Venezuelan Winter League Breakdown

Had 2 games available to break down on ESPN 360 (with a ton of Dominican Winter League games, so there will be a post on that in some time) and so here is a brief summary (keep in mind, I still only watch guys that pique my interest):

C Wilson Ramos (Minnesota Twins): Age 22
Ramos is a very highly touted catching prospect and prospect overall. Ranked the # 2 prospect by Baseball America entering the upcoming season, he likely slots somewhere in the middle of the Top 50. Ramos has "light tower" power, especially to his pull side and his power output in the VWL was no fluke. He is very smooth defensively with an above average arm that he is fairly accurate with. No doubt in my mind he can hit 25-30 homers and be an above average defender.

However, he is a guy that sabermetrics may not like. This is a guy who employs the Vladimir Guerrero approach. He put up solid numbers in a half season at AA, but it will be interesting to see what happens when more advanced pitchers face him. In the 1 game I saw, it could be a slider off the plate, a fastball in or a curveball, he was swinging at it on the 1st pitch. He has better tools then another free swinger with a good pedigree coming up (Francouer), but I still have those same questions.

With that said, I still view him as a sometime all star and an everyday catcher.

Ezequiel Carrera (Seattle Mariners)
The 22 year old had a great year at AA (.337-.441-.416) and showed his ability. It has surprised me that he hasn't yet been ranked in the top 30 for either the Mets or Mariners. He is a true speedster who I had a 65 or a 70 runner on the 20-80 scale. He is a slap hitter who will never hit for much power, but can work the count and is a good contact hitter who shouldn't strike out much. Defensively, he uses his speed well and has a slightly above average 1st step with a slightly below average arm, so he is limited to CF or LF.

He should start next season in AAA and be primed for a starting job the year after, though Franklin Gutierrez is a big time blocker in CF, so he may need to settle at being a 4th OF.

Pitchers (ESPN360 had a radar gun for those telecasts, so awesome)

Eduardo Sanchez (St. Louis Cardinals)
This guy was unlisted on the Baseball America St. Louis page (not even a depth guy), but let me give you this guys numbers this past season:

Hi A Palm Beach: 19 G, 25 IP, 12 H, 5 BB, 26 K
AA Spingfield: 41 G, 50 IP, 32 H, 20 BB, 56 K

Did I mention that he pitched last season at the age of 20? The 21 year old will likely start next year at AAA and has a great chance to be in the St. Louis bullpen by June. He showed a fastball at 90-92 (though I have read reports where it can sit in the mid 90's) and a devastating, lights out 76-78 slider that even if the FB is only 90-92, he can be a solid set-up guy. He also showed a change at 81, but that is a distant 3rd pitch.

Needless to say, he is now Baseball America's 6th best prospect in the St. Louis organization entering this season.

Yohan Pino (Cleveland Indians) Age 26
One of many that will be competing for a starting job with Cleveland, Pino operates with a fastball at 86-89, a slider at 78-82, a curve at 71-74 and a change at 73-75. I believe this is right, but Pino is the unabashed champion at throwing back-up sliders and he was a little difficult to distinguish between sliders and changeups. His fastball has some good late movement and he has good command of the pitch, but is still a below average offering due to velocity. His 2 breaking pitches are both average and his change is okay. He is a guy with a very small margin of error and I don't see him having prolonged success in the majors.

Fernando Hernandez (Oakland Athletics)
A minor league free agent signing, the 25 year old Hernandez operates with a fastball at 89-90, a slider at 79-81 and a curveball at 71-76. Your classic 3-pitch reliever, he is good AAA depth who will likely make 1 or 2 more major league cameos before his days are done.

Joseph Ortiz (Texas Rangers)
The now 19 year old Ortiz is a 5-7, 175 pound lefty. He struggled in a brief introduction to full season ball and will likely get another chance this coming season. He operates with a fastball at 87-90, a sweeping curve at 71 and a change at 79. To me, he profiles as nothing better then a 2nd lefty in a pen and he could have a chance to be a solid LOOGY.

Clevelan Santeliz (Chicago White Sox)
Ahhhh, the whole stats lying thing. The 23 year old posted an ERA of .96 at AA Birmingham in 40 appearances, but had a WHIP of 1.38. He has good stuff, but he doesn't have .96 ERA stuff. He operates with fastball that sat at 92-93 and touched 94 and 95 once and a slider at 83-87. I see him as a solid middle reliever, as he does have some command questions.

Rafael Cova (San Francisco Giants)
An interesting story, this is what he did in minor league ball last year (he was hurt):

AZL Giants: 4 G, 4 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 8 K
Hi A San Jose: 12 G, 11 IP, 5 H, 12 BB, 19 K

Obviously, he has strike out stuff. The question for me on him was his age, as he is 27. He apparently signed as a minor league free agent after not pitching since 2006 (used to be a Mets prospect). This may turn out to be one heck of a find if he can stay healthy. Cova featured a fastball at 93-94 and a downer 1-7 slider at 82-85 that could be a strikeout pitch. One to watch, as he has to be put on the fast track due to his age.

Danny Rondon (Minnesota Twins)
The 22 year old is a non prospect to me. The reliever operated with a fastball at 86-88 that touched 89 and 90 and showed a slider at 82 that is still a ways away.

Carlos Alvarez (Florida Marlins)
One of the older guys I looked at, the 25 year old disappointed me. He has a delivery and arm angle that would make him tough on lefties and showed a fastball at 86 and a sweeping curve at 74-75. Just 5-9, he is likely destined to be AAA filler and get a few looks in the majors.