Under the Radar: Top Minor League Performers
by ejruiz on Aug 5, 2008 3:26 PM EDT
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PrintWe all know about the Hansons and Heywards in our farm system, but there are a few guys out there whose numbers have caught my attention. I've never actually seen any of these guys play nor have I been able to find many scouting reports on most of them, but their stat lines caught my eye and I wanted to share them with you guys. Most of all, I'm hoping that others who might have seen them live or read about them elsewhere would be able to chime in with their information in the comments section. In fact, I'd like any discussion about them with anyone who'd be willing to put their opinions out there! And so, without further ado:
- RHP Todd Redmond, Age 23 (AA) - 3.52 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 111/25 K/BB in 23 G (143 IP in 23 GS)
- 2B Travis Jones, Age 22 (A+) - .265/.371/.472 with 89 K and 59 BB in 377 AB. Also 12/19 SB and 16 E
- RHP Ryne Reinoso, Age 23 (A+) - 3.26 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and 91/30 K/BB in 22 G (113.1 IP in 22 GS)
- LHP Edgar Osuna, Age 20 (A) - 3.40 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and 108/24 K/BB in 25 G (95.1 IP and 9 GS)
- RHP Benino Pruneda, Age 20 (A) - 2.84 ERA, 1.29 WHIP and 62/19 K/BB in 33 G (44.1 IP and 0 GS)
There are some others that probably bare mentioning, but I'll leave it at that for now. I tried to exclude anyone that was on last year's Talking Chop Top Prospects, has already been to the majors or has otherwise been talked about to a significant extent. I think most of these names should be familiar, so it's not like these are super sleepers or anything, but I thought they'd be fun to talk about instead of the usual suspects. Please feel free to expand this list in the comments (stats and/or scouting reports are obviously optional) so that we can put together a more exhaustive list of these sort of guys.
Before I'll let you go, I'll give my opinion on some of these guys. Redmond could remain a starter despite underwhelming stuff, a la Glavine or Campillo (I'm not prediciting their level of success, just that he seems to have the requisite control to succeed as a finesse pitcher) so I'm thrilled we got him for Yates this offseason. I was so high on Osuna last season that I bunched him with Ortegano and Locke and he hasn't disappointed. T. Jones gets lost in the shuffle down in A+ ball, but he's got an impressive bat for his position that's worth keeping an eye on. Reinoso is quietly putting together an impressive season, but I have to wonder about his longterm outlook since he isn't talked about. Finally, Pruneda looks dominant and might be a closer in the making.
Well, that's it from me for now. I look forward to the conversation in the comments!
This FanPost does not express the views or opinions of Talking Chop.
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brett oberholtzer is having a great year in limited action in the GCL (27.2 IP, 20 K, 1.08 WHIP, 1.95 ERA)
spruill and kimbrel look absolutely dominant so far in the low minors, devall hasn’t pitched for awhile though. this draft is looking great so far.
scott diamond is having a decent enough year in rome (52.2 IP, 38 K – yikes, 1.10 WHIP, 3.08 ERA)
casey hodges is LIGHTING UP danville (53 IP, 40 K, 0.90 WHIP, 1.36 ERA)
richard sullivan has struggled a bit since being called up to rome, but is still doing well overall for the year (39.2 IP, 37 K, ONE WALK, 2.72 ERA)
jason perry isn’t much of a prospect, but he is OWNING SOULS over mississippi and richmond (.285/15/56, with a .396/.552)
kris medlen has been a surprise (97 IP, 94 K, 1.19 WHIP, 3.53 ERA)
richmond is kind of a black hole for prospects this year thoguh
Following the Braves...one long hard drink at a time.
Redmond: 4.44 K/BB, 6.98 K/9
Jones: BB in 14% of PA
Reinoso: 3.03 K/BB, 7.25 K/9
Osuna: 4.50 K/BB, 10.23 K/9
Pruneda: 3.26 K/BB, 12.68 K/9
Those are some impressive numbers right there. Thanks for the info, ejruiz!
I guess I should be one to talk.
There's nights that I can't even walk.
There's days I couldn't give a fuck.
And in between is where I'm stuck.
Alright...
...I’m pretty green when it comes to my knowledge of specific minor league players, but where did Osuna come from?! I just went and looked at his career stats, and they’re just as insane as his line this year…18/1 K/BB in 19.2 IP in 2006, and 66/11 K/BB in 54.2 IP in 2007. Draft? Trade? Sleazy mexican signing?
I searched online but couldn’t find it.
I guess I should be one to talk.
There's nights that I can't even walk.
There's days I couldn't give a fuck.
And in between is where I'm stuck.
by Smoltz's Beard on Aug 5, 2008 4:31 PM EDT up reply actions
I don’t know how sleazy it was, but they did sign him out of Mexico in 2004. So he’s been around for a little bit, but he really does look like an impressive prospect.
Many thanks. It’s probably just b/c I follow them, but it seems like the Braves have a pretty high success rate when it comes to signing unknown players from south of the border.
Please correct me if I’m wrong.
I guess I should be one to talk.
There's nights that I can't even walk.
