GCL 18 Atl Rk 32.0 15 1 10 42 .083 .622 .014 1.12
2001 Macon SAL 19 Atl A 164.2 144 9 48 184 .070 .712 .020 3.77
2002 Myrtle Beach Caro 20 Atl A 163.1 149 7 66 167 .094 .739 .015 3.31
2003 Greenville Sou 21 Atl AA 149.2 133 9 37 128 .060 .780 .020 3.37
2004 Memphis PCL 22 Stl AAA 63.2 68 12 28 64 .098 .753 .062 5.37
2005 Memphis PCL 24 Stl AAA 182.0 204 18 51 147 .064 .804 .030 4.40
2005 Stl Cardinal NL 24 Stl MLB 2.0 2 1 1 0 .111 1.00 .125 13.50


wainwright used to be good. or so it seemed. he sure did limit home runs. his stuff wasn't good enough for the upper levels, i guess.


Career Batting Statistics for Travis Hanson:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2002 U. of Portla NCAA 21 0 NCA 219 21 40 8 23 .088 .817 .173 .315
2002 New Jersey NYPL 21 Stl A 276 15 55 4 22 .052 .801 .118 .294
2003 Peoria Midw 22 Stl A 533 40 104 9 36 .070 .805 .105 .277
2004 Palm Beach FSL 23 Stl A 227 22 38 2 11 .088 .833 .069 .259
2005 Springfield Tex 24 Stl AA 552 56 99 20 32 .092 .821 .115 .284


travis hanson played in double-a at 24 and didn't do anything special. that makes him a non-prospect.


Career Batting Statistics for Cody Haerther:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2003 Johnson City App 20 Stl Rk 227 22 30 3 18 .088 .868 .107 .332
2004 Peoria Midw 21 Stl A 327 36 59 5 22 .099 .820 .101 .316
2005 Palm Beach FSL 22 Stl A 174 18 31 8 15 .094 .822 .161 .318
2005 Springfield Tex 22 Stl AA 208 11 44 10 11 .050 .788 .128 .298


cody whatever has mild power, poor patience, and poor contact.


Career Pitching Statistics for Nick Webber:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2005 Quad Cities Midw 0 Stl A 29.0 28 1 9 11 .073 .904 .010 3.41
2005 New Jersey NYPL 0 Stl A 53.0 35 2 15 43 .072 .778 .013 1.87


this guy here. this is the guy.


Career Pitching Statistics for Stuart Pomeranz:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2003 Johnson City App 18 Stl Rk 14.2 13 2 4 14 .066 .754 .047 6.14
2004 Peoria Midw 19 Stl A 101.1 95 10 25 88 .059 .779 .032 3.55
2005 Palm Beach FSL 20 Stl A 48.1 56 1 10 29 .047 .856 .006 3.35
2005 Springfield Tex 20 Stl AA 98.2 110 12 40 66 .090 .837 .035 5.29


no. this one. this one is the guy.

the cardinals are lucky they have pujols. otherwise, the future would be grim.
Sunday, January 29, 2006
 
top prospects: astros
that reds list was so bad, i had to do another one to shake it off. the astros look a lot better in comparison, but they're not that great. they do have a lot of pitching depth.


1. Jason Hirsh, rhp
2. Troy Patton, lhp
3. Fernando Nieve, rhp
4. Jimmy Barthmaier, rhp
5. Eli Iorg, of
6. Hunter Pence, of
7. Felipe Paulino del Guidice, rhp
8. Juan Gutierrez, rhp
9. Brian Bogusevic, lhp
10. Josh Flores, of


despite the depth, none of these guys are top-level.


Career Pitching Statistics for Jason Hirsh:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2003 Tri City NYPL 21 Hou A 32.1 22 0 7 33 .056 .723 .000 1.95
2004 Salem Caro 22 Hou A 130.1 128 8 57 96 .099 .815 .019 4.01
2005 Corpus Chris Tex 23 Hou AA 172.1 137 12 42 165 .060 .748 .025 2.87


hirsh had trouble in 2004, but he really improved in 2005. his numbers are good across the board, but he doesn't dominate. good chance to make it. not much upside beyond that.


Career Pitching Statistics for Troy Patton:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2004 Greeneville App 18 Hou Rk 28.0 23 1 5 32 .045 .701 .013 1.93
2005 Salem Caro 20 Hou A 41.0 34 2 8 38 .048 .758 .017 2.63
2005 Lexington SAL 20 Hou A 78.2 59 3 20 94 .063 .681 .015 1.94


that's some domination in the sally league. 94 strikeouts in 78 innings. and somehow he only allowed 3 home runs. i think it has something to do with mojo.


Career Pitching Statistics for Fernando Nieve:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2001 Martinsville App 19 Hou Rk 38.0 27 2 21 49 .130 .652 .022 3.79
2002 Martinsville App 20 Hou Rk 67.2 46 5 27 60 .098 .759 .026 2.39
2002 Lexington SAL 20 Hou A 3.0 6 0 0 2 .000 .867 .000 6.00
2003 Lexington SAL 21 Hou A 150.1 133 10 65 144 .100 .753 .023 3.65
2004 Salem Caro 22 Hou A 149.0 136 9 40 117 .064 .799 .019 2.96
2004 Round Rock Tex 22 Hou AA 17.1 12 0 8 17 .111 .734 .000 1.56
2005 Corpus Chris Tex 23 Hou AA 85.0 62 7 29 96 .084 .697 .032 2.65
2005 Round Rock PCL 23 Hou AAA 82.0 92 10 33 75 .089 .778 .038 4.83


fernando nieve had a strong 2005, especially in double-a. 96 strikeouts in 85 innings is quality. but he was a little old for his level. also his control is a little shaky. like hirsh, he'll be useful, but not great.


Career Pitching Statistics for Jimmy Barthmaier:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2003 Martinsville App 19 Hou Rk 21.2 19 0 7 18 .077 .786 .000 2.49
2004 Greeneville App 20 Hou Rk 69.0 70 3 22 65 .074 .765 .014 3.78
2005 Salem Caro 21 Hou A 6.0 4 1 1 6 .043 .727 .063 1.50
2005 Lexington SAL 21 Hou A 134.2 108 3 55 142 .097 .723 .008 2.27


barthmaier throws a curve ball, which is why he's so good at limiting home runs. i actually think he's got more upside than hirsh and nieve because he's got such a strength. it's much better to have one area of domination than many areas of decent quality. and his strikeouts are pretty damn good too. he's old for his level though. that seems to be a theme in the astros system. they don't want to rush their pitchers. i gotta say that's a good policy.


Career Batting Statistics for Eli Iorg:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2002 Samford U. NCAA 0 0 NCA 164 8 35 0 13 .047 .787 .101 .296
2003 Samford U. NCAA 0 0 NCA 164 8 35 0 13 .047 .787 .101 .296
2004 U. of Tennes NCAA 0 0 NCA 239 18 34 4 16 .070 .858 .098 .324
2005 U. of Tennes NCAA 0 0 NCA 258 25 29 15 23 .088 .888 .166 .381
2005 Greeneville App 0 Hou Rk 138 13 27 7 9 .086 .804 .144 .333


our first position player. we don't have an age for eli iorg, but he's fresh out of college. his tennessee numbers last year look fantastic, but i'm wondering if that's due to altitude. anyway, if his power and contact in any way approach that line (.888 con .166 pow), he's a prospect.


Career Batting Statistics for Hunter Pence:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2003 U. of TexasA NCAA 20 0 NCA 241 25 35 8 21 .094 .855 .141 .347
2004 U. of TexasA NCAA 21 0 NCA 193 18 23 8 13 .085 .881 .124 .395
2004 Tri City NYPL 21 Hou A 201 24 30 8 19 .107 .851 .158 .296
2005 Salem Caro 22 Hou A 153 18 37 6 9 .105 .758 .129 .305
2005 Lexington SAL 22 Hou A 302 39 53 25 17 .114 .825 .169 .338


another college outfielder. hunter pence looked good in college, and dominated low-a when he came out. then, in his first full year in the pros, he bashed middle-a and moved up to high-a. it remains to be seen how he'll adjust to the upper minors.


Career Pitching Statistics for Felipe Paulino:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2003 Martinsville App 19 Hou Rk 25.2 23 0 19 27 .160 .730 .000 5.61
2004 Greeneville App 20 Hou Rk 32.0 30 4 22 37 .149 .706 .045 7.59
2005 Lexington SAL 21 Hou A 24.1 21 2 6 30 .060 .681 .031 1.85
2005 Tri City NYPL 21 Hou A 30.2 21 2 11 34 .089 .699 .025 3.82


the cube has him as felipe paulino. i don't know which name is correct, but these are some interesting numbers. the cons are very good. 34 strikeouts in 30 innings doesn't seem that good, but when you look at the hits, you realize that he didn't face that many batters in those 30 innings, and struck out a high percentage of them. that's the value of using contact percentage. also it seems like he limits home runs pretty well.

look at the walk percentages. his first two years, he couldn't find the plate. all of a sudden in 2005 he started throwing strikes. he's one to watch. he's old for his level, but he could do some things.


Career Pitching Statistics for Juan Gutierrez:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2003 Martinsville App 20 Hou Rk 34.0 42 2 13 30 .083 .792 .018 4.76
2004 Greeneville App 21 Hou Rk 65.2 74 4 30 59 .100 .782 .019 3.70
2005 Salem Caro 22 Hou A 12.0 10 1 8 9 .148 .804 .027 3.00
2005 Lexington SAL 22 Hou A 120.2 106 10 43 100 .084 .786 .027 3.21


i'm not sure why juan gutierrez is on this list. he's decent in all areas, but he's old for his level, so it's hard to see him being effective in the majors. he's probably a smart pitcher who works hard. scouts are a sucker for that shit.


Career Pitching Statistics for Brian Bogusevic:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2003 Tulane U. NCAA 0 0 NCA 34.1 38 1 12 26 .078 .816 .009 3.41
2004 Tulane U. NCAA 0 0 NCA 111.2 128 9 25 84 .051 .819 .024 4.19
2005 Tulane U. NCAA 0 0 NCA 130.1 130 5 42 129 .075 .752 .013 3.25
2005 Tri City NYPL 0 Hou A 21.1 30 2 9 17 .087 .819 .026 7.59


ok. bogusevic is a lefty college pitcher who debuted last year. it looks like he limits home runs, but his strikeout and walk numbers are not good enough to project him to the majors.


Career Batting Statistics for Josh Flores:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2005 Greeneville App 0 Hou Rk 248 20 57 8 17 .075 .770 .131 .335
2005 Lexington SAL 0 Hou A 18 1 4 0 2 .053 .778 .143 .278


josh flores is apparently the fastest baserunner in the organization. that and his age is enough to make him a prospect, but it remains to be seen if he'll develop any strike-zone skills. he does have some power.

so that's the astros. it looks like they have a strong program, with a policy of taking care of players, and not rushing them. i'm sure that's a key reason for their success in developing pitchers who aren't tall. but there aren't any superkillers here, so overall the system is slightly below average.
 
top prospects: reds
this is it. the most terrible farm system in baseball. i admit, i haven't analyzed them all, but it's hard to imagine anything worse than the reds. they have no prospects. that's as bad as it gets.


