7/20 AAA Minor League Report

Posted by Jeremy on July 21, 2009 under Minor League Ball today | Be the First to Comment

Minnesota Twins OF prospect David Winfree is a name that makes our run down of daily performances quite often, but he is oft overlooked amidst the prospecting ranks.  Yesterday the former 2003 draftee launched his 13th HR of the season as part of a three hit day and drove in two runs.  The Twins are still in contention for a post season bid and have a good deal of depth in their current OF situation, however, the 23 year old Winfree is someone to keep an eye on as a sleeper for future consideration.  At 6-3 230 lb. Winfree has as much power potential as anyone in the Twins’ system not named Angel Morales.  This season, Winfree is batting .274 with 13 HR 48 RBI and 22 doubles.  He has good athleticism and a strong arm that plays well in right field.  His positive strides made last year in plate discipline (41 BB/85 K) have gone by the wayside this year (15 BB/65 K), and he will need to shore that up in order to tack down a future big league job.  The Twins have some good depth in their outfield right now, but no one seems to have distinguished themselves as franchise fixtures.  Michael Cuddyer is signed through 2010, but his contract ($8.5M in ‘10) puts him at the center of several trade rumors.  The Twins are in need of an upgrade on the left side of their infield and there have been some rumors that Braves SS Yunel Escobar could be had for either Cuddyer or Denard Span.  Over the long term, I don’t see Winfree having a sustainable future with the Twins as trio of Ben Revere, Aaron Hicks, and Angel Morales are a couple years away from making their impact on the major leagues, but there could just be a window for Winfree to get a shot to make his major league debut when the rosters expand in September.

Houston Astros former 1st round southpaw turned outfielder Brian Bogusevic has had a decent season, but not to the level that I envisioned this past offseason.  After going 3-5 with a HR and three RBI yesterday, the former Tulane Wave is hitting .280 with 6 HR 44 RBI 11 SB and 44 runs scored.  There is still quite a bit to like in Bogusevic’s game.  At 6-3 215 lb., he is big, strong and has exceptional athleticism that allows for him to play at an above average CF with a cannon for an arm.  He’s shown better plate discipline in the past, but his 37 BB/80 K ratio this season is not particularly alarming.  At 25 years old, Bogusevic is primed to make his major league debut soon, but the fact that the Astros are in contention will delay that a bit.  Houston’s GM Ed Wade has given the indication that the Astros will utilize a wait and hold strategy as the deadline approaches.  They are not interested in selling off some of their high priced talent (Carlos Lee, Roy Oswalt, Lance Berkman, Miguel Tejada) for much needed organizational depth.  Conversely, they are reluctant to dip into their farm system in order to add a piece or two.  I see the ‘Stros sliding out of the race as St. Louis and Milwaukee make the Central a two team race.  The best thing that Boguesvic can do over the next month is tighten up his BB/K ratio and continue to drive the ball with XBH authority.  The more he can do that, the better his MLB opportunities will be going forward.

Today’s top prospect from the AAA ranks is Arizona Diamondbacks catching prospect John Hester.  Yesterday, the 25 year old backstop belted HR’s number five and six, driving in three runs and scoring three times.  Hester is a 2006 13th round draftee of the D’backs who played sporadically at Stanford but has progressed steadily through Arizona’s farm system.  This season the 6-4 215 lb. Hester is hitting .313 for the Reno Aces with 6 HR 40 RBI 25 doubles and 10 stolen bases.   Defensively, Hester has drawn accolades from current Diamonbacks manager and former catcher A.J. Hinch as being the best at blocking balls in the dirt and shows above average aptitude at calling games, mobility and arm strength.

The organization’s depth at catcher is underwhelming.  Current Arizona starter Miguel Montero is enjoying his best season as a pro, but has still underdelivered since his promising minor league career.  Hester has been likened to K.C. backstop John Buck, but I think that he has a better bat than him.  Expect Hester to catch some Dan Haren and Brandon Webb pitches at some point this season and, perhaps, beyond that.

