Season 11 - AL South Prospect Report

Fargo, Minnesota, and Cincinnati were written by their respective owners. I did Portand's report so those players/reviews do not reflect his thoughts.

All of the player names are "clickable" to their player profile.

Fargo

1. Doug Sullivan - He was a gamble when drafted, his signability was definately in question. he should be an absolute monster at the plate and hopefully a perennial MVP candidate. he was probably the steal of season 10 draft at pick 11. he has elite power and batting eye, very good splits, and high contact. he will be an average RF defensively. he is expected to make his ML debut at the end of season 12 or possibly the start of season 13.

2. Albert Garza - Signed as an international FA in season 10, he should be a very good hitter and below average defensive 2b or well above average LF. he has a very good eye, good speed, great baserunning, good power and high contact. he is expected to make his ML debut in season 13.

3. Mark Glover - Signed as an international FA in season 8. he should be a nice LH SP with 4 good pitches, with good control and very tough on lefties. he is expected to make his ML debut at the end of season 11 or start of season 12.

4. Erubiel Ordaz - Traded for in season 11 offseason. he will be a slightly above average LH SP with good control, above average splits, and good durability. he is expected to make his debut at the start of season 12, however he is ML ready now and could be called up in case of injuries or ineffectiveness.

5. Shairon Houston - Drafted in the second round in season 8. he should be a very nice addition to the Fargo bullpen next season, and if needed he could come up this season to help if we run into some problems.

Minnesota

1. Jay Rhodes, RP (s9, draft #5, AAA): Rhodes doesn't have the profile of a typical stud reliever. His greatest skill is his ability to pitch nearly everyday. Should pretty easily be able to pitch 150+ innings per year. He projects to have elite control and splits (especially vR), but the rest of his profile leaves a lot to be desired. The lack of velocity, groundball ability, and pitches will probably hold him back, but worse case scenario right now seems to be a 4.00 ERA. A pitcher that can appear in 100 games and pitch 150 innings while posting a 4.00 ERA is still plenty valuable and there is a great deal of hope in Minnesota that Rhodes will be able to best all of those numbers.

Projected Debut: This season if the team remains competitive and the need arises, otherwise s12 at the latest.

2. Bucky Arnold, SP (s10, draft #13, AA): Arnold is similar to Rhodes in that he lacks the elite pitches to make him a true ace. However, also like Rhodes his control and splits combined with his ability to pitch a lot of innings (approx 220) makes him a valuable commodity. Arnold might be better suited for a bigger park than Minnesota, since he is an extreme flyball pitcher. Despite all the flaws, Arnold still projects to be at worst a #4 starter with the possibility he grows all the way into a #2 with maybe even an All-Star appearance or two.

Projected Debut: Looks like s13, although if everything falls right s12 isn't out of the question.


3. Augie Suzuki, SP (s10, IFA $12M, HiA): Similar type pitcher to Arnold, with perhaps a little more upside (due to his elite vR rating), but with more question marks. His lack of durability will most likely prevent him from pitching more than 200 innings. Slightly more likely than Arnold to become a #2, but also has a greater probability of stalling out at a #4. Golden Gopher fans remain cautiously optimistic.

Projected Debut: s13.

4. Robert Frederick, IF (s10, draft #19, HiA): Frederick will definitely make the majors in some capacity, but his role is as of yet undefined. Best case scenario would be a slightly below average defensive SS, who could compete for the Silver Slugger at that position. More likely though, he will settle in as a 3B or 2B due to defensive limitations, but this would hurt his value substantially as his bat isn't really good enough to be All-Star quality at those positions. Worst case scenario, he ends up as a super-utility type player. His best offensive skills will be his ability to get on base (aprroximately .360 OBP) and should be a plus on the basepaths. The type of player every team needs, but not a cornerstone build your franchise around.

Projected Debut: Since glove seems to take longer to develop than other skills he most likely doesn't see the majors until s14, but s13 is certainly still a possibility.

5. Mateo Guzman, RP (s9, draft #126, AA): With a clear dropoff between 4 and 5, Guzman was in close competition for this spot without about a half a dozen others who could all be role/platoon players on a contending team. What separates Guzman from those guys is his upside. A former DITR, Guzman has made big gains in his ratings since last year's All-Star break. He will never be a control pitcher, but his splits and pitches could end up good enough for him to settle into a SetupB role. Ideally his stamina would be greater, but when it comes to DITRs beggars can't be choosers and the fact he has a chance to make the majors is in and of itself a huge bonus.

Projected Debut: No sooner than s13, however it will likely depend on need and this team has a bunch of young relievers, so could easily be pushed back to s14 or even s15.

Cincinnati

1. Omar Andujar - 21 yr old catching prospect with 3 years' minor league experience. Above avg. defensively with way above avg. offense for a catcher. High marks in health/attitude, not so high in durability. Will go to the dance this season.

2. Brent Stankiewicz - 22 yr old middle infielder with 4 yrs. in the minors. Aove avg. defensively with good middle infielder offense. Will debut this season at second.

3. Brandon Gragg - 20 yr. old pitcher beginning his 3rd minor lg. season. Control, splits, and velocity are outstanding. Pitch rating could be better. Great health and attitude, expected to debut in season 19.

4. Phil Yoshii - 19 yr old lf/1b with all-around offense potential. No skills jump-out at you; but, when you look at the whole picture his all-around abilities are obvious. May not ever be an all-star; but, will be a solid long time major leaguer. Will probably debut in season 20 or 21.

5. Marino Terrero - The Bearcats best prospect is the real 5 tool player. His defense could be better, but is good enough to play a solid right field. His offense will be superb, all-star, MVP type. The 19 yr. old will make it to the big time sooner than most because of excellent health/attitude ratings, most likely in season 20.\

Portland

1. Gary Frey - Top of the rotation prospect. Great control, splits, and pitches. he should be ready in the next couple seasons.

2. Earl Levrault - Probably doesn't have the range to be an everyday CFer, but could be a gold glover at 2B. Also should be ready by next season.

3. Felipe Concepcion - Definitely does not have the glove to play SS at the major league level, but could be a nice 3B or 2B. Decent bat, but nothing special. Should be in the bigs next season.

4. Giovanni Reese - Not too much to get super excited about here, but could be a decent bat in LF/1B/DH. Should be ready by next season.

5. Todd Morris - Not sure why he hasn't been promoted past Low A as he has the ratings to contribute sooner than later on the big stage. His righty split and eye ratings are good enough now to help out.