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Ramp

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Greensboro Grasshoppers: 71-69, 13 games behind West Virginia (Brewers)

 

The Hitters:

First Horizon Park has been known as a hitter?s haven since it?s first year back in 2005. And 2007 was no different as the Greensboro faithful got to enjoy a very potent offense all season long. Each game got started with the fire-starter in the leadoff spot, John Raynor. JR hit .333/.429/.519 with 49 extra base hits, 13 of those being homeruns. He also stole 54 stolen bases in 62 attempts. Baseball America listed him 12th among South Atlantic League prospects as well. Number 11 on BA?s list was his teammate for a few months, Chris Coghlan. The 2nd baseman out of Ole Miss hit .325/.419/.534 with 10hr and 64rbi before seeing a promotion to Jupiter. Catcher Chris Hatcher had a great April before fizzling out in the middle months. He caught fire towards the end of the year and finished with a .242/.312/.438 line with 15hr and 50 rbi. Now college guys seem to do better than others in the SALLY but this didn?t stop Logan Morrison from putting up real good numbers for a 19 year old. Logan led the team with 24 homeruns while hitting .267/.343/.483. He did strikeout 96 tims but walked 48 tims as well.

 

The outfield was roamed by a 3 headed monster of both power and speed. Spike McDougal hit .262/.364/.475 with 21hr 77rbi and 28 stolen bases. Greg Burns, repeating in low-A, hit .280/.347/.401 with 7hr and 39 stolen bases. Not quite the breakout campaign that some suggested, but still a real nice bounce back season. Future Fish?s favorite prospect, Scott Cousins caught fire from May on, after an early struggle. Cousins finished with a .292/.358/.480 line with 18hr and 76rbi.

 

The Pitchers:

No one really knew what to expect with the Grasshoppers pitching this year, especially after the wealth of talent they head in 2006 (Thompson, Volstad, West, etc). Graham Taylor anchored the staff and was far and away the best pitcher in Greensboro this season. Graham went 11-3 with a 2.68era in 164.1ip. He walked just 18 while striking out 135, giving him a 0.93whip. He would get called up to Jupiter late in the year leaving Kyle Winters to be the team #1 and while he didn?t leave up to Taylor?s strong numbers, he pitched very well in his own right. Kyle went 8-4 with a 3.95era in 111.2ip. He had a 1.12whip as he walked 20 while striking out 68. Christhian Martinez had quite the year in 2007. One start he is near hitless and the next he is getting shelled. He finished with a 9-5 record to got with a 4.08era and 1.19whip in 97 innings. The other main starter all year was Tom Cowley. He went 5-6 with a 4.66era in 100.1ip. Tom sported a 1.45whip as he struck out 73, whiling walking 28.

 

The bullpen was real solid all season long. Blake Jones led the team with 19 saves as he had a 2.94era in 52 innings. He also won 5 games, and had a 1.02whip. Former Kansas Jayhawks closer Don Czyz went 3-5 with a 4.61era in 66.1ip. He had a 1.34whip while striking out 72 and walking 15. Chris Leroux went 2-3 with a 4.14 and 1.41whip in 71.2ip. In 60ip, Jay Buente went 5-2 with a 3.75era and 1.28whip. The final member of the bullpen, Brad Stone went 3-6 with a 2.31era, 1.17whip in 58.1ip.

 

Another entertaining year in the books for the Grasshoppers and next year should be just as exciting with the 2007 draftees jumping in the mix.

 

Jupiter Hammerheads: 63-76, 12.5 games behind Brevard County (Brewers)

 

The Hitters:

The Florida State League is known as a pitcher?s league and it?s where hitting prospects go to die. Only the strong survive down here. Our best hitting prospect heading into the season was Gaby Sanchez and he had a solid if nothing else, season in Jupiter this year. The former Miami Hurricane hit .279/.369/.433 with 9hr and 70rbi in 474 at bats. Andy Jenkins, who played 1b/3b/C/OF this year hit .289/.326/.379 with 4hr and 54 in 425 at bats. Continuing a bad trend, Kris Harvey again had a rough year. He hit .238/.301/.376 with 12 homeruns in 420 at bats. Lorenzo Scott stole 38 bases, but hit just .258/.343/.351 this year. JT Restko struggled all year and had just a .710ops in 374 at bats. Chris Coghlan dominated Greensboro and was called up to Jupiter, but his prospect star took a hit as he hit just .200/.277/.331 in 130 at bats for the Hammerheads.

