Life On The Farm: Los Angeles Angels (# 25)

Yep, it's a twofer to make up for yesterday where a rash of things to do caused me a lack of time to do this.

Graduated To Majors: Chris Pettit (OF, # 17), Terry Evans (OF, UR), Bobby Wilson (C, # 13), Nick Adenhart (SP, # 1), Sean O'Sullivan (SP, # 5), Anthony Ortega (SP, # 9), Kevin Jepsen (RP, # 6), Rafael Rodriguez (RP, # 15), Daniel Davidson (RP, UR)

The Rest of The Top 10 (with quick commentary)
Hitters: BA-OBP-SLG, AB, HR-RBI, BB-K, SB-CS
Pitchers: G-GS, W-L, ERA, IP-H-HR-BB-K

2 - Jordan Walden: SP
AA: 13-13, 1-5, 5.25, 60-72-4-29-57
Quick Take: Went on the DL with elbow inflammation to end what was a slightly disappointing season.

3 - Peter Bourjos: CF
AA: .281-.354-.423, 437, 6-51, 49-77, 32-12
Quick Take: The speedster continues on a path to Anaheim. Some have called him the fasteste runner in all the minor leagues.

4 - Trevor Reckling: SP
Hi A: 3-3, 1-2, 0.95, 19-9-2-3-16
AA: 23-23, 8-7, 2.93, 135.1-118-4-75-106
Quick Take: High # of walks is disconcerting, but the strikeout numbers appear to be there for the Futures Game alum.

7 - Hank Conger: C
AA: .295-.369-.424, 458, 11-68, 55-68, 4-2
Quick Take: Has put up the same line at essentially each of the full season leagues with one big difference this season, he went from 14 walks to 55.

8 - Mark Trumbo: 1B
AA: .291-.333-.452, 533, 15-88, 37-100, 6-3
Quick Take: Good numbers, but can he start controlling the strike zone a little better?

10 - Mason Tobin: SP
Hi A: 3-0, 0-0, 0.00, 2.2-2-0-2-2
Quick Take: Went down to a shoulder problem in 2008 and made 3 appearance before going down again with shoulder soreness.

AAA: Salt Lake Bees (PCL)
Breakout Hitter: Chris Pettit (# 17): .323-.385-.485, 371, 8-59, 31-62, 18-2
Disappointing Hitter: Matt Brown (# 25): .245-.333-.415, 388, 13-69, 45-92, 5-5
Breakout Pitcher: Rafael Rodriguez (# 15): 22-0, 1-0, 1.85, 34-27-3-10-23
Disappointing Pitcher: Anthony Ortega (# 9): 4-4, 2-1, 9.64, 18.2-30-5-6-5
Quick Take: Pettit and Rodriguez earned their 1st big league promotions. Brown struggled in many facets of the game. Ortega went from the bigs to AAA to somewhere currently unknown.

AA: Arkansas Travelers (TL)
Breakout Hitter: Mark Trumbo (# 8): Line above.
Disappointing Hitter: Hainley Statia (# 30): .243-.308-.317-375, 1-43, 34-34, 13-3
Breakout Pitcher: Trevor Reckling (# 4): Line above.
Disappointing Pitcher: Jordan Walden (# 2): Line above.
Quick Take: Trumbo and Reckling justified their high rankings. Statia has continued to struggle with the bat. Walden will hope everything turns up okay on his arm.

Hi A: Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (CL)
Breakout Hitter: Matt Sweeney (# 18): 299-.379-.517, 211, 9-44, 26-37, 2-0
Disappointing Hitter: Clay Fuller (# 16): .232-.341-.350, 452, 9-48, 71-127, 30-8
Breakout Pitcher: Alex Torres (# 24): 21-19, 10-3, 2.74, 121.1-93-4-63-124
Disappointing Pitcher: Robert Fish (# 20): 16-13, 1-6, 6.39, 69-94-12-28-54
Quick Take: Think the Rays scouted this team? Both Sweeney and Torres will take their act to Tampa as part of the return for Scott Kazmir. Fuller had an all around bad season except for the 71 walks and 30 steals. Fish really battled and didn't win much.