There's days I couldn't give a fuck.
And in between is where I'm stuck.
by Smoltz's Beard on Aug 5, 2008 5:23 PM EDT up reply actions
I think you’re right. The Braves have always had a lot of good return on their Latin signings. I don’t know about Mexico specfically, the only guy I can really think of is P David Cortes, who pitched a few games for the Braves in the bigs and netted them Greg Colbrunn at the trade deadline one of the two times they aquired him. There are probably some other guys but I’m drawing a blank right now.
There's this catching prospect in the minors
named Corky Miller, I think he should get a shot with Atlanta.
Yup
i heard about this guy powerful stroke. future 40 homerun hitter. call him up anyones better than CLINT SAMMONS
What about
Steve Evarts?
Have we heard anything about him? Was it a shoulder or elbow issue? He only has like 50 innings of minor league baseball behind him. Damn shame too.
Got to see Redmond last year with Lynchburg and liked him; pretty average stuff, but he seems to know how to pitch. I’d take that over most guys with better stuff and no clue of how to pitch.
Travis Jones is a gamer and I think that’ll take him a long way. I’ve been shocked at the amount of power he has.
Ryne Reynoso has been a great surprise since he’s barely been pitching for three years. He’s one of the smarter guys I’ve ever seen with the Braves, really seems to break down the game and the hitters.
Always been impressed with 2B Cole Miles. Haven’t seen him over large stretches and I don’t think he has the highest ceiling, but he plays hard and is a very natural hitter. It might take six or seven years to develop him, but he could be a fairly useful player down the line.
P Casey Beck is having kind of a middling season, but he thows with such velocity he’s hard to ignore as a sleeper.
OF Jon Mark Owings doesn’t get talked about much but he seems to have finally figured it out. He’s got as much power as anyone in the sysem and a hell of an arm.
He gets talked about some, but P Deunte Heath is somewhat of a sleeper too. He’s pretty ferocious on the mound with a lot of stuff to back it up.
OF Matt Young gets some attention, but no love. He’s one of the shortest players in the system, he has no power, and really isn’t that fast, but he’s a pure hitter and the kind of guy you want on your team.
P James Parr has been great this season. I’ve always thought of him as a serviceable middle reliever at best, but he’s really changed my mind the last few times I’ve seen him. He should get a chance in Atlanta the end of this season.
IF Diory Hernandez is very underrated. He’s a great hitter who can play around the field. Very comparable to Martin Prado.
1B Barbaro Cannizares is a polished hitter from Cuba. He’s not great defensively, but he could do a great impression of Julio Franco in the bigs right now.
Sorry, that’s a lot of guys, but when you’re talking about sleepers you need to cast a wide net.
A few shots....
Please allow me to provide the visuals….
Travis Jones
Ryne Reynoso
Edgar Osuna
Benino Pruneda
No Todd Redmond….sorry.
Ha!
I laughed out loud at that…seriously! Funny!
But…the pictures don’t do him justice – he’s actually taller than he appears in the picture, although I agree he is a bit slight.
Now Pruneda – he’s a short guy, and I mean he’s really pretty short. Which makes that 100 mph heat all the more impressive!
My thoughts
Travis Jones should find a home in the big leagues some day. He is a strong guy, and seemed pretty solid at 2nd the times I saw him play. Nice guy – kind of quiet.
Ryne Reynoso, also a pretty cool dude, seems like a fairly solid prospect. He was one of the best pitchers in Rome last season as a releiver – he and Tyler Wilson combined for a very solid late inning relief duo. Wilson went on to play in Hawaii in the fall, and yet Reynoso has had the better season this year. Tyler was hurt, but he ain’t now.
I’ve seen Osuna and Pruneda both this season in Rome. I haven’t seen them enough to really give an honest description of their pitching prowess, but I can say one thing that really affects ALL of the Rome staff this year – the defense behind them isn’t top notch. And that’s being nice. We see the box scores every morning and wonder if Osuna (or whoever) must have just not been on his game or something. But the numbers don’t begin to tell what those pitchers are dealing with. Michael Fisher, bless him, is having a tough year defensively leading the team with 26 errors (twice as many as the next closest guy). Adam Coe has the least range of anybody I’ve seen, and heaven forbid he dive for a ball. Reminds me just a tad of Campbell, and not in a good way. All of this to say, the Rome pitchers, including Osuna and Pruneda, are forced to make more pitches in an inning and in a game because of shoddy defense. I’ve seen Jeff Locke specifically have a gem going only to have it fall apart when the defense is taking the night off. Many times these lapses don’t show up in the box scores and extend innings. It’s got to be draining, mentally and physically. Cole Miles is really solid with the glove – had to make that clear.
And that’s my 2 cents!
Stats back that up. Using a quick method to find Defensive Efficiency, Rome comes out second worst in the Sally League. Damn MILB.com for not having a better selection of stats.