1. Homer Bailey, rhp
2. Jay Bruce, of
3. Travis Wood, lhp
4. B.J. Szymanski, of
5. Chris Denorfia, of
6. Rafael Gonzalez, rhp
7. Miguel Perez, c
8. Tyler Pelland, lhp
9. Joey Votto, 1b
10. Travis Chick, rhp


let's make this quick.


Career Pitching Statistics for Homer Bailey:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2004 GCL Reds GCL 18 Cin Rk 12.1 14 0 3 9 .056 .824 .000 4.38
2005 Dayton Midw 19 Cin A 103.2 89 5 62 125 .134 .688 .018 4.43


he's got a fastball and a curveball. great. call me when he learns to throw strikes.


Career Batting Statistics for Jay Bruce:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2005 Billings Pio 18 Cin Rk 70 11 22 4 2 .136 .686 .125 .257
2005 GCL Reds GCL 18 Cin Rk 124 12 31 5 11 .088 .750 .172 .270


jay bruce is the best hitting prospect. he can't make contact. maybe he will. he's 18.


Career Pitching Statistics for Travis Wood:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2005 Billings Pio 18 Cin Rk 24.2 15 0 13 22 .127 .753 .000 1.82
2005 GCL Reds GCL 18 Cin Rk 24.0 13 0 7 45 .076 .471 .000 0.75


when the top prospects are all 18, it means they don't have anybody.

that .471 con is pretty cool though.


Career Batting Statistics for B.J. Szymanski:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2003 Princeton U. NCAA 20 0 NCA 158 9 28 2 14 .054 .823 .123 .329
2004 Princeton U. NCAA 21 0 NCA 179 24 26 6 18 .118 .855 .157 .362
2004 Billings Pio 21 Cin Rk 82 9 26 3 6 .099 .683 .161 .259
2005 Dayton Midw 22 Cin A 193 21 57 10 9 .098 .705 .140 .262


b.j. is 22, and a long way away.


Career Batting Statistics for Chris Denorfia:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2002 GCL Reds GCL 22 Cin Rk 202 31 23 0 11 .133 .886 .061 .340
2002 Dayton Midw 22 Cin A 10 0 3 0 0 .000 .700 .000 .000
2002 Chattanooga Sou 22 Cin AA 7 2 1 0 3 .222 .857 .500 .429
2003 Potomac Caro 23 Cin A 473 57 106 4 15 .108 .776 .052 .236
2004 Potomac Caro 24 Cin A 271 49 66 11 22 .153 .756 .161 .312
2004 Chattanooga Sou 24 Cin AA 222 31 42 6 12 .123 .811 .100 .249
2005 Chattanooga Sou 25 Cin AA 188 19 38 7 20 .092 .798 .180 .330
2005 Louisville IL 25 Cin AAA 326 45 54 13 18 .121 .834 .114 .310
2005 Cincinnati R NL 25 Cin MLB 38 6 9 1 3 .136 .763 .138 .263


chris is old now. he's reached the thresholds of breakout, but he probably doesn't have enough improvement left in him to pass those thresholds.


Career Pitching Statistics for Rafael Gonzalez:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2004 GCL Reds GCL 18 Cin Rk 40.2 38 3 18 32 .101 .800 .023 4.20
2005 Billings Pio 19 Cin Rk 42.0 36 7 23 37 .124 .772 .056 3.43
2005 Dayton Midw 19 Cin A 26.0 24 5 24 22 .190 .784 .063 9.35


i don't know why this guy's on the list. the contact is pedestrian, and the walks and home runs are terrible.


Career Batting Statistics for Miguel Perez:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2001 Cagua VSL 18 Cin Rk 163 12 33 0 4 .069 .798 .031 .331
2002 GCL Reds GCL 19 Cin Rk 86 5 9 0 1 .055 .895 .013 .360
2003 Billings Pio 20 Cin Rk 228 28 27 1 13 .109 .882 .070 .339
2003 Dayton Midw 20 Cin A 58 8 19 0 0 .121 .672 .000 .172
2004 Potomac Caro 21 Cin A 70 1 12 0 2 .014 .829 .034 .232
2004 Dayton Midw 21 Cin A 251 27 62 1 7 .097 .753 .042 .237
2005 Sarasota FSL 22 Cin A 294 17 63 4 11 .055 .786 .065 .268
2005 Louisville IL 22 Cin AAA 73 7 19 1 3 .088 .740 .074 .208
2005 Cincinnati R NL 22 Cin MLB 3 0 1 0 0 .000 .667 .000 .000


miguel's a prospect for his defense, but his hitting is so terrible he'll never get close to the big leagues. it feels bad to say things like this. he obviously works hard for his dream. and he's a catcher, so he takes some knocks. but i'm a talent evaluator. i gotta evaluate the talent.


Career Pitching Statistics for Tyler Pelland:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2003 GCL Red Sox GCL 19 Bos Rk 39.0 26 0 18 34 .112 .762 .000 1.62
2003 GCL Reds GCL 19 Cin Rk 2.2 3 0 0 1 .000 .909 .000 0.00
2004 Billings Pio 20 Cin Rk 73.2 67 3 39 82 .119 .715 .015 3.42
2004 Dayton Midw 20 Cin A 44.2 66 6 20 38 .091 .810 .037 8.66
2005 Sarasota FSL 21 Cin A 102.1 103 5 63 103 .133 .749 .016 4.05


decent contact rates, bad walk rates.


Career Batting Statistics for Joey Votto:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2002 GCL Reds GCL 19 Cin Rk 180 22 45 9 16 .109 .750 .185 .269
2003 Billings Pio 20 Cin Rk 241 60 80 6 20 .199 .668 .161 .317
2003 Dayton Midw 20 Cin A 197 36 64 1 8 .155 .675 .068 .231
2004 Potomac Caro 21 Cin A 84 12 21 5 7 .125 .750 .190 .298
2004 Dayton Midw 21 Cin A 393 80 110 14 28 .169 .720 .148 .302
2005 Sarasota FSL 22 Cin A 473 55 122 17 25 .104 .742 .120 .256


ugh. old for high-a and can't make contact.


Career Pitching Statistics for Travis Chick:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2002 GCL Marlins GCL 18 Fla Rk 45.2 40 1 19 39 .097 .780 .007 2.76
2003 Jamestown NYPL 19 Fla A 52.0 63 3 26 48 .106 .781 .018 5.71
2004 Fort Wayne Midw 20 Sd A 42.1 32 4 9 55 .054 .654 .038 2.13
2004 Greensboro SAL 20 Fla A 91.1 79 11 27 112 .071 .683 .046 4.04
2005 Chattanooga Sou 21 Cin AA 46.1 47 5 27 21 .127 .887 .030 4.86
2005 Mobile Sou 21 Sd AA 97.1 107 12 40 92 .091 .769 .039 5.27


travis had great numbers in a-ball in 2004. i don't know what happened.

ok. it's over. i'm sorry you had to see that.
Thursday, January 26, 2006
 
top prospects: cubs
the cubs have had a history of good prospects, but they have trouble making them pay off. either they trade them or, if they're pitchers, burn up their arms.


1. Felix Pie, of
2. Mark Pawelek, lhp
3. Ronny Cedeno, ss
4. Angel Guzman, rhp
5. Rich Hill, lhp
6. Sean Marshall, lhp
7. Ricky Nolasco, rhp
8. Ryan Harvey, of
9. Brian Dopirak, 1b
10. Eric Patterson, 2b


there's some good stuff here, but overall it's a bit thin.


Career Batting Statistics for Felix Pie:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2002 Azl Cubs Ariz 17 Chc Rk 222 25 47 4 29 .101 .788 .189 .321
2002 Boise Nwes 17 Chc A 8 1 1 0 1 .111 .875 .143 .125
2003 Lansing Midw 18 Chc A 505 47 98 4 31 .085 .806 .086 .285
2004 Daytona FSL 19 Chc A 436 44 116 8 28 .092 .734 .113 .297
2005 West Tenness Sou 20 Chc AA 243 18 53 11 22 .069 .782 .174 .304


felix pie is a good one. he played double-a at a very young 20, and had much power. the strikeouts are not a problem because he's young. he needs to learn patience. he's gonna be fine.

he's a lefty.


Career Pitching Statistics for Mark Pawelek:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2005 Azl Cubs Ariz 19 Chc Rk 43.0 25 0 21 56 .120 .636 .000 2.72
2005 Boise Nwes 19 Chc A 3.0 6 0 1 4 .063 .733 .000 0.00


the number 2 prospect is a 19-year-old pitcher. not exactly a bankable commodity. mark had lots of nice strikeouts in rookie ball. but rookie ball is a long way from the majors. he won't be helping anytime soon.

he's a lefty. yes, i know; that's very exciting.


Career Batting Statistics for Ronny Cedeno:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2000 La Pradera VSL 17 Chc Rk 167 19 37 3 11 .102 .778 .108 .287
2001 Lansing Midw 18 Chc A 56 3 18 1 5 .051 .679 .158 .196
2002 Boise Nwes 19 Chc A 111 9 25 0 7 .075 .775 .081 .218
2002 Lansing Midw 19 Chc A 379 30 74 2 21 .073 .805 .075 .213
2003 Daytona FSL 20 Chc A 383 25 82 4 19 .061 .786 .076 .211
2004 West Tenness Sou 21 Chc AA 392 32 74 6 24 .075 .811 .094 .279
2005 Iowa PCL 22 Chc AAA 247 21 31 8 15 .078 .874 .106 .355
2005 Chicago Cubs NL 22 Chc MLB 80 7 11 1 3 .080 .863 .058 .300


ronny cedeno is a shortstop. he's young, he makes great contact, and he's developing power. so, yeah, he's gonna make it.


Career Pitching Statistics for Angel Guzman:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2000 La Pradera VSL 18 Chc Rk 32.2 24 0 5 25 .039 .795 .000 1.93
2002 Lansing Midw 20 Chc A 62.0 42 3 16 49 .066 .785 .017 1.89
2002 Daytona FSL 20 Chc A 94.0 99 2 33 74 .080 .806 .007 2.39
2003 West Tenness Sou 21 Chc AA 89.2 83 8 26 87 .069 .753 .030 2.81
2004 Daytona FSL 22 Chc A 30.0 27 2 0 40 .000 .658 .026 4.20
2004 West Tenness Sou 22 Chc AA 17.2 20 2 4 13 .052 .822 .033 5.60
2005 Azl Cubs Ariz 23 Chc Rk 12.0 10 0 1 17 .021 .630 .000 1.50
2005 Peoria Midw 23 Chc A 6.1 10 1 0 7 .000 .759 .045 4.26


guzman showed good control for his age, and moved up quickly. but he was overused, and he got hurt. 156 innings in 2002. at the age of 20. the cubs have burned up the majority of their quality pitching prospects. when that happens, something is wrong.

that daytona line is retarded. 40 strikeouts and zero walks in 30 innings.


