90 Feet From Home 04.23.07: Down On The Farm - Part 1

Posted by Dan Owen on 04.24.2007

Ever wonder what players you will be cheering for in a couple of years? Well, I did. This week we will take a look at 5 of each American League team's top prospects, so check it out to see who's rookie card to buy!

Warming Up

Welcome back to the column that never fails to get off schedule somehow. This is the column I promised you last week, with the story of why I didn't get a story out last week. So I sat down on Wednesday and started the "Down on the Farm" column. Then, on Thursday, I had this great idea to write about the whole Jackie Robinson controversy with not enough black players in baseball. I was excited, this was going to be a good column. By Saturday, I realized I had nothing. I couldn't find any statistics. It was not going well. Later that day, I happened to find some Special Olympics tournament or something like that, and I was so inspired by what I saw I just had to write about it. After meandering through three days of writing it, I found I could not make it a cohesive column, that it was just me rambling on. That was Tuesday night, and I got sick Wednesday. So there you have it, the story of my last week's column. Hope you enjoy this one.


Down On The Farm – Part 1

Today, we're going to run through all of the minor league teams for the American League. I'll pick out some of the top prospects for the organization, and give you that player's estimated time of arrival in the big leagues. Note that those ETAs are probably going to be wrong for the most part, but their my best guess, even though plenty of these players will never see time in the majors. I hope you enjoy this, because I love pretty much everything about the minor leagues.

Baltimore Orioles
RHP Jim Hoey - He was the Orioles Minor League Player of the Year after going from Single A to the Majors in one year. ETA: Late 2007
RHP Radhames Liz - Struck out more than one batter per inning pitched last year in Single A while holding opponents to only a .196 batting average. ETA: Late 2008
OF Nolan Reimold - One of the Orioles few valuable prospects that isn't a pitcher, he has little competition within the Minors. ETA: Early 2008
LHP Garrett Olson - He had a 2.77 ERA in Single A and a 3.42 ERA in Double A last season, not spectacular but solid enough. ETA: Early 2009
RHP Beau Hale - He was a rising star with a lot of promise before missing two full seasons. Now that he is back is someone to pay attention to. ETA: Late 2008

Boston Red Sox
RHP Clay Buckholz - Went 9-4 with 117 strikeout and a 2.62 ERA in just over 100 innings in Single A last season. ETA: Early 2009
OF Jacoby Ellsbury - Batted over .300 while splitting time between Single and Double A, swiping 41 bases last season. ETA: Late 2008
RHP Edgar Martinez - Made the switch from catcher to pitcher and notched 12 saves for Double A while posting a 2.61 ERA. ETA: Late 2008
3B Chad Spann - Another Double A star who batted .294 last season. He has the making of a good hitter, and stat indicators reinforce this. ETA: Early 2009
RHP Daniel Bard - He hasn't actually pitched a game for the Red Sox because he held out through the rookie league season, but this hard throwing righty has shown a ton of potential. ETA: Early 2010

Chicago White Sox
3B Josh Fields - He is on the major league doorstep, after batting .305 with 19 home runs last season in Triple A and being the Rookie of the Year in the International League. ETA: Late 2007
OF Ryan Sweeney - Plays solid defense and is a decent hitter, but will be kept in the minors until he develops some more power. ETA: Early 2008
RHP Charlie Haeger - A rare knuckle baller who has dominated the minors, winning 29 games over the past two seasons, he doesn't have the stuff to be anything more than a back of the rotation starter. ETA: Early 2009
LHP Gio Gonzalez - Came over from the Phillies for Freddie Garcia, he has amazing stuff, but can't seem to find the control for it. ETA: Late 2008
RHP Kyle McCulloch - He has a good mix of pitches, and he knows what it takes to win championships after taking Texas to the College World Series Title. ETA: Early 2009

Cleveland Indians
RHP Adam Miller - He came back last season from elbow surgery and was impressive in Double A, but it will take him one more year to prove he is better. ETA: Early 2008
OF Trevor Crowe - He has the makeup of a leadoff hitter, which is a godsend for an organization that has Grady Sizemore, a better three hitter, leading off right now. ETA: Late 2008
RHP Fausto Carmona - He has a great arm and the stamina to start, but can also come out of the bullpen. ETA: Early 2007
OF Ben Francisco - He's not spectacular, and may never be a big name player. But he does all of the little things right, and he has the tools to be a great 4th outfielder. ETA: Early 2009
LHP Rafael Perez - The top lefthander in the Indians' organization, he will someday be a good left handed set up man. ETA: Late 2007

