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Top Prospects in Spring Camps: Part III

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Credit: Bob Levey/Getty Images

Houston Astros George Springer. Credit: Bob Levey/Getty Images

In the third installment of our feature regarding the top prospects in big league camps this spring, we look at the Astros, Royals, Angels, Dodgers, and Marlins.

Even though all of the camps have ended and Opening Day is upon us, it is still interesting to take a look at the top prospects who received time in Major League camp, even if they did not make a Major League Opening Day roster for the 2013 season.

As we count down the hours until the first game of the season, between the Texas Rangers and Houston Astros, one can only wonder how many of these top prospects will make an impact at some point during the season this year either for their current franchise or for another one. This will be the first American League game for the Astros.

Out of the five teams we preview in this post, the Astros have the best crop of top prospects, with almost half of them being acquired through trades over the past three-plus years.

 

 

Houston Astros

Not a single player on the Astros top 20 prospect list has Major League experience yet. This could change rather quickly if the Astros struggle this year and want to see what their future holds.

The top prospects who spent time in big league camp for Houston include outfielder George Springer, right handed pitcher Jarred Cosart, second baseman Delino DeShields, right handed pitcher Brad Peacock, shortstop Jonathan Villar, catcher Max Stassi, outfielder Robbie Grossman and catcher Carlos Perez.

Of the top prospects who spent time in Astros big league camp, Springer and DeShields are the only players Houston drafted themselves. The rest came over in trades with the Phillies, Blue Jays, Pirates and Athletics. Cosart came over from the Phillies in the Hunter Pence deal and Villar came over from the Phillies in the Roy Oswalt deal. Peacock and Stassi came over from the A’s in the Jed Lowrie deal. Grossman came to Houston from Pittsburgh in the Wandy Rodriguez deal. Perez joined the Astros in the 10-player trade with the Blue Jays last year.

Kansas City Royals

Credit: Tim Umphrey/Getty Images

Kansas City Royals David Lough. Credit: Tim Umphrey/Getty Images

The Royals have a nice crop of top prospects, some of whom could see themselves in Kansas City this year to complement an already strong lineup and no what seems to be an impressive pitching staff.

The Royals made some interesting moves in the off-season, sending a group of players, including Wil Myers, to the Tampa Bay Rays for James Shields.

The top prospects in the Royals camp this spring included left handed pitcher John Lamb, left handed pitcher Donnie Joseph, second baseman Christian Colon, left handed pitcher Chris Dwyer and outfielder David Lough. Lough is the only top prospect with Major League experience who spent time in big league camp this spring. He played 20 games for the Royals in 2012, hitting .237.

Number one prospect Bubba Starling was not invited to big league camp, but he just made his professional debut in 2012 after being drafted in 2011. In 53 games, Starling hit .275 with 10 homeruns and 33 RBIs.

The left handed pitchers on this list who spent time in big league camp are very impressive and could be called upon to pitch out of the bullpen at some point this season in Kansas City.

 

 

Los Angeles Angels

Angels fans received a pleasant surprise this off-season when former Rangers slugger Josh Hamilton joined the division-rival Angels to team with Albert Pujols and Mike Trout in an incredibly dangerous lineup. The City of Angels should enjoy an unbelievable season of baseball with the upgrades that the Angels and the Dodgers have made this off-season.

Top 20 prospects who spent time in Angels camp include third baseman Kaleb Cowart, left handed pitcher Nick Maronde, second baseman Taylor Lindsey, Kole Calhoun, third baseman Luis Jimenez, outfielder Randal Grichuk, outfielder Travis Witherspoon, right handed pitcher A.J. Schugel, shortstop Eric Stamets and second baseman Alex Yarbrough.

Maronde pitched in 12 games for the Angels in 2012, which was his first professional season after being drafted in 2011. He climbed the professional ladder quickly, going from the Class A Advanced California League to the Majors. He pitched to a 1.50 ERA in 12 appearances totaling six innings for the Angels.