Career Pitching Statistics for Rich Hill:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2000 U. of Michig NCAA 20 0 NCA 40.0 34 4 42 53 .214 .656 .040 9.22
2001 U. of Michig NCAA 21 0 NCA 61.0 43 2 53 72 .190 .681 .013 3.84
2002 U. of Michig NCAA 22 0 NCA 76.0 64 0 38 104 .115 .644 .000 3.55
2002 Boise Nwes 22 Chc A 14.0 15 0 14 12 .197 .789 .000 8.36
2003 Lansing Midw 23 Chc A 29.1 14 0 36 50 .261 .510 .000 2.76
2003 Boise Nwes 23 Chc A 68.0 57 5 32 99 .109 .621 .031 4.37
2004 Daytona FSL 24 Chc A 109.1 88 9 72 136 .148 .673 .032 4.03
2005 Peoria Midw 25 Chc A 8.0 5 0 0 12 .000 .586 .000 1.12
2005 West Tenness Sou 25 Chc AA 57.2 42 9 21 90 .089 .581 .072 3.28
2005 Iowa PCL 25 Chc AAA 65.0 53 11 14 92 .053 .629 .071 3.60
2005 Chicago Cubs NL 25 Chc MLB 23.2 25 3 17 21 .150 .781 .040 9.13


these numbers are interesting. rich hill has always had good strikeout rates (con of .510 in lansing, for example), but terrible control (wal of .261 in lansing, for example). he finally last year showed the ability to throw the ball over the plate, and got some major league time. he proceeded to walk almost as many as he struck out, while posting an above-average strikeout rate.

it's pretty common to get a case of the walks on one's first stint in the majors. rich'll straighten himself out. he'll never be david wells, but with that con, he won't have to be.


Career Pitching Statistics for Sean Marshall:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2001 Va. Commonwe NCAA 18 0 NCA 72.0 65 5 30 69 .096 .754 .024 3.38
2002 Va. Commonwe NCAA 19 0 NCA 85.0 99 1 26 90 .068 .746 .004 4.45
2003 Va. Commonwe NCAA 20 0 NCA 86.1 77 4 29 95 .079 .717 .017 2.61
2003 Lansing Midw 20 Chc A 7.0 5 0 0 11 .000 .577 .000 0.00
2003 Boise Nwes 20 Chc A 73.0 66 1 23 88 .075 .691 .005 2.59
2004 Lansing Midw 21 Chc A 48.2 29 1 4 51 .022 .709 .008 1.11
2004 West Tenness Sou 21 Chc AA 29.0 36 2 12 23 .089 .813 .020 5.90
2005 Daytona FSL 23 Chc A 69.0 63 7 26 61 .088 .774 .033 2.74
2005 West Tenness Sou 23 Chc AA 25.0 16 1 5 24 .052 .736 .015 2.52


sean showed good numbers in boise, then dominated lansing. 4 walks in 55 innings, with 62 strikeouts and 1 home run. then, for some reason, they skipped him to double-a. then i guess he got hurt. he came back and got that time in high-a, then got some more time in double-a.

he's got the lefty mojo. i hope he holds up. he threw 166 innings in 2003.


Career Pitching Statistics for Ricky Nolasco:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2002 Boise Nwes 19 Chc A 90.2 72 1 25 92 .068 .733 .004 2.48
2003 Daytona FSL 20 Chc A 149.0 129 7 48 136 .077 .764 .016 2.96
2004 West Tenness Sou 21 Chc AA 107.0 104 13 37 115 .080 .729 .042 3.70
2004 Iowa PCL 21 Chc AAA 40.2 68 7 16 28 .078 .853 .043 9.30
2005 West Tenness Sou 22 Chc AA 161.2 151 13 46 173 .067 .728 .028 2.89


nolasco posted good numbers at high levels at a young age, then got hammered in the pcl. in 2005, he was back in double-a, and he looked pretty good. he's thrown a lot of innings.


Career Batting Statistics for Ryan Harvey:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2003 Azl Cubs Ariz 19 Chc Rk 51 8 21 1 5 .136 .588 .200 .235
2004 Azl Cubs Ariz 20 Chc Rk 10 0 4 0 3 .000 .600 .500 .400
2004 Boise Nwes 20 Chc A 234 23 78 14 8 .089 .667 .141 .264
2005 Peoria Midw 21 Chc A 473 33 137 24 32 .065 .710 .167 .257


ryan harvey has trouble making contact. he won't make it.


Career Batting Statistics for Brian Dopirak:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2002 Azl Cubs Ariz 18 Chc Rk 79 6 23 0 4 .071 .709 .071 .253
2003 Lansing Midw 19 Chc A 78 4 22 2 3 .049 .718 .089 .269
2003 Boise Nwes 19 Chc A 192 26 58 13 4 .119 .698 .127 .240
2004 Lansing Midw 20 Chc A 546 51 123 39 38 .085 .775 .182 .307
2005 Daytona FSL 21 Chc A 512 41 107 16 26 .074 .791 .104 .235


well, dopirak hit some bombs in lansing, but he also has some trouble with the contact. not nearly as much as harvey, though. i still say he's a longshot.


Career Batting Statistics for Eric Patterson:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2002 Georgia Tech NCAA 19 0 NCA 263 45 42 3 17 .146 .840 .090 .346
2004 Georgia Tech NCAA 21 0 NCA 267 52 54 9 16 .163 .798 .117 .326
2005 Peoria Midw 22 Chc A 439 57 94 13 37 .115 .786 .145 .333
2005 West Tenness Sou 22 Chc AA 31 6 7 0 2 .162 .774 .083 .200


i wasn't too optimistic until i saw that he's a lefty. eric has good patience and good power. the only thing is the contact. he's got a shot. 50%.

well, that's the cubs. good stuff, but no superstars. pie is very talented, but he may never learn to walk. cedeno should have a solid career, and at least one of the pitchers will work out. but it won't be enough to make them contenders. they're gonna have to do better.

it's their own fault for burning through their pitching. live and learn, i guess.

let's end on a positive note. the best cub for the near future will be matt murton. let's take a look at him.


Career Batting Statistics for Matt Murton:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2002 Georgia Tech NCAA 20 0 NCA 253 42 37 10 17 .142 .854 .125 .344
2003 Lowell NYPL 21 Bos A 196 31 39 2 13 .137 .801 .096 .286
2004 Daytona FSL 22 Chc A 80 9 10 2 2 .101 .875 .057 .253
2004 Sarasota FSL 22 Bos A 380 45 61 11 20 .106 .839 .097 .301
2005 West Tenness Sou 23 Chc AA 314 33 42 8 21 .095 .866 .107 .342
2005 Iowa PCL 23 Chc AAA 34 4 8 1 2 .105 .765 .115 .353
2005 Chicago Cubs NL 23 Chc MLB 142 16 22 7 5 .101 .845 .100 .321


murton makes good contact, and it looks like he'll develop power. and he's got decent patience. all his numbers are right at their threshold, where small improvements have big results. he'll breakout at any time.
Friday, January 20, 2006
 
top prospects: pirates
the brewers were pretty good, but the pirates look like one of the best organizations in the majors. they got arms all over the place. and catchers. not a lot else but that's a good place to start. they can presumably trade for other needs.

the important thing is there's a future in pittsburgh.


1. Neil Walker, c
2. Andrew McCutchen, of
3. Tom Gorzelanny, lhp
4. Paul Maholm, lhp
5. Jose Bautista, 3b
6. Nate McLouth, of
7. Bryan Bullington, rhp
8. John Van Benschoten, rhp
9. Chris Duffy, of
10. Matt Capps, rhp


i am sold on dave littlefield. i wasn't sure about him for a while, because he was making funny moves at the major-league level. but what he was doing was biding time. he's built a solid minor-league system, and it's gonna pay off.


Career Batting Statistics for Neil Walker:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2004 GCL Pirates GCL 19 Pit Rk 195 13 33 4 15 .063 .831 .117 .271
2004 Williamsport NYPL 19 Pit A 34 2 1 0 3 .056 .971 .091 .303
2005 Lynchburg Caro 20 Pit A 45 0 12 0 3 .000 .733 .091 .262
2005 Hickory SAL 20 Pit A 492 26 71 12 35 .050 .856 .112 .301


neil walker. he's a catcher. there are a lot of young catchers coming up. the pirates have three. walker, doumit, and paulino. the braves have two. mccann and saltalamacchia. the dodgers have two. navarro and martin. navarro's already up. the blue jays have quiroz. the angels have mathis. the new era of the catcher is upon us.

but this guy. yeah. they drafted him in 2004. it was a good pick. he makes mad contact. he has good power. he doesn't walk much. he doesn't know he has to. hitting is too easy.

walker will make the bigs in a minute.


Career Batting Statistics for Andrew McCutchen:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2005 GCL Pirates GCL 18 Pit Rk 160 32 24 2 12 .167 .850 .103 .297
2005 Williamsport NYPL 18 Pit A 52 9 6 0 4 .148 .885 .087 .346


this kid will also be good. he was the 2005 pick. great patience. great contact. power should develop. both these kids are young and good. even though they haven't hit high-a yet, it's not hard to project them in the majors.


Career Pitching Statistics for Tom Gorzelanny:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2002 U. of Kansas NCAA 20 0 NCA 61.0 77 5 32 54 .110 .792 .024 5.90
2003 Williamsport NYPL 21 Pit A 30.1 23 1 10 22 .081 .807 .011 1.78
2004 Lynchburg Caro 22 Pit A 55.2 54 6 19 61 .079 .724 .038 4.85
2004 Hickory SAL 22 Pit A 93.0 63 9 34 106 .090 .690 .038 2.23
2005 Altoona East 23 Pit AA 129.2 114 6 46 124 .084 .753 .016 3.26
2005 Pittsburgh P NL 23 Pit MLB 6.0 10 1 3 3 .097 .893 .040 12.00


ok, this guy is overrated because of his fastball. baseball america does this. like the ability to make contact, the ability to throw gas is largely inborn. the scouts recognize this, and rate it highly. it's understandable. but this guy doesn't quite have the peripherals to be a top prospect. his 2004 sally league numbers are good, but he was 22, which is old for middle-a. he wasn't as successful when he moved up. he has control issues, and may have trouble with home runs in the majors. i'm not trying to say he's bad. he's good. a kid that throws hard is always good. there are many quality arms in the pirates' organization.


Career Pitching Statistics for Paul Maholm:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2003 Williamsport NYPL 21 Pit A 34.1 25 1 10 32 .072 .750 .010 1.83
2004 GCL Pirates GCL 22 Pit Rk 4.0 5 0 1 2 .056 .882 .000 2.25
2004 Lynchburg Caro 22 Pit A 44.0 39 2 15 28 .081 .836 .014 1.84
2004 Hickory SAL 22 Pit A 12.1 17 2 10 12 .156 .778 .048 9.49
2005 Altoona East 23 Pit AA 81.2 73 5 26 75 .076 .764 .021 3.20
2005 Indianapolis IL 23 Pit AAA 35.2 40 2 12 21 .075 .857 .016 3.53
2005 Pittsburgh P NL 23 Pit MLB 41.1 31 2 17 26 .099 .832 .016 2.18


paul maholm, for example. he made it to the majors at the age of 23. he's a lefty, with mojo. look at those home run percentages. nice and low. if his control gets a little better, he'll be a solid major leaguer.


