NOLA (AAA)
Cameron Maybin
August - 56 AB, .286/.328/.429 (.756), 4/11 BB/K, 1 SB
Season - 298 AB, .319/.399/.463 (.862), 3 HR, 26 2B/3B, 38/58 BB/K, 8/2 SB
Was banged up a little bit which explains the decreased ABs. He is now with the MLB club for the rest of the season. All and all, a pretty good year in AAA. If he hits 60+ extra base hits hits in the majors over 650 AB, he’s going to be one hell of a player. Hopefully more of them turn into homeruns, and those SB numbers go up as well, but this was an excellent year for Cam. He should be penned into center field in 2010.
Gaby Sanchez
August - 66 AB, .318/.458/.576 (1.034), 5 HR, 15/5 BB/K
Season - 298 AB, .292/.377/.470 (.847), 14 HR, 38/42 BB/K, 5/0 SB
Organization won’t let him play at the MLB level, but he continues to rake. The BB/K is pretty excellent, and this could be a .775-.825 OPSing player at the big league level. Which is a very solid starter. Morrison may have more upside, but it should be his job to lose in Spring training for 1B. He deserves the opportunity.
Jai Miller
August - 91 AB, .253/.346/.495 (.841), 6 HR, 11/35 BB/K
Season - 323 AB, .282/.353/.502 (.855), 15 HR, 35/99 BB/K, 6/3 SB
Nothing has changed report to report. Still too many strikeouts. This is the next in the Reggie Abercrombie-Charlton Jimerson line of AAAA toolsy outfielders who will get a few shots in the bigs, but probably aren’t good enough to hold down a backup job because lack of contact. Jai has to be on our 25 man roster in 2010, as he is out of options, so it’s likely he is back for Spring Training 2010 and he must win a job to stay in the organization.
Alejandro De Aza
August - 58 AB, .293/.379/.534 (.913), 2 HR, 6/15 BB/K, 0/2 SB
Season - 258 AB, .295/.359/.508 (.867), 8 HR, 23/51 BB/K, 8/5 SB
Impressive numbers. I still don't like him that much but he should get a shot at a roster spot in Spring '10.
John Raynor
August - 85 AB, .306/.388/.459 (.847), 2 HR, 10/19 BB/K, 4/2 SB
Season - 423 AB, .258/.327/.362 (.689), 6 HR, 39/114 BB/K, 18/8 SB
Ending strong which is nice to see. He’ll be more than likely placed on the 40 man roster before the Rule5 draft and sent back to NOLA in 2010. Those strikeouts are a bit worrisome though.
Brett Hayes
August - 68 AB, .176/.250/.235 (.485), 1 HR, 6/20 BB/K
Season - 322 AB, .239/.281/.323 (.604), 4 HR, 20/66 BB/K, 2/0 SB
Up with the club for September, back to NOLA in April as our 3rd catcher. After this year, he has no chance at the backup roll for 2010. The lack of bat is scary.
Brett Carroll
August - 76 AB, .276/.329/.539 (.869), 5 HR, 6/16 BB/K, 0/1 SB
Season - 103 AB, .233/.295/.427 (.722), 5 HR, 8/23 BB/K, 0/1 SB
BC is out of options after this season, so he will more than likely be the Marlins 4th or 5th outfielder for next year. Hopefully they give him more playing time, as he clearly is the best defensive outfielder in the organization and he has power potential. If he can OPS a mid 700 in a platoon role, that’s a very good player to have around.
JACKSONVILLE (AA)
Bryan Petersen
August - 98 AB, .337/.411/.510 (.921), 3 HR, 13/7 BB/K, 1/6 SB/CS
Season - 410 AB, .302/.375/.422 (.797), 7 HR, 49/66 BB/K, 12/12 SB/CS
He’s been on fire for three months, but the fact he is an outfielder, and pretty much a corner outfielder, makes that lack of HR pop a bit concerning for the longterm. The BB/K and average easily suggest he’ll hit MLB pitching, but even if it’s .290/.360/.440, we’re talking an average OF as the HIGH, with no real longterm potential to turn into an above average producer (which is the goal of every position). I think by 2011, he and Cousins will be in a platoon in LF/RF (depending on where Stanton and Morrison land), but I can only get excited in a “Matt Murton” kind of way, and not as a future starter kind of way.
Logan Morrison
August - 99 AB, .293/.393/.434 (.828), 1 HR, 16/17 BB/K, 3/2 SB/CS
Season - 257 AB, .280/.419/.459 (.878), 8 HR, 61/42 BB/K, 7/3 SB/CS
It’s pretty exciting that his “bad” month is “Chris Coghlan.” Because of the low quantity of ABs, I’d like to see him play winter ball somewhere in the DR, and then get 200 PA in NOLA before the inevitable callup. He will be placed on the 40 man roster by the Rule5 draft.
Scott Cousins
August - 93 AB, .269/.340/.495 (.834), 3 HR, 10/19 BB/K, 5/4 SB/CS
Season - 463 AB, .259/.322/.443 (.765), 39 2B/3B, 12 HR, 42/99 BB/K, 26/9 SB/CS
Ending strong. The strikeouts are a big concern, and you’d like to have seen an extra 15-20 BB on the year, but this was an OK year. Not the breakout we hoped, but he still holds his own and shows enough promise to potentially turn into a longterm starter. Look at the huge quantity of XBH, the speed, and remember he is the second best defensive outfielder we have next to BC. He will be going to the AFL, and probably promoted to AAA next year. He will have to go on the 40 man roster before the Rule5 draft too.
Mike Stanton
August - 100 AB, .210/.281/.390 (.671), 4 HR, 11/34 BB/K
Season AA - 278 AB, .234/.310/.453 (.763), 14 HR, 27/93 BB/K, 1/1 SB
Season A+ - 180 AB, .294/.390/.578 (.968), 12 HR, 28/45 BB/K, 2/2 SB
I’m going to say a .763 OPS as a 19 year old in AA is pretty impressive. Obviously need to see the whiffs go down, walks go up, and add at least 50 points in average, but he held his own which is all you can ask for. He will probably start 2010 in AA again, and if he comes out like he did in Jupiter this year, see a summer promotion to AAA. I still think the first we see him is a September callup in 2010, and maybe become a starting option if everything goes perfect summer 2011. I think it’s likely he’ll be a top 5 overall prospect in MLB when Baseball America releases their new list in the fall.
Matt Dominguez
August/Season AA - 82 AB, .183/.280/.280 (.560), 1 HR, 11/19 BB/K
Season A+ - 381 AB, .262/.333/.420 (.753), 11 HR, 38/68 BB/K, 1/0 SB
Brutal promotion, but he was tearing up A+ (had a horrible start, awesome end of his team in Jupiter which explains the low overall line. Also remember park factors). He will begin in AA next year, and probably stay there the entire season.
JUPITER (A+)
Literally no one of interest.
GREENSBORO (A)
Thomas Hickman
August/Season - 76 AB, .355/.473/.750 (1.223), 7 HR, 16/22 BB/K, 2/2 SB
Blast from the past is killing baseballs. Very old for this level, I’m guessing they move him to Jacksonville to start 2010 and maybe he can reclaim some of his prospect status. If you don’t know who Hickman is, he was considered a “Hermida Lite” when drafted because he walks a ton. But Hickman also likes to strikeout every 3rd AB which really hurts his prospect status.
Jake Smolinski
August - 44 AB, .409/.458/.545 (1.004), 2/8 BB/K
Season - .285/.380/.449 (.829), 7 HR, 36/44 BB/K, 2/5 SB
Got banged up a little, but was ending the year really strong before he did. I hope this is not a trend where he is injury prone, because when he plays he produces pretty well. Very solid season in GBO coming back from a major arm injury. He will probably open in Jupiter and start comparing comparisons to Coghlan if he relatively repeats the success of this season.
Isaac Galloway
August - 95 AB, .263/.283/.368 (.651), 1 HR, 6/28 BB/K, 7/2 SB
Season - 313 AB, .265/.293/.380 (.673), 3 HR, 12//83 BB/K, 14/8 SB
All tools. Way too many Ks. He probably repeats Greensboro. It’s to early to tell, but this may be the next Greg Burns who everyone loves athletically, but just doesn’t put it together as a player. But he’s very young so this could turn around real quick.
Kyle Skipworth
August - 17 AB, .235/.316/.647 (.963), 2 HR, 2/4 BB/K
Season - 264 AB, .208/.263/.348 (.612), 7 HR, 18/91 BB/K, 1/2 SB
Got hurt, but he hit some HR. Anything positive. He will start again in Greensboro, and it just has to be better. He’s the biggest bust of the 2008 draft as of right now.
JAMESTOWN (A-)
No one of interest.
GCL Marlins (R)
Marcell Ozuna
August - 91 AB, .264/.349/.396 (.744), 2 HR, 13/26 BB/K
Season - 214 AB, .313/.377/.486 (.863), 5 HR, 22/52 BB/K, 4/2 SB
Slowed down a bit, but looking OK. That’s a lot of strikeouts, but he’s extremely young. He’ll probably get some time in Jamestown and Greensboro next year where the real talent evaluation will begin.
Showing posts with label 2009 Top 50 Prospects. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2009 Top 50 Prospects. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Thomas Hickman : Revenge of the Fallen
I don't really know what the title of this article means, but I liked it. So whatever.
With the 63rd overall pick in the 2006 draft, the Marlins selected outfielder Thomas Hickman. A two way player in high school, the Marlins decided he was more projectable as a hitter, so pitching was quickly scrapped from his resume. Like many left handed hitters, he has a smooth stroke and allows ball to travel deep before centering them. His first 175 professional at bats with the Gulf Coast League Marlins were promising as he hit .263/.377/.411. After that season, some in the Marlins organization began calling him "Baby Hermida” because of his swing and good eye at the plate.
