Batter's Box Interactive Magazine - One Third Done

We are past the one third mark in the minor league season so before we get buried in the draft and the new short season teams I thought we should take a look at the season so far in the minor leagues. This look is based on the one third, one third, one third rule. For those of you who are not familiar with the rule, the expectation of a teams prospects is that one third will improve over a season, one third will disappoint, and one third will be unchanged. Two years ago the Jays had the season from hell where almost 50% of the prospects disappointed. This year I think we will do better.

This is a two part story, in part one today I will look at the Dunedin and Lansing squads. Part two will feature prospects in Las Vegas and New Hampshire.

Dunedin

In Dunedin we have to start with the pitchers.

Deck McGuire has appeared in ten games and has come pretty much as advertised. McGuire has a 2.70 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP. McGuire, like many young pitchers, has been inconsistent but the good days have outnumbered the bad. The best number for McGuire is his 43 hits allowed in 53 innings. The 46 K’s are OK but McGuire is probably learning how to pitch to, and setup, professional hitters. The 21 walks in those 53 innings is a little high.

McGuire’s grade varies between improved and flat. But he is a first round pick from a college program so I will be a hard marker and say his status is "flat". But if someone argued for improved it wouldn’t take much to sway me.

Chad Jenkins is repeating Dunedin and his “big” numbers are close to McGuire’s, Jenkins has a 2.79 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP. But in the other areas Jenkins is not as good. He has given up 60 hits in 61 innings. Jenkins also has only 39 K’s in 61 innings, that’s a 5.75 K/9 ratio. Jenkins pitched 62 innings in Dunedin last season and this year he has lowered his hits and walks allowed, thereby improving his ERA, but his K rate has stayed about the same. Jenkins gave up 6 home runs in 2010 and only two so far this season so that’s one aspect of his game that is better. Also, Jenkins has had ten unearned runs scored behind him, McGuire has 2, Wojo 4, and Molina 5. So Jenkins ERA benefits from that.

Jenkins was already moving down prospect lists last season. While he has shown some improvement this year in hits and home runs allowed, his low strikeout numbers are concerning. Also Jenkins is your standard sinker/slider pitchers who generally to go AA to die.

Because of all that I would have to give a "disappoint" mark to Jenkins.

Asher Wojciechowski pitched a little bit more than McGuire last season but not much, this is really his first professional season. Wojo’s numbers are not as good as Deck’s, he has a 4.05 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP. Wojo would be expected to have a tougher time than Deck because Deck had four pitches to work with. Wojo had two good ones and one under development. Wojo has also been touched for eight homers in his 53 innings. Wojo’s 42 K’s in 53 IP are average for him.

Wojo was expected to start in Dunedin and some people thought he would advance more quickly than McGuire. Many thought Wojo could end up as a reliever. That is still possible but the Jays will try him as a starter for a while.

Wojo gets a "flat" rating from me, he hasn’t shown enough to get improved but he definitely hasn’t regressed.

Nestor Molina has jumped onto prospect radars in a major way this season. Here at Batters Box we took note of Molina last season and Dane Johnson was very complementary of him. Molina mixes his fastball, splitter and change to keep the hitters off balance and his control is so good that he doesn’t put as many men on base. Molina’s ERA is the same as McGuire’s but his WHIP is low, at 0.96. That WHIP is due in part to Molina only issuing five walks in 46.2 innings. Molina also has 55 K’s in those 46 innings.

A definite "improved" for Molina.

The one reliever to note is Matt Wright who has 39K’s in 30 innings. Wright also has a 1.15 WHIP. Wright’s ultimate opportunity is to be a lefty reliever.

AJ Jimenez had a hot start to the season before recently going on the DL (and coming back on Tuesday). Jimenez was hitting .364 when he was injured and that drove his .911 OPS. Jimenez is still a bit of a free swinger, he has 23 K’s in 121 AB’s with only seven walks. His free swinging is better than last season and hopefully he will get more selective as he gains experience. Jimenez was a borderline top 30 prospect at the start of the season and this hot start moves him solidly into the top 30.

Jimenez is in the "improved" category.

Justin Jackson has mostly struggled since he was drafted in 2007. For 2011 Jackson was relegated to utility status, not a good sign for one’s career. But Jackson has hit well in 2011, shown a good eye at the plate, and in general put himself back on the prospect radar. Jackson has hit over .300 in both April and May. His BB:K ratio is good at 23:29 and he has shown some power. If Ryan Goins hadn’t started hitting the Jays might have been tempted to put Jackson back at shortstop.