Career Batting Statistics for Jose Bautista:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2001 Williamsport NYPL 20 Pit A 220 27 41 5 13 .109 .814 .101 .286
2002 Hickory SAL 21 Pit A 440 75 104 14 29 .146 .764 .128 .301
2003 GCL Pirates GCL 22 Pit Rk 24 4 7 1 1 .143 .708 .118 .348
2003 Lynchburg Caro 22 Pit A 165 30 48 4 16 .154 .709 .171 .242
2004 Pittsburgh P NL 23 Pit MLB 40 2 18 0 2 .048 .550 .091 .200
2004 Baltimore Or AL 23 Bal MLB 11 1 3 0 0 .083 .727 .000 .273
2004 KC Royals AL 23 Kc MLB 25 1 12 0 1 .038 .520 .077 .200
2004 TB Devil Ray AL 23 Tb MLB 12 3 7 0 0 .200 .417 .000 .167
2005 Altoona East 24 Pit AA 447 58 101 23 28 .115 .774 .147 .283
2005 Indianapolis IL 24 Pit AAA 51 4 10 1 3 .073 .804 .098 .255
2005 Pittsburgh P NL 24 Pit MLB 28 3 7 0 1 .097 .750 .048 .143


jose batista was well on his way to becoming a quality prospect. in 2002 he had good patience and good power, with projectable contact. then it looks like he got hurt, whatever. then he got taken in the rule five draft. this is an example why the rule five draft is terrible for young players. he got shuttled around to four different organizations in one year, ending up back with the pirates. he was also traded to the mets, but didn't play for them.

what am i getting at? he spent an entire year moving from organization to organization, and he didn't play. he didn't even get to work on his skills in a reasonable way. he's in the majors, adjusting to new coaches all the time, and he's not exactly high on their priorities list. if he was injured the year before, that's especially terrible, because what he needs is playing time, in a low-stress environment.

what can we say about jose now? he had good power in double-a. but he was 24, which is old. and he had trouble with contact. now, we don't know if that's representative of his abilities, or if he was adjusting to playing again after missing a year and a half. if it's the former, he's not gonna make it. if the latter, he could.

it would be interesting to see if his contact improved as the year went on, or if it stayed subpar the whole time.


Career Batting Statistics for Nate McLouth:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2001 Hickory SAL 19 Pit A 354 50 54 12 22 .124 .847 .113 .285
2002 Lynchburg Caro 20 Pit A 398 49 48 9 27 .110 .879 .103 .244
2003 Lynchburg Caro 21 Pit A 441 62 68 6 29 .123 .846 .094 .300
2004 Altoona East 22 Pit AA 522 56 62 8 44 .097 .881 .113 .322
2005 Indianapolis IL 23 Pit AAA 404 46 58 5 23 .102 .856 .081 .297
2005 Pittsburgh P NL 23 Pit MLB 110 8 20 5 6 .068 .818 .122 .257


nate mclouth could make it. 70% chance, i'd say. he has a history of good contact, with good patience, and power potential. a left-handed bat with speed, he'll get a lot of extra hits on weak contact. and he plays center field.

fyi when i say "make it" i mean "sign a free-agent contract in the major leagues". so he'd have to play through arbitration, then play one more year.


Career Pitching Statistics for Bryan Bullington:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2002 Ball State U NCAA 21 0 NCA 104.0 88 6 18 139 .043 .653 .023 2.86
2003 Lynchburg Caro 22 Pit A 97.1 101 5 27 67 .064 .830 .015 3.05
2003 Hickory SAL 22 Pit A 45.1 25 3 11 46 .064 .714 .026 1.39
2004 Altoona East 23 Pit AA 145.0 160 18 47 100 .073 .832 .036 4.10
2005 Indianapolis IL 25 Pit AAA 109.1 104 11 26 82 .057 .810 .031 3.38
2005 Pittsburgh P NL 25 Pit MLB 1.1 1 0 1 1 .167 .800 .000 13.50


well, the wal looks good. but the con does not. and neither does the pow (hrp). and he's old (for a prospect). he could be a guy in the majors, but not much more.


Career Pitching Statistics for John VanBenschoten:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
1999 Kent State U NCAA 19 0 NCA 22.0 37 2 12 19 .104 .816 .024 9.00
2000 Kent State U NCAA 20 0 NCA 44.0 42 3 18 33 .094 .810 .021 3.48
2001 Kent State U NCAA 21 0 NCA 48.0 34 2 26 63 .127 .646 .017 2.81
2002 Hickory SAL 22 Pit A 148.0 119 6 62 145 .099 .742 .014 2.80
2003 Lynchburg Caro 23 Pit A 48.2 33 1 18 49 .091 .726 .008 2.22
2003 Altoona East 23 Pit AA 90.1 95 5 34 78 .085 .787 .017 3.69
2004 Nashville PCL 24 Pit AAA 131.2 135 16 49 101 .085 .809 .037 4.72
2004 Pittsburgh P NL 24 Pit MLB 28.2 33 3 19 18 .138 .849 .030 6.91


van benschoten looks similar to bullington, with less control. both are righties. it doesn't look like van benschoten's got what it takes. they should have made him a hitter.


Career Batting Statistics for Chris Duffy:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2001 Arizona Stat NCAA 21 0 NCA 203 28 34 4 8 .121 .833 .071 .373
2001 Williamsport NYPL 21 Pit A 223 50 33 1 16 .183 .852 .089 .317
2002 Lynchburg Caro 22 Pit A 542 45 101 10 32 .077 .814 .095 .301
2003 Altoona East 23 Pit AA 497 64 78 1 29 .114 .843 .072 .273
2004 Altoona East 24 Pit AA 453 50 77 8 29 .099 .830 .098 .309
2005 Indianapolis IL 25 Pit AAA 312 26 57 7 20 .077 .817 .106 .308
2005 Pittsburgh P NL 25 Pit MLB 126 9 22 1 6 .067 .825 .067 .341


chris duffy doesn't have quite enough to make it, it looks like. he's fast, and a switch-hitter, which gives him the opportunity to slap-and-run, but he doesn't make enough contact. and it doesn't look like he'll develop power. and he doesn't have patience. he showed patience in williamsport.

but, yeah, no.


Career Pitching Statistics for Matt Capps:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2002 GCL Pirates GCL 18 Pit Rk 13.0 13 0 6 8 .103 .846 .000 0.69
2003 GCL Pirates GCL 19 Pit Rk 62.2 40 1 9 54 .038 .763 .006 1.87
2003 Lynchburg Caro 19 Pit A 5.0 3 0 4 5 .182 .722 .000 5.40
2004 Williamsport NYPL 20 Pit A 65.0 84 7 4 33 .014 .882 .028 4.85
2004 Hickory SAL 20 Pit A 42.0 82 8 16 27 .071 .870 .044 10.07
2005 Hickory SAL 22 Pit A 53.2 47 0 5 39 .023 .813 .000 2.52
2005 Altoona East 22 Pit AA 20.0 21 2 1 26 .012 .679 .036 2.70
2005 Pittsburgh P NL 22 Pit MLB 4.0 5 0 0 3 .000 .824 .000 4.50


matt sure tore up the eastern league in his limited stint. his control was fantastic all year, with 6 walks in 77 innings. it doesn't look like he'll be dominant, but if he can avoid dongs in the majors, he could stay there.

that's the end of the list, but i want to talk more about pitching, because the pirates have a lot of it. jason quarles, joe bauserman, and josh sharpless are also talented minor league pitchers. and want to talk about catcher ronny paulino.


Career Pitching Statistics for Jason Quarles:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2004 Williamsport NYPL 21 Pit A 23.2 34 1 19 31 .153 .705 .014 4.56
2005 Hickory SAL 22 Pit A 38.0 31 2 26 45 .152 .690 .020 2.61


i'm not sure why he's so old. he must have gone to college. he's got the best curveball in the system, according to baseball america. whatever he's throwing, dudes have trouble hitting it. those are some low contact percentages. of course, the walk percentages are not low. they are very high. he'll probably never make it.


Career Pitching Statistics for Joe Bauserman:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2004 GCL Pirates GCL 18 Pit Rk 38.2 26 4 10 35 .066 .754 .037 2.79
2005 Williamsport NYPL 19 Pit A 69.2 64 3 26 45 .087 .835 .013 2.84


bauserman apparently has the best changeup in the system. he's very young. he'll probably improve.


Career Pitching Statistics for Josh Sharpless:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2003 Williamsport NYPL 22 Pit A 31.1 19 2 17 45 .131 .602 .029 2.59
2004 Hickory SAL 23 Pit A 74.1 42 4 55 109 .172 .589 .026 3.03
2005 Lynchburg Caro 24 Pit A 27.0 7 0 11 46 .111 .477 .000 0.00
2005 Altoona East 24 Pit AA 9.1 6 0 3 13 .081 .618 .000 2.89


ok the reason i wanted to talk about this guy is that 2005 in lynchburg. a con of .477. i've never seen that before. i mean i know it was only 27 innings but that is retarded. only 7 hits allowed!

the cons are good across the board. the wals, however, are problematic. but the cons are good. he's apparently got a slider.

let's look at a few more pirates pitchers.


Career Pitching Statistics for Jonah Bayliss:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2002 Spokane Nwes 21 Kc A 70.2 70 9 29 38 .093 .865 .037 5.35
2003 Burlington Midw 22 Kc A 140.0 129 11 69 133 .112 .758 .026 3.86
2004 Wilmington Caro 23 Kc A 107.0 114 11 42 73 .088 .832 .030 5.05
2005 Wichita Tex 25 Kc AA 57.0 43 5 26 63 .108 .706 .033 2.84
2005 KC Royals AL 25 Kc MLB 11.2 7 2 4 10 .087 .762 .063 4.63


bayliss was acquired in the mark redman trade. he had good strikeout numbers in wichita. needs work on control and home runs.

the other guy in the trade was chad blackwell.


Career Pitching Statistics for Chad Blackwell:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2004 U. of South NCAA 21 0 NCA 63.0 52 4 14 80 .055 .668 .025 2.57
2004 Idaho Falls Pio 21 Kc Rk 33.0 32 2 16 46 .109 .649 .024 3.27
2005 High Desert Cali 22 Kc A 2.0 4 1 0 5 .000 .500 .200 13.50
2005 Burlington Midw 22 Kc A 68.2 62 4 27 74 .092 .724 .021 2.23


strong strikeout numbers, but old for his level.


Career Pitching Statistics for Mike Johnston:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
1998 GCL Pirates GCL 19 Pit Rk 29.2 28 0 10 17 .079 .855 .000 3.34
1998 Erie NYPL 19 Pit A 2.0 4 0 1 2 .091 .800 .000 4.50
1999 Williamsport NYPL 20 Pit A 42.1 46 5 18 30 .094 .827 .035 4.25
2000 Hickory SAL 21 Pit A 50.2 66 2 30 52 .121 .761 .012 6.22
2001 Lynchburg Caro 22 Pit A 62.0 66 2 24 44 .087 .825 .010 3.34
2001 Hickory SAL 22 Pit A 93.1 88 5 42 80 .102 .783 .017 3.38
2002 Lynchburg Caro 23 Pit A 57.0 50 2 26 50 .105 .774 .012 3.63
2003 Altoona East 24 Pit AA 72.1 49 4 27 65 .092 .756 .020 2.12
2004 Nashville PCL 25 Pit AAA 15.0 19 3 13 6 .169 .906 .052 8.40
2005 Indianapolis IL 26 Pit AAA 57.2 43 5 30 52 .122 .759 .030 2.97
2005 Pittsburgh P NL 26 Pit MLB 1.0 4 2 0 2 .000 .714 .400 36.00


mike johnston is also a little old for a prospect, but he's had some strikeouts along the way. and he's limited home runs. he's left-handed. control is a problem.


