So you know about Rick Ankiel, Chad Hermansen, and Rafael Furcal. Hee Seop Choi and Alex Escobar are yesterday's news. And maybe you've even heard of guys like Jeff Golbach and Chris George. But what about, say, Jason Repko and Ramon Santiago?
In prospecting's version of the limbo, the big question is, "How low can you go?" In this article, we'll go as low as possible in the professional ranks and take a look at some guys who performed well in the Rookie Leagues last year. Because these players are so far away from the big leagues, we need to see how they do at higher levels before making any meaningful judgments; in the meantime, here are some names to tuck away in your back pocket that might be interesting a few years down the line.
Ages are as of July 1, 2000.
Josh Hamilton, OF, Devil Rays. Okay, so you've heard of this guy. Hamilton, the first player selected in the 1999 draft, hit .347/.378/.593 (BA/OBP/SLG) in 236 AB, with 13 BB and 43 SO. The 19-year-old flychaser stole 18 bases in 20 tries. He could draw more walks but basically he did what he was supposed to, which was dominate his league. A future star.
Wilson Betemit, SS, Braves. Geez, just what Atlanta needs, another budding middle infield prospect. They may not get to keep this one, though, as there are questions about his age when he signed. But for now, the 19(?)-year-old from the Dominican Republic is property of the Braves, for whom he hit .320/.383/.463 in 259 AB, with 27 BB and 63 SO. Betemit just finished his third season of pro ball in the United States, so he has a lot of experience for a player his age.
B.J. Garbe, OF, Twins. Michael Cuddyer is the more advanced prospect, but Garbe might have a higher upside. Minnesota's first-round pick in 1999, out of Moses Lake HS in Washington, the 19-year-old Garbe hit .316/.391/.415 in his pro debut, with 20 BB and 34 SO in 171 AB. Like Hamilton, this one is a star in the making.
Rick Elder, 1B/OF, Orioles. Baltimore's first round pick in 1998, out of a Georgia high school, Elder has tremendous power potential. The 20-year-old hit .329/.438/.620 in 158 AB, with 30 BB and 57 SO. He's pretty raw now but there's a lot of upside here.
Carl Crawford, OF, Devil Rays. Crawford, Tampa Bay's second round pick in 1999, has more tools than a hardware store and he's just learning to use them. The 18-year-old out of Houston hit .319/.350/.404 in 260 AB, with 13 BB and 47 SO. Right now his best weapon is speed (17 for 19 in stolen base attempts) but expect the power to come as he matures.
Cody Nowlin, OF, Rangers. This 20-year-old out of Fresno, CA, hit .278/.343/.436 in 227 AB, with 21 BB and 34 SO. Texas' second-round pick in 1998, Nowlin followed a great debut in the GCL with a solid, if not spectacular showing, at Pulaski.
Juan Salas, 2B/SS, Devil Rays. More a project than a prospect at this point, the 18-year-old Salas hit .259/.314/.337 in 193 AB, with 13 BB and 50 SO. His main tool now is extreme youth.
Others of note: Craig Brazell, 1B, NYN; Napolean Calzado, SS, Bal; Oscar Garcia, SS, Cle; Ben Johnson, OF, StL; Isrrael Osorio, 1B, TB; Jay Perez, C, Hou; Justo Rivas, OF, Atl; Ruben Salazar, 2B, Min; Nilson Teilon, 2B, Tex.
Vince Faison, OF, Padres. Only 19, this left-handed hitter out of Georgia passed up a football scholarship to sign with San Diego, and the immediate results were impressive. Faison hit .309/.378/.478 in 178 AB, with 18 BB and 45 SO. He has a quick bat, great speed (30 for 34 in stolen base attempts), and a solid work ethic. The Padres' center fielder of the future has drawn favorable comparisons to Cleveland's Kenny Lofton and, like Lofton, could be an impact player.