Signing for $575,000 out of Pepperell HS in Georgia, Hickman hit .183/.278/.256 in 164 at bats while in short season Jamestown. On the one hand, he again showed a strong walk rate; on the other hand, he also struck out at an astronomical pace. Making any kind of contact was an issue for Thomas, and when he did get a hit, rarely did he provide any power. Not blessed with blazing speed, he’ll be relegated to one of the corner outfield spots, although he has good instincts. Because of his strong arm, to go along with promising power, he could develop into a real good right fielder. These things were also said about the Marlins current right fielder, Jeremy Hermida. Of note in his season in Greensboro in 2008, his OPS improved every month, culminating in a .872 August. He also managed to have a .250 increase in OPS (.897) with runners on base as opposed to the bases empty in just about the same amount of at bats.
Because of his youth and his walk rate, there is still a bit of promise for Hickman as scouts believe as he matures and gains more muscle, he will show significant gap and homerun power. He has a good confidence about him and the Marlins love his makeup. Many believe he will be a prototype 2 hole hitter in the majors, but he needs to make better contact. Just 21 years old, Thomas should have spent most of this season in High-A Jupiter, but only saw 70 at bats where he hit .129/.274/.229 with an amazing 33 strikeouts. He then got hurt (when you swing and miss so often, you're bound to sprain something) and when he returned, he went back to Low-A Greensboro. Since his return, Hickman has been en fuego hitting .333/.467/.729 in his first 15 games in the SALLY. He's walked 12 times while striking out 12 times in that span.
Yea, him repeating Greensboro is not impressive at all but considering how bad he was earlier in the year, it looks like there's still some potential with Hickman after all. We'll have to see how he finishes his season as there is just a few games left in the minor league year. He was Future Fish's 26th ranked prosect to start 2009, he'll probably be in the same company heading into 2010.
Friday, August 7, 2009
What's the deal with Jeff Allison?
(hopefully you read the title to yourself as if you were Jerry Seinfeld)
So here we are. 24 year old former phenom Jeff Allison has finally made it to Double-A ball up in Jacksonville. In his debut for the Suns, he went 5 innings and gave up 6 hits, 2 runs (both earned), walked 1 and struck out 3. This promotion is coming on the heels of his second go around in High-A Jupiter, this time a bit more successful than in 2008. In 20 starts for the Hammerheads this year, Allison went 4-8 with a 3.87era to go with a .275baa.
Because of the Marlins record in 2002, they had the 16th overall pick in the 2003 draft. They decided on the right-handed Jeff Allison from Veterans Memorial HS, in Peabody, Massachusetts. In his senior season at VMHS, Allison went 9-0, 0,00era with 142 strikeouts in 64 innings, giving up just 13 hits, nine walked and 1 unearned run. He only fell to the Marlins at 16 because of bonus demands, but that didn’t scare the Marlins away as they gave him a $1.85mil bonus. Right away he was compared to Marlins pitcher Josh Beckett and some believed he would be on the same kind of fast track that Josh was on. Allison had the best fastball (92-97mph) and curveball (80-86mph with nasty break) of any pitcher in the draft. In his first 9 major league innings, Allison didn’t allow a run. He was slated to debut for the low-A Greensboro Grasshoppers in 2004, but he took a major detour. Jeff nearly died after overdosing on the drugs oxycontin and heroine. After what looked he got his act together, Jeff made his Greensboro debut in 2005. Because of the layoff Allison’s stuff wasn’t nearly as good, but there were flashes of brilliance. His fastball was down to the high 80s-low 90s, but the big curveball was still there. He improved start by start and by the end of the year, he was going 6-7 innings in each start.
Again it looked like his career was getting back on track. Then in August of 2006 he overdosed again. Massachusetts police found Allison unconscious in an apartment building. Rescue workers revived Allison at the scene, and he was hospitalized in Winchester, Mass., and later released. In October of 2006, Jeff was arrested after an officer found him driving what was reportedly a stolen Dodge Ram. Inside the truck were heroin and drug paraphernalia, specifically syringes. He was facing 3 felony charges. He has since been able to get his life back on track.
His season in Jupiter in 2008 was a mixed bag. He pitched great in his first 10 starts of the year and then got hit hard towards the end of May and all of June. His arm got tired down the stretch but that was to be expected of him. Jeff no longer has the 95mph fastball he once had as he mainly works in the upper 80s and can reach 91-92 on occasion. His curveball shows glimpses of the table-dropper he once had. His changeup is still an above average pitch. At 24, soon to be 25, Allison can still be considered a prospect, albeit not a great one. He'll have a handful of starts in Jacksonville before their season is over.
So here we are. 24 year old former phenom Jeff Allison has finally made it to Double-A ball up in Jacksonville. In his debut for the Suns, he went 5 innings and gave up 6 hits, 2 runs (both earned), walked 1 and struck out 3. This promotion is coming on the heels of his second go around in High-A Jupiter, this time a bit more successful than in 2008. In 20 starts for the Hammerheads this year, Allison went 4-8 with a 3.87era to go with a .275baa.
Because of the Marlins record in 2002, they had the 16th overall pick in the 2003 draft. They decided on the right-handed Jeff Allison from Veterans Memorial HS, in Peabody, Massachusetts. In his senior season at VMHS, Allison went 9-0, 0,00era with 142 strikeouts in 64 innings, giving up just 13 hits, nine walked and 1 unearned run. He only fell to the Marlins at 16 because of bonus demands, but that didn’t scare the Marlins away as they gave him a $1.85mil bonus. Right away he was compared to Marlins pitcher Josh Beckett and some believed he would be on the same kind of fast track that Josh was on. Allison had the best fastball (92-97mph) and curveball (80-86mph with nasty break) of any pitcher in the draft. In his first 9 major league innings, Allison didn’t allow a run. He was slated to debut for the low-A Greensboro Grasshoppers in 2004, but he took a major detour. Jeff nearly died after overdosing on the drugs oxycontin and heroine. After what looked he got his act together, Jeff made his Greensboro debut in 2005. Because of the layoff Allison’s stuff wasn’t nearly as good, but there were flashes of brilliance. His fastball was down to the high 80s-low 90s, but the big curveball was still there. He improved start by start and by the end of the year, he was going 6-7 innings in each start.
Again it looked like his career was getting back on track. Then in August of 2006 he overdosed again. Massachusetts police found Allison unconscious in an apartment building. Rescue workers revived Allison at the scene, and he was hospitalized in Winchester, Mass., and later released. In October of 2006, Jeff was arrested after an officer found him driving what was reportedly a stolen Dodge Ram. Inside the truck were heroin and drug paraphernalia, specifically syringes. He was facing 3 felony charges. He has since been able to get his life back on track.
His season in Jupiter in 2008 was a mixed bag. He pitched great in his first 10 starts of the year and then got hit hard towards the end of May and all of June. His arm got tired down the stretch but that was to be expected of him. Jeff no longer has the 95mph fastball he once had as he mainly works in the upper 80s and can reach 91-92 on occasion. His curveball shows glimpses of the table-dropper he once had. His changeup is still an above average pitch. At 24, soon to be 25, Allison can still be considered a prospect, albeit not a great one. He'll have a handful of starts in Jacksonville before their season is over.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
July Roundup: Pitching Prospects
Remember when this organization was all pitching prospects/no hitting prospects? Things have changed in a big way. Analysis c/o lou at http://soflamarlins.com/
NOLA (AAA)
Brett Sinkbeil RP
Season as Reliever - 30 IP, 3.90 era, 1.60 whip (33 H, 15 BB), 18 K, .289 BAA
Hayden Penn SP/RP
July - 22.1 IP, 7.66 era, 1.88 whip (31 H, 11 BB), 16 K, .337 BAA
Tim Wood RP
Season - 32.1 IP, 2.51 era, 1.36 whip (31 H, 13 BB), 28 K, .248 BAA
Andrew Miller SP
has been absolutely obliterated for 10 ER in 5.2 IP since being sent down.
Chris Mobley RP
Season - 41.2 IP, 3.24 era, 1.29 whip (47 H, 7 BB), 33 K, .283 BAA
So the quick wrap up. It’s looking like a real smart idea of putting Wood on the 40 man and protecting him from the Rule5 draft as he is turning in a quality season (whip is a little high, but whatever) between AAA/MLB levels. Penn is still horrific. Miller who the hell knows (and now he's hurt his ankle fielding a come backer). Mobley continues to put up solid numbers at every level. He probably won’t ever really see time with the Marlins as we have better RP prospects, but he has excellent control, decent GB rates (historically anyways), and could be a 4th or 5th righty out of the bullpen in a year or two. At least Sink is doing SOMETHING.
Jax (AA)
Aaron Thompson - Traded for Nick Johnson (Good trade, hopefully Thompson gets a Sept callup in DC)
Christian Martinez SP/RP
July - 36 IP, 5.00 era, 1.44 whip (44 H, 8 BB), 18 K, .308 BAA
Graham Taylor SP
July - 20 IP, 8.10 era... and I don’t need to type the rest
Sean West
July - 15.1 IP, 5.28 era, 1.43 whip (16 H, 6 BB), 11 K, .267 BAA
Season MILB - 58 IP, 4.97 era, 1.51 whip (60 H, 28 BB), 61 K, .262 BAA, 12 HR, .74 GB/FB
Season MLB - 55 IP, 4.91 era, 1.47 whip (60 H, 28 BB), 29 K, .251 BAA, 7 HR, .65 GB/FB
Chris Leroux
Season - 42.1 IP, 3.19 era, 1.29 whip (42 H, 13 BB), 36 K, .259 BAA, -0- HR
Brad Stone
Season AA - 27 IP, 2.00 era, 1.03 whip (27 H, 1 BB), 16 K, .255 BAA
Grant Parcell
Season - 16.2 IP, .54 era, 1.14 whip (8 H, 11 BB), 17 K, .138 BAA
DL - Winters, Ceda, and Owens
So the quick wrap up. We lost our 2nd best lefty at the A+/AA/AAA levels with Thompson for Nick Johnson, but it’s not a huge loss. Graham Taylor has forgotten how to pitch since getting his ass handed to him in the bigs. Christian Martinez is down to earth and proving to be an organizational arm and nothing more. West has been consistently awful all year. I hope this is a byproduct of working intensely on offspeed pitches, because his FB rates have doubled (last year 1.40), and he’s giving up a lot more HR. Leroux has been up and down and having a solid year. Stone has jumped around a few levels, but has settled in nicely in Jax. A little old, but can’t argue with that control. Parcell is a sleeper RP prospect back from injury. The rust is to be expected a little bit, see those walks, but that’s a nice first 16.2 innings back from the shelf.