Detroit Tigers
OF Cameron Maybin - A former first round draft choice, Maybin tore it up in Single A last season. ETA: Late 2008
LHP Andrew Miller - He has all the signs of being a big time performer. He won the College World Series and then showed up in the big leagues 4 months later. He throws hard, and looks to be nearly major league ready. ETA: Early 2007
OF Brett Clevlen - He's never put up great numbers in the minors, but when he was called up last season he doubled off of Johan Santana in his first at bat and performed well during his big league stint, so he could be developing into something. ETA: Late 2007
RHP Jordan Tata - He went all the way from Single A to a big league stint, and that experience has really pushed his development. ETA: Early 2008
RHP Jair Jurjens - He pitched at Double A last season despite a lack of experience, and the Tigers like his makeup. ETA: Early 2009

Kansas City Royals
OF Billy Butler - He's a better hitter than touted rookie Alex Gordon, but his iron hands are keeping him in the minors for now. ETA: Early 2008
LHP Tyler Lumsden - He had surgery on his elbow in 2005, but bounced back nicely last season. ETA: Late 2008
SS Angel Sanchez - Some of the Royals brass loves this guy. Others say he is worthless. We'll see , as some have him slated to start in 2008. ETA: Early 2008
LHP Brent Fisher - The best prospect in the Royals organization, he's still young at 19. Has only played to shortened seasons thus far, but has dominated. ETA: Early 2009
RHP Billy Buckner - He came into his own late in 2006, but he is still going to need to work on his control. Also, he has to overcome that accursed name. ETA: Late 2008

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
SS Brandon Wood - He could have been in the majors this year, but his numbers dropped off last season. Nevertheless, he still has gobs of power potential. ETA: Late 2007
RHP Nick Adenhart - This 19 year old phenom continues to close in on the majors, and his stuff is just unbelievable. ETA: Early 2008
SS Erick Aybar - He's good, but will never see the field as an Angel because Wood and Orlando Cabrera are blocking him. Expect a trade this season. ETA: Late 2008
RHP Young-Il Jung - He's coming out of Korea, which means he already has some pro experience. ETA: Late 2007
RHP Stephen Marek - He's young and raw, so his numbers don't mean much (a 3.94 ERA last season), but he seems to have some promise. ETA: Early 2010

Minnesota Twins
CF Denard Span - The heir apparent to Torii Hunter. If he puts up even semi-decent numbers this season, the job is his. ETA: Early 2008
RHP Kevin Slowey - A virtual duplicate of lifetime Twins player Brad Radke, who retired after last season. Pinpoint accuracy and great poise make Slowey a top prospect amongst a slew of talented pitchers. ETA: Early 2008
SS Alexi Casilla - Lightning quick, Casilla has a good eye at the plate and solid defense. Will play second base next year. ETA: Late 2007
3B Matt Moses - He swings a great stick, the key for him will be to get the glove working. He has competition from Dave Winfree, who was drafted in the same year. Both have similar skill sets. ETA: Late 2008
RHP Anthony Swarzak - Is at the head of the Twins next big wave of talented pitchers (the last one containing Slowey, Matt Garza, Francisco Liriano, and Glen Perkins), would be a year or two from the majors if he hadn't been caught using a banned substance. ETA: Early 2010

New York Yankees
RHP Phillip Hughes - Why he isn't on the big league roster already is beyond me. Best pitching prospect around right now. ETA: Early 2007
RHP Humberto Sanchez - He is big and throws a fireball, but he can't ever seem to stay healthy. If he can get over that he is on the team. ETA: Late 2007
RHP Tyler Clippard - He has a classy approach to the game that has brought him some attention despite less than spectacular stuff. ETA: Late 2009
OF Jose Tabata -The Yankees have him tabbed as their future superstar. He has a great eye at the plate, especially for an 18 year old. ETA: Early 2010
RHP J. Brent Cox - He was a closer for the University of Texas, and with a nasty slider he will make a solid set up man someday. ETA: Late2008