Lo A: Cedar Rapids Kernels (ML)
Breakout Hitter: Alexia Amarista (UR): .319-.390-.468, 477, 4-49, 50-61, 38-20
Disappointing Hitter: Anel De Los Santos (UR): .212-.243-.297, 273, 5-31, 8-95, 5-0
Breakout Pitcher: Ryan Chaffee (# 21): 23-23, 8-8, 4.33, 116.1-84-6-65-121
Disappointing Pitcher: Manuarys Correa (# 19): 28-28, 8-10, 4.47, 163-176-16-43-69
Quick Take: Amarista is still raw, but showed what could be a very tantalizing final package. De Los Santos had 8 walks all season against 95 strikeouts, typically an issue. Chaffee narrowly outpitched fellow prospects Chatwood (# 11) and Smith (# 12) for this honor. Correa put up disappointing HR and K numbers.

TK's Early 2010 Top 10 Prospects:
1) Trevor Reckling: LHP
Lefty looks to continue his meteoric rise. Only question is can he find some command?
2) Hank Conger: C
Beginning to look like a force to be reckoned with offensively.
3) Peter Bourjos: CF
Speedster looks to try and be ready if/when the Angels need another OF.
4) Randal Grichuk: CF
1st of their 1st rounders hit .321-.350-.549 in 237 at bats at rookie ball. At the age of 18.
5) Mike Trout: CF
The other one wasn't outdone, hitting .360-.418-.506 in 164 at bats at rookie ball. At the age of 18. And he got a brief taste of Low A.
6) Jordan Walden: SP
If he can recover from his arm, he can put last season behind him very quickly.
7) Mark Trumbo: 1B
Blocked by Kendry Morales, he aims to force the Angels to make room for him.
8) Tyler Chatwood: RHP
Solid strikeout numbers in his first taste of full-season ball.
9) Ryan Chaffee: RHP
Another solid season from a young arm looking to continue it in his 2nd season of full-season ball.
10) Garrett Richards: RHP
21 year old supplemental 1st rounder dominated rookie ball (8 starts, 3-1, 1.53. 4 walks against 30 strikeouts in 35.1 innings)

Dropped From Top 10: Tobin (# 10)

Final Overview: Following the devastating loss of Nick Adenhart, the Angels were forced to tap their reserves much quicker then they had wanted. What was a weak farm system at the beginning of the season is beginning to look like it's ready to churn out another group of strong pitchers, led by Reckling. The center field position also appears to look pretty good down the road. I think this is a middle of the pack farm system, even without Sweeney and Torres.

Life On The Farm: Arizona Diamondbacks (# 26)

A bad season in the majors, did it translate through the minors?


Graduated To Majors: Gerardo Parra (OF, # 2), Trent Oeltjen (OF, UR), Rusty Ryal (2B, UR), Josh Whitesell (1B, # 19), Billy Buckner (SP, # 8), Esmerling Vasquez (RP, UR), Leo Rosales (RP, UR), Daniel Schelereth (RP, # 3), Clay Zavada (RP, # 23)


The Rest Of The Top 10 (with quick commentary)
Hitters: BA-OBP-SLG, AB, HR-RBI, BB-K, SB-CS
Pitchers: G-GS, W-L, ERA, IP-H-HR-BB-K


1 - Jarrod Parker: SP
Hi A: 4-4, 1-0, 0.95, 19-12-0-4-21
AA: 16-16, 4-6, 3.68, 78.1-82-2-34-74
Quick Take: Did nothing to diminish his star, but it may be diminishing anyways. He was shut down with elbow soreness in August, never a good sign.


4 - Mark Hallberg: SS
AA: .255-.323.-.321, 455, 2-42, 39-43, 14-4
Quick Take: Ouch. For a guy who most don't think will stay at SS and whose only plus tool is his bat, he is in desparate need of a bounce back season.


5 - Wade Miley: SP
Lo A: 21-21, 5-9, 4.12, 113.2-127-8-29-91
Hi A: 3-3, 1-1, 4.80, 15-18-0-4-11
Quick Take: Solid, unspectacular debut to full season ball. Solid numbers for a left hander and will likely be at Hi A next season.


6 - Kevin Eichhorn: SP
R: 10-0, 0-2, 3.38, 16-13-1-9-25
Quick Take: Young high school draftee from last season put up some solid numbers at rookie ball and looks to debut in full season next year.


7 - Cesar Valdez: SP
AAA: 19-18, 7-6, 4.78, 96-103-16-30-60
Quick Take: Lack of strikeouts really hurts in the PCL and looks to be someone who should be auditioning for a job with the big club. Lack of strikeouts a concern.


9 - Collin Cowgill: LF
Hi A: .277-.373-.445, 220, 6-36, 29-49, 11-4
Quick Take: Decent season, but lack of a real plus tool offensively looks like a 4th OF.


10 - Reynaldo Navarro: SS
Lo A: .262-.308-.339, 451, 0-46, 27-85, 12-4
Quick Take: Lack of plate discipline and power are a huge question mark for this 19 year old, though he is just that, 19.