JUPITER (A+)
Alejandro Sanabia SP
July - 27.1 IP, 4.28 era, 1.28 whip (22 H, 13 BB), 15 K, .227 BAA
Season - 104.1 IP, 3.45 era, 1.20 whip (89 H, 36 BB), 68 K, .231 BAA, .87 GB/FB
Kris Harvey
Season - 56.1 IP, 3.83 era, 1.35 whip (50 H, 26 BB), 46 K, .235 BAA
July - Really ugly, 8+ era month
Steve Cishek
Season - 54 IP, 2.83 era, .87 whip (34 H, 13 BB), 43 K, .181 BAA, 1.97 GB/FB
Slowing down a little bit, 3.50 era over 28 IP June-July
Elih Villanueva SP
Season as SP - 126.2 IP, 2.98 era, 1.06 whip (122 H, 13 BB), 87 K, .252 BAA
Jeff Allison SP
Season as SP - 109.1 IP, 3.87 era, 1.31 whip (119 H, 25 BB), 56 K, .275 BAA
Jose Rosario SP
Season A+ - 94 IP, 2.68 era, .93 whip (66 H, 22 BB), 80 K, .195 BAA
Brett Harker SP/RP
Season A+ - 76.1 IP, 2.59 era, 1.06 whip (66 H, 15 BB), 40 K, .232 BAA
Sanabia had an OK month. I’d like to see more whiffs and more groundballs, but he’s still having a nice ‘breakout’ year and is easily one of our top 5 pitching prospects at this time. Harvey has finally hit the learning curve wall and got lit up the last month. Still, an incredible transition to a RP and maybe he has a true breakout performance next year. Cishek as I said, slowing down a bit, but he’s getting 2-1 groundballs and missing some bats. He and Parcell are probably the two sneaky future bullpen candidates we have. As for the other four, they should count their blessings they pitch in Jupiter. What a pitcher’s park.
GBO (A)
Kyle Kaminska SP
July - 33 IP, 2.73 era, 1.15 whip (31 H, 7 BB), 17 K, .252 BAA
Season - 117 IP, 3.46 era, 1.30 whip (119 H, 34 BB), 88 K, .264 BAA, .87 GB/FB
Brad Hand SP
July - 30.1 IP, 4.15 era, 1.68 whip (45 H, 16 BB), 35 K, .299 BAA
May thru July - 81 IP, 4.33 era, 1.58 whip (91 H, 37 BB), 72 K, 8 HR
Pete Andrelczyk RP
Season - 53.1 IP, 2.36 era, 1.18 whip (50 H, 13 BB), 66 K, .244 BAA
Dan Jennings RP
Season - 46.1 IP, 2.91 era, 1.31 whip (41 H, 20 BB), 50 K, .244 BAA
Kaminska has really been killing people for 2 months now. His June line was very similar to his July line. It’s important to note how much of a launching pad GBO in, so any success here is very notable. Kaminska is poised for a big breakout in Jupiter next. Hand, and I am being very generous erasing his April which we will not speak of, has been OK all year. The walks are a major problem, but he’s striking out some guys and as he grows you’d hope he starts giving up less hits. Andrelczyk, and Jennings (whose a lefty) have been killing people all year out of the pen. There have also been a few other solid performances (Dorn 3.69 era/1.28 whip, Koehler 2.96 era/1.31 whip, Todd 3.00 era/1.04 whip), but these things take me awhile and I can’t cover every college guy dominating 19 year olds in A ball.
Jamestown (A-) and GCL Marlins (R)
To young to really track, but Sandy Rosario 42.1 IP/1.70 era/41 K, Stephen Richards (who is the one name I do know, he is a lefty reliever from Arkansas) 10.1 IP/2.61 era/10K, and Curtis Petersen 38 IP/4.03 era/29 K are throwing solid in Jamestown, and a bunch of guys (Estevez, Sprague, Eskew, Topp, Morales, Hernandez, Chirinos) are dominating the GCL. Your guess is as good as mine to whether these guys hold up at future levels, but it’s safe to say all of these names are 4-5 years away if any of them pan out into legitimate prospects.
Ryan Tucker
Start 1 - 5 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 5 BB, 3 K
Start 2 - 6 IP, 3 ER, 6 H, 2 BB, 2 K
Pitched 2 games for the GCL. Slowly coming back.
First and Second round picks in 2009, James and Berglund, are not pitching. Or even signed.
NOLA (AAA)
Brett Sinkbeil RP
Season as Reliever - 30 IP, 3.90 era, 1.60 whip (33 H, 15 BB), 18 K, .289 BAA
Hayden Penn SP/RP
July - 22.1 IP, 7.66 era, 1.88 whip (31 H, 11 BB), 16 K, .337 BAA
Tim Wood RP
Season - 32.1 IP, 2.51 era, 1.36 whip (31 H, 13 BB), 28 K, .248 BAA
Andrew Miller SP
has been absolutely obliterated for 10 ER in 5.2 IP since being sent down.
Chris Mobley RP
Season - 41.2 IP, 3.24 era, 1.29 whip (47 H, 7 BB), 33 K, .283 BAA
So the quick wrap up. It’s looking like a real smart idea of putting Wood on the 40 man and protecting him from the Rule5 draft as he is turning in a quality season (whip is a little high, but whatever) between AAA/MLB levels. Penn is still horrific. Miller who the hell knows (and now he's hurt his ankle fielding a come backer). Mobley continues to put up solid numbers at every level. He probably won’t ever really see time with the Marlins as we have better RP prospects, but he has excellent control, decent GB rates (historically anyways), and could be a 4th or 5th righty out of the bullpen in a year or two. At least Sink is doing SOMETHING.
Jax (AA)
Aaron Thompson - Traded for Nick Johnson (Good trade, hopefully Thompson gets a Sept callup in DC)
Christian Martinez SP/RP
July - 36 IP, 5.00 era, 1.44 whip (44 H, 8 BB), 18 K, .308 BAA
Graham Taylor SP
July - 20 IP, 8.10 era... and I don’t need to type the rest
Sean West
July - 15.1 IP, 5.28 era, 1.43 whip (16 H, 6 BB), 11 K, .267 BAA
Season MILB - 58 IP, 4.97 era, 1.51 whip (60 H, 28 BB), 61 K, .262 BAA, 12 HR, .74 GB/FB
Season MLB - 55 IP, 4.91 era, 1.47 whip (60 H, 28 BB), 29 K, .251 BAA, 7 HR, .65 GB/FB
Chris Leroux
Season - 42.1 IP, 3.19 era, 1.29 whip (42 H, 13 BB), 36 K, .259 BAA, -0- HR
Brad Stone
Season AA - 27 IP, 2.00 era, 1.03 whip (27 H, 1 BB), 16 K, .255 BAA
Grant Parcell
Season - 16.2 IP, .54 era, 1.14 whip (8 H, 11 BB), 17 K, .138 BAA
DL - Winters, Ceda, and Owens
So the quick wrap up. We lost our 2nd best lefty at the A+/AA/AAA levels with Thompson for Nick Johnson, but it’s not a huge loss. Graham Taylor has forgotten how to pitch since getting his ass handed to him in the bigs. Christian Martinez is down to earth and proving to be an organizational arm and nothing more. West has been consistently awful all year. I hope this is a byproduct of working intensely on offspeed pitches, because his FB rates have doubled (last year 1.40), and he’s giving up a lot more HR. Leroux has been up and down and having a solid year. Stone has jumped around a few levels, but has settled in nicely in Jax. A little old, but can’t argue with that control. Parcell is a sleeper RP prospect back from injury. The rust is to be expected a little bit, see those walks, but that’s a nice first 16.2 innings back from the shelf.
JUPITER (A+)
Alejandro Sanabia SP
July - 27.1 IP, 4.28 era, 1.28 whip (22 H, 13 BB), 15 K, .227 BAA
Season - 104.1 IP, 3.45 era, 1.20 whip (89 H, 36 BB), 68 K, .231 BAA, .87 GB/FB
Kris Harvey
Season - 56.1 IP, 3.83 era, 1.35 whip (50 H, 26 BB), 46 K, .235 BAA
July - Really ugly, 8+ era month
Steve Cishek
Season - 54 IP, 2.83 era, .87 whip (34 H, 13 BB), 43 K, .181 BAA, 1.97 GB/FB
Slowing down a little bit, 3.50 era over 28 IP June-July
Elih Villanueva SP
Season as SP - 126.2 IP, 2.98 era, 1.06 whip (122 H, 13 BB), 87 K, .252 BAA
Jeff Allison SP
Season as SP - 109.1 IP, 3.87 era, 1.31 whip (119 H, 25 BB), 56 K, .275 BAA
Jose Rosario SP
Season A+ - 94 IP, 2.68 era, .93 whip (66 H, 22 BB), 80 K, .195 BAA
Brett Harker SP/RP
Season A+ - 76.1 IP, 2.59 era, 1.06 whip (66 H, 15 BB), 40 K, .232 BAA
Sanabia had an OK month. I’d like to see more whiffs and more groundballs, but he’s still having a nice ‘breakout’ year and is easily one of our top 5 pitching prospects at this time. Harvey has finally hit the learning curve wall and got lit up the last month. Still, an incredible transition to a RP and maybe he has a true breakout performance next year. Cishek as I said, slowing down a bit, but he’s getting 2-1 groundballs and missing some bats. He and Parcell are probably the two sneaky future bullpen candidates we have. As for the other four, they should count their blessings they pitch in Jupiter. What a pitcher’s park.
