Bill Mitchell's Minor League Ramblings

Minor League Ramblings For the week of :
May 10, 2004

Weekly HOT - COLD Report
High profile prospects in Extended Spring Training
Home

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

Who's Hot and Who's Cold
May 11, 2004

HOT

Casey Kotchman, 1B - Anaheim (Arkansas AA Texas League) - The Angels top prospect rode a hot streak to the ultimate reward --- a promotion to the big league club! Before leaving AA ball, Kotchman was hitting .368/.438/.544. It's questionable whether he returns to AA or makes the jump to AAA after everyone in Anaheim is healthy.

Matt Chico and William Juarez, SP – Arizona (South Bend, A Midwest League) – Neither southpaw Chico or right-hander Juarez were highly rated coming into the 2004 season, but both youngsters have been lights out for the D-backs low A team. Chico has already won five games, with a 1.29 ERA and 43 Ks in 35 IPs, while Juarez sports an 0.91 ERA and 41/5 K/BB ratio.

Willy Taveras, OF – Houston (Round Rock, AA Texas League) – Eyebrows were raised when the Astros traded 15-game winner Jeriome Robertson for the rights to retain Rule 5 draftee Taveras. But while Robertson struggles at AAA in the Cleveland system, the 22-year-old Taveras' career has taken off. He's hitting .378/.441/.441, has already stolen 22 bases and is showing an ability to take a walk. He's also strong defensively in center field.

Craig Brazell, 1B – New York Mets (Tidewater, AAA International League, Jason Stokes 1B - Florida (Carolina, AA Southern League), Brian Dopirak, 1B - Chicago Cubs (Lansing, A Midwest League) - Proving that batting average isn't everything, these three sluggers are leading their respective leagues in homeruns while hitting under .300. Brazell has 11 long bombs in 111 ABs, batting .288/313/640. Getting off to a nice start after an injury-plagued season, Stokes has also clubbed 11 homers in 106 ABs; the right-handed slugger is hitting .283/.382/.651. Dopirak is showing the power that prompted the Cubs to take him in the second round of the 2002 draft, with 10 round-trippers in 121 ABs; his overall hitting game has improved, as the Florida native is batting .281/.346/.612.

Bobby Livingston, SP – Seattle (Inland Empire, A California League) – Livingston doesn't have the best stuff in the Seattle organization and he's pitching in a tough league for hurlers, but that hasn't stopped the left-hander from posting a perfect 5-0 record to date, with a 1.33 ERA and 38/6 K/BB total. He pitched two strong games this week.

Dennis Tankersley, SP – San Diego (Portland, AAA Pacific Coast League) – Tankersley was once regarded as one of the top pitching prospects in the game. Gosh, that was only three years ago, but it seems like he's been out of sight longer than that. A dreadful 50 or so innings for the Padres in 2002 seemed to have shattered his confidence. But he's back at AAA and not doing half bad. The 25-year-old right-hander is 3-2 with a 2.20 ERA, and has fanned 37 batters in 45 IPs. Will he fare better the next time he gets the call? Maybe ... just maybe.

Brad Thompson, SP –St. Louis (Tennessee, AA Southern League) – The 22-year-old right-hander made it to AA in only his second pro season. Is he in over his head? Not in the least! Thompson has yet to give up a run, earned or unearned, in 37.1 IPs this year. He's fanned 30 batters while walking only three.

Ian Bladergroen, 1B – New York Mets (Capital City, A South Atlantic League) – The big left-handed stick makes his second appearance on the HOT list, almost joining Brazell, Stokes and Dopirak on the list of homerun leaders. He ranks second in his league in homers, but is still hitting better than just about any other low A prospect at .361/.421/.697, with eight bombs in 119 ABs. He's also got 12 doubles.

Brian Anderson, OF – Chicago White Sox (Winston-Salem, A Carolina League) – The White Sox challenged their 2003 first round draft pick with a two level jump to start his first full season. After hitting .388 in limited action last year in short season A ball, Anderson is off to a strong start at Winston-Salem. He strung together several four-hit games this past week to check in at .326/.396/.547.

Robinson Cano, 2B - New York Yankees (Trenton, AA Eastern League) - The left-handed stick from the Dominican Republic made it to AA late last season at the age of 20; the Yankees returned Cano to that level this season, but he may make it to Columbus soon. He went on a hot streak in the last week to boost his averages to .346/.400/.596. With the second base job in New York wide open, Cano is a candidate for a late season call-up.

COLD

Colt Griffin, SP – Kansas City (Wilmington, A Carolina League) - The former #1 draft choice had another rough week, dropping his ERA to 8.78. This time out he was getting the ball across the plate, but opponents hammered it.

Rich Fischer, SP - Anaheim (Arkansas, AA Texas League) – Fischer is just plain getting hit hard in his third season with Arkansas. The 23-year-old right-hander is generally getting the ball over the plate, but opposing batters are hitting .378 against him.

Jeremy Guthrie, SP - Cleveland (Akron, AA Eastern League) - The former Stanford star is turning into a real enigma. First, he mastered AA, but then couldn't get anyone out in AAA. Returned to AA, he had one good start before self-destructing this week with a bad outing. Stay tuned to see which Guthrie takes the mound this week.

Bubba Nelson, SP - Cincinnati (Louisville, AAA International League) - Regarded as one of Atlanta's top pitching prospects before being traded to the Reds organization, Nelson has struggled at the AAA level. After six starts, he's got a 7.04 ERA and .307 opposition batting average.

Kody Kirkland, 3B - Detroit (West Michigan, A Midwest League) - Former Pittsburgh farmhand Kirkland is struggling in his first taste of full season ball, hitting only .165/.216/.242.

Adriano Rosario, SP - Arizona (El Paso, AA Texas League) - The 19-year-old Dominican right-hander had a rough week. First, he endured his worst outing of the year, giving up nine runs in 1.2 IPs. Then, a story broke about an investigation of improprieties by his agent when he originally signed with the Diamondbacks.

--- Bill Mitchell