Futures Game: US

(#) in parenthesis equals ranking according to Baseball America

Position Players: BA-OBP-SLG, HR-RBI, SB-CS

Eric Young Jr.: Colorado Rockies (18). S/R. 5-10, 180. 24 yr old. Small frame that can add a little more muscle and probably around 190-195 without losing speed. Stance is a slightly open with a little crouch and leans back on his back leg to keep his weight back. Also has a little bat wiggle action. Trigger is a step to square himself up and a cocking of the bat. Good line drive swing with solid bat speed. May have a hitch in there with the cocking and then dropping his hands, but that would only affect his ability to hit for power and he will never hit for much. Then, right after I wrote that, he took Samuel's FB deep, about 385. Good fielding mechanics at 2B, looks like he could be inconsistent with his accuracy with his arm slot. Good hands and good feet around the bag on the double play. Comparable to Chone Figgins with the ability to put a charge in a ball once in awhile and think that is a very good comparison.

AB's
1) K Swinging. Chased a FB way out from Feliz and looked overmatched in his AB.
2) HR to RCF. Fliner Fly Hard that he got all of. Pitch was a fastball on the outside corner that Young just hit hard.
3) BB. Worked a 6-pitch walk, though he didn't take any real borderline pitches.

2009 Stats:
AAA: .294-.381-.425, 5-31, 48-9

Jemile Weeks: Oakland Athletics (9). S/R. 5-10, 175. 22 yr old. Small frame that can probably get up to 185. (LH) Straight on, straight up stance with his hands held back behind him. Almost looks like Ken Griffey Jr. minus the bat wiggle. Trigger is a double step and a cocking of the bat. Shows excellent bat speed and definitely has a very good profile. Shows above average range to his right, but also has some of that Miami showmanship, as he fielded a ball up the middle and tried to flip it to Espinoza to make a play, but Espinoza wasn't ready at all.

AB's
1) F-8. Got his FB, but dropped his shoulder just a touch and flied to medium center.

2009 Stats:
A+: .312-.392-.529, 7-27, 2-1

Desmond Jennings: Tampa Bay Rays (5). R/R. 6-2, 180. 22 yr old. Medium frame that can get up to at least 205 and has a lot of projectability left. Slightly closed stance with a little crouch and holds the bat directly over his shoulder at a 15 degree angle. Has a bat wiggle and it can affect the bat plane his bat stays on.. Trigger is a stride and cocking of the bat. Good looking bat speed. Plus runner who knows how to use it, as he stole 2 bases.

AB's
1) K Swinging. Chased a high FB from Feliz.
2) 5 pitch BB. Fouled off his 2-0 fastball.
3) K Swinging. Sick Curve got him swinging from Chacin.
4) E-5. FB right down the middle that he rolled over on and chopped a routine grounder to 3B that Viciedo promptly threw high. 4.2 down the line.

2009 Stats:
AA: .318-.398-.501, 8-44, 32-5

Brett Wallace: St. Louis Cardinals (2). L/R. 6-2, 255. 22 yr old. Medium frame that looks to be maxed out. Pretty big thighs and is one ugly looking dude. Stance is open with a crouch and almost rests the bat on his shoulders, wiggling it up and down above the shoulder. Trigger is a stride to square himself up when the pitcher starts his delivery, a bigger leg kick when the pitcher is getting close to release and a slight cocking of the bat. Swung through a 2-0 fastball that he was sitting on (98 miles per hour). Shows a good ability to command the strike zone and looks for pitches he can drive early in the count. Good plan at the plate. Above average bat speed. Barely average arm for third and kind of short arms the ball to 1st. Interesting to see what will happen with him.

AB's
1) Walk. 10 pitch at bat where he fought off some good pitches from Feliz and earned it.
2) 4-pitch Walk. Nothing real exciting.

2009 Stats:
AA: .281-.403-.438, 5-16, 0-0
AAA: .303-.355-.446, 6-19, 0-1

Josh Vitters: Chicago Cubs (1). R/R. 6-3, 200. 19 yr old. Big frame that can add a little more muscle and get up to about 215 at best. Stance is slightly open and pretty straight on with him standing fairly straight up, maybe a little crouch. Has a little bat tap. Trigger is a stride and a cocking of the bat. Solid above average arm from 3B with solid mechanics.

