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Wednesday, January 31, 2007
top prospects: tigers
last time it was the indians. this time it's the tigers.
1. Cameron Maybin, of
2. Andrew Miller, lhp
3. Brent Clevlen, of
4. Jair Jurrjens, rhp
5. Jordan Tata, rhp
6. Eulogio de la Cruz, rhp
7. Gorkys Hernandez, of
8. Dallas Trahern, rhp
9. Jeff Larish, 1b
10. Scott Sizemore, ss/2b
i was unimpressed by last year's list. the tigers didn't care though. the combination of healthy veterans, two incredible rookies, and strong performances by up-and-comers took them all the way to the world series. this year, health and sophomore slumps are likely to be impediments. it will be a long road back.
Career Batting Statistics for Cameron Maybin:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2006 West Mich Midw 19 Det A 390 55 116 9 26 .124 .703 .128 .304
alright, this is a lot of talent. they draft him out of high school, and his first pro experience is a-ball. cameron maybin is fast, he can throw, and he's got all the hitting skills. contact looks low, but remember, this is his first pro experience. he's gonna be a good one. that's an understatement.
Career Pitching Statistics for Andrew Miller:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2004 North Car. NCAA 19 NCA 89.0 64 5 48 88 .127 .734 .021 2.93
2005 North Car. NCAA 20 NCA 96.2 78 4 52 104 .124 .717 .015 2.98
2006 North Car. NCAA 21 NCA 123.1 100 4 40 133 .078 .717 .012 2.48
2006 Lakeland FSL 21 Det A+ 5.0 2 0 1 9 .056 .471 .000 0.00
2006 Detroit MLB 21 Det MLB 10.1 8 0 10 6 .204 .846 .000 6.10
andrew miller is highly-touted. he's left-handed, which is good; he throws hard, and he limits home runs. all these things are good. but his strikeout rates are ordinary. i mean, they're good, but look at justin verlander. contact rates of .675 .686, and .629 in college. granted, old dominion is not the program north carolina is, but did you look at justin verlander?
granted, there aren't gonna be too many justin verlanders in the world, but that's just it: there aren't gonna be too many justin verlanders.
Career Batting Statistics for Brent Clevlen:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2002 GCL Tigers GCL 18 Det Rk 105 8 24 3 5 .071 .771 .099 .330
2003 West Mich Midw 19 Det A 484 76 111 12 29 .136 .771 .110 .260
2004 Lakeland FSL 20 Det A+ 425 48 127 6 29 .101 .701 .117 .224
2005 Lakeland FSL 21 Det A+ 496 70 118 18 32 .124 .762 .132 .302
2006 Erie East 22 Det AA 400 50 138 11 17 .111 .655 .107 .230
2006 Detroit MLB 22 Det MLB 39 2 15 3 3 .049 .615 .250 .282
i should add at this point that andrew miller is gonna make it. brent clevlen, however, is not. that's great that he hit those home runs last year, but he also struck out every other time. literally almost. 15 strikeouts in 39 at-bats is not good. but what did he do in the minors? oh, he struck out 138 times in 400 at-bats. maybe i'm missing something. i mean, i'm not a scout. but this tends to be the type of thing the scouts don't see. a bat that just misses too much to make it.
Career Pitching Statistics for Jair Jurrjens:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2003 GCL Tigers GCL 17 Det Rk 28.0 33 3 3 20 .025 .829 .031 3.21
2004 GCL Tigers GCL 18 Det Rk 39.2 25 2 10 39 .065 .729 .019 2.27
2004 Oneonta NYPL 18 Det A- 39.0 50 0 10 31 .056 .814 .000 5.31
2005 West Mich Midw 19 Det A 142.2 132 5 36 108 .060 .807 .011 3.41
2006 Lakeland FSL 20 Det A+ 73.2 53 4 10 59 .035 .785 .019 2.08
2006 Erie East 20 Det AA 67.0 71 7 21 53 .072 .805 .032 3.36
jair jurrjens has very good control, and has shown the ability to limit home runs. he doesn't seem to have the stuff to miss bats, but so far he has had good results. and he's young.
Career Pitching Statistics for Jordan Tata:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2002 Sam Houstn NCAA 20 NCA 77.0 92 6 37 40 .103 .876 .021 5.38
2003 Sam Houstn NCAA 21 NCA 75.1 93 4 32 62 .091 .806 .016 5.62
2003 Oneonta NYPL 21 Det A- 73.1 64 1 20 60 .066 .789 .004 2.58
2004 West Mich Midw 22 Det A 166.1 167 7 68 116 .093 .826 .013 3.35
2005 Lakeland FSL 23 Det A+ 155.0 138 12 41 134 .064 .778 .026 2.79
2006 Toledo IL 24 Det AAA 122.0 117 11 49 86 .092 .822 .028 3.84
2006 Detroit MLB 24 Det MLB 14.2 14 1 7 6 .108 .897 .019 6.14
jordan tata does not limit contact. his contact percentages of .822, .778, and . 826 over the past three years, while being old for his level, are not promising. he also does not limit home runs. HRP's of .028 and .026 would be fine if he had strengths in other areas, but he doesn't. his control isn't even good. it's ok, but not good.
there seems to be some indication that he knows how to work through a lineup. if that's the case, there's enough talent to pitch in the bigs. but we're not in the business of predicting guys who can just barely make it. we're looking for stars. i'm happy for jordan that he has a skill he can support himself with. good luck, jordan!
Career Pitching Statistics for Eulogio De La Cruz:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2002 GCL Tigers GCL 18 Det Rk 37.2 40 0 21 46 .121 .699 .000 2.63
2002 Oneonta NYPL 18 Det A- 2.1 7 0 4 4 .222 .714 .000 23.14
2003 GCL Tigers GCL 19 Det Rk 23.0 17 0 13 30 .131 .651 .000 2.74
2003 Oneonta NYPL 19 Det A- 3.1 6 0 1 4 .059 .750 .000 10.80
2004 West Mich Midw 20 Det A 54.0 51 2 33 44 .134 .793 .012 3.83
2005 Lakeland FSL 21 Det A+ 95.2 66 5 36 97 .093 .725 .020 3.39
2005 Erie East 21 Det AA 1.2 2 0 4 0 .364 1.00 .000 16.20
2006 Erie East 22 Det AA 105.0 103 3 45 87 .097 .792 .009 3.43
2006 Toledo IL 22 Det AAA 2.1 4 1 2 3 .154 .727 .125 11.57
eulogio seems to really limit home runs. that's a little strange for a fastball guy, but apparently he has a good curveball too. his walk percentages and contact percentages don't indicate success in the majors, but if he can limit home runs, he has a place there.
Career Batting Statistics for Gorkys Hernandez:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2006 GCL Tigers GCL 18 Det Rk 206 10 27 5 11 .046 .869 .089 .327
gorkys hernandez has talent. he makes contact, and it seems he will hit for power. a patient approach, though, is another thing altogether. he's got to love the game, and love himself, enough to realize that success takes patience.
Career Pitching Statistics for Dallas Trahern:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2004 GCL Tigers GCL 18 Det Rk 30.2 22 1 7 24 .058 .789 .011 0.59
2005 West Mich Midw 19 Det A 156.0 158 9 50 66 .074 .895 .016 3.58
2006 Lakeland FSL 20 Det A+ 144.2 129 9 41 86 .068 .847 .019 3.30
dallas trahern has good control and good home run limitation. but he doesn't have the stuff to make it.
Career Batting Statistics for Jeff Larish:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2002 Arizona St NCAA 19 NCA 130 29 19 3 7 .182 .854 .090 .328
2003 Arizona St NCAA 20 NCA 240 84 42 18 20 .259 .825 .192 .372
2004 Arizona St NCAA 21 NCA 239 36 50 7 17 .131 .791 .127 .308
2005 Arizona St NCAA 22 NCA 253 64 60 23 19 .202 .763 .218 .324
2005 GCL Tigers GCL 22 Det Rk 19 5 5 0 1 .208 .737 .071 .222
2005 Oneonta NYPL 22 Det A- 64 15 6 6 3 .190 .906 .155 .297
2006 Lakeland FSL 23 Det A+ 461 91 101 18 36 .165 .781 .150 .258
jeff larish had a very encouraging performance in the florida state league. a walk percentage of .165 is fantastic, and a power percentage of .150 is also very good. the contact percentage of .781 shows progress. jeff is obviously a power-oriented hitter, and he may be able to keep the contact skills high enough to move up every year.
Career Batting Statistics for Scott Sizemore:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2004 VA Commonw NCAA 19 NCA 205 18 27 1 14 .081 .868 .084 .332
2005 VA Commonw NCAA 20 NCA 219 44 23 12 27 .167 .895 .199 .364
2006 VA Commonw NCAA 21 NCA 238 32 26 7 22 .119 .891 .137 .300
2006 Oneonta NYPL 21 Det A- 296 34 47 3 19 .103 .841 .088 .327
scott sizemore is a middle infielder with good contact and good strike zone judgement. that's a major-leaguer right there. if he adds power he's an occasional all-star. this is the kind of player that could really go places.
the reason he's not a bigger prospect is there are questions about his defense. to avoid being a tweener, scott will have to either improve his defense, or improve his hitting so much it doesn't matter.
in his baseball prospectus list, kevin goldstein left off jeff larish and dallas trahern. instead, he included ronnie bourquin and edward campusano.