A definite "improved" for Jackson.

Kevin Ahrens, like Jackson, is a 2007 draft pick who hadn’t shown much yet. Ahrens has improved in 2011 but his numbers are still not prospect worthy. He has hit better in May than he did in April, and his May OPS of .752 is decent but he has to do more to register on the prospect lists.

A "flat" rating is where I would put Ahrens.

Brad Glenn is leading the D-Jays in hitting thanks to a .300 batting average and 30 extra base hits. Glenn has a 10:51 BB:K ratio so he is seeing a lot of pitches he likes. Glenn does have big power but he will have to get more selective as he moves up to AA. Glenn is 24 years old so he does need to move up but there are a few good outfielders blocking him in AA.

Glenn might not be on the prospect lists yet but he is one to watch for now.

Ryan Goins was not on the prospect lists heading into 2011 but he has played better this season particularly in May. After hitting .225 in April, Goins hit .344 in May. Goins doesn;t have much pop, he is not a big guy, but his May hitting was interesting. He still hasn’t moved ahead of Hechavarria on the Jays depth chart but if he can maintain this pace for the rest of the season he could get close. One note of caution, Goins is playing in the FSL at 24 years old, the same as Brad Glenn.

Sean Ochinko came onto prospect watchers lists due to his strong 2010 when he won the Webster award for Lansing. Ochinko is hitting barely above .200 while filling a utility role for Dunedin.

Lansing

Marcus Knecht leads the Lugnuts in many offensive categories. Among regulars he heads in OPS by over 80 points, he leads in OBP and SLG too. Basically there is a lot to like, a .322 batting average with a good eye, 18:33 BB:K, and power. And he is still 20 years old, if only for the next three weeks.

Fielding is probably the weakest part of Knechts game right now and he is probably a future left fielder so the offensive bar is high but so far so good.

Knecht’s prospect ranking has "improved" this season.

Michael Crouse is another 20 year old who continues to show development in the Jays system. Crouse can hit for average, .270, has lots of power, he leads the team in extra base hits, and has speed, he leads in stolen bases. Add that to a strong arm and you have the makings of a multi-tool player. As long as Crouse can keep his batting average up and his K’s down, he has 39 in 152 AB’s, he will move up.

Crouse has also "improved" his prospect standing this season.

Jake Marisnick is currently on the DL with wrist problems but before he was hurt he was living up to expectations. Marisnick turned 20 in spring training and so far in 2011 he has shown all his tools, hitting for average, power , speed, and fielding.

Marisnick was just outside the top ten prospect lists coming into 2011 and I think he has done enough to be considered to have "improved" that ranking.

Carlos Perez is one of the Jays top ranked prospects and given that his 2011 performance so far has been a little disappointing. Perez’s bat, his primary tool, is only delivering a .282 batting average and given that Perez does not walk a lot his OBP is just .331. Perez has 12 extra base hits and that leads to a .722 OPS. Perez hit well in April, over .300, but his May average dropped to .253 with almost 30% strikeouts. Perhaps Perez is just experiencing a cold streak.

There is no argument that Perez has improved his ranking this season, I will give him a “flat” as a 20 year old catcher in the Midwest League is still good going.

Lance Durham, KC Hobson and Gustavo Pierre have all been on the edges of prospectdom. This season Durham leads those three in OPS thanks to his having more walks than hits and having two thirds of his hits go for extra bases. Hobson has the best average but hasn’t shown the power expected from a first baseman. Pierre is only nineteen so his struggles could be a reflection of age and weather. But he has shown only the briefest flashes of excitement this season. Pierre was ranked in our top 30 and I would grade his 2011 so far as a "disappointment" while acknowledging he is still very young.

Drew Hutchison made a big impression in spring training and had an excellent start to the season. But as April turned to May Hutchison’s numbers went up, and not in a good way. His ERA was 2.86 in April but 4.85 in May. Hitters are hitting over .300 against him in May and his walk total tripled from April to May. We know Hutchison has the potential to do well and he needs to find that something again here in June.

Despite his struggles in May, I will give Hutch an “improved” due to his spring and April performances.

Sean Nolin got a late start to the season and pitched well up until his last start. Nolin has a 2.61 ERA, an 8:29 BB:K ratio, and has struckout almost a hitter per inning.