AB's
1) 1-3. Weak grounder back to the pitcher on a 1st pitch FB.
2) 4-pitch walk. Nothing really great to swing at.

2009 Stats:
A: .316-.351-.535, 15-46, 4-0
A+: .220-.238-.317, 0-6, 0-0

Chris Carter: Oakland Athletics (6). R/R. 6-4, 225. 22 yr old. Big frame that can add a little more muscle. Slightly open stance where he stands straight up and holds the bat a little behind his back shoulder. A little bat tap action. Trigger is a stride to square himself up and a cocking of the bat. Good looking bat speed. Really struggled to hit off-speed stuff. Not too much defensive prowess and didn't show much of an effort on a throw into the baserunner to try and snag it. Looks to be a below average defender and really struggles to read hops and make adjustments.

AB's
1) L-1. Soft line drive back to the pitch on an inside fastball.
2) P-6. Was fed sliders and struggled to resist, chased 2 of the 3, with the 3rd being a pop out. Soft fly to shallow CF.
3) K swinging. Slider in and failed to check his swing against Perez.
4) 4-pitch Walk. Nothing really close to swing at.

2009 Stats:
AA: .299-.401-.504, 14-63, 9-2

Pedro Alvarez: Pittsburgh Pirates (1). L/R. 6-3, 235. 22 yr old. Big frame that can add a little more muscle and likely get up to 245. Slightly open stance with the hands held similar to Weglarz, just not as high. Fairly straight up. Trigger is a stride and a cocking of the bat and also shifts his weight back. Shows exceptional bat speed and plus-plus raw power. Can get pull happy at times, even with 2 strikes.

AB's
1) K Swinging. Well placed cutter on the outer half at Alvarez's knees from Flande.
2) Infield 1B. Medium grounder hit in the 3-4 hole. Diving play by Flores to keep it on the infield. Sweeping slider on the outside corner.

2009 Stats:
A+: .247-.342-.486, 14-55, 1-1
AA: .228-.258-.509, 4-9, 0-0

Scott Sizemore: Detroit Tigers (7). R/R. 6-0, 185. 24 yr old. Medium frame that can add a little more muscle, probably about 195. Stance is an open stance with a slight crouch. Similar to Flowers in that his elbows are tucked in, but not to as big of an extent. Moves the bat in a very small circle just above his back shoulder as he awaits the pitch. Trigger is a stride to square himself up and a cocking of the bat. Good looking bat speed and solid line drive swing.

AB's
1) 1B to LF. Changeup away that he sat back drove a hard line drive into left field by the 5-6 hole, though it was too high for either to catch if they were there.
2) K Foul Tip. Swung through a high FB, let Lo get away with one.

2009 Stats:
AA: .307-.402-.535, 9-33, 7-3
AAA: .281-.366-.483, 2-8, 3-1

Chris Heisey: Cincinnati Reds (22). R/R. 6-0, 200. 24 yr old. Medium frame that can add a lot more muscle and get up to at least 215. Fairly straight on stance with a very slight crouch. Holds his hands a little above his back shoulder and slightly in front with the bat head 45 degrees over his back shoulder. Trigger is a cocking of the bat and a stride. Very good looking swing that looks to be more gap to gap then for the fences. Chased a 2-1 FB way up and out of the zone.

AB's
1) 5-3. Medium grounder right at the 3B on a fastball middle in. 4.55 down the line.
2) K Swinging: Slider down the middle was the finishing pitch, but got himself into a hole by chasing high fastballs.

2009 Stats:
AA: .348-.427-.577, 13-40, 13-1
AAA: .365-.386-.654, 3-13, 2-0

Daryl Jones: St. Louis Cardinals (7). L/L. 5-11, 180. 22 yr old. Small frame that can probably get up to 195. Stance is fairly straight up with a slight crouch and leans back on his back leg. He holds his hands in front of his back shoulder about even with his face. It appears that his hands may rest over the inside corner of the plate. Trigger is a a cocking of the bat (which moves it back towards his body) and a stride. Swing can get long at times, but stays inside the ball very well and shows very good bat speed.