Calhoun also saw time with the big club in 2012, hitting .174 in just 21 games. Maronde did not make the team out of Spring Training, but he should be one of the first callups should the Angels need a reliever during the season.

Los Angeles Dodgers

Los Angeles is primed to win the West after major moves at the trade deadline in 2012 and a massive off-season that saw them add Zack Greinke to an already formidable starting rotation.

They have some impressive prospects waiting in the wings, with some just months away from the bigs if injuries strike outside of the one to Hanley Ramirez.

Top prospects who saw time with the big club during Spring Training for the Dodgers this year include outfielder Yasiel Puig, right handed pitcher Matt Magill, catcher Tim Federowicz, right handed pitcher Chris Withrow, left handed pitcher Paco Rodriguez and outfielder Alex Castellanos.

Two of the players on this list made the team out of camp, Federowicz and Rodriguez. Federowicz will serve as the backup catcher to A.J. Ellis. He appeared in three games with the Dodgers in 2012. Rodriguez will be a lefty out of the bullpen and he appeared in 11 games spanning 6.2 innings in 2012 for LA. He pitched to a 1.35 ERA. He was the first member of the 2012 draft class to reach the Majors.

 

 

Miami Marlins

Marlins fans will not have much to cheer about in 2013 as the team traded away Hanley Ramirez at the deadline last year along with Anibal Sanchez, Omar Infante and Randy Choate. Then, in the off-season, they shipped Jose Reyes, Emilio Bonifacio, John Buck, Mark Buehrle and Josh Johnson to the Blue Jays.

The only major cogs left on the roster are Giancarlo Stanton and Ricky Nolasco. They are surrounded by low-key free agent signings and prospects they received in some of those trades as well as prospects they have drafted and developed.

In camp this year were right handed pitcher Jose Fernandez, outfielder Christian Yelich, outfielder Jake Marisnick, left handed pitcher Andrew Heaney, shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria, outfielder Marcell Ozuna, left handed pitcher Adam Conley, second baseman/shortstop Derek Dietrich, catcher Rob Brantly, catcher J.T. Realmuto and left handed pitcher Brian Flynn.

Of these players, Fernandez, Hechavarria and Brantly are on the team’s Opening Day roster. Fernandez will be in the rotation while Brantly and Hechavarria are in the lineup for game one versus the Washington Nationals in D.C. on April 1. In 25 starts in the minors in 2012, Fernandez had a record of 14-1 and an ERA of 1.75. He had not pitched above Class-A and was preparing to pitch at Double-A when he was called up on Sunday.

Fernandez was added when starters Nate Eovaldi and Henderson Alvarez were placed on the disabled list. He is scheduled to make his Major League debut against the New York Mets on April 7 at Citi Field.

Stay tuned for our fourth installment of this series, which will take a look at the top prospects who spent time in big league camps this spring with the Milwaukee Brewers, the Minnesota Twins, the New York Mets, the New York Yankees and the Oakland Athletics.

Top Prospects in Spring Camps: Part II

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Reds outfielder Billy Hamilton Credit: Denny Medley, US Presswire

Reds OF Billy Hamilton Credit: Denny Medley, US Presswire

In the second segment of our feature regarding top prospects in big league camps this spring, we take a look at the White Sox, Reds, Indians, Rockies and Tigers.

All the camps have opened to date, with most teams already having full squad workouts on a daily basis.

The young crop of talent in the Minor League systems of the five teams we look at today is quite impressive, with the Reds and the Tigers boasting some of the best young prospects out of this group, including the speedster to the left. That man is Billy Hamilton, the Minor League stolen base king.

Detroit has the biggest chance of seeing some of its top prospects make a huge impact at the big league level this season.

 

 

Jeff Gross/Getty Images

White Sox Pitcher Jhan Marinez Credit: Jeff Gross/Getty Images

Chicago White Sox

The White Sox have just one of their prospects from their top 20 list found on their website that has big league experience under their belt.

That prospect is Jhan Marinez, who pitched in just two ML games in 2012.

