Prospect Watch 7/7/08 (Minor League Mashers Edition)

Fresno defeated Portland 11-10, with Scott McClain hitting a walk off home run to win in the 11th.

3B Scott McClain: 4 for 5, 2 HR, BB (308/394/552)
A monster game for Scott as he scored his 1,000th run in the minor leagues. He also has over 1,000 RBI’s, and he leads all active minor leaguers with 279 career home runs. You won’t see Scott mentioned much in Prospect Watch as he’s not really a prospect in the true sense of the word. In his career, he has spent fifteen years in the minors and three years in Japan. He was drafted in the 22nd round by the Orioles in 1990. As a frame of reference, Angel Villalona was born a couple of months after that year’s draft. I applaud Scott’s determination to stick with the game. At 36 years old, he probably has two or three more years left in him at most. He might be part of a ceremonial September call-up, but at his age, he doesn’t figure into the Giants’ longterm plans.

RF Nate Schierholtz: 3 for 6, HR (294/344/535)
Nate is back with a bang after an undisclosed week-long hiatus. He has 12 home runs on the season.

CF-LF Sergio Leone: 3 for 3, 2 HR, BB (244/359/503)
This 31 year old minor leaguer seems to be headed down the Scott McClain path. Sergio can also play some infield, so you might see him as an emergency call-up as a utilityman. That is unlikely, however, since there’s no place for him on the team with Velez and Castillo (two other players who project to be utility players) playing at his positions.

1B Travis Ishikawa: 2 for 4, 2 2B, K (296/361/630, 54 AB)
One point of concern is his 15 strikeouts in 16 games. He’s doing okay right now, but that’s one possible indicator of future contact problems, especially if he gets promoted to the majors.

Connecticut defeated New Britain 5-3.

SS Kyle Haines: 2 for 3, 2B, BB, K (312/409/394)
After spending four seasons in the lower minors, Kyle is having a breakout season in AA. At 26 years old, he is already pretty old for the league. He might have the bat to be a utility player in the majors, but it will probably be with another team. It’s just as likely that he’ll end up like McClain and Leone as minor league filler.

CF-LF Ben Copeland: 2 for 3, SB (16) (241/320/381)
Ben is justifying my faith in him as he raises his average to .241. Ben’s got good plate discipline, decent power, and the range to play CF (though he’s probably better suited for RF). His upside could be a Randy Winn type player with a tick less power.

DH Pablo Sandoval: 3 for 5, 2B, 2 K (260/302/380, 50 AB)
The strikeouts are worrisome but when you consider that he plays a premium position and that this was his first 50 AB’s in the upper minors, the numbers aren’t bad at all.

LF Eddy Martinez-Esteve: 2 for 5, 2B, K (314/395/407)

3B Ryan Rohlinger: 2 for 5, 2B (260/315/360, 50 AB)
What makes Pablo a B-level prospect and Ryan a C? Well Ryan is two years older and plays an offense oriented position. If Pablo were to switch off of Catcher, his value would be greatly diminished. Ryan, however, has better plate discipline than Pablo, which may indicate more success down the road.

SP Joey Martinez: 6 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 10 K
Joey has been more of a groundball pitcher than a strikeout pitcher, so this game was an aberration.

San Jose had the day off. Some prospects I’m watching:

2B Brock Bond: 429/489/524, 42 AB
C Jackson Williams: 310/394/345, 29 AB

SP Tim Alderson: 8.38 H/9, 2.86 BB/9, 7.80 K/9
SP Clayton Tanner: 10.06 H/9, 3.31 BB/9, 6.75 K/9
SP Henry Sosa: 8.24 H/9, 2.27 BB/9, 9.27 K/9

Augusta defeated Lakewood 7-6

2B Nick Noonan: 1 for 5, 2B (301/329/448 )

1B Angel Villalona: 1 for 5, 2B (237/293/405)

SS Charlie Culberson: 2 for 5, K (226/275/300)

RF Tayler Creswell: 4 for 5, K
Taylor’s full-season debut is a good one. He was selected out of high school in the 22nd round of the 2005 draft. He’s struggled to hit in the last two seasons, but because he was drafted from high school, he has had the time to improve. He is now 21 years old. As an interesting sidenote, Tayler, like Ehire Adrianza this year and Jeremiah Luster last year, Tayler was called up to Fresno two years ago and appeared in one game. As you can see, such a call-up doesn’t portend anything in the long-run.

SP Chance Corgan: 7 IP, 3 H, 1 BB, 7 K (1.36 WHIP, 1.84 GO/AO, 24.1 IP)

Salem-Keizer lost to Tri-City 9-6.

DH Michael Ambort: 3 for 5, 2B, HR (268/348/585, 41 AB)
Michael Ambort was drafted as a catcher out of college in the 6th round of last year’s draft. He was drafted more for his bat than his glove, though his defense is adequate. He is already 23 years old. I would look for him to start in San Jose next year. He reminds me of Adam Witter.

C Trent Kline: 3 for 3, 2B (269/381/462, 52 AB)
Like Ambort, Kline was drafted last year, though much later in round 49. Not much have been written about him, so until I see a scouting report or he has a full year of at-bats under his belt, I would take his stats with a grain of salt.

The AZL Giants were destroyed by the Cubs 17-4.

OF Wendell