 

The Pitching:

Heading into the season, the Hammerheads were said to have one of the most, if not the most talented pitching staff in the entire minor leagues. That took a hit early on as Sean West went down in Spring Training and missed the entire season. Ryan Tuckerwent 5-8 with a 3.71era in 138.1ip. He struck out 104 while walking 46 to go with his 1.36whip. Chris Volstad had an average season (before his promotion to Carolina where he was awesome). Volstad went 8-9 with a 4.50era in 126 innings and he had a 1.50whip. Aaron Thompson pitched very well for most of the season and ended up with a 3.37era, 1.36whip in 115 innings. Brett Sinkbeil battled through injuries most of the year, but when he was healthy enough to pitch, he went 6-4 with a 3.42era and a 1.22whip. He will be on his way to Hawaii to pitch in the Winter Leagues. Derell McCall was a pleasant surprise this season. He went 5-3 with a 3.21era in 73 innings.

 

The bullpen was pretty nasty most of the season and they were led by closer Todd Doolittle. Todd had 28 saves to go with a 3.68era and 1.54whip. His numbers were much better but he battled a tired arm late in the season. Travis Talbott had a 3.83era in 51.2ip to go with a 1.43whip.Jeff Gogal was very impressive out of the pen. He went 4-3 with a 2.27era and a 0.90whip in 47.2ip. The final piece was Jacob Marceaux who was in his first season as a reliever. He too battled injuries and pitched just 39.2ip innings. He had a 5.22era and a 1.46whip. Jake will be joining his teammate Brett Sinkbeil in Hawaii.

 

Carolina Mudcats: 60-80 (28-42, 1h)(32-38, 2h), last place finish behind the Huntsville Stars (Brewers)

 

The Hitters:

We?ll start things off with the Mudcats Team MVP. That would be 25 year old third baseman Lee Mitchell. Lee?s prospect star wasn?t much headed into the year but he had his best season since his senior year at the University of Georgia. ?Mitch? hit .282/.393/.488 with 20 homeruns and 73rbi in 451 at bats. Although he walked 72 times, he also struck out 153 times which led the team. Grant Psomas had a pretty bland season at first base for the Mudcats. He hit .238/.330/.441 with 18hr and 57 driven in. He walked 53 times while striking out 119 times in 442 at bats. Former Mets prospect Chase Lambin had a nice year posting a .283/.354/.486 line with 15hr and 59rbi. He took struck out over 100 times (111). A real bright spot was 27 year old Eric Riggs. The Marlins signed him in the middle of the year from the Independent League and he really was a catalyst for the offense this season. Riggs hit .293/.375/.522 with 11hr in just 297 at bats.

 

The outfield was a mess most of the year but for atleast 30 games it was solid with the duo of Brett Carroll and Jai Miller. BC hit .270/.359/.490 with 12hr before being promoted to Albuquerque. Jai Miller, who didn?t hit 1 homerun last season, hit 14 this year for the Mudcats to go with a .261/.354/.438 line. The 22 year old should spend most of 2008 in Albuquerque. Catching prospect Brett Hayes had 273 at bats with Carolina after his promotion from Jupiter. The former University of Nevada star hit .234/.280/.326 with 3 homeruns in what would be considered a pretty big disappointment, even if Brett is supposed to be known as a better defensive catcher.

 

The Pitching:

The starting pitching was certainly interesting this year out in Carolina. Staff ace Gaby Hernandez went 9-11 with a 4.22era in 153.2 innings. That doesn?t scream ace but Gaby had a real solid season. He struck out 113 while walking 56, giving him a 1.30whip. James Russ managed a 1-6 record with a 3.83era and 1.21whip in 89.1ip. That?s pretty tough to do. Jesus Delgado was first a starter, then a reliever, then he started again. He was all over the place. He made 16 starts going 5-7 with a 4.80era and 1.52whip. Chris Seddon, who was picked up off waivers from Tampa Bay, went 3-6 with a 4.33era in 68.1ip. The Flying Dutchman, Rick VandenHurk went 2-2 with a 3.52era in 53.2ip and had a 1.17whip. Chris Volstad came up late and went 4-2 with a 3.16era in 7 starts for the Mudcats.

 

It wasn?t a pretty year for the Carolina bullpen. Chris Mobley led the team with 11 saves and went 7-2 with a 4.42era in 38.2ip. Blake McGinley pitched 76 innings and had a 6-9 record with a 4.26era and 1.30whip. Scott Nestor went 2-4 with a 4.44era and 1.41whip in 75 innings. Craig Molldrem, who will pitch in the AFL for the Marlins, went 5-4 with a 4.84era and had a 1.30whip in 61.1ip.