Marinez was part of the trade package the White Sox received from the Miami Marlins for manager Ozzie Guillen.

Marinez originally made his big league debut in 2010, pitching in just four games for the Marlins. He missed an early portion of 2011 due to injury but when he returned to the bump he was stellar. He projects as a Major League setup man and White Sox fans could see him at the back end of the bullpen sometime in 2013.

Other top 20 prospects in big league camp this spring include Trayce Thompson, Carlos Sanchez, Jared Mitchell, Scott Snodgress, Keenyn Walker, Andre Rienzo, Nestor Molina, Charlie Leesman, Simon Castro, Josh Phegley, Marcus Semien, Santos Rodriguez and Tyler Saladino. This is an excellent group of talent in the pipeline for the White Sox and it is led by Phegley.

With A.J. Pierzynski no longer in Chicago, Tyler Flowers will take over the starting catching duties for the club. Should Flowers struggled, or suffer an injury, Phegley could step into the starter’s role if he is having a good season at Triple-A.

Cincinnati Reds

Out of the top 20 prospects in the Reds system, just two players have Major League experience and they are lefty Tony Cingrani, who made his big league debut in 2012, and infielder Henry Rodriguez. Cingrani pitched in three games out of the bullpen for the Reds, recording a 1.80 ERA. He was a starter in the minors after being drafted out of Rice in 2011. Rodriguez played in 12 games, putting up a .214 average.

Most of the Reds top prospects have graduated to the big leagues, with this year’s list not jumping off the page outside of Cingrani and speedy outfielder Billy Hamilton, who could see himself in the Reds outfield at some point this season should injuries rear their ugly head.

Top prospects from the Reds list in their big league camp include Daniel Corcino, Kyle Lotzkar, Neftali Soto and Ismael Guillon. Out of this group, keep an eye on Soto. Despite hitting just .245 at Triple-A in 2012, Soto did crack 14 homeruns. He is another outfielder who could reach the bigs this year.

 

 

Cleveland Indians

Cleveland is still trying to find the formula for winning and they hope that the additions of Terry Francona as manager, Mark Reynolds, Brett Myers and Nick Swisher and Michael Bourn in the outfield will help them in 2013 and beyond. The Indians, in a three-team trade with the Reds and the Diamondbacks, landed top pitching prospect Trevor Bauer.

Bauer made his ML debut with the Diamondbacks in 2012, starting four games and pitching to a 6.06 ERA. He has the makeup right now to be in the Indians rotation, but he more than likely will begin the season in the minors.

Bauer is being joined in big league camp by Danny Salazar, Jesus Aguilar, Chris McGuiness and Scott Barnes. This is one of the smallest group of top prospects in a big league camp this spring. Barnes was acquired in the 2009 trade that sent Ryan Garko to the Giants. He made his ML debut in 2012 out of the bullpen, pitching to a 4.26 ERA in 16 appearances.

Rockies Outfielder Nolan Arenado Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports

Rockies Infielder Nolan Arenado Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports

Colorado Rockies

Colorado’s system has added some solid prospects over the past couple of years due to trades and a couple of those guys are sitting on this years top 20 list.

The list is led by the number 10 overall pick in the 2012 draft, David Dahl, who was drafted out of high school.

His performance this past season made the Pirates kick themselves for selecting Mark Appel number eight overall. Appel did not sign and returned to Stanford.

Dahl had such an excellent pro debut that he catapulted straight to the number one spot on the Colorado top 20 prospects list. He is not going to be a regular in big league camp this year, but he might find himself appearing in some Spring Training games.

Top prospects in camp for the Rockies include Nolan Arenado, Chad Bettis, Kyle Parker, Tyler Anderson, Tim Wheeler, Edwar Cabrera (60-day DL), Charlie Culberson, Rafael Ortega, Corey Dickerson, Joe Gardner and Christhian Adames. With 11 of the team’s top 20 prospects in camp, first-year manager Walt Weiss will get a good look at what he has in the system in the event of injuries or struggles at the ML level.

