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Monday, February 20, 2006
 
top prospects: indians
like the blue jays, the indians have a healthy system. they're a little light on top talent, but they already have a strong, young core in the majors, so all they need is support. that will come from depth. the indians will develop role-players and position replacements as needed in the pennant races to come.


1. Adam Miller, rhp
2. Jeremy Sowers, lhp
3. Brad Snyder, of
4. Fausto Carmona, rhp
5. Ryan Garko, 1b/c
6. Franklin Gutierrez, of
7. Fernando Cabrera, rhp
8. Trevor Crowe, of
9. Stephen Head, 1b
10. Michael Aubrey, 1b


i think they're the favorite in the central.


Career Pitching Statistics for Adam Miller:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2003 Burlington App 18 Cle Rk 32.2 30 2 9 23 .066 .820 .019 4.96
2004 Lake County SAL 19 Cle A 91.0 79 7 28 106 .074 .699 .028 3.36
2004 Kinston Caro 19 Cle A 43.1 29 1 12 46 .070 .711 .009 2.08
2005 Mahoning Val NYPL 20 Cle A 10.2 17 0 4 6 .075 .878 .000 5.06
2005 Kinston Caro 20 Cle A 59.2 76 5 17 45 .063 .824 .024 4.83


adam miller missed the first half of the season last year with an elbow strain. he wasn't great when he came back, but he was pretty damn good in 2004. and he's young. hopefully he'll stay healthy.


Career Pitching Statistics for Jeremy Sowers:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2002 Vanderbilt U NCAA 19 0 NCA 101.0 104 9 31 85 .071 .791 .028 4.37
2003 Vanderbilt U NCAA 20 0 NCA 115.0 94 7 29 123 .062 .720 .022 2.50
2004 Vanderbilt U NCAA 21 0 NCA 122.2 105 7 26 119 .052 .748 .020 3.08
2005 Kinston Caro 22 Cle A 71.1 60 5 19 75 .065 .726 .025 2.78
2005 Akron East 22 Cle AA 82.1 74 8 9 70 .027 .782 .032 2.08
2005 Buffalo IL 22 Cle AAA 5.2 7 0 1 4 .040 .833 .000 1.59


jeremy sowers made it all the way to triple-a last year. a year out of college. that's pretty impressive. his control was excellent. contact rates are decent. and he's a lefty. he's going to make it.


Career Batting Statistics for Brad Snyder:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2002 Ball State U NCAA 20 0 NCA 202 25 48 13 18 .110 .762 .201 .386
2003 Ball State U NCAA 21 0 NCA 203 52 45 14 28 .204 .778 .266 .405
2003 Mahoning Val NYPL 21 Cle A 228 42 82 6 17 .156 .640 .158 .284
2004 Lake County SAL 22 Cle A 308 53 78 10 20 .147 .747 .130 .280
2004 Kinston Caro 22 Cle A 107 14 28 5 8 .116 .738 .165 .330
2005 Kinston Caro 23 Cle A 211 30 64 6 12 .124 .697 .122 .278
2005 Akron East 23 Cle AA 305 31 94 16 26 .092 .692 .199 .280


i'm not so sure about brad snyder. he has trouble with contact. he's old for his level, and he struck out 158 times in 516 at-bats last year. the power is good, but it may not be enough.


Career Pitching Statistics for Fausto Carmona:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2002 Burlington App 18 Cle Rk 76.1 89 4 10 42 .030 .868 .014 3.30
2002 Mahoning Val NYPL 18 Cle A 4.0 2 0 1 0 .067 1.00 .000 0.00
2003 Lake County SAL 19 Cle A 148.1 117 10 14 83 .024 .852 .021 2.06
2003 Akron East 19 Cle AA 6.0 8 1 0 3 .000 .885 .043 4.50
2004 Kinston Caro 20 Cle A 70.0 67 6 20 57 .067 .794 .027 2.83
2004 Akron East 20 Cle AA 87.0 114 3 21 63 .053 .832 .010 4.97
2005 Akron East 21 Cle AA 90.2 100 7 20 57 .051 .847 .022 4.07
2005 Buffalo IL 21 Cle AAA 83.0 76 10 15 49 .044 .849 .036 3.25


fausto also has good control. and he pitched in triple-a last year. he's thrown a lot of innings though. sowers did too. i know, it's not just the innings you throw, but i worry, ok?

anyway the question about fausto is can he make it with less than optimal strikeout rates. optimal doesn't make sense here because optimal would be 100 percent and nobody strikes out 100 percent of batters. but you know what i mean. that's the question. the answer i don't know.


Career Batting Statistics for Ryan Garko:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2000 Stanford U. NCAA 19 0 NCA 42 12 4 0 2 .222 .905 .053 .143
2001 Stanford U. NCAA 20 0 NCA 207 34 22 7 17 .141 .894 .130 .368
2002 Stanford U. NCAA 21 0 NCA 246 54 24 14 18 .180 .902 .144 .314
2003 Stanford U. NCAA 22 0 NCA 259 40 17 18 24 .134 .934 .174 .402
2003 Mahoning Val NYPL 22 Cle A 165 16 19 4 9 .088 .885 .089 .273
2004 Kinston Caro 23 Cle A 239 41 34 16 18 .146 .858 .166 .328
2004 Akron East 23 Cle AA 174 20 28 6 15 .103 .839 .144 .331
2004 Buffalo IL 23 Cle AAA 26 2 4 0 1 .071 .846 .045 .375
2005 Buffalo IL 24 Cle AAA 456 62 92 19 28 .120 .798 .129 .303
2005 Cleveland In AL 24 Cle MLB 1 0 1 0 0 .000 .000 .000 .000


garko. garko garko. what can we say about ryan garko. what we can say is why is he a prospect? he tore it up at stanford, which makes me question other people's numbers at stanford, but that's beside the point. he's getting old, and he just wasn't that great in triple-a. let's see. ok. he shredded the carolina league. then he performed decently in double-a that same year. so he's moved up quickly. and his triple-a numbers have him on the threshold of breakout in all three skills. so ok, he's a prospect.

you can see why the indians haven't sought out a first baseman with what they have in the minors.


Career Batting Statistics for Franklin Gutierrez:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2002 South Georgi SAL 19 La A 367 37 88 12 22 .092 .760 .122 .282
2002 Las Vegas PCL 19 La AAA 10 1 4 0 2 .091 .600 .333 .300
2003 Vero Beach FSL 20 La A 428 42 111 20 33 .089 .741 .167 .282
2003 Jacksonville Sou 20 La AA 67 8 20 4 5 .107 .701 .191 .313
2004 Akron East 21 Cle AA 266 32 77 5 26 .107 .711 .164 .302
2004 Buffalo IL 21 Cle AAA 27 1 11 1 1 .036 .593 .125 .148
2005 Akron East 22 Cle AA 388 37 77 11 27 .087 .802 .122 .261
2005 Buffalo IL 22 Cle AAA 68 7 13 0 8 .093 .809 .145 .254
2005 Cleveland In AL 22 Cle MLB 1 1 0 0 0 .500 1.00 .000 .000


you can also see why they traded coco crisp. the indians have a plethora of young outfielders, one of whom should make it.

i can never say plethora without thinking of the three amigos.

yeah. franklin gutierrez. he's had trouble with contact, but he has hit bombs. vero beach, for example. and it looks like his contact is coming around. stole 14 bases last year, so it looks like he has some speed. good chance to be a guy. what does that mean. major-league regular for a few years.


Career Pitching Statistics for Fernando Cabrera:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2000 Burlington App 18 Cle Rk 68.1 64 4 20 50 .069 .814 .018 4.61
2002 Akron East 20 Cle AA 27.0 26 1 12 29 .101 .729 .013 5.33
2003 Akron East 21 Cle AA 109.0 96 8 40 115 .086 .728 .026 2.97
2004 Buffalo IL 22 Cle AAA 75.0 57 9 43 92 .132 .674 .047 3.84
2004 Cleveland In AL 22 Cle MLB 5.1 3 0 1 6 .050 .684 .000 3.38
2005 Buffalo IL 23 Cle AAA 51.1 36 3 11 68 .055 .642 .025 1.23
2005 Cleveland In AL 23 Cle MLB 30.2 24 1 11 29 .087 .750 .011 1.47


ok. this kid's already made it. those strikeout numbers are fantastic, and the walks are impressive. he's a reliever. that's a lot of innings for a reliever. 82.


Career Batting Statistics for Trevor Crowe:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2003 U. of Arizon NCAA 0 0 NCA 190 10 32 2 16 .050 .832 .114 .316
2004 U. of Arizon NCAA 0 0 NCA 203 23 39 5 22 .102 .808 .165 .350
2005 U. of Arizon NCAA 0 0 NCA 266 40 30 9 40 .131 .887 .208 .403
2005 Mahoning Val NYPL 0 Cle A 51 7 8 1 3 .121 .843 .093 .255
2005 Lake County SAL 0 Cle A 180 19 25 0 10 .095 .861 .065 .258
2005 Akron East 0 Cle AA 10 0 3 0 0 .000 .700 .000 .100


trevor crowe had outstanding numbers at arizona, but that's altitude and we've seen similar things at similar schools. parks. locations. so we don't have a lot of data. but he was clearly able to make contact in the sally league. he has some speed, but probably won't steal bases in the majors. right now, i'm not optimistic, but anything could happen. if he's left-handed, it's a lot better. lefties with contact and speed can get on base. does anyone know his handedness?


Career Batting Statistics for Stephen Head:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2003 U. of Missis NCAA 0 0 NCA 209 17 33 6 12 .075 .842 .102 .337
2004 U. of Missis NCAA 0 0 NCA 233 32 37 13 14 .121 .841 .138 .346
2005 U. of Missis NCAA 0 0 NCA 270 35 38 18 17 .115 .859 .151 .333
2005 Mahoning Val NYPL 0 Cle A 37 8 5 6 4 .178 .865 .313 .432
2005 Kinston Caro 0 Cle A 205 8 33 4 15 .038 .839 .110 .286


good contact and power. needs to stop swinging at everything.


Career Batting Statistics for Michael Aubrey:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2001 Tulane U. NCAA 19 0 NCA 279 40 40 13 21 .125 .857 .142 .361
2002 Tulane U. NCAA 20 0 NCA 216 24 26 7 17 .100 .880 .126 .316
2003 Tulane U. NCAA 21 0 NCA 247 46 13 18 21 .157 .947 .167 .420
2003 Lake County SAL 21 Cle A 139 15 22 5 13 .097 .842 .154 .348
2004 Kinston Caro 22 Cle A 219 39 26 10 15 .151 .881 .130 .339
2004 Akron East 22 Cle AA 138 18 18 5 7 .115 .870 .100 .261
2005 Akron East 23 Cle AA 109 10 18 4 6 .084 .835 .110 .283


this kid was a complete wrecker in college. .947 con and .167 pow. with good patience. he had no trouble in the pros either. but he's had injury problems.

michael aubrey was almost certainly the indians' first baseman of the future before his injuries. we all have our battles to fight.
 
top prospects: blue jays
i've made no secret of my admiration for j.p. ricciardi. i think his offseason moves this year were brilliant. i think the jays are positioned for long-term success. they have a lineup full of young players at the major league level. young players improve. they have a healthy farm system, with players who are ready to contribute. here's the list from baseball america:


1. Dustin McGowan, rhp
2. Ricky Romero, lhp
3. David Purcey, lhp
4. Adam Lind, of/1b
5. Josh Banks, rhp
6. Casey Janssen, rhp
7. Brandon League, rhp
8. Francisco Rosario, rhp
9. Curtis Thigpen, c
10. Vince Perkins, rhp


ricciardi took over a system that had good position-player prospects and crappy pitching. as the position players have become established, he has drafted pitching like a madman. now the pitching comes rolling in. 8 of the top 10 prospects are pitchers. it's time to reap the benefits.


