For the record, I have never met Jedd Gyorko, and I assume he’s a nice guy. Nick Franklin was the subject of yesterday’s Prospect A-Z. He’s the Mariners shortstop with a bit of a schizophrenic scouting report. Prior to the 2009 draft, he was an athletic shortstop that would provide defense and a little hitting. After the 2010 season, he appeared to be a power hitter that may not be able to stick at...
The first week of Prospect A-Z wrapped up on Friday with Edwar Cabrera, MILB’s strikeout leader in 2011. He doesn’t have the top of the rotation stuff like previous leader Matt Moore does, but his great changeup allowed him to dominate A-ball this year. That’s not to say he doesn’t have ML potential, but at his best he’ll be pitching at the back of a rotation and not the front. AA will be a...
Yesterday, we went behind the plate to talk about Travis d’Arnaud, Toronto’s catcher on helium last season. He’s gone one level per year in his ascent to the majors, and he could break in with Toronto by the end of 2012. He’s a solid all-around player who may not stand out in any area, but he’ll be good in all of them. At the time of his trade to Toronto along with Kyle Drabek...
Yesterday, I broke away from the typical format for this feature and analyzed where Yoenis Cespedes might land. In my mind, there are 5-7 serious contenders, acknowledging that all 30 teams would love to have him. Cespedes probably gained a lot of cache with fans for his entertaining scouting video, but he’s had that same cache with scouts and front offices for years with his impressive tools and athleticism. I ended up writing twice...
Trevor Bauer was the subject of yesterday’s Prospect A-Z feature. The former UCLA standout raised his draft stock throughout his junior season with complete game after complete game and strikeout after strikeout. His stuff improved, and he was no longer a solid prospect with an odd routine, he’s a top talent. The Diamondbacks took Bauer third overall, two picks after UCLA teammate Gerrit Cole was taken by Pittsburgh, the first time since 1978 that...
Yesterday, we reviewed one of the Rockies’ top prospects, third baseman Nolan Arenado. He’s been a solid, above average hitter throughout his minor league career so far, and his defense on the hot corner is improving. In an ideal world for the Rockies, he develops into a middle of the order slugger to complement Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez. While that’s probably a couple years away, today’s player could reach the majors sooner than...
Over at Rays Prospects, the great staff will soon be wrapping up a great offseason feature, Prospect A to Z. Every day, one writer covers a prospect for each letter. For example, Chris Archer was the representative for A. It’s a great opportunity to talk about some different players, so I’ll be ripping off their idea and doing it leaguewide. They’re not necessarily the best prospect for each letter, just a guy I preferred...
Joe Savery. I had this posted at Philly Sports Central last week, but I thought this audience would like to see it too. Savery is an intriguing player and to me, unfortunately only came in 7th place on our relief pitcher of the year ballot last week. May 23rd, 2011. This was a great day for the Phillies. Chase Utley made his return to the lineup after missing nearly two months with a knee...
Last week, the Cal League announced their award winners and postseason All-Star team. The league has had a nice mix of prospects and non-prospects having good seasons, and for the second straight year, they defeated the Carolina League in the All-Star Game. One interesting note is that there are no relievers on the team. Last year, the league’s Pitcher of the Year was a closer (Brad Brach), but this year they chose none despite...
About a month ago, I wrote about individual home run leaders in the minors. As far as individual stats go, and I agree it’s relatively unimportant, the home run leaderboard is the best individual competition to follow for batters. On the pitching side, it’s probably strikeouts. Strikeouts aren’t a perfect indicator, but the best prospects tend to rack up a lot of minor league strikeouts. In a lot of cases, it shows that the...
2012 05 14 Scranton Wilks Barre/ Empire State Yankees vs Pawtucket Red Sox
