Post by Exposgm on Dec 7, 2010 16:35:57 GMT -5
There are some nice prospects coming up this year, especially power-wise. Pitchers are less likely to be dominant, but there are a couple of them that should find their way to the top list. Interestingly enough, a bunch of these rookies do not come from the first round, and some are even pretty late picks. Again, we have enough of them to make a Top 15 instead of a Top 10, so let’s launch this thing without any further delay.
#15 - Larry Ray – LF – Astros – The 133rd player taken in the 1976 draft, Ray took a while to work on his skills and his peak number. Spending a lot of time in the minors, including the last 7 seasons down at AAA, Ray didn’t hit over .300 until he was 26. Now 28, he makes his debut for the Astros. He could manage a decent season, perhaps a .270 average with 12 homeruns and 60 RBI, but don’t count on him to become a fixture in Houston. - Final Stats - .304, 17 HR, 68 RBI
#14 - Pat Pacillo – SP – Phillies – With a peak going up and down over the years, Pacillo is a product of the second round of the 1981 draft. His minor league record wasn’t great at 32-32. He lacks the control expected from a big league pitcher and sometimes gets hurt by the long ball, but he’ll get plenty of support on that team to get over it. Expect a .500 record and an ERA close to 4.50. - 7-12, 4.68
#13 - Bo Jackson – DH – Angels – Selected in the 2nd round of the 1980 draft, Jackson packs a ton of power. His 1985 campaign at AAA saw him slug .724 after hitting 37 homeruns in only 99 games. Bo will be a homerun threat at every moment but he will also strike out a lot. Expect a .230 average (at best) with 25 homeruns and 85 RBI as well as some 150 Ks. - .187, 28 HR, 84 RBI
#12 - Mike Diaz – DH – Red Sox – A tremendous power prospect, Diaz comes from the 1978 draft where the Twins picked him up in the second round. Sent to Boston in 1981 when the Twins signed an overpaid Bill Russell to Bean town, Diaz slowly but surely progressed through the minors until last season where he exploded by blasting off 45 dingers and producing 151 runs in 134 games. Diaz has this kind of power and he will get even better down the road. But for the moment, he may struggle a bit. Expect a low average with close to 25 homeruns in his rookie season. - .228, 21 HR, 66 RBI
#11 - Cory Snyder – RF – Red Sox – A late first round pick by the Red Sox in 1980, Snyder makes his official debut as the team’s cleanup hitter this season. It comes as a surprise after Snyder was rather average during his minor league stay, never batting higher than .301 with disappointing power and a ton of strikeouts. It is going to repeat at the higher level. Expect an average no higher than .240 with 20 homeruns and 80 RBI. - .244, 18 HR, 64 RBI
#10 - Mario Ramirez – SS – Rangers – A sixth round pick in 1975, Ramirez spent an entire decade in the minors. He put up batting marks of .351, .366 and .411 these past three years at AAA. He now takes over the starting job in Texas. The 5’9 Puerto Rican can hit for average without any power or speed and plays well defensively. He’s no star, but makes a decent starter. He could even hit for .300 in his rookie season. - .288, 0 HR, 39 RBI
#9 - Jeff Montgomery – RP – Dodgers – Selected early in the second round of the 1980 draft by the Dodgers, Montgomery was rock solid in the minors, where he never boasted an ERA higher than 3.71. He makes his official debut this season, and you can expect his solid stuff and pitching skills will help the Dodgers for quite some time. He’ll have control problems at times, but he may still end up with an ERA well below 3.50. - 3-0, 3.29, .214 OBA
#8 - Steve Ziem – SP – Expos – Picked up late in the first round of the 1979 draft, Ziem was recently asked to start and had a very successful season at AAA in his only year there as a starter (11-3, 3.04). Ziem has awesome control and counts on an explosive fastball as well. He has all the tools to have success at the higher level, even on a team like the Expos. Expect a dozen wins with an ERA slightly below four. - 12-12, 3.41
#7 - Randy Velarde – 2B – Angels – The Angels 1st round pick in 1980, Velarde takes over second base this season. He was more than ready after a successful minor league career during which he never batted below .292. Able to hit with some power, Velarde can hold his own at the plate a little better than on the field. Expect a .270 average with around 14 homeruns and 70 RBI. - .260, 11 HR, 57 RBI