Career Pitching Statistics for Dustin McGowan:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2000 Medicine Hat Pio 18 Tor Rk 25.0 26 2 25 19 .198 .812 .024 6.48
2002 Charleston W SAL 20 Tor A 148.1 143 10 59 163 .091 .723 .024 4.19
2003 Dunedin FSL 21 Tor A 75.2 62 1 25 66 .080 .772 .004 2.85
2003 New Haven East 21 Tor AA 76.2 78 1 19 72 .058 .766 .004 3.17
2004 New Hampshir East 22 Tor AA 31.0 24 4 15 29 .114 .752 .045 4.06
2005 Dunedin FSL 23 Tor A 21.0 21 2 5 20 .056 .762 .031 4.29
2005 New Hampshir East 23 Tor AA 35.0 35 6 10 33 .067 .764 .056 3.34
2005 Toronto Blue AL 23 Tor MLB 45.1 49 7 17 34 .084 .816 .046 6.35


mcgowan threw too many innings in 02 and 03. then he tore his elbow in 2004. he's back now, and he looks good. his contact rates are strong. his control is excellent. home runs are a bit high but he has limited them in the past. despite the era, he performed well in his first taste of the major leagues. chances are good he'll be an effective major-league starter.


Career Pitching Statistics for Ricky Romero:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
1989 California S NCAA 0 0 NCA 56.1 48 4 18 46 .077 .788 .023 3.20
2004 California S NCAA 0 0 NCA 155.0 146 9 42 126 .064 .794 .019 3.37
2005 California S NCAA 0 0 NCA 134.0 102 6 34 139 .063 .724 .016 2.89


romero tore it up at cal-state fullerton. the fact that he's number two on this list means he must have great stuff. baseball america is like that. control is very good, as is home runs allowed. you'd like to see a little more dominance in the strikeout department to have him rated this high. but he's a lefty. lefty is good.


Career Pitching Statistics for David Purcey:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2002 U. of Oklaho NCAA 20 0 NCA 75.0 77 3 44 84 .127 .722 .014 3.36
2003 U. of Oklaho NCAA 21 0 NCA 72.2 72 4 41 67 .124 .769 .018 5.20
2004 U. of Oklaho NCAA 22 0 NCA 118.2 89 5 54 130 .108 .708 .016 3.11
2004 Auburn NYPL 22 Tor A 12.0 6 0 1 13 .023 .690 .000 1.50
2005 Dunedin FSL 23 Tor A 94.1 80 8 56 116 .134 .680 .032 3.63
2005 New Hampshir East 23 Tor AA 43.0 32 2 25 45 .134 .720 .017 2.93


david purcey. that's the kind of strikeouts we're talking about. and he's a lefty too. course the control is a little shaky. overall, a good prospect.


Career Batting Statistics for Adam Lind:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2003 U. of South NCAA 20 0 NCA 212 19 24 8 17 .082 .887 .133 .349
2004 U. of South NCAA 21 0 NCA 234 29 21 12 24 .110 .910 .169 .392
2004 Auburn NYPL 21 Tor A 268 26 36 7 23 .088 .866 .129 .312
2005 Dunedin FSL 22 Tor A 501 53 77 12 46 .096 .846 .137 .313


i gotta say, this kid looks good. his con and pow were incredible in college, and he has continued to hit with authority in the minors. i think he's gonna make it.


Career Pitching Statistics for Josh Banks:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2001 Florida Inte NCAA 19 0 NCA 36.0 46 5 10 37 .061 .760 .043 3.00
2002 Florida Inte NCAA 20 0 NCA 34.0 24 3 12 47 .087 .627 .038 2.65
2003 Auburn NYPL 21 Tor A 66.2 58 1 10 81 .037 .686 .006 2.43
2004 Dunedin FSL 22 Tor A 60.0 49 4 8 60 .034 .738 .024 1.80
2004 New Hampshir East 22 Tor AA 91.1 89 15 28 76 .072 .791 .052 5.03
2005 New Hampshir East 23 Tor AA 162.1 159 18 11 145 .017 .776 .036 3.83


banks has incredible control. 11 walks in 162 innings. gimme a break. he also seems to have enough of a contact percentage to make it. he should progress quickly.


Career Pitching Statistics for Casey Janssen:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2001 UCLA NCAA 19 0 NCA 32.0 35 3 19 22 .127 .832 .028 5.62
2002 UCLA NCAA 20 0 NCA 44.0 47 2 23 47 .114 .737 .015 4.09
2003 UCLA NCAA 21 0 NCA 72.0 93 0 25 73 .075 .764 .000 5.88
2004 UCLA NCAA 22 0 NCA 116.2 87 7 30 103 .064 .764 .021 3.16
2004 Auburn NYPL 22 Tor A 51.2 47 2 10 45 .047 .777 .013 3.48
2005 Lansing Midw 24 Tor A 46.0 27 0 4 38 .024 .770 .000 1.37
2005 Dunedin FSL 24 Tor A 59.2 46 2 12 51 .051 .773 .011 2.26
2005 New Hampshir East 24 Tor AA 43.0 49 3 4 47 .022 .736 .023 2.93


janssen also has incredible control. and he limits home runs. he also should hit the bigs quickly.


Career Pitching Statistics for Brandon League:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2001 Medicine Hat Pio 18 Tor Rk 38.2 36 3 11 38 .067 .750 .026 4.66
2002 Auburn NYPL 19 Tor A 85.2 80 2 23 72 .064 .786 .008 3.15
2003 Dunedin FSL 20 Tor A 66.1 76 3 20 34 .068 .876 .012 4.75
2003 Charleston W SAL 20 Tor A 70.2 58 1 18 61 .063 .774 .005 1.91
2004 New Hampshir East 21 Tor AA 104.0 92 3 41 90 .092 .777 .010 3.38
2004 Toronto Blue AL 21 Tor MLB 4.2 3 0 1 2 .056 .882 .000 0.00
2005 Syracuse IL 22 Tor AAA 63.0 78 7 18 35 .063 .869 .030 5.71
2005 Toronto Blue AL 22 Tor MLB 35.2 42 8 20 17 .118 .886 .061 6.56


another pitcher with good control. i think there's a theme here. baseball america overvalued this guy last year when they made him the number one prospect. he did have incredibly low home run totals. but the strikeouts are not enough to be a top major-league pitcher. he could be a guy.


Career Pitching Statistics for Francisco Rosario:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
1999 Dominican Bl Dsl 19 Tor Rk 32.1 26 0 11 38 .082 .691 .000 3.06
2000 Dominican Bl Dsl 20 Tor Rk 37.0 21 0 7 51 .050 .614 .000 1.22
2001 Medicine Hat Pio 21 Tor Rk 75.2 79 8 38 55 .110 .820 .032 5.59
2002 Charleston W SAL 22 Tor A 66.2 50 5 14 78 .053 .688 .029 2.56
2002 Dunedin FSL 22 Tor A 63.0 33 3 25 65 .101 .707 .019 1.29
2004 Dunedin FSL 24 Tor A 17.1 16 2 11 16 .139 .765 .038 4.67
2004 New Hampshir East 24 Tor AA 48.0 48 6 16 45 .077 .766 .041 4.31
2005 Syracuse IL 25 Tor AAA 116.1 111 16 42 80 .084 .826 .042 3.95


rosario also has good control, but he's a little old, and he hasn't dominated. he's not really a prospect.


Career Batting Statistics for Curtis Thigpen:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2002 U. of Texas NCAA 19 0 NCA 83 22 11 1 8 .210 .867 .125 .256
2003 U. of Texas NCAA 20 0 NCA 212 34 41 6 10 .138 .807 .094 .311
2004 U. of Texas NCAA 21 0 NCA 283 50 26 7 30 .150 .908 .144 .378
2004 Auburn NYPL 21 Tor A 169 26 32 7 13 .133 .811 .146 .301
2005 Lansing Midw 22 Tor A 295 55 34 5 20 .157 .885 .096 .287
2005 New Hampshir East 22 Tor AA 141 12 19 4 8 .078 .865 .098 .284


i like this guy. a lot. he reminds me of dioner navarro. great strike zone skills, great contact. he had a super year in texas in 2004. curtis thigpen is another good young catcher prospect that we've seen so many of. there's gonna be a catcher explosion.


Career Pitching Statistics for Vince Perkins:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2002 Auburn NYPL 20 Tor A 72.2 51 3 44 85 .141 .684 .016 3.34
2003 Charleston W SAL 21 Tor A 44.1 19 1 22 60 .126 .605 .011 1.83
2003 Dunedin FSL 21 Tor A 84.1 58 1 53 69 .146 .778 .004 2.45
2004 Dunedin FSL 22 Tor A 54.2 53 2 24 47 .100 .783 .012 3.95
2005 New Hampshir East 24 Tor AA 131.2 124 9 51 111 .089 .786 .022 4.03


vince perkins doesn't really seem like he has that much. he dominated the sally league in 2003, but then it looks like he got hurt or something. maybe he'll get it back. he's kind of old, though.

lots of good stuff here. and that's not all. the blue jays have depth. lots of these arms will find their way into the bullpen, and make spot starts. the value of minor league pitching depth is not to be underestimated. also, the two hitting prospects who made this list look good to make it.

names who could contribute:

pitching: chad gaudin, shaun marcum, jamie vermilyea, steve andrade, ryan houston.

hitting: chip cannon, john-ford griffin, rob cosby, ron davenport, sergio santos (more of a fielder than a hitter).

the pitching is definitely better than the hitting. the pitching is so deep! gaudin has already pitched in the majors, and is effective. marcum has great control and decent strikeout rates. vermilyea has very good control and good home run limitation. andrade and houston are a little older but they have intriguing numbers:


Career Pitching Statistics for Steve Andrade:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2001 Provo Pio 23 Ana Rk 2.0 3 0 0 5 .000 .444 .000 0.00
2002 Cedar Rapids Midw 24 Ana A 54.1 30 1 16 93 .077 .518 .010 1.16
2003 Rancho Cucam Cali 25 Ana A 3.0 0 0 3 7 .250 .222 .000 0.00
2003 Arkansas Tex 25 Ana AA 51.0 26 2 19 74 .096 .587 .019 2.65
2004 Arkansas Tex 26 Ana AA 48.0 37 4 12 59 .062 .674 .033 2.44
2004 Salt Lake PCL 26 Ana AAA 13.2 15 1 8 17 .125 .696 .026 4.61
2005 New Hampshir East 27 Tor AA 50.1 23 3 16 71 .084 .592 .029 1.97


71 strikeouts, 16 walks, 3 home runs, twenty-three hits! in 50 innings. you can't ignore that. also, in 2002 he had a con of .518. i don't know what to do with these numbers but i figure you gotta see if he can pitch in the majors. i mean maybe he can.


Career Pitching Statistics for Ryan Houston:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
1999 Medicine Hat Pio 19 Tor Rk 45.2 61 4 19 30 .088 .848 .024 6.70
2000 Queens NYPL 20 Tor A 28.2 23 0 8 29 .068 .734 .000 2.83
2000 Hagerstown SAL 20 Tor A 36.2 17 2 13 27 .093 .787 .020 2.21
2002 Auburn NYPL 22 Tor A 31.0 32 1 15 19 .107 .848 .009 4.06
2002 Charleston W SAL 22 Tor A 29.2 31 2 9 24 .070 .800 .021 4.25
2003 Charleston W SAL 23 Tor A 30.1 22 1 12 38 .096 .664 .013 2.67
2003 Dunedin FSL 23 Tor A 50.2 36 2 30 54 .138 .713 .015 2.66
2004 New Hampshir East 24 Tor AA 97.2 93 13 50 102 .115 .736 .046 4.33
2005 New Hampshir East 26 Tor AA 40.1 26 3 13 50 .081 .660 .031 2.68


houston was a mediocre pitcher until he all of a sudden got control. 50 strikeouts in 40 innings, with 26 hits, 3 home runs, and 13 walks. that's all good. none of that is bad. he's old but he's got a shot.

also, has everyone forgotten about guillermo quiroz? just because he hasn't played doesn't mean he lost his talent.


