big time names involved

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd ... Id=rss_mlb

 

Stephen Strasburg
Dustin Ackley
Mike Minor
Mike Leake
Drew Storen
Jason Heyward
Freddie Freeman
Yonder Alonso
Jason Castro
Mike Stanton
Matt Dominguez
Josh Vitters
Peter Bourjos
Buster Posey
Domonic Brown
Derek Norris
Mike Moustakas

All this talent and the rosters aren't even finished yet. Teams will fill in the TBA's as Minor League seasons ends and player development staffs make final evaluations. That will mean even more talent headed to the desert on Oct. 13.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/02/21/SPRSV5PT4.DTL

Snow's tutelage: Daniel Ortmeier is not the only novice first baseman working with special instructor J.T. Snow. Later this spring, on his second visit to camp, Snow expects to work at the minor-league camp with 17-year-old Angel Villalona, the $2 million bonus baby from the Dominican Republic. He was signed as a third baseman, but as he has grown, the organization has become convinced his body is better suited for first base.

"He has good hands for a 17-year-old kid," said Snow, who had to teach Villalona everything about the position from scratch. Snow expects Villalona to pick up the techniques because there are many similarities between playing third base and first. Snow also watched Villalona bat and said, "I've never seen a 17-year-old kid hit the ball like that. Very impressive."

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well i am surprised they are moving him this quickly, but he is certainly a lot bigger then when they signed him

shouldn't effect his value at all if his bat lives up to the hype - and he could end up as a plus defender at 1B

http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/prospects/?p=622

sounds like his AFL season is over.....hopefully everything is cool and it's not long-term

overall a great season for the kid - his OPS jumped up massively on the strength of 74 XPH.....i wouldn't be shocked to see him in the majors by mid-season

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/minors/features/264994.html

FIRST TEAM
C Geovany Soto, Iowa (Cubs)
1B Steven Pearce, Lynch./Alt./Ind. (Pirates)
2B Matt Antonelli, L.E./S. Antonio (Padres)
3B Evan Longoria, Mont./Durham (Devil Rays)
SS Jed Lowrie, Portland/Pawtucket (Red Sox)
OF Jay Bruce, Sara./Chat./Louisville (Reds)
OF Colby Rasmus, Springfield (Cardinals)
OF Justin Upton, Visalia/Mobile (Diamondbacks)
DH Travis Snider, Lansing (Blue Jays)

SP Clay Buchholz, Port./Pawtucket (Red Sox)
SP Ian Kennedy, Tam./Trenton/SWB (Yankees)
SP Joba Chamberlain, Tam./Tren./SWB (Yankees)
SP James McDonald, I.E./Jacksonville (Dodgers)
RP Edwar Ramirez, Trenton/SWB (Yankees)

SECOND TEAM
C Taylor Teagarden, Baker./Frisco (Rangers)
1B Jordan Brown, Akron (Indians)
2B Adrian Cardenas, Lakewood (Phillies)
3B Chase Headley, San Antonio (Padres)
SS Chin-Lung Hu, Jack./Las Vegas (Dodgers)
OF Desmond Jennings, Columbus (Devil Rays)
OF Adam Jones, Tacoma (Mariners)
OF Cameron Maybin, GCL/Lake./Erie (Tigers)
DH Ryan Royster, Columbus (Devil Rays)

SP Wade Davis, V.B./Montgomery (Devil Rays)
SP Gio Gonzalez, Birmingham (White Sox)
SP Brandon Hynick, Modesto (Rockies)
SP Jake McGee, V.B./Montgomery (Devil Rays)
RP Jonathan Meloan, Jack./L.V. (Dodgers)

_____________

blurb in upton's write-up states that he will be the #1 prospect from the Southern League when the list is released on Monday.....