GBO (A)
Kyle Kaminska SP
July - 33 IP, 2.73 era, 1.15 whip (31 H, 7 BB), 17 K, .252 BAA
Season - 117 IP, 3.46 era, 1.30 whip (119 H, 34 BB), 88 K, .264 BAA, .87 GB/FB
Brad Hand SP
July - 30.1 IP, 4.15 era, 1.68 whip (45 H, 16 BB), 35 K, .299 BAA
May thru July - 81 IP, 4.33 era, 1.58 whip (91 H, 37 BB), 72 K, 8 HR
Pete Andrelczyk RP
Season - 53.1 IP, 2.36 era, 1.18 whip (50 H, 13 BB), 66 K, .244 BAA
Dan Jennings RP
Season - 46.1 IP, 2.91 era, 1.31 whip (41 H, 20 BB), 50 K, .244 BAA
Kaminska has really been killing people for 2 months now. His June line was very similar to his July line. It’s important to note how much of a launching pad GBO in, so any success here is very notable. Kaminska is poised for a big breakout in Jupiter next. Hand, and I am being very generous erasing his April which we will not speak of, has been OK all year. The walks are a major problem, but he’s striking out some guys and as he grows you’d hope he starts giving up less hits. Andrelczyk, and Jennings (whose a lefty) have been killing people all year out of the pen. There have also been a few other solid performances (Dorn 3.69 era/1.28 whip, Koehler 2.96 era/1.31 whip, Todd 3.00 era/1.04 whip), but these things take me awhile and I can’t cover every college guy dominating 19 year olds in A ball.
Jamestown (A-) and GCL Marlins (R)
To young to really track, but Sandy Rosario 42.1 IP/1.70 era/41 K, Stephen Richards (who is the one name I do know, he is a lefty reliever from Arkansas) 10.1 IP/2.61 era/10K, and Curtis Petersen 38 IP/4.03 era/29 K are throwing solid in Jamestown, and a bunch of guys (Estevez, Sprague, Eskew, Topp, Morales, Hernandez, Chirinos) are dominating the GCL. Your guess is as good as mine to whether these guys hold up at future levels, but it’s safe to say all of these names are 4-5 years away if any of them pan out into legitimate prospects.
Ryan Tucker
Start 1 - 5 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 5 BB, 3 K
Start 2 - 6 IP, 3 ER, 6 H, 2 BB, 2 K
Pitched 2 games for the GCL. Slowly coming back.
First and Second round picks in 2009, James and Berglund, are not pitching. Or even signed.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
July Roundup: Hitting Prospects
analysis c/o lou over at SoFlaMarlins.com
NOLA (AAA)
Cameron Maybin CF
July - 103 AB, .320/.403/.485 (.889), 2 HR, 15/24 BB/K, 2/0 SB
Season - 244 AB, .328/.415/.471 (.886), 3 HR, 34/47 BB/K, 7/2 SB
Gaby Sanchez 1B/3B
July - 61 AB, .246/.310/.377 (.687), 2 HR, 6/6 BB/K, 2/0 SB
Season 234 AB, .282/.353/.436 (.789), 9 HR, 25/38 BB/K, 5/0 SB
Brett Hayes C
July - 75 AB, .242/.263/.360 (.623), 2 HR, 3/13 BB/K
Season - 255 AB, .255/.291/.345 (.636), 3 HR, 14/62 BB/K, 2/0 SB
Jai Miller CF
July - 70 AB, .300/.351/.557 (.908), 5 HR, 6/22 BB/K, 1/0 SB
Season - 235 AB, .289/.352/.498 (.950), 9 HR, 24/66 BB/K, 6/3 SB
vs LHP 6 HR, 1.112 OPS, vs RHP 3 HR .725 OPS
John Raynor LF/RF
July - 77 AB, .221/.333/.286 (.619), 1 HR, 13/31 BB/K, 6/1 SB
Season - 342 AB, .243/.308/.333 (.641), 4 HR, 29/97 BB/K, 14/6 SB
So business as usual. Maybin isn’t hitting for much HR power, but has an excellent average, BB rate, and the K rate is much improved from last year. It’s just a question of when he comes up at this point. In other threads, I have detailed his future arbitration status which may be of importance here. Basically, if the Marlins call up Maybin now, he will be a Super2 in 2012 and the Marlins will be on the hook for an extra $2-3 million in salary. If the Marlins call him up around August 20th, take maybe a week or so, Maybin will probably not be a Super2 and the Marlins will have Maybin club controlled 2010-2012. Kind of a big deal. If the Marlins don’t ‘need’ him for the playoff push, he should stay down for a few more weeks just to preserve his status.
Gaby had a bad July, but he was up with the Marlins for a bit explaining the low PA. I kind of feel that Gaby’s current minor league line is what he’d be doing in the big leagues. And I’m more than happy with that for a few club controlled years. Jai is really smashing lefties, but still can’t be considered much of a prospect since he can’t hit RHP. Jai is out of options after this year, so I’d suspect he is out of the organization in March unless he wins a job on the big league roster somehow. Hayes and Raynor are just brutal and will surely repeat AAA.
JAX (AA)
Bryan Petersen RF
July - 54 AB, .315/.373/.500 (.873), 2 HR, 4/8 BB/K, 1/1 SB
Season - 315 AB, .292/.365/.394 (.759), 4 HR, 37/60 BB/K, 11/7 SB
vs LHP 0 HR, .605 OPS. vs RHP, 4 HR, .797 OPS
Logan Morrison 1B/LF
July - 83 AB, .313/.500/.554 (1.054), 5 HR, 31/15 BB/K (not a typo), 3/0 SB
Season - 161 AB, .267/.430/.466 (.896), 7 HR, 46/26 BB/K, 4/1 SB
Mike Stanton RF
July - 94 AB, .277/.349/.596 (.945), 7 HR, 7/32 BB/K, 1/0 SB
Season AA - 180 AB, .244/.330/.483 (.813), 10 HR, 18/60 BB/K, 1/1 SB
Season A+ - 180 AB, .294/.390/.578 (.968), 12 HR, 28/45 BB/K, 2/2 SB
Scott Cousins CF
July - 100 AB, .260/.299/.460 (.759), 2 HR, 6/23 BB/K, 5/0 SB
Season - 374 AB, .257/.317/.428 (.745), 9 HR, 32/80 BB/K, 22/5 SB
Morrison. Is. Retarded. At this point, we may have to pencil him into the starting lineup in April 2010, whether it’s 1B or LF. Average, Contact, BBs, Power. Full package right there. Stanton is holding his own in AA overall, and was much improved in July. You’d like to see a few less strikeouts, but I’m really happy he’s not being dominated. Plate recognition will probably improve as he ages, so he just needs to keep at it. If he can hit .260 in the bigs, he’s probably going to be a star with that power and BB potential. If Petersen can start hitting for power, he’s going to start looking real good with that avg/bb potential. Especially against right handers. And Cousins hit a lot of 2B/3B this month to explain the slugging, but he should probably repeat AA next year. Petersen should move up as he is a college player.
Jupiter (A+)
Matt Dominguez 3B
July - 102 AB, .314/.410/.569 (.978), 6 HR, 16/16 BB/K
Season - 381 AB, .262/.333/.420 (.753), 11 HR, 38/68 BB/K, 1 SB
Not really any other major hitting prospects in Jupiter, but boy has Dominguez turned it on. April .681 OPS, May .513 OPS, June .826 OPS, and now July. Season line is nothing to write about, but he’s been on a tear the last two months. One more good month, and we have to look at this as a highly successful season for Jupiter.
Greensboro (A)
Isaac Galloway CF
July - 100 AB, .240/.255/.310 (.565 OPS), 1/23 BB/K, 3/2 SB
Season - 224 AB, .262/.293/.378 (.671), 2 HR, 9/59 BB/K, 11/6 SB
Jake Smolinski 2B
July - 81 AB, .259/.348/.407 (.755), 1 HR, 10/11 BB/K, 0/2 SB
Season - 226 AB, .261/.365/.429 (.794), 7 HR, 34/38 BB/K, 2/5 SB
Kyle Skipworth C
July - 58 AB, .224/.262/.328 (.590), 1 HR, 2/26 BB/K, 0/1 SB
Season - 250 AB, .204/.257/.324 (.581), 5 HR, 16/87 BB/K, 1/2 SB
Not much positive to say. Smolinski has a nice walk rate. Skip and Galloway brutal.
Jamestown (A-)
No one of particular interest at this time. If someone wants to fill something in, feel free. But no major hitting prospects, and the international signings are not hitting.
GCL Marlins (R)
Marcell Ozuna, RF
July - 96 AB, .396/.443/.646 (1.089), 3 HR, 8/19 BB/K, 1/1 SB
Season - 133 AB, .346/.393/.556 (.949), 4 HR, 9/28 BB/K, 2/1 SB
vs LHP .545 OPS, vs RHP 1.134 OPS.
Ozuna played in the Dominican league last year as an international signing. He did ok for a 17 year old, hitting .279/.335/.416 (.751). Now, he’s really hitting the ball hard. It’s not unusual to struggle against lefties at a young age, but I note it just to show how hard he’s hitting right handers. Scouting reports are thin, but he is turning into a prospect of interest.
And Hickman is back playing in the GCL. Only a few games, we'll see if he is still striking out at an astronomical pace.
