top prospects: diamondbacks
the diamondbacks moved a lot of talent up last year. they still have a lot of talent, but they don't really have any pitching.

1. Justin Upton, of 
2. Chris Young, of 
3. Carlos Gonzalez, of 
4. Alberto Callaspo, 2b 
5. Miguel Montero, c 
6. Micah Owings, rhp 
7. Mark Reynolds, if 
8. Dustin Nippert, rhp 
9. Tony Pena, rhp 
10. Brett Anderson, lhp 

the top five are good. the rest are guys. reynolds is interesting because he could totally bomb but there's a very small chance he becomes a star.

Career Batting Statistics for Justin Upton:
Year Team         Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB   W   K  HR  23  WAL  CON  POW  AVG
2006 South Bend   Midw 19 Ari A   444  57  96  12  29 .114 .784 .118 .263

justin upton is definitely the top prospect in the organization. at the age of 19, he played in a-ball as his first professional experience. he had decent patience, decent contact, and decent power. those are the numbers of a future star. here's his wikipedia page.

Career Batting Statistics for Chris Young:
Year Team         Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB   W   K  HR  23  WAL  CON  POW  AVG
2002 Az Chisox    Ariz 18 Chw Rk  184  24  54   5  14 .115 .707 .146 .217
2003 Bristol      App  19 Chw Rk  242  27  40   7  21 .100 .835 .139 .290
2003 great flls   Pio  19 Chw Rk   34   1  10   0   3 .029 .706 .125 .176
2004 Kannapolis   SAL  20 Chw A   468  77 145  24  36 .141 .690 .186 .262
2005 Birmingham   Sou  21 Chw AA  469  77 129  26  44 .141 .725 .206 .277
2006 Tucson       PCL  22 Ari AAA 407  58  71  21  36 .125 .826 .170 .276
2006 Arizona      MLB  22 Ari MLB  71   7  12   2   4 .090 .831 .102 .243

chris young has moved up the past three years and made vast improvements in contact every year. while doing so, he has maintained patience and power, both of which are excellent. he plays center field. as a contact-challenged power hitter, arizona is the perfect place for him.

Career Batting Statistics for Carlos Gonzalez:
Year Team         Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB   W   K  HR  23  WAL  CON  POW  AVG
2003 Missoula     Pio  17 Ari Rk  278  21  61   6  18 .070 .781 .111 .258
2004 Yakima       Nwes 18 Ari A-  302  25  70   9  17 .076 .768 .112 .273
2004 South Bend   Midw 18 Ari A    51   1  13   1   4 .019 .745 .132 .275
2005 South Bend   Midw 19 Ari A   516  53  86  18  34 .093 .833 .121 .307
2006 Lancaster    Cali 20 Ari A+  412  40 104  21  39 .088 .748 .195 .300
2006 Tennessee    Sou  20 Ari AA   61   7  12   2   6 .103 .803 .163 .213

carlos gonzalez has a lot of power but he's a little too aggressive. actually he's not too aggressive; he's too loose. in poker, the ideal way to play is tight-aggressive. you want to be selective with the hands you play, and aggressive (raise) when you do play a hand. baseball is the same. you want to be selective with the pitches you swing at, and aggressive when you do swing. he'll figure it out.

Career Batting Statistics for Alberto Callaspo:
Year Team         Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB   W   K  HR  23  WAL  CON  POW  AVG
2002 Provo        Pio  19 Ana Rk  302  19  14   3  26 .059 .954 .101 .338
2003 Cedar Rpds   Midw 20 Ana A   520  45  28   2  42 .080 .946 .089 .327
2004 Arkansas     Tex  21 Ana AA  554  47  25   6  31 .078 .955 .070 .284
2005 Arkansas     Tex  22 Laa AA  355  29  17  10   8 .076 .952 .053 .297
2005 Salt Lake    PCL  22 Laa AAA 215  11  13   1  23 .049 .940 .119 .316
2006 Tucson       PCL  23 Ari AAA 494  58  27   7  36 .105 .945 .092 .337
2006 Arizona      MLB  23 Ari MLB  43   4   6   0   2 .085 .860 .054 .238

alberto callaspo this guy has everything. except power. but damn can he hit. and he vastly improved his patience last year. i don't know. he's a smart player with lots of skills. this is the type of guy that wins games.