Nolin was not on prospect lists prior to this season but he lost 40 pounds in the off-season and is a new pitcher this year.

Nolin might not yet be on prospect lists but if he can keep up his performance for the rest of the season he could be.

Misaul Diaz started poorly in April and was yanked from the rotation. Diaz had a 6.60 ERA in April and he walked 11 in 15 innings. Diaz though had a problem with his delivery and that appears to be fixed now. Diaz’s May ERA is 3.92 and it is 2.70 since his last bad start on May 1st. Diaz has 16 strikeouts in his 11.2 innings out of the bullpen.

Diaz was also not on prospect lists to start the season but he does have some potential which he is now showing.

Marcus Walden and John Anderson joined the team late due to injuries but both have pitched well. Walden has a 0.89 WHIP in 15 innings while Anderson has a 1 WHIP in eighth innings.

Here are the top 30 prospects with today's rankings and some others. This is drawn from Batters Box own top 30.

1. Kyle Drabek - Toronto

2. JP Arencibia - Toronto

5. Carlos Perez - Lansing - Flat

6. Deck McGuire - Dunedin - Flat

8. AJ Jimenez - Dunedin - Improved

11. Jake Marisnick - Lansing - Improved

13. Asher Wojciechowski - Dunedin - Flat

14. Aaron Sanchez - Extended - Inconclusive

15. Chad Jenkins - Dunedin - Disappoint

20. Brad Emaus - Traded

21. Noah Syndergaard - Extended - Inconclusive

23. Drew Hutchison - Lansing - Improved

24. Trystan Magnuson - Traded

26. Dickie Joe Thon - Extended - Inconclusive

27. Griffin Murphy - Extended - Inconclusive

28. Gustavo Pierre - Lansing - Disappoint

29. Marcus Knecht - Lansing - Improved

Others who could be top 30 after 2011:

Nestor Molina - Dunedin - Improved

Justin Jackson - Dunedin - Improved

Michael Crouse - Lansing - Improved

Sean Nolin - Lansing - Improved

Of the top 30 prospects, 17 are listed above. Here is a summary of their progress:

Graduated to Toronto - 2 - Drabek; JPA

Traded - 2 - Emaus; Magnuson

Inconclusive - 4 - Sanchez; Syndergaard; Murphy; Thon

Improved - 4 - Jimenez; Marisnick; Hutchison; Knecht

Flat - 3 - Perez; McGuire; Wojo

Disappoint - 2 - Jenkins; Pierre

We will be back with the Las Vegas and New Hampshire prospects soon.

Posted by Gerry on Thursday, June 02 2011 @ 11:26 AM EDT.

One Third Done - Prospect Review | 35 comments | Create New Account

The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.

92-93 - Thursday, June 02 2011 @ 11:55 AM EDT (#235975) #

If Jenkins cutting his hit, HR, and walk rates ranks as one of the team's only disappointments, we're in great shape. I guess one could have wanted an uptick in the K-rate but I get the feeling nobody is all that high on Jenkins to begin with and his pitching better this year is actually somewhat of an "improvement", repeating a level be damned.

I believe with AJ Jimenez you meant to say Top 10, not 30.

Gerry - Thursday, June 02 2011 @ 12:04 PM EDT (#235976) #

I did mean top 30 for Jimenez. We at Batters Box liked him but Baseball America left him off their top thirty and Kevin Goldstein at Baseball Prospectus had him at #31, I believe. My comment was in general industry terms, not specific to Da Box.

Jenkins is repeating at Dunedin so I would expect him to do more than he has as a repeater.

92-93 - Thursday, June 02 2011 @ 12:10 PM EDT (#235978) #

Those guys had Jimenez outside of the BLUE JAYS's Top 30?! That's strange.

uglyone - Thursday, June 02 2011 @ 12:12 PM EDT (#235979) #

Another great writeup on a system that's becoming more fun to watch than any I can remember.

As for Jenkins, he's seen a big uptick in an already impressive groundball rate as well:

2010: 1.75go/ao
2011: 2.06go/ao

MatO - Thursday, June 02 2011 @ 12:33 PM EDT (#235983) #

As I expected, Hobson's numbers improved considerably (except for power) in May as his BABIP approached more normal values. Ironically, he hit .189 in April with a very low K rate and more BB's than K's and .333 in May with a deteriorating K rate and a K/BB of almost 4.