What’s Pruneda’s second pitch? How does it look? If he adds even an average secondary offering he’ll have a major league career of some sort. High 90s plays anywhere.
he’s out of the game now…walks were high, but the strikeout power was there, and he just couldn’t be hit. didn’t hear who’s pitching now, so yeah…but he’s getting a rocked a little bit
Following the Braves...one long hard drink at a time.
i wouldn't consider
3 walks to be “high.” that was a sick game
by son.of.sourman on Aug 6, 2008 12:56 AM EDT up reply actions
Robert Brooks
Big time under the radar guy! I know he’s in the GCL but he’s hitting very well and has a ton of speed and decent power.
Addendum.
I wanted to go ahead and list some of the guys that have been mentioned by others so as to keep tabs for further discussion: Brett Oberholtzer, Ezekiel Spruill, Craig Kimbrel, Brett DeVall, Scott Diamond, Casey Hodges, Richard Sullivan, Jason Perry, Kris Medlan, Steve Evarts, Cole Miles, Casey Beck, Deunte Heath, Matt Young, Diory Hernandez, Barbaro Canizares, Tyler Wilson and Robert Brooks.
Some interesting facts were also expressed above that I feel should be highlighted: Rome’s defense is terrible, T. Jones is a nice/quiet guy, Reinoso is cool, Osuna is a bit thin, Pruneda is a short fireballer, Owings has some serious power and a strong arm, Miles and Young are gamers AND Corky Miller is still all sorts of awesome.
Here we go again: http://thefulldeck.blogspot.com/
By The Way...
I was surprised to find my FanPost on the front page and thrilled by the number of comments it’s generated so far. There were a couple of guys I had thought about putting in my list, but took them off at the last second. Among them were the aforementioned Jon Mark Owings and Brett Butts. Thanks for all of the submission and I hope we can keep this going!
Here we go again: http://thefulldeck.blogspot.com/
Some Thoughts On The Others.
Kris Medlan was highly regarded before the season, but that was as a reliever. After struggling out of the bullpen this year (4.70 ERA, 1.41 ERA and 30/6 K/BB in 30.2 IP over 19 G), he was moved to the rotation and has been a revelation. His 2.98 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 64/15 K/BB in 66.1 IP over 12 GS is impressive any way you slice it. I’ve read that his size (5’10” and 175 lbs.) might be a limiting factor going forward, but you can’t argue with his production. He’s building up his arm strength and he could be one of the few impact rookies to look forward to in 2009.
As for some of the others, I really put a high bar on performance at the lower levels and bank my opinion on those guys mostly on scouting reports. I also tend to ignore guys that are considerably old for their levels. Some, like Duente Heath, have serious flaws (too many BB) that scare me away. It’s nice to see that we have strong organizational depth beneath the top notch headliners, though.
Here we go again: http://thefulldeck.blogspot.com/
Tyler Flowers
By his ranking in the preseason prospect poll, you have to say he is overperforming. I think we all got a look at what his potential possibly holds during Spring Training. the most promising thing about his has got to be that K/BB ratio, and the huge power.
Heard Frank Wren on a radio show and when asked about young pitching talent the three names he mentioned were Hanson, Heath, and Medlen as guys who could help the quickest.
Heath
has excellent stuff. He throws in the mid-90’s with average to above average offspead pitches. He just hasnt had very good control.
additional under the radar players not mentioned above
(age before July 1, 2008)
DSL Braves:
Alberto Odreman Age: 19 AB: 168 .298/.417/.506
Daniel Falcon Age: 19 AB: 120 .275/.355/.558
Christian Betancourt Age: 16 AB: 92 .272/.346/.380
Myrtle Beach:
Willie Cabrera Age: 21 AB 428 .299/.355/.481
Concepcion Rodriguez Age: 21 AB: 353 .289/.361/.473 (combined/league splits below)
Rome AB: 60 .267/.373./.450
Myrtle AB: 293 .294/.359/.478
by Wish we had David Price on Aug 7, 2008 1:22 PM EDT reply actions
Positions?
Not to be picky, but it’d be cool to know where these guys play on the field…
Here we go again: http://thefulldeck.blogspot.com/
sorry
Odreman LF
Falcon 3B
Betancourt C
Cabrera LF
Rodriguez OF (must split between all 3 positions as its not specified)
by Wish we had David Price on Aug 8, 2008 10:26 AM EDT up reply actions
Yeah, if you’re in the DSL you’re definitely under the radar. Wasn’t Betancourt one of our more prominent signings? I remember the name and them being excited about him.
I’m not sure what to make of Concho; sometimes you see him and he looks like a five tool guy that could be an everyday big leaguer, sometimes he looks like a guy who’ll flame out in A ball. Hopefully it’s the first one.
And Willie is a great leader. Whatever else he brings to the field, reliable would be the best word, his makeup is off the charts.
betancourt signing
“Key signing: Last weekend the Braves were thrilled to sign 16-year-old Christian Betancourt to his first professional contract. The club believes that the young catcher from Panama is one of the top available position players in Latin America.
Johnny Almarez, the Braves’ director of international scouting and operations, described Betancourt as having an above-average arm and soft hands. Offensively, Betancourt is a line-drive gap hitter who projects to have potential power. He’ll turn 17 in September. “
by Wish we had David Price on Aug 8, 2008 10:31 AM EDT up reply actions
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