AAA: Reno Aces (PCL)
Breakout Hitter: John Hester (UL): .329-.376-.537, 9-66, 22-64, 13-3
Disappointing Hitter: None (Reno had pretty good offensive season)
Breakout Pitcher: Leo Rosales (UR): 17-0, 2-1, 1.40, 19.1-12-1-8-12
Disappointing Pitcher: Hector Ambriz (UR): 23-22, 9-9, 5.57, 127.2-164-12-40-103
Quick Take: Hester came out of nowhere to put up that season and make his big league debut. Rosales appeared to take steps towards being a reliable middle reliever, while Ambriz struggled amongst a former who's who of D'Back prospects who had some difficulty at Reno.

AA: Mobile BayBears (SL)
Breakout Hitter: Gerardo Parra (# 2); .361-.469-.491, 108, 3-12, 22-13, 7-4
Disappointing Hitter: James Skelton (# 27): .182-.341-.238, 214, 0-16, 52-40, 9-3
Breakout Pitcher: Bryan Augenstein (UL): 9-9, 5-0, 0.99, 45.2-27-0-8-36
Disappointing Pitcher: Matt Torra (UR): 28-28, 10-13, 4.00, 180-193-24-28-116
Quick Take: Parra and Augenstein translated strong opening months into a big league appearance. Skelton cost the team Brooks Brown (# 28) and proceeded to walk and not hit. Torra, a former 1st round pick, showed good raw numbers, but his peripherals are not indicative of major league success.

Hi A: Visalia Rawhide (Seriously, Rawhide?) (CL)
Breakout Hitter: Konrad Schmidt (UL): .304-.359-.443, 411, 9-50, 30-75, 0-3
Disappointing Hitter: Ed Easley (# 29): .225-.322-.302, 378, 3-38, 48-86, 0-1
Breakout Pitcher: Leyson Septimo (# 26): 26-0, 2-1, 3.52, 38.1-29-1-26-44
Disappointing Pitcher: Trevor Harden (# 13): 17-17, 2-9, 4.43, 91.1-114-11-23-63
Quick Take: Schmidt is a 24 year old catcher, so don't read too much into his performance. Easley has disappointed since being a supplemental 1st rounder. Septimo worked a strong first half into a Futures Game appearance and a promotion to AA, where he was hammered. Harden didn't pitch like a future major leaguer.

Lo A: South Bend Silver Hawks (ML)
Breakout Hitter: Brendan Duffy (UL): .308-.414-.393, 201, 0-15, 25-42, 17-8
Disappointing Hitter: Isaias Asencio (# 24): .211-.266-.340, 332, 5-32, 17-101, 6-3
Breakout Pitcher: Ryan Cook (UL): 25-25, 11-11, 3.66, 142.2-140-5-44-103
Disappointing Pitcher: Brett Moorhouse (UR): 25-25, 5-14, 4.52, 131.1-148-9-42-84
Quick Take: Duffy parlayed his work into a 2nd half promotion to Hi A, where he was solid. Asencio looked like a raw OF getting his first experience in full season ball. Cook was solid and this was the best pitching performance. Moorhouse struggled to generate swings and misses.

TK's Early 2010 Top 10 Prospects:
1) Jarrod Parker: SP
The only real beacon of hope for an impact player right now, one of the better prospects in baseball, if the arm checks out.
2) Robert Borchering: 3B
One of the top prep hitters available, the 1st round pick struggled a little in his debut (.241 at R)
3) A.J. Pollock: CF
The other 1st rounder hit .271-.319-.376 in 255 at bats at Low A.
4) Barry Enright: SP
Ranked 11th a year ago, one of the few that didn't hit many snags (10-9, 3.98 in 27 starts at AA)
5) Wade Miley: SP
Still left handed and the numbers were solid.
6) Kevin Eichhorn: SP
Strong numbers at rookie ball, can he continue those strikeout numbers?
7) Mike Belfiore: SP
Lefty supplemental pick struck out 55 in 58 innings at Rookie ball.
8) Marc Krauss: LF
2nd rounder hit .304-.377-.478 in 115 at bats at Lo A.
9) Pedro Ciriaco: SS
Hit .296-.319-367 in AA with 38 stolen bases in 469 at bats.
10) Ollie Linton: CF
Hit .295-.394-.399 at Hi A in 491 at bats with 28 steals and 104 strikeouts (but 65 walks). Can he work past his 5-8 size?