Career Pitching Statistics for Ian Snell:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2000 GCL Pirates GCL 18 Pit Rk 7.2 5 1 1 8 .034 .714 .050 2.35
2002 Hickory SAL 20 Pit A 139.2 127 8 45 149 .076 .727 .020 2.71
2003 Lynchburg Caro 21 Pit A 116.1 105 3 33 122 .068 .731 .009 3.33
2003 Altoona East 21 Pit AA 36.2 36 2 10 23 .064 .842 .016 1.96
2004 Altoona East 22 Pit AA 151.0 147 16 40 142 .063 .763 .035 3.16
2004 Pittsburgh P NL 22 Pit MLB 12.0 14 2 9 9 .153 .820 .049 7.50
2005 Indianapolis IL 23 Pit AAA 112.0 90 14 23 104 .051 .756 .043 3.70


ian snell spent the year in triple-a after a cup of coffee last year, and had great control and good strikeout numbers. a little trouble with the long ball. but he's major-league quality.

the point is, the pittsburgh pirates minor league system is loaded with live arms. add the guys in this article to zach duke and sean burnett, and the future is bright indeed.

let's close with a look at catcher ronny paulino.


Career Batting Statistics for Ronny Paulino:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
1999 GCL Pirates GCL 18 Pit Rk 83 8 19 1 6 .088 .771 .109 .253
2000 Hickory SAL 19 Pit A 302 31 71 6 18 .093 .765 .104 .289
2001 Lynchburg Caro 20 Pit A 359 38 76 6 17 .096 .788 .081 .290
2002 Lynchburg Caro 21 Pit A 446 40 87 12 28 .082 .805 .111 .262
2003 Lynchburg Caro 22 Pit A 82 9 8 1 3 .099 .902 .054 .235
2003 Altoona East 22 Pit AA 160 13 35 6 7 .075 .781 .104 .226
2004 Altoona East 23 Pit AA 372 35 62 15 25 .086 .833 .129 .285
2005 Altoona East 24 Pit AA 168 15 30 6 6 .082 .821 .087 .292
2005 Indianapolis IL 24 Pit AAA 275 26 48 13 20 .086 .825 .145 .315
2005 Pittsburgh P NL 24 Pit MLB 4 1 0 0 0 .200 1.00 .000 .500


according to ba, he's the best defensive catcher in the system. which means the pirates are looking very good. i can't believe i just said that. paulino had good contact, and showed excellent power in triple-a last year. the year before, he similarly beat double-a pitching. in my opinion, he'll be better than doumit.

pitching and catching. pitching and catching. and a couple of center fielders. and they already have a shortstop. so up-the middle is basically solved. and that's the hard part. you can always fill the corners.

it ain't gonna be 2006, but 2008, 2009 look for the pirates to be very strong. 2007 could be good. right there with the brewers and the cardinals.
Thursday, January 19, 2006
 
top prospects: brewers
after the last three lists i was beginning to think there weren't any more prospects. but it turns out the brewers have them.


1. Prince Fielder, 1b
2. Mark Rogers, rhp
3. Ryan Braun, 3b
4. Yovani Gallardo, rhp
5. Corey Hart, of/3b
6. Alcides Escobar, ss
7. Dana Eveland, lhp
8. Nelson Cruz, of
9. Jose Capellan, rhp
10. Will Inman, rhp


prince fielder is the guy they moved lyle overbay. for. to play him. he was my number 2 prospect two years ago (i didn't do a list last year.)


Career Batting Statistics for Prince Fielder:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2002 Ogden Pio 18 Mil Rk 147 45 27 10 12 .234 .816 .183 .390
2002 Beloit Midw 18 Mil A 112 13 27 3 7 .104 .759 .118 .241
2003 Beloit Midw 19 Mil A 508 86 80 27 24 .145 .843 .119 .313
2004 Huntsville Sou 20 Mil AA 501 76 93 23 30 .132 .814 .130 .272
2005 Nashville PCL 21 Mil AAA 380 61 93 28 21 .138 .755 .171 .291
2005 Milwaukee Br NL 21 Mil MLB 60 2 17 2 4 .032 .717 .140 .288


wow i was pretty confident about this kid after only seeing a-ball numbers. of course, his a-ball numbers were pretty good. then he skipped high-a and smashed double-a. then he really increased his power in triple-a and made the show.

prince may have a little trouble with contact this year, but he's young. he'll get it together. with that patience and that power, he'll be hitting bombs. he'll be hitting bombs. the things he'll be hitting will be bombs.

the brewers are looking pretty good for 2006 but they're looking especially good for 2007.


Career Pitching Statistics for Mark Rogers:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2004 Azl Brewers Ariz 18 Mil Rk 26.2 30 0 14 35 .113 .682 .000 4.72
2005 West Virgini SAL 19 Mil A 98.2 87 11 70 109 .155 .715 .040 5.11


these are the numbers of a raw talent. mark rogers apparently has a nasty slider. whether he makes the majors or not depends on whether he learns control.


Career Batting Statistics for Ryan Braun:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2003 U. of Miami NCAA 0 0 NCA 245 33 57 17 19 .119 .767 .191 .364
2004 U. of Miami NCAA 0 0 NCA 157 30 34 10 11 .160 .783 .171 .335
2005 U. of Miami NCAA 0 0 NCA 229 43 39 18 18 .158 .830 .189 .388


ryan braun just got drafted. he has lots of power, and good patience. looks like contact will be a challenge for him as he moves through the minors. you see a lot of players with a similar profile. most of them don't make it. but this one may have enough power to put him over the top.


Career Pitching Statistics for Yovani Gallardo:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2004 Azl Brewers Ariz 18 Mil Rk 19.1 14 0 4 23 .053 .681 .000 0.47
2004 Beloit Midw 18 Mil A 7.1 12 2 4 8 .105 .765 .077 12.27
2005 West Virgini SAL 19 Mil A 121.1 100 5 51 110 .099 .763 .014 2.74


yovani gallardo pitched in the sally league at the age of 19. and he did pretty well, especially in the home runs category. he'll have to work on his control.


Career Batting Statistics for Corey Hart:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2000 Ogden Pio 18 Mil Rk 217 15 27 2 10 .065 .876 .063 .287
2001 Ogden Pio 19 Mil Rk 268 28 47 11 19 .095 .825 .136 .340
2002 High Desert Cali 20 Mil A 394 42 101 22 36 .096 .744 .198 .288
2002 Huntsville Sou 20 Mil AA 95 11 16 2 3 .104 .832 .063 .266
2003 Huntsville Sou 21 Mil AA 502 33 101 13 41 .062 .799 .135 .302
2004 Indianapolis IL 22 Mil AAA 447 44 92 15 37 .090 .794 .146 .281
2004 Milwaukee Br NL 22 Mil MLB 1 0 1 0 0 .000 .000 .000 .000
2005 Milwaukee Br NL 23 Mil MLB 57 6 11 2 3 .095 .807 .109 .193


corey hart played in triple-a at the age of 22 and had decent contact and good power. he may not quite be ready, but he's gonna make it.


Career Batting Statistics for Alcides Escobar:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2004 Helena Pio 17 Mil Rk 232 24 44 2 8 .094 .810 .053 .281
2005 West Virgini SAL 18 Mil A 524 27 90 2 33 .049 .828 .081 .271


a defensive standout, alcides escobar was able to hit middle-a pitching at the age of 18. he'll be a good one.


Career Pitching Statistics for Dana Eveland:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2003 Helena Pio 19 Mil Rk 26.0 30 1 8 41 .069 .620 .015 2.08
2004 Beloit Midw 20 Mil A 117.1 108 8 24 119 .050 .741 .023 2.84
2004 Huntsville Sou 20 Mil AA 23.2 23 0 4 14 .041 .851 .000 2.28
2005 Huntsville Sou 21 Mil AA 109.0 96 4 38 98 .082 .768 .012 2.72
2005 Milwaukee Br NL 21 Mil MLB 31.2 40 2 18 23 .118 .830 .018 5.97


dana eveland is a lefty. he's got mojo. look at those home runs allowed. he's very young. he'll have a quality career.


Career Batting Statistics for Nelson Cruz:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
1998 Dominican Me Dsl 18 Nym Rk 70 7 21 1 0 .091 .700 .020 .271
1999 Dominican Me Dsl 19 Nym Rk 115 16 27 1 5 .122 .765 .068 .278
2000 Dominican Me Dsl 20 Nym Rk 259 33 56 15 18 .113 .784 .163 .351
2002 Vancouver Nwes 22 Oak A 215 13 58 4 14 .057 .730 .115 .276
2004 Modesto Cali 24 Oak A 262 28 73 11 28 .097 .721 .206 .345
2004 Midland Tex 24 Oak AA 262 27 69 14 16 .093 .737 .155 .313
2004 Sacramento PCL 24 Oak AAA 13 1 7 1 1 .071 .462 .333 .231
2005 Huntsville Sou 25 Mil AA 251 35 71 16 19 .122 .717 .194 .306
2005 Nashville PCL 25 Mil AAA 208 38 62 11 13 .154 .702 .164 .269
2005 Milwaukee Br NL 25 Mil MLB 5 2 0 0 1 .286 1.00 .200 .200


nelson cruz hit with lots of power and good patience last year, but it remains debatable that he'll ever be able to hit major-league pitching. he's 25, and it doesn't look like he'll develop contact.


Career Pitching Statistics for Jose Capellan:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2001 Danville App 20 Atl Rk 15.2 12 1 4 25 .063 .576 .029 1.72
2003 GCL Braves GCL 22 Atl Rk 17.0 18 0 8 17 .104 .754 .000 2.65
2003 Rome SAL 22 Atl A 47.1 43 2 19 32 .093 .827 .013 3.80
2004 Myrtle Beach Caro 23 Atl A 46.1 27 0 11 62 .062 .627 .000 1.94
2004 Greenville Sou 23 Atl AA 50.1 53 1 19 53 .085 .740 .007 2.50
2004 Richmond IL 23 Atl AAA 43.0 33 0 15 37 .085 .772 .000 2.51
2004 Atlanta Brav NL 23 Atl MLB 8.0 14 2 5 4 .116 .895 .059 11.25
2005 Nashville PCL 24 Mil AAA 90.2 88 4 42 76 .104 .789 .014 3.87
2005 Milwaukee Br NL 24 Mil MLB 15.2 17 1 5 14 .072 .781 .020 2.87


jose capellan came over from the braves in exchange for danny kolb. he looked like a prospect at the time, but he's gotten older and he hasn't really improved. i mean, he's improved, just not enough. his control is poor, and his contact rate isn't that good.


Career Pitching Statistics for Will Inman:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2005 Azl Brewers Ariz 18 Mil Rk 2.0 0 0 1 1 .143 .833 .000 0.00
2005 Helena Pio 18 Mil Rk 45.0 29 5 11 58 .063 .646 .047 2.00


that is a tasty tasty line in the pioneer league. we'll keep an eye on him as he moves up.

that's it on the brewers! lots of good stuff, at all levels. it'll be hard to unseat the team with albert pujols but the wild card is a definite possibility in the years to come.
 
them new young devil rays
ok edwin jackson. i said he lost the ability to throw strikes. well, he never really had it. but he did strike some people out in 2003. i don't know why he pitched that many innings. he was 19. and the year before he was 18, in the sally league. he never played rookie ball. he must have had some nasty nasty stuff.