Career Batting Statistics for Guillermo Quiroz:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
1999 Medicine Hat Pio 17 Tor Rk 208 22 55 9 7 .096 .736 .105 .221
2000 Queens NYPL 18 Tor A 196 27 48 5 9 .121 .755 .095 .224
2000 Hagerstown SAL 18 Tor A 136 20 44 1 4 .128 .676 .054 .162
2001 Charleston S SAL 19 Tor A 261 29 67 7 12 .100 .743 .098 .199
2002 Dunedin FSL 20 Tor A 414 44 91 12 29 .096 .780 .127 .260
2002 Syracuse IL 20 Tor AAA 45 3 14 1 4 .063 .689 .161 .222
2003 New Haven East 21 Tor AA 376 57 83 20 27 .132 .779 .160 .282
2004 Syracuse IL 22 Tor AAA 257 31 54 8 20 .108 .790 .138 .227
2004 Toronto Blue AL 22 Tor MLB 53 4 8 0 2 .070 .849 .044 .212
2005 Dunedin FSL 23 Tor A 38 2 8 2 1 .050 .789 .100 .237
2005 Syracuse IL 23 Tor AAA 83 9 19 6 3 .098 .771 .141 .229
2005 Toronto Blue AL 23 Tor MLB 36 3 13 0 2 .077 .639 .087 .194


quiroz was my number 6 prospect in 2004. since then, he hasn't really played. but he's still young, and he's still got patience and power. and his contact is good enough.

with the acquisition of molina, it's triple-a for quiroz. but that's fine. he just needs to play. with curtis thigpen in double-a, the jays are stocked at catcher.

i wish i were the toronto blue jays!
Sunday, February 19, 2006
 
top prospects: devil rays
the devil rays are on the way up. they'll probly beat the yankees in 2007. they won't compete with the red sox and blue jays.


1. Delmon Young, of
2. Jeff Niemann, rhp
3. Jason Hammel, rhp
4. Reid Brignac, ss
5. Elijah Dukes, of
6. Wade Davis, rhp
7. Wes Bankston, 1b/of
8. Chad Orvella, rhp
9. Matt Walker, rhp
10. Chris Mason, rhp


the rays lineup is loaded. and delmon young will make it even better. the question is will they have pitching. the answer is not this year, but there's some hope. let's take a look.


Career Batting Statistics for Delmon Young:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2004 Charleston S SAL 18 Tb A 519 59 120 25 31 .102 .769 .140 .320
2005 Montgomery Sou 19 Tb AA 330 25 66 20 17 .070 .800 .140 .336
2005 Durham IL 19 Tb AAA 228 4 33 6 16 .017 .855 .113 .285


delmon young is an incredible talent. we talked about him in january. he hits almost anything. he's 19, and triple-a was not a challenge for him.

he needs to learn patience. maybe he will when pitches are harder to hit.


Career Pitching Statistics for Jeff Niemann:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2002 Rice U. NCAA 19 0 NCA 66.0 64 1 27 53 .093 .798 .005 3.14
2003 Rice U. NCAA 20 0 NCA 137.1 96 6 35 156 .064 .693 .017 1.70
2004 Rice U. NCAA 21 0 NCA 80.1 59 4 30 94 .091 .687 .019 3.02
2005 Visalia Cali 22 Tb A 20.1 12 3 10 28 .120 .616 .067 3.98
2005 Montgomery Sou 22 Tb AA 10.1 7 0 5 14 .116 .632 .000 4.35


niemann was dominant in college, and has great strikeout rates. he needs to improve his control. he's part of a pitching future that should yield results. but it may take a while.


Career Pitching Statistics for Jason Hammel:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2002 Princeton App 19 Tb Rk 5.1 7 0 0 5 .000 .783 .000 0.00
2002 Hudson Valle NYPL 19 Tb A 51.2 71 0 14 38 .058 .832 .000 5.23
2003 Charleston S SAL 20 Tb A 76.2 70 2 27 50 .083 .833 .008 3.40
2004 Charleston S SAL 21 Tb A 94.2 94 7 27 88 .067 .767 .024 3.23
2004 Bakersfield Cali 21 Tb A 72.1 52 4 21 66 .072 .755 .020 1.87
2005 Montgomery Sou 23 Tb AA 81.1 70 5 19 76 .057 .758 .021 2.66
2005 Durham IL 23 Tb AAA 54.2 57 8 27 48 .109 .783 .046 4.12


hammel has shown good control and the ability to limit home runs. his strikeout rates are not dominant, but he could be useful.


Career Batting Statistics for Reid Brignac:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2004 Princeton App 18 Tb Rk 99 10 10 1 6 .092 .899 .079 .361
2004 Charleston S SAL 18 Tb A 14 1 2 0 1 .067 .857 .083 .500
2005 Southwest Mi Midw 19 Tb A 517 44 131 15 31 .078 .747 .119 .264


brignac didn't do that well in 2005, but he's young. he could do something.


Career Batting Statistics for Elijah Dukes:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2003 Charleston S SAL 19 Tb A 386 55 130 7 21 .125 .663 .109 .245
2004 Charleston S SAL 20 Tb A 164 21 47 2 14 .114 .713 .137 .288
2004 Bakersfield Cali 20 Tb A 212 31 50 8 18 .128 .764 .160 .332
2005 Montgomery Sou 21 Tb AA 446 45 83 18 26 .092 .814 .121 .287


my friend got elijah dukes thrown out of a game. the biscuits were playing the stars, and dukes struck out on a pitch in the dirt. my friend said "stop swinging at shit!" dukes went to the dugout, then started yelling at the umpire. he felt the umpire had made bad calls. his argument was if the calls were good, he wouldn't have to swing at shit. the umpire threw him out.

dukes was right about the umpire though. he was terrible that day.

if he keeps his temper under control, dukes has a bright future. he's young for his level, and he's on the threshold of breakout in all areas. he's made large improvements every year. he plays center field.


Career Pitching Statistics for Wade Davis:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2004 Princeton App 18 Tb Rk 57.2 71 8 19 38 .072 .844 .039 6.09
2005 Hudson Valle NYPL 20 Tb A 86.0 75 5 23 97 .065 .709 .021 2.72


97 strikeouts in 86 innings with 23 walks and 5 home runs is dominant. let's see how he progresses.


Career Batting Statistics for Wes Bankston:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2002 Princeton App 18 Tb Rk 250 19 46 18 11 .071 .816 .142 .301
2002 Hudson Valle NYPL 18 Tb A 34 0 6 0 1 .000 .824 .036 .303
2003 Charleston S SAL 19 Tb A 381 55 94 12 19 .126 .753 .108 .256
2004 Charleston S SAL 20 Tb A 472 79 104 23 33 .143 .780 .152 .289
2005 Visalia Cali 21 Tb A 62 15 17 3 5 .195 .726 .178 .387
2005 Montgomery Sou 21 Tb AA 301 30 64 12 19 .091 .787 .131 .292


wes bankston has power and is young for his level. he's got a good chance to make it. 50%. higher if he played a defensive postition.


Career Pitching Statistics for Chad Orvella:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2003 NC State NCAA 22 0 NCA 13.1 18 2 4 18 .065 .690 .050 8.10
2003 Hudson Valle NYPL 22 Tb A 12.1 6 0 1 15 .023 .651 .000 0.00
2004 Charleston S SAL 23 Tb A 47.1 28 4 5 76 .029 .553 .043 1.33
2004 Bakersfield Cali 23 Tb A 17.2 13 2 4 24 .057 .636 .048 3.06
2004 Montgomery Sou 23 Tb AA 7.0 0 0 0 14 .000 .333 .000 0.00
2004 Durham IL 23 Tb AAA 1.2 1 1 1 2 .143 .667 .250 5.40
2005 Montgomery Sou 24 Tb AA 25.0 15 0 6 29 .063 .678 .000 0.36
2005 TB Devil Ray AL 24 Tb MLB 50.0 47 4 23 43 .105 .782 .026 3.60


chad orvella pitched in the majors last year and did well. he hasn't had that many innings in the minors, but when he's pitched, he's been dominant. 76 strikeouts in 47 innings in charleston is particularly startling. with 5 walks.

he also had the exciting 7 perfect innings with 14 strikeouts in double-a in 2004. let's hope he stays healthy.


Career Pitching Statistics for Matt Walker:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2005 Princeton App 19 Tb Rk 57.2 63 2 22 71 .085 .699 .012 5.31


matt walker got a bunch of strikeouts in 2005. so the future is good.


Career Pitching Statistics for Chris Mason:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2003 UNCGreensbor NCAA 0 0 NCA 59.0 58 4 16 63 .064 .732 .023 4.12
2004 UNCGreensbor NCAA 0 0 NCA 53.1 45 1 20 46 .089 .776 .006 2.36
2005 UNCGreensbor NCAA 0 0 NCA 118.2 103 9 24 135 .050 .706 .028 2.88
2005 Hudson Valle NYPL 0 Tb A 15.0 11 0 8 14 .125 .750 .000 2.40
2005 Southwest Mi Midw 0 Tb A 18.2 17 0 5 16 .064 .781 .000 1.45


chris mason has excellent control. he also had 135 strikeouts in 118 innings in college last year. and he limits home runs.

so the devil rays look good. the lineup is great, and the pitching will improve from terrible to decent over the next few years. they probably won't make the playoffs, but they should make things interesting.
 
top prospects: yankees
the yankees system is terrible. a long, painful rebuilding process is about to begin. years of domination by the red sox lie ahead.


1. Philip Hughes, rhp
2. Eric Duncan, 3b/1b
3. Jose Tabata, of
4. C.J. Henry
5. Austin Jackson, of
6. Eduardo Nunez, ss
7. Marcos Vechionacci, 3b
8. Christian Garcia, rhp
9. Jeff Marquez, rhp
10. Tyler Clippard, rhp


writing about the yankees will bring more readers than usual. so i wish there was more to say. but there isn't. the yankees system sucks.

they're better than the reds, but that's not saying much. they have some long-term prospects. but long-term prospects are less certain. and they take longer.


Career Pitching Statistics for Philip Hughes:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2004 GCL Yankees GCL 18 Nyy Rk 5.0 4 0 0 8 .000 .579 .000 0.00
2005 Tampa FSL 19 Nyy A 17.2 8 0 4 21 .062 .656 .000 3.06
2005 Charleston S SAL 19 Nyy A 68.2 46 1 16 72 .060 .714 .006 1.97


hughes had a very good year in the sally league. control, strikeouts, and home runs allowed are all high-quality. he dominated in a short stint in high-a. he's a long way away, but he could develop quickly. he has a lot of talent.

the next guy is also a decent prospect.


Career Batting Statistics for Eric Duncan:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2003 GCL Yankees GCL 18 Nyy Rk 181 20 33 2 14 .100 .818 .108 .278
2003 Staten Islan NYPL 18 Nyy A 59 4 11 2 9 .063 .814 .229 .373
2004 Tampa FSL 19 Nyy A 174 31 47 4 22 .151 .730 .205 .254
2004 Battle Creek Midw 19 Nyy A 291 42 84 12 25 .126 .711 .179 .260
2005 Trenton East 20 Nyy AA 455 63 136 19 18 .122 .701 .116 .235


duncan played in double-a and had a terrible average, due to struggles with contact. but here's the thing: he was 20 years old. that's very young for double-a. when a player that young plays in double-a at all, it's a good sign. also, he had great power in 2004. 2006 should be pretty good. he has a good chance to make it. i'd say 70%.

after this, it gets pretty bad.


Career Batting Statistics for Jose Tabata:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2005 GCL Yankees GCL 0 Nyy Rk 156 17 14 3 6 .098 .910 .063 .314


tabata makes great contact and steals a lot of bases. but he has no power. maybe he'll develop it. maybe he'll learn to take pitches and he won't need it. with players this far away, it's a lot of maybes.


Career Batting Statistics for C.J. Henry:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2005 GCL Yankees GCL 19 Nyy Rk 181 23 39 3 12 .113 .785 .106 .249


c.j. henry is young. he has speed. he hasn't shown much with the bat.


Career Batting Statistics for Austin Jackson:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2005 GCL Yankees GCL 18 Nyy Rk 152 19 26 0 13 .111 .829 .103 .304


austin jackson is young. he has speed. he hasn't shown much with the bat.