NOLA (AAA)
Cameron Maybin CF
July - 103 AB, .320/.403/.485 (.889), 2 HR, 15/24 BB/K, 2/0 SB
Season - 244 AB, .328/.415/.471 (.886), 3 HR, 34/47 BB/K, 7/2 SB
Gaby Sanchez 1B/3B
July - 61 AB, .246/.310/.377 (.687), 2 HR, 6/6 BB/K, 2/0 SB
Season 234 AB, .282/.353/.436 (.789), 9 HR, 25/38 BB/K, 5/0 SB
Brett Hayes C
July - 75 AB, .242/.263/.360 (.623), 2 HR, 3/13 BB/K
Season - 255 AB, .255/.291/.345 (.636), 3 HR, 14/62 BB/K, 2/0 SB
Jai Miller CF
July - 70 AB, .300/.351/.557 (.908), 5 HR, 6/22 BB/K, 1/0 SB
Season - 235 AB, .289/.352/.498 (.950), 9 HR, 24/66 BB/K, 6/3 SB
vs LHP 6 HR, 1.112 OPS, vs RHP 3 HR .725 OPS
John Raynor LF/RF
July - 77 AB, .221/.333/.286 (.619), 1 HR, 13/31 BB/K, 6/1 SB
Season - 342 AB, .243/.308/.333 (.641), 4 HR, 29/97 BB/K, 14/6 SB
So business as usual. Maybin isn’t hitting for much HR power, but has an excellent average, BB rate, and the K rate is much improved from last year. It’s just a question of when he comes up at this point. In other threads, I have detailed his future arbitration status which may be of importance here. Basically, if the Marlins call up Maybin now, he will be a Super2 in 2012 and the Marlins will be on the hook for an extra $2-3 million in salary. If the Marlins call him up around August 20th, take maybe a week or so, Maybin will probably not be a Super2 and the Marlins will have Maybin club controlled 2010-2012. Kind of a big deal. If the Marlins don’t ‘need’ him for the playoff push, he should stay down for a few more weeks just to preserve his status.
Gaby had a bad July, but he was up with the Marlins for a bit explaining the low PA. I kind of feel that Gaby’s current minor league line is what he’d be doing in the big leagues. And I’m more than happy with that for a few club controlled years. Jai is really smashing lefties, but still can’t be considered much of a prospect since he can’t hit RHP. Jai is out of options after this year, so I’d suspect he is out of the organization in March unless he wins a job on the big league roster somehow. Hayes and Raynor are just brutal and will surely repeat AAA.
JAX (AA)
Bryan Petersen RF
July - 54 AB, .315/.373/.500 (.873), 2 HR, 4/8 BB/K, 1/1 SB
Season - 315 AB, .292/.365/.394 (.759), 4 HR, 37/60 BB/K, 11/7 SB
vs LHP 0 HR, .605 OPS. vs RHP, 4 HR, .797 OPS
Logan Morrison 1B/LF
July - 83 AB, .313/.500/.554 (1.054), 5 HR, 31/15 BB/K (not a typo), 3/0 SB
Season - 161 AB, .267/.430/.466 (.896), 7 HR, 46/26 BB/K, 4/1 SB
Mike Stanton RF
July - 94 AB, .277/.349/.596 (.945), 7 HR, 7/32 BB/K, 1/0 SB
Season AA - 180 AB, .244/.330/.483 (.813), 10 HR, 18/60 BB/K, 1/1 SB
Season A+ - 180 AB, .294/.390/.578 (.968), 12 HR, 28/45 BB/K, 2/2 SB
Scott Cousins CF
July - 100 AB, .260/.299/.460 (.759), 2 HR, 6/23 BB/K, 5/0 SB
Season - 374 AB, .257/.317/.428 (.745), 9 HR, 32/80 BB/K, 22/5 SB
Morrison. Is. Retarded. At this point, we may have to pencil him into the starting lineup in April 2010, whether it’s 1B or LF. Average, Contact, BBs, Power. Full package right there. Stanton is holding his own in AA overall, and was much improved in July. You’d like to see a few less strikeouts, but I’m really happy he’s not being dominated. Plate recognition will probably improve as he ages, so he just needs to keep at it. If he can hit .260 in the bigs, he’s probably going to be a star with that power and BB potential. If Petersen can start hitting for power, he’s going to start looking real good with that avg/bb potential. Especially against right handers. And Cousins hit a lot of 2B/3B this month to explain the slugging, but he should probably repeat AA next year. Petersen should move up as he is a college player.
Jupiter (A+)
Matt Dominguez 3B
July - 102 AB, .314/.410/.569 (.978), 6 HR, 16/16 BB/K
Season - 381 AB, .262/.333/.420 (.753), 11 HR, 38/68 BB/K, 1 SB
Not really any other major hitting prospects in Jupiter, but boy has Dominguez turned it on. April .681 OPS, May .513 OPS, June .826 OPS, and now July. Season line is nothing to write about, but he’s been on a tear the last two months. One more good month, and we have to look at this as a highly successful season for Jupiter.
Greensboro (A)
Isaac Galloway CF
July - 100 AB, .240/.255/.310 (.565 OPS), 1/23 BB/K, 3/2 SB
Season - 224 AB, .262/.293/.378 (.671), 2 HR, 9/59 BB/K, 11/6 SB
Jake Smolinski 2B
July - 81 AB, .259/.348/.407 (.755), 1 HR, 10/11 BB/K, 0/2 SB
Season - 226 AB, .261/.365/.429 (.794), 7 HR, 34/38 BB/K, 2/5 SB
Kyle Skipworth C
July - 58 AB, .224/.262/.328 (.590), 1 HR, 2/26 BB/K, 0/1 SB
Season - 250 AB, .204/.257/.324 (.581), 5 HR, 16/87 BB/K, 1/2 SB
Not much positive to say. Smolinski has a nice walk rate. Skip and Galloway brutal.
Jamestown (A-)
No one of particular interest at this time. If someone wants to fill something in, feel free. But no major hitting prospects, and the international signings are not hitting.
GCL Marlins (R)
Marcell Ozuna, RF
July - 96 AB, .396/.443/.646 (1.089), 3 HR, 8/19 BB/K, 1/1 SB
Season - 133 AB, .346/.393/.556 (.949), 4 HR, 9/28 BB/K, 2/1 SB
vs LHP .545 OPS, vs RHP 1.134 OPS.
Ozuna played in the Dominican league last year as an international signing. He did ok for a 17 year old, hitting .279/.335/.416 (.751). Now, he’s really hitting the ball hard. It’s not unusual to struggle against lefties at a young age, but I note it just to show how hard he’s hitting right handers. Scouting reports are thin, but he is turning into a prospect of interest.
And Hickman is back playing in the GCL. Only a few games, we'll see if he is still striking out at an astronomical pace.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Hitter Roundup: June Edition
c/o my boy lou over at http://tealandblack.net/
NEW ORLEANS (AAA)
Cameron Maybin
June - 76 AB, .382/.489/.500 (.949), 0HR, 14/13 BB/K, 4/2 SB
Season - 139 AB, .331/.422/.460 (.883), 1 HR, 19/23 BB/K, 5/2 SB
Doing what he should be doing. His line drive rates went up in June, even if he had a ridiculous BABIP (.433). I think we'd all like to see more HR, but the walks are there, the average is there, and the general contact is there. Power is always the last tool that develops and he's young. Looking good.
Gaby Sanchez
June - 84 AB, .250/.315/.405 (.720), 3 HR, 6/17 BB/K, 2 SB
Season - 171 AB, .298/.366/.462 (.828), 7 HR, 17/31 BB/K, 3 SB
Slumped a bit in June, but it's a small sample size and his season line is OK. What's notable is his seemingly fulltime transition to 3B. Maybe that is messing with his offense a little bit. Either way, he's probably not a call up coming off this kind of month but longterm he is still looking like a solid bat to have around.
John Raynor
June - 91 AB, .209/.263/.319 (.581), 1 HR, 4/27 BB/K, 4/1 SB
Season - 261 AB, .253/.304/.352 (.656), 3 HR, 16/64 BB/K, 8/5 SB
I didn't even think he was going to be this bad. Only positive here is he has a few option years so we can stash him in AAA for a few years and see if he regains some of his prospect clout from his A/AA days. Horrible. Simply horrible.
Brett Hayes
June - 66 AB, .242/.282/.364 (.645), 0 HR, 4/16 BB/K
Season - 178 AB, .264/.302/.343 (.645), 1 HR, 11/33 BB/K, 2 SB
Not very encouraging coming off the .851 OPS May, but I think we realize at this point Hayes isn't going to be a huge bat. Ideally, he can sit in AAA for the next year or two and develop his bat into a .250/.300/.350+ kind of guy that hits lefties harder than righties (.793 OPS vs LHP this year). With his defense, that would make him a solid backup. But like to see some more hits.
Jai Miller
June - 93 AB, .323/.369/.570 (.939), 3 HR, 7/20 BB/K, 2/1 SB
Season - 161 AB, .292/.361/.484 (.845), 4 HR, 18/42 BB/K, 5/3 SB
So Jai had a pretty good month, and his season looks alright. However, he has a sub .700 OPS versus RHP and a 1.300+ OPS versus LHP this year. Can't feel very confident about him turning into a bench outfielder if this is how he's going to play.
JACKSONVILLE (AA)
Mike Stanton
June - 84 AB, .214/.302/.369 (.671), 3 HR, 9/27 BB/K, 0/1 SB
Jupiter A+ - 180 AB, .294/.390/.578 (.968), 12 HR, 28/45 BB/K, 2/2 SB
The fact he is in AA at his age is ridiculous so an initial learning curve is expected. It's nice to see the BB rate, and a little bit of power. Just have to wait and see how long it takes him to figure it out. It may take awhile, but even if he's in AA the rest of this year and next, he's still way ahead of schedule.
Logan Morrison
June - 68 AB, .217/.325/.319 (.644), 1 HR, 11/9 BB/K, 1 SB
Season - 75 AB, .227/.348/.387 (.735), 2 HR, 14/10 BB/K, 1/1 SB
Back from injury, getting his timing back. It's nice to see the BB/K so he's still seeing the ball well. As with Stanton, just a matter of time. I'm expecting a big rest of the year.
Scott Cousins
June - 96 AB, .313/.383/.521 (.904), 3 HR, 10/13 BB/K, 6/3 SB
Season - 270 AB, .256/.325/.419 (.743), 7 HR, 26/57 BB/K, 16/5 SB
Welcome back Cousins. That was a very nice 300 OPS jump from your May total. Love the BB/K and huge huge decrease in strikeouts, and the average is fantastic. Your season line is still subpar, but we'll overlook it if perform well in July. It's also important to remember Cousins is left handed, and a plus defender. So he can become a pretty significant prospect if he starts to figure it out.