AB's
1) 1B to RF. Got a fastball on the inner third and turned on it very well, lacing a hard line drive between the 3-4 hole.

2009 Stats:
AA: .283-.367-.376, 2-27, 7-4

Tyler Flowers: Chicago White Sox (4). 6-4, 245. R/R. 23 yr old. Big frame that appears to be pretty close to being maxed out. Stance has changed a ton from high school. He has his hands back against his side almost and in on his body. He leans back and is slightly closed. He shows good bat speed and still has his insanely strong wrists. Trigger is a stride and sometimes his weight can come forward too much and he is left swinging with just his arms. Chased a 0-1 slider from Flande. Shows plus raw power.

AB's
1) Singled on a hard groundball up the middle. Fastball that Flande left towards the inside of the outer third of the plate and he didn't miss it.
2) K Swinging. Got gassed 2 straight times by Septimo with fastballs.

2009 Stats:
AA: .305-.449-.556, 13-43, 3-0

Jason Castro: Houston Astros (1). 6-3, 210. L/R. 22 yr old. Big frame that can get up to at least 225, has a ton of room to add more muscle. Slightly crouched stance with a slightly open stance, but is fairly straight up. Holds the bat a little in front of his back shoulder and at a 45 degree angle over his back shoulder. Looks fidgety at the plate and moves around a little bit as he waits for the pitcher to begin his motion. Trigger is a toe turn and a cocking of the bat. Above average bat speed and shows the ability to hit mistake pitches. Very quick release and has an above average arm.

AB's
1) Home run down the RF line. Got a hanging SL in and didn't miss it. About 345 feet.

Pop Times: 1.55 to 3rd (CS Durango at 3rd)

2009 Stats:
A+: .309-.399-.517, 7-44, 1-1
AA: .279-.323-.360, 2-7, 1-1

Jason Heyward: Atlanta Braves (2). 6-4, 220. L/L. 19 yr old. Big frame that can get up to at least 235. Has a little crouch in his slightly open stance and holds his hands behind him with the bat almost flat over his back shoulder with some bat tapping going on, though the bat head never gets low enough to touch the shoulder. Similar to Chipper Jones in his approach at the plate. Trigger is a shifting of the weight back, a stride and a cocking of the bat. A great looking line drive swing.

AB's
1) 1B to CF. Hard hit liner to CF. About 30 feet over the 2nd base side of SS. Fastball on the outer half of the plate that Heyward laced and did a great piece of hitting.
2) 4-3. Laced 1 hopper to Castro who made a nice play. FB on the outer half of the plate. 4.42 to 1st.

2009 Stats:
A+: .296-.369-.519, 10-31, 4-0
AA: .367-.444-.600, 0-9, 0-0

Mike Stanton: Florida Marlins (2). 6-5, 225. R/R. 19 yr old. Big frame that has room to get up to at least 240 if he desires. Stances is a crouched, slightly open with the bat held just in front of his back shoulder. Leans back to keep his weight back. Trigger is a stride in then stride out and a cocking of the bat. Good looking swing, though he will get in spurts where he hits a ton of pop ups.

AB's
1) F-8. Medium fly hit to CF on a FB that creeped back towards the middle of the plate.

2009 Stats:
A+: .294-.390-.578, 12-39, 2-2
AA: .217-.317-.425, 6-17, 1-1

Danny Espinosa: Washington Nationals (14). 6-0, 190. S/R. 22 yr old. Medium frame that can add a lot more muscle and get up to at least 205. Open, fairly straight up stance with the bat 45 degrees over his back shoulder. Trigger is a little bit of a leg kick stride and a cocking of the bat. Chased a 0-1 slider from Flande. Swing can get long at times. Plus arm defensively with pretty good mechanics. Plus defensively with excellent actions and soft hands.

