2009 Prospect Predictions
by Goyogringo on Dec 15, 2008 12:45 PM CST
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PrintWe are nearing the end of the LSB Top 30 list and everyone has had a chance to think about all things prospecty. As this week seems like it might be a slow one for Rangers news, I thought I would throw this post up.
I am interested in hearing everyone's predictions for our prospects for the 2009 season so I propose that we throw up some categories to talk about. You can lay out whatever categories that you want, just define your terms (e.g., "how do you define a sleeper?") where appropriate. I am going to base my predictions using my own top 30 list.
Here are some possible categorie:
Most likely to move into top 15
Most likely to move into bottom 15
Sleepers
I define a sleeper as a prospect who moves into the top 30 or a top 30 prospect that moves into the top 10. Define it however you wish but state your terms
Most Improved:
Most surprising assignment
Most likely to make the big club out of spring training
Most likely to play significant role for Rangers before trade deadline
Which top International FA signees skip DSL?
Comeback player
Who progresses through 2 or more levels?
Who transitions from starter to reliever, reliever to starter?
Biggest velocity jump
Most improved secondary stuff
Best Power Hitter
Best Hitter for average
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Like the work JP
Thanks for all the time and effort that keeps me well informed.
Your 2009 Snow Monkey Ambassador
A real Sleeper
Miguel Alfonso.
"My mother always taught me that if the only thing you have to say is,
‘(Expletive) Dave Samson,’ then don’t say anything at all.
So I’m not going to say anything at all.
Is my mother the greatest or what?"
- Mariners GM Bill Bavasi, after signing Ichiro to a $90 million contract
I'm not the expert
that some on here are but I’ll take a stab at it. I say C – Wun has a jump in velocity up to 93 -95
Blake Beavan
I guess you would call him a sleeper because I believe that he will vault into the top 6 or 7 in our system when his velocity increases a bit and his k/9 over a season reflects his august k/9 rate.
I dont think it is stressed enough that he made some major changes to his mechanics. Im thinking he will work the 90-92 while hitting 95 as he makes a few appearances in Frisco before the year is out.
Off the top of my head
Sleeper candidate: Joe Wieland. Something just tells me he’s going to be the shit by this time next year.
Others…
Best power hitter: Justin Smoak
Best hitter for average: Justin Smoak
Comeback player: Thomas Diamond
Most improved Secondary stuff: Neftali Feliz
Biggest velocity jump: Blake Beavan
Most improved player: Michael Main
Most likely prospect to make the club out of ST: Eric Hurley
"I´d like to apologize in advance for anything that I may say or do that could be construed as offensive as I slowly go NUTS."
You think Main can be the most improved?
I mean he already is polished and just needs some consistant seasoning but most improved? I doubt that. If anything he climbs closer to his goal of being in Arlington while having a stellar minor league season. Just not most improved. I think most improved would be Kiker. Or maybe perhaps Beltre
The bloggerformelyknownasBigBaddBubbaJ
Quick Take
Most Surprising Assignment: Reinier Bermudez to Hickory out of Spring Training
I’ll do more later, but I have to finish a paper.
Additionally,
I really believe that our 08 draft class will assert itself this year as an excellent class. With the Rangers have been drafting, the system should be very good for a while. I honestly cant decide which I guy out of Wieland, Ross, and Murphy I like better. I believe that Joe Wieland will be a top 10 guy by the end of the year.
List
Biggest velo jump: Wieland
Best Power hitter: Bianucci
Starter to Reliever: Bleier, Phillips, Schlact, Reed, Castillo, Hyatt, Tatusko, Ballard, Mathis
Comeback player: Brigham
2 or more levels: T. Murphy, Bermudez, C.Young
Reliever Sleepers: Garr, Young, Schlecht, Roark, Eppley, j. Ortiz, J. Torres, Bermudez
Starter Sleepers; J. Grullon, Miggie
most likely to skip DSL: none
Flyer: Adalberto Flores
Flops: Laughter, Lueke, Bannister, Paisano, Fry, Alfonzo
Best DSL to AZL season: Pitcher-A. Mendoza (most talented: Melo); Hitter-Telis, Polanco, Pimentel, E. Garcia
08 draft picks released: Hurley, King, Evans, Hill, McGraw
08 draft picks released: Hurley, King, Evans, Hill, McGraw
wait…WHAT?
not even im that down on the guy
Scout: He was a first-round pick right? Got a huge bonus?