Oakland Athletics
OF Travis Buck - He is a pretty talented outfielder who still needs a little seasoning. The A's could push him into the starting lineup next year, though. ETA: Early 2008
1B Daric Barton - He was a rising star until he broke his arm. It will take a good year to reestablish himself as a top prospect. ETA: Early 2009
OF Matt Sulentic - Produced well offensively last season in Single A, batting .354 with 22 RBIs in just 38 games. ETA: Late 2009
OF Javier Herrera - His journey through the minors has been tumultuous at best. Suspended in 2005 for steroids and missing 2006 with an elbow injury, Herrera has a long way to go before reclaiming his spot as a top prospect. ETA: Late 2010
RHP Jason Windsor - He made three starts last season, posting a 6.59 ERA. He obviously needs some more work, but is close to putting it all together. ETA: Late 2007

Seattle Mariners
RHP Sean Green - He struggled with back issues last season, but those problems are long gone. 2007 could be his breakout season. ETA: Late 2007
OF Adam Jones - He might have the talent to make it to the majors, but he is stuck behind too much talent right now. He could replace Ichiro if the M's can't resign the talented Japanese player. ETA: Early 2008
LHP Eric O'Flaherty - Held left handed batters to just a .238 batting average. Could make the team at some point this year as a lefty relief specialist. ETA: Late 2007
C Jeff Clement - He bats left handed and has the type of batting potential to be in the middle of the lineup. Coveted by many organizations. ETA: Late 2008
LHP Ryan Feierabend - He pitched for the Mariners a bit last season, putting up a 3.71 ERA, which is decent. Probably will have to wait this year, but has the potential to be a solid starting pitcher. ETA: Early 2008

Tampa Bay Devil Rays
SS Reid Brignac - Absolute monster last season, Brignac had 99 RBIs and 100 runs scored, which led all minor league shortstops. ETA: Late 2008
RHP Jeff Niemann - It took him a while to stay off of the disabled list, but this monster of a man lived up to his potential last season, allowing opponents to bat only .202 against him last season in Double A. ETA: Early 2008
RHP Wade Davis - This strikeout machine was first in his league in strikeouts in 2005 and second in 2006. ETA: Early 2009
LHP Jake McGee - Rose to almost godlike standing after he struck out 171 batters in 134 innings while allowing only 7 homeruns all season in the Midwest League. ETA: Early 2008
RHP Andy Sannanstine - A finesse guy amongst a group of power pitchers, he nearly shocked everyone by winning the Devil Ray's minor league pitching triple crown for the second year in a row. ETA: Late 2007

Texas Rangers
RHP Eric Hurley - He has some nasty breaking pitches that baffled Double A hitters last season as he had a miniscule 1.95 ERA. ETA: Early 2008
SS Joaquin Arias - More of an athlete than a ball player. He has all of the fluidity a great fielder has, but is nothing at the plate right now. ETA: Late 2009
RHP Thomas Diamond - Very similar in build and style to Rick Helling. However, he needs to cut down the amount of work he does out on the mound. ETA: Late 2008
RHP Edinson Volquez - He has had two chances in the majors and both times he failed miserably. Will not be back up for a while. ETA: Late 2009
OF John Mayberry - It took him a while, but he finally found his swing late last season, hitting .304 over the last two months of the season. ETA: Early 2010

Toronto Blue Jays
OF Adam Lind - His combined stats between Double and Triple A include 24 homers and 89 RBIs. ETA: Late 2007
LHP Ricky Romero - Was having a terrific year at the end of the season after giving up 16 earned runs over 15 innings in his first three starts at Double A. ETA: Early 2009
RHP Francisco Rosario - He has an amazing fastball. He will be the first player to be on a plane in case someone goes down due to injury. ETA: Early 2007
C Curtis Thigpen - Had been tearing up Double A before his promotion to Triple A, where he hit just .245. ETA: Late 2008
LHP Davis Romero - He throws smart on the mound. He won't make mistakes, and he uses his off-speed pitches well, which is good since he is a lightweight without a lot of power on the fastball. ETA: Late 2007


Well, that's all for this edition of 90 Feet From Home. Check back next week for the National League! And send any feedback to [e-mail]