Career Batting Statistics for Miguel Montero:
Year Team         Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB   W   K  HR  23  WAL  CON  POW  AVG
2002 Missoula     Pio  20 Ari Rk  155  20  26   3  11 .114 .832 .109 .263
2003 Missoula     Pio  21 Ari Rk  199  17  15   4  12 .079 .925 .087 .301
2004 South Bend   Midw 22 Ari A   407  42  74  11  24 .094 .818 .105 .263
2005 Lancaster    Cali 23 Ari A+  361  36  52  24  25 .091 .856 .159 .349
2005 Tennessee    Sou  23 Ari AA  109  10  26   2   3 .084 .761 .060 .250
2006 Tennessee    Sou  24 Ari AA  293  44  44  10  18 .131 .850 .112 .270
2006 Tucson       PCL  24 Ari AAA 136  18  21   7   5 .117 .846 .104 .321
2006 Arizona      MLB  24 Ari MLB  16   1   3   0   1 .059 .813 .077 .250

miguel montero had a very good year last year. his plate skills are strong, with patience and contact, and power is a possibility. should be a major-league starter.

Career Pitching Statistics for Micah Owings:
Year Team         Lg. Age Org Lvl    IP   H  HR  BB  SO  WAL  CON  HRP   ERA
2003 Ga Tech      NCAA 20     NCA  88.0  84  12  21  58 .057 .833 .041  3.99
2004 Ga Tech      NCAA 21     NCA 113.1  93  14  43 112 .090 .741 .044  3.89
2005 Tulane       NCAA 22     NCA 129.2 111   7  25 135 .048 .730 .019  3.26
2005 Lancaster    Cali 22 Ari A+   22.0  17   0   4  30 .046 .639 .000  2.45
2006 Tennessee    Sou  23 Ari AA   74.1  66   4  17  69 .056 .761 .018  2.91
2006 Tucson       PCL  23 Ari AAA  87.2  96   4  34  61 .087 .830 .013  3.70

micah owings has good control and good home run limitation, but he doesn't have the strikeouts to be dominant. should make it though.

Career Batting Statistics for Mark Reynolds:
Year Team         Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB   W   K  HR  23  WAL  CON  POW  AVG
2002 Virginia     NCAA 19     NCA 207  24  53  15  12 .104 .744 .175 .283
2003 Virginia     NCAA 20     NCA 206  25  50   9  17 .108 .757 .167 .295
2004 Virginia     NCAA 21     NCA 237  45  59  11  16 .160 .751 .152 .274
2004 Yakima       Nwes 21 Ari A-  236  38  65  12  20 .139 .725 .187 .274
2004 South Bend   Midw 21 Ari A    15   1   5   0   1 .063 .667 .100 .067
2004 Lancaster    Cali 21 Ari A+   12   0   4   0   0 .000 .667 .000 .083
2005 South Bend   Midw 22 Ari A   436  43 107  19  28 .090 .755 .143 .253
2006 Lancaster    Cali 23 Ari A+  278  44  72  23  20 .137 .741 .209 .337
2006 Tennessee    Sou  23 Ari AA  114  13  37   8   7 .102 .675 .195 .272

mark reynolds this is the fun one. he hit some bombs last year. 31 of them, in fact, which is more than he had in the doubles and triples department. so he's got the power. the thing that worries me is the contact. yes, he swings too much. so he could improve his contact by being more selective. but will it be enough? he's having this much trouble in high-a and double-a and he's old for his level. i don't know. there's a lot of raw talent there but will he have the discipline and intelligence to pull it off? i don't know. i bet he enjoys the game though.

Career Pitching Statistics for Dustin Nippert:
Year Team         Lg. Age Org Lvl    IP   H  HR  BB  SO  WAL  CON  HRP   ERA
2002 Missoula     Pio  21 Ari Rk   54.2  42   2   9  77 .042 .626 .016  1.65
2003 South Bend   Midw 22 Ari A    95.2  66   4  32  96 .083 .728 .016  2.82
2004 El Paso      Tex  23 Ari AA   71.2  77   0  40  73 .120 .750 .000  3.64
2005 Tennessee    Sou  24 Ari AA  118.1  95   4  42  97 .085 .784 .011  2.36
2005 Arizona      MLB  24 Ari MLB  14.2  10   1  13  11 .194 .796 .023  5.52
2006 Tucson       PCL  25 Ari AAA 140.1 161  11  52 130 .082 .777 .024  4.87
2006 Arizona      MLB  25 Ari MLB  10.0  15   5   7   9 .135 .800 .139 11.70

dustin nippert has enough stuff for the majors but not much more. curveballers have difficulty in arizona because of the thinner air. he should go to la.

like it's up to him.