KG: Oh yeah.
Scout: Well, he spent a lot of it on milkshakes.
by knockoutking on Dec 15, 2008 1:57 PM CST up reply actions
i feel better
lol
thanks
Scout: He was a first-round pick right? Got a huge bonus?
KG: Oh yeah.
Scout: Well, he spent a lot of it on milkshakes.
by knockoutking on Dec 15, 2008 2:54 PM CST up reply actions
Hurley sucks
DFA DFA
This is an exciting time in my life.
The LSB CPP's are in full bloom.
by inactive lsb user on Dec 15, 2008 2:38 PM CST up reply actions
Hurley sucks
DFA DFA
This is an exciting time in my life.
The LSB CPP's are in full bloom.
by inactive lsb user on Dec 15, 2008 2:38 PM CST up reply actions
My list
Biggest jump on prospect list by a currently ranked player: Ross
Biggest jump onto list by currently unranked player: Murphy (Moreland 2nd on this list)
Biggest fall on prospect list: either Perez or Boscan
Names that will fall off prospect list (not counting guys who become ineligible): Boscan, Lemon
Lowest ranked player who’ll make an impact in the bigs: Madrigal (Strop if he gets voted in)
Players who will see Arlington in 2009: Madrigal, Strop, Hurley, Holland, Borbon, MaxRam, Tea
Player who in 5 years we’ll be amused we ranked so low: Ross, Wieland, or Font
Player who in 5 years we won’t understand why we ranked so high: Boscan
what is it abt boscan you dont like?
Scout: He was a first-round pick right? Got a huge bonus?
KG: Oh yeah.
Scout: Well, he spent a lot of it on milkshakes.
by knockoutking on Dec 15, 2008 2:55 PM CST up reply actions
You know all the recent discussion about Lemon?
That his numbers are good, particularly his OBP, because he is able to take advantage of the fact that bad pitchers in the low minors are really bad. So anyone who has any polish in those leagues is going to shine? Well, that is kind of my worry with Boscan. Yes, he’s been a really good pitcher so far, but when I see the sort of silly numbers he put up in low A, I begin to think that they aren’t really representative of who he is but rather the quality of competition he was facing. Any pitcher with good stuff and polish should dominate early levels of the minors, and the converse is that simply dominating low A does not mean you have great stuff or are a great prospect.
This is of course just going off of what I’ve read about him – I’ve never watched him in person or anything. I just think he was ranked super high on this list because of those numbers, and I think those numbers are not nearly as indicative of what he’ll be as people think.
The case against Boscan and Lemon?
Sorry, but I’m still scratching my head over the "he’s too polished to be a legitimate prospect" argument that’s been trotted out in regards to Lemon and now Boscan. While I agree that you can’t trust numbers from players who are playing in leagues where they are too old (see Moscoso), I fail to see how that is relevant for Lemon and Boscan who were competing against players who were 2-4 years older than them. The fact that Lemon has a good eye at the plate and Boscan has outstanding control bode exceptionally well for their ability to graduate to the major leagues, not the other way around.
Can someone think of examples of players like Lemon and Boscan who supposedly succeeded in A-ball due to their exquisite polish at a young age and then failed to perform well at AA and AAA while remaining healthy? I’m having trouble coming up with a list and would be interested in looking at a few case histories to understand how similar the "too polished" guys are to the Rangers prospects
My argument is simply
that stellar A-ball numbers are a necessary, but not sufficient, condition for being considered a “prospect.” I’m all for good peripherals, and I would much rather see Boscan’s and Lemon’s numbers than not see them, but numbers alone aren’t sufficient for me to consider a guy a top prospect.
