1. Alex Gordon 3b A Has torn up AA. KC not promoting in Sept. Chance to be 3b in 2007.
2. Troy Tulowitzki ss B+ Has played well at AA. May have to start at AAA next year before being called up say by midseason.
3. Jason Kubel rf B Has had sore knee all year. Still seems to be recovering from surgery. Disappointing year, but Twins still like him.
4. Brad Snyder rf B Very disappointing year at AA. May have to repeat. Value going down.
5. Joaquin Arias ss B- Very disappointing year offensively at AA. May be only a utility guy.
6. Anthony Swarzak rhp B+ Started slow but has rebounded in the second half. Still in Twins starting pitcher prospect talk.
7. Merkin Valdez rhp B+ Very disappointing (seeing a pattern here) at AAA. Has not had success starting or relieving.
8. Ricky Nolasco rhp B Pleasant surprise. Has become a reliable 4 or 5 starter for Fla.
9. Tyler Clippard rhp B Rough start but has rebounded very well including pitching a no-hitter. Still has Yankee fans excited, although experts project as 4 or 5 starter.
10. Ryan Shealy 1b B+ Buried in Colorado, new lease on life in KC. KC seems to prefer him to Huber. Hopefully long term answer for KC at 1b.
1. Stephen Drew ss A- Everything he was advertised. Should be high quality ss for years.
2. Russell Martin c B+ Took job away from navarro and hasn't looked back. Tough catcher with pop, eye and some speed.
3. Chris Ray rhp B+ Baltimore closer, mixed results. Should improve with experience.
4. Jose Bautista 3b C+ Pittsburgh super utility ala Figgins with less speed and more power. Hopefully he will become full-time 3b. Been somewhat inconsistent, but shown good power and decent obp. Should gain conisistency with regular position and paying time.
5. Daniel Haigwood lhp B Probably still a year away from Rangers rotation.
6. Manny Del Carmen rhp B- Improved over course of the year. Chance to be quality set up man.
7. Jason Botts 1b C+ Did not take advantage of cup of coffee with Rangers. Has abiltiy to be interesting player (reminds me of Dan Johnson), but probably not with the Rangers.
8. Jeff Fiorentino cf B- Has had horrible year. Rebounded some in August. Who knows if he will ever recover from premature promotion.
9. Josh Willingham c B Has turned into a decent righthanded power bat that can draw a walk for Fla. Much better numbers vs lh and probably a platoon player in strat.
10. BJ Szymanski cf B- Rest assured he will not be included in FTW minor league roster this year.
11. Jose Capellan Rhp B+. Has also improved over course of the season. At best a closer, at worst a quality set up guy.
As you can see by this list Ft. Worth will be promoting quite a few players from the minors next year. Which means I have too many carded players and will need to replenish the minors. If this gives any of you any ideas about trades please drop me an email.
1) Ian Stewart--still misses McCormick Field 2) Jeremy Hermida--decent obp, but needs to show more power 3) Cameron Maybin--yeah, baby 4) Eric Duncan--hurt most of year, stunk in AAA, half decent in AA 5) Chris Volstad--overcame rough stretch for good year in SAL 6) Denard Span--hot start, tailed off somewhat, needs better obp to be leadoff hitter 7) Jeff Allison--second heroin overdose 8) Eric Patterson--promoted to Iowa, hitting over .500 in first 6 games 9) Kenji Johjima--hitting near .300, 13 hr 10) Take your pick: Waldrop, Christian Garcia, Vince Perkins, Jason Pridie, JD Martin, Mark McCormick, Boof Bonser, Wladimir Balentien--Bonser filling in for Liriano, Waldrop and Balentien having decent years, Garcia pitching well after being on DL first half.