Career Batting Statistics for Eduardo Nunez:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2003 GCL Expos GCL 18 Mtl Rk 99 13 15 1 1 .116 .848 .024 .273
2004 GCL Expos GCL 19 Mtl Rk 139 23 39 2 6 .142 .719 .080 .223
2004 Savannah SAL 19 Mtl A 1 4 1 0 0 .800 .000 .000 .000
2005 Savannah SAL 20 Wan A 4 0 0 0 0 .000 1.00 .000 .500
2005 Vermont NYPL 20 Wan A 92 10 35 0 5 .098 .620 .088 .130
2005 Staten Islan NYPL 20 Nyy A 281 23 43 3 17 .076 .847 .084 .313


eduardo nunez made decent contact last year. but he had no power. he's unlikely to improve enough to make it.


Career Batting Statistics for Marcos Vechionacci:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2004 GCL Yankees GCL 0 Nyy Rk 131 12 19 4 10 .084 .855 .125 .336
2004 Tampa FSL 0 Nyy A 4 0 0 0 0 .000 1.00 .000 .250
2004 Staten Islan NYPL 0 Nyy A 72 12 13 0 5 .143 .819 .085 .292
2005 Charleston S SAL 0 Nyy A 508 47 83 2 34 .085 .837 .085 .252


marcos vechionacci can't hit. he'll never make it.


Career Pitching Statistics for Christian Garcia:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2004 GCL Yankees GCL 18 Nyy Rk 38.0 26 1 17 47 .108 .664 .011 2.84
2005 GCL Yankees GCL 20 Nyy Rk 6.0 4 0 5 7 .185 .682 .000 4.50
2005 Charleston S SAL 20 Nyy A 106.0 102 3 53 103 .112 .755 .009 3.91


garcia throws a curveball, which allows him to limit home runs. he also has a decent strikeout rate. control is a problem. 30% chance to make it. maybe 20. 25.


Career Pitching Statistics for Jeff Marquez:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2004 GCL Yankees GCL 19 Nyy Rk 14.1 10 0 4 18 .070 .660 .000 0.63
2004 Staten Islan NYPL 19 Nyy A 50.2 51 2 20 36 .090 .823 .012 3.02
2005 Charleston S SAL 21 Nyy A 139.2 138 4 61 107 .099 .808 .009 3.42


i don't know why this guy's a prospect. his walk and contact percentages are not good. home runs allowed are really good, but it's unlikely he'll maintain well enough to make the majors. with that wal and con, the margin is very thin.


Career Pitching Statistics for Tyler Clippard:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2003 GCL Yankees GCL 18 Nyy Rk 43.2 33 3 5 56 .030 .659 .028 2.89
2004 Battle Creek Midw 19 Nyy A 149.0 153 12 32 145 .051 .758 .026 3.44
2005 Charleston S SAL 20 Nyy A 6.0 9 1 0 10 .000 .630 .059 7.50
2005 Tampa FSL 20 Nyy A 147.1 118 12 34 169 .057 .698 .031 3.18
2005 Columbus IL 20 Nyy AAA 1.0 0 0 0 2 .000 .333 .000 0.00


clippard was dominant in 2005. his strikeout-to-walk numbers are fantastic. as far as i'm concerned, he's number three on this list.

overall, this is a crappy system. there are no top prospects, and there is little depth. all they have is a few guys who might make it. the future is grim for the yankees.
 
top prospects: red sox
the orioles prospects looked pretty bad. what about the red sox?


1. Andy Marte, 3b
2. Jon Lester, lhp
3. Jonathan Papelbon, rhp
4. Craig Hansen, rhp
5. Dustin Pedroia, 2b/ss
6. Jacoby Ellsbury, of
7. Kelly Shoppach, c
8. Manny Delcarmen, rhp
9. Jed Lowrie, ss/2b
10. Clay Buchholz, rhp


the system was better when marte was still around, but this is a top-quality organization. one of the best in the league.


Career Batting Statistics for Andy Marte:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2001 Danville App 17 Atl Rk 125 20 45 1 6 .138 .640 .088 .200
2002 Macon SAL 18 Atl A 495 47 114 21 36 .087 .770 .150 .281
2003 Myrtle Beach Caro 19 Atl A 472 69 109 16 36 .128 .769 .143 .285
2004 GCL Braves GCL 20 Atl Rk 15 2 2 1 4 .118 .867 .385 .467
2004 Greenville Sou 20 Atl AA 390 60 105 23 29 .133 .731 .182 .269
2005 Richmond IL 21 Atl AAA 389 64 83 20 28 .141 .787 .157 .275
2005 Atlanta Brav NL 21 Atl MLB 59 7 13 0 3 .106 .780 .065 .140


we talked about andy marte when he was the braves' top prospect. well, he wasn't the braves top prospect because he had been traded, but he was on baseball america's list because they made the list before he got traded. confused yet?

marte is a crusher. he had 48 extra-base hits in 389 at-bats in triple-a at the age of 21. he's gonna make it. he also walked a bunch.

marte is no longer a red sox prospect. he got traded to the indians.


Career Pitching Statistics for Jon Lester:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2002 GCL Red Sox GCL 18 Bos Rk 0.2 5 0 1 1 .125 .857 .000 13.50
2003 Augusta SAL 19 Bos A 106.0 102 7 44 71 .095 .831 .020 3.65
2004 GCL Red Sox GCL 20 Bos Rk 1.0 0 0 2 1 .400 .667 .000 0.00
2004 Sarasota FSL 20 Bos A 90.1 82 2 37 97 .095 .725 .008 4.28
2005 Portland East 21 Bos AA 148.1 114 10 57 163 .093 .708 .025 2.61


jon lester sure tore up the eastern league. the year before that, he tore up the florida state league. the year before that, he was unimpressive in the sally league.

except it was apparently his first real pro experience. he probly did something somewhere. regardless, he was 19 and he pitched in middle-a. and he was not terrible.

combine the youth, the strikeouts, and the home run control, and you have a high-quality prospect. also he's a lefty.


Career Pitching Statistics for Jon Papelbon:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2003 Mississippi NCAA 22 0 NCA 47.1 41 3 14 54 .071 .705 .023 2.28
2003 Mississippi NCAA 22 0 NCA 47.1 41 3 14 54 .071 .705 .023 2.28
2003 Lowell NYPL 22 Bos A 32.2 43 2 9 36 .060 .745 .019 6.34
2004 Sarasota FSL 23 Bos A 129.2 97 6 43 153 .081 .685 .018 2.64
2005 Portland East 24 Bos AA 87.0 59 9 23 83 .067 .741 .038 2.48
2005 Pawtucket IL 24 Bos AAA 27.2 21 2 3 27 .028 .740 .026 2.93
2005 Boston Red S AL 24 Bos MLB 34.0 33 4 17 34 .112 .748 .040 2.65


papelbon made the majors last year and pitched well. he has good control, good strikeouts, and good home run limitation. he's good.


Career Pitching Statistics for Craig Hansen:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2005 St. Johns U. NCAA 0 0 NCA 64.1 38 1 20 85 .080 .632 .007 1.68
2005 Boston Red S AL 0 Bos MLB 3.0 6 1 1 3 .063 .800 .083 6.00


we don't have much to go on, numbers-wise, but this guy is apparently out of sight. the college numbers support that conclusion: a .632 con and .007 home run percentage is very very good. he's gonna make it.


Career Batting Statistics for Dustin Pedroia:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2002 Arizona Stat NCAA 19 0 NCA 237 29 19 1 15 .109 .920 .073 .347
2003 Arizona Stat NCAA 20 0 NCA 301 42 13 4 37 .122 .957 .142 .404
2004 Arizona Stat NCAA 21 0 NCA 246 55 15 9 25 .183 .939 .147 .393
2004 Sarasota FSL 21 Bos A 110 17 4 2 11 .134 .964 .123 .336
2004 Augusta SAL 21 Bos A 50 7 3 1 5 .123 .940 .128 .400
2005 Portland East 22 Bos AA 258 38 26 8 21 .128 .899 .125 .324
2005 Pawtucket IL 22 Bos AAA 206 33 17 5 10 .138 .917 .079 .255


i'm very high on dustin pedroia. his contact rates are incredible, as is his patience. and his power looks like it will develop. also his defense is reportedly top-quality. i believe he's ready for the majors now. i also believe the red sox agree, and that's why they traded edgar renteria.


Career Batting Statistics for Jacoby Ellsbury:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2003 Oregon State NCAA 0 0 NCA 209 37 33 7 13 .150 .842 .114 .330
2004 Oregon State NCAA 0 0 NCA 196 41 17 3 10 .173 .913 .073 .352
2005 Oregon State NCAA 0 0 NCA 245 44 21 6 22 .152 .914 .125 .406
2005 Lowell NYPL 0 Bos A 140 25 20 1 8 .152 .857 .075 .317


another 2005 draft pick, jacoby ellsbury has lots of talent. his on-base skills are impeccable. and he steals lots of bases. the combination of patience, contact, and speed make him an ideal leadoff hitter.

ellsbury could make the bigs in a hurry.


Career Batting Statistics for Kelly Shoppach:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2000 Baylor U. NCAA 20 0 NCA 201 52 50 10 15 .206 .751 .166 .296
2001 Baylor U. NCAA 21 0 NCA 237 31 52 12 22 .116 .781 .184 .397
2002 Sarasota FSL 22 Bos A 415 65 112 10 36 .135 .730 .152 .271
2003 Portland East 23 Bos AA 345 40 83 12 32 .104 .759 .168 .282
2004 Pawtucket IL 24 Bos AAA 401 52 138 22 25 .115 .656 .179 .233
2005 Pawtucket IL 25 Bos AAA 374 58 116 26 16 .134 .690 .163 .253
2005 Boston Red S AL 25 Bos MLB 15 1 7 0 0 .063 .533 .000 .000


i don't understand why people talk about kelly shoppach. i guess it's because he's a catcher with power. but he can't make contact. he'll never hit in the bigs.


Career Pitching Statistics for Manny Delcarmen:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2001 GCL Red Sox GCL 19 Bos Rk 46.0 35 0 19 62 .099 .642 .000 2.54
2002 Augusta SAL 20 Bos A 136.0 124 15 56 136 .095 .744 .038 4.10
2003 Sarasota FSL 21 Bos A 23.0 16 1 7 16 .076 .812 .014 3.13
2004 Sarasota FSL 22 Bos A 73.0 84 10 20 76 .062 .749 .044 4.68
2005 Portland East 23 Bos AA 39.0 31 3 20 49 .119 .669 .030 3.23
2005 Pawtucket IL 23 Bos AAA 21.0 17 0 13 23 .140 .713 .000 1.29
2005 Boston Red S AL 23 Bos MLB 9.0 8 0 7 9 .167 .743 .000 3.00


delcarmen throws a curveball, which gives him the potential to really limit home runs. also he's got some strikeouts. control seems to be an issue though.


Career Batting Statistics for Jed Lowrie:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2003 Stanford U. NCAA 0 0 NCA 215 21 25 0 12 .089 .884 .063 .292
2004 Stanford U. NCAA 0 0 NCA 238 55 40 17 23 .188 .832 .202 .399
2005 Stanford U. NCAA 0 0 NCA 234 45 41 14 18 .161 .825 .166 .317
2005 Lowell NYPL 0 Bos A 202 36 30 4 12 .151 .851 .093 .328


the red sox 2005 draft was obviously incredible. this lowrie kid beat the crap out of stanford. look at those wals and those pows. also, in a-ball, he seemed to get his contact together. he's a middle infielder. the future is bright.


Career Pitching Statistics for Clay Buchholz:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2005 Lowell NYPL 0 Bos A 41.1 34 2 9 45 .054 .715 .018 2.61


so far, so good. control, strikeouts, and power reduction all look strong.

that's it for the list. this is a very strong system. beyond what we've seen here, there's depth at middle-infield, and pitching. if you could choose two places to have depth, those would be your choices.

the strength of the system is such that it will provide immediate help at the major league level, both in replacement-level backups, should someone go down, and in potential breakout seasons. also there are long-term prospects who should have impact in the future. so 2006 is looking good. as is 2007. and 2008. the red sox and the blue jays are the class of the east.
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
 
top prospects: orioles
ok, we finished the national league! now it's time for the orioles.


1. Nick Markakis, of
2. Adam Loewen, lhp
3. Hayden Penn, rhp
4. Nolan Reimold, of
5. Chris Ray, rhp
6. Garrett Olson, lhp
7. Brandon Snyder, c
8. J.J. Johnson, rhp
9. Brandon Erbe, rhp
10. Val Majewski, of


there's not much here. a lot of these guys are 2005 draftees. this is a pretty crappy system.