I’d be happy to be proven wrong, and I’ll admit that I don’t have any solid evidence to back up my suspicion. If I were to go about studying this (which I don’t have time to do), I’d go to one of the A leagues (either the California League or the Midwest League), go back to a year like 2005, and systematically look at what players were the best in the league statistically, how old they were, and how those players performed in 2008. 3 years later would give you an idea how predictive those A-ball performances were – are those guys in the majors now? Are they considered prospects still? Or did they fall off the map?
For example, on the 2005 LKings, Hurley was 19 y.o, had a 3.77 era, just shy of 9k/9ip, .6 hr/9, 3.4 bb/9, and a 1.25 whip. His HR/9 number, good in A, has obviously gotten much worse now (~1.8HR/9 in 2008), and I’d argue is a bit of a disappointment considering where he was a few years ago on prospect charts. But he’s not a failure either. Anyway, that’s a single example, and as such completely uninformative.
Technically, stellar A-ball numbers are not necessary to be considered a “prospect” (Beltre and Andrus, for example). And I don’t argue that guys with great tools should be given the benefit of the doubt, especially when they are young for their league.
I’ll help you with your proposed experiment. Below is the complete list of minor leaguers who had 100 or more at bats in High A at the age of 20 or less who had an OBP of at least 370 and an OPS of at least 790. I chose those numbers based on Lemon’s 20 yo season in A+. To my eyes, being young and productive is an exceptionally strong indicator of future success.
Grady Sizemore – 390/792
Josh Barfield – 392/922
Dave Krynzel – 378/838
Rocco Baldelli – 370/910
Joe Mauer – 397/809
Casey Kotchman – 432/956
Edwin Encarnacion – 389/873
Jeff Mathis – 380/880
Andy Marte – 375/844
Jeremy Hermida – 374/815
Elijah Dukes – 405/945
Jesus Guzman – 389/832
Adam Jones – 374/868
Daric Barton – 438/907
Billy Butler – 419/1055
Saltalamacchia – 394/913
Brandon Wood – 383/1055
Lastings Milledge – 385/803
Thanks for the list.
I’m not arguing that stats don’t have any predictive power, and by looking at guys with good numbers, obviously you are going to see guys who turned out to be good. It is equally informative to look at the guys who didn’t make it on that list:
Of that list, I count 9 that are still considered top quality players/prospects (Sizemore, Baldelli, Mauer, Kotchman, Encarnacion, Jones, Butler, Salty, Wood). Not all of these guys are considered future stars, but most (except Baldelli for unrelated reasons) are probably going to be major league regulars for a long time.
Several have made the big leagues but are less than top quality so far (Barfield, Mathis, Dukes, Milledge, Hermida, Barton)
And several have been outright disappointments or even just disappeared (Krynzel, Marte, Guzman)
I think the inclusion of Josh Barfield on that list is the most interesting. I see a lot of similarities between him and Lemon (middle infielders, sons of good big leaguers, guys who everyone said “knows how to play the game”) He’s a guy who peaked in the low minors of SD’s system, was adequate in AA and AAA, and made the Padres. He was good enough to get a good return in a trade (Kouzmanoff). I’d be happy with a Barfield type career arc from Lemon, provided the Rangers are able to trade at the peak like the Padres did.
That was fun
What would you do with the list of 18 yo pitchers who tossed at least 30 innings in A- since 1997 and came close to matching Boscan’s line of 3.12 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 0.5 HR/9, 1.4 BB/9, and 9.1 K/9.
