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Who Will Emerge in 2007

Every year there are several players that come out of the woodwork of the minor leagues and have great seasons that put them on the map. This past year the most prominent player who emerged from our system was Kala Ka'aihue. His assault on the Sally league last summer was one of epic proportions, and while his average slipped a bit after his promotion, his peripheral numbers stayed strong and he is now considered one of our top prospects. Another name that came to the surface this off-season is that of Neftali Feliz. He was a player who didn't impress the casual observer with anything other than his K/9 rate, but he impressed a multitude of scouts who all raved about his makeup and his high-90s gas.

Which players will emerge in 2007 as the next Kala or Neftali? Here are five possible candidates, but feel free to submit your own as well (just keep in mind that they cannot be on our top-25 prospect list). Tomorrow I'll have a similar post on "who can RE-emerge."

Manny Acosta - I listed him on my prospect list this year, but he wasn't popular enough to make it onto the combined list. He's a flamethrower who, if he could just figure out how not to walk people so much, could really become a valuable commodity. He's on the 40-man roster, so there's an outside chance we could see him the majors at some point this season.

Cole Miles - He could remind us of a young Marcus Giles with more speed next season. He's another draft and follow find who could move rapidly through the system as either a second baseman or center fielder. The Braves seem to love scrappy middle infielders with speed and Miles may turn out to be the best of the bunch.

Adam Coe - This kid has some power to spare, and if he starts the year Rome he could follow a similar path that Eric Campbell took the last few years. The potential is there to put up some eyebrow raising power numbers.

Steve Kent - We could be talking about Kent this time next off-season in the same way we're talking about Feliz this off-season. This 17 year old Australian hurler could make a big impact at Danville next season. He's still very young, but with a good showing next year he will move higher up many scouts radar.

Josh Morris - There are a lot of people doubting this former UGA first baseman - doubts that he may not be able to adjust to the wooden bat. He was a masher in college, but this season will tell us if he can mash in the pros. If he can, he could be this year's version of Ka'aihue.

Josh Morris at bat (Photograph courtesy University of Georgia Athletic Association).

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Breakthroughs
I like this post!  We have a number of good darkhorses.  Just for the fun of it let me throw in one more name--Steven Doetsch!  He looked like a really great prospect a couple of years ago, but the Beach lowered his ceiling.  Still, he has great tools and it would be fun to see him re-emerge.  He needs to find some power and patience.  I am not betting on it, but the action on the farm always surpises...

by Stephen on Feb 6, 2007 1:14 PM EST reply reply actions actions   0 recs

Morris
I have a good feeling about morris. I think he could end up mashing in the minors too. We'll see how he pans out long term. But lord knows we need a couple of polished type hitters in our system.
.....Matt

by yondaime4 on Feb 6, 2007 1:58 PM EST reply reply actions actions   0 recs

He reminds me of
Yaron Peters from South Carolina a few years ago.  I saw him hit some bombs in college.  I think scouts said the same thing about him.  

I like this idea so I'm going to consult my media guides and see who I can come up with.

by themurph on Feb 6, 2007 10:19 PM EST to parent up reply reply actions actions   0 recs

My guess to emerge is....
....Jon Mark Owings.  If the guy can ever not be hurt, I think he'll be pretty good.  He finished strong in Danville last year, so I look for him to come to Rome this season.  Can't wait.

by secondbass on Feb 6, 2007 10:05 PM EST reply reply actions actions   0 recs

See the diary...
...at the side for my Hot Stove impressions from Rome tonight (Tuesday 2-6)

by secondbass on Feb 6, 2007 10:05 PM EST reply reply actions actions   0 recs

Ok, here we go...
Beau Jones and Jake Stevens - both need to bounce back.  Jeff Lyman could be one.

Adam Parliament and Jaime Trejo - Adam can hit homeruns...he won several home run derby's over the years and Trejo is just a good athlete and can play multiple positions.

Two older guys I like are Wes Timmons and Barbaro Canizares.

Matt Esquivel needs to come back from the suspension in shape.  He's proabably on his last chance with the Braves.

I really like Francisley Bueno and I hope Brady Endl can bounce back.

by themurph on Feb 6, 2007 10:36 PM EST reply reply actions actions   0 recs

Timmons?
Has he made the 40 man yet? I know they were finally trying him around the diamond a little last year to see if they could use him as a utility player cause he is one of the few players we have that has developed plate discipline.
.....Matt

by yondaime4 on Feb 7, 2007 12:40 AM EST to parent up reply reply actions actions   0 recs

Guys i like
Besides Morris I think

James Parr could be a davies type guy, though he hasn't had the track record davies had in the low minors. Heck in the end if he doesn't work out on the mound he has tremendous power potential at the plate.

Also i think Phillip Britton at catcher could be a good pick up for us and lastly lets look to see what Brady Endl does when he comes back from arm surgery, i liked him a lot two years ago when he was owning low A

.....Matt

by yondaime4 on Feb 7, 2007 12:42 AM EST reply reply actions actions   0 recs

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