Career Batting Statistics for Ronnie Bourquin:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2004 Ohio State NCAA 19 NCA 129 21 21 5 8 .140 .837 .120 .333
2005 Ohio State NCAA 20 NCA 185 32 25 2 8 .147 .865 .063 .268
2006 Ohio State NCAA 21 NCA 220 34 24 8 17 .134 .891 .128 .416
2006 Oneonta NYPL 21 Det A- 252 52 46 2 14 .171 .817 .078 .266
ronnie bourquin has very good walk percentages and good contact ability. he's gonna have to develop more power if he wants to make it.
Career Pitching Statistics for Edward Campusano:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2003 Az Cubs Ariz 21 Chc Rk 22.0 30 0 9 14 .086 .854 .000 4.91
2004 Boise Nwes 22 Chc A- 34.0 37 5 15 24 .097 .827 .043 5.29
2004 Lansing Midw 22 Chc A 17.0 19 3 7 17 .091 .757 .057 4.76
2005 Az Cubs Ariz 23 Chc Rk 2.0 1 0 0 2 .000 .714 .000 0.00
2005 Peoria Midw 23 Chc A 27.1 25 0 14 23 .116 .785 .000 2.63
2006 Peoria Midw 24 Chc A 29.2 16 0 9 47 .079 .552 .000 1.21
2006 W. Tenn Sou 24 Chc AA 25.2 22 2 8 34 .075 .657 .031 1.75
wow. edward campusano had a CON of .552 in middle-a last year, then went straight to double-a and had no adjustment problems, with a contact percentage of .657. it appears that he's had some injury problems in his career, because there aren't a lot of innings pitched. it also appears he got a lot better at some point. that's very interesting. what's also interesting is he's got a real chance to make it, helped not a little by the fact that he's a lefty.
if i were doing this list i would have left off clevlen and trahern, and included the guys goldstein put on. there's a lot of talent here though. it looks like i judged dombrowski a year too early. in my defense, though, i mentioned the man's record of success, and i limited my comments to the prospects. also, i was in a very goofy mood.
my list would probably be something like:
1. maybin
2. miller
3. eulogio
4. jurrjens
5. sizemore
6. gorkys
7. campusano
8. larish
9. bourquin
10. tata
maybe switch the last two. the thing is tata has a better chance of making it than a lot of guys on this list. but the other guys have a better chance of being stars.
we can fix the grammar later. i'd like to continue this post by talking about the guys who made the list last year, but didn't this year (and didn't make the bigs either).
Career Batting Statistics for Wilkin Ramirez:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2003 GCL Tigers GCL 17 Det Rk 201 14 51 5 13 .065 .746 .120 .275
2005 West Mich Midw 19 Det A 498 42 143 16 23 .078 .713 .110 .262
2006 Lakeland FSL 20 Det A+ 251 12 69 8 14 .046 .725 .121 .225
wilkin ramirez has talent. i believe that. but he's got to stop swinging at everything. so many kids just can't make that change. you've got to want to succeed. you've got to want it really bad.
Career Pitching Statistics for Humberto Sanchez:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2002 Oneonta NYPL 19 Det A- 32.1 29 1 21 26 .143 .794 .010 3.62
2003 West Mich Midw 20 Det A 116.0 107 3 78 96 .146 .789 .008 4.42
2004 Lakeland FSL 21 Det A+ 105.1 103 9 51 115 .109 .726 .030 5.21
2004 Erie East 21 Det AA 12.2 10 1 6 15 .111 .688 .030 2.13
2005 Erie East 22 Det AA 64.2 72 10 27 65 .092 .756 .050 5.57
2006 Erie East 23 Det AA 71.2 47 2 27 86 .093 .672 .011 1.76
2006 Toledo IL 23 Det AAA 51.1 50 2 20 43 .089 .789 .012 3.86
humberto sanchez is no longer a tiger. he's a yankee. but we already did the yankees so we'll talk about him here. he's one of the guys who was traded for gary sheffield. the others are listed below.
what did the yankees get for sheffield? well, the most important thing they got is payroll relief. but this guy sanchez has some stuff. his contact percentage of .672 in double-a is a good sign. but that's the only really good year in the bunch. and it was only half a year. when he was moved up to triple-a, he was ordinary. but he did show some home run limitation. in all, the yankees got someone who could be useful, but not much more. the tigers didn't lose anything because they already had a million arms.
Career Batting Statistics for Tony Giarratano:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2001 Tulane NCAA 18 NCA 265 41 37 3 14 .134 .860 .075 .352
2002 Tulane NCAA 19 NCA 173 22 27 2 8 .113 .844 .068 .238
2003 Tulane NCAA 20 NCA 275 27 33 8 20 .089 .880 .116 .336
2003 Oneonta NYPL 20 Det A- 192 14 22 3 15 .068 .885 .106 .328
2004 West Mich Midw 21 Det A 166 27 22 1 7 .140 .867 .056 .285
2004 Lakeland FSL 21 Det A+ 204 17 38 5 11 .077 .814 .096 .376
2005 Erie East 22 Det AA 349 37 75 3 25 .096 .785 .102 .266
2005 Detroit MLB 22 Det MLB 42 5 7 1 0 .106 .833 .029 .143
2006 Erie East 23 Det AA 270 24 45 0 24 .082 .833 .107 .283
tony giarratano is still a tiger (as far as i know!) he fell off the list this year, but he really improved his skills. his contact percentage improved from .785 to .833. that's a really big jump, and a crucial one. unfortunately, he still doesn't have any power. and he missed playing time. i don't know if he was injured, or what.
he's a switch-hitter. if he improved his patience, he could use his speed and left-handedness to get on base. or he could get strong. but something has to happen.
according to rotoworld, he tore his acl.
Career Pitching Statistics for Kevin Whelan:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2004 Texas AM NCAA 20 NCA 8.2 7 0 4 11 .108 .667 .000 4.15
2005 Texas AM NCAA 21 NCA 31.0 21 1 20 40 .149 .649 .014 2.90
2005 Oneonta NYPL 21 Det A- 12.0 2 1 6 19 .136 .500 .053 2.25
2005 West Mich Midw 21 Det A 12.1 4 0 2 22 .047 .463 .000 0.73
2006 Lakeland FSL 22 Det A+ 54.0 33 1 29 69 .129 .646 .008 2.67
kevin whelan had a lot of strikeouts in 2006. he has a lot of strikeouts everywhere. the problem is the walks. he's the second guy in the trade for sheffield. as with sanchez, he could be useful.
the third guy in the trade is anthony claggett.
Career Pitching Statistics for Anthony Claggett:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2005 CalRivrsd NCAA 21 NCA 24.2 29 1 7 27 .064 .738 .013 4.01
2005 Oneonta NYPL 21 Det A- 22.1 23 1 12 25 .118 .722 .015 4.03
2006 West Mich Midw 22 Det A 59.1 35 0 20 58 .086 .728 .000 0.91
2006 Toledo IL 22 Det AAA 1.0 1 0 1 2 .200 .500 .000 0.00
anthony claggett is a more balanced pitcher than the other guys. he had decent contact rates, and decent control last year in middle-a. but he was old for that level. he's a low-grade prospect, but you never know.
the tigers system really came together last year. they graduated some guys who really helped out. they added more talent, and developed the talent they have to a strong level. and they were able to make a trade to improve their lineup. unfortunately for them, there are two other teams in that division who have very strong systems: the indians and the twins. we're going to see some good battles in the coming years.
Monday, January 29, 2007
top prospects: indians
finally, we're done with all the two-word nicknames! strictly one word from now on.
1. Adam Miller, rhp
2. Chuck Lofgren, lhp
3. Trevor Crowe, of
4. Tony Sipp, lhp
5. Brian Barton, of
6. John Drennen, of
7. Scott Lewis, lhp
8. Brad Snyder, of
9. Wes Hodges, 3b
10. David Huff, lhp
the indians are loaded. in the next few years, they'll take the lead in the now-tough al central.
last year's list
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 Cty 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 V 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
2006 Akron East 21 Cle AA 153.2 129 9 43 157 .068 .734 .021 2.75
2006 Buffalo IL 21 Cle AAA 4.2 4 0 3 4 .143 .778 .000 5.79
adam miller the total package. he's got a sinker, slider, changeup combination that gives him good contact percentages, great walk percentages, and good home run percentages. one of the top few pitching prospects in baseball.
Career Pitching Statistics for Chuck Lofgren:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2004 Burlington App 18 Cle Rk 22.1 25 4 13 23 .124 .750 .058 6.04
2005 Lake Cty SAL 19 Cle A 93.0 73 6 43 89 .109 .747 .023 2.81
2006 Kinston Caro 20 Cle A+ 139.2 108 5 54 125 .093 .763 .012 2.32
chuck lofgren is a lefty with mojo. he's been lucky with hits so far, but he's probably gonna make it.
