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Tuesday, March 13, 2007
 
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.
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