Dropped From Top 10: Hallberg (# 4), Valdez (# 7), Cowgill (# 9)

Final Overview: Wow. Once known as one of the best systems in baseball, a rash of defections has led to a watered down version featuring one true high upside player in Parker minus the 2009 draftees. Having 5 1st rounders (2 1st, 3 supplemental) has allowed them to attempt to restock the system. However, the fact so many have now qualified in the D'Backs Top 10 I have put together is a bad sign. I believe this is currently the worst farm system in the majors.

The Best Fielders?

As part of the conclusion of this job, we have to assign who we believe the Top 10 fielders are at each position. To be eligible, a player had to play 500 or more total innings at a position. For your viewing pleasure, I will include my rankings here:

Catchers:
1) Joe Mauer
2) Yadier Molina
3) Gerald Laird
4) Rob Johnson
5) Russell Martin
6) Jeff Mathis
7) Kurt Suzuki
8) Ryan Hanigan
9) Koyie Hill
10) Jason Varitek

Why Mauer The Best: Mauer caught 25 % of base stealers and had a catcher ERA of 4.23, which qualifies him as the 3rd best game caller. He also saved 5 runs from the catcher position, tying him for 3rd, and was one of the better ones blocking balls. The total package.

1st Basemen:
1) Albert Pujols
2) Travis Ishikawa
3) Casey Kotchman
4) Adrian Gonzalez
5) Lyle Overbay
6) Derrek Lee
7) James Loney
8) Kevin Youkilis
9) Daniel Murphy
10) Mark Teixeira

Why Pujols The Best: He was 2nd in runs saved, accumulated a plus 12 in GFP's in our enhanced fielding metric and is underrated for his ability to scoop balls.

2nd Basemen:
1) Aaron Hill
2) Ian Kinsler
3) Ben Zobrist
4) Dustin Pedroia
5) Chase Utley
6) Mark Ellis
7) Howie Kendrick
8) Jamey Carroll
9) Clint Barmes
10) Maicer Izturis

Why Hill The Best: He was the best on his range in groundballs, turning 25 balls the average 2Bmen doesn't get to into outs. He was plus 22 on his enhanced scoring to lead all 2Bmen as well.

3rd Basemen
1) Chone Figgins
2) Ryan Zimmerman
3) Scott Rolen
4) Adrian Beltre
5) Evan Longoria
6) Jack Hannahan
7) Kevin Kouzmanoff
8) Joe Crede
9) Brandon Inge
10) Aramis Ramirez

Why Figgins The Best: I fully expected to write Ryan Zimmerman's name there, but Figgins is +38 in our enhanced fielding (Zimm is + 31) and Figgins was the best at fielding groudballs (+39)

Shortstops
1) Elvis Andrus
2) Jack Wilson
3) Troy Tulowitzki
4) Brendan Ryan
5) Paul Janish
6) Marco Scutaro
7) Jason Bartlett
8) Stephen Drew
9) Yunel Escobar
10) Adam Everett

Why Andrus The Best: He was the flashiest guy I saw all year and flashed the best range for the best defensive team in the majors.

Left Fielders
1) Carl Crawford
2) Nyjer Morgan
3) Laynce Nix
4) Juan Rivera
5) Josh Anderson
6) Scott Hairston
7) Seth Smith
8) David DeJesus
9) Jason Bay
10) Ben Francisco

Why Crawford The Best: Because he is and it isn't close in any category. That is what happens when a CF play LF.

Center Fielders
1) Carlos Gomez
2) Franklin Gutierrez
3) Michael Bourn
4) Matt Kemp
5) Andrew McCutchen
6) Brett Gardner
7) Chris Young
8) Tony Gwynn Jr.
9) Torii Hunter
10) Willy Taveras

Why Gomez The Best: His speed allows him to chase down balls that most don't get and his enhanced fielding (+ 17) likely would have been doubled if he got the playing time some of these other guys got.

Right Fielders
1) Hunter Pence
2) Ryan Church
3) Clete Thomas
4) Justin Upton
5) Jay Bruce
6) Shin-Soo Choo
7) Ichiro Suzuki
8) Ryan Sweeney
9) Jeff Francouer
10) Gabe Gross

Why Pence The Best: Ummm, he ended up grading out as the best range and best arm for any RF. Good enough for me.

Pitchers
1) Mark Buehrle
2) Jeremy Guthrie
3) John Danks
4) Josh Geer
5) Clayton Kershaw
6) Ross Ohlendorf
7) Nick Blackburn
8) Andy Pettite
9) Clayton Richard
10) Zach Duke

Why Buerhle The Best: Well, he had 4 pitcher caught stealing, 3 pick-offs and teams only attempted 7 stolen bases on him all year. If that isn't enough, he also led the pitcher enhance fielding by being + 8.