Career Batting Statistics for Trevor Crowe:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2003 Arizona NCAA 19 NCA 190 10 32 2 16 .050 .832 .114 .316
2004 Arizona NCAA 20 NCA 203 23 39 5 22 .102 .808 .165 .350
2005 Arizona NCAA 21 NCA 266 40 30 9 40 .131 .887 .208 .403
2005 Mahoning V NYPL 21 Cle A- 51 7 8 1 3 .121 .843 .093 .255
2005 Lake Cty SAL 21 Cle A 180 19 25 0 10 .095 .861 .065 .258
2005 Akron East 21 Cle AA 10 0 3 0 0 .000 .700 .000 .100
2006 Lake Cty SAL 22 Cle A 5 0 1 0 0 .000 .800 .000 .000
2006 Kinston Caro 22 Cle A+ 222 50 46 4 17 .184 .793 .119 .329
2006 Akron East 22 Cle AA 156 20 24 1 9 .114 .846 .076 .234
trevor crowe was in double-a one year out of college, with a good contact percentage (.846). add that to his speed and his switch-hitting, and he already has the skills for the majors. his walk percentages are good too (.184 in kinston). he even has some doubles power. put it all together and you've got a quality major-league player.
Career Pitching Statistics for Tony Sipp:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2004 Clemson NCAA 21 NCA 48.0 53 5 17 59 .079 .701 .036 4.69
2004 Mahoning V NYPL 21 Cle A- 42.2 33 5 13 74 .075 .540 .057 3.16
2005 Lake Cty SAL 22 Cle A 69.0 47 5 19 71 .070 .720 .027 2.22
2005 Kinston Caro 22 Cle A+ 47.1 34 4 23 59 .116 .665 .034 2.66
2006 Akron East 23 Cle AA 60.1 44 2 21 80 .085 .644 .014 3.13
tony sipp has good contact percentages. .644 in double-a is quality. he also has good home run rates. control could be better, but he should be effective in the majors. he's left-handed.
Career Batting Statistics for Brian Barton:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2003 Miami NCAA 21 NCA 214 34 37 7 20 .137 .827 .153 .330
2004 Miami NCAA 22 NCA 205 32 46 6 14 .135 .776 .126 .371
2005 Lake Cty SAL 23 Cle A 134 26 21 4 15 .163 .843 .168 .414
2005 Kinston Caro 23 Cle A+ 223 49 57 3 21 .180 .744 .145 .274
2006 Kinston Caro 24 Cle A+ 301 55 83 13 19 .154 .724 .147 .308
2006 Akron East 24 Cle AA 153 18 26 6 5 .105 .830 .087 .351
barton is getting old, but he has shown good walk percentages (.163, .180, .154) and good power percentages (.168, .145, .147) along the way. then, in double-a, he turns up with an .830 contact percentage. if he can consolidate these skills, he'll make the show.
Career Batting Statistics for John Drennen:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2005 Burlington App 19 Cle Rk 171 23 37 8 8 .119 .784 .119 .238
2006 Lake Cty SAL 20 Cle A 240 36 52 6 15 .130 .783 .112 .321
2006 Kinston Caro 20 Cle A+ 113 15 21 0 8 .117 .814 .087 .239
john drennen has a good range of skills, with patience, contact, and power potential. he's young, and if he works hard, he's got a chance to make it.
Career Pitching Statistics for Scott Lewis:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2002 Ohio State NCAA 18 NCA 92.0 87 7 29 91 .074 .749 .026 2.84
2003 Ohio State NCAA 19 NCA 83.2 48 2 24 127 .074 .575 .012 1.61
2004 Ohio State NCAA 20 NCA 20.2 20 2 6 23 .068 .720 .034 3.48
2004 Mahoning V NYPL 20 Cle A- 5.1 5 0 1 13 .045 .381 .000 5.06
2005 Mahoning V NYPL 21 Cle A- 15.2 13 2 6 24 .091 .600 .056 4.60
2006 Kinston Caro 22 Cle A+ 115.2 84 3 28 123 .061 .715 .010 1.48
scott lewis has crappy stuff or something. but i'm gonna go on record as saying he's gonna make it. look at his numbers. in 2006 in 115 innings he struck out 123, walked 28, and gave up 84 hits! and 3 home runs. sure, he got a little hit lucky, but look what he did at ohio state, in 2003. 83 innings, 127 strikeouts (!), 24 walks, 48 hits (!), 2 home runs. i should put more exclamation points but there's already too much. he may suffer a little as he moves up but he's obviously got it together. he knows how to work a hitter. it'll be fun to watch him in the show.
Career Batting Statistics for Brad Snyder:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2002 Ball State NCAA 20 NCA 202 25 48 13 18 .110 .762 .201 .386
2003 Ball State NCAA 21 NCA 203 52 45 14 28 .204 .778 .266 .405
2003 Mahoning V NYPL 21 Cle A- 228 42 82 6 17 .156 .640 .158 .284
2004 Lake Cty 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
2006 Akron East 24 Cle AA 526 67 158 18 33 .113 .700 .139 .270
brad snyder has power but he can't make contact. maybe if he had more patience he could improve, but at this point it doesn't look like he's gonna make it.
Career Batting Statistics for Wes Hodges:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2004 Ga Tech NCAA 19 NCA 186 26 25 4 17 .123 .866 .130 .304
2005 Ga Tech NCAA 20 NCA 269 36 35 9 18 .118 .870 .115 .397
2006 Ga Tech NCAA 21 NCA 224 37 51 11 20 .142 .772 .179 .329
wes hodges has shown a mix of skills in college. he seems to have good strike zone skills. he also showed good power in 2006. good pickup for the indians.
Career Pitching Statistics for David Huff:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2004 CalIrvine NCAA 20 NCA 42.0 51 2 10 26 .053 .853 .013 3.00
2006 UCLA NCAA 22 NCA 129.2 121 13 27 100 .050 .804 .032 2.98
2006 Mahoning V NYPL 22 Cle A- 7.2 9 0 7 8 .179 .750 .000 5.87
david huff has good control, but he doesn't appear to have much else. he's a longshot, in my opinion.
in addition, we're gonna talk about rafael perez, who is on kevin goldstein's list, which is subscriber-only, or i'd link it.
Career Pitching Statistics for Rafael Perez:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2003 Burlington App 21 Cle Rk 69.0 56 1 16 63 .057 .760 .005 1.70
2004 Lake Cty SAL 22 Cle A 115.0 121 9 47 99 .092 .788 .025 4.85
2004 Kinston Caro 22 Cle A+ 4.2 10 1 2 3 .077 .875 .048 11.57
2005 Pulaski App 23 Tor Rk 25.2 26 2 23 27 .183 .738 .026 6.66
2005 Kinston Caro 23 Cle A+ 77.2 54 6 32 48 .100 .833 .025 3.36
2005 Akron East 23 Cle AA 66.2 53 5 12 46 .045 .818 .024 1.75
2006 Akron East 24 Cle AA 67.1 53 3 22 53 .079 .792 .015 2.81
2006 Buffalo IL 24 Cle AAA 27.1 20 0 8 33 .073 .676 .000 2.63
2006 Cleveland MLB 24 Cle MLB 12.1 10 2 6 15 .113 .681 .063 4.38
lefty sinker-slider guy who really limits home runs. rafael perez had a .792 contact percentage as a starter in akron, then a .676 as a reliever in buffalo last year. look for him to be effective in the pen.
i also want to talk about stephen head, who was on the list last year but was left off this year.
Career Batting Statistics for Stephen Head:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2003 Mississipp NCAA 19 NCA 209 17 33 6 12 .075 .842 .102 .337
2004 Mississipp NCAA 20 NCA 233 32 37 13 14 .121 .841 .138 .346
2005 Mississipp NCAA 21 NCA 270 35 38 18 17 .115 .859 .151 .333
2005 Mahoning V NYPL 21 Cle A- 37 8 5 6 4 .178 .865 .313 .432
2005 Kinston Caro 21 Cle A+ 205 8 33 4 15 .038 .839 .110 .286
2006 Kinston Caro 22 Cle A+ 482 61 73 14 26 .112 .849 .098 .235
stephen's batting average was down, so they musta thought he declined, but his patience was good, and his contact was good, and he also had power. so i think he's fine. he plays first base too, which is something they need. it may take him a while, but he's got a good shot. it may not take him a while though. all of his skills are right there.
this is a very good group. it's what the indians need: pitchers and outfielders. with these kids, and the strong young players already in the show, the indians are positioned for dominance in the al central. mark shapiro has delivered.
Sunday, January 28, 2007
top prospects: white sox
it was the blue jays, and now it's the white sox.
1. Ryan Sweeney, of
2. Josh Fields, 3b
3. Lance Broadway, rhp
4. Kyle McCulloch, rhp
5. Charlie Haeger, rhp
6. Aaron Cunningham, of
7. Adam Russell, rhp
8. Lucas Harrell, rhp
9. Matt Long, rhp
10. Chris Carter, 1b
the white sox went for broke and it worked out: they won the world series. now they're broke.
last year's list
Career Batting Statistics for Ryan Sweeney:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2003 Bristol App 18 Chw Rk 67 8 10 2 3 .107 .851 .088 .313
2003 great flls Pio 18 Chw Rk 34 2 3 0 2 .056 .912 .065 .353
2004 WinstSalm Caro 19 Chw A+ 517 47 65 7 25 .083 .874 .071 .283
2005 Birmingham Sou 20 Chw AA 434 42 53 1 25 .088 .878 .068 .298
2006 Charlotte IL 21 Chw AAA 451 38 73 13 28 .078 .838 .108 .296
2006 Chi WhSox MLB 21 Chw MLB 35 0 7 0 0 .000 .800 .000 .229
these are good numbers. he started to hit home runs last year and he played in triple-a. at age 21. that's sdg. so damn good. no, that's good. they finally got the centerfielder they've been looking for. a little more patience would be nice. the rest should take care of itself. by which i mean hard work. lots of hard work.