 

 

Detroit Tigers

Detroit has possibly the best crop of top prospects in big league camp this spring out of the five teams discussed in this article. The two players responsible for this are potential big league closer Bruce Rondon and outfielder Avisail Garcia. Garcia made his Tigers debut late in the regular season and was in the lineup almost everyday during the playoffs.

The Rockies number one prospect, outfielder Nick Castellanos, will be in big league camp this spring. He will be joined by Casey Crosby, Tyler Collins, Daniel Fields, Eugenio Suarez, James McCann, Hernan Perez, Kenny Faulk, Jeff Kobernus, Melvin Mercedes and Ramon Cabrera. Kobernus hits the list at number 16 after being taken by Detroit from the Washington Nationals in the 2012 Rule 5 Draft this past December.

Garcia and Rondon should make major impacts with the Tigers in 2013. They could be joined by Kobernus, who has to remain on the active roster for the Tigers the entire season or be offered back to the Nationals.

The third installment of this series will focus on the top prospects in the camps of the Houston Astros, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Angels, Los Angeles Dodgers and the Miami Marlins.

Top Prospects in Spring Camps: Part I

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MLB: Cincinnati Reds at Chicago Cubs

Arizona shortstop Didi Gregorius Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports

As we inch closer to spring camps opening in Florida and Arizona, we have put together an outlook for the top prospects of each Major League team who will be in those camps.

Will they make the squad out of Spring Training? Will they be sent to the minors knowing that they are just a month or two away from the big leagues? We cannot answer these questions, but we can provide you with a look at the top prospects who have received invites to their parent teams’ camps. This is the first installment in our six-part series.

 

 

Arizona Diamondbacks

Arizona’s camp will feature some newcomers to the organization, especially top shortstop prospect Didi Gregorius, who came over from the Reds in a three-team deal that sent former top prospect Trevor Bauer to the Indians. Gregorius is considered as the team’s shortstop of the future, but is not guaranteed a spot on the Opening Day roster. Aside from Gregorius, who is on the 40-man roster, will be joined by a very talented group of youngsters, some who have Major League experience.

Tyler Skaggs and Adam Eaton will be battling in camp for roster spots, Skaggs in the rotation and Eaton as a regular in the outfield. Eaton could make the team as a starting outfielder with the trades of Justin Upton and Chris Young during the off-season. Skaggs made six starts in 2012 for the D’backs and could figure into this year’s rotation.

Other top prospects either on the 40-man roster or who have received invitations to camp include Nick Ahmed, Matt Davidson, Chris Owings, Zeke Spruill, Evan Marshall, A.J. Pollock and Chase Anderson. All of these players appear on the Diamondbacks’ top 20 prospect list found on their website. Of the 20 listed, half of the list will be in big league camp this year. Ahmed and Spruill were acquired from the Braves in the Upton trade.

Atlanta Braves

Julio Teheran

Atlanta Pitcher Julio Teheran Credit: Daniel Shirey-US PRESSWIRE

Atlanta is entering a new era, post-Chipper Jones, with two Upton brothers leading the way in the outfield.

B.J. was added via free agency and Justin was added via a trade with Arizona.

In that trade, the Braves also unloaded Martin Prado, Randall Delgado, and a couple of prospects.

In Atlanta’s camp, located in Lake Buena Vista, there are still some very intriguing prospects left who will appear in big league camp this year.

 

 

Atlanta’s number one prospect, Julio Teheran, heads the list and is on the 40-man roster. Catcher Christian Bethancourt is the number two prospect and is on the 40-man roster. He could see significant playing time to begin the regular season at the Major League level if Brian McCann is not healthy enough to go on Opening Day.

Other top prospects who are either on the 40-man roster or who have received invitations to camp include J.R. Graham, Sean Gilmartin, Alex Wood, Todd Cunningham, Juan Jaime, Aaron Northcraft, Joe Terdoslavich, and Evan Gattis. Out of the top 20 list, these players account for half of it. From this group, Atlanta fans very well could see Teheran, Bethancourt, and even Gilmartin at the big league level in 2013.