Jonny German - Thursday, June 02 2011 @ 12:38 PM EDT (#235984) #

Great writeup.

[Goins] still hasn’t moved ahead of Hechavarria on the Jays depth chart but if he can maintain this pace for the rest of the season he could get close. One note of caution, Goins is playing in the FSL at 24 years old, the same as Brad Glenn.

Goins is 23, but even that is old enough that the odds are stacked against him. In my mind Jackson is clearly a better prospect than Goins at this point. It's not like Goins has a strong resume coming into this season either.

rtcaino - Thursday, June 02 2011 @ 12:40 PM EDT (#235985) #

Goins is playing in the FSL at 24 years old

Minor note, but BBRef has Goins as being 23 years old (ten months or so older than Jackson).

As per bbref:
Goins born February 13, 1988.
Jackson born December 11, 1988.

It is interesting that Goins is getting the PT at short over JJ. I understood that JJ would have had the higher ceiling defensively. However, I saw it suggested, perhaps here, that JJ has the capabilities of playing multiple positions, whereas Goins does not: perhaps that accounts for the decision.

rtcaino - Thursday, June 02 2011 @ 12:44 PM EDT (#235986) #

Ya, what Jonny said.

I have also seen it suggested that Jenkins is being hurt by his infield defense and that more of his ground balls should be converted to outs as he progresses up the ladder.

Gerry - Thursday, June 02 2011 @ 12:51 PM EDT (#235988) #

Thanks on the Goins correction, bad subtraction by me.

Six Dunedin players are going to the all-star game. Deck McGuire, Nestor Molina and Wes Etheridge as pitchers. Brad Glenn, AJ Jimenez and Justin Jackson as hitters.

Gerry - Thursday, June 02 2011 @ 12:56 PM EDT (#235990) #

One reason why I am not excited about Jenkins is that he is the latest in a series of sinker, slider guys who pitch well in Dunedin but stall in AA or AAA.

Here are three:

A: 3.09 ERA; 1.21 WHIP; 6.0 K/9

B: 3.14 ERA; 1.34 WHIP; 4.8 K/9

C; 2.79 ERA; 1.19 WHIP; 5.7 K/9

A and C appear to be closest. B is Rey Gonzalez who is back in AA after struggling in AAA. A is Jamie Vermilyea who was a star in these parts until more advanced hitters got to him. And C is Chad Jenkins, 2011 version. Vermilyea and Gonzalez breezed through Dunedin, Jenkins is the only one of the three to spend parts of two seasons there.

greenfrog - Thursday, June 02 2011 @ 01:33 PM EDT (#235994) #

At least according to Keith Law, the player selected one pick ahead of Jenkins in the 2009 draft (Shelby Miller, RHP) is now the fourth-best prospect in baseball, behind Trout, Harper and Montero. I have no doubt that the Jays would have chosen Miller had he fallen to them.

Mike Green - Thursday, June 02 2011 @ 01:48 PM EDT (#235995) #

Good write-up. I agree with all the rankings, save Jenkins. I would put him as "flat", but it is mostly a semantic difference. His progress has been neither good nor bad so far in 2011 given age and development level; the problem is that his progress after being drafted until the beginning of 2011 was disappointing given his age at the time of the draft. He needs to take a good-size step forward to be anything other than a disappointment for a first round pick.

metafour - Thursday, June 02 2011 @ 02:20 PM EDT (#236000) #

His progress has been neither good nor bad so far in 2011

Every single one of his peripherals has improved from last year, with the exception of his K/9 rate...and even that one is explained by the fact that his groundball rate has shot through the roof this year. Jenkins is repeating A+, but I find it pretty ridiculous that you can pencil him in as "disappointing" when he has improved literally every aspect from last year: less hits, less walks, less home-runs allowed, way less runs allowed, way lower WHIP...and he's become an elite groundball pitcher (2.85 GB/FB is nasty).

I'm not even a huge Jenkins fan by any chance, but he has clearly gone up since last year where he looked very ordinary.

metafour - Thursday, June 02 2011 @ 02:25 PM EDT (#236001) #

One reason why I am not excited about Jenkins is that he is the latest in a series of sinker, slider guys who pitch well in Dunedin but stall in AA or AAA.

No offense Gerry, but you just compared a legit 1st round talent to a guy drafted in the 9th round and a guy drafted in the 19th round. Jenkins is a significantly better prospect than both Vermilyea and Reider Gonzalez (who is a midget BTW) ever were. That doesn't mean much, but it is fairly ridiculous to post a few similar looking Dunedin stat lines and suggest the players are of equal caliber.