Career Batting Statistics for Josh Fields:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2002 Okla St NCAA 19 NCA 108 17 22 3 12 .136 .796 .174 .383
2003 Okla St NCAA 20 NCA 235 27 46 12 13 .103 .804 .132 .358
2004 Okla St NCAA 21 NCA 247 50 45 10 22 .168 .818 .158 .362
2004 WinstSalm Caro 21 Chw A+ 259 20 74 7 16 .072 .714 .124 .285
2005 Birmingham Sou 22 Chw AA 483 68 142 16 27 .123 .706 .126 .252
2006 Charlotte IL 23 Chw AAA 465 57 136 19 36 .109 .708 .167 .305
2006 Chi WhSox MLB 23 Chw MLB 20 5 8 1 2 .200 .600 .250 .150
josh fields has a lot of power. he also has decent patience. the contact is a little troubling. i still think he'll make it. but he'll have some trouble.
Career Pitching Statistics for Lance Broadway:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2005 Tx Christn NCAA 22 NCA 117.0 83 2 35 151 .075 .652 .007 1.62
2005 WinstSalm Caro 22 Chw A+ 55.0 68 4 20 58 .079 .751 .023 4.58
2006 Birmingham Sou 23 Chw AA 154.1 160 10 40 111 .060 .822 .020 2.74
2006 Charlotte IL 23 Chw AAA 6.0 5 0 1 6 .042 .739 .000 3.00
lance broadway is a curveballer with good control. not too exciting, but probably will pitch in the show.
Career Pitching Statistics for Kyle McCulloch:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2004 Texas NCAA 19 NCA 52.2 48 1 18 34 .080 .835 .006 3.25
2005 Texas NCAA 20 NCA 138.2 137 6 45 99 .075 .821 .013 2.92
2006 Texas NCAA 21 NCA 109.2 113 3 32 82 .068 .814 .008 3.61
2006 great flls Pio 21 Chw Rk 22.1 19 1 7 27 .075 .686 .017 1.61
2006 WinstSalm Caro 21 Chw A+ 35.1 37 4 17 21 .106 .853 .033 4.08
kyle mcculloch has i don't know what he has. he has a changeup. maybe he'll get it together. it doesn't look like it. i always root for the changeup guys though.
Career Pitching Statistics for Charles Haeger:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2001 Az Chisox Ariz 17 Chw Rk 31.0 44 2 17 17 .110 .876 .017 6.39
2002 Az Chisox Ariz 18 Chw Rk 41.0 46 2 13 24 .071 .858 .014 4.17
2004 Bristol App 20 Chw Rk 57.1 70 6 22 23 .083 .905 .027 5.18
2004 Kannapolis SAL 20 Chw A 31.1 31 0 12 21 .088 .832 .000 2.01
2005 WinstSalm Caro 21 Chw A+ 81.2 82 3 40 64 .109 .804 .011 3.20
2005 Birmingham Sou 21 Chw AA 85.2 84 1 45 48 .117 .859 .003 3.78
2006 Charlotte IL 22 Chw AAA 170.0 143 9 78 130 .107 .801 .017 3.07
2006 Chi WhSox MLB 22 Chw MLB 18.1 12 0 13 19 .163 .716 .000 3.44
a knuckleballer! the numbers look ordinary but that's cause he's a knuckleballer. home run rates are good. he's got a good chance to be a knuckleballer.
knuckleballers are great because they make everyone crappy. they turn the game into a bouncy-ball funfest.
bouncy-ball funfest. i actually wrote that. no, i think charlie's gonna make it.
Career Batting Statistics for Aaron Cunningham:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2005 Bristol App 19 Chw Rk 225 30 45 5 12 .118 .800 .094 .315
2005 Kannapolis SAL 19 Chw A 26 3 7 0 0 .103 .731 .000 .115
2006 Kannapolis SAL 20 Chw A 344 47 72 11 29 .120 .791 .147 .305
cunningham did well in 2006. he had good patience, ok contact, and good power. with hard work, he can go a step at a time: a-ball, double-a, triple-a, and get there.
Career Pitching Statistics for Adam Russell:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2003 Ohio NCAA 20 NCA 57.0 65 0 24 46 .092 .805 .000 6.79
2004 Ohio NCAA 21 NCA 64.0 79 5 29 61 .097 .775 .024 4.50
2004 great flls Pio 21 Chw Rk 38.0 31 2 18 33 .110 .772 .018 2.37
2004 Kannapolis SAL 21 Chw A 10.0 18 3 7 3 .127 .938 .067 9.00
2005 Kannapolis SAL 22 Chw A 126.1 116 10 55 82 .100 .834 .024 3.78
2006 WinstSalm Caro 23 Chw A+ 94.2 80 5 39 61 .097 .832 .017 2.66
2006 Birmingham Sou 23 Chw AA 55.0 59 5 19 47 .078 .790 .028 4.75
adam is apparently a sinkerballer. he has low strikeout rates, but limits home runs. unfortunately, he doesn't have enough to make it.
Career Pitching Statistics for Lucas Harrell:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2004 Bristol App 19 Chw Rk 48.1 53 5 32 33 .139 .833 .030 5.59
2005 Kannapolis SAL 20 Chw A 133.1 128 8 71 85 .119 .839 .018 3.65
2006 WinstSalm Caro 21 Chw A+ 91.2 58 3 44 70 .117 .790 .011 2.45
2006 Birmingham Sou 21 Chw AA 9.2 12 1 14 4 .255 .902 .027 10.24
another home-run limiter. control is bad though. it ain't gonna happen.
Career Pitching Statistics for Matt Long:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2003 MiamiOhio NCAA 0 NCA 71.0 88 9 30 46 .091 .847 .035 6.46
2004 MiamiOhio NCAA 0 NCA 25.1 32 2 9 20 .077 .815 .023 3.55
2005 MiamiOhio NCAA 0 NCA 26.1 38 0 7 13 .056 .889 .000 2.73
2006 MiamiOhio NCAA 0 NCA 36.2 27 3 13 38 .087 .723 .030 2.21
2006 Kannapolis SAL 0 Chw A 33.2 51 5 13 20 .079 .868 .038 8.02
matt long is playing baseball in the minor leagues and he will continue to. baseball is fun.
Career Batting Statistics for Chris Carter:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2005 Bristol App 18 Chw Rk 235 25 64 10 17 .096 .728 .158 .283
2006 great flls Pio 19 Chw Rk 252 42 70 15 22 .143 .722 .203 .299
2006 Kannapolis SAL 19 Chw A 46 6 17 1 3 .115 .630 .138 .130
chris carter has lots of power but he's bad at making contact. he's going to have to make vast improvements if he wants to make it.
the sox also have some pitchers they got in trades. john danks they got from the rangers. we'll do him when we do the rangers. gio gonzales they got from the phillies.
Career Pitching Statistics for Giovany Gonzalez:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2004 Bristol App 18 Chw Rk 24.0 17 0 8 36 .082 .596 .000 2.25
2004 Kannapolis SAL 18 Chw A 32.2 30 1 13 27 .092 .789 .010 3.03
2005 Kannapolis SAL 19 Chw A 57.2 36 3 22 84 .095 .598 .024 1.87
2005 WinstSalm Caro 19 Chw A+ 73.1 61 5 25 79 .082 .719 .025 3.56
2006 Reading East 20 Phi AA 154.2 140 24 81 166 .118 .725 .055 4.66
gio gonzalez is a lefty curveballer. so that's good. but his control is bad. so that's bad. still, the lefty thing. pitching in the major leagues is in his future.
in addition, we're gonna talk about nick masset, who is on kevin goldstein's list.
Career Pitching Statistics for Nick Masset:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2001 GCL Rangrs GCL 19 Tex Rk 31.0 34 2 7 32 .052 .748 .021 4.35
2002 Savannah SAL 20 Tex A 120.1 129 11 47 93 .088 .810 .028 4.56
2003 Clinton Midw 21 Tex A 123.2 144 7 43 63 .077 .878 .015 4.08
2004 Stockton Cali 22 Tex A+ 77.0 71 6 19 43 .059 .858 .023 3.51
2004 Frisco Tex 22 Tex AA 10.0 8 0 4 8 .095 .789 .000 1.80
2005 Frisco Tex 23 Tex AA 157.1 197 19 61 105 .084 .843 .034 6.18
2006 Frisco Tex 24 Tex AA 48.0 38 0 20 40 .099 .780 .000 2.06
2006 Oklahoma PCL 24 Tex AAA 67.1 79 4 28 65 .091 .769 .019 4.81
2006 Texas MLB 24 Tex MLB 8.2 9 0 2 4 .054 .886 .000 4.15
nick masset is another low-home-run, low-strikeout sinkerballer. those are always good to have. he could be useful.
so that's the white sox. overall, it's not so good. they got ryan sweeney, and josh fields should be worth something, but there's no difference makers here. the future is grim.
Saturday, January 27, 2007
top prospects: blue jays
last time: devil rays.
this time: blue jays.