This is how I see it. Where do you find I am lacking? Have our enhanced fielding over rated some guys? Do you think someone else should be the best? Let's hear it.

Chart Observations: 9/27 OAK @ LAA

1) Joe Saunders: 89 pitches. (FB, CU, CB, SL). 4 strikes swinging. 3 Fastballs, Curveball.

• Saunders came from an over the top release and showed a straight 4-seam fastball, a 11-5 curve with average depth, a 2-seam fastball with some run in on lefties and some sink, a change with some fade from righties and some sink and a 11-5 slider with good bite.

1st: FB (90-92), CB (79) - FB (Garciaparra)

2nd: FB (88-93), CB (76), CU (81-83)

3rd: FB (88-92), CU (83), SL (81-84)

4th: FB (89-92), CB (76), CU (84)

5th: FB (89-92), CB (74-78), SL (81) - FB (Patterson)

6th: FB (89-91), CB (75-78), CU (83) - CB (Pennington)

7th: FB (88-93), CB (77-78), CU (81-83) - FB (Powell)

2) Edgar Gonzalez: 88 pitches. (FB, SL, CB, CU, Cut). 9 strikes swinging. 3 Fastballs, 2 Curveballs, 2 Cutters, Changeup, Slider.

• Gonzalez came from a high 3/4 release and showed a fastball with good run in on righties and some sink, a cutter with some cut, a 2-7 slider with good bite, a 12-6 curve with slightly above average depth and a changeup with above average sink and a little fade from lefties that he will throw to righties.

1st: FB (84-93), Cut (82-89), SL (76-79), CB (74) - Cut (Izturis), SL (Hunter)

2nd: FB (87-88), Cut (84-85), CB (72-74), CU (77) - Cut (Figgins), CB (Napoli), CU (Napoli)

3rd: FB (88-92), Cut (81-88), SL (76-80), CB (70) - 2 FB (Hunter, Guerrero)

4th: FB (84-92), Cut (80-84), SL (78), CB (71-74), CU (72-75) - FB (Aybar), CB (Hunter)

5th: FB (90-94), SL (76-77), CB (73)

3) Jon Meloan: 16 pitches. (FB, CB, CU, Cut). 0 strikes swinging.

• Meloan is a 6-3, 225 pound righty. The 25 year old has a medium frame that is maxed out. Strong, athletic build. He came from an over the top release working predominately from the stretch with the only real red flag being that he breaks his hands high, placing added stress on his shoulder. He has a little rock back in his delivery. His fastball has some run in on righties. His cutter has some cut. His curve is a 12-6 offering with above average depth and it serves as his out pitch. Tweener that could be a decent middle reliever, though he needs to continue to refine his control.

6th: FB (90-92), CB (77-79), Cut (88-89)

4) Darren Oliver: 9 pitches. (FB, SL, CU). 0 strikes swinging.

• Oliver came from a high 3/4 release and showed a 11-5 slider with good bite and a fastball with some run in on lefties.

7th: FB (90-92), SL (79)

8th: FB (91), SL (78)

5) Jerry Blevins: 20 pitches. (FB, CB, Cut, CU). 1 strike swinging. Fastball.

• Blevins came from a high 3/4 release and showed a fastball with some run in on lefties and a little sink, a cutter with some cut and some sink, a 11-5 curve with slightly above average depth

7th: FB (92-94), CB (73), Cut (84-88) - FB (Hunter)

8th: FB (92-94), Cut (85-88)

6) Kevin Jepsen: 17 pitches. (FB, Cut, CB). 5 strikes swinging. 5 Cutters.

• Jepsen came from an over the top release and showed a fastball with some run in on righties and a cutter with good cut.

8th: FB (95-97), Cut (87-90) - 5 Cut (Garciaparra - 2, Kennedy, Cust - 2)

7) Brad Ziegler: 8 pitches. (FB, CU, SL). 0 strikes swinging.

• Ziegler came from a sidearm release and showed a fastball with some run in on righties and some sink and a 3-8 slider with good bite.

8th: FB (84-87), SL (74)

8) Brian Fuentes: 16 pitches. (FB, SL, CU). 1 strike swinging. Fastball.

• Fuentes came from a 3/4 release and showed a fastball with some run in on lefties and some sink and a change with good fade from righties and some sink.

9th: FB (90-91), CU (74-77) - FB (Powell)