Choosing the Prospects You Want To See In 2011

A few days after MLB’s Opening Day pageantry is when my interest in baseball starts in earnest, and that is Minor League Baseball’s Opening Day.  I will be the first to admit that I am in the vast minority (maybe the only one?) of baseball fans who gets fired up about the start of the bush league season.  As much as I enjoy all the MLB preseason previews, I revel even more in all of the top prospect lists for each team, each individual league and for all of baseball.  Baseball America, Keith Law of ESPN and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com all have my undivided attention as they dissect and breakdown all the kids that teams hope will be their stars of tomorrow.

Before each season starts I go through and pick out the players that I want to see as they come through the Philadelphia area.  I am fortunate enough to have three teams (Reading Phillies, Trenton Thunder, Wilmington Blue Rocks) across two levels of minor league ball (double A and high A) within an hour or so of where I live.  For the purposes of this article I am going to focus on the next crop of young players who could be appearing in either Reading or Trenton in the Eastern League.  The EL is my favorite in minor league ball for a few reasons:  In Reading you get to see the future Phillies before they appear at Citizens Bank Park, the Yankees and Red Sox are big spenders so you get to see those prospects that other teams did not want to pay above slot in the draft as well as some of the best young international players around.  Plus the N.L. East teams of the Mets and Nationals have their squads in here, which means you can see which players you will want to practice booing should they make it to the bigs and visit Philly.

My selection process is rather simple.  I first look at the prospects that make Baseball America’s Top 50 list to get an idea of who is going to start in Double A or High A and if what they bring to the table would be worth trying to see.  From there I wait until MiLB.com puts out their top prospects by league feature where I can drill down even more and see if anyone catches my eye.  The players that I prefer are ones with an interesting back story or famous last name to power pitchers and big hitters.

Catching a top prospect at a game is not always easy because you never know where they will end up.  Remember that the minor league teams themselves have zero stay on who stays and who goes, it is the parent club that moves these guys around like chess pieces through out the year depending on their development and the big league club’s needs.  Once I decide who I want to see I will check when that team will visit either Reading or Trenton, and once the date gets closer, will look at the team’s roster to make sure they will be around if I have not heard them mentioned.

Arguably, the top prospect making his way through the Eastern League is the Erie Seawolves (Tigers) starting pitcher Jacob Turner.  Turner was taken with the 9 ^th overall pick in the 2009 draft, rated by BA as the #21 prospect in baseball and the Tigers top overall prospect.  Did I mention he won’t turn 19 until May?  This kid is on the fast track so he is someone who you will want to catch early if he will be in the area, by mid-summer he could be in the Motor City.  If you are a Phillies fan the Seawolves will also be giving you an “am I that old?” moment should pitcher Chance Ruffin make an appearance.  Ruffin….Ruffin, yes the son of Bruce Ruffin.  The would-be future Hall of Famer who came up in 1986 and created a buzz at the age of 22 and went 9-4 before the Cooperstown Train got derailed and he ended up his career 22 games under .500.

Erie visits:

Reading – 6/20-23Trenton – 7/18-20

The Altoona Curve (Pirates) roll out one player of note and that is catcher Tony Sanchez.  Sanchez was the #4 overall pick in the 2009 draft and was selected to play in the prestigious Future’s Game in 2010 but had to miss it after getting hit in the face by a pitch and having his jaw broken.  Ouch.  Sanchez appeared to overcome any lingering effects of getting beaned and was selected to participate in the Arizona Fall League Rising Stars Game last year.  Whenever a player gets hit in the head by a pitch I wonder if they are going to “see the light” as they say and become timid at the plate once they realize someone is throwing lasers at them.  Sanchez’s AFL performance tells me his broken jaw had no lingering mental effects but it will be interesting to see if it carries over in 2011.  The Bucs can’t afford to have their #4 overall draft choice go in the tank.

Altoona visits:

Reading – 6/10-12…7/25-27….8/19-/21Trenton – 5/31-6/2…7/1-3

The New Hampshire Fishercats (Blue Jays) offer a trip down memory lane for you Phillies fans as two of their noteworthy players helped the Phillies get the Roys –  Halladay and Oswalt.  Their backstop is BA #36 overall prospect Travis d’Arnaud whom was sent with Kyle Drabek and Michael Taylor to the Jays in a deal for some guy named Halladay.  Patrolling center for the ‘Cats is speedster Anthony Gose who has stolen 121 bases over the past two seasons.  Gose is your definition of raw talent, because despite all the swipes, he has been caught stealing 52 times over that same period.  Wait, if Gose played for the Phillies and Oswalt for the Astros then how did he end up with Toronto?  Follow this one, Gose went to Houston in the Oswalt deal and the ‘Stros turned around and traded him that same day to the Jays for Brett Wallace.