AB's
1) K Swinging. Struck out on the 1st change Flande threw. Worked a 9 pitch at bat.
2) K Swinging. Struck out on a nasty change from Chacin. Not a good AB for him.
3) 4-3. Got his 2-0 FB and just rolled over it, grounding weakly to 2B

2009 Stats:
A+: .258-.365-.434, 9-42, 15-8

Pitchers: W-L ERA, IP-H-BB-K

Chris Tillman: Baltimore Orioles (2). 6-5, 195. R/R. 21 yr old. Big frame that can add a lot more muscle and get up to 225. Over the top release. Drop and drive delivery. Breaks hands fairly high, which puts extra stress on his shoulder. Glove comes high and covers the release point until the last second. Fastball has some run in on righties and a little sink and looks to have a little extra "oomph" to it at the end. Likes to throw his fastball to the armside corner (in on lefties, out on righties) Curveball is a big breaking 12-6 with above average depth and is sharp. It can be a strikeout pitch and it serves as his out pitch. Did not show an ability to bounce the pitch, but could throw it for a strike at hitter's knees at will. Changeup has some fade from lefties and good sink. He will throw the pitch with a 2-0 count and to righties. Change can be dead straight at times. Threw a 40 foot change that bounced and hit Weglarz, really inconsistent with it in this outing. Has solid above average command right now with his fastball and curve, but below average with his change.

1st: FB (92-96), CB (78-81), CU (81-82) - FB (Escobar)

2009 Stats:
AAA: 7-5 2.50, 86.1-72-22-88

Kyle Drabek: Philadelphia Phillies (5). 6-0. 185. R/R. 21 yr old. Small frame that can add a little more muscle and get up to maybe 195. Over the top. Arm slot can drop, flattening out his breaking pitches. Classic drop and drive delivery that is quiet with no real red flags. Fastball has some run in on righties with a little sink. Slider is a 2-7 with good bite. Changeup has some fade from lefties with a little sink, but can be flat and straight. Curveball is a 12-6 with good depth and is sharp enough to be a strikeout pitch. Showed above average command of both his fastball and curve, bounced his slider though it generated a swing and miss and left the change high and away from Durango.

2nd: FB (94-96), CB (82), SL (82), CU (84) - SL (Durango)

2009 Stats:
A+: 4-1 2.48, 61.2-49-19-74
AA: 5-0 2.70, 46.2-41-17-35

Brian Matusz: Baltimore Orioles (3). 6-5, 200. L/L. 22 yr old. Big frame that can add a ton more muscle, at least 220. Over the top release. Interesting delivery. Has a very slow leg kick that slows down his momentum from the start and then drops and accelerates through, generating max velocity. Arm action is similar to Jimenez where he brings the arm straight down without bend and then bends as he accelerates through, which I think has to put a little extra strain on his elbow. Fastball has some run in on lefties. Change is a straight change that looks just like a fastball out of his hand and is an above average pitch. Will throw changes in hitters counts and any count. Slider is a sweeping 10-4 with solid bite. Showed plus command of his fastball, working it to both corners, above average command of his change and threw his 1 slider up near the middle of the plate.

3rd: FB (92-94), CU (83-85), SL (83) - CU (Liddi), FB (Liddi)

2009 Stats:
A+: 4-2 2.16, 66.2-56-21-75
AA: 4-0 0.34, 26.1-11-6-32

Mat Latos: San Diego Padres (2). 6-6, 225. R/R. 21 yr old. Big frame that can get up to at least 240 if he so desires. His 225 looks to be a fairly light 225. Over the top release. Has a slower leg kick and separates as he begins to kick downward. Brings his arm to his hip and then begins accelerating through to fire the pitch. Generates good deception, but the arm action worries me and looks to put a lot of pressure on his shoulder. Fastball has good run in on righties with good sink. His slider is a 2-7 that is kind of slurvy, but has good downward action to it. Showed above average command of his fastball and bounced the only slider he threw on a 1-1 count.

