Alright, so continuing my stealing from Baseball America I am doing my first Hot Sheet of the year for the Braves minor leaguers. I am also going to try something new where I recap how some of our former prospects are doing for other teams.(Click the players names for their stats.)

Hot Sheet

1. Kris Medlen - It is hard to be better than Medlen has been this season with a .188 BAA and 28K in 23.2IP. He was dominant as a reliever and he has been just as dominant as a starter. The question is now where his future is? In the rotation or in the bullpen?
2. Tommy Hanson - Not much to say about Hanson that hasn't already been said. The guy is ready for the show and just needs a spot to open up for him. Someone will be trade bait in the next  year to open up a spot for him.
3. Diory Hernandez - Hard not to vote for a guy who has been hitting around .400. He has never really hit like this before (his career minors OPS is .708 coming into the season) but he is trying to hit his way to Atlanta. He will be a decent backup INF for someone one day, but I don't think his defense is really good enough to warrant that either
4. Luis Valdez, Cory Gearrin, Benino Pruneda - I'm not really sure why Cory Gearrin got demoted to Danville because these three closers have been ridiculous. Observe their combined stats: 27G 17S 32.1IP 20H 2ER 41K 0.56 ERA. HAHAHA.
5. B. Canizares - Well he is flashing more power than he has in the past and is sporting a .963 OPS in the first month of the season. He did something similar to this last year though but he faded a little down the stretch. I hope he can keep it up.
   
6. Deunte Heath - I just don't like what Heath brings to the table, but damn he has been nearly as good as any pitcher in the system so far. He just  needs to get his walks under control. He has also given up 4 unearned runs so we might need to keep an eye on him slipping later.
7. Zeke Spruill - He got roughed up a little today with his control finally failing him but the most impressive thing about this kid for me is his groundball ratio. He is getting 2.4 GBs vs every flyball he gives up. Nasty. If he had a good defense behind him his stats would be even better.
   
8. Gerardo Rodriguez - Rodriguez is a Yankees castoff that has been killing the ball for Rome this season. He has cooled off a little in the last few games but is still sporting a .921 OPS on the season. Take some more walks buddy and you could be a stud!
9. Jeff Locke - Locke's stats aren't quite as ridiculous as some of the other guys farther up this list, but that is because he had one really really bad game. His last two games however have been absolutely awesome and I think he is going to be our top pitching prospect at the end of the year.
   
10. Cody Johnson - This was an interesting one because part of Cody's stats don't look great but then the other ones look awesome. In the end he probably should be farther up the list. He is tied for second in HRs in the minors and his OPS is in the top 10 in the league. Also 7 of his 9 homers have come at home, in a notorious pitcher's park. 

Requiem for a Brave

Elvis Andrus, Texas Rangers - Andrus was one of the big stufs in the Teixiera deal a couple years ago. I've never been sold on the kid, but he somehow made Texas' opening day roster and hasn't been horrible, posting an OPS a little higher than his minor league career. He has been trending down lately though so we shall see how he holds up throughout the season.

Jarrod Salty..., Texas Rangers - Salty struggled a little last year but finally got his chance this year even with all the competition among the Texas catchers (Ramirez and Teagarden) and became the regular starter in Texas. Now that he is getting regular time he is finally starting to hit a little with a .755 OPS on the season. I always liked Salty, but I think it had a lot to do with Jenny's portrayal of him in the old skits.

Matt Harrison, Texas Rangers - At one time Harrison was the Braves top ranked pitching prospect. Those were dark days indeed. He has given up at least 4 runs in every start this season (but is currently pitching well against the White Sox) and has more walks than K on the season.

Neftali Feliz, Texas Rangers -  Feliz is the one guy who could really make or break the Teixeira deal (I know some of you believe the deal has already been broken) with his electric arm and studly 2008 season. So far this  year he hasn't been as dominant in AAA with 14 BBs in as many innings. I've never been really sold on him, but I have to admit his arm is pretty nice.

Max Ramirez, Texas Rangers -  Ramirez has a great bat but really isn't a great catcher. He was just recalled on Friday to replace Salty for a few days. He has gotten off to a rough start in AAA this year and may not have a place to play in Texas.

Kyle Davies, Kansas City Royals -  Davies was the toast of Atlanta when he beat the Red Sox a few seasons back, but then Evil Davies appeared and ruined everything. Kyle started the season with a bang this year but it appears Evil Davies has returned and his ERA has ballooned to 4.85.

Adam Wainwright, St. Louis Cardinals - If I could have anyone back that we traded away in the past few years it would be this guy. Don't get me wrong, we got a great season from J.D. Drew (the best season of his career actually) but Wainwright is right on the border of being an Ace.

Blaine Boyer, St. Louis Cardinals - He hit an umpire in the face with a pitch.

Zach Miner, Detroit Tigers - Miner has been a great find for the Tigers having thrived as a swingman/reliever the past couple of seasons. He appears to be mostly starting this year though and he hasn't been quite as solid through the first month of the season.

Dan Meyer, Florida Marlins - I didn't even realize he was pitching for the Marlins until I saw him appear against us a couple weeks ago. Meyer was the guy I really thought we would regret losing when the Hudson deal happened, but that one ended up being one of our great fleecings. He has been solid as a reliever this season for Florida but was never fully healthy for Oakland.