NH visits:

Reading – 5/2-5….5/12-15Trenton – 4/29-5/1….6/3-5….6/27-30….8/29-9/1

One of the more intriguing teams talent-wise is the Trenton Thunder.  They boast two of the most hyped and talked about pitchers in the Yankees farm system in Manny Banuelos and Dellin Betances.  Banuelos who just turned 20, is ranked #41 by BA and is a 5’11’’ 155 pound dynamo who can dial it up to 95 MPH on the radar gun.  The lefty pitched well enough in camp to win the James P. Dawson award which is given by the Yanks to the player deemed to be the most outstanding rookie in spring training each year.  Joining him in the Thunder rotation is BA #43 prospect, Betances.  Betances is at the other extreme of the diminutive Banuelos as the right hander stands 6’8’’ and checks in at a healthy 260 pounds.  One thing he does have in common with Banuelos, though, is that his fastball can reach the mid 90s, a rather nice common trait to share.

Though not a considered a prospect, the Thunder have on their roster a relief pitcher by the name of Pat Venditte.  Venditte is one of those players that you have to see play before you can say that you have seen it all in baseball.  Venditte is a lefty…or a righty when it comes to pitching depending on the situation.  He has the unique talent of being able to pitch with either hand effectively and does so with a specially made glove where he can just transition it to either hand when he wants to switch.  I saw him pitch last year and it was pretty wild.  Venditte comes in from the bullpen, takes his warm up tosses and then switches his glove and takes a few more to finish.  If you’re not paying attention and know what you’re looking for you’ll do a double take thinking you saw a lefty warming up just a minute ago, but now you see a righty.  Venditte alone is worth the price of admission.

Trenton visits:

Reading – 5/24-26….6/6-9….7/8-11

Obviously living in the Philadelphia area you are going to want to see the Reading Phillies play.  As of right now the R-Phils don’t have any of the games top prospects on their team.  Their best position player is Matt Rizzotti, though at the age of 25, is a bit too old to be given the prospect label at this stage of his career.  Make no mistake; Rizzotti can rake, as he jumped three levels in the minors last year.  The pitcher that you will want to watch is last year’s Florida State League Pitcher of the Year, Austin Hyatt.  Though not considered a top of the line prospect, Hyatt so far is 2-0 with a 1.80 ERA this year.  But the Phils do have a player in high A ball in Clearwater who could be paying a visit by mid-summer.  Jonathan Singleton burst on the seen last year putting up a batting line of .290-14-77 at Lakewood and entered this season ranked #39 by BA.  The Phils like him enough that they have moved him from 1B to the OF to give him a clearer path to The Show.  Singleton won’t turn 20 until September so it will be interesting to see how he handles a season with huge expectations and no longer with the comfort of flying under the radar of his opponents, or the organization.

Reading visits:

Trenton- 5/9-11….7/14-17

Finally I have to toss out the name of last years #1 overall pick Bryce Harper who could very well be making an appearance with the Harrisburg Senators (Nationals) this year.  Right now Harper is in low A Hagerstown but I could easily envision a scenario where if he plays to his potential he could end the year as a Sen.  If he does, you have to see this kid play because he could be one of those talents that make an appearance every few decades.  I have a friend in Kentucky, a transplant from Philly, who told me her husband took their son to see Harper play last week (Editors note: as soon as she said they were seeing him play I knew it was a Hagerstown Suns and Lexington Legends game.  It disturbed me that I knew this off the top of my head.).  They got their early and she sent me a photo of her boy at the game decked out in his Phillies gear holding a baseball signed by Bryce Harper himself.  And that my friends, is why minor league ball is the best.

Pickoffs:

-          I love the Topps Heritage baseball card concept of putting current players on old cards with that vintage year’s layout, including intentional errors and short prints.  I have to tell you, though, that I am not feeling the 1962 design.  It reminds me too much of the 1987 wood paneling eye sore.

-          Best part of Manny retiring?  Takes away any chance of him breaking Lou Gehrig’s career grand slam mark of 23.  Manny had crept up to 21 and I was getting nervous, but those female fertility drugs will get you every time.  Unfortunately A-Rod currently has 21 so I will be rooting against him.  Aaron and Maris have already been cheated out of their accomplishments, hoping the same doesn’t happen to the Iron Horse.

-          I bought my Phillies “Rangers Three Pack” a few weeks back so that I could catch Hamilton and the Rangers when they bring their hit parade into town in May.  Hamilton of course proceeds to break his arm on a play at the plate where he tried to tag up and score on a pop up in front of the dugout.  The game is only five weeks in and Hamilton is out six to eight.  Alrighty then.

Matt Aber is a baseball enthusiast who cannot figure out why Yankee fans insist on putting the last names of the legends on the back of their jerseys.  Do you really not know who wore #3, #4 or #7?  And if you do, what do you care if someone else doesn’t?  Matt is an advocate of the national organization called The Miracle League which allows special needs children to play baseball.  He encourages you to support this worthy cause and learn more at www.miracleleague.com .