Jacob McGee – 3.64 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 0.5 HR/9, 2.7 BB/9, 10.2 K/9
Wade Davis – 2.72 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 0.5 HR/9, 2.4 BB/9, 10.2 K/9
Mike Nannani – 1.89 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, ?? HR/9, 2.0 BB/9, 10.2 K/9
Johan Santana – 4.34 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, ?? HR/9, 2.2 BB/9, 9.1 K/9
so theres a 1 in 4 chance he will be veryveryvery good?
rightrightright? lol
can you do this for perez?
Scout: He was a first-round pick right? Got a huge bonus?
KG: Oh yeah.
Scout: Well, he spent a lot of it on milkshakes.
by knockoutking on Dec 15, 2008 9:14 PM CST up reply actions
Jake McGee (Ranked #15 by BA and #40 by BP in 2008) and Wade Davis (Ranked #17 by BA and #15 by BP in 2008) aren’t exactly slouches. Ninnini’s K-rate dropped as a 19 yr old and he lost steam when he hit AA. In the little bit of digging that I’ve done, it appears that his fastball was a mid-80’s pitch which likely explains what happened to him.
Finding age-matched performance comps for Perez is next to impossible. In 2008, he was more than a year younger than Wilfredo Boscan, who was the second youngest pitcher in the NWL. I can only find six pitchers who put up decent numbers in A- while tossing at least 30 innings. As noted below, none of them had stats that were very similar to what Perez did in 2008.
Martin Perez – 3.65 ERA, 1.52 WHIP, 4.1 BB/9, 7.7 K/9
Ching Lung Ho – 2.84 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 3.2 BB/9, 5.7 K/9
Felix Hernandez – 2.29 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 3.9 BB/9, 12.0 K/9
Yorman Bazardo – 2.75 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 1.5 BB/9, 6.5 K/9
Joseph Torres – 2.54 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 4.5 BB/9, 10.2 K/9
Jose Franco – 2.85 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 3.1 BB/9, 12.7 K/9
Jerome Williams – 2.19 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 2.7 BB/9, 8.3 K/9
Two things worth noting:
(1) Bazardo was a reliever in A- which likely inflated his stats relative to the other pitchers
(2) Most of the pitchers on the list tossed fewer than 50 innings, so the stats are highly suspect for reasons in addition to the fact that they were produced by guys pitching at the age of 17 years old.
Re. Players who will see Arlington in 09
If Feliz doesn’t pitch for the Rangers next year, something will have gone horribly wrong.
Don't believe the hype about sloppy seconds. They ain't bad.
I disagree
I’d say it the opposite way – if Feliz does pitch in Arlington in 2009, something will have gone terribly wrong with the big league rotation/bullpen. There is no need to rush him – start him in AA for a couple of months, move him to AAA and play out the season there. No need to cramp the 40 with him early, nor is there need to rush his arm.
Ah maybe he doesn't have a second or third pitch to reach arlington,
that’s a good reason why. Doesn’t mean something would havfe gone wrong he just needs to develop. No need to rush.
The bloggerformelyknownasBigBaddBubbaJ
Feliz
He will be traded with Chris Davis to Kansas City for Zach Greinke at the trade deadline.
The Rangers will roll out Sheets, Greinke, Padilla, Holland and Harrison to close out their season *
The Rangers sign Greinke to a contract at the end of the season.
The 2010 rotation is Sheets, Greinke, Holland, Main and Harrison.
* = season concludes after surprising playoff run to the ALCS.
by oc on Dec 15, 2008 4:10 PM CST up reply actions
Dang
Main in 2010? And Davis could be traded straight up for Greinke probably.
"Obama is a Christian - He's always been a Christian...But.........what if he is[a Muslim]? Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer is no, that's not America." Colin Powell on Obama/Muslim assertions.
That trade would be turrible
Just turrible.
Nah, noob.
by Brian Thomas on Dec 17, 2008 9:33 AM CST up reply actions
No Way
Just no way you trade Davis & Feliz for Greinke
Davis for Greinke straight up would be questionable enough
Now Davis & Feliz for Kazmir …. lets Talk
Assuming Teixeira alone brings back four of the players in the '07 deal (Jones ~ Mahay), what is a realistic return for a year and two months of Greinke?