#6 - Jeff Fischer – SP – Phillies – Philadelphia’s first round pick in 1981, Fischer makes it into the team’s rotation after going 30-32 over five minor league seasons. His control isn’t perfect yet and he can allow a lot of homeruns at times. With such a team behind him, however, he may look better than he would do somewhere else. Expect 14 wins and an ERA close to four. - 13-6, 3.43
#5 - Randy O’Neal – SP – Cardinals – The Cards 5th round pick in 1978, O’Neal had some good and bad times in the minor leagues. He nevertheless improved his skills and his peak quite a lot, which allows him to make his debut from the Cardinals rotation this season. He went 2-1 with a 3.66 ERA over 3 starts last season and could very well be as good this season. Expect a winning record with around 16 wins and an ERA near four. - 14-13, 3.82
#4 - Steve Finley – CF – Rangers – The second player taken in the 1983 draft, Finley makes his official debut for the Rangers despite suffering a setback at AAA in 1985. Finley has a ton of talent and potential, and may have needed an extra year in the minors, but he could still do very well. In fact, he’s set for either a great season or a bad one. He’ll either hit for .270 or .230, but expect a lot of extra base hits and a whole bunch of runs scored. - .235, 1 HR, 12 RBI
#3 - Robbie Thompson – 2B – Blue Jays – One of the better rookies from the 1980 draft, Thompson was acquired in 1982 from the Padres and will take over the starting job at second base this season in Toronto. Thompson suffered a setback in his first AAA campaign but quickly recovered. He batted .357 with 4 homeruns and 19 RBI over 28 games in a late call-up last year with the team. While he may not put up this type of average right away, Thompson remains a superior prospect and should become one of the best 2B players within a few seasons. He could still hit around 14 homeruns and drive in 60 runs with a .240 average this season for the Blue Jays. - .252, 16 HR, 81 RBI
#2 - Norm Charlton – SP – Mariners – Charlton took a while to adapt to the minor leagues, but his 1985 campaign (9-3, 2.66) convinced the team he was ready to be inserted into their rotation. Seattle’s second round pick in 1981, Charlton is a tall lefty that piles up on strikeouts using his fastball and slider. “The Sheriff” will keep working on his control, but is already able to put up solid numbers. Expect around 15 wins with an ERA around four and almost a strikeout per inning. - 13-7, 4.27
#1 - Drungo Hazewood – RF – Dodgers – The Dodgers 5th round pick in 1977, Hazewood has come a long way since the team drafted him. Within two years he had boosted his peak number to 100 and it has remained in that neighbourhood since. In the meantime, he was having good and bad seasons in the minors, but 1985 was definitely going to be his last at AAA: he hit at a .417 clip, belting 27 homeruns and adding 148 RBI and 117 walks to earn not only the starting RF job this year, but the cleanup spot as well. He can undoubtedly hit well. Hazewood should put up some interesting numbers in his rookie season. Expect an average close to .290 with 15 to 20 homeruns and a good shot at 100 RBI. - .294, 25 HR, 91 RBI
Best of the Rest: (in no particular order)
Craig Gerber - SS - Red Sox - .281, 2 HR, 20 RBI
Steve Ellsworth - SP - Red Sox - 4-8, 5.74
Joe Johnson - RP - Red Sox - 5-5, 4.77
Jeff Bettendorf - SP - Red Sox - 6-13, 5.41
Jim Adduci - LF - Orioles - .277, 0 HR, 14 RBI
Kevin Brown - SP - Orioles - 6-9, 6.03
Drew Hall - RP - Orioles - 1-2, 6.05
Benito Santiago - C - Yankees - .212, 7 HR, 46 RBI
Randy Bockus - RP - Yankees - 1-5, 3.36
Ross Jones - SS - White Sox - .250, 2 HR, 38 RBI
Don Heinkel - RP - Indians - 7-4, 4.71
T.R. Bryden - RP - Angels - 4-3, 4.15
Tim Birtsas - RP - Angels - 0-1, 5.40
Vincente Palacios - RP - Angels - 0-0, 7.71
George Hinshaw - RF - Mariners - .269, 11 HR, 67 RBI
Curt Young - SP - Rangers - 7-19, 5.48
Mark Davis - RP - Rangers - 2-3, 3.69
Bill Lindsey - C - Phillies - .262, 5 HR, 41 RBI
Bill Scherrer - RP - Mets - 2-2, 5.05
German Gonzalez - RP - Expos - 6-5, 5.12
William Brennan - RP - Expos - 1-1, 3.68
Luis Encarnacion - RP - Cardinals - 6-6, 4.57
Dorn Taylor - RP - Pirates - 10-5, 4.38
Steve Wilson - RP - Pirates - 6-2, 3.87
Jeff Robinson - RP - Cubs - 4-5, 3.80
Bret Saberhagen - RP - Cubs - 0-0, 4.32
Greg Cadaret - RP - Dodgers - 2-2, 5.14
Ray Chadwick - RP - Dodgers - 0-4, 6.30