Bryan Petersen
June - 96 AB, .313/.367/.406 (.773), 1 HR, 9/17 BB/K, 0/3 SB
Season - 258 AB, .287/.362/.372 (.734), 2 HR, 32/51 BB/K, 10/5
Slightly better than what he's been doing all year. I ask again, where is the slugging! Last year, Petersen had a .477 slugging between three levels, and a .486 in AA Carolina. Where is the slugging! The average is good. The walks are nice. The strikeouts are borderline acceptable, but can we get some HR? You hit 23 last year in 488 AB. You have 2 to 258. What gives? Here's to hitting some XBH in the second half.
JUPITER (A+)
Matt Dominguez (who is very lonely)
June - 95 AB, .295/.352/.474 (.826), 3 HR, 9/14 BB/K, 1 SB
Season - 271 AB, .247/.305/.365 (.671), 5 HR, 21/51 BB/K, 1 SB
As with Cousins, Dominguez finally decided to show up. You can see the dramatic BB/K improvement, average, power, everything. This is the guy we drafted in the first round. Let's see him keep it up as he's the only hope for 3B in the organization (not including Gaby, but I don't think anyone sees him there longterm).
GREENSBORO (A)
Isaac Galloway
June - 41 AB, .293/.340/.463 (.804), 1 HR, 3/12 BB/K, 2/2 SB
Season - 118 AB, .288/.331/.449 (.780), 2 HR, 8/32 BB/K, 8/4 SB
He's back from injury and seemingly picking up where he left off. It's a smaller sample size than everybody else so far, but I'd like to see improvements with the BB/K here on out. Love the average, as he's really raw, but just have to work with the plate discipline with the younger hitters. At this point, you can chalk this up to a big win for the Marlins to be able to sign him, and that he is doing pretty good in his first professional season.
Jake Smolinski
June - 77 AB, .299/.449/.468 (.917), 3 HR, 20/16 BB/K, 2/3 SB
Season - 142 AB, .261/.375/.444 (.819), 24/25 BB/K, 2/3 SB
Jake is playing 2B/3B, and you can consider him a younger Coghlan. He's everything as advertised. Advanced plate recognition for his age, excellent average, a little bit of pop which Greensboro is surely helping. I like him a lot and am excited to track him the next few years.
Kyle Skipworth
June - 67 AB, .254/.315/.328 (.643), 0 HR, 5/21 BB/K, 0/1 SB
Season - 189 AB, .201/.259/.328 (.587), 4 HR, 14/71 BB/K, 1/1 SB
I'm so glad we drafted him. It's sad to even say this, but his June line is up 200 OPS points from May. Look at the strikeouts. I want to punch something. Also looking for a positives, he simply cannot hit left handers at this stage of his career, and his season line moves up a bit against right handers. There is a lot of hope longterm. We're just not seeing any of it right now.
JAMESTOWN (A-)
These guys just started so there isn't much. We have two big international signings here.
Jose Ceballos
Season - 23 AB, .217/.250/.261 (.511), 0 HR, 0/5 BB/K
He is a catcher, and ideally Skipworth and him each level and in 2013 we have two excellent young MLB ready catchers. Still a long long way to go.
Jose Torres
Season - 20 AB, .100/.095/.100 (.195), 0 HR, 0/5 BB/K, 0/1 SB
I feel silly even typing that line, but he is a SS from Venezuela. He wanted to play next to Miguel Cabrera in 5 years. Whoops. But he is definitely one to watch.
GCL MARLINS (R)
It's hard to judge if anyone is interesting here, especially since our top two picks in the draft are pitchers, but
Marquise Cooper
Season 22 AB, .136/.174/.136 (.310), 0 HR, 1/7 BB/K,1/7 BB/k, 1/1 SB
Our third round pick, and is a speedy low-power OF prospect. Welcome to baseball. Now get some hits.
NEW ORLEANS (AAA)
Cameron Maybin
June - 76 AB, .382/.489/.500 (.949), 0HR, 14/13 BB/K, 4/2 SB
Season - 139 AB, .331/.422/.460 (.883), 1 HR, 19/23 BB/K, 5/2 SB
Doing what he should be doing. His line drive rates went up in June, even if he had a ridiculous BABIP (.433). I think we'd all like to see more HR, but the walks are there, the average is there, and the general contact is there. Power is always the last tool that develops and he's young. Looking good.
Gaby Sanchez
June - 84 AB, .250/.315/.405 (.720), 3 HR, 6/17 BB/K, 2 SB
Season - 171 AB, .298/.366/.462 (.828), 7 HR, 17/31 BB/K, 3 SB
Slumped a bit in June, but it's a small sample size and his season line is OK. What's notable is his seemingly fulltime transition to 3B. Maybe that is messing with his offense a little bit. Either way, he's probably not a call up coming off this kind of month but longterm he is still looking like a solid bat to have around.
John Raynor
June - 91 AB, .209/.263/.319 (.581), 1 HR, 4/27 BB/K, 4/1 SB
Season - 261 AB, .253/.304/.352 (.656), 3 HR, 16/64 BB/K, 8/5 SB
I didn't even think he was going to be this bad. Only positive here is he has a few option years so we can stash him in AAA for a few years and see if he regains some of his prospect clout from his A/AA days. Horrible. Simply horrible.
Brett Hayes
June - 66 AB, .242/.282/.364 (.645), 0 HR, 4/16 BB/K
Season - 178 AB, .264/.302/.343 (.645), 1 HR, 11/33 BB/K, 2 SB
Not very encouraging coming off the .851 OPS May, but I think we realize at this point Hayes isn't going to be a huge bat. Ideally, he can sit in AAA for the next year or two and develop his bat into a .250/.300/.350+ kind of guy that hits lefties harder than righties (.793 OPS vs LHP this year). With his defense, that would make him a solid backup. But like to see some more hits.
Jai Miller
June - 93 AB, .323/.369/.570 (.939), 3 HR, 7/20 BB/K, 2/1 SB
Season - 161 AB, .292/.361/.484 (.845), 4 HR, 18/42 BB/K, 5/3 SB
So Jai had a pretty good month, and his season looks alright. However, he has a sub .700 OPS versus RHP and a 1.300+ OPS versus LHP this year. Can't feel very confident about him turning into a bench outfielder if this is how he's going to play.
JACKSONVILLE (AA)
Mike Stanton
June - 84 AB, .214/.302/.369 (.671), 3 HR, 9/27 BB/K, 0/1 SB
Jupiter A+ - 180 AB, .294/.390/.578 (.968), 12 HR, 28/45 BB/K, 2/2 SB
The fact he is in AA at his age is ridiculous so an initial learning curve is expected. It's nice to see the BB rate, and a little bit of power. Just have to wait and see how long it takes him to figure it out. It may take awhile, but even if he's in AA the rest of this year and next, he's still way ahead of schedule.
Logan Morrison
June - 68 AB, .217/.325/.319 (.644), 1 HR, 11/9 BB/K, 1 SB
Season - 75 AB, .227/.348/.387 (.735), 2 HR, 14/10 BB/K, 1/1 SB
Back from injury, getting his timing back. It's nice to see the BB/K so he's still seeing the ball well. As with Stanton, just a matter of time. I'm expecting a big rest of the year.
Scott Cousins
June - 96 AB, .313/.383/.521 (.904), 3 HR, 10/13 BB/K, 6/3 SB
Season - 270 AB, .256/.325/.419 (.743), 7 HR, 26/57 BB/K, 16/5 SB
Welcome back Cousins. That was a very nice 300 OPS jump from your May total. Love the BB/K and huge huge decrease in strikeouts, and the average is fantastic. Your season line is still subpar, but we'll overlook it if perform well in July. It's also important to remember Cousins is left handed, and a plus defender. So he can become a pretty significant prospect if he starts to figure it out.
Bryan Petersen
June - 96 AB, .313/.367/.406 (.773), 1 HR, 9/17 BB/K, 0/3 SB
Season - 258 AB, .287/.362/.372 (.734), 2 HR, 32/51 BB/K, 10/5
Slightly better than what he's been doing all year. I ask again, where is the slugging! Last year, Petersen had a .477 slugging between three levels, and a .486 in AA Carolina. Where is the slugging! The average is good. The walks are nice. The strikeouts are borderline acceptable, but can we get some HR? You hit 23 last year in 488 AB. You have 2 to 258. What gives? Here's to hitting some XBH in the second half.
JUPITER (A+)
Matt Dominguez (who is very lonely)
June - 95 AB, .295/.352/.474 (.826), 3 HR, 9/14 BB/K, 1 SB
Season - 271 AB, .247/.305/.365 (.671), 5 HR, 21/51 BB/K, 1 SB
As with Cousins, Dominguez finally decided to show up. You can see the dramatic BB/K improvement, average, power, everything. This is the guy we drafted in the first round. Let's see him keep it up as he's the only hope for 3B in the organization (not including Gaby, but I don't think anyone sees him there longterm).
GREENSBORO (A)
Isaac Galloway
June - 41 AB, .293/.340/.463 (.804), 1 HR, 3/12 BB/K, 2/2 SB
Season - 118 AB, .288/.331/.449 (.780), 2 HR, 8/32 BB/K, 8/4 SB
He's back from injury and seemingly picking up where he left off. It's a smaller sample size than everybody else so far, but I'd like to see improvements with the BB/K here on out. Love the average, as he's really raw, but just have to work with the plate discipline with the younger hitters. At this point, you can chalk this up to a big win for the Marlins to be able to sign him, and that he is doing pretty good in his first professional season.
Jake Smolinski
June - 77 AB, .299/.449/.468 (.917), 3 HR, 20/16 BB/K, 2/3 SB
Season - 142 AB, .261/.375/.444 (.819), 24/25 BB/K, 2/3 SB
Jake is playing 2B/3B, and you can consider him a younger Coghlan. He's everything as advertised. Advanced plate recognition for his age, excellent average, a little bit of pop which Greensboro is surely helping. I like him a lot and am excited to track him the next few years.