Angel Berroa, SS, Athletics. Yet another Latin-American middle infielder prospect in the Oakland chain, Berroa hit .290/.371/.438 in 169 AB, with 16 BB and 26 SO. The Dominican Republic native, who just turned 20, follows in the footsteps of Miguel Tejada, Santos Ortiz, and Josue Espada.
German Chirinos, OF, Athletics. The 21-year-old Venezuelan put up some fine numbers in 1999, hitting .271/.365/.457 in 199 AB, with 28 BB and 47 SO. Chirinos stole 13 bases in 17 tries. He's a bit old for a guy without full-season experience so he probably doesn't have the upside of Faison and Berroa.
Michael Wenner, OF, Athletics. Are there any other teams in this league? Wenner was drafted in the 11th round of the 1999 draft, out of Rider University. On the positive side, he put up some gargantuan numbers in his pro debut: .386/.442/.541 in 207 AB, 17 BB, 31 SO, 36 for 48 in the stolen base department. On the negative side, as a college draftee he was older than much of his competition. Wenner needs to build on his impressive debut to retain his prospect status.
Joel Noboa, 3B, Diamondbacks. The 20-year-old Dominican has tremendous power potential, as shown by his 12 HR in 215 AB last year. In his second tour of duty in the AZL, Noboa hit .312/.336/.540, with an alarming 6 BB and 60 SO.
Others of note: Adam Morrissey, 2B, ChN; John Puccinelli, 3B, SD; Miguel Richardson, OF, Sea; Casey Rogowski, 1B, ChA; J.P. Schmidt, SS, Oak; Chris Testa, OF, Col; Joe Yakopich, 2B, Ari.
Chip Ambres, OF, Marlins. The 20-year-old flychaser out of Texas hit .353/.452/.511 in 139 AB last year. Florida's first-round pick in 1998 showed excellent plate discipline (25 BB, 19 SO) for a "toolsy" prospect. Ambres stole 22 bases in 25 tries, and although he hasn't shown much power yet, he's got enough size (6'1", 190 lbs.) to drive the ball as he gains experience. Keep a close eye on this one.
Ramon Santiago, SS, Tigers. Santiago is probably my current favorite "unknown" prospect. The 18-year-old Dominican hit .321/.361/.418 in 134 AB, with 9 BB and 17 SO. He also stole 20 bases in 27 attempts. A lot can happen on the way to Detroit, but Santiago had a terrific U.S. debut as one of the younger players in his league, and he'll have plenty of time to develop.
Jose Morban, SS, Rangers. Yet another Dominican shortstop, the 20-year-old Morban displayed good power skills last season, hitting .283/.378/.439 in 205 AB. One-third of his hits went for extra bases. He also drew 31 walks; unfortunately he struck out 70 times. He also runs well but is not a good base-stealer at this point (19 for 33).
Alexis Gomez, OF, Royals. This 19-year-old from the Dominican Republic hit .276/.371/.411 in his U.S. debut, with 32 BB and 48 SO in 214 AB. Gomez also stole 13 bases in 18 tries.
Enrique Cruz, SS, Mets. An 18-year-old out of--yep, you guessed it--the Dominican Republic, Cruz put up some nice numbers in his first exposure to pro ball. He hit .306/.399/.470 in 183 AB, with 28 BB and 41 SO. The 6'1", 175 lb. shortstop did not attempt a stolen base.
Willy Mo Peña, OF, Yankees. Peña, another 18-year-old Dominican, received a huge contract from Steinbrenner & co. And while he clearly is a work in progress (who isn't at this level), he did show flashes in his pro debut that could indicate big things to come. Peña, hit .247/.323/.446 in 166 AB, with 12 BB and 54 SO. He'll need to tighten up his swing at higher levels, but for a kid his age to come into a new culture and hit the ball with such authority (45% of his hits were of the extra-base variety) is mighty impressive.