Gene Nelson - SP - Padres - 10-10, 4.39
Randy St. Claire - RP - Padres - 3-10, 5.25, 27 SV
Dave Walsh - RP - Padres - 0-2, 2.87
Tom Glavine - SP - Astros - 1-7, 7.82
John Wetteland - RP - Astros - 2-9, 5.64, 10 SV
Bill Wilkinson - RP - Astros - 4-3, 3.94
#15 - Larry Ray – LF – Astros – The 133rd player taken in the 1976 draft, Ray took a while to work on his skills and his peak number. Spending a lot of time in the minors, including the last 7 seasons down at AAA, Ray didn’t hit over .300 until he was 26. Now 28, he makes his debut for the Astros. He could manage a decent season, perhaps a .270 average with 12 homeruns and 60 RBI, but don’t count on him to become a fixture in Houston. - Final Stats - .304, 17 HR, 68 RBI
#14 - Pat Pacillo – SP – Phillies – With a peak going up and down over the years, Pacillo is a product of the second round of the 1981 draft. His minor league record wasn’t great at 32-32. He lacks the control expected from a big league pitcher and sometimes gets hurt by the long ball, but he’ll get plenty of support on that team to get over it. Expect a .500 record and an ERA close to 4.50. - 7-12, 4.68
#13 - Bo Jackson – DH – Angels – Selected in the 2nd round of the 1980 draft, Jackson packs a ton of power. His 1985 campaign at AAA saw him slug .724 after hitting 37 homeruns in only 99 games. Bo will be a homerun threat at every moment but he will also strike out a lot. Expect a .230 average (at best) with 25 homeruns and 85 RBI as well as some 150 Ks. - .187, 28 HR, 84 RBI
#12 - Mike Diaz – DH – Red Sox – A tremendous power prospect, Diaz comes from the 1978 draft where the Twins picked him up in the second round. Sent to Boston in 1981 when the Twins signed an overpaid Bill Russell to Bean town, Diaz slowly but surely progressed through the minors until last season where he exploded by blasting off 45 dingers and producing 151 runs in 134 games. Diaz has this kind of power and he will get even better down the road. But for the moment, he may struggle a bit. Expect a low average with close to 25 homeruns in his rookie season. - .228, 21 HR, 66 RBI
#11 - Cory Snyder – RF – Red Sox – A late first round pick by the Red Sox in 1980, Snyder makes his official debut as the team’s cleanup hitter this season. It comes as a surprise after Snyder was rather average during his minor league stay, never batting higher than .301 with disappointing power and a ton of strikeouts. It is going to repeat at the higher level. Expect an average no higher than .240 with 20 homeruns and 80 RBI. - .244, 18 HR, 64 RBI
#10 - Mario Ramirez – SS – Rangers – A sixth round pick in 1975, Ramirez spent an entire decade in the minors. He put up batting marks of .351, .366 and .411 these past three years at AAA. He now takes over the starting job in Texas. The 5’9 Puerto Rican can hit for average without any power or speed and plays well defensively. He’s no star, but makes a decent starter. He could even hit for .300 in his rookie season. - .288, 0 HR, 39 RBI
#9 - Jeff Montgomery – RP – Dodgers – Selected early in the second round of the 1980 draft by the Dodgers, Montgomery was rock solid in the minors, where he never boasted an ERA higher than 3.71. He makes his official debut this season, and you can expect his solid stuff and pitching skills will help the Dodgers for quite some time. He’ll have control problems at times, but he may still end up with an ERA well below 3.50. - 3-0, 3.29, .214 OBA
#8 - Steve Ziem – SP – Expos – Picked up late in the first round of the 1979 draft, Ziem was recently asked to start and had a very successful season at AAA in his only year there as a starter (11-3, 3.04). Ziem has awesome control and counts on an explosive fastball as well. He has all the tools to have success at the higher level, even on a team like the Expos. Expect a dozen wins with an ERA slightly below four. - 12-12, 3.41
#7 - Randy Velarde – 2B – Angels – The Angels 1st round pick in 1980, Velarde takes over second base this season. He was more than ready after a successful minor league career during which he never batted below .292. Able to hit with some power, Velarde can hold his own at the plate a little better than on the field. Expect a .270 average with around 14 homeruns and 70 RBI. - .260, 11 HR, 57 RBI
#6 - Jeff Fischer – SP – Phillies – Philadelphia’s first round pick in 1981, Fischer makes it into the team’s rotation after going 30-32 over five minor league seasons. His control isn’t perfect yet and he can allow a lot of homeruns at times. With such a team behind him, however, he may look better than he would do somewhere else. Expect 14 wins and an ERA close to four. - 13-6, 3.43