Seriously, what kind of prospects would the Rangers have to give up to get Greinke?
Keep in mind that he’s probably more valuable than Teixeira was at the ‘07 deadline because 1) he’s a pitcher and 2) he’s younger.
Teixeira got a BA ranked Saltalmacchia (30), a BA ranked Andrus (65), a BA ranked Harrison (~90) and an unranked high-ceiling Feliz.
by oc on Dec 15, 2008 4:58 PM CST up reply actions
Greinke Haul
I would think Hurley or Main for your starting point then Burbon & Arias
or
Perhaps 1 high level prospect such as Smoak and a good “throw in” like David Murphy
I dont think Greinke will take a Teixeira like return
I just told you why he will net a Teixeira-like return.
by oc on Dec 15, 2008 5:42 PM CST up reply actions
what is it about greinke that makes him better than matt cain?
Scout: He was a first-round pick right? Got a huge bonus?
KG: Oh yeah.
Scout: Well, he spent a lot of it on milkshakes.
by knockoutking on Dec 15, 2008 6:53 PM CST up reply actions
- Familiarity with AL hitters
- Better K/9
- Better K/BB
- A year younger
- Hot girlfriend
by oc on Dec 15, 2008 7:28 PM CST up reply actions
fair nuff
and im not so sure on his gf lol
Scout: He was a first-round pick right? Got a huge bonus?
KG: Oh yeah.
Scout: Well, he spent a lot of it on milkshakes.
by knockoutking on Dec 15, 2008 9:16 PM CST up reply actions
Biggest Velocity Jump?
I guess there’s some thought that Blake Beavan will start throwing again with the velocity that he had in high school. But beyond that, I don’t know how you could guess the biggest velocity jump when a major improvement is about 2 MPH.
As for comeback player, I’ll go with Cristian Santana. He lost all of 2006 with Labrum Surgery, a month of 2007 with a broken thumb, and a month of 2008 with an ankle injury. Despite that, Santana’s .232/.297/.396 isn’t that far off of the .283/.308/.403 of Engel Beltre, who is just 4 1/2 months younger than Santana. The big plusses for Beltre were his ability to steal bases (31 for 42) and the fact that Santana struck out 121 times in 360 plate appearances. That being said, with the amount of time away due to injuries — and the effects caused by injuries — Santana still isn’t that far away from top-tier status, and in my opinion, if healthy, could really climb back quickly in 2009.
"Alright class. Now that I've explained how silly the theory of evloution is, and how it's impossible for a specie to change over time, let's refocus on the Bible. I'd like to direct your attention to Genesis. Okay, now here's how the snake lost his voice..."
maybe
but I have to agree with Seiler here that their should be real concern with him. Santana hit .200 against RH batters and that has nothing to do with injuries. He’ll either show that # is a fluke or don the bust jersey.
I'll give it a shot
Most likely to move into top 15: Tim Murphy. I think he could be pushing for OKC by the end of the year
Most likely to move into bottom 15: If you are talking about guys already in the top 15 moving down I would have to go with Neil Ramirez. If his control doesn’t improve his stock would drop significantly IMO no matter how good a curve he has.
If you are talking about guys not ranked moving up I would go with Whittleman. I think if he puts up a decent year he could reemerge as another Travis Metcalf type. A guy who will be a viable 3B fillin but not good enough to be a starter and could be a addon to a trade to land us a good player
Sleepers: Kennil Gomez and Wilmer Font. If Gomez does at Bakersfield what he did in Clinton he should shoot up the charts. And if Font finally pitches in a league above rookie ball and flashes the tools we have become so enamored with he could jump up a bunch too.
