Bowie Baysox Blog

This is an Eastern League preview I wrote for Baseball Daily Digest a couple weeks ago.

Northern  Division

Akron Aeros (Cleveland Indians)
Carlos Santana
The eventual decline of Victor Martinez need not worry Indians fans much, since Santana came over from the Dodgers in last year’s Casey Blake trade. Santana was the California League (High A) MVP where he put up a .994 OPS in 2008.

Nick Weglarz
Weglarz is a 6’3”, 245-pound left fielder with significant power and a great batting eye. He doesn’t move particularly well, so he could join the crowded line of future first basemen in the Cleveland organization.

Beau Mills
The son of Red Sox bench coach Brad Mills has great power, but could stand to fine tune his hitting approach especially now that he’s moved from third to first base for good.

Binghamton Mets (New York Mets)
Mike Antonini
The Mets may have found a diamond in the rough when they picked this crafty left-hander out of Georgia College & State in the 18th round of the 2007 amateur draft. His plus change-up and excellent command may separate the men from the boys in Double A.

Dillon Gee
Gee was also a find in the 21st round of the 2007 amateur draft. His excellent fastball command and ability to change speeds helped him notch a 1.33 ERA in four starts over 27 innings at Binghamton in 2008.

Tobi Stoner
Stoner was also a good mid-round pick (16th) for the Mets, just in the 2006 draft. His solid, if not spectacular, fastball and slider should help him improve on a 4.33 ERA in 79 innings at Binghamton in 2008.

Connecticut Defenders (San Francisco Giants)
Madison Bumgarner
In 2009, Bumgarner will succeed Matt Wieters as the premier Eastern League prospect. The 6’4” left-hander dominated the Sally League (Low A) with a 7.8 K/BB in 2008. His secondary pitches need work, but he has the talent to make the jump to Double A.

Buster Posey
Posey is a disciplined hitter with great bat speed who was the 2008 Golden Spikes winner as the top amateur player. His quick release (1.85 seconds from home to second base – 2.0 is average) and receiving skills should help him stick at catcher.

Tim Alderson
Alderson led the hitter-friendly California league with a 2.79 ERA through 145 innings in 2008. What Bumgarner lacks in polish, Alderson makes up and then some. That should be trouble for Eastern League hitters.

Harrisburg Senators (Washington Nationals)
Bill Rhinehart
It’s hard not to pull for Rhinehart, a scrappy player who jumped from Hagerstown (Low A) to Harrisburg (Double A). Until Michael Burgess is promoted, his plus power and pretty good eye will help him anchor the Senator’s line-up. He’ll need a platoon-mate against left-handers before long.

Luis Atilano
Atilano has been in the pro ball since 2003, but 2009 should be his first appearance at Double A. He’s a fastball/change-up/curve guy who has to needs to work on this command to remain a starter.

Cory VanAllen
VanAllen has been slowed by injuries, but this lefty showed real promise when he worked a slider into his fastball/change-up mix. VanAllen hopes to show that a 5.13 ERA in 10 starts at Harrisburg last year was a fluke.

New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Toronto Blue Jays)
David Cooper
Cooper is a fantastic pure hitter with a short stroke and great bat speed who could join Travis Snider in the middle of the Blue Jays line-up for a long time. This 2008 first-rounder is awkward at first, so he’s lucky to be in an American League organization.

Brad Mills
Mills is a lefty with a great curveball and an average fastball. He owned the Eastern League through 32 innings in six starts last year, posting a 1.10 ERA and 1.12 WHIP.

Brad Emaus
Emaus is a versatile fielder and hitter who finish last year with a 1.119 OPS in 99 August at bats in the pitcher-friendly Florida State League. He split his time between second base, third base and designated hitter, but seems likely to stay at second.

Reading Phillies (Philadelphia Phillies)
Michael Taylor
Taylor has great bat speed, but a Stanford swing that limits his power. The 6’6”, 250-pounder has a cannon for an arm, but doesn’t cover enough ground in left field and may be on his way to first base.

Drew Naylor
Naylor will likely take Carlos Carrasco’s place as the R-Phils ace. The 6’4” right-handed Aussie baffles hitters with a 12-to-6 curve, but struggles a bit against left-handers. He will represent his home country in the World Baseball Classic.

Edgar Garcia
Garcia has a blazing fastball, but has plenty of work to do developing pitches to compliment it. Right-handers tagged him for 1.40 HR/9 in 2008.

Southern Division

Altoona Curve (Pittsburgh Pirates)
Jose Tabata
Tabata came to the Pirates organizations in last year’s Xavier Nady trade. He left discipline issues and a .617 OPS (in 294 ABs) behind in Trenton and put up a .964 OPS (89 ABs, .412 BABIP) in Altoona. Tabata will be 20 years old until August 12.