Career Batting Statistics for Nick Markakis:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2003 Aberdeen NYPL 19 Bal A 208 31 33 1 17 .130 .841 .103 .283
2004 Delmarva SAL 20 Bal A 360 44 66 11 25 .109 .817 .122 .299
2005 Frederick Caro 21 Bal A 354 47 65 12 26 .117 .816 .131 .300
2005 Bowie East 21 Bal AA 125 18 30 3 18 .126 .760 .221 .339


if this guy is the top prospect, this is a terrible system. i don't know. he's the right age, i guess, for his level. he's decent at everything. those double-a numbers are not very meaningful because of small sample size. ok it looks like he's good enough at everything that he could improve at any time. that is, he's on the threshold of breakout.


Career Pitching Statistics for Adam Loewen:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2003 Aberdeen NYPL 19 Bal A 23.1 13 0 9 25 .098 .699 .000 2.70
2004 Frederick Caro 20 Bal A 8.0 7 2 9 3 .225 .903 .071 6.75
2004 Delmarva SAL 20 Bal A 85.1 77 3 58 82 .148 .754 .012 4.11
2005 Frederick Caro 21 Bal A 142.0 130 8 86 146 .134 .737 .020 4.12


adam loewen must have some kind of crazy stuff. the problem is he's not that good. he's not that good cause he walks people. this is common with baseball america. a kid has good stuff, or something, and they call him a prospect. well he is, from the point of view of if he gets control he'll make it. but from the point of view of likelihood, he's not much of a prospect. throwing strikes is hard.


Career Pitching Statistics for Hayden Penn:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2003 Bluefield App 18 Bal Rk 52.1 58 4 19 38 .081 .823 .023 4.30
2003 GCL Orioles GCL 18 Bal Rk 3.1 3 0 1 4 .071 .692 .000 2.70
2004 Frederick Caro 19 Bal A 73.1 59 7 20 61 .067 .781 .032 3.80
2004 Delmarva SAL 19 Bal A 43.1 30 4 19 41 .106 .744 .034 3.32
2004 Bowie East 19 Bal AA 20.1 22 0 9 20 .098 .759 .000 4.87
2005 Bowie East 20 Bal AA 110.1 101 11 37 120 .079 .722 .035 3.83
2005 Baltimore Or AL 20 Bal MLB 38.1 46 6 21 18 .115 .888 .042 6.34


i talked about hayden penn a month ago. i talked about him because aaron gleeman talked about him. i said he would succeed.

yeah he'll succeed! he pitched in the majors at 20. he struck out 120 batters in 110 innings in double-a. his control is decent.

why is this guy number 3 and not number 1? or number 2 behind chris ray?


Career Batting Statistics for Nolan Reimold:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2003 Bowling Gree NCAA 0 0 NCA 141 21 21 1 6 .130 .851 .058 .329
2004 Bowling Gree NCAA 0 0 NCA 173 32 24 13 17 .156 .861 .201 .404
2005 Bowling Gree NCAA 0 0 NCA 178 48 36 20 10 .212 .798 .211 .360
2005 Frederick Caro 0 Bal A 83 14 27 6 6 .144 .675 .214 .265
2005 Aberdeen NYPL 0 Bal A 182 30 44 9 17 .142 .758 .188 .294


nolan reimold beat the shit out of bowling green. and beat the shit out of aberdeen in the new york-penn league. what a terrible name for a league. contact seems to be a problem. he's got a lot of work to do.


Career Pitching Statistics for Chris Ray:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2003 College of W NCAA 21 0 NCA 94.2 87 6 22 87 .056 .765 .021 3.52
2003 Aberdeen NYPL 21 Bal A 38.1 32 0 10 44 .064 .701 .000 2.82
2004 Frederick Caro 22 Bal A 73.1 82 6 20 74 .062 .755 .026 3.80
2004 Delmarva SAL 22 Bal A 50.0 43 3 17 46 .081 .762 .020 3.42
2005 Bowie East 23 Bal AA 37.1 17 3 7 40 .051 .690 .034 0.96
2005 Baltimore Or AL 23 Bal MLB 40.2 34 5 18 43 .103 .724 .044 2.66


ok chris ray. this kid's got the goods. i'm gonna get him in my fantasy league. unless somebody reads this. in 2005 he showed he had nothing left to prove in the minors. so they brought him up. he pitched well. he's 23.

his contact rates are great. his walk rates are good. his power rates are good. he's good.


Career Pitching Statistics for Garrett Olson:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2003 Cal Poly NCAA 19 0 NCA 82.1 78 4 27 67 .077 .794 .016 4.37
2004 Cal Poly NCAA 20 0 NCA 84.0 88 4 38 92 .101 .729 .016 5.57
2005 Cal Poly NCAA 21 0 NCA 136.0 123 2 47 128 .081 .759 .005 2.71
2005 Frederick Caro 21 Bal A 14.1 10 0 7 19 .117 .642 .000 3.14
2005 Aberdeen NYPL 21 Bal A 40.0 22 1 13 40 .084 .718 .010 1.58


chris ray was also in the rookies to watch article.

garrett olson is another 2005 draftee who did well in aberdeen. he's a lefty, which helps. he doesn't seem to have dominant stuff, but if he improves his control, and continues to limit home runs, he could make it.


Career Batting Statistics for Brandon Snyder:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2005 Bluefield App 18 Bal Rk 150 29 36 8 8 .162 .760 .140 .271
2005 Aberdeen NYPL 18 Bal A 29 2 7 0 2 .065 .759 .091 .393


2005 draftee. young. good luck, brandon.


Career Pitching Statistics for James Johnson:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2002 Bluefield App 19 Bal Rk 55.2 52 5 16 36 .068 .836 .027 4.37
2003 Bluefield App 20 Bal Rk 51.1 62 2 18 46 .077 .787 .012 3.68
2004 Frederick Caro 21 Bal A 3.0 6 0 1 6 .063 .600 .000 9.00
2004 Delmarva SAL 21 Bal A 106.2 97 9 30 93 .067 .777 .028 3.29
2005 Frederick Caro 22 Bal A 159.2 139 11 64 168 .094 .728 .024 3.49
2005 Bowie East 22 Bal AA 7.0 3 0 2 6 .077 .750 .000 0.00


james or j.j.? i don't know. 168 strikeouts in 159 innings is encouraging, but he needs to improve. he's a little old for his level. his wal, con, and pow are all just below major league quality. probly won't be more than a guy.


Career Pitching Statistics for Brandon Erbe:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2005 Bluefield App 0 Bal Rk 23.1 8 1 10 48 .114 .385 .033 3.09
2005 Aberdeen NYPL 0 Bal A 7.0 6 0 4 9 .129 .667 .000 7.71


those bluefield results are pretty startling. i've never seen a .385 con before. course it was only 23 innings.

we can't say anything. we need more data.


Career Batting Statistics for Val Majewski:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2001 Rutgers U. NCAA 20 0 NCA 228 33 27 8 27 .126 .882 .174 .378
2002 Rutgers U. NCAA 21 0 NCA 224 29 23 11 20 .115 .897 .154 .364
2002 Delmarva SAL 21 Bal A 18 1 1 1 0 .053 .944 .059 .118
2002 Aberdeen NYPL 21 Bal A 111 14 14 1 11 .112 .874 .124 .300
2003 GCL Orioles GCL 22 Bal Rk 3 1 0 0 0 .250 1.00 .000 .333
2003 Aberdeen NYPL 22 Bal A 16 1 2 0 4 .059 .875 .286 .375
2003 Frederick Caro 22 Bal A 160 8 23 5 19 .048 .856 .175 .289
2003 Delmarva SAL 22 Bal A 211 29 20 7 23 .121 .905 .157 .303
2004 Bowie East 23 Bal AA 438 38 68 15 29 .080 .845 .119 .307
2004 Baltimore Or AL 23 Bal MLB 13 0 1 0 1 .000 .923 .083 .154


val was a hot prospect. then he tore his labrum. hopefully he's ok. he's got talent. if he can get it back together, he should do well. what does that mean? it means start in the major leagues. when might that happen? well, i would have said 2005. now i'll say 2007.

and that's the orioles. that wasn't too hard. course there's not much to talk about. the orioles system is pretty thin. no real stars, except possibly chris ray, but he's a reliever. hayden penn looks pretty good. nick markakis could be good. a lot of these guys are young. youth is good, but it takes a while.
 
top prospects: giants
here's what the giants got:


1. Matt Cain, rhp
2. Marcus Sanders, ss/2b
3. Eddy Martinez-Esteve, of
4. Travis Ishikawa, 1b
5. Merkin Valdez, rhp
6. Jonathan Sanchez, lhp
7. Nate Schierholtz, of
8. Fred Lewis, of
9. Kevin Frandsen, ss/2b
10. Craig Whitaker, rhp


it's a sorry state of affairs in giantstown. by which i mean the giants' minor league system.


Career Pitching Statistics for Matt Cain:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2002 Azl Giants Ariz 17 Sf Rk 19.1 13 1 11 20 .134 .718 .020 3.72
2003 Hagerstown SAL 18 Sf A 74.0 57 5 24 90 .079 .677 .026 2.55
2004 San Jose Cali 19 Sf A 72.2 58 5 17 89 .058 .678 .027 1.86
2004 Norwich East 19 Sf AA 86.0 73 7 40 72 .108 .782 .027 3.35
2005 Fresno PCL 20 Sf AAA 145.2 118 22 73 176 .116 .683 .058 4.39
2005 SF Giants NL 20 Sf MLB 46.1 24 4 19 30 .104 .816 .030 2.33


cain is the bright spot. but don't get your panties in a bunch. the giants have made two common, terrible mistakes:

1. they brought a kid up too early. matt cain does not have enough control to succeed yet in the majors. this mistake is not as terrible as the next one.

2. he threw too many innings. a kid with a lot of strikeouts and a lot of walks is a classic type for an arm injury. and he threw 192 innings. that's way too much for a twenty-year old, especially considering it's his first time in the majors, he wants to impress, he may be overthrowing . . . even if he's holding back, it's 30 more innings than he threw the year before, and 120 more innings than he threw two years before. look at the giants pitching prospects over the years and you see they do not have a good development record.

but yeah cain has a lot of talent. 176 strikeouts in 145 innings is high high quality. if he stays healthy, he'll be good. there'll be an adjustment period while he gets control.


Career Batting Statistics for Marcus Sanders:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2004 Azl Giants Ariz 19 Sf Rk 212 46 45 3 16 .178 .788 .114 .292
2005 Augusta SAL 20 Sf A 423 78 90 5 23 .156 .787 .084 .300


marcus sanders is young, fast, a middle infielder, and he walks. those are good things. the problem is he doesn't make contact, and he doesn't have power. ok those are two problems. but together they are one big problem. i mean, you can't write him off yet because he's young. and his patience shows an ability to learn. but he's got a long way to go. when you don't have contact or power, you're fighting an uphill battle.

matt cain throws a curveball too. even worse for the injury chances. that would be too bad if he went down because he's the only prospect with any kind of shot. i mean sanders maybe 20% or something. this is a sad sad club.


Career Batting Statistics for Eddy Martinez-Estevez:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2004 Florida Stat NCAA 0 0 NCA 275 40 41 19 27 .127 .851 .197 .385
2004 Azl Giants Ariz 0 Sf Rk 15 1 2 0 2 .063 .867 .154 .357
2004 San Jose Cali 0 Sf A 70 4 9 0 9 .054 .871 .148 .420
2004 SalemKaizer Nwes 0 Sf A 35 7 7 0 4 .167 .800 .143 .286
2004 Hagerstown SAL 0 Sf A 47 9 8 1 2 .161 .830 .077 .217
2005 San Jose Cali 0 Sf A 482 97 82 17 47 .168 .830 .160 .313


ok. estevez is a better prospect than sanders. i know sanders is a middle infielder but he can't hit. eddy shows the potential to hit major league pitching, which is a requirement for major-league position players.

he hasn't been challenged yet, and he played high-a last year. his wal and pow were super, and his con was ok.

you gotta feel good about this kid. presumably he'll play double-a this year.