Career Pitching Statistics for Edwin Jackson:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2002 South Georgi SAL 18 La A 104.2 79 2 33 85 .077 .784 .006 1.98
2003 Jacksonville Sou 19 La AA 148.1 121 9 53 157 .086 .723 .022 3.70
2003 LA Dodgers NL 19 La MLB 22.0 17 2 11 19 .117 .771 .031 2.45
2004 Las Vegas PCL 20 La AAA 90.2 90 4 55 70 .132 .807 .014 5.86
2004 LA Dodgers NL 20 La MLB 24.2 31 7 11 16 .095 .848 .079 7.30
2005 Jacksonville Sou 22 La AA 62.0 52 7 18 44 .070 .815 .036 3.48
2005 Las Vegas PCL 22 La AAA 55.1 76 13 37 33 .133 .864 .062 8.62
2005 LA Dodgers NL 22 La MLB 28.2 31 2 17 13 .127 .889 .019 6.28


but then in 2004 he walked a bunch of people in high desert. it's understandable. high desert is an extreme hitter's park. but he hasn't been the same since. is he fully healthy? it doesn't look like he missed time. is he afraid to throw strikes? i don't know. whatever's happening, it ain't good.


Career Pitching Statistics for Chuck Tiffany:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2003 Ogden Pio 18 La Rk 2.0 4 0 2 4 .167 .600 .000 13.50
2004 Columbus SAL 19 La A 99.2 76 11 40 141 .096 .624 .047 3.70
2005 Vero Beach FSL 20 La A 110.0 91 17 43 134 .093 .682 .059 3.93


now chuck tiffany can strike some people out. 141 strike outs in 99 innings. you gotta be kidding me. he's got some work to do in the wal and pow (hrp) departments, but you gotta like those strikeouts. i mean, the strikeouts. somehow he didn't make the top ten at baseball america.
Monday, January 16, 2006
 
around the majors around the blogs around and around
and around. i did some surfing today and i thought i'd tell you about it. which means of course that i'm gonna do a lot of hatin. you should take that cane, and beat whoever gave you that coat with it.

the first post i'm gonna talk about is on raystalk. and i'm not gonna hate on it. it's about the trade of danys baez for edwin jackson. lance carter also moved, as did chuck tiffany. sam (the poster) says it's good because the rays got something for two guys they didn't need. i wholeheartedly agree. he also says what they got is pretty good. i agree with that too. and he says the guys they traded were overrated. again, i agree.

agree agree agree. isn't that nice? but the thing i don't exactly agree on is which of the two prospects is the better grab. sam says they're both good, but seems to like jackson more. i say chuch tiffany is by far the better prospect. he's something to get excited about, whereas jackson seems to have lost the ability to throw strikes.

i'll post the stats after i finish this article.

the next article is also about the rays. apparently they're planning on changing their name, colors, and uniforms for 2007.

they shouldn't do it. the name is fine, and they're already establishing some tradition with it. yeah it's a losing tradition, but the way to fix that is to win. the colors and uniforms are pretty bad but they should keep those too. once they start winning everything will be fine. they will start winning, btw.

the next post is about the royals, and their prospects for future success. he says the royals could maybe possibly contend in 2007. it's nice to see that optimism, but there's no way the royals will contend in 2007. i haven't really studied the issue, but there's no way the royals will contend in 2007.

the article is good, though. it's about starting pitching. it's a realistic assessment of the state of the staff, with some names of possible prospects. maybe i'll run their stats at some point. do some comments. yeah.

the next thing is there's a new blog about the reds' minor leagues. i'm always interested in minor leaguers. i'm always interested in prospects. found the link on redleg nation.

then we have a philly fan's predictions on the nl east. according to pat gillick, the goal is to win five more games than last year. the marlins should take care of that. but blogger jane conroy correctly asserts that five more games won't be enough.

jane's list:

1. braves
2. phillies
3. mets
4. nationals
5. marlins

i agree that the braves are the favorite. the losses of rafael furcal and leo mazzone will hurt, but likely improvements in the corner outfield, first base, second base, and catcher spots will pick up the slack. marcus giles turns 28 this year, and he's a good bet to have a career season. also, one of last year's rookies will break out. as could adam laroche.

i disagree, though, on the next two rankings. jane admits that the choice is colored by partisanship, but i think you gotta go with the mets at number 2. the phillies have a questionable rotation. brett myers is talented, but he's young, and young players sometimes have difficulty. beyond that there's not much talent. jon lieber, corey lidle, randy wolf . . . there's just not much there that will provide significant gains above the margin. and the rookies that pitched last year are not a good bet to succeed. gavin floyd, maybe, could be something.

the lineup, too, has problems. there just isn't a difference maker. chase utley, maybe. chase utley is probably a difference maker. and bobby abreu is borderline. jimmy rollins is good. but pat burrell has significant problems, ryan howard could be a total bust, and david bell just can't hit. add in an aging catcher and it doesn't look good. aaron rowand should be solid in center.

there are just too many problems.

the mets, on the other hand, have fixed their problems. they finally got a closer. he used to be on the phillies. he could be a difference maker this year. he's billy wagner, of course. they've got a difference maker in the rotation. and they've got two difference makers in the field.

no, i didn't forget about carlos delgado. he's just not a difference maker. he's a strong contributor. jose reyes could also have a strong year.

why won't the mets beat the braves? two (related) reasons: 1. the braves have more youth. 2. the braves have more depth in the minor leagues. we saw last year how much that helps. and the value of youth is they do things that are unexpected. they make improvements. sometimes big improvements. they win world series.

nationals and marlins at 4 and 5 should be right. the nationals are bad, but the marlins will be worse. both should provide significant padding for the records of the top three teams. frank robinson, though, is a good manager. i don't know what he might do, but he might do something.

that's good for now. i'll do the rest of this shit later. no, i should be positive.

more exciting news to come!
Sunday, January 15, 2006
 
top prospects: nationals
the braves were good the marlins were fantastic the mets were terrible the phillies were worse the nationals are worse than that. i still think of them as the expos.


1. Ryan Zimmerman, 3b
2. Collin Balester, rhp
3. Clint Everts, rhp
4. Ian Desmond, ss
5. Armando Galarraga, rhp
6. Kory Casto, 3b
7. Mike Hinckley, lhp
8. Bill Bray, lhp
9. Larry Broadway, 1b
10. Daryl Thompson, rhp


i can't really say they're worse. it's hard to get worse than the phillies. as with the mets and the phillies, we have one prospect. the phillies had three but the injury concerns of the first plus the marginal status of the other two make it one. and they got that pitcher that could make it. but he'll just be a guy. if he does. make it. the point is they ain't all that great. they suck. and so do the expos.

here's their prospect:


Career Batting Statistics for Ryan Zimmerman:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2003 U. of Virgin NCAA 18 0 NCA 223 12 28 0 14 .051 .874 .072 .308
2004 U. of Virgin NCAA 19 0 NCA 254 17 18 1 18 .063 .929 .081 .361
2005 U. of Virgin NCAA 20 0 NCA 238 37 14 6 22 .135 .941 .125 .393
2005 Savannah SAL 20 Wan A 17 0 3 2 3 .000 .824 .357 .471
2005 Harrisburg East 20 Wan AA 233 15 34 9 20 .060 .854 .146 .326
2005 Washington N NL 20 Wan MLB 59 3 12 0 10 .048 .797 .213 .397


zimmerman is really good. really really good. he went from college to the majors all in the same year. he wasn't ready for the majors, but he'll be fine there this year.

you know, i can't really say he wasn't ready. he did hit .397 with 10 doubles in 59 at-bats.

he makes incredible contact, showed good power in aa, and he's an excellent fielder. he needs to work on his patience. he should be playing shortstop but they're throwing 16 million into a black hole so he's starting at third.

he's gonna be a superstar. here's a little thing about his college days.

let's do the rest of these guys.


Career Pitching Statistics for Collin Balester:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2004 GCL Expos GCL 18 Mtl Rk 24.2 20 0 5 21 .051 .777 .000 2.19
2005 Savannah SAL 19 Wan A 125.0 105 11 42 95 .080 .802 .029 3.67


collin balester pitched in the sally league in 2005 at the age of 19. he didn't dominate, but maybe he will one of these days.


Career Pitching Statistics for Clint Everts:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2003 Savannah SAL 18 Mtl A 26.0 23 1 10 21 .090 .792 .013 3.46
2003 Vermont NYPL 18 Mtl A 54.0 49 4 35 50 .142 .763 .025 4.17
2004 Savannah SAL 19 Mtl A 90.1 67 3 21 103 .058 .695 .013 2.49
2004 Brevard Coun FSL 19 Mtl A 20.0 16 2 10 19 .116 .750 .035 2.25
2005 GCL National GCL 20 Wan Rk 16.0 18 0 8 15 .108 .773 .000 3.38
2005 Vermont NYPL 20 Wan A 19.0 21 0 12 21 .133 .731 .000 3.79


clint everts musta got hurt or something. he, too, was in the sally league at the age of 19. and he was better than balester. 103 strikeouts in 90 innings is very good. factor in the 21 walks, 3 home runs, and 67 hits, and that's high quality. domination. the thing balester didn't do.

we'll have to wait and see what happens to him.


Career Batting Statistics for Ian Desmond:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2004 GCL Expos GCL 18 Mtl Rk 218 14 40 1 11 .060 .817 .067 .227
2004 Vermont NYPL 18 Mtl A 12 1 2 1 0 .077 .833 .100 .250
2005 Savannah SAL 19 Wan A 296 13 60 4 12 .042 .797 .068 .247
2005 Potomac Caro 19 Wan A 219 21 53 3 16 .088 .758 .114 .256


he's a shortstop, and apparently a good one, which is probably why he faced high-a pitching even though he can't really hit it. but he's young, so he's got time. 20% chance.


Career Pitching Statistics for Armando Galarraga:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
1999 San Joaquin VSL 17 Mtl Rk 43.1 49 4 28 31 .135 .827 .027 4.98
2000 Cagua VSL 18 Mtl Rk 46.1 49 0 22 47 .105 .750 .000 5.24
2002 GCL Expos GCL 20 Mtl Rk 3.2 1 1 0 1 .000 .917 .091 2.45
2003 GCL Expos GCL 21 Mtl Rk 15.0 13 0 5 7 .079 .879 .000 1.80
2004 Savannah SAL 22 Mtl A 110.1 104 14 31 94 .067 .784 .041 4.65
2005 Potomac Caro 23 Wan A 80.0 69 7 23 79 .069 .744 .030 2.48
2005 Harrisburg East 23 Wan AA 76.1 80 10 21 58 .064 .812 .040 5.19


armando had some decent cons in a-ball, but he was old already. can't see him making it.


Career Batting Statistics for Kory Casto:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2002 U. of Portla NCAA 20 0 NCA 206 22 27 10 12 .096 .869 .123 .322
2003 U. of Portla NCAA 21 0 NCA 208 43 34 14 19 .171 .837 .190 .338
2003 Vermont NYPL 21 Mtl A 260 32 47 4 16 .110 .819 .094 .239
2004 Savannah SAL 22 Mtl A 486 39 70 16 39 .074 .856 .132 .286
2005 Potomac Caro 23 Wan A 500 84 98 22 40 .144 .804 .154 .290


kory had a retarded 2003 at the university of portland, and some pretty good numbers in a-ball last year, but he was 23. and he was in a-ball. that's a long way from the majors.