1) Jeff Clement--was playing OK in AA when went on DL. Mariners decided to start him back in Tacoma where he has been less than impressive, but improving 2) Felix Pie--great start, tailed off, getting better, .800 ops in Iowa 3) Franklin Gutierrez--greatly improved obp, but where'd the power go? 4) Dexter Fowler--got his autograph at a game in Hagerstown, seems like a very nice young man--he was amused at my assertion that I traveled 1500 miles to see him play, then further amused by my confession that I had taken my son to visit his mom and the game was only a 160 mile detour. 5) Michael Taylor--still in college, ok season 6) Brignac--blasted his way out of the Cal League and now in SL 7) Tuiasosopo--another weird promotion by the Mariners--played decent in Cal League, but showed little power, and they promote him to San Antonio, where he is struggling 8) Ryan Sweeney--criticized only for supposed lack of power, but has come on of late--and check IL slg percentages this year. League slugging is down .025 points. 9) Juan Portes--hurt 10) Edgar Garcia--still a kid in short season ball
Hon. mention to Micah Owings, Vechionacci, and James Houser--Owings cruised through AA and is doing well in Tucson.
Of course, as with Petty, the list above doesn't include this year's draftees.
1. Delmon Young - Immature, rarely walks, power outage at AAA. #1 prospect status is probably gone...still a top talent and still Tampa's #1.
2. Justin Verlander - Great rookie season.
3. Jarrod Saltalamacchia - Horrible first half, coming around in the second half. Defense and game calling have greatly improved. Will the prospect gods take into account his sore wrist?
4. Jason Hirsh - The man in AAA is looking like a little boy in the bigs. Hopefully, it's rookie jitters. Houston's probable #1 prospect.
5. Adam Jones - Rushed to the majors and is struggling. Needs more AAA time.
6. Scott Olsen - Turning into a solid middle of the rotation starter.
7. Jared Weaver - see Verlander.
8. Billy Butler - Raking in AA. KC's #2 prospect for next season?
9. Brian Anderson - Terrible first half and slightly better second half. Projects to get another shot next year.
10. Matt Moses - Mediocre AA season. Lacks plate discipline.
11. Yovani Gallardo - Great year moving himself up the prospect lists. He has to be Milwaukee's #1, doesn't he?
2. Homer Bailey - The Texas fireballing stud tradition continues. Cincinatti's #1 with a bullet.
3. Kendry Morales - Struggled in his rookie season. He was just reaching the number of plate appearances where he has figured things out at AA and AAA when he was demoted. So there's still a chance .
4. Hunter Pence - Brilliant first half. Cooled off a bit. Might be smacking homeruns at Minute Maid late next year.
5. Adam Loewen - Shaky control, big time stuff. Will Mazzone work his magic?
6. Adam Miller - Completely recovered from his elbow injury, throwing upper 90's smoke and looking like a #1.
7. Jimmy Barthmaier - Solid season. Middle to back of the rotation starter.
8. Adam Wainwright - Nice year in the Cardinals bullpen.
More or less continued where he left off. Strikeouts a concern, but XB power still mighty and impressive.
2. Conor Jackson (ARZ) 1b
Not a particularly impressive debut in the majors, as he hits for average and some doubles, but poor power, especially for his park. Hopefully a steep learning curve approaches.
3. Mike Pelfrey (NYM) rhp
Moving quickly up the ladder, not-awful major league debut in a couple of starts. Future so bright, he is reported to be wearing shades.
4. Marcus Sanders (SF) 2b
What in the holy hell happened? Every aspect of his game has fallen completely to *%&#@. Hopefully nothing more than a year lost to injury.
5. Travis Diamond (TEX) rhp
Improved K rate and H/IP rate have come with a worse BB rate. Still a good prospect, but passed by Eric Hurley in the TEX and SFE systems.
6. Troy Patton (HOU) lhp
Solid season progressing up the ladder.
7. Justin Huber (KC) 1b
KC totally screwed him up by calling him up for three weeks to have him sit on the bench. Finally starting to show power stroke again at AAA.
8. Gio Gonzalez (PHI) lhp
Unhittable early in the season, not....um, more hittable. Solid but unspectacular season, his stuff still has very high acclaim.