1. Justin Upton, of, Visalia Oaks (Diamondbacks)
   
2. Henry Sosa, rhp, San Jose Giants
   
3. Chris Tillman, rhp, High Desert Mavericks (Mariners)
   
4. Matt Antonelli, 2b, Lake Elsinore Storm (Padres)
   
5. Justin Masterson, rhp, Lancaster JetHawks (Red Sox)
   
6. Carlos Triunfel, ss, High Desert Mavericks (Mariners)
   
7. James McDonald, rhp, Inland Empire 66ers (Dodgers)
   
8. Chris Nelson, ss, Modesto Nuts (Rockies)
   
9. Chris Davis, 3b, Bakersfield Blaze (Rangers)
   
10. Dexter Fowler, of, Modesto Nuts (Rockies)
    
11. Brandon Hynick, rhp, Modesto Nuts (Rockies)
    
12. Wade LeBlanc, lhp, Lake Elsinore Storm (Padres)
    
13. Taylor Teagarden, c, Bakersfield Blaze (Rangers)
    
14. Eric Young Jr., 2b, Modesto Nuts (Rockies)
    
15. Hainley Statia, ss, Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (Angels)
    
16. Michael Saunders, of, High Desert Mavericks (Mariners)
    
17. Andrew Bailey, rhp, Stockton Ports (Athletics)
    
18. Kelvin Pichardo, rhp, San Jose Giants
    
19. Brooks Brown, rhp, Visalia Oaks (Diamondbacks)
    
20. Bubba Bell, of, Lancaster JetHawks (Red Sox)
    

stumbled on a good article and it got me thinking.....

http://miraclefans.com/news/aug2007/courant_082607.html

after coming back from his suspension dude was pretty dominant:

july - .190 AVG against, .285 SLG against, 0.98 WHIP, 2.45 BB/9, 8.35 K/9

tailed off slightly in august but still very solid, with walks down and K's up:

august - .260 AVG against, .386 SLG against, 1.27 WHIP, 1.82 BB/9, 7.01 K/9

personally i think he's very under-rated now, likely due to the suspension.....for a HS he's moved very fast though the levels (pitching half his first full season in A+) and has some very advanced secondary pitches for his age, especially his change......i will be watching him in the AFL to see if he continues where he left off at AA......

few questions to float regarding the future of one young mr. swarzak:

what is his ceiling?

where does he rank in the top 100?

what is his ETA?

does he start next year at AA or AAA?

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3026151

Baseball agent Jaime Torres told ESPN that Alexei Ramirez, who led the Cuban league in home runs this season as an infielder/outfielder for Pinar del Rio, has left Cuba and intends to file for residency in the Dominican Republic.

Torres, who also represents White Sox pitcher Jose Contreras, said Ramirez expects to apply to Major League Baseball for free agency.

Ramirez, who turns 26 on Sept. 22, played second base for Cuba at the Pan Am Games in Rio de Janeiro but is primarily a shortstop and centerfielder.

According to Torres, Ramirez has been in the Dominican Republic for less than two weeks and is already attracting attention from scouts. Ramirez's wife is a Domincan citizen who recently completed medical school in Cuba, Torres said, and her citizenship allowed Ramirez to enter the country legally and makes him eligible for Dominican citizenship. The couple has two children.

Ramirez, says the agent, is comparable to Contreras as far as being "major league ready" immediately after leaving Cuba. "Right out of spring training, Ramirez will make a major league club," Torres said.

Torres said that he and Ramirez would address the media at a Thursday news conference in Santo Domingo.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o81usn3BtKA

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something tells me the yanks may be interested.........

premium pitching matchup tonight - slowey vs. buchholz........buchholz (5 K's) with the edge after 3 IP up one zip

volstad going tonight and sharp through 3 IP - 0R, 1H, 0BB, 2K's

mcclung making his debut for the brewers AAA team a bit later (nashville)

mucho days off - what else is going on?

chris marrero continues to stay hot - 2 for 3 with 2 doubles

jay bruce with a triple - 1 for 4 with a K (votto 0 for 4 in that game, with 2 K's)

wade davis looking solid - 5 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 3 BB, 5 K's thus far.......ERA down to 1.96

outman has been locked in - 6.2 IP, 1 ER, 5 H, 1 BB, 5 K's with the win (coming in for brett myers, who started the game with 1.2 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, and 3 K's)

what's going down?

there has certainly been a lot of changes in the top SS prospects compared to this time last year:

drew (promoted)

tulo (promoted)

aybar (promoted)

escobar (promoted)

pedoria (promoted)

wood (quasi position change)

the #1 SS prospect is now brignac, and that looks to be by a mile (if you consider wood a 3B).......

a few questions that will shape the rankings going forward:

triunfel is already making an impact in High A, but will he stay at SS or is 3B his future, as the mariners are heavily rumoured to be planning?

cabrera has been a hot riser this year, but is his current production sustainable and is he in for a position switch with peralta/barfield blocking his path?

andrus has struggled with the bat thus far, but will he finally begin to turn those raw skills into offensive production and show some power?

with very little depth currently at the position, who are the top up and comers who could vault there way into the top 10 next year?  carlos rivero (CLE), esmailyn gonzalez (WAS), ruben tejada (NYM), and oscar tejada (BOS) come to mind when looking at international guys - who's your sleepers?....from the draft, moustakas and ahrens look like top 10 at the position just by default