Starting Five
No. 1 Mike Stanton, RF Double-A Jacksonville Suns
Age: 20
What He’s Done: .338/.489/.789 (71ab) 9hr 20bb 19k
Gimme More: The 20 year old phenom is tearing apart the Southern League. He leads the league in OBP, OPS, homeruns, and RBI. He’s seemingly has nothing left to prove in Double-A especially with the news coming out that he has been intentionally walked a few times as pitchers are petrified of him. It’s only a matter of weeks (maybe even days) until he is down in New Orleans.
Editor’s Note: He just hit #10 as this was being written
No. 2 Alejandro Sanabia, SP Double-A Jacksonville Suns
Age: 21
What He’s Done: 2-0, 0.71era, 25.1ip, 17h, 1hr, 7bb, 23k, .185baa
Gimme More: Sanabia didn’t get too much pub coming off a solid season in Jupiter but he’s been absolutely lights out in 4 starts with Jacksonville. The main reason for taking his game to the next level appears to be his changeup that he has near perfected over the last 2 seasons. Keeping Southern League hitters off balance, Sanabia has yet to give up more than 5 hits in any game this season.
No. 3 Logan Morrison, 1B Triple-A New Orleans Zephyrs
Age: 22
What He’s Done: .300/.383/.600 (40ab) 2hr 6bb 6k
Gimme More: LoMo came into Spring Training with a chance to win the everyday first base job but lost out to fellow prospect Gaby Sanchez. At the end of the day, this could be a blessing for everyone involved. Morrison has gotten off to a hot start in the Pacific Coast League but a collision with a player last week has put him on the 7 day DL with a shoulder injury. He is set to have an MRI this week.
No. 4 Ryan Tucker, SP Triple-A New Orleans Zephyrs
Age:22
What He’s Done: 0-1, 2.70era, 16.2ip, 17h, 0hr, 4bb, 11k, .258baa
Gimme More: Tucker is starting to figure out that hitters in Double A and higher can sit on that 95mph fastball if that is the only pitch you can run through the strikezone. He now operates with a much improved slider and it is keeping hitters off balance enough for him to have some success early on in the season. It will be interesting to see if the organization keeps him in the AAA rotation, a place where he clearly looks more comfortable than out of the bullpen.
No. 5 Osvaldo Martinez, SS Double-A Jacksonville Suns
Age: 22
What He’s Done: .351/.438/.416 (77ab) 5xbh 11bb 11k
Gimme More: Coming off a disappointing season in Jupiter, Martinez has come out guns-a-blazin in Jupiter. He got a chance to go to his first major league camp in March and definitely opened some eyes with his smooth defense and baserunning prowess. He does a good job of working the count and while he doesn’t walk as much as you’d like, he’s well on pace to break his personal record for walks in a season.
Hey, it’s a start
Kyle Skipworth, C Low-A Greensboro Grasshoppers
Age: 20
What He’s Done: .217/.308/.435 (69ab) 3hr 9bb 22k
Gimme More: You can’t really sugar coat it. Right now, former 1st round pick Kyle Skipworth has been a massive disappointment in everyone’s eyes. The good news is that he’s still extremely young but at some point it would be nice if he would produce some. He’s still striking out way too much but his walk rate is much improved and he is showing some good power at the plate. It goes without saying but the average needs to come up, especially considering that half his games are in a hitter’s park.
For Shame:
High-A Jupiter Hammerheads Hitters
Gimme More: There is no Jupiter player with atleast 23 at bats that has a .723 OPS or better. That’s absolutely pathetic. The poster boy might as well be prospect Jake Smolinski. The guy that better make us forget about Josh Willingham is hitting .200/.271/.320 in 75 at bats with just 1 homerun. He has 7 walks and 20 strikeouts. Here’s a guy that struck out just 45 times in 279 at bats last season.
Hangin’ in There:
Chad James, SP Low-A Greensboro Grasshoppers
Age: 19
What He’s Done: 0-3, 4.30era, 14.2ip, 13h, 1hr, 7bb, 14k, .232baa
Gimme More: The Marlins 2009 1st round pick was thrown right into the fire this year by making his debut in Greensboro. Although his era isn’t sparking now, his peripherals are quite sexy. As one of the younger players in the South Atlantic League, James has held his own in 3 starts and in his previous start he went 6 innings, giving up just 4 hits while walking 2. Of course him being on the 7 day DL right now, doesn’t help matters, it will be interesting to see if he can continue to build off this strong start to his career.
What’s A Man Gotta Do?:
Brad Stone, SP/RP Low-A Jacksonville Suns
Age: 26
What He’s Done: 1-1, 2.89era, 18.2ip, 11h, 0hr, 6bb 10k, .167baa
Gimme More: Since being drafted in the 12th round by the Marlins back in 2006, Brad Stone has done one thing. That would be getting hitters out. He has pitched at every level of the organization besides the bigs and sports a career 2.71era, 1.16whip in 282.2 innings of work. It looks like he’s just organizational filler at this point which is a shame as he’s proved that he can be an effective arm out of the bullpen in the minor leagues.
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