1. Adam Lind, of
2. Travis Snider, of
3. Ricky Romero, lhp
4. Ryan Patterson, of
5. Curtis Thigpen, c
6. Francisco Rosario, rhp
7. Brandon Magee, rhp
8. Jesse Litsch, rhp
9. David Purcey, lhp
10. Balbino Fuenmayor, 3b
as 2005 came to a close, things looked pretty rosy. then, a terrible troy glaus trade, prospect setbacks, and a manager problem sent everything to hell. also injuries.
the prospect setbacks were the backtreading of russ adams and aaron hill, and the injury to alex rios. the key injury was aj burnett. still, they finished in second, and they have a good core of young talent ready to make a run. i really think they should change their manager though.
Career Batting Statistics for Adam Lind:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2003 S. Alabama NCAA 20 NCA 212 19 24 8 17 .082 .887 .133 .349
2004 S. Alabama NCAA 21 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
2006 N Hampshre East 23 Tor AA 351 27 87 19 24 .071 .752 .163 .310
2006 Syracuse IL 23 Tor AAA 112 25 18 5 7 .182 .839 .128 .394
2006 Toronto MLB 23 Tor MLB 60 5 12 2 8 .077 .800 .208 .367
adam lind tore it up in 2006. i was pretty excited about that because i made him my number 40 prospect. other people didn't because he couldn't play defense, and he hadn't played above a-ball. but i saw those 46 doubles and triples, and i knew. when you have contact and power, you've got a hitter. he was #4 on last year's list.
Career Batting Statistics for Travis Snider:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2006 Pulaski App 18 Tor Rk 196 30 47 11 13 .133 .760 .161 .325
travis snyder raked in pulaski. i guess that's in the mountains, cause it's the appalachian league, but you gotta like the patience, and the power. and because of his youth, he's got plenty of time to get the contact going.
Career Pitching Statistics for Ricky Romero:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
1989 CS Fullert NCAA 4 NCA 56.1 48 4 18 46 .077 .788 .023 3.20
2004 CS Fullert NCAA 19 NCA 155.0 146 9 42 126 .064 .794 .019 3.37
2005 CS Fullert NCAA 20 NCA 134.0 102 6 34 139 .063 .724 .016 2.89
2005 Auburn NYPL 20 Tor A- 2.0 2 0 1 2 .111 .750 .000 0.00
2005 Dunedin FSL 20 Tor A+ 30.2 36 2 7 22 .052 .828 .019 3.82
2006 Dunedin FSL 21 Tor A+ 58.1 48 5 14 61 .059 .726 .031 2.47
2006 N Hampshre East 21 Tor AA 67.1 65 7 26 41 .089 .846 .031 5.08
ricky romero did well in high-a but was challenged in double-a. he's young, with good control, but he hasn't wowed anyone yet.
Career Batting Statistics for Ryan Patterson:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2003 LSU NCAA 20 NCA 265 17 39 16 21 .060 .853 .164 .350
2004 LSU NCAA 21 NCA 295 21 46 14 25 .066 .844 .157 .341
2005 LSU NCAA 22 NCA 251 37 28 20 25 .128 .888 .202 .369
2005 Auburn NYPL 22 Tor A- 279 24 53 13 27 .079 .810 .177 .339
2006 Dunedin FSL 23 Tor A+ 355 21 61 19 25 .056 .828 .150 .288
2006 N Hampshre East 23 Tor AA 188 15 50 6 15 .074 .734 .152 .257
ryan patterson is an outfielder with good power, but the patience and contact are suspect. i think if he gets the patience, the contact will come around, but that's a big if. he made good contact in college. i kind of feel like he'll do something.
Career Batting Statistics for Curtis Thigpen:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2002 Texas NCAA 19 NCA 83 22 11 1 8 .210 .867 .125 .256
2003 Texas NCAA 20 NCA 212 34 41 6 10 .138 .807 .094 .311
2004 Texas NCAA 21 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 N Hampshre East 22 Tor AA 141 12 19 4 8 .078 .865 .098 .284
2006 N Hampshre East 23 Tor AA 312 56 61 5 30 .152 .804 .139 .259
2006 Syracuse IL 23 Tor AAA 53 3 9 1 3 .054 .830 .091 .264
curtis thigpen. 2006 was good because he showed patience and power. he's a catcher. it seems he has yet to put it all together. all the pieces are there. they should be careful not to rush him.
curtis was my number 41 prospect last year.
Career Pitching Statistics for Francisco Rosario:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
1999 Dom Jays Dsl 19 Tor Rk 32.1 26 0 11 38 .082 .691 .000 3.06
2000 Dom Jays Dsl 20 Tor Rk 37.0 21 0 7 51 .050 .614 .000 1.22
2001 Med Hat Pio 21 Tor Rk 75.2 79 8 38 55 .110 .820 .032 5.59
2002 Charlstwv 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 N Hampshre 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
2006 Syracuse IL 26 Tor AAA 42.0 29 2 13 50 .077 .677 .019 2.79
2006 Toronto MLB 26 Tor MLB 23.0 24 4 16 21 .147 .774 .056 6.65
francisco rosario i don't know i guess this is an indicator of how thin the system has gotten. he turns 27 this year and he still hasn't established himself in the majors. i don't think you can really call him a prospect anymore.
Career Pitching Statistics for Brandon Magee:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2003 Bradley NCAA 0 NCA 30.1 27 1 14 29 .106 .754 .011 4.75
2004 Bradley NCAA 0 NCA 69.0 89 6 31 52 .095 .824 .025 6.00
2005 Bradley NCAA 0 NCA 103.2 107 6 32 78 .071 .813 .018 4.43
2006 Bradley NCAA 0 NCA 105.0 109 6 28 101 .062 .762 .019 2.66
2006 Auburn NYPL 0 Tor A- 52.1 51 1 19 40 .084 .808 .006 3.10
brandon magee limits home runs and has good control. it seems the blue jays underestimate the value of strikeouts.
Career Pitching Statistics for Jesse Litsch:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2005 Pulaski App 20 Tor Rk 65.2 51 6 10 67 .039 .730 .033 2.74
2005 Auburn NYPL 20 Tor A- 10.0 11 0 6 7 .128 .829 .000 3.60
2006 Dunedin FSL 21 Tor A+ 89.1 94 5 8 81 .022 .776 .018 3.53
2006 N Hampshre East 21 Tor AA 69.1 85 6 13 54 .042 .816 .025 5.06
jesse litsch has retarded control. that can be enough to succeed, but it's a thin margin.
Career Pitching Statistics for David Purcey:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2002 Oklahoma NCAA 20 NCA 75.0 77 3 44 84 .127 .722 .014 3.36
2003 Oklahoma NCAA 21 NCA 72.2 72 4 41 67 .124 .769 .018 5.20
2004 Oklahoma NCAA 22 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 N Hampshre East 23 Tor AA 43.0 32 2 25 45 .134 .720 .017 2.93
2006 N Hampshre East 24 Tor AA 88.1 101 9 44 81 .107 .779 .032 5.60
2006 Syracuse IL 24 Tor AAA 51.2 49 7 38 45 .157 .779 .044 5.40
david purcey is a lefty, but his control is terrible. this is a really bad system.
balbino fuenmayor is the last guy on the list, and he might as well be higher, because these last few guys are not prospects. fuenmayor was signed last year at the age of 16, so anything's possible. once some numbers start coming in, you'll get some analysis.
Friday, January 26, 2007
top prospects: devil rays
from the evil empire to the tragic empire.
they're not really an empire. more of a fiefdom.
1. Delmon Young, of
2. Evan Longoria, 3b
3. Reid Brignac, ss
4. Jeff Niemann, rhp
5. Jacob McGee, lhp
6. Elijah Dukes, of
7. Wade Davis, rhp
8. Matt Walker, rhp
9. Jeremy Hellickson, rhp
10. Joel Guzman, of/1b/3b
i've been optimistic about the devil rays in the past, but i've finally realized that they're crappy. the problem is they're too small-time. they're thinking "how can we compete with these big-market clubs" instead of "how can we win a championship".
they've got a lot of good young players, but they don't have winners. delmon young had 126 at-bats last year, and only once did he take four balls. the whole team is like that. carl crawford, rocco baldelli, jorge cantu. they want to swing, and hit. they don't want to win.
this is an incredibly talented lineup. they can score on any pitcher. but they can't beat bad pitching, because they don't take walks. and they don't have the pitching themselves to hold the other guys down.
i haven't even talked about the pitching. it's terrible. but that's the easy problem: get good pitching. the hard problem is teaching your players to win.
Career Batting Statistics for Delmon Young:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2004 Charlstsc SAL 18 Tb A 519 59 120 25 31 .102 .769 .140 .320
2005 Montgomery Sou 19 Tb AA 338 32 66 20 17 .086 .805 .136 .336
2005 Durham IL 19 Tb AAA 228 6 33 6 16 .026 .855 .113 .285
2006 Durham IL 20 Tb AAA 352 18 65 8 26 .049 .815 .118 .316
2006 Tampa Bay MLB 20 Tb MLB 127 4 24 3 10 .031 .811 .126 .317
everyone's number one prospect last year, and probably everyone's number one again this year. he was my number two, and i think he'll be lower this year. he'll probably win rookie of the year. he's obviously talented. he makes contact, and he hits for power. but does he win? my prediction is no. i hope i'm wrong.