Most Improved: Mitch Moreland. Once they figure out what position he is going to play I think he will take off
Most surprising assignment: Wilmer Font to Hickory. This is completely out of left field because frankly I am very skeptical about Font but I think he could start out in Hickory and completely skip Spokane. Maybe not at the beginning of their season but mid May maybe
Most likely to make the big club out of spring training: Julio Borbon. A trade of Byrd and an injury to either Boggs or Murphy along with Borbon continuing to show his better plate discipline could lead to Borbon starting off in Arlington. Maybe only for a couple weeks but he has options so its a possibility
Most likely to play significant role for Rangers before trade deadline: Eric Hurley. Starts off in OKC but by May 1 has been called up due to injury. Cements his place in the rotation and is a huge reason we trade one of our veterans before the trade deadline
Comeback player: Christian Santana. Is healthy and reemerges as a good catching prospect
Who progresses through 2 or more levels? Micheal Main. Starts in Bakersfield and by June 1st is in Frisco and by August 1st is in OKC
Who transitions from starter to reliever, reliever to starter? Tommy Hunter. Realizes his ultimate role is a reliever and makes the move. Is up by the deadline and never looks back
Biggest velocity jump: Gotta be Beavan. He gets back to low-mid 90s
Most improved secondary stuff: Got to be Feliz. Masters his change and works on his breaking ball. Is in the Ranger bullpen by September
Best Power Hitter: Justin Smoak. Beast
Best Hitter for average: Elvis Andrus. I believe in the King
Bryan Smith (12:17:17 PM PT): Justin Smoak and Josh Hamilton. The AL West might just have found their Bash Brothers, v. 2.0.
good comments
Most Improved: Mitch Moreland. Once they figure out what position he is going to play I think he will take off Finally some gives me him some respect.
Most likely to make the big club out of spring training: Julio Borbon. I was thinking the same thing.
Most likely to play significant role for Rangers before trade deadline: Eric Hurley. I think he make she rotation out of ST.
Who progresses through 2 or more levels? Micheal Main. Starts in Bakersfield and by June 1st is in Frisco and by August 1st is in OKC Waaayyy too fast. He has less than 100 IP in professional ball. Give him time.
I also agree with your comments about Beaven and Hunter.
Mitch Moreland - Rangers 2009 Minor League Player of the Year
Main
We also thought Feliz was fast to jump High A completely when going into the season he had 70 innings in 2 years as a pro. I just have a feeling Main busts out this year. He gets about 70 innings in Bakersfield (10-12 starts), then moves to Frisco where he dominates in about 7580 innings (11-13 starts), and then makes a cameo in OKC for a couple starts at the end of the year. Holland and Feliz both made big jumps last year with little pro experience prior to that based on their talent and potential. I think Main does something similar this year
Bryan Smith (12:17:17 PM PT): Justin Smoak and Josh Hamilton. The AL West might just have found their Bash Brothers, v. 2.0.
7580 innings?
How long are the games in Frisco?
nolan must be really serious
about toughening up our young pitchers
by Smoakin in the Boys Room on Dec 16, 2008 5:47 PM CST up reply actions
I'll take a shot at a few...
biggest jump/ most improved : Ross
biggest fall : Boscan
sleepers : Santana and Moreland
comeback player : Whittleman
progresses 2 or more levels : Smoak, Feliz, Strop, Ross
velo jump : Beavan
improved secondary stuff : Feliz
best power/average hitter : Smaok
"The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance."-Socrates
my take
Becomes a top-15 prospect: Joe Wieland. I wouldn’t be surprised if he puts up a sub 3.00 ERA at Hickory. He seems like the type of confidant pitcher who won’t be phased by his initial experience with full-season ball.
Top-15 prospect that falls by the wayside: Blake Beavan. I’m not sure his velocity is coming back, guys. Great if it does. But if it doesn’t he just might end up getting knocked around in the Cal League enough to dampen his prospect status. We’ll be making jokes about how that was the best home run Beavan has ever seen.