Hank Blalock, 3B, Rangers. Drafted in the third round of the 1999 draft out of Rancho Bernardo High School in San Diego, the 19-year-old Blalock had no trouble making the transition to a wooden bat. He hit .361/.428/.560 in 191 AB, with 25 BB and 23 SO. Forty percent of his hits went for extra bases.
Pat Manning, SS, Braves. I almost didn't include Manning because he spent more time in the SAL than in the GCL, but what the heck. Manning, who probably will move to second base in the future, hit an unbelievable .416/.500/.674 in 89 AB, with 14 BB and 14 SO, before moving up to Macon, where he hit .259/.326/.418 in 170 AB, with 14 BB and 42 SO. That may not seem too impressive, until you consider that the 20-year-old Manning was Atlanta's third-round pick in the 1999 draft, just months removed from Mater Dei HS in Anaheim, CA.
Others of note: Leandro Arias, 2B, NYN; Ben Cordova, OF, KC; Elvis Corporan, OF, NYA; Alex Gordon, OF, Bal; J.R. House, 1B, Pit; Jacob Laidlaw, 3B, Fla; Youanny Lopez, OF, Bos; Alejandro Machado, 2B, Atl; Anderson Machado, 2B, Phi; Angel Matos, C, Tex; Ranier Olmedo, 2B, Cin; Brandon Phillips, SS, Mtl; Cody Ross, OF, Det; Tommy Watkins, 2B, Min.
Ben Broussard, 1B/OF, Reds. Okay, this one's not fair, as Broussard spent almost as much time in Double-A, a remarkable jump for the McNeese State product after being selected in the second round of the 1999 draft just months earlier. The left-handed batter who draws comparisons to the Giambi brothers went on a .407/.527/.800 rampage over 145 AB, with 34 BB and 30 SO. He predictably tailed off at Chattanooga (.213/.291/.441, with 11 BB and 41 SO in 127 AB) before acquitting himself nicely in the California Fall League. He's rough around the edges defensively but with his bat it won't matter.
Cristian Guerrero, OF, Brewers. The good news is, he's Vlad's cousin. The bad news is, that also means he's Wilton's cousin. The 19-year-old Dominican hit .310/.377/.434 in 226 AB, with 23 BB and 59 SO. He also stole 26 bases in 28 attempts.
Guillermo Quiroz, C, Blue Jays. A native of Venezuela, the 18-year-old Quiroz hit .221/.296/.385 in 208 AB, with 18 BB and 55 SO. He has excellent power potential, but bear in mind that catching prospects often take a long time to develop offensively (Mike Lieberthal) and/or stall out at higher levels (Javier Valentin).
Jason Repko, SS, Dodgers. Repko, the Dodgers' first-round pick in 1999, displayed terrific power for a middle infielder in his debut, hitting .304/.375/.551 in 207 AB, with 21 BB and 43 SO. He stole 12 bases in 17 tries. The 19-year-old out of a Washington high school committed an alarming 38 errors in 49 games.
Luis Terrero, OF, Diamondbacks. Terrero hit .287/.365/.474 in 272 AB, with 32 BB and 91 SO. The 20-year-old Dominican Republic product stole 27 bases in 37 attempts.
Alexis Rios, OF, Blue Jays. Rios, a tall (6'5") kid who hasn't yet filled out (just 178 lbs.), was Toronto's first-round pick in 1999 out of a Puerto Rico high school. In his pro debut, he hit .269/.321/.325, with 17 BB and 31 SO in 234 AB. Those aren't very exciting numbers, especially in the hitter-friendly Pioneer League, but he's young and he has tools, so give him time. Toronto certainly will.
Others of note: Mark Burnett, 2B, Cin; J.D. Closser, C, Ari; Robert Cosby, 3B, Tor; Hector Garcia, 1B, Mil; Carlos Gastelum, SS, Ana; William Hall, SS, Mil; Brennan King, 3B, LA; Troy Schader, 2B, SD.
As always, thanks very much for reading; feel free to contact me at gyoung@cts.com if you have comments about this article or just want to talk baseball.
February 4, 2000