Career Batting Statistics for Evan Longoria:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2005 Long Beach NCAA 0 NCA 229 18 41 5 8 .073 .821 .069 .320
2006 Long Beach NCAA 0 NCA 204 46 29 11 15 .184 .858 .149 .353
2006 Hudson Vly NYPL 0 Tb A- 34 5 5 4 2 .128 .853 .207 .424
2006 Visalia Cali 0 Tb A+ 112 15 19 8 8 .118 .830 .172 .327
2006 Montgomery Sou 0 Tb AA 108 1 20 6 5 .009 .815 .125 .267
well this guy, jesus. this guy can hit. good patience, good contact, and good power. maybe he's the winner they need to turn the corner. let's hope that one walk in double-a was an anomaly.
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 Charlstsc SAL 18 Tb A 14 1 2 0 1 .067 .857 .083 .500
2005 SW Mich Midw 19 Tb A 517 44 131 15 31 .078 .747 .119 .264
2006 Visalia Cali 20 Tb A+ 414 39 82 21 29 .086 .802 .151 .326
2006 Montgomery Sou 20 Tb AA 111 10 31 3 8 .083 .721 .138 .300
reid brignac is a talent. he needs some work on his patience and contact, but let's not sweat the small stuff. he's a power-hitting shortstop, and he's young for his level. sweating the small stuff, however, is exactly what he needs to do to improve. good luck, reid!
Career Pitching Statistics for Jeff Niemann:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2002 Rice NCAA 19 NCA 66.0 64 1 27 53 .093 .798 .005 3.14
2003 Rice NCAA 20 NCA 137.1 96 6 35 156 .064 .693 .017 1.70
2004 Rice NCAA 21 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
2006 Montgomery Sou 23 Tb AA 77.1 56 6 29 84 .091 .708 .029 2.68
finally, we have a pitcher. jeff niemann struck out a lot of players at rice, and he did it some more in the pros. but control is an issue. this is not the guy that's gonna turn the staff around.
Career Pitching Statistics for Jacob McGee:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2004 Princeton App 18 Tb Rk 56.2 49 5 25 53 .102 .758 .030 3.97
2005 Hudson Vly NYPL 19 Tb A- 76.2 64 4 23 89 .073 .697 .020 3.64
2006 SW Mich Midw 20 Tb A 134.0 103 7 65 171 .114 .661 .021 2.96
wow, that's a lot of strikeouts. i don't know what this guy throws, but it's a lot of something. again, though, the issue is control. a .661 con is nice, but a .114 wal is a problem. major-league hitters will tear that apart.
Career Batting Statistics for Elijah Dukes:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2003 Charlstsc SAL 19 Tb A 386 55 130 7 21 .125 .663 .109 .245
2004 Charlstsc SAL 20 Tb A 164 21 47 2 14 .114 .713 .137 .288
2004 Bkrsfld Cali 20 Tb A+ 212 31 50 8 18 .128 .764 .160 .332
2005 Montgomery Sou 21 Tb AA 449 49 83 18 26 .098 .815 .120 .287
2006 Durham IL 22 Tb AAA 283 51 47 10 20 .153 .834 .127 .293
if this were my team, i'd cut him. this guy is a behavior problem. he's part of the problem, rather than part of the solution. he sure is talented though.
i mean this guy is the complete package. great patience, good contact, good power. he's a good fielder too. the only thing he's missing is attitude. which makes him the complete non-package. i saw him in a game once two years ago. he got thrown out.
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 Vly NYPL 19 Tb A- 86.0 75 5 23 97 .065 .709 .021 2.72
2006 SW Mich Midw 20 Tb A 146.0 124 5 64 165 .102 .706 .013 3.02
good stuff, bad control. what else is new? he does seem to limit home runs, which is good.
seriously, these numbers are the same as mcgee. they're the same guy. mcgee has a little more strikeout.
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
2005 Hudson Vly NYPL 19 Tb A- 3.1 5 0 4 5 .211 .667 .000 10.80
2006 SW Mich Midw 20 Tb A 82.0 66 5 41 68 .116 .782 .020 3.18
curveballer. curveballers take time. but i don't think he's good enough.
Career Pitching Statistics for Jeremy Hellickson:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2005 Princeton App 18 Tb Rk 6.0 6 1 1 11 .040 .542 .077 6.00
2006 Hudson Vly NYPL 19 Tb A- 77.2 55 3 16 96 .053 .667 .016 2.43
that's good wal, and good con. and a great combination. this kid could turn out to be the best of this group.
Career Batting Statistics for Joel Guzman:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2002 GCL Ddgers GCL 17 La Rk 33 5 8 0 2 .132 .758 .080 .212
2002 great flls Pio 17 La Rk 151 18 54 3 10 .107 .642 .134 .252
2003 S. Georgia SAL 18 La A 219 9 62 8 13 .039 .717 .134 .235
2003 Vero Beach FSL 18 La A+ 240 11 60 5 14 .044 .750 .106 .246
2004 Vero Beach FSL 19 La A+ 332 23 78 14 30 .065 .765 .173 .307
2004 Jcksnvlle Sou 19 La AA 186 14 44 9 14 .070 .763 .162 .280
2005 Jcksnvlle Sou 20 La AA 449 47 128 16 33 .095 .715 .153 .287
2006 Las Vegas PCL 21 La AAA 321 30 72 11 18 .085 .776 .116 .297
2006 Durham IL 21 Tb AAA 88 4 23 4 5 .043 .739 .138 .193
2006 LA Dodgers MLB 21 La MLB 19 4 2 0 0 .174 .895 .000 .211
i think this ranking is way too low. joel guzman has played above his age for years, and hit for power. all he needs is a little stability, and a little patience. isn't that always the case.
baseball america calls this the best sytem in baseball. and i know what they're saying. there's a lot of talent. kids that can hit, kids that can field, kids that can throw. but they need to develop kids that can win. it won't be the best system, or even a good system, until they do.
major league baseball hates its fans
major league baseball is considering terminating the extra-innings package. it would give the deal to directv instead. i read about it on baseball prospectus, in an article by joe sheehan.
joe sheehan is a good writer. but that does not make him right. he says it's a good move. alienating your fans is not a good move.
the profit would be 30 million dollars. 30 million dollars is one-and-a-half yankees. call it two. major league baseball would alienate its most dedicated fans for the price of two yankees.
it doesn't make sense. major league baseball has had a pattern of mistreating its fans. it's time to break that pattern. sooner or later the fans stop coming.
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
top prospects: yankees
from the red sox to the yankees!
1. Philip Hughes, rhp
2. Jose Tabata, of
3. Dellin Betances, rhp
4. Joba Chamberlain, rhp
5. Ian Kennedy, rhp
6. Chris Garcia, rhp
7. Tyler Clippard, rhp
8. J. Brent Cox, rhp
9. Mark Melancon, rhp
10. Brett Gardner, of
the yankees have always had good prospects in their system: robinson cano, melky cabrera, dioner navarro, nick johnson, juan rivera. they just haven't always kept them. in last year's list, philip hughes was #1, tabata was #3, garcia was #8, and clippard was #10.
Career Pitching Statistics for Philip Hughes:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2004 GCL Yanks GCL 18 Nyy Rk 5.0 4 0 0 8 .000 .579 .000 0.00
2005 Charlstsc SAL 19 Nyy A 68.2 46 1 16 72 .060 .714 .006 1.97
2005 Tampa FSL 19 Nyy A+ 17.2 8 0 4 21 .062 .656 .000 3.06
2006 Tampa FSL 20 Nyy A+ 30.0 19 0 2 30 .018 .725 .000 1.80
2006 Trenton East 20 Nyy AA 116.0 73 5 32 138 .071 .672 .018 2.25
philip hughes is the best pitcher in the minor leagues. he pitched 30 innings in high-a. he had 30 strikeouts and 2 walks. 30 strikeouts and 2 walks. then he went to double-a and dominated. he's a star.
Career Batting Statistics for Jose Tabata:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2005 GCL Yanks GCL 17 Nyy Rk 156 17 14 3 6 .098 .910 .063 .314
2006 Charlstsc SAL 18 Nyy A 321 42 66 5 23 .116 .794 .110 .298
when i wrote my blurb on jose tabata last year i didn't know he was only 17. he followed that up with a jump to a-ball where he was not overmatched. he's fast and he can hit. he's gonna be a good one.
Career Pitching Statistics for Dellin Betances:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2006 GCL Yanks GCL 18 Nyy Rk 23.1 14 1 7 27 .077 .679 .018 1.16
this is a quality performance in rookie ball. dellin betances has a lot of promise.
Career Pitching Statistics for Joba Chamberlain:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2005 Nebraska NCAA 19 NCA 118.2 91 7 33 130 .069 .709 .022 2.81
2006 Nebraska NCAA 20 NCA 89.1 84 8 34 102 .088 .710 .032 3.93
joba chamberlain showed good control and good strikeouts at nebraska. apparently he did the same thing in the arizona fall league.
Career Pitching Statistics for Ian Kennedy:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2004 USC NCAA 19 NCA 92.2 86 4 31 120 .078 .670 .016 2.91
2006 USC NCAA 21 NCA 101.2 100 4 36 102 .082 .748 .013 3.90
2006 Staten Isl NYPL 21 Nyy A- 2.2 2 0 2 2 .167 .800 .000 0.00
ian kennedy has the look of a sinkerballer. his walks and strikeouts aren't that great, but his home runs are. i like his chances.