Career Pitching Statistics for Mike Hinckley:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2002 Vermont NYPL 19 Mtl A 91.2 60 4 30 66 .082 .803 .015 1.37
2003 Savannah SAL 20 Mtl A 121.0 124 4 41 111 .078 .772 .011 3.64
2003 Brevard Coun FSL 20 Mtl A 25.0 14 1 1 23 .011 .742 .015 0.72
2004 Brevard Coun FSL 21 Mtl A 62.0 47 6 18 51 .072 .781 .033 2.61
2004 Harrisburg East 21 Mtl AA 94.0 83 5 23 80 .059 .781 .018 2.87
2005 Potomac Caro 22 Wan A 127.2 151 10 51 80 .087 .850 .022 4.93


i don't know what this kid's supposed to have, but he ain't got it.


Career Pitching Statistics for Bill Bray:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2003 College of W NCAA 0 0 NCA 37.0 20 1 4 48 .030 .634 .012 1.95
2004 College of W NCAA 0 0 NCA 59.0 46 4 15 84 .063 .623 .029 2.44
2004 Brevard Coun FSL 0 Mtl A 7.1 9 0 1 6 .031 .806 .000 4.91
2005 Potomac Caro 0 Wan A 12.2 8 1 3 18 .061 .609 .036 2.13
2005 Harrisburg East 0 Wan AA 5.2 10 1 1 6 .036 .778 .048 6.35
2005 New Orleans PCL 0 Wan AAA 21.1 23 3 9 25 .094 .713 .048 5.06


bill struck out a lot of people in college. then he got bounced around in the minors, but he struck out a lot of people on the way. he didn't get that many innings. was he hurt? if he's healthy in 2006, expect him to strike out a lot of people. wherever he plays.


Career Batting Statistics for Larry Broadway:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2000 Duke U. NCAA 19 0 NCA 228 16 41 6 19 .066 .820 .134 .333
2001 Duke U. NCAA 20 0 NCA 120 16 27 3 12 .118 .775 .161 .308
2002 Duke U. NCAA 21 0 NCA 224 55 38 8 17 .197 .830 .134 .323
2002 GCL Expos GCL 21 Mtl Rk 8 4 4 0 0 .333 .500 .000 .250
2002 Vermont NYPL 21 Mtl A 127 13 33 4 3 .093 .740 .074 .315
2003 Savannah SAL 22 Mtl A 293 47 70 14 29 .138 .761 .193 .307
2003 Brevard Coun FSL 22 Mtl A 79 19 20 1 8 .194 .747 .153 .224
2003 Harrisburg East 22 Mtl AA 81 8 15 5 3 .090 .815 .121 .321
2004 Harrisburg East 23 Mtl AA 484 72 103 22 20 .129 .787 .110 .270
2005 GCL National GCL 24 Wan Rk 28 7 3 1 5 .200 .893 .240 .429
2005 Harrisburg East 24 Wan AA 186 17 37 12 14 .084 .801 .174 .269
2005 New Orleans PCL 24 Wan AAA 57 7 17 0 3 .109 .702 .075 .193


according to baseball america, larry broadway is the expos' best power prospect. the problem is he doesn't have that much power. and he has trouble making contact. he was apparently injured last year. i don't think he's gonna make it.


Career Pitching Statistics for Daryl Thompson:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2003 GCL Expos GCL 17 Mtl Rk 46.0 49 1 11 18 .056 .904 .006 2.15
2004 Savannah SAL 18 Mtl A 102.2 117 13 30 79 .066 .814 .038 5.08
2005 Savannah SAL 19 Wan A 53.2 46 3 24 48 .104 .768 .019 3.35


eh. it's nice that he was young, pitching in the sally league, but this is eh.

so there it is. one superstar, one shortstop who's a longshot to hit, and a couple of pitchers with playing time questions. not very good. except for the superstar. but now that he's in the majors, the expos' minors are wasted. nationals, whatever.
Saturday, January 14, 2006
 
soriano vs. cano
in that last post i said robinson cano was better than alfonso soriano. i'm back, with numbers.


Career Batting Statistics for Robinson Cano:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2001 GCL Yankees GCL 18 Nyy Rk 202 31 27 3 16 .133 .866 .109 .230
2001 Staten Islan NYPL 18 Nyy A 8 0 2 0 0 .000 .750 .000 .250
2002 Staten Islan NYPL 19 Nyy A 87 4 8 1 6 .044 .908 .089 .276
2002 Greensboro SAL 19 Nyy A 475 32 78 14 29 .063 .836 .108 .276
2003 Tampa FSL 20 Nyy A 369 21 49 5 19 .054 .867 .075 .276
2003 Trenton East 20 Nyy AA 164 15 16 1 10 .084 .902 .074 .280
2004 Trenton East 21 Nyy AA 296 27 40 7 28 .084 .865 .137 .301
2004 Columbus IL 21 Nyy AAA 218 19 27 6 11 .080 .876 .089 .259
2005 Columbus IL 22 Nyy AAA 108 6 13 4 11 .053 .880 .158 .333
2005 New York Yan AL 22 Nyy MLB 525 19 68 14 38 .035 .870 .114 .297


52 extra-base hits in 525 at-bats is quality. and he was 22. power usually peaks at 28. so he's got 6 more years of improvement coming.

soriano, at 22, was in triple-a.


Career Batting Statistics for Alfonso Soriano:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
1996 Hiroshima Jap 18 0 Int 227 30 19 4 15 .117 .916 .091 .366
1997 Hiroshima Jap 19 0 Int 17 2 4 0 0 .105 .765 .000 .118
1997 Hiroshima Jap 19 0 Int 131 0 0 0 0 .000 1.00 .000 .214
1999 GCL Yankees GCL 21 Nyy Rk 19 1 3 1 2 .050 .842 .188 .263
1999 Norwich East 21 Nyy AA 361 32 67 15 23 .081 .814 .129 .305
1999 Columbus IL 21 Nyy AAA 82 5 18 2 6 .057 .780 .125 .183
1999 New York Yan AL 21 Nyy MLB 8 0 3 1 0 .000 .625 .200 .125
2000 Columbus IL 22 Nyy AAA 465 28 85 12 38 .057 .817 .132 .290
2000 New York Yan AL 22 Nyy MLB 50 1 15 2 3 .020 .700 .143 .180
2001 New York Yan AL 23 Nyy MLB 579 32 125 18 37 .052 .784 .121 .268
2002 New York Yan AL 24 Nyy MLB 703 37 157 39 53 .050 .777 .168 .300
2003 New York Yan AL 25 Nyy MLB 684 50 130 38 41 .068 .810 .143 .290
2004 Texas Ranger AL 26 Tex MLB 615 43 121 28 36 .065 .803 .130 .280
2005 Texas Ranger AL 27 Tex MLB 642 40 125 36 45 .059 .805 .157 .268


he came up in 2001 and had bad wal, bad con, and decent power. then his power broke out in 2002. at the age of 24. now he's at his peak. he has bad wal, bad con, and good pow. cano, at his peak, will have bad wal, great con, and good pow. the same wal and pow, with much better con. that means he can hit pedro martinez and josh beckett, instead of striking out like a bitch.

the other thing is soriano's numbers have been amplified by his ballpark. look at these splits:


g ab r h 2b3b hrrbi bb k sbcs avg obp slg ops
Home 78 311 60 98 27 2 25 73 18 51 14 2 .315 .355 .656 1.011
Away 78 326 42 73 16 0 11 31 15 74 16 0 .224 .265 .374 .639


did jim bowden see this when he traded for him? the rangers have the most extreme hitter's park in the league. and soriano is exactly the kind of player it helps the most: someone who swings too much, strikes out too much, and has power. take him out of that park, and he's terrible.

the difference will widen in the coming years. cano will improve, and soriano will decline. cano will hit more and more home runs; soriano will post more and more strikeouts. cano will steadily approach stardom; soriano will teeter on the edge of the cliff.
 
everybody's an idiot
here's an article about young yankees. it suggests that robinson cano will not be as good as alfonso soriano. it also says he has a bad attitude. i will address both points.

1. robinson cano is already better than alfonso soriano. soriano swings at everything, and misses a lot. cano swings too much -- it's true -- but he makes way better contact. soriano has more power, but it is only a little bit better than cano's.

even in fielding, cano is better. way better. cano is a good fielder. soriano is a terrible fielder.

2. the first piece of evidence that robinson cano has a bad attitude: he signed autographs, but didn't act like he enjoyed it. the second piece of evidence: he occasionally didn't talk to the media.

give me a fucking break. his job is not to smile and be nice. his job is to play baseball. and he's damn good at it. he could never smile or talk to anyone again for all i care.

the other thing it says is cano is likely to decline in 2006. this is ridiculous. he's 22. young players improve. where is this coming from?

now here's something from david pinto about dale murphy. it talks about his credentials for the hall of fame. it says he wasn't as good a hitter as pedro guerrero, mike schmidt, don mattingly, eddie murray, george brett, and jack clark.

what is wrong with this picture? those guys were all corner infielders. dale murphy was a center fielder. he played a much more important defensive position.

i'm not saying dale murphy is a hall-of-famer, but lets compare apples to apples.

my final bit of hate is on eddie murray. he's the new hitting coach of the dodgers. now eddie murray was a great hitter with a great career, which i will never have a bad word to say about. but if he's telling young hitters to swing at the first pitch, he's ruining careers. now, this is just some shit he said to the media. who knows what he'll do. but let's be clear: swinging at the first pitch is wrong. taking pitches is right.
 
top prospects: phillies
you thought the mets were bad. check out the phillies:


1. Cole Hamels, lhp
2. Greg Golson, of
3. Michael Bourn, of
4. Scott Mathieson, rhp
5. Welinson Baez, ss/3b
6. Mike Costanzo, 3b
7. Brad Harman, ss/2b
8. Tim Moss, 2b
9. Jason Jaramillo, c
10. Edgar Garcia, rhp


that guy with the "1" next to his name. that's because he's the 1 prospect they got. and he's got injury issues. in 2004 he had a stress reaction in his lower back, whatever that is.


Career Pitching Statistics for Cole Hamels:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2003 Lakewood SAL 19 Phi A 74.2 32 0 25 115 .089 .551 .000 0.84
2003 Clearwater FSL 19 Phi A 26.1 29 0 14 32 .115 .704 .000 2.73
2004 Clearwater FSL 20 Phi A 16.0 10 0 4 24 .065 .586 .000 1.12
2005 Clearwater FSL 21 Phi A 16.0 7 0 7 18 .113 .673 .000 2.25
2005 Reading East 21 Phi AA 19.0 10 2 12 19 .152 .716 .042 2.37


cole hamels was a killer in 03. look at that. 115 strikeouts in 74 innings. 25 walks. 32 hits! i made him my number 5 prospect. then he got hurt.

he had good cons in 2005, but the injury flared up again. i hope he stays healthy. it would be a shame not to see his talent in the majors.

greg golson is the best athlete in the system. but he swings too much, and he can't hit what he swings at.


Career Batting Statistics for Greg Golson:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2004 GCL Phillies GCL 18 Phi Rk 185 15 54 1 13 .075 .708 .107 .295
2005 Lakewood SAL 19 Phi A 375 26 106 4 27 .065 .717 .115 .264


also, he doesn't have any power.

michael bourn has the best strikezone judgement, and is the fastest baserunner in the system. "great!" you say. "leadoff hitter!" uh-uh.