Kyle Skipworth
June - 67 AB, .254/.315/.328 (.643), 0 HR, 5/21 BB/K, 0/1 SB
Season - 189 AB, .201/.259/.328 (.587), 4 HR, 14/71 BB/K, 1/1 SB
I'm so glad we drafted him. It's sad to even say this, but his June line is up 200 OPS points from May. Look at the strikeouts. I want to punch something. Also looking for a positives, he simply cannot hit left handers at this stage of his career, and his season line moves up a bit against right handers. There is a lot of hope longterm. We're just not seeing any of it right now.
JAMESTOWN (A-)
These guys just started so there isn't much. We have two big international signings here.
Jose Ceballos
Season - 23 AB, .217/.250/.261 (.511), 0 HR, 0/5 BB/K
He is a catcher, and ideally Skipworth and him each level and in 2013 we have two excellent young MLB ready catchers. Still a long long way to go.
Jose Torres
Season - 20 AB, .100/.095/.100 (.195), 0 HR, 0/5 BB/K, 0/1 SB
I feel silly even typing that line, but he is a SS from Venezuela. He wanted to play next to Miguel Cabrera in 5 years. Whoops. But he is definitely one to watch.
GCL MARLINS (R)
It's hard to judge if anyone is interesting here, especially since our top two picks in the draft are pitchers, but
Marquise Cooper
Season 22 AB, .136/.174/.136 (.310), 0 HR, 1/7 BB/K,1/7 BB/k, 1/1 SB
Our third round pick, and is a speedy low-power OF prospect. Welcome to baseball. Now get some hits.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Checking in on the top 50 hitters...
1. Cameron Maybin - Majors
Really had a rough go of it in the majors, hitting just .202/.280/.310. He showed terrible plate discipline and rarely hit the ball with authority. Cam was sent down to AAA New Orleans to try and regain his confidence (and perhaps hit a breaking pitch)
2. Logan Morrison - Jacksonville
Fractured his thumb, out up to 2 months
3. Michael Stanton - Jupiter
Continues to hit the ball hard with the Hammerheads. He's hitting .281/.364/.553 with 7 homeruns, 14 walks and 29 strikeouts.
4. Matt Dominguez - Jupiter
Still struggling in in the FSL with a line of .233/.295/.319 in 116 at bats. He has just 1 homerun, to go with 10 walks and 25 strikeouts. In his last 40 at bats, he's hitting just .200 with 2 doubles, 2 walks and 9 strikeouts
5. Gaby Sanchez - New Orleans
Out with a knee injury for the next 4-6 weeks. Hitting .345/.414/.517 in 87 at bats before injury
6. Chris Coghlan - New Orleans
Came on strong over the past several weeks, OPSing .944 before getting called up to the bigs over the weekend. He'll play second, third and left field with the Fish.
7. Kyle Skipworth - Jupiter
In the SALLY, Skip is hitting just .176/.225/.284 in 74 at bats. He does have 5XBH but just 5 walks to 27 strikeouts. Definitely a little concerning.
8. Scott Cousins - Jacksonville
Power has started to come around in May, and now sits at .243/.317/.402 in 107 at bats. His last 10 games, he's hitting .310 with 7XBH with 3bb and 9k
9. Jake Smolinski - Jupiter
Came back a few weeks earlier than anticipated. He's 1 for 10 with 1bb and 2k
10. Isaac Galloway - Greensboro
After a strong start with the Grasshoppers, Galloway has struggled as of late and now finds himself on the DL. He was hitting .286/.325/.442 in 77 at bats
11. Bryan Petersen - Jacksonville
Another Suns outfielder struggling to hit for power in the Southern League, Petersen is hitting .264/.325/.377 with just 7 extra base hits in 106 at bat
12. John Raynor - New Orleans
He had a .602 OPS when we first checked in on JR, and things haven't gotten any better over the past 70 at bats or so. He's hitting .225/.287/.315 in 111 at bats with no signs of any power and he has just 9 walks to 25 strikeouts
13. Thomas Hickman - Jupiter
He's still struggling mightily in the FSL, hitting just .129/.274/.229 in 70 at bats. He does have an impressive 14 walks, but also has struck out 33 times
14. Greg Burns - Jupiter
He's hitting just .253/.355/.358 in 95 at bats so far with the Hammerheads. No one has questioned his ability to walk, but his lack of hitting and 0 power could be his downfall.
15. Jai Miller - New Orleans
Repeating the PCL, Jai is off to a .254/.354/.373 start with the Zephyrs. He's gotta start showing some more power, but considering he's on the 40 man roster, he'll be one of the first up to the big club if an outfielder goes down with injury. He's on the DL right now.
16. Paul Gran - Greensboro
The ultimate utility man is hitting .262/.333/.346 in his first 107 Greensboro at bats. Hitting just .194 over his last 10 games
17. Torre Langley - Greensboro
He's been absolutely terrible as Skipworth's backup hitting just .122/.234/.122 in 41 at bats in the SALLY
18. Brett Hayes - New Orleans
Has turned it on as of late, hitting .299/.347/.322 in 87 at bats with NOLA. Not hitting for power but the average and obp are there.
19. Jose Ceballos - Extended Spring Training
No stats on him at this point. Prob open up at Jamestown
20. Ryan Anetsberger -
Released at the start of the year
Blast from the Past
Mike Ryan - OF - Former Minnesota Twins outfielder is still pounding the ball, OPSing .872 in 108 at bats in NOLA.
Did we overlook someone?
Andy Jenkins - UTIL - He can play all over the place and is now hitting .316/.350/.408 in 98 at bats with the Jacksonville Suns
Someone test the water in Greensboro
Ben Lasater - 1B/3B/OF - He's too old for the league, but that hasn't stopped him from hitting .380/.437/.667 with 21XBH in 108 at bats with the Grasshoppers. He will hopefully be promoted sooner than later.
Brandon Turner - UTIL - Lasater's bash brother teammate is smashing the ball at a .328/.449/.469 clip in 64 at bats. With as bad as Jupiter's offense is, he too could be on his way up soon.
Really had a rough go of it in the majors, hitting just .202/.280/.310. He showed terrible plate discipline and rarely hit the ball with authority. Cam was sent down to AAA New Orleans to try and regain his confidence (and perhaps hit a breaking pitch)
2. Logan Morrison - Jacksonville
Fractured his thumb, out up to 2 months
3. Michael Stanton - Jupiter
Continues to hit the ball hard with the Hammerheads. He's hitting .281/.364/.553 with 7 homeruns, 14 walks and 29 strikeouts.
4. Matt Dominguez - Jupiter
Still struggling in in the FSL with a line of .233/.295/.319 in 116 at bats. He has just 1 homerun, to go with 10 walks and 25 strikeouts. In his last 40 at bats, he's hitting just .200 with 2 doubles, 2 walks and 9 strikeouts
5. Gaby Sanchez - New Orleans
Out with a knee injury for the next 4-6 weeks. Hitting .345/.414/.517 in 87 at bats before injury
6. Chris Coghlan - New Orleans
Came on strong over the past several weeks, OPSing .944 before getting called up to the bigs over the weekend. He'll play second, third and left field with the Fish.
7. Kyle Skipworth - Jupiter
In the SALLY, Skip is hitting just .176/.225/.284 in 74 at bats. He does have 5XBH but just 5 walks to 27 strikeouts. Definitely a little concerning.
8. Scott Cousins - Jacksonville
Power has started to come around in May, and now sits at .243/.317/.402 in 107 at bats. His last 10 games, he's hitting .310 with 7XBH with 3bb and 9k
9. Jake Smolinski - Jupiter
Came back a few weeks earlier than anticipated. He's 1 for 10 with 1bb and 2k
10. Isaac Galloway - Greensboro
After a strong start with the Grasshoppers, Galloway has struggled as of late and now finds himself on the DL. He was hitting .286/.325/.442 in 77 at bats
11. Bryan Petersen - Jacksonville
Another Suns outfielder struggling to hit for power in the Southern League, Petersen is hitting .264/.325/.377 with just 7 extra base hits in 106 at bat
12. John Raynor - New Orleans
He had a .602 OPS when we first checked in on JR, and things haven't gotten any better over the past 70 at bats or so. He's hitting .225/.287/.315 in 111 at bats with no signs of any power and he has just 9 walks to 25 strikeouts
13. Thomas Hickman - Jupiter
He's still struggling mightily in the FSL, hitting just .129/.274/.229 in 70 at bats. He does have an impressive 14 walks, but also has struck out 33 times
14. Greg Burns - Jupiter
He's hitting just .253/.355/.358 in 95 at bats so far with the Hammerheads. No one has questioned his ability to walk, but his lack of hitting and 0 power could be his downfall.
15. Jai Miller - New Orleans
Repeating the PCL, Jai is off to a .254/.354/.373 start with the Zephyrs. He's gotta start showing some more power, but considering he's on the 40 man roster, he'll be one of the first up to the big club if an outfielder goes down with injury. He's on the DL right now.
16. Paul Gran - Greensboro
The ultimate utility man is hitting .262/.333/.346 in his first 107 Greensboro at bats. Hitting just .194 over his last 10 games
17. Torre Langley - Greensboro
He's been absolutely terrible as Skipworth's backup hitting just .122/.234/.122 in 41 at bats in the SALLY
18. Brett Hayes - New Orleans
Has turned it on as of late, hitting .299/.347/.322 in 87 at bats with NOLA. Not hitting for power but the average and obp are there.
19. Jose Ceballos - Extended Spring Training
No stats on him at this point. Prob open up at Jamestown
20. Ryan Anetsberger -
Released at the start of the year
Blast from the Past
Mike Ryan - OF - Former Minnesota Twins outfielder is still pounding the ball, OPSing .872 in 108 at bats in NOLA.
Did we overlook someone?