Career Batting Statistics for Travis Ishikawa:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2002 Azl Giants Ariz 19 Sf Rk 68 9 20 1 6 .117 .706 .146 .279
2002 SalemKaizer Nwes 19 Sf A 89 6 22 1 3 .063 .753 .060 .307
2003 Hagerstown SAL 20 Sf A 195 36 69 3 5 .156 .646 .063 .206
2003 SalemKaizer Nwes 20 Sf A 249 49 77 3 21 .164 .691 .140 .254
2004 San Jose Cali 21 Sf A 57 11 16 1 7 .162 .719 .195 .232
2004 Hagerstown SAL 21 Sf A 356 56 110 15 21 .136 .691 .146 .256
2005 San Jose Cali 22 Sf A 437 77 129 22 35 .150 .705 .185 .282


travis ishikawa cannot hit. he's got patience and power, but he can't make contact. he's old for his level. he's a first baseman. he's not gonna make it.


Career Pitching Statistics for Merkin Valdez:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2003 Hagerstown SAL 21 Sf A 156.0 119 11 49 166 .077 .717 .026 2.25
2004 San Jose Cali 22 Sf A 35.2 30 4 5 44 .035 .679 .043 2.52
2004 Norwich East 22 Sf AA 41.2 35 3 15 31 .086 .806 .023 4.32
2004 Fresno PCL 22 Sf AAA 5.0 6 0 4 5 .160 .762 .000 7.20
2004 SF Giants NL 22 Sf MLB 1.2 4 1 3 2 .250 .778 .143 27.00
2005 Norwich East 23 Sf AA 107.0 99 7 45 96 .097 .771 .022 3.53


merkin valdez had a great run in high-a in 2004, but it looks like it was an anomaly. he's old for his level. it looks like he's behind the curve. the development curve.


Career Pitching Statistics for Jonathan Sanchez:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2004 Azl Giants Ariz 21 Sf Rk 26.0 22 0 9 27 .083 .730 .000 2.77
2004 SalemKaizer Nwes 21 Sf A 22.1 16 3 19 34 .186 .590 .061 4.84
2005 Augusta SAL 22 Sf A 125.2 122 8 39 166 .072 .667 .024 4.08


ok. that's a hell of a lot of strikeouts in the sally league. i don't know where this guy came from, but he's a lefty. that's not good sentence structure, but i wanna see what this guy does. he was a little old for his level, but it looks like he doesn't have much experience. these sentences all have the same pattern, but i don't know what to do about that.


Career Batting Statistics for Nate Schierholtz:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2003 Azl Giants Ariz 19 Sf Rk 45 4 8 0 2 .082 .822 .054 .400
2003 SalemKaizer Nwes 19 Sf A 127 17 15 3 8 .118 .882 .098 .306
2004 San Jose Cali 20 Sf A 260 18 41 3 27 .065 .842 .137 .295
2004 Hagerstown SAL 20 Sf A 236 22 52 15 22 .085 .780 .201 .296
2005 San Jose Cali 21 Sf A 507 38 132 15 45 .070 .740 .160 .319


nate schierholtz hits the ball hard. patience and contact are lacking.


Career Batting Statistics for Fred Lewis:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2002 SalemKaizer Nwes 21 Sf A 239 29 58 1 12 .108 .757 .072 .322
2003 Hagerstown SAL 22 Sf A 422 74 112 1 25 .149 .735 .084 .250
2004 San Jose Cali 23 Sf A 442 96 109 8 31 .178 .753 .117 .301
2004 Fresno PCL 23 Sf AAA 23 5 5 1 1 .179 .783 .111 .304
2005 Norwich East 24 Sf AA 516 72 124 7 35 .122 .760 .107 .273


ok, i copped out of the nate schierholtz assessment. the thing is he's hard to project. you get the feeling that if he stopped swinging at everything he could do some things. but is he ever gonna stop swinging at everything? corey patterson didn't.

fred lewis played double-a at the age of 24 and didn't hit. he sucks.


Career Batting Statistics for Kevin Frandsen:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2002 San Jose Sta NCAA 20 0 NCA 161 25 14 7 11 .134 .913 .122 .317
2003 San Jose Sta NCAA 21 0 NCA 222 32 13 4 15 .126 .941 .091 .332
2004 San Jose Sta NCAA 22 0 NCA 198 35 18 2 16 .150 .909 .100 .321
2004 SalemKaizer Nwes 22 Sf A 99 12 9 3 5 .108 .909 .089 .296
2005 San Jose Cali 23 Sf A 292 41 22 2 25 .123 .925 .100 .351
2005 Norwich East 23 Sf AA 130 10 14 2 8 .071 .892 .086 .287
2005 Fresno PCL 23 Sf AAA 94 4 5 2 11 .041 .947 .146 .351


anyone with this much contact has a shot. the hard part about hitting major league pitching is making contact. everyone has their challenges, but you can get stronger. you can learn patience. not everyone does these things, but it's not like hand-eye coordination, which a gift. great strength is a gift too, but it's not necessary the way coordination is.

having said that, power looks like a long shot for kevin. he just doesn't have the home runs. a good fielder can make it without power. it depends on how good a fielder he is.


Career Pitching Statistics for Craig Whitaker:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2003 Azl Giants Ariz 18 Sf Rk 5.1 2 0 4 8 .182 .556 .000 1.69
2004 SalemKaizer Nwes 19 Sf A 70.2 58 4 43 77 .137 .715 .021 3.44
2005 Augusta SAL 20 Sf A 58.0 54 3 39 72 .146 .684 .019 4.66


lots of walks, lots of strikeouts. maybe he'll get it together.

not likely.

so that's the giants. i was gonna write about some of the guys that came up last year, but what's the point? they're crap. ok i'll talk about lance niekro.


Career Batting Statistics for Lance Niekro:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2000 SalemKaizer Nwes 21 Sf A 198 15 25 5 18 .070 .874 .133 .362
2001 San Jose Cali 22 Sf A 167 4 14 3 11 .023 .916 .092 .288
2002 Shreveport Tex 23 Sf AA 300 9 32 4 21 .029 .893 .093 .310
2003 Fresno PCL 24 Sf AAA 384 20 39 4 17 .050 .898 .061 .302
2003 SF Giants NL 24 Sf MLB 5 0 1 0 1 .000 .800 .250 .200
2004 San Jose Cali 25 Sf A 62 2 5 1 8 .031 .919 .158 .311
2004 Fresno PCL 25 Sf AAA 242 15 32 12 25 .058 .868 .176 .299
2005 Fresno PCL 26 Sf AAA 4 0 1 0 0 .000 .750 .000 .250
2005 SF Giants NL 26 Sf MLB 283 19 53 12 19 .063 .813 .135 .252


niekro has talent, he just needs to quit playing like an idiot. ever watch him play? he swings at everything. what a surprise, he only walked 6.3 percent of the time.

niekro was nobody till he all of a sudden developed power in 2004. that's the thing with contact, though. if you have it, you can always develop power and make it. but he's gotta take some pitches. come on lance, don't waste your career.

don't be corey patterson.

alfonso soriano. many would say he's good. but he's not. the nationals are idiots.


Career Batting Statistics for Jason Ellison:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2000 SalemKaizer Nwes 22 Sf A 301 36 45 0 17 .107 .850 .066 .300
2001 Hagerstown SAL 23 Sf A 499 81 68 8 41 .140 .864 .114 .291
2002 San Jose Cali 24 Sf A 324 27 37 5 13 .077 .886 .063 .270
2002 Fresno PCL 24 Sf AAA 196 25 28 3 9 .113 .857 .071 .311
2003 Fresno PCL 25 Sf AAA 464 45 52 6 26 .088 .888 .078 .295
2003 SF Giants NL 25 Sf MLB 10 0 1 0 0 .000 .900 .000 .100
2004 Fresno PCL 26 Sf AAA 506 43 66 9 39 .078 .870 .109 .315
2004 SF Giants NL 26 Sf MLB 4 0 1 1 0 .000 .750 .333 .500
2005 Fresno PCL 27 Sf AAA 38 3 9 0 2 .073 .763 .069 .237
2005 SF Giants NL 27 Sf MLB 353 27 44 4 20 .071 .875 .078 .264


ellison has contact and speed but no power. and he doesn't walk. you gotta get on base. do teams teach this? do baseball teams teach their players to get on base? what do they teach them?


Career Batting Statistics for Todd Linden:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2000 U. of Washin NCAA 20 0 NCA 199 30 43 6 18 .131 .784 .154 .390
2002 Shreveport Tex 22 Sf AA 395 73 101 12 28 .156 .744 .136 .314
2002 Fresno PCL 22 Sf AAA 100 21 35 3 3 .174 .650 .092 .250
2003 Fresno PCL 23 Sf AAA 471 57 105 11 27 .108 .777 .104 .278
2003 SF Giants NL 23 Sf MLB 38 1 8 1 1 .026 .789 .067 .211
2004 Fresno PCL 24 Sf AAA 494 70 149 23 30 .124 .698 .154 .260
2004 SF Giants NL 24 Sf MLB 32 6 7 0 1 .158 .781 .040 .156
2005 Fresno PCL 25 Sf AAA 342 72 97 30 29 .174 .716 .241 .321
2005 SF Giants NL 25 Sf MLB 171 15 54 4 8 .081 .684 .103 .216


linden hits bombs but he strikes out. too much. major league pitchers eat him up. like they're gonna do with ryan howard. and brad eldred.


Career Pitching Statistics for Jeremy Accardo:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2002 Illinois Sta NCAA 20 0 NCA 21.0 25 0 8 27 .083 .693 .000 2.57
2003 Illinois Sta NCAA 21 0 NCA 36.1 34 3 19 27 .117 .811 .026 5.94
2004 San Jose Cali 22 Sf A 55.0 57 3 15 43 .063 .806 .017 4.25
2004 Norwich East 22 Sf AA 8.1 9 1 2 5 .056 .853 .034 5.40
2005 San Jose Cali 23 Sf A 2.0 1 0 1 3 .125 .571 .000 0.00
2005 Norwich East 23 Sf AA 9.2 8 0 1 15 .026 .595 .000 0.93
2005 Fresno PCL 23 Sf AAA 32.1 25 0 10 30 .076 .754 .000 1.95
2005 SF Giants NL 23 Sf MLB 29.2 26 2 9 16 .073 .861 .020 3.94


jeff francoeur was the rookie of the year last year. accardo what can we say he doesn't look that good. there's not much sample size. he moved up fast. he could be good. he limits home runs. he must have talent if they brought him up that fast. ok maybe he's good.


Career Pitching Statistics for Scott Munter:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2001 SalemKaizer Nwes 21 Sf A 35.0 42 3 12 28 .075 .810 .025 5.91
2001 Hagerstown SAL 21 Sf A 5.1 5 0 1 2 .045 .905 .000 3.38
2002 SalemKaizer Nwes 22 Sf A 29.2 33 0 20 20 .141 .836 .000 6.98
2002 San Jose Cali 22 Sf A 4.1 12 0 4 2 .138 .920 .000 10.38
2003 Hagerstown SAL 23 Sf A 68.2 62 3 28 47 .095 .825 .014 3.01
2004 Norwich East 24 Sf AA 65.0 63 4 22 30 .079 .884 .018 2.35
2004 Fresno PCL 24 Sf AAA 15.2 20 1 4 5 .056 .925 .016 3.45
2005 Fresno PCL 25 Sf AAA 12.1 17 0 4 5 .069 .907 .000 5.11
2005 SF Giants NL 25 Sf MLB 38.2 40 1 12 11 .071 .929 .007 2.56


also limits home runs. he doesn't limit contact, which gives him a thin margin for success. but if he can keep the home runs down and throw strikes, he'll be usable.

he will munt for years to come.