Career Pitching Statistics for Tony Pena:
Year Team         Lg. Age Org Lvl    IP   H  HR  BB  SO  WAL  CON  HRP   ERA
2002 Missoula     Pio  20 Ari Rk   20.0  26   0   3  14 .034 .837 .000  6.30
2003 South Bend   Midw 21 Ari A   160.1 149   3  30 119 .045 .811 .006  2.86
2004 El Paso      Tex  22 Ari AA   43.0  47   4   5  36 .028 .795 .029  5.44
2005 Tennessee    Sou  23 Ari AA  148.1 165  17  40  95 .062 .844 .033  4.43
2006 Tennessee    Sou  24 Ari AA   20.1  18   0   5  17 .060 .785 .000  0.89
2006 Tucson       PCL  24 Ari AAA  26.1  17   1   2  21 .020 .781 .013  1.71
2006 Arizona      MLB  24 Ari MLB  30.2  36   6   8  21 .059 .836 .056  5.58

tony pena has good control and not much else. he could make it. he pretty much already has.

brett anderson has not pitched in the pros yet. according to kevin goldstein, he's a lefty with very good leftiness.

your typical lefty employs good control, good home run limitation, and control of the running game. lefty home run limitation seems magical so i call it mojo. it tends to happen because the change-up is the out pitch against righties. changeups reduce home runs.

goldstein also mentioned emilio bonifacio and gerardo parra. we'll do them and greg smith and matt torra.

Career Batting Statistics for Emilio Bonifacio:
Year Team         Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB   W   K  HR  23  WAL  CON  POW  AVG
2003 Missoula     Pio  18 Ari Rk  147  21  43   0   2 .125 .707 .019 .199
2004 South Bend   Midw 19 Ari A   413  28 122   1  15 .063 .705 .055 .260
2005 South Bend   Midw 20 Ari A   526  58  90   1  21 .099 .829 .050 .270
2006 Lancaster    Cali 21 Ari A+  550  50 104   7  42 .083 .811 .110 .321

emilio bonifacio has speed but it doesn't look like he'll develop the hitting skills to make it. he could go a lot of ways though. he's right in the middle.

Career Batting Statistics for Gerardo Parra:
Year Team         Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB   W   K  HR  23  WAL  CON  POW  AVG
2006 Missoula     Pio  19 Ari Rk  275  28  30   4  22 .092 .891 .106 .328

parra had a good year last year with very good contact. he should be on the list.

Career Pitching Statistics for Greg Smith:
Year Team         Lg. Age Org Lvl    IP   H  HR  BB  SO  WAL  CON  HRP   ERA
1992 LSU          NCAA  8     NCA  33.2  39   1   7  30 .048 .786 .009  4.01
2004 LSU          NCAA 20     NCA  30.2  26   1  13  35 .099 .703 .012  2.35
2005 LSU          NCAA 21     NCA 104.0  99   8  25  82 .057 .800 .024  2.60
2005 Missoula     Pio  21 Ari Rk   82.1  69   8  18 100 .054 .684 .037  4.15

greg smith is a lefty (see above). he's got a good shot to do that thing that lefties do.

have lefties always been this common? cause these guys are growing like weeds.

Career Pitching Statistics for Matt Torra:
Year Team         Lg. Age Org Lvl    IP   H  HR  BB  SO  WAL  CON  HRP   ERA
2003 Mass         NCAA 19     NCA  70.1  61   7  20  47 .068 .827 .031  4.61
2004 Mass         NCAA 20     NCA  64.1  83   5  26  69 .086 .750 .024  4.90
2005 Mass         NCAA 21     NCA  94.2  56   0  16 111 .045 .674 .000  1.14
2005 Yakima       Nwes 21 Ari A-   10.0  11   1   4  10 .089 .756 .032  1.80
2006 South Bend   Midw 22 Ari A    25.0  24   0   5  20 .048 .798 .000  1.80

matt torra looked good last year but had labrum surgery. that's tough to come back from.

so yeah the diamondbacks. the talent is coming up, and they should have a good run. they got their number 1 guy, and they got their offense. the bullpen could be strong. this team can do some things.
- posted by julien @ 7:24 PM