4th: FB (94-96), SL (83) - FB (Lawrie)

2009 Stats:
A: 3-0 0.36, 25.1-10-3-27
AA: 5-1 1.91, 47-32-9-46

Daniel Duffy: Kansas City Royals (6). 6-2, 185. L/L. 20 yr old. Medium frame that can add a lot more muscle and get up to at least 205. Over the top release. Classic drop and drive delivery that is very clean throughout. Picture perfect mechanics. Kicks his stride leg out. Is more comfortable going from the wind as opposed to the stretch. FB has a little run in on lefties with some sink, but can be dead straight. Curveball is a big breaking 11-4 with above average depth, but probably isn't sharp enough to be a strikeout pitch. Can throw some hangers. Change has some fade from righties, but is a work in progress. Will throw the pitch to lefties in 3-1 counts. Showed average command of his FB-CB combo and missed on the only change he threw.

5th: FB (92-93), CB (73-74), CU (83) - FB (Durango)

2009 Stats:
A+: 6-3 3.69, 83-81-29-80

Jarrod Parker: Arizona Diamondbacks (1). 6-1, 180. R/R. 20 yr old. Medium frame that can add a little more muscle. Built kid, athletic, looks like max is about 195 for him. Over the top release. Similar to Lincecum mechanically from the stretch without a lot of the question marks. Is knee to knee from the stretch. Very smooth and generates very easy velocity. Extremely clean delivery from the stretch. Fastball has good run in on righties with a little sink. Slider is a sharp 2-7 with good late bite. Showed above average command of both his offerings.

5th: FB (95-96), SL (83)

2009 Stats:
A+: 1-0 0.95, 19-12-4-21
AA: 4-4 2.98, 63.1-63-29-61

Casey Kelly: Boston Red Sox (6). 6-3, 194. R/R. 19 yr old. Medium frame that can get up to at least 215. Fairly clean delivery where he takes a step back and takes his hands over his head and drops and drives. A lot more movement then most guys, but it is a pretty clean motion. Over the top release. Fastball has some run in on righties, but can be straight. Curveball is a power 1-7 with good depth and looks like it can be a strikeout pitch. Can throw it for strikes or bounce it. Showed above average command of both his FB and CB.

6th: FB (93-94), CB (82-83) - No Strikes Swinging.

2009 Stats:
A: 6-1 1.12, 48.1-32-9-39
A+: 1-4 3.09, 46.2-33-7-35

Trevor Reckling: Los Angeles Angels (4). 6-1, 195. L/L. 20 yr old. Medium frame that can get up to about 205, so not a ton of growth left. Is a black guy, which caught me a little off guard, as I was under the impression he was white. Classic drop and drive and he breaks his hands high, increasing both deception and stress. Over the top release. A little bit of herky jerky in his delivery with limbs moving all over the place. Fastball has good looking late run in on lefties. Change is fairly straight with some late fade from righties and left it up quite a bit. Is his preferred pitch 1-1, as he threw it in that count twice. Slider is a sharp 11-4 with above average bite and caught Castro off guard, resulting in a WP. Slider is definitely major league ready and has the potential to be a dominant out pitch. Showed above average command of his 2 pitch arsenal (FB-SL), but his change was left in the left handers batters box pretty often.

7th: FB (90-92), SL (81-82), CU (81-82) - SL (Baez)

2009 Stats:
A+: 1-2 0.95, 19-9-3-16
AA: 5-2 2.56, 81-72-45-61

Brad Lincoln: Pittsburgh Pirates (4). 6-0, 215. R/R. 24 yr old. Medium frame that looks like it is maxed out. High 3/4 release. Very quiet from the stretch with a classic drop and drive delivery. Fastball is a 2-seam with some run in on righties. CB is a sharp 12-6 with good depth and can be a strikeout pitch. Had good control of his fastball, but caught way too much of the plate consistently with it. Had average command of his FB-CB combo.

7th: FB (93-95), CB (81-82) - FB (Kang)

2009 Stats:
AA: 1-5 2.28, 75-63-18-65
AAA: 1-4 4.70, 15.1-16-8-12

DID NOT PLAY: Madison Bumgarner (Giants)