Career Pitching Statistics for Jack Taschner:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
1999 University o NCAA 21 0 NCA 53.0 21 0 41 79 .186 .561 .000 1.53
1999 SalemKaizer Nwes 21 Sf A 28.2 26 1 10 36 .082 .679 .013 2.51
2000 San Jose Cali 22 Sf A 26.1 23 0 17 22 .143 .784 .000 4.10
2001 San Jose Cali 23 Sf A 65.2 62 7 29 72 .101 .722 .037 4.11
2003 Norwich East 25 Sf AA 75.2 78 7 45 46 .129 .849 .027 5.71
2004 Norwich East 26 Sf AA 58.0 47 5 16 55 .068 .751 .030 2.48
2004 Fresno PCL 26 Sf AAA 53.1 71 14 32 44 .122 .810 .075 9.28
2005 Fresno PCL 27 Sf AAA 49.1 30 3 24 62 .119 .652 .026 1.64
2005 SF Giants NL 27 Sf MLB 22.2 15 0 13 19 .135 .771 .000 1.59


taschner had good contact rates in fresno last year, but walks have been a problem. it doesn't look like he'll have much success.

the thing about the giants is they've got no possibilities for stars. matt cain, but he's not a great prospect. i mean, he's probably top twenty. but that means there are nineteen teams with better prospects. and there's nothing else. the system is bereft. maybe martinez-estevez will make it. maybe someone else will get it together. but we're talking about whether people will make it. we're not talking about whether there are players who will contribute to a winning team. we're not even close to that discussion.
Wednesday, February 08, 2006
 
top prospects: padres
so far, there have been three truly stellar organizations: the marlins, dodgers, and diamondbacks. the braves, brewers, and pirates are also very strong. other than that, it's been crap. we finish the national league with two more crappy organizations, the padres and the giants.

the padres top prospects, as ranked by baseball america:


1. Cesar Carrillo, rhp
2. George Kottaras, c
3. Josh Barfield, 2b
4. Ben Johnson, of
5. Chase Headley, 3b
6. Clay Hensley, rhp
7. Jared Wells, rhp
8. Paul McAnulty, 1b/of
9. Nick Hundley, c
10. Freddy Guzman, of


the padres are not a strong organization. they got lucky last year to be in a division with no good teams. but it was a one-year thing. barry's back, the diamondbacks can hit, and even the dodgers might be better.


Career Pitching Statistics for Cesar Carrillo:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2004 U. of Miami NCAA 0 0 NCA 113.2 93 6 43 91 .090 .790 .017 2.69
2005 U. of Miami NCAA 0 0 NCA 125.2 100 5 23 127 .046 .734 .014 2.22
2005 Lake Elsinor Cali 0 Sd A 25.2 30 3 9 29 .078 .729 .038 7.01
2005 Mobile Sou 0 Sd AA 30.2 23 2 7 35 .057 .696 .025 3.23


this kid was raw at miami. he's got this curveball that snaps. down. and he throws it for strikes. he got drafted in 2005 and that same year he's tearin up double-a. he's got everything.

it's disturbing that he threw 182 innings last year.


Career Batting Statistics for George Kottaras:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2003 Idaho Falls Pio 20 Sd Rk 144 20 36 7 9 .122 .750 .148 .259
2004 Fort Wayne Midw 21 Sd A 274 51 41 7 19 .157 .850 .112 .310
2005 Lake Elsinor Cali 22 Sd A 341 51 60 9 29 .130 .824 .135 .303
2005 Mobile Sou 22 Sd AA 102 19 23 2 7 .157 .775 .114 .287


george kottaras has good patience, which bodes well for future improvement. he also looks like he'll develop power. contact will be a challenge, but i think he'll make it. good shot, at least.


Career Batting Statistics for Josh Barfield:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2001 Idaho Falls Pio 18 Sd Rk 281 19 54 4 19 .063 .808 .101 .310
2002 Fort Wayne Midw 19 Sd A 541 30 105 8 25 .053 .806 .076 .306
2002 Lake Elsinor Cali 19 Sd A 24 1 4 0 0 .040 .833 .000 .087
2003 Lake Elsinor Cali 20 Sd A 560 54 122 16 52 .088 .782 .155 .337
2004 Mobile Sou 21 Sd AA 528 53 119 18 31 .091 .775 .120 .248
2005 Portland PCL 22 Sd AAA 523 53 108 15 26 .092 .793 .099 .310


josh barfield has occasionally been a highly touted prospect. he hasn't really produced big numbers, but he's been slightly young for his level. contact looks like a challenge, but, shit, he hit 52 doubles in 2003. he's got a good shot.


Career Batting Statistics for Ben Johnson:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
1999 Johnson City App 18 Stl Rk 205 34 57 10 10 .142 .722 .135 .330
2000 Fort Wayne Midw 19 Sd A 109 10 25 3 8 .084 .771 .131 .193
2000 Peoria Midw 19 Stl A 333 58 78 13 23 .148 .766 .141 .242
2001 Lake Elsinor Cali 20 Sd A 505 65 141 12 41 .114 .721 .146 .276
2002 Mobile Sou 21 Sd AA 460 68 127 10 27 .129 .724 .111 .241
2003 Lake Elsinor Cali 22 Sd A 184 25 49 8 9 .120 .734 .126 .266
2003 Mobile Sou 22 Sd AA 127 12 36 1 5 .086 .717 .066 .181
2004 Mobile Sou 23 Sd AA 480 62 136 23 34 .114 .717 .166 .251
2005 Portland PCL 24 Sd AAA 415 57 88 25 27 .121 .788 .159 .312
2005 San Diego Pa NL 24 Sd MLB 76 11 23 3 9 .126 .697 .226 .213


ben johnson has power, but he has trouble with contact. he made big improvements in 2005, but it was still bad. it's unlikely he'll improve like that again. other skills are not good enough to win him a starting job.


Career Batting Statistics for Chase Headley:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2003 U. of the Pa NCAA 0 0 NCA 198 47 35 3 15 .192 .823 .110 .330
2004 U. of Tennes NCAA 0 0 NCA 113 18 14 2 5 .137 .876 .071 .295
2005 U. of Tennes NCAA 0 0 NCA 240 75 23 14 27 .238 .904 .189 .387
2005 Fort Wayne Midw 0 Sd A 15 1 4 0 0 .063 .733 .000 .200
2005 Eugene Nwes 0 Sd A 221 38 48 6 17 .147 .783 .133 .268


well, i like the name. actually there are good possibilities for mr headley here. the tennessee numbers are ridiculous, but we've seen a lot of this sort of thing in knoxville, and we must conclude that altitude is responsible.

but these are sick numbers. .238 wal .904 con .189 pow. are you kidding me? so he's got to have some talent. his first experience in pro ball was decent. good patience, good power, a little trouble with contact. he's got a good shot. any shot is a good shot. patience is a good indicator for improvement.


Career Pitching Statistics for Clay Hensley:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2002 SalemKaizer Nwes 22 Sf A 81.2 72 3 25 84 .073 .735 .013 2.53
2003 Hagerstown SAL 23 Sf A 68.0 56 4 20 74 .071 .715 .022 3.18
2003 Lake Elsinor Cali 23 Sd A 44.1 51 0 14 40 .071 .783 .000 3.45
2003 San Jose Cali 23 Sf A 29.1 38 4 9 25 .067 .802 .040 5.83
2004 Mobile Sou 24 Sd AA 159.0 167 14 48 125 .069 .806 .027 4.30
2005 Portland PCL 26 Sd AAA 90.1 63 8 22 71 .062 .787 .030 2.99
2005 San Diego Pa NL 26 Sd MLB 47.2 33 0 17 28 .088 .841 .000 1.70


i'm not exactly sure why clay hensley is a prospect. i guess he limits home runs. and his control is pretty good. he performed better than i would have expected in the majors last year. he will allow a home run eventually. i guess he's a serious sinkerballer or something. that can be useful. but that strikeout-to-walk ratio gives a thin margin. for success.


Career Pitching Statistics for Jared Wells:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2003 Eugene Nwes 21 Sd A 78.0 77 6 32 53 .093 .830 .023 2.77
2004 Lake Elsinor Cali 22 Sd A 71.2 81 5 30 38 .092 .872 .019 4.52
2004 Fort Wayne Midw 22 Sd A 81.1 91 6 19 72 .054 .785 .023 4.09
2005 Lake Elsinor Cali 23 Sd A 120.1 116 6 26 80 .052 .832 .015 3.44
2005 Mobile Sou 23 Sd AA 43.0 51 3 16 22 .082 .878 .019 4.40


it's interesting how an organization will have a flavor to its pitching. the rockies, for example, have flamethrowers that can't throw strikes. the padres are the exact opposite.

wells is another guy with good control who limits home runs. it doesn't look like he'll have the stuff to make it.


Career Batting Statistics for Paul McAnulty:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2002 Long Beach S NCAA 21 0 NCA 204 41 32 9 21 .167 .843 .174 .360
2002 Idaho Falls Pio 21 Sd Rk 238 53 43 8 29 .182 .819 .190 .379
2003 Fort Wayne Midw 22 Sd A 464 76 82 7 27 .141 .823 .089 .273
2004 Lake Elsinor Cali 23 Sd A 499 92 106 23 39 .156 .788 .158 .297
2005 Mobile Sou 24 Sd AA 301 40 66 10 19 .117 .781 .123 .282
2005 Portland PCL 24 Sd AAA 152 16 29 6 15 .095 .809 .171 .344
2005 San Diego Pa NL 24 Sd MLB 24 4 7 0 0 .143 .708 .000 .208


paul mcanulty has some power, but he doesn't make enough contact. he'll never be a factor in the major leagues.


Career Batting Statistics for Nick Hundley:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2003 U. of Arizon NCAA 0 0 NCA 134 20 21 2 14 .130 .843 .142 .361
2004 U. of Arizon NCAA 0 0 NCA 149 14 29 4 15 .086 .805 .158 .299
2005 U. of Arizon NCAA 0 0 NCA 230 43 43 15 25 .158 .813 .214 .352
2005 Fort Wayne Midw 0 Sd A 37 5 9 0 2 .119 .757 .071 .222
2005 Eugene Nwes 0 Sd A 149 35 35 7 8 .190 .765 .132 .250


nick hundley put up some eye-popping numbers in arizona last year, but it looks like contact will be a challenge. great patience though. yada yada yada sign for future success.


Career Batting Statistics for Freddy Guzman:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2003 Lake Elsinor Cali 22 Sd A 283 42 60 2 15 .129 .788 .076 .285
2003 Mobile Sou 22 Sd AA 177 27 34 1 7 .132 .808 .056 .271
2003 Portland PCL 22 Sd AAA 10 0 1 0 0 .000 .900 .000 .300
2004 Mobile Sou 23 Sd AA 139 17 28 1 7 .109 .799 .072 .283
2004 Portland PCL 23 Sd AAA 265 31 46 1 16 .105 .826 .078 .292
2004 San Diego Pa NL 23 Sd MLB 76 4 13 0 3 .050 .829 .048 .211


guzman is fast, but he just doesn't hit enough to be a viable prospect.

that's it for the padres. they definitely have possibilities. but they have no top-level talent. carrillo is pretty good. but he's just short of jered weaver, anthony reyes, and yusmeiro petit. the padres look to be a mediocre team for years to come. despite the presence of jake peavy.
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
 
top prospects: rockies
the rockies. farm system. is not that great. they've got depth, but no stars.


1. Ian Stewart, 3b
2. Troy Tulowitzki, ss
3. Franklin Morales, lhp
4. Chaz Roe, rhp
5. Ubaldo Jimenez, rhp
6. Shane Lindsay, rhp
7. Chris Iannetta, c
8. Juan Morillo, rhp
9. Ryan Shealy, 1b
10. Chris Nelson, ss



Career Batting Statistics for Ian Stewart:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2003 Casper Pio 18 Col Rk 225 32 54 10 19 .125 .760 .170 .317
2004 Asheville SAL 19 Col A 510 70 112 30 40 .121 .780 .176 .319
2005 Modesto Cali 20 Col A 442 57 113 17 39 .114 .744 .170 .274


ian stewart. ba calls him an elite player, but i'm not convinced. it's true he has a lot of power. but he hasn't yet shown an ability to make contact. of course, he's exactly the kind of player that succeeds in altitude.