Gerry - Thursday, June 02 2011 @ 02:32 PM EDT (#236002) #

No offense Gerry

None taken. These are my opinions and we all have at least one of those. Every organization has a player who even scouts disagree on. And we are not scouts.

Time will tell.

85bluejay - Thursday, June 02 2011 @ 02:43 PM EDT (#236003) #

Great write-up - As a critic of both the Jenkins pick and his 1st. year, I'd say the rating is a bit tough - he started last year in Lansing so it's not a full 2nd year in Dunedin and I've liked his improvement - I'd have personally rated him improved and expect a midseason promotion to AA - on the other hand I'm disappointed in Ahrens especially after his little tease on his demotion to Lansing last year.

Gerry - Who's regarded as the better defensive shortstop, Goins or Jackson?

Marc Hulet - Thursday, June 02 2011 @ 02:43 PM EDT (#236004) #

I'm definitely disappointed with Jenkins' development but I do really like the ground-ball numbers... wish the K-rate was higher and wish he had better conditioning. For me... ceiling of a Casey Janssen, maybe Jesse Litsch.

TheBunk - Thursday, June 02 2011 @ 02:51 PM EDT (#236006) #

Yeah I don't see any case for Chad Jenkins being a disappointment this year.

Mylegacy - Thursday, June 02 2011 @ 02:54 PM EDT (#236007) #

Well done Gerry! As always!

I'm in love (mancrush sorta way) with the trio of young 20 year old Marisnick, mid-20 year old Crouse and old, old, 20 year old Knecht.

Gerry, I LOVE 'em all - but - I see Crouse's five tool, size, potential power and blazing speed as putting him at the top of the three over Marisnick's five tools followed by Knecht raw but substantial power.

However - recognizing that all three are VERY TALENTED (and if we only had one of the three we'd be very happy with him) - How do you rate them against each other; as you listed them? And secondly; Do any compare to Shawn Green - or other past Jays you can think of - at this stage of their careers?

Mike Green - Thursday, June 02 2011 @ 03:31 PM EDT (#236012) #

It is true that Derek Lowe took his time to find his stride in the minor leagues, with K rates that were very unimpressive. Maybe that is Jenkins' model.

85bluejay - Thursday, June 02 2011 @ 04:06 PM EDT (#236021) #

In a spring training story, Jenkins says he lost too much weight preparing for the 2010 season and he felt it negatively impacted his season - Jenkins also said he spoke with former expo Steve Rogers in the offseason as he was also a sinkerball pitcher

Gerry - Thursday, June 02 2011 @ 04:12 PM EDT (#236022) #

Goins vs Jackson, I don't know. Someone from the Jays would not answer that question and I haven't asked a scout about it. However I do remember that BA listed Goins under 2B in their depth chart in the prospect annual so BA thinks that Jackson is better.

Crouse, Marisnick, Knecht. Crouse is the best athlete of those three and could be an all round five tool player. The question is the bat, he had a bit of a slow bat rep coming out of high school but he has worked hard to improve that. He is around the same height as Marisnick but is not as controlled with his body so it could take him longer to find his coordination. Marisnick is smooth and he plays centre field which is a bonus. Knecht is more of a hitter-first guy and is much smaller than the other two.

I have no reason to doubt the professionals in this business who rank them Marisnick, Knecht, Crouse. Marisnick and Crouse have more tools than Knecht but Knecht is hitting better. Even though they are all 20 years old, Knecht seems to be a more mature hitter than the others. Crouse is the "guy to dream on". He had been compared to Dave Winfield a few years ago, probably because their bodies look similar. But if he can keep his bat going he has that look about him.

These guys are right handed while Shawn Green was a lefty. But Green was a very controlled, smooth player and Marisnick is most like that.

MatO - Thursday, June 02 2011 @ 04:13 PM EDT (#236023) #

TamRa - Thursday, June 02 2011 @ 04:15 PM EDT (#236024) #

"Gerry - Who's regarded as the better defensive shortstop, Goins or Jackson? "

I'd like to hear mark's take on that question too.