Career Pitching Statistics for Christian Garcia:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2004 GCL Yanks GCL 19 Nyy Rk 38.0 26 1 17 47 .108 .664 .011 2.84
2005 GCL Yanks GCL 20 Nyy Rk 6.0 4 0 5 7 .185 .682 .000 4.50
2005 Charlstsc SAL 20 Nyy A 106.0 102 3 53 103 .112 .755 .009 3.91
2006 GCL Yanks GCL 21 Nyy Rk 11.1 15 1 4 15 .075 .694 .029 9.53
2006 Charlstsc SAL 21 Nyy A 41.2 37 2 12 45 .069 .722 .017 3.46
chris garcia seems to have had some injury problems, but when he pitched he lowered his walk rate and increased his strikeout rate, which is good.
Career Pitching Statistics for Tyler Clippard:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2003 GCL Yanks GCL 18 Nyy Rk 43.2 33 3 5 56 .030 .659 .028 2.89
2004 Battle Crk Midw 19 Nyy A 149.0 153 12 32 145 .051 .758 .026 3.44
2005 Charlstsc 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
2006 Trenton East 21 Nyy AA 166.1 118 14 55 175 .082 .716 .032 3.35
tyler clippard has improved every year. last year he pitched in double-a at the age of 21, with good strikeout rates. that hits total looks like a typo though. either way, he's got a definite shot. change-up guys tend to be underrated.
j brent cox is another sinkerballer type it appears. he has incredibly low home run totals. we're having trouble getting his stats up here, but we'll get em eventually.
Career Pitching Statistics for Mark Melancon:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2004 Arizona NCAA 19 NCA 62.1 55 5 19 46 .073 .810 .026 4.33
2005 Arizona NCAA 20 NCA 66.1 52 2 21 69 .077 .725 .011 2.58
2006 Arizona NCAA 21 NCA 39.1 34 0 15 52 .090 .658 .000 2.97
2006 Staten Isl NYPL 21 Nyy A- 7.2 9 0 2 8 .059 .750 .000 3.52
mark melancon had good results at arizona. a .658 con is very good. he also limited home runs. control will be the question going forward. i think he'll do it.
Career Batting Statistics for Brett Gardner:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2003 C of Charl NCAA 20 NCA 216 30 50 2 9 .122 .769 .066 .284
2004 C of Charl NCAA 21 NCA 240 38 30 4 21 .137 .875 .119 .397
2005 C of Charl NCAA 22 NCA 275 35 18 2 23 .113 .935 .097 .447
2005 Staten Isl NYPL 22 Nyy A- 287 45 49 5 10 .136 .829 .063 .284
2006 Tampa FSL 23 Nyy A+ 232 45 51 0 17 .162 .780 .094 .323
2006 Trenton East 23 Nyy AA 221 29 39 0 7 .116 .824 .038 .272
brett gardner is a lefty slap-and-run type with good patience. he needs to improve his contact to succeed. he was good in college, so it's very possible.
finally, i want to take a look at eric duncan, who dropped off the list.
Career Batting Statistics for Eric Duncan:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2003 GCL Yanks GCL 18 Nyy Rk 181 20 33 2 14 .100 .818 .108 .278
2003 Staten Isl NYPL 18 Nyy A- 59 4 11 2 9 .063 .814 .229 .373
2004 Battle Crk Midw 19 Nyy A 291 42 84 12 25 .126 .711 .179 .260
2004 Tampa FSL 19 Nyy A+ 174 31 47 4 22 .151 .730 .205 .254
2005 Trenton East 20 Nyy AA 455 63 136 19 18 .122 .701 .116 .235
2006 Trenton East 21 Nyy AA 207 35 38 10 17 .145 .816 .160 .248
2006 Columbus IL 21 Nyy AAA 111 11 24 0 4 .090 .784 .046 .209
duncan had a poor showing in triple-a. he was good in double-a though. the low batting average masks great strike-zone numbers and strong power. the thing to remember is he was moved up quickly. he's still young. he's still good.
the yankees have a history of moving their players up too quickly.
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
top prospects: red sox
yesterday was the orioles. today is the red sox.
1. Jacoby Ellsbury, of
2. Clay Buchholz, rhp
3. Michael Bowden, rhp
4. Daniel Bard, rhp
5. Lars Anderson, 1b
6. Dustin Pedroia, ss
7. Bryce Cox, rhp
8. Craig Hansen, rhp
9. Kris Johnson, lhp
10. Jason Place, of
last year's list had jacoby ellsbury at #6, clay buchholz at #10, dustin pedroia at #5, and craig hansen at #4. it also had andy marte, jon lester, and jonathan papelbon, who are quality. marte was an indian, though.
Career Batting Statistics for Jacoby Ellsbury:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2003 Oregon St NCAA 19 NCA 209 37 33 7 13 .150 .842 .114 .330
2004 Oregon St NCAA 20 NCA 196 41 17 3 10 .173 .913 .073 .352
2005 Oregon St NCAA 21 NCA 245 44 21 6 22 .152 .914 .125 .406
2005 Lowell NYPL 21 Bos A- 140 25 20 1 8 .152 .857 .075 .317
2006 Wilmington Caro 22 Bos A+ 245 32 28 4 12 .116 .886 .074 .299
2006 Portland East 22 Bos AA 199 26 25 3 13 .116 .874 .092 .308
jacoby ellsbury makes good contact (anything over .800 is good) and has good patience (over .100 is good, especially for that contact). his power is not that great, but it could develop. what if it doesn't? well, he's fast, he's left-handed, and he plays great defense. verdict: he's gonna make it.
Career Pitching Statistics for Clay Buchholz:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2005 Lowell NYPL 21 Bos A- 41.1 34 2 9 45 .054 .715 .018 2.61
2006 Greenville SAL 22 Bos A 103.0 78 10 29 117 .070 .698 .037 2.62
2006 Wilmington Caro 22 Bos A+ 16.0 10 0 4 23 .065 .603 .000 1.13
buchholz followed a quality debut with a very strong 2006. 140 strikeouts in 119 innings, with 33 walks and 88 hits (!) is a very good performance. it remains to be seen whether he can do it in the upper levels, but i'm gonna go out on a limb and say he can.
Career Pitching Statistics for Michael Bowden:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2005 GCL Redsox GCL 18 Bos Rk 6.0 4 0 4 10 .154 .545 .000 0.00
2006 Greenville SAL 19 Bos A 107.2 91 9 31 118 .070 .715 .030 3.51
2006 Wilmington Caro 19 Bos A+ 5.0 9 0 1 3 .040 .875 .000 9.00
michael bowden was a 2005 draftee. he spent the 2006 season tearing up the sally league. he should progress quickly. i think he's better than buchholz. or will be. that's a pretty mean little staff they had down there in greenville.
Career Pitching Statistics for Daniel Bard:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2004 North Car. NCAA 19 NCA 95.0 94 7 31 68 .076 .821 .023 3.88
2005 North Car. NCAA 20 NCA 89.2 73 8 43 77 .112 .775 .030 4.22
2006 North Car. NCAA 21 NCA 101.1 92 4 37 94 .085 .763 .013 3.64
daniel bard was just drafted. his college numbers are not that impressive, except for his home run rates. other than that, he has ordinary control (.085 wal) and ordinary strikeouts (.763 con). .013 hrp is really good though, with those aluminum bats.
the next guy on the list is lars anderson. we don't have any data on him, because he just got out of high school. baseball america likes his power.
Career Batting Statistics for Dustin Pedroia:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2002 Arizona St NCAA 19 NCA 237 29 19 1 15 .109 .920 .073 .347
2003 Arizona St NCAA 20 NCA 301 42 13 4 37 .122 .957 .142 .404
2004 Arizona St NCAA 21 NCA 246 55 15 9 25 .183 .939 .147 .393
2004 Augusta SAL 21 Bos A 50 7 3 1 5 .123 .940 .128 .400
2004 Sarasota FSL 21 Bos A+ 110 17 4 2 11 .134 .964 .123 .336
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
2006 Pawtucket IL 23 Bos AAA 427 57 27 5 33 .118 .937 .095 .305
2006 Boston MLB 23 Bos MLB 89 8 7 2 4 .082 .921 .073 .191
i am really high on dustin pedroia. he has fantastic strike zone judgement, and excellent contact. those are the skills that imply success. also, he's a middle infielder. he may never hit the long ball, but he's going to be very good for a long time.
Career Pitching Statistics for Bryce Cox:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2005 Rice NCAA 21 NCA 18.2 12 3 14 24 .171 .647 .068 3.86
2006 Rice NCAA 22 NCA 51.2 41 1 25 62 .113 .684 .007 3.48
2006 Lowell NYPL 22 Bos A- 5.2 6 0 2 3 .080 .870 .000 1.59
2006 Wilmington Caro 22 Bos A+ 24.1 14 0 9 25 .094 .713 .000 0.74
bryce cox is another 2006 draftee. he's a reliever with good strikeout rates (.684 con at rice) but questionable control (.113 wal that same year). he does avoid the long ball.