Sleepers: Clark Murphy and Geuris Grullon. It wouldn’t surprise me if Murphy went on a Davis-in-2007-like bash parade for at least part of the season. He’s got that great raw power, but he’s bound to be too inconsistent to mash like that for the whole season. As for Geuris, I’m envisioning a left-handed Boscan-like emergence onto the scene. He’ll be a bit wilder than Boscan, but much improved (and a bit more filled out) than he was last year. Strikeouts and groundouts in bunches from a lefty = awesome. Did I mention he has four pitches?
Most Improved: Wilmer Font. He’s had the fastball, but now he becomes a pitcher. Bats everywhere go on strike in fear of the man-child.
Most surprising assignment: Beltre repeats A-ball to start the season in Hickory. After a couple months of proving he can take a walk he’s moved up to Bakersfield.
Most likely to make the big club out of spring training: Joaquin Arias as the utility infielder. Out of guys who haven’t played in the bigs yet, I’d have to say Borbon.
Most likely to play significant role for Rangers before trade deadline: Eric Hurley. He played well in spurts in Arlington last year, but now he helps stabilize the back-end of the rotation and wins 8 games by the deadline with an ERA under 5.
Comeback player: Thomas Diamond. Returns fully healthy and moves into the Rangers bullpen by June to eventually take Benoit’s job as RH setup man.
Progresses through 2 or more levels: Tim Murphy. He fits the profile of a pitcher who is solid but not great across the board. He’ll do well enough to move through Bakersfield, Frisco, and end in Oklahoma for the playoff run.
Starter to reliever: Diamond. He’s a guy with good stuff and a good attitude on the mound, but he is coming back fully healthy for the first time in awhile. The Rangers have their bullpen woes and decide Diamond can best help them in relief, where he excels.
Biggest velocity jump: Geuris Grullon. Currently pitches upper 80s, lower 90s, but he’s starting to fill out that projectible frame and starts to hit 94-95 with his fastball. I can’t really predict a Hollandesque velo increase from anyone, and I don’t believe Beavan’s will return.
Most improved secondary stuff: Kyle O’Campo. It seems he’s been working pretty hard on his secondary stuff the past year. I believe he starts seeing some pretty good results in Spokane.
Best Power Hitter: Justin Smoak + Cal League = drool.
Best Hitter for average: Tim Smith. I believe in this guy’s hitting ability. He may never be more than a 4th outfielder in the majors, and he’s not a “wow” player like Beltre, but he’s got the smarts and the work-ethic to get hits in bunches.
Don't bet money, but....
Becomes a top-15 prospect: Joe Wieland. Awesome Joe continues to baffle hitters and is the name KLaw and others outside of the organization begin to talk about.
Top-15 prospect that falls by the wayside: Beltre. Engel can’t figure out how to lay off pitches and despite the great tools falls behind several guys who are figuring it out.
Sleepers: Mitch Moreland, Kennil Gomez, and Tanner Roark. All put up solid numbers in leagues that should challenge them but really don’t. Moreland in particular is going to make it hard for the Rangers to take the bat out of his hands despite the fact that he can pitch.
Most Improved: Ben Henry. Will finally show why he choose baseball over the Navy.
Most surprising assignment: Melo in Spokane rather than the AZ league. Just like Perez before him.
Most likely to make the big club out of spring training: Joaquin Arias as the utility infielder. German Duran is our opening day 3rd baseman.
Most likely to play significant role for Rangers before trade deadline: Matt Harrison is going to make the Braves hate the Tex trade even more than the all ready do. Nine wins and a 4.20 era.
Comeback player: Jake Brigham and Kennil Gomez both return from injury cementing their status as prospects to watch in 2010.
Progresses through 2 or more levels: Smoak and Beau Jones. Smoak will be in OKC by September and Jones will be in the Rangers bullpen by then as well.
Starter to reliever: Doug Mathis, Thomas Diamond
Biggest velocity jump: Boscan adds some weight and velocity.
Most improved secondary stuff: Richard Bieler.
Best Power Hitter: Mitch Moreland and Justin Smoak
Best Hitter for average: Max Ramirez
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