Tomorrow's
stars are budding today in obscure cities throughout these great lands.
Fantistics' Senior Writer Lou Blasi walks us through the guys who may
become tomorrow's fantasy studs.
A look back at our minor league evaluations
from 2002
Week #26
AL: When
J.P. Ricciardi was slumming around his old Cape Cod League stomping
grounds this summer he was wearing his excitement about his first pick in
the 2002 entry draft on his sleeve. With the 14th pick overall,
the Jays took UNC’s Russ Adams. The left-handed hitting infielder (he
plays three positions) is physically lean and muscular in the mold of
Derek Jeter or Nomar. He makes contact and has some speed and will be a
potential lead off hitter if he can carry that speed through to the majors
or a settle in as a #2 hitter. He uses the entire field and is considered
to have “gap power” now. After signing, Russ went right to Auburn in the A
NY Penn League and broke the joint up hitting .354 in 113 ABs, with 16
Rbi, 7 doubles and 13 SBs. He took 24 walks and only struck out 11 times …
That got me going despite sluggish production in the double column … At
least I thought it was sluggish until I calculated his .933 OPS… That
earned him a promotion to A Dunedin in the Florida State League in July.
He struggled a bit there hitting .231 in 147 ABs with a HR, 18 Rbi, 5 SBs
and only 4 doubles, posting a .627 OPS. I’m not worried. He took in a lot
in a short time in his first pro tour. I saw enough of this kid to get
excited. He has the physical skills and defensive skills to play the
middle infield, which will up his fantasy value considerably if he doesn’t
bulk up his 6”1”, 175 frame to the point where he has to move to a corner
(right now he doesn’t really project enough power to play the corner).
Russ is another guy to put on your minor league watch list. He doesn’t
have enough power to be a truly exciting prospect, but who knows, that
might fill in as we go. If he makes it as a SS he could be the player we
all though Alex Gonzalez was going to be in Toronto.
NL:
Scott Kazmir was the Mets first round pick, 15th overall in
this year’s entry draft. That was a considerable slip for the 18-year-old
from Cypress Falls High School. He was considered among the best amateurs
available entering the draft. He came out of high school fairly well
developed both physically and as a pitcher. The left-hander is 6’0” and
175 pounds. He has an extremely live arm and his fastball has a lot of
late life. His fastball lives in the low-90s but he may bump that a foot
or two when he learns to come to the plate a little more aggressively with
his upper body. He has a fluid motion and a a surprising mature command of
the strike zone. He got 5 starts in for the Brooklyn Cyclones after
signing a for fat bonus. He was 0-1 with a 0.50 ERA in 18 IP. Opponents
(including the Spinners on the night I saw him) managed only 5 hits in 56
ABs (.089). he struck out 34 of those 56 ABs and walked 7. To be honest,
to me he looked a little bored. He worked the strike zone very well and
moved the ball around with proficiency. I saw a very small sample and it
was enough for me to state pretty plainly that even though he was one of
the last pitchers we saw this year, he was the best pitchers we saw this
year. The Mets got a gem here. If Scott avoids injury he’s going to be a
very special pitcher for them, and you could start seeing him on top
prospects lists as early as next spring. Watch for this one.
Week #25
AL: Dewon Brazelton made his major
league debut against the Jays Thursday night, after being recalled from
AAA Durham earlier in the day. Brazelton, in addition to having a first
name ideally suited to be chanted by tanked-up Red Sox fans from the
bleachers and right field corner, was the 3rd overall pick in
the 2001 draft out of Middle Tennessee State. He’s the type of starter
prospect you like. He’s big at 6’6” and 210 pounds. He brings a
mid-nineties fastball and fully developed change and he’s smart. Dewon
wasn’t awed by his first pro experience, going 5-9, 3.33 in 26 starts for
AA Orlando before getting a one-shot a AAA Durham. In AA, Brazelton gave
up 57 walks in 146 AA IP while striking out 109 and he held opponents to a
.241 average and only 7 HRs. Dewon isn’t quite ready for the majors, he
really needs at least half a year at AAA. Brazelton’s curve tends to roll
a little too much and the Rays will try to install some snap in it. And
he’s not quite there yet in terms of consistency in his mechanics and his
command. But the Rays wanted to get a look and him and give him a look at
the majors. He gave up 5 runs in 6 IP on 5 hits and 3 walks while striking
out 3 against the Jays on Thursday. He was bit scattered, throwing 44
strikes in 70 pitches, and he only induced 4 groundball outs. You can
never tell too much by a pitchers first major league start, but he didn’t
get blown out of there completely which is at least one good sign.
****The
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