#5 - Randy O’Neal – SP – Cardinals – The Cards 5th round pick in 1978, O’Neal had some good and bad times in the minor leagues. He nevertheless improved his skills and his peak quite a lot, which allows him to make his debut from the Cardinals rotation this season. He went 2-1 with a 3.66 ERA over 3 starts last season and could very well be as good this season. Expect a winning record with around 16 wins and an ERA near four. - 14-13, 3.82
#4 - Steve Finley – CF – Rangers – The second player taken in the 1983 draft, Finley makes his official debut for the Rangers despite suffering a setback at AAA in 1985. Finley has a ton of talent and potential, and may have needed an extra year in the minors, but he could still do very well. In fact, he’s set for either a great season or a bad one. He’ll either hit for .270 or .230, but expect a lot of extra base hits and a whole bunch of runs scored. - .235, 1 HR, 12 RBI
#3 - Robbie Thompson – 2B – Blue Jays – One of the better rookies from the 1980 draft, Thompson was acquired in 1982 from the Padres and will take over the starting job at second base this season in Toronto. Thompson suffered a setback in his first AAA campaign but quickly recovered. He batted .357 with 4 homeruns and 19 RBI over 28 games in a late call-up last year with the team. While he may not put up this type of average right away, Thompson remains a superior prospect and should become one of the best 2B players within a few seasons. He could still hit around 14 homeruns and drive in 60 runs with a .240 average this season for the Blue Jays. - .252, 16 HR, 81 RBI
#2 - Norm Charlton – SP – Mariners – Charlton took a while to adapt to the minor leagues, but his 1985 campaign (9-3, 2.66) convinced the team he was ready to be inserted into their rotation. Seattle’s second round pick in 1981, Charlton is a tall lefty that piles up on strikeouts using his fastball and slider. “The Sheriff” will keep working on his control, but is already able to put up solid numbers. Expect around 15 wins with an ERA around four and almost a strikeout per inning. - 13-7, 4.27
#1 - Drungo Hazewood – RF – Dodgers – The Dodgers 5th round pick in 1977, Hazewood has come a long way since the team drafted him. Within two years he had boosted his peak number to 100 and it has remained in that neighbourhood since. In the meantime, he was having good and bad seasons in the minors, but 1985 was definitely going to be his last at AAA: he hit at a .417 clip, belting 27 homeruns and adding 148 RBI and 117 walks to earn not only the starting RF job this year, but the cleanup spot as well. He can undoubtedly hit well. Hazewood should put up some interesting numbers in his rookie season. Expect an average close to .290 with 15 to 20 homeruns and a good shot at 100 RBI. - .294, 25 HR, 91 RBI
Best of the Rest: (in no particular order)
Craig Gerber - SS - Red Sox - .281, 2 HR, 20 RBI
Steve Ellsworth - SP - Red Sox - 4-8, 5.74
Joe Johnson - RP - Red Sox - 5-5, 4.77
Jeff Bettendorf - SP - Red Sox - 6-13, 5.41
Jim Adduci - LF - Orioles - .277, 0 HR, 14 RBI
Kevin Brown - SP - Orioles - 6-9, 6.03
Drew Hall - RP - Orioles - 1-2, 6.05
Benito Santiago - C - Yankees - .212, 7 HR, 46 RBI
Randy Bockus - RP - Yankees - 1-5, 3.36
Ross Jones - SS - White Sox - .250, 2 HR, 38 RBI
Don Heinkel - RP - Indians - 7-4, 4.71
T.R. Bryden - RP - Angels - 4-3, 4.15
Tim Birtsas - RP - Angels - 0-1, 5.40
Vincente Palacios - RP - Angels - 0-0, 7.71
George Hinshaw - RF - Mariners - .269, 11 HR, 67 RBI
Curt Young - SP - Rangers - 7-19, 5.48
Mark Davis - RP - Rangers - 2-3, 3.69
Bill Lindsey - C - Phillies - .262, 5 HR, 41 RBI
Bill Scherrer - RP - Mets - 2-2, 5.05
German Gonzalez - RP - Expos - 6-5, 5.12
William Brennan - RP - Expos - 1-1, 3.68
Luis Encarnacion - RP - Cardinals - 6-6, 4.57
Dorn Taylor - RP - Pirates - 10-5, 4.38
Steve Wilson - RP - Pirates - 6-2, 3.87
Jeff Robinson - RP - Cubs - 4-5, 3.80
Bret Saberhagen - RP - Cubs - 0-0, 4.32
Greg Cadaret - RP - Dodgers - 2-2, 5.14
Ray Chadwick - RP - Dodgers - 0-4, 6.30
Gene Nelson - SP - Padres - 10-10, 4.39
Randy St. Claire - RP - Padres - 3-10, 5.25, 27 SV
Dave Walsh - RP - Padres - 0-2, 2.87
Tom Glavine - SP - Astros - 1-7, 7.82
John Wetteland - RP - Astros - 2-9, 5.64, 10 SV
Bill Wilkinson - RP - Astros - 4-3, 3.94