Career Batting Statistics for Troy Tulowitzki:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2003 Long Beach S NCAA 0 0 NCA 200 12 31 5 11 .057 .845 .095 .270
2004 Long Beach S NCAA 0 0 NCA 233 38 40 7 17 .140 .828 .124 .317
2005 Long Beach S NCAA 0 0 NCA 152 22 35 8 13 .126 .770 .179 .349
2005 Modesto Cali 0 Col A 94 11 18 4 6 .105 .809 .132 .266


troy tulowitzki is also considered an elite player by baseball america. he probly plays great defense. he had trouble with contact his final year of college, which indicates further trouble in the pros.


Career Pitching Statistics for Franklin Morales:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2004 Casper Pio 18 Col Rk 65.0 92 8 39 82 .120 .714 .039 7.62
2005 Asheville SAL 19 Col A 96.1 73 6 48 108 .117 .702 .024 3.08


morales has good velocity, which is necessary for success in colorado. that's not completely true. there is evidence that sidearmers fare well there. and some pitchers have been able to keep the ball on the ground somehow. but in general, you wanna limit walks, and strike people out. now, breaking balls don't break in colorado, so you pretty much have to do it with a fastball. if all you're throwing is fastballs, you better bring heat. also, the thin air means the ball moves faster.

anyway, he's gotta learn control.


Career Pitching Statistics for Chaz Roe:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2005 Casper Pio 18 Col Rk 49.2 31 2 36 55 .167 .694 .016 4.17


chaz roe got a lot of strikeouts, but needs control.


Career Pitching Statistics for Ubaldo Jimenez:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2002 Casper Pio 18 Col Rk 62.0 72 6 29 65 .101 .748 .031 6.53
2003 Asheville SAL 19 Col A 153.2 129 11 67 138 .102 .766 .024 3.46
2003 Visalia Cali 19 Col A 5.0 3 0 1 7 .053 .611 .000 0.00
2004 Visalia Cali 20 Col A 44.1 29 1 12 61 .069 .623 .010 2.23
2005 Modesto Cali 21 Col A 72.1 61 5 40 78 .126 .719 .025 3.98
2005 Tulsa Tex 21 Col AA 63.0 58 12 31 53 .112 .785 .062 5.43


jimenez was retarded in 2004, but didn't get much playing time. he hasn't been as good since.


Career Pitching Statistics for Shane Lindsay:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2004 Casper Pio 19 Col Rk 21.1 22 1 19 31 .181 .640 .018 6.75
2005 TriCity Nwes 20 Col A 66.2 37 1 34 107 .125 .549 .008 1.89


107 strikeouts in 66 innings. yeah. that's a prospect.


Career Batting Statistics for Chris Iannetta:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2002 U. of North NCAA 19 0 NCA 171 33 35 9 7 .162 .795 .118 .333
2003 U. of North NCAA 20 0 NCA 236 37 34 8 15 .136 .856 .114 .319
2004 U. of North NCAA 21 0 NCA 249 48 47 15 19 .162 .811 .168 .336
2004 Asheville SAL 21 Col A 121 31 29 5 6 .204 .760 .120 .314
2005 Modesto Cali 22 Col A 265 47 61 11 20 .151 .770 .152 .276
2005 Tulsa Tex 22 Col AA 61 9 15 2 4 .129 .754 .130 .233


ianetta has patience and power, but shows trouble making contact. he'll have to make great strides in 2006 to stay on track.


Career Pitching Statistics for Juan Morillo:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2003 Casper Pio 19 Col Rk 64.0 85 6 40 44 .126 .841 .026 5.91
2004 TriCity Nwes 20 Col A 66.1 56 0 41 73 .139 .714 .000 2.98
2005 Asheville SAL 21 Col A 33.2 40 2 13 43 .084 .695 .020 4.54
2005 Modesto Cali 21 Col A 112.1 107 10 65 101 .128 .773 .029 4.41


morillo doesn't have good control, and doesn't have great contact rates. chances are slim.


Career Batting Statistics for Ryan Shealy:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2000 U. of Florid NCAA 21 0 NCA 41 11 17 3 0 .212 .585 .125 .122
2001 U. of Florid NCAA 22 0 NCA 149 27 34 5 8 .153 .772 .113 .291
2002 U. of Florid NCAA 23 0 NCA 266 40 31 23 16 .131 .883 .166 .379
2002 Casper Pio 23 Col Rk 240 68 52 19 22 .221 .783 .218 .368
2003 Visalia Cali 24 Col A 348 56 72 14 32 .139 .793 .167 .299
2004 Tulsa Tex 25 Col AA 473 77 123 29 35 .140 .740 .183 .318
2005 Colorado Spr PCL 26 Col AAA 418 48 81 26 32 .103 .806 .172 .328
2005 Colorado Roc NL 26 Col MLB 91 13 22 2 7 .125 .758 .130 .330


ryan shealy is another example of a player well-suited for colorado. he has lots of power, and trouble with contact. he also has a good batting eye. he could be useful for a few years, but he won't be a star.


Career Batting Statistics for Chris Nelson:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2004 Casper Pio 19 Col Rk 147 22 42 4 9 .130 .714 .124 .347


chris nelson is young. let's see what he does.

that's it for the top ten. all of these players have a shot, but none of them have a good shot. there's more, too. depth.

ryan speier and ryan spilborghs are mentioned as players who could play roles in the majors in 2006.


Career Pitching Statistics for Ryan Speier:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2001 Casper Pio 22 Col Rk 25.2 19 2 9 24 .086 .750 .028 3.16
2002 Asheville SAL 23 Col A 36.2 32 3 13 39 .084 .725 .029 3.93
2002 Salem Caro 23 Col A 32.0 35 0 11 33 .077 .748 .000 3.94
2003 Visalia Cali 24 Col A 58.2 50 2 17 73 .070 .677 .013 1.53
2004 Tulsa Tex 25 Col AA 62.1 33 3 26 71 .106 .677 .020 2.02
2005 Colorado Spr PCL 26 Col AAA 52.1 70 2 18 45 .073 .802 .011 4.99
2005 Colorado Roc NL 26 Col MLB 24.2 26 0 13 10 .115 .900 .000 3.65


speier had a lot of strikeouts in 2003 and 2004, then had trouble at altitude. his home run rates stayed low, though. if his strikeouts are of the breaking-ball variety, he won't have much success. altitude kills breaking balls. he also has control problems.


Career Batting Statistics for Ryan Spilborghs:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2000 UC Santa Bar NCAA 21 0 NCA 42 8 14 0 2 .160 .667 .071 .262
2001 UC Santa Bar NCAA 22 0 NCA 208 30 30 1 12 .126 .856 .073 .375
2002 UC Santa Bar NCAA 23 0 NCA 222 42 43 14 14 .159 .806 .156 .338
2002 TriCity Nwes 23 Col A 262 32 61 4 12 .109 .767 .080 .230
2003 Asheville SAL 24 Col A 438 71 96 15 24 .139 .781 .114 .281
2004 Visalia Cali 25 Col A 448 70 98 8 29 .135 .781 .106 .259
2005 Tulsa Tex 26 Col AA 257 44 49 6 26 .146 .809 .154 .341
2005 Colorado Spr PCL 26 Col AAA 227 25 53 5 28 .099 .767 .190 .339
2005 Colorado Roc NL 26 Col MLB 4 0 1 0 0 .000 .750 .000 .500


spilborghs has shown a little power, but not enough to overcome that contact. he won't be much use.

samuel deduno and manuel corpas have fastballs in the mid-to-upper 90's.


Career Pitching Statistics for Samuel Deduno:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2004 Casper Pio 21 Col Rk 76.1 62 3 32 118 .099 .595 .017 3.18
2005 Asheville SAL 22 Col A 89.2 82 9 65 110 .156 .687 .037 5.62


he'll never have enough control to pitch in the majors.


Career Pitching Statistics for Manuel Corpas:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2000 Venoco VSL 17 Col Rk 2.1 5 0 0 3 .000 .750 .000 15.43
2001 Dominican Ro Dsl 18 Col Rk 56.1 56 0 17 41 .070 .818 .000 2.24
2002 Casper Pio 19 Col Rk 33.0 37 4 18 42 .117 .691 .043 5.73
2003 TriCity Nwes 20 Col A 84.0 98 7 22 47 .059 .866 .023 5.79
2004 Asheville SAL 21 Col A 44.1 48 3 13 52 .067 .713 .023 3.05
2005 Modesto Cali 22 Col A 69.0 83 2 14 52 .046 .821 .008 3.78


corpas has control, but mediocre contact rates. still, he could be useful.

jeff salazar is listed as the best defensive outfielder.


Career Batting Statistics for Jeff Salazar:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2002 Oklahoma Sta NCAA 21 0 NCA 219 43 29 4 26 .164 .868 .158 .329
2002 TriCity Nwes 21 Col A 270 49 43 4 9 .154 .841 .057 .235
2003 Visalia Cali 22 Col A 5 0 0 0 0 .000 1.00 .000 .000
2003 Asheville SAL 22 Col A 490 84 74 29 27 .146 .849 .135 .284
2004 Visalia Cali 23 Col A 316 40 33 13 27 .112 .896 .141 .347
2004 Tulsa Tex 23 Col AA 226 37 31 1 15 .141 .863 .082 .223
2005 Tulsa Tex 24 Col AA 269 46 49 6 15 .146 .818 .095 .278
2005 Colorado Spr PCL 24 Col AAA 237 32 58 6 20 .119 .755 .145 .263


he's got patience, which is a good sign. but contact and power are a longshot.

i guess we didn't really have to look at those guys. but here's someone we do have to look at:


Career Batting Statistics for Corey Wimberly:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2004 Alcorn State NCAA 0 0 NCA 150 27 14 0 12 .153 .907 .088 .420
2005 Alcorn State NCAA 0 0 NCA 136 39 5 1 13 .223 .963 .107 .462
2005 Casper Pio 0 Col Rk 283 24 27 1 10 .078 .905 .043 .381


why do we have to look at him? look at those incredible strikezone skills. 39 walks to five strikeouts in 136 at-bats. he'll probably never hit for power, which makes him not suited for colorado. but he will get on base. and he's fast as a motherfucker. and he plays second base.

i actually think corey wimberly is the best prospect in the system, in terms of potential for greatness. also, he's a good writer.

the next two guys are relievers who pitched in the show last year. they aren't rookies anymore, but i thought i'd give a mention.


Career Pitching Statistics for Scott Dohmann:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2000 Asheville SAL 22 Col A 32.2 43 3 8 36 .054 .745 .029 6.06
2000 Portland Nwes 22 Col A 23.0 14 0 5 23 .057 .723 .000 0.78
2002 Salem Caro 24 Col A 170.1 149 22 53 131 .074 .802 .042 4.23
2003 Tulsa Tex 25 Col AA 93.2 94 11 29 102 .072 .728 .040 4.13
2004 Colorado Spr PCL 26 Col AAA 22.0 22 1 7 31 .074 .648 .018 1.64
2004 Colorado Roc NL 26 Col MLB 46.0 41 8 19 49 .096 .726 .062 4.11
2005 Colorado Spr PCL 27 Col AAA 39.0 41 5 16 53 .092 .665 .048 4.38
2005 Colorado Roc NL 27 Col MLB 31.0 33 6 19 35 .131 .722 .066 6.10


dohman has always had strikeouts, but his control is a problem.


Career Pitching Statistics for Marcos Carvajal:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2001 La Pradera VSL 16 La Rk 29.2 24 0 11 26 .089 .770 .000 2.12
2002 GCL Dodgers GCL 17 La Rk 42.0 30 0 15 35 .088 .776 .000 1.71
2003 Ogden Pio 18 La Rk 38.0 32 1 22 50 .131 .658 .010 3.08
2004 Columbus SAL 19 La A 72.0 50 2 35 72 .116 .729 .010 1.88
2004 Jacksonville Sou 19 La AA 3.0 2 0 2 2 .154 .818 .000 0.00
2005 Colorado Roc NL 21 Col MLB 53.0 52 8 21 47 .091 .777 .049 5.09


50 strikeouts in 38 innings at the age of 18. damn. and he made the majors at the age of 21. too bad he's gotta be a rockie. or is it rocky? what the hell is a rockie anyway? a mountain? what a retarded name. have you noticed that retarded sometimes means good and sometimes means stupid? stupid also sometimes means good.

so yeah. expect improvement.

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