Career Pitching Statistics for Craig Hansen:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2003 St. Johns NCAA 19 NCA 39.2 51 1 21 41 .110 .759 .008 7.03
2004 St. Johns NCAA 20 NCA 15.1 6 2 8 24 .133 .538 .071 3.52
2005 St. Johns NCAA 21 NCA 64.1 38 1 20 85 .080 .632 .007 1.68
2005 GCL Redsox GCL 21 Bos Rk 3.0 2 0 0 4 .000 .636 .000 0.00
2005 Portland East 21 Bos AA 9.2 9 0 1 10 .026 .737 .000 0.00
2005 Boston MLB 21 Bos MLB 3.0 6 1 1 3 .063 .800 .083 6.00
2006 Portland East 22 Bos AA 11.0 4 0 4 12 .098 .676 .000 0.82
2006 Pawtucket IL 22 Bos AAA 36.0 31 0 19 26 .120 .813 .000 2.75
2006 Boston MLB 22 Bos MLB 38.0 46 5 15 30 .086 .813 .038 6.63
craig hansen pitched 38 games in the major leagues at age 22, and somehow got downgraded as a prospect. i don't know how that happens. if you ask me, he's still got great talent. .632 con in 64 innings at st johns. let's give him a little time.
Career Pitching Statistics for Kris Johnson:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2004 Wichita St NCAA 0 NCA 71.2 54 1 28 66 .094 .755 .005 2.01
2006 Wichita St NCAA 0 NCA 53.2 57 1 21 45 .088 .794 .006 4.86
2006 Lowell NYPL 0 Bos A- 30.2 25 0 7 27 .056 .769 .000 0.88
the red sox seem to like home run limitation in pitchers. can't blame them. kris johnson showed good control (.056 wal, .000 hrp) in his debut. let's see what else he does.
Career Batting Statistics for Jason Place:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2006 GCL Redsox GCL 18 Bos Rk 114 18 35 4 4 .136 .693 .101 .292
jason place just started playing. we have no idea where he's going to be.
and that's the red sox. after all the players that moved up last year, i was prepared to give this year's class a low rating. but i can't do that. there's too much talent here. the red sox are a talent pipeline. the yankees bout to get eclipsed.
i know, i say that every year.
top prospects: orioles
it's time once again for my annual prospect analysis! what we do is we take baseball america's top ten lists and evaluate them. we start with the baltimore orioles.
1. Bill Rowell, 3b
2. Brandon Erbe, rhp
3. Nolan Reimold, of
4. Pedro Beato, rhp
5. Radhames Liz, rhp
6. Garrett Olson, lhp
7. Brandon Snyder, c
8. James Hoey, rhp
9. Jeff Fiorentino, of
10. Kieron Pope, of
it's a pretty good list. just kidding. billy rowell is the first guy on the list. we can't do him because he hasn't played pro ball yet. he was in high school last year. next is brandon erbe.
Career Pitching Statistics for Brandon Erbe:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2005 Bluefield App 17 Bal Rk 23.1 8 1 10 48 .114 .385 .033 3.09
2005 Aberdeen NYPL 17 Bal A- 7.0 6 0 4 9 .129 .667 .000 7.71
2006 Delmarva SAL 18 Bal A 114.2 88 2 47 133 .098 .692 .007 3.22
that's pretty good for an 18-year-old. lots of strikeouts. if he keeps it up he'll make it. look at that hilarious con in bluefield.
Career Batting Statistics for Nolan Reimold:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2003 Bowl Green NCAA 19 NCA 141 21 21 1 6 .130 .851 .058 .329
2004 Bowl Green NCAA 20 NCA 173 32 24 13 17 .156 .861 .201 .404
2005 Bowl Green NCAA 21 NCA 178 48 36 20 10 .212 .798 .211 .360
2005 Aberdeen NYPL 21 Bal A- 182 30 44 9 17 .142 .758 .188 .294
2005 Frederick Caro 21 Bal A+ 83 14 27 6 6 .144 .675 .214 .265
2006 Frederick Caro 22 Bal A+ 419 85 107 19 26 .169 .745 .144 .255
that's good patience, with 85 walks vs. 419 at-bats. unfortunately, he can't hit the ball. 107 strikeouts in high-a at the age of 22 is not good. it could be an adjustment period though. he was just in college in 2005.
Career Pitching Statistics for Pedro Beato:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2006 Aberdeen NYPL 19 Bal A- 57.0 47 6 23 52 .095 .761 .036 3.63
not much data. can't really say anything.
Career Pitching Statistics for Radhames Liz:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2005 Aberdeen NYPL 22 Bal A- 56.0 36 1 19 82 .085 .598 .008 1.77
2005 Delmarva SAL 22 Bal A 38.1 33 2 23 55 .135 .628 .022 4.46
2006 Frederick Caro 23 Bal A+ 83.0 57 8 44 95 .126 .690 .038 2.82
2006 Bowie East 23 Bal AA 50.1 55 9 31 54 .131 .738 .059 5.36
liz has good strikeout numbers, but bad control. also, he's vulnerable to the long ball. that's not really an also, that's part of the bad control. not much chance.
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 NCA 82.1 78 4 27 67 .077 .794 .016 4.37
2004 Cal Poly NCAA 20 NCA 84.0 88 4 38 92 .101 .729 .016 5.57
2005 Cal Poly NCAA 21 NCA 136.0 123 2 47 128 .081 .759 .005 2.71
2005 Aberdeen NYPL 21 Bal A- 40.0 22 1 13 40 .084 .718 .010 1.58
2005 Frederick Caro 21 Bal A+ 14.1 10 0 7 19 .117 .642 .000 3.14
2006 Frederick Caro 22 Bal A+ 81.1 81 7 19 77 .055 .763 .028 2.77
2006 Bowie East 22 Bal AA 84.1 78 5 31 85 .086 .743 .020 3.42
these numbers don't look that good, but he's a lefty with a curveball and a changeup, so the mojo factor is always there. could be useful.
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
2006 Aberdeen NYPL 19 Bal A- 125 6 43 1 9 .046 .656 .122 .234
2006 Delmarva SAL 19 Bal A 147 9 55 3 12 .058 .626 .163 .194
he can't take a pitch, and he can't hit a pitch. maybe he'll get better.
Career Pitching Statistics for James Hoey:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl IP H HR BB SO WAL CON HRP ERA
2001 Rider NCAA 18 NCA 56.0 57 3 19 37 .078 .836 .016 3.86
2002 Rider NCAA 19 NCA 65.0 63 8 35 56 .119 .783 .040 6.23
2003 Rider NCAA 20 NCA 88.1 72 3 44 63 .115 .813 .011 2.24
2003 Bluefield App 20 Bal Rk 42.0 33 3 19 20 .107 .874 .022 2.79
2004 Aberdeen NYPL 21 Bal A- 6.2 12 1 1 6 .030 .813 .038 9.45
2005 Aberdeen NYPL 22 Bal A- 15.0 11 1 10 15 .152 .732 .024 4.80
2006 Delmarva SAL 23 Bal A 28.1 17 2 10 46 .089 .549 .036 2.54
2006 Frederick Caro 23 Bal A+ 14.0 13 0 5 16 .083 .709 .000 0.64
2006 Bowie East 23 Bal AA 9.0 9 1 3 11 .077 .694 .040 4.00
2006 Baltimore MLB 23 Bal MLB 9.2 14 1 5 6 .104 .860 .027 10.24
james hoey looks pretty bad. the 2006 in delmarva pops out at you, but it was in the sally league at the age of 23. not much possibility here. the problem is control.
Career Batting Statistics for Jeff Fiorentino:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2002 Fl Atlantc NCAA 19 NCA 215 21 23 12 12 .089 .893 .125 .301
2003 Fl Atlantc NCAA 20 NCA 215 21 23 12 12 .089 .893 .125 .301
2004 Fl Atlantc NCAA 21 NCA 231 64 40 17 19 .217 .827 .188 .348
2004 Aberdeen NYPL 21 Bal A- 46 11 4 2 8 .193 .913 .238 .348
2004 Delmarva SAL 21 Bal A 180 23 50 10 17 .113 .722 .208 .302
2005 Frederick Caro 22 Bal A+ 413 38 90 22 22 .084 .782 .136 .286
2005 Baltimore MLB 22 Bal MLB 45 2 10 1 2 .043 .778 .086 .250
2006 Bowie East 23 Bal AA 388 56 58 13 14 .126 .851 .082 .275
2006 Baltimore MLB 23 Bal MLB 40 8 3 0 2 .167 .925 .054 .256
jeff fiorentino had good patience and good contact last year in bowie, but he didn't have good power and he's getting a little old. he has had power in the past though. 22 home runs in 2005 for example. he could get it together.
Career Batting Statistics for Kieron Pope:
Year Team Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB W K HR 23 WAL CON POW AVG
2005 Bluefield App 18 Bal Rk 150 15 62 5 4 .091 .587 .102 .228
2006 Bluefield App 19 Bal Rk 135 16 36 5 17 .106 .733 .222 .341
2006 Aberdeen NYPL 19 Bal A- 76 5 33 0 0 .062 .566 .000 .107
kieron pope is young and we don't know anything about him. he smacked the ball around pretty good in the rookie league. course it was the rookie league.
this is possibly the worst system in the league. no, i'm sure someone is worse. it's bad though. there is no major-league ready talent, and no sure thing. bill rowell might be a sure thing. i don't know. brandon erbe is pretty good.