Brad Lincoln
Lincoln was the fourth overall pick in the 2006 amateur draft. He sat out all of 2007 after Tommy John surgery. He showed great control in 2008, especially in 62 innings at Low A Hickory (0.89 BB/9). Lincoln’s change up may be the key to his success at higher levels.

Jamie Romak
Romak hit 33 homeruns in 584 ABs at High A Lynchburg in parts of 2007 and 2008. Whether that power translates to higher levels or he continues struggling to make consistent contact will determine the impact he can have.

Bowie Baysox (Baltimore Orioles)
Chris Tillman
Tillman made the Erik Bedard trade look like a huge mistake by the Marines in 2008 by often dominating the Eastern League. However, the EL’s youngest pitcher struggled with his command at times (4.21 BB/9) and only made it to the seventh inning in one start. Tillman will work on his efficiency in Bowie, but may be the first promotion to Norfolk.

Jake Arrieta
In 2008, won a bronze medal in the Olympics, pitched in the Futures Game, and put up a 9.56 K/9 in 113 innings at High A Frederick. Of course, he also walked 4.06 per nine innings and yielded a 1.52 WHIP in 41.3 innings against lefties.

Bradon Erbe
Erbe is an easy-going life-long Orioles fan who rebounded in 2008 to put himself back among the minor’s top pitching prospects. Erbe led the Carolina League with 151 Ks, but was a little homer prone (1.25 HR/9). He could get even better as he grows into his 6’4” frame and masters his change up.

Erie Seawolves (Detroit Tigers)
Rick Porcello
Porcello is an efficient groundball pitcher who made strides with the location of his secondary pitches at Lakeland in 2008. The right-hander’s 5.18 K/9 seems low for someone with a 97 mph fastball, but Minor League Baseball Analyst tell us he was working on a sinker.

Ryan Perry
Perry was drafted out of Arizona in the first round of the 2008 amateur draft as a reliever. He throws the ball plenty fast, but could work on his pitchability. Perry’s 14.3 professional innings are not a big enough sample from which to draw conclusions, so Tigers and EL fans will have to wait and see how he develops. He’s impressing important folks this spring in Detriot’s big league camp.

Cale Iorg
Iorg was drafted in the sixth round in 2007 after spending two years away from baseball. He needs work on making contact (struck out 109 times in 376 ABs at Lakeland in 2008). Iorg has a particularly hard time with sliders low and away.

New Britain Rock Cats (Minnesota Twins)
Wilson Ramos
Ramos is an athletic catcher who caught 43 percent of attempted base stealers in 2008. He makes solid contact, but saw his strikeout rate inch up to 22.8 percent last year. Ramos is already on the Twins 40-man roster.

Danny Valencia
Valencia is a power-hitting third baseman who may not be in New Britain for long. He has been the picture of offensive consistency at four levels, but saw his strikeout rate spike at 26.3 percent in 266 ABs in the Eastern League.

Jeff Manship
Manship can throw his plus curveball for strikes consistently. The 14th-round pick out of Notre Dame saw his walks spike in 77 innings at New Britain in 2008. He projects as a back-rotation starter.

Portland Sea Dogs (Boston Red Sox)
Lars Anderson
Anderson probably won’t be in Portland for long, but there appears to be no reason to rush him. In 2008, Anderson quieted any speculation that his .921 OPS in 306 ABs in the hitter-friendly California League was inflated by putting up a .967 OPS in 127 ABs in the Eastern League. The sample size is very small, but the lefty had a little trouble against left-handed pitchers (.701 ABs) for the first time during his stint in Portland.

Josh Reddick
Reddick is an aggressive hitter and versatile outfielder how was cruising through the Red Sox affiliates until he reached Portland last year. After putting up a .745 OPS in 113 ABs during his first trip through the Eastern League, Reddick will work on his plate discipline and hope for better luck in 2009.

Junichi Tazawa
Tazawa jumped from Japanese amateur baseball to the States when he signed a three-year $3.3 million major league contract with a $1.8 million signing bonus in December. (Other major league teams offered him more than the Red Sox.) The right-hander has an advanced fastball/slider/curve/change-up repertoire and good command.

Trenton Thunder (New York Yankees)
Zach McAllister
McAllister put up a 1.83 ERA in 88.6 innings in the Florida State League with very few walks and lots of groundouts. The right-handers command came a particularly far way from 2007 (3.41 BB/9) to 2008 (1.23 BB/9).

Mike Dunn
Dunn has become a more aggressive pitcher since his move to the bullpen. The left-handers 11.51 K/9 in 65.7 innings against lefty hitters indicates he could be a valuable arm even if he doesn’t make great strides with his command.

Francisco Cervelli
Cervelli may be the Yankees’ strongest defensive catching prospect. He broke his wrist in a collision during Spring Training, but had a cup of coffee with the big club by the end of the year. Cervelli will return to Trenton to work on his hitting.