Andy Jenkins - UTIL - He can play all over the place and is now hitting .316/.350/.408 in 98 at bats with the Jacksonville Suns
Someone test the water in Greensboro
Ben Lasater - 1B/3B/OF - He's too old for the league, but that hasn't stopped him from hitting .380/.437/.667 with 21XBH in 108 at bats with the Grasshoppers. He will hopefully be promoted sooner than later.
Brandon Turner - UTIL - Lasater's bash brother teammate is smashing the ball at a .328/.449/.469 clip in 64 at bats. With as bad as Jupiter's offense is, he too could be on his way up soon.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
1. Cameron Maybin
1. Cameron Maybin - Center Field - 6'4 - 205lbs - Throws: Right - Bats: Right
(last year: 1)
Like there would be anyone else?
The centerfield spot has been an issue for the Marlins over the past few seasons and with no big time prospect in the minors to speak of, the Marlins felt they needed to target one when they decided it was best to part with Miguel Cabrera. Enter Cameron Maybin. The Marlins acquired Maybin, along with Andrew Miller, Eulogio De la Cruz, Dallas Trahern, Burke Badenhop and Mike Rabelo in exchange for Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis. Even though he was rated as a top 5 pick out of TC Roberson HS by Baseball America, Cam slipped to the tenth spot due to signability concerns. The Tigers would eventually sign him for $2.65mil. He didn’t sign until September of 2005, so his professional debut wasn’t until the next season in low-A West Michigan. In 385 at bats, he hit .304/.387/.457 with 35 extra base hits, 50 walks and 116 strikeouts. This performance as a 19 year old quickly put him on the short list of top outfield prospects in baseball.
In 2007, Maybin began the year with High-A Lakeland in the Florida State League. He absolutely dominated the FSL hitting .304/.393/.486 with 34 extra base hits, 43 walks and 83 strikeouts in 296 at bats. This earned him a promotion to Double A Erie where he saw just 20 at bats. Six games into his Erie stint, Cam was called up the bigs to start in centerfield with the Tigers. Clearly overmatched in his 49 at bat debut, he did manage to single and homer off Roger Clemens for his first two big league hits.
Maybin has a lanky build with very long arms which sometimes elongates his swing. He has a big frame and has shown power to all fields. Even with that power, he has no problem putting the ball on the ground and trying to beat out an infield hit. Like many young players, he needs to work on his pitch recognition but that should improve with every game he plays in. He has tremendous hand-eye coordination and he does a good job of keeping his whole body under control when swinging. He has plus speed and runs with an effortless stride while tracking down balls in the outfield gaps. On the basepaths, Cam has proven to be able to steal bases at an 80% clip thus far in his major and minor league career combined. In the field, he needs to improve his reads once the bat hits the ball. He has a strong arm, but it did not show the usual accuracys in 2007. Some believe it was due to a shoulder ailment that cost him nearly a month.
2008 would be Maybin’s toughest task to date. The 6’4 centerfielder would open up with Carolina in Double-A. He suffered from nagging injuries from much of the year, but that didn’t stop him from putting up a .277/.375/.456 line as one of the youngest players in the Southern League. Cam would strike out at a higher rate than in any season before, but his walk rate improved as well. Late in the year, he would make his Marlins debut and he lit the world on fire for a few weeks, grabbing 16 hits in 32 at bats.
Cameron has a strong work ethic and great makeup. Even with the quick promotion from Double A to the majors in 2007, he remained remarkably composed through the entire thing. Some have compared him to Torii Hunter, while others have said he reminds them of a young Andre Dawson. With his season in Carolina, and his blistering 32 at bats in majors, the time has come for Maybin to be roaming centerfield in Dolphin Stadium. With the news of Hanley Ramirez now hitting third in the order, Maybin may be the next unconventional leadoff hitter in the Marlins lineup.
Monday, February 16, 2009
2. Logan Morrison
2. Logan Morrison - First Base - 6'2 - 215lbs - Throws: Left - Bats: Left
(last year: 26)
The Marlins drafted first baseman Logan Morrison in the 22nd round of the 2005 amateur draft as a “draft and follow” out of a high school in New Orleans. Morrison, just 17 at the time, could have accepted a college scholarship offer but couldn’t have been drafted again for three years, so he went to junior college for a year and signed with the Marlins in May of 2006. In his first professional season, Logan hit .239/.321/.319 with 2 homeruns in 163 at bats between the Gulf Coast League and Jamestown.
The youngest player on the Grasshoppers in 2007, not much was expected of the 19 year old Morrison. Age was just a number to Logan as he led the team in homeruns and rbi. Like many young left-handed hitters, he struggled against lefties hitting just .195/.246/.398 in 113 at bats. When he is in a funk, Logan gets too anxious and shifts his weight to his front side. Because he couldn’t stay behind the ball, he would then hit weak grounders and lazy fly balls. When things are going well for him, he shows power to all fields and routinely takes outside pitches the other way.
In last year’s write-up, I suggested that if Logan could put up solid numbers in the Florida State League, he would be a top 5 Marlins prospect and one of the better first base prospects in all of baseball. Well he did more than just put up solid numbers in Jupiter. The 6’2 first baseman hit .332/.402/.494 with 57 walks and 80 strikeouts. His homeruns dropped to just 13, but he hit 38 doubles which should translate to homeruns down the line. Morrison was named the Florida State League MVP. After his impressive season in High-A, Logan took his show to the Arizona Fall League where he impressed scouts after hitting .404/.444/.667 in 99 at bats off some of the best pitching prospects in baseball.
Compared to Ryan Klesko physically, Morrison was considered poor defensively when he signed a few years ago. In his 3 years in the organization, he has made great strides around first base and some believe he will be an above average fielder when all is said and done. He still needs to improve his range and get to more balls heading into the hole between him and the second baseman. He played some outfield in the AFL, so that could be another avenue for him if he is blocked at first base in the majors. The 21 year old will take his game to Jacksonville in 2009 and that will be the biggest test for him to date. His ETA is closer to 2010 but it wouldn’t be a huge surprise to see him get some time in the majors in 2009 before all is said and done.
Friday, February 13, 2009
3. Michael Stanton
3. Michael Stanton - Outfield - 6'5 - 225lbs - Throws: Right - Bats: Right
(last year: 12)
Arguably the best athlete in the entire draft, Michael Stanton was a three sport start (baseball, football, basketball) at Notre Dame Academy. Recruited by Southern Cal as a wide receiver/defensive back, the Marlins inked him to a $475,000 signing bonus (about $60,000 over slot). The main issue with USC was that they wanted him to play baseball, and would allow him to walk-on to the football team. (UNLV offered him a full football ride with a chance to play baseball). Right away the Marlins thought they got an enormous steal being able to draft Stanton in the second round of the 2007 draft.
There wasn’t much to take from his 56 at bats between the Gulf Coast League and Jamestown in his professional debut. He struck out too many times, but atleast he did walk 4 times. In postseason minicamp, He hit a couple of mammoth homeruns and some compared him to Pat Burrell while others said he was a young Dave Winfield. Stanton is as raw as you can get in terms of where he is right now as a baseball player. He was overmatched in the 2006 summer showcases, even with improved pitch recognition throughout the year. The Marlins were a bit surprised with how well he ran, but considering he was going to play WR, they shouldn’t have been. The 6′5 monster projects as a corner outfielder with an average arm.
2008 was a massive coming out party for Stanton. In 468 at bats, he hit .293/.381/.611 with an astonishing 39 homeruns for the Low-A Greensboro Grasshoppers. Those numbers are amazing at any level, let alone for an 18 year old starting his first year of full season ball. While he walked 58 times, something to keep an eye on is the 153 strikeouts which is also a very large amount at any level. Even with the strikeouts, Stanton put himself in the top 50 prospects in all of baseball. Prospect guru John Sickels gave this analogy for Stanton’s high risk/high reward prospect status: His ceiling his very high, but there is a huge risk of a Soviet N-1 moon-rocket-style flameout at higher levels. To make a long story short of the N-1, it was potential unfulfilled once the Americans reached the moon.
Michael takes his 39 homeruns to the Florida State League, along with teammate and bash brother Matt Dominguez for 2009. The FSL and especially their home park in Jupiter has been known to be pitcher’s paradises. Stanton has to not press when his usual moonshots are just warning track flyouts. With the pitchers in the league being much better than the South Atlantic League, it will be interesting to see if he can do anything about the massive amount of strikeouts. We’ve seen players have huge years in Low-A, only to be knocked off their pedestal in High-A ball. Either way, it’s going to be an important season in the maturation of Michael Stanton.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
4. Matt Dominguez
4. Matt Dominguez - Third Base - 6'2 - 180lbs - Throws: Right - Bats: Right
(last year: 8)
The Marlins selected third baseman Matt Dominguez with the 12th pick in the 2007 amateur drafted. Drafted out of the same high school that produced number two overall pick Mike Moustakas, Dominguez was signed to a $1.8mil bonus. Matt entered the season competing for top prospect honors in Southern California, especially after leading USA Baseball's junior national team with two homers and 11 RBIs in last year's World Junior Championship. He has drawn comparisons to Mike Lowell and Eric Chavez, but the one you hear the most is that of Nationals 3b Ryan Zimmerman. His glove his major league ready and he has a strong, accurate arm over at the hotcorner. He shows good torque on his swing and is mostly a gap to gap hitter at this point. As he grows older and matures physically, those doubles should turn into homeruns.
In his first season, it was hard to take anything of note from Matt's 57 at bats between the Gulf Coast League and Jamestown. Even with the strikeouts early on, scouts still believe he will have above average strikezone judgment eventually. His season this year in Greensboro was a major leap forward for the 19 year old. He hit .296/.354/.499 in 345 at bats and hit 18 homeruns. His season started off a bit late because he had to deal with mono in the beginning of the season.
Matt’s smooth stroke will allow him to hit for both power and average. He's a smart baserunner as well. He has a great work ethic and scouts love his makeup both on and off the field. Like many Marlins prospects, Jupiter is going to be much tougher for him hitting-wise than Greensboro was. The Florida State League is a notorious pitchers’ league but if he can hold his own with the bat, he’ll continue to stay on the quick track for a starting spot in 2011.
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