Keep An Eye On…
WILFREDO BOSCAN, RHP, TEXAS RANGERS
Say “Texas Rangers pitching prospects” and we’ll hear names like Neftali Feliz and Derek Holland.
But don’t be surprised if Wilfredo Boscan is eventually as well-known as those two elite pitching prospects.
Boscan, who turned 19 after the season, was signed as an international free agent out of Venezuela. He made his United States debut last summer with Spokane of the short-season Northwest League, a league that tends to be college-heavy.
Facing older competition didn’t faze him. He pitched in 15 games (12 starts) and threw 69.1 innings. He allowed 66 hits, but walked just 11 while fanning 70.
It was an impressive debut. The combination of youth, Maddux-like control, and plenty of strikeouts give reason to be excited about his future. He strikes me as being more polished than the typical 18 or 19 year old pitcher, but he’s at least a few years away.
Boscan is sort of buried in the Rangers system, but if he can translate his success over to full-season ball, his profile will rise significantly. Expect him to begin the year with Hickory of the Low-A South Atlantic League.
Sutton’s career off life support
Drew Sutton’s career was stagnating. If he was going to stay on the prospect map, he needed to have a strong year in 2008.
Aneury Rodriguez Is Underrated
Some guys perform, but still get lost in the shuffle when it comes time to rank prospects.
Aneury Rodriguez, a 21-year-old righthander in the Colorado Rockies organization, is one of them.
Baseball America ranked him 16th on their most recent Rockies top prospect list. In December, Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus came out with a top prospects list for the Rockies. He ranked his top 14. Rodriguez wasn’t one of them.
It’s hard to see why there hasn’t been more buzz.
Last year, Rodriguez started 27 games and threw 156.1 innings for High-A Modesto of the hitter-friendly California League. He had a 3.74 ERA, allowed less than a hit an inning, and struck out 21.4% of the batters he faced.
Of all the pitchers who threw at least 90 innings in that league last season, only three had a higher strikeout percentage.
The ability to strike batters out — something Rodriguez has consistently done well throughout his minor league career — is one of the best ways to gauge how legit a prospect is.
He’s also seen his walk totals drop steadily over the years. In his debut season in 2005, he walked 3.8 batters per nine innings. Last season, he issued just 2.3 walks per nine. That’s roughly a 40% drop from 2005.
Rodriguez does tend to be a flyball pitcher, something that could be an issue in Coors Field, one of the more hitter-friendly parks in the majors. But he strikes people out at a strong clip and doesn’t walk many, and that’s always a good starting point for success.
Rodriguez is a solid prospect and better than most give him credit for. He’s one of the top 5-to-10 prospects in the Colorado system, and its third best pitching prospect behind Jhoulys Chacin and Christian Friedrich.
Rodriguez is likely to open the year at AA-Tulsa — and at 21, he would be ahead of the age curve for that level. He could be a September call-up.
Keep An Eye On…
DEXTER CARTER, RHP, CHICAGO WHITE SOX
As a junior at Old Dominion last
spring, Dexter Carter had an 8.76 ERA and walked 33 batters in 37
innings.
Despite the struggles, Carter managed to get drafted.
The Chicago White Sox nabbed him with the 390th pick in last
year’s first-year player draft.
Once he hit the minor leagues,
Carter was a different pitcher.
In 68.2 innings for Great
Falls of the short-season Pioneer League, Carter was untouchable. He
had a 2.23 ERA and allowed just 44 hits, good for a .179 opponents
batting average. He walked 25 while striking out 89, the latter being
the second highest total in the league.
What changed?
According to Ben
Badler of Baseball America: “The White Sox made a slight
mechanical tweak, helping throw across his body less and stride more
toward the plate and voila: throwing more strikes with a 90-93 mph FB
and a very good curve that’s helped him get more than a K per
inning.”
“I think everything started clicking for me,”
Carter told MLB.com’s Bryan Smith last fall.
Keep An Eye On…
ANGEL MORALES, OF, MINNESOTA TWINS
The Twins have had little problem producing pitchers in recent years.
It has not been quite as easy on the offensive side of things, but Morales, a third round pick in 2007, is an intriguing hitting prospect in the low minors that might have as much power as any prospect in the system.
The Puerto Rican’s power was on full display this past summer. Morales spent all of last season as an 18-year-old (he turned 19 in November) and tore up the short season Appalachian League.
In 184 AB for Elizabethton, he hit a league-leading 15 homers to go along with a 1.036, also tops in the league.
Morales’ greatest weakness was on display as well.
In those 184 AB, he struck out 72 times, the third-highest total in the league. He did walk 26 times, but he has to cut down on the strikeouts if he intends on surviving against more advanced pitching.
The good news is that he’s very young and has plenty of time to improve. Morales strikes me as the type of prospect who has a high ceiling and a low floor — a bit of a boom or bust type of guy.
Look for him to get tested with full-season ball this year. Beloit of the Midwest League is his most likely stop.
Keep An Eye On…
STOLMY PIMENTEL, RHP, BOSTON RED SOX
In organizations with weaker farm systems, Pimentel would already be getting more notice.
Signed out of the Dominican Republic in 2005, the 19-year-old enjoyed an impressive stateside debut last season after spending the previous summer in the Dominican Summer League.
He threw 63 innings in 13 games (11 starts) for Lowell of the short-season New York-Penn League. He had a 3.14 ERA and allowed 51 hits and 17 walks while striking out 61.
The low walk numbers coupled with nearly a strikeout per inning are encouraging markers.
He’s expected to play full season ball this year, likely for A-Greenville. If he can have the same kind of success over a full season, he could rocket up industry lists.
Pimentel is one of the more intriguing pitching prospects in the lower minor leagues. He’s a few seasons away, but the rewards could be worth the wait.
Keep An Eye On…
One feature of this blog will be the “keep an eye on….” series. It highlights prospects that fans should be keeping an eye on. Typically, prospects featured won’t currently be on most mainstream top 100 lists or most mainstream team top 10 lists.
CARLOS RIVERO, SS, CLEVELAND INDIANS
Rivero, 20, was signed in 2005 as a non-drafted free agent from Venezuela.
He’s had a fair amount of success throughout his brief minor league career, but he could be poised for a breakthrough season in 2009.
He played for A-Kinston last year and appeared to make big strides in the second half.
Before the all-star break, Rivero hit .263/.310/.343 in 198 AB. After the break, he was a different player and had a .300/.371/.474 line in 213 AB.
Seven of his eight home runs came after the break and his plate discipline tightened up significantly as well. He had a 12/47 BB/K before the break and a 24/37 ratio after it.
Rivero figures to be the starting shortstop for AA-Akron this year and he will not turn 21 until late May. He has moved along quickly for someone his age and could be the recipient of a lot more attention a year from now.
Welcome!
Welcome to my blog!
As you may have guessed, this blog will be about baseball prospects.
There will be something here for everyone. Maybe you’re just a fan
of the minor leagues. Maybe you want to find out more about your
favorite team’s prospects. Maybe you’re in a fantasy league that
utilizes prospects.
While I don’t get the chance to “see” many minor league games, I follow the minor leagues on close to a daily basis and I’m like a vacuum when it comes to finding information on prospects.
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