Baltimore Orioles

Following a surprising 2012 season and playoff appearance, the Orioles are looking to remain competitive in the AL East in 2013. Baltimore’s crop of top prospects is very impressive and the list is led by Dylan Bundy, who made his Major League debut last year after flying up the organization’s Minor League ladder. L.J. Hoes is also on the top prospect list and he made his ML debut last year as well for the O’s.

Other top prospects in camp worth watching this spring include Kevin Gausman, Eduardo Rodriguez, Jonathan Schoop, Xavier Avery, Mike Wright, Steve Johnson and Mike Belfiore. The Orioles are loaded with excellent pitching talent in their system, with most at the lower levels, so 2013 will be a major development season for their big arms.

Boston Red Sox

The only Red Sox prospect from their top 20 list on their website to play in the Majors last year was shortstop Jose Iglesias. He struggled at the plate in 25 games, hitting .118. He might see a lot of time in the Majors this season for new manager John Farrell and some of his counterparts from the system could be fighting for playing time as well.

The rest of the top 20 list in big league camp includes Jackie Bradley, Allen Webster, Deven Marrero, Drake Britton, and Christian Vazquez. This is one of the smaller groups of prospects in big league camps so far in 2013 across the league. It is going to be interesting to see how Iglesias responds to his struggles last year and builds towards more playing time this season.

 

 

Michael O'Day/Icon SMI

Chicago Outfielder Jorge Soler Credit: Michael O’Day/Icon SMI

Chicago Cubs

Chicago saw some of its prospects graduate to the big leagues last year, one of whom is being relied on to take over the everyday catching duties in 2013 in Welington Castillo.

The Cubs have signed some interesting players this off-season in the hopes of beginning the rebuilding process under Theo Epstein. Top prospects who will be in big league camp who have Major League experience include Brett Jackson, Arodys Vizcaino (made ML debut with Braves in 2011), Josh Vitters, and Alberto Cabrera.

Other prospects from the Cubs top 20 list who will be in camp via the 40-man roster or as a non-roster invitee include Javier Baez, Jorge Soler, Christian Villanueva, Matt Szczur, and Robert Whitenack. The Cubs have a ton of impressive raw talent in their system, with a couple of the guys on the verge of breaking the starting lineup in Chicago for good in the coming years.

Keep a close eye on Jackson and Vitters this year, who could see a ton of playing time if the injury bug bites and the Cubs struggle. Vizcaino missed all of 2012 due to Tommy John Surgery, but was still included in the trade deadline deal that sent Reed Johnson and Paul Maholm to the Braves. The Cubs also received Jaye Chapman, who made his ML debut with Chicago last year, in the deal.

Stay tuned for the second installment of this series, which will look at the top prospects in the big league camps of the Chicago White Sox, the Cincinnati Reds, the Cleveland Indians, the Colorado Rockies and the Detroit Tigers.

The 1971 Draft: Danny Goodwin versus Jay Franklin

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roy_thomasMajor League Baseball’s 1971 Amateur Draft was a very interesting one to say the least. The first round was one of the least productive rounds in draft history when it came to selecting potential Major League stars.

The first overall pick in the draft was Danny Goodwin, who was taken by the Chicago White Sox. Goodwin did not sign and re-entered the draft in 1975.

The second overall pick was Jay Franklin, taken by the San Diego Padres. Neither player had a particularly good career, which seemed to be the pattern for the first 10 picks of the first round.

The first decent selection for pitchers came by the Philadelphia Phillies with the sixth overall pick. The Phillies chose Roy Thomas. Thomas finished his career with a record of 20-11 and an ERA of 3.82. [Read more…]

The 1970 Draft: Mike Ivie versus Steve Dunning

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Mike IvieAs we reach the sixth installment of our draft history series, we are going to look at the top two picks in the 1970 draft, Mike Ivie and Steve Dunning. Ivie, a catcher, was chosen first overall by the San Diego Padres and Dunning, a right handed pitcher, was chosen second overall by the Cleveland Indians.