Career Batting Statistics for Michael Bourn:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2001 U. of Housto NCAA 18 0 NCA 219 50 57 0 6 .186 .740 .037 .303
2002 U. of Housto NCAA 19 0 NCA 244 52 45 1 9 .176 .816 .050 .328
2003 U. of Housto NCAA 20 0 NCA 182 25 37 1 6 .121 .797 .048 .330
2003 Batavia NYPL 20 Phi A 125 26 28 0 1 .172 .776 .010 .280
2004 Lakewood SAL 21 Phi A 417 87 88 5 34 .173 .789 .119 .317
2005 Reading East 22 Phi AA 544 63 123 6 26 .104 .774 .076 .268


he's left-handed. if he made contact, he could slap-and-run. but it doesn't look like he'll develop contact. if he had power, he could get on base by hitting it hard. to go with the walks. but he doesn't have power. he's fast, and he plays good defense, so they'll probably try to play him in the majors. but he just ain't got the stick skills. he's willy taveras with walks. for the record, willy taveras is no good.

taveras tries to slap-and-run, but his contact isn't good enough. bourn's contact isn't nearly as good as taveras's. and neither is his speed.


Career Pitching Statistics for Scott Mathieson:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2002 GCL Phillies GCL 18 Phi Rk 16.2 24 0 6 14 .075 .811 .000 5.40
2003 GCL Phillies GCL 19 Phi Rk 58.2 59 5 13 51 .052 .783 .027 5.52
2003 Batavia NYPL 19 Phi A 6.0 0 0 0 7 .000 .611 .000 0.00
2004 Lakewood SAL 20 Phi A 131.1 130 7 50 112 .087 .786 .017 4.32
2005 Clearwater FSL 21 Phi A 121.2 111 17 34 118 .067 .752 .047 4.14


those are decent numbers for the florida state league, but that's just it: they're decent. he doesn't have much upside. fourth-or-fifth starter.


Career Batting Statistics for Welinson Baez:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2003 GCL Phillies GCL 19 Phi Rk 145 16 37 3 7 .099 .745 .093 .246
2004 GCL Phillies GCL 20 Phi Rk 172 22 62 4 9 .113 .640 .118 .234
2005 GCL Phillies GCL 21 Phi Rk 45 8 14 2 5 .151 .689 .226 .267
2005 Batavia NYPL 21 Phi A 170 22 45 6 15 .115 .735 .168 .324


welinson baez spent two seasons in rookie ball. in the second one, he struck out 62 times in 172 at-bats. that's terrible. and he's getting old. he's not gonna make it.


Career Batting Statistics for Mike Costanzo:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2003 Coastal Caro NCAA 0 0 NCA 174 16 43 8 9 .084 .753 .130 .318
2004 Coastal Caro NCAA 0 0 NCA 231 53 52 21 23 .187 .775 .246 .359
2005 Coastal Caro NCAA 0 0 NCA 240 74 65 16 17 .236 .729 .189 .379
2005 Batavia NYPL 0 Phi A 281 35 89 11 20 .111 .683 .161 .274


mike costanzo was the phillies top draft pick in 2005. it was a terrible choice, because he didn't make contact in college. then he went to low a-ball, and didn't make contact. he's not gonna make it.


Career Batting Statistics for Bradley Harman:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2004 GCL Phillies GCL 18 Phi Rk 185 14 41 2 10 .070 .778 .083 .230
2004 Clearwater FSL 18 Phi A 0 1 0 0 0 1.00 .000 .000 .000
2005 Lakewood SAL 19 Phi A 419 45 89 11 24 .097 .788 .106 .303


this guy could make it. he's a shortstop, and he's got balanced hitting skills. he's not great at anything, but if he continues to improve, he'll be good enough. he's the best defensive infielder in the system.


Career Batting Statistics for Tim Moss:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2002 U. of Texas NCAA 20 0 NCA 304 26 52 1 23 .079 .829 .095 .371
2003 U. of Texas NCAA 21 0 NCA 290 45 53 3 27 .134 .817 .127 .319
2003 Batavia NYPL 21 Phi A 162 15 47 1 7 .085 .710 .070 .150
2004 Lakewood SAL 22 Phi A 274 36 75 2 16 .116 .726 .090 .256
2005 Clearwater FSL 23 Phi A 469 45 129 17 35 .088 .725 .153 .269


he's in high-a at the age of 23. and he can't make contact. that's not gonna do it.


Career Batting Statistics for Jason Jaramillo:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2002 Oklahoma Sta NCAA 19 0 NCA 107 11 13 3 9 .093 .879 .128 .327
2003 Oklahoma Sta NCAA 20 0 NCA 219 22 25 9 19 .091 .886 .144 .385
2004 Oklahoma Sta NCAA 21 0 NCA 241 37 23 8 12 .133 .905 .092 .350
2004 GCL Phillies GCL 21 Phi Rk 3 0 0 0 0 .000 1.00 .000 .667
2004 Batavia NYPL 21 Phi A 114 13 27 1 5 .102 .763 .069 .223
2005 Lakewood SAL 22 Phi A 448 44 72 8 32 .089 .839 .106 .304


jason jaramillo is a catcher, so if he can hit at all, he's a prospect. he can't.

i mean, he's at that stage where there's a lot of variance. if he starts beating it out of the park, he'll make it.

that sounds pretty equivocal. this is what i'm trying to say: his wal, con, and pow are all slightly below norms for a prospect of his age. but he could improve all of a sudden. then he'd be slightly above norms. it's all about that threshold.


Career Pitching Statistics for Edgar Garcia:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2005 GCL Phillies GCL 0 Phi Rk 55.2 63 4 13 42 .053 .817 .021 3.56


i don't know how old he is, but he's apparently young and talented. we shall see.

so that's it. the phillies are fucked. like the mets, they have one prospect. but unlike the mets, their one prospect has injury concerns.

i shouldn't say one prospect. bradley harman and jason jaramillo both have a chance. but i'd rather have lastings milledge than cole hamels, bradley harman, and jason jaramillo.
Thursday, January 12, 2006
 
top prospects: mets
last time, marlins. this time, the mets.

let's go.


1. Lastings Milledge, of
2. Yusmeiro Petit, rhp
3. Gaby Hernandez, rhp
4. Mike Jacobs, c/1b
5. Philip Humber, rhp
6. Carlos Gomez, of
7. Fernando Martinez, of
8. Anderson Hernandez, ss/2b
9. Brian Bannister, rhp
10. Alay Soler, rhp


this'll be quick. three of those top four are now marlins, as is grant psomas, who baseball america rated as having the best strike-zone discipline in the system. so we only got seven.

1. lastings milledge. they say he's a great fielder. let's see if he can hit.


Career Batting Statistics for Lastings Milledge:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2003 Kingsport App 18 Nym Rk 27 4 4 0 2 .129 .852 .087 .231
2004 St. Lucie FSL 19 Nym A 81 10 21 2 8 .110 .741 .167 .235
2004 Capital City SAL 19 Nym A 264 29 53 13 23 .099 .799 .171 .337
2005 St. Lucie FSL 20 Nym A 232 19 41 4 15 .076 .823 .099 .302
2005 Binghamton East 20 Nym AA 193 14 47 4 17 .068 .756 .144 .337


yeah, he can hit. he destroyed the sally league at 19, then held his own in high-a and double-a at 20. he's apparently the complete package. he's gonna be good.

that's it. that's what they got. one prospect. the system is bereft.

philip humber is the next guy listed, and he had tommy john surgery last year. we might as well take a look at him.


Career Pitching Statistics for Philip Humber:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2002 Rice U. NCAA 19 0 NCA 110.0 90 8 43 130 .093 .690 .028 2.78
2003 Rice U. NCAA 20 0 NCA 128.0 102 12 39 138 .074 .716 .034 3.30
2004 Rice U. NCAA 21 0 NCA 115.0 87 7 37 154 .079 .644 .025 2.27
2005 St. Lucie FSL 22 Nym A 70.1 74 6 18 65 .059 .772 .027 4.99
2005 Binghamton East 22 Nym AA 4.0 4 0 2 2 .111 .875 .000 6.75


at rice, he was a killer. then he went straight to high-a and did well. then he blew his elbow. so who the hell knows. what's going to happen.

carlos gomez has the best outfield arm, and he stole 64 bases last year. that'd be great if he could hit.


Career Batting Statistics for Carlos Gomez:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2004 Kingsport App 18 Nym Rk 151 11 29 1 14 .068 .808 .123 .287
2004 GCL Mets GCL 18 Nym Rk 25 1 1 0 2 .038 .960 .083 .280
2005 Hagerstown SAL 19 Nym A 487 32 88 8 19 .062 .819 .068 .275


he can't.

fernando martinez turns 17 this year. when he turns 18, he'll be allowed to play in the states.

anderson hernandez is the best defensive infielder in the system.


Career Batting Statistics for Anderson Hernandez:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2001 GCL Tigers GCL 18 Det Rk 218 13 38 0 16 .056 .826 .089 .264
2001 Lakeland FSL 18 Det A 21 0 8 0 1 .000 .619 .077 .190
2002 Lakeland FSL 19 Det A 415 33 102 2 20 .074 .754 .070 .259
2003 Lakeland FSL 20 Det A 383 27 69 2 15 .066 .820 .054 .229
2004 Lakeland FSL 21 Det A 141 8 31 0 9 .054 .780 .082 .309
2004 Erie East 21 Det AA 396 31 89 5 22 .073 .775 .088 .274
2005 Binghamton East 22 Nym AA 273 14 58 7 15 .049 .788 .102 .326
2005 Norfolk IL 22 Nym AAA 261 22 46 2 10 .078 .824 .056 .303
2005 New York Met NL 22 Nym MLB 18 1 4 0 0 .053 .778 .000 .056


he'll never hit.

brian bannister. ok, brian bannister.


Career Pitching Statistics for Brian Bannister:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2000 USC NCAA 19 0 NCA 9.0 11 4 6 8 .136 .789 .133 5.00
2001 USC NCAA 20 0 NCA 54.0 40 3 21 56 .094 .723 .021 2.83
2003 USC NCAA 22 0 NCA 93.1 105 6 24 56 .059 .855 .018 4.53
2003 Brooklyn NYPL 22 Nym A 46.0 27 0 18 42 .098 .745 .000 2.15
2004 St. Lucie FSL 23 Nym A 110.1 111 6 27 106 .058 .760 .018 4.32
2004 Binghamton East 23 Nym AA 44.1 45 2 17 28 .087 .843 .013 4.06
2005 Binghamton East 24 Nym AA 109.0 91 11 27 94 .061 .775 .034 2.56
2005 Norfolk IL 24 Nym AAA 45.1 48 0 13 48 .066 .739 .000 3.18


he was great his sophomore year at usc. then something happened. it looks mysteriously like tommy john surgery because he missed 2002 and then he couldn't strike anybody out. maybe it was labrum surgery. whatever it was, he made a decent recovery and had a pretty good season in st lucie. actually, his numbers in norfolk last year look pretty good. but it's a small sample size. he's old now. he's a longshot.

i could see him pitching in bullpens. maybe even for a while. maybe he'll be a fifth starter. he seems to know what he's doing. he just doesn't have a lot of talent.

the last guy on the list is alay soler, who's cuban and hasn't pitched. in the states. so we have no data.

yeah. it's a sad sad situation. there were some good players here a minute ago. but now they're marlins. the best power prospect is listed as brett harper. but he can't hit. the best fastball is matt lindstrom, but he can't pitch.

the best power prospect is lastings milledge. the best fielding prospect is lastings milledge. the best anything prospect is lastings milledge, because he's the only prospect. he's the only prospect in the system.

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