Bill Mitchell's Minor League Ramblings

Minor League Ramblings For the week of :
March 11, 2002

Minor League Ramblings is produced by Bill Mitchell for Minor League Watch.

Minor League Spring Training -
The Best Baseball Bargain In Town
March 17, 2002

Professional baseball's best-kept secret is the smorgasbord of baseball that occurs during the last two weeks of March in Arizona and Florida.

Dennis Abreu watching his fly ball
Cubs AAA player Dennis Abreu watches a fly ball in minor league spring training action against the Brewers

As the major league spring training games have gotten more commercial and costlier for the fan to attend, all but a handful of serious baseball lovers are missing out on the best bargain around --- minor league spring games.

The minor league games kicked off this week, with typically two games played simultaneously at each of the 10 training complexes in Arizona. Generally, two organizations' AA and AAA teams square off at one team's facility, while the respective high A and low A squads play at the other team's complex.

What makes this such a wonderful experience for the fan is that, when positioned properly, one can catch the action on adjacent fields, although it requires quite a bit of swiveling of the head to avoid missing any of the action. The fields are generally so close that foul balls from one game frequently fly over to the other field, temporarily interrupting action.

Cubs pitcher Ben Christensen

This is as close to being part of the game that the average fan will ever get. Most of the practice facilities do not have regular dugouts, so spectators can stand right behind the benches, listening to the discussions by the players and coaches.

The best part of this great experience is that it doesn't cost a dime. No charge for admission or parking, no $5 beers or $4 hot dogs. Actually, there are no concessions at all, but fans can bring their own snacks and water.

Considering the fact that most of the major league spring training games involve split squads with many minor leaguers in the lineup, the caliber of baseball in the minor league games is really not that different from the major league games.

Here are just a few of the hot prospects that stood out at the initial minor league games:

Right-hander Ben Christensen pitched the first two innings for the Cubs' AA squad today and looked sharp. He showed no sign of the shoulder problem that cut short his 2001 season, throwing several devastating breaking balls and splitting a few opposing hitters' bats.

A's outfielder Marcus McBeth crosses home plate

Another Cub pitcher looked very sharp in his appearance in a high class A game against the Angels. Steve Ellis, a right-handed reliever who pitched last season at short season Boise in the Northwest League, struck out the side in his only inning of work. The 18th round choice out of Bradley University throws hard and has very good movement on his pitches. While Ellis isn't a top-rated prospect, it will be interesting to see how he progresses in his first full season.

Former University of South Carolina football player Marcus McBeth showed off his impressive speed in the first Oakland A's low class A game. The right-handed hitter has yet to make his professional regular season debut, but there's already talk that he is one of the top defensive outfielders in the system. Look for McBeth to start out with one of Oakland's two California League teams.

Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Cristian Guerrero bears a striking physical resemblance to his more famous cousin, Vladimir Guerrero. The 21-year-old outfielder stroked a couple of nice hits today, but also showed a susceptibility to curve balls out of the strike zone.

Angels first baseman Casey Kotchman

First baseman Casey Kotchman is already ranked as Anaheim's number one prospect after only 42 professional plate appearances. While he didn't collect any hits in Saturday's game for the Angels' low class A team, it's readily apparent that the left-handed hitter is the owner of a very nice batting stroke.

One other performance, although it occurred earlier this week at the end of a major league game, is worthy of note. Local Phoenix product Mike Jones, the 12th overall pick in last year's draft, came in for the Brewers in their game against the Seattle Mariners. With a large contingent of family and friends cheering him on, it was obvious that Jones was nervous, throwing wildly on the first three pitches to Seattle catcher James Horner. But Jones quickly regained his composure and fanned Horner to end the game ... a gutsy performance by a young 18-year-old kid.

Check back next week for more reports from the minor league camps.

--- Bill Mitchell