Frankly, while I'm well known to have had a crush on jackson from before the 2007 draft, I've never thought Goins had a major league ceiling and I was mystified by moving jackson off SS. I rationalized it was because they though Adeiny was their future there, but even so I don't know why they didn't just install him at 2B.

but deferring to Goins makes no sense to me at all.

hypobole - Thursday, June 02 2011 @ 04:28 PM EDT (#236026) #

Marisnick is off the DL, played last night. There is one other OF in Lansing, Markus Brisker, who's in between Knecht and Crouse in age and seems to have found himself. His K rate is scary (around 35%) but a lot of his other numbers look good. Don't know much about him and he was left off your list. He should have some prospect helium however, no?

MatO - Thursday, June 02 2011 @ 04:29 PM EDT (#236027) #

At the age of 20 Shawn Green was in AA and hitting not quite as well as Gose is this season (only 3 months younger than Gose at the same level). At the age of 21 Green won the IL batting title. The 3 Amigos in Lansing have more power than Green at the same age but that's about it.

uglyone - Thursday, June 02 2011 @ 04:33 PM EDT (#236030) #

speaking of Gose:

AA

A.Gose (20.4): 225pa, 78tb, 5hr, 25rbi, 22/27sb, 27bb/45k, .269/.369/.404/.773
B.Lawrie (20.0): 609pa, 250tb, 8hr, 63rbi, 30/43sb, 47bb/118k, .285/.346/.451/.797

per 700pa:

A.Gose (20.4): 700pa, 243tb, 16hr, 78rbi, 69/84sb, 84bb/140k, .269/.369/.404/.773
B.Lawrie (20.0): 700pa, 287tb, 9hr, 72rbi, 35/49sb, 54bb/136k, .285/.346/.451/.797

1990Jays - Thursday, June 02 2011 @ 05:45 PM EDT (#236032) #

I think its fairly outrageous to say Jenkins has been a disappointment compared to last year. You're basing your opinion on how many hits he gives up? How many hits he gives is pretty irrelevant , Jenkins has made improvements in every stat that matters.

Lugnut Fan - Thursday, June 02 2011 @ 06:18 PM EDT (#236033) #

Brisker is the fourth outfielder in Lansing and hasn't quite been able to break through into having consistent playing time. From a baseball player stand point, I would rank them Marisnick, Knecht, Crouse with Crouse probably having the highest upside of the the three. Marisnick has all the tools, he is a very good defensive centerfielder and is probably the best pure hitter of the three. Knecht is more of a power guy and his swing is a tich longer than Marisnicks. Crouse is the one to dream about. He is definitely the best athlete of the three. He reminds me a little of BJ Upton. Unlimited talent, he just has to put it all together.

Marc Hulet - Thursday, June 02 2011 @ 06:20 PM EDT (#236034) #

You can drive a bus through the holes in Brisker's swing. I like him a lot, but he has a lot of work to do. His BABIP in April was .500.

rtcaino - Thursday, June 02 2011 @ 06:21 PM EDT (#236035) #

It seems that the consensus is that Jenkins has made improvements from last year, but has been somewhat of a disappointment relative to his draft position.

greenfrog - Thursday, June 02 2011 @ 10:30 PM EDT (#236041) #

Dunedin players named to the FSL All-Star game:

Pitchers: McGuire, Etheridge, Molina
Position players: Jimenez, Glenn, Jackson

Pretty good representation for the baby Jays...out of 23 North Division players (from six teams) selected, six are Jays players.

DaveB - Thursday, June 02 2011 @ 10:34 PM EDT (#236042) #

Gerry, thanks for the prospect breakdown. One guy who I think deserves a mention is Jon Talley. He's done well enough so far in his first full season at first base to get into the fringes of prospect consideration. I remember someone (perhaps yourself) mentioning that he had looked good defensively at first. With eight home runs in about 165 AB his power is respectable for the FSL and he's cut his K/BB ratio almost in half. He's not yet putting up the overall numbers you want out of a first baseman but there are at least some promising signs for a 22-year-old who's finally free of the catching gear and swinging a bat every day.

Gerry - Thursday, June 02 2011 @ 10:59 PM EDT (#236045) #

I had thought of putting in Talley but I didn't in the end. He deserves watching but first base is a tough position, the bar is very high.

85bluejay - Friday, June 03 2011 @ 12:11 AM EDT (#236049) #

Bryson Namba with a little hot streak has got his ops up to 796 & improved K/B ratio from last year & he's only 20 - has he turned a corner and what about his defence?

One Third Done - Prospect Review | 35 comments | Create New Account

The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.