AAA Player of the Day—JOHN HESTER

 


Other Notable Performances

Hitting:

• Rhyne Hughes—2-4 HR(21) RBI 2B
• Steven Pearce—2-5 HR(13) 2 RBI
• Drew Stubbs—2-4 2B R BB SB(36)
• Chris Valaika—1-2 HR(5) RBI 2 BB
• Matt LaPorta—2-3 2 RBI 2B 2R BB
• Wes Hodges—2-4 R RBI
• Jason Pridie—4-5 R 5 RBI SB(20)
• David Winfree—3-5 HR(13) 2 RBI 2B
• Hernan Iribarren—3-5 2B 2R RBI
• Alcides Escobar—2-5 R RBI
• Tyler Greene—1-3 HR(5) RBI 2R 2 BB
• Brian Bogusevic—3-5 HR(6) 3 RBI
• Tommy Manzella—1-4 HR(6) 2 RBI BB
• Yorandy Ramirez—1-1 HR(10) 3 RBI
• J.P. Arencibia—2-4 HR(10) 2 RBI
• Kila Ka’aihue—3-5 2B 3R 3 RBI
• Michael Saunders—2-3 2B R
• Chad Huffman—2-5 2 2B RBI
• John Hester—2 HR(6) 3 RBI 3R BB
• Buster Posey—3-5 2B

Pitching:

• Dan McCutchen—6 IP 6H Er BB 6K W (9-5)
• James Simmons—5 IP 6H Er 2 BB 4K W (5-5)

Top Arizona Fall League Pitching Performers

Posted by Jeremy on November 24, 2008 under Uncategorized | Be the First to Comment

The AFL has historically been a very hitter-friendly league.  This year proved to be no exception as four hitters batted over .400 and nearly half the league hit at least .300.  That said, there were a few standout performers on the mound.

5.) Kevin Pucetas—San Francisco Giants RHP

4-1  4.33 ERA  1.13 WHIP  9 BB/28 K  35.1 IP

• All Pucetas has done in his professional career is compile a 32-7 record with a 2.47 ERA and 69 BB/267 K’s over three levels.  Pucetas is not overpowering, but he locates his pitches well and doesn’t walk many hitters.  His thick 6-4 225 lb. frame should amply handle a heavy workload as an end of the rotation pitcher.  Pucetas will pitch at AA Connecticuit next season as a 24 year old. 

4.) Andrew Bailey—Oakland A’s RHP

1-0  1.29 ERA  1 SV  1 BB/16 K  14 IP

• Bailey has taken well to his new role as a power reliever.  After suffering through a difficult season at AA Midland, the A’s decided to let Bailey work in relief in Arizona where he showed good control and was able to overpower hitters with his 95 MPH fastball.  His heater has good movement and late-sinking life.  Bailey compliments the pitch with a powerful curveball that dives down in the zone with an effective two plane break.  The A’s organization is overloaded with starting pitchers and the move to the bullpen should allow Bailey to bump up his fastball a couple of notches.  Keep an eye on him at AAA this season as a possible late-inning call up as a compliment to closer Brad Ziegler.

3.) Max Scherzer—Arizona Diamondbacks RHP

1-0  3.38 ERA  0.88 WHIP  5 BB/24 K  24 IP

• Scherzer’s four starts were enough for the Diamondbacks to see that he is ready to inherit a rotation spot in Arizona’s talented rotation.  Scherzer can be downright overpowering at times with a mid-90’s fastball and promising slider.  Scherzer exhibited much better contol from September to now and it will be key for him to maintain that trend to be successful in 2009.  Scherzer will likely be a #4 or #5 guy initially with the potential to win 12-14 games next season.

2.) Phil Hughes—New York Yankees RHP

2-0  3.00 ERA  1.13 WHIP  13 BB/38 K  30 IP

• The biggest positive to Hughes’ AFL campaign was that completed the season fully healthy.  Hughes was ravaged with injuries this season and had trouble controlling the strike zone.  Hughes has all the potential in the world to be a top tier starting pitcher at the major league level.  The Yankees have been very protective of Hughes despite the barrage of requests from other teams of his services.  Hughes should win a rotation spot unless the Yankees decide to purchase the entire free agent market of pitchers.  He is the top SP prospect in the Yankees system and, given his spry age of 22, his future is still quite bright. 

1.) Tommy Hanson— Atlanta Braves RHP

5-0  0.63 ERA  0.59 WHIP  7 BB/49   28.2 IP

• How dominant was Hanson’s AFL season?  So dominant that he allowed just a .105 BA against him.  So dominant that, though he never pitched more than 5 innings in a game, he struck out 9 or more in four of seven starts.  Hanson’s arsenal of pitches have transcended from being promising to being elite.  His fastball has bumped up a few ticks to sit regularly at 93-95 MPH with great location and his curve has become a knee-buckling 12-6 breaking counter punch.  Hanson has a distinct shot of earning a rotation spot out of spring training, though it will be likely that he spends a little bit of time at AAA Gwinnett to start the season.  Regardless, Hanson, at just age 22, has become one of baseball’s top 5 pitching prospects.