Once again, the state of California was the state with the most first-round draft picks and just three of the 24 first rounders were taken out of college, with Dunning the first player drafted from the collegiate levels. Three of the first four picks were catchers, and overall, seven catchers were taken in the first round. Four of those catchers never made it to the Major Leagues.

Half of the 24 first-round picks never made it to the Major Leagues. The highest pick from the first round who did not play in the Majors was the number five overall selection, Mike Martin, a left handed pitcher selected by the Philadelphia Phillies. [Read more…]

The 1969 Draft: Jeff Burroughs versus J.R. Richard

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Jeff_Burroughs_TEXWe just cannot seem to get enough of the Amateur Baseball Draft, which is why we are bringing you the fifth installment of our draft history series, this time featuring the 1969 draft.

Jeff Burroughs was taken number one overall by the Washington Senators and J.R. Richard was taken number two overall by the Houston Astros. Once again, the state with the most first-round draft picks was California. Of the 24 first-round picks, just three came from the collegiate levels.

The 1969 draft is the first in history with 24 picks in the first round as the Seattle Pilots, Montreal Expos, Kansas City Royals and San Diego Padres all entered the league.

The Pilots lasted just one season, 1969, before being purchased by future Commissioner Bud Selig, who moved the team to Milwaukee in 1970. There they began play as the Brewers. [Read more…]

The 1968 Draft: Tim Foli versus Thurman Munson

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pete brobergIn the fourth installment of our draft history series, we are going to examine the top picks from the 1968 Amateur Baseball June Draft, the fourth held in the league’s history. There were four players drafted out of college in the first round of this draft compared to just one from college in the 1967 draft. For the second straight year, the state of California dominated the first round, with six of its residents being drafted by Major League teams.

The number one overall pick in the 1968 draft was shortstop Tim Foli, who was selected by the New York Mets out of Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, California. The number two overall pick was pitcher Pete Broberg, who was selected by the Oakland Athletics out of Palm Beach High School in West Palm Beach, Florida. Broberg did not sign with Athletics, which means we have to move down the list. [Read more…]

The 1967 Draft: Ron Blomberg versus Terry Hughes

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john mayberry srIn the third installment of our draft history series we take a look at the 1967 Amateur Baseball June Draft, the third held in the history of the league. The first 19 picks of the first round were high school players. The lone college player, Don Denbow from Southern Methodist, was taken with the 20th and final pick of the first round by the Los Angeles Dodgers. He never played in the Majors. Seven of the 20 picks in the first round were natives of California.

The number one overall pick was Ron Blomberg, who was selected by the New York Yankees. The number two overall pick was Terry Hughes, who was selected by the Chicago Cubs. Blomberg has the distinction of becoming the first-ever Designated Hitter in history. [Read more…]

Rule 4 Draft and JAV Baseball Merging

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As we work on the redesign for our Rule 4 Draft site we have come to a decision to merge the site with JAV Baseball and will be moving content over for the next couple of days.

We would like to thank all of the readers of JAV Baseball for sticking with us since our inception even during times when the site was down because of problems.

We feel that by merging the two sites we can focus mainly on the Rule 4 Draft while also adding in some generic baseball content along the way. [Read more…]

Who Would You Take? A Brief History of the Amateur Baseball Draft

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A couple of years ago I had the opportunity to speak with Ed Wade, the former General Manager of the Philadelphia Phillies and Houston Astros regarding the Amateur Baseball Draft.

We discussed a variety of different topics regarding the draft, how organizations prepare, what scouting directors go through each year and what individual scouts look for based on the area of the country they are assigned.

We talked about draft strategy, which level players teams prefer to take (high school or college) and much more. I put together a lengthy essay regarding our conversation about the Rule 4 Draft and you can read it by clicking on the link below. [Read more…]