 

Hopefully next season will be better, because this year was quite ugly.

 

Albuquerque Isotopes: 72-70, 2 games behind the New Orleans Zephyrs (Mets)

 

The Hitters:

The offense has always been the strong suit for the Isotopes and this year was no exception. Leading the was 32 year old infielder Scott Seabol. The former Yankees farmhand had the best season of his life hitting .300/.368/.577 with 32 homeruns and 105rbi in 503 at bats. He went toe to toe in the homerun race all year with teammate Val Pascucci who ended the season with 34 round trippers. In 447 at bats, Pascucci hit .284/.389/.577 with 98 rbi. Robert Andino had a solid year at the plate as well. In 600 at bats, Andino hit .278/.322/428 with 13 homeruns and 21 stolen bases. He led the Topes with 166 hits. Unfortunately his defense was terrible this year as he made 34 errors at shortstop. Behind the plate was newcomer John Baker and the former Oakland Athletic hit .285/.360/.430 with 8 homeruns and 41rbi in 270 at bats. His numbers would have been better if not for a month long battle with pleurisy, which is an infection

in the lining of the lungs.

 

The outfield was a rotating door all season long but the main 4 contributors were John Gall, Reggie Abercrombie, Brett Carroll, and Eric Reed. Gall hit .300/.362/.477 with 13 homeruns in 413 at bats. Eric Reed, who went unclaimed on waivers late in the year, hit .285/.323/.397 in 302 at bats. As usual he was an empty hitter as he had no homeruns and didn?t walk all that much either. He did steal 30 bases in 33 tries though. Making huge strides was centerfielder Reggie Abercrombie. Reg had the best season of his professional life, hitting .323/.361/.584 in 353 at bats. He added 17 homeruns, 55 rbi and stole 41 bases in 47 attempts. The last of the quartet was Brett Carroll. BC got the promo after dominating AA Carolina and in 318 at bats in the PCL, hit .314/.361/.397 with 19 homeruns and 79 rbi.

 

The offense single-handedly kept the Topes in every game and no lead was safe against this awesome offensive attack. Unfortunately for the Topes and their fans, no lead was safe from opposing hitters either.

 

The Pitching:

As usual, it takes a real impressive effort to have an ERA in the 3?s, let alone the 4?s in the Pacific Coast League. To put it bluntly, the Topes pitching was horrible all season long. Chris George went 7-11 with a 5.56era in 139.1ip. He gave up 21 homeruns, while walking 68 and striking out 95 which gave him a 1.61whip. The ?#2″, Paul Mildren (who is now with the Royals?picked up on waivers) went 5-7 with a 5.86era in 21 starts. Former 1st round pick (of the Tigers) Kenny Baugh went 7-9 with a 8.19era in 96.2ip. He allowed 60 walks while striking out just 59 and had a 2.01whip. Nic Ungs worked both as a starter and reliever, had a 5-5 record to go with a 4.98era in 112 innings. He walked 45, struck out 66 and allowed 1.49 baserunners per inning. Others getting starts were Wes Obermueller (4-1, 4.55), Jeff Fulchino (6-2, 5.83) and Daniel Barone (7-0, 4.09).

 

Atleast if the starters could keep the Topes in the game, the relievers actually came in and had a nice season collectively. Roy Corcoran led the team with 15 saves and a 4-4 record. He had a 3.54era in 61 innings and had a 1.57whip. Ross Wolf went 4-3 with a 3.42era in 47.1 innings to go with a 1.50whip. Nate Field had a solid year for the Topes too. In 46.1 innings, he went 6-6 with a 3.50era and a 1.17whip. One of the Marlins better reliever prospects, Harvey Garcia, had a rough year going 4-1 with a 6.19era, 1.69whip in 48 innings. Although that didn?t stop him from getting a promotion to the bigs. Finally the Marlins may have found a LOOGY for next year. Matt Yourkin had a 2.92era in 24.2ip and lefties hit just .208 off of him. He is definitely someone to keep an eye on in Spring Training 2008.

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very nice write up and great information ramp. Thank you for it. when will you start your prospect numbering for the fish?

I'll probably have the list done in November, and then start the writeups around Thanksgiving

 

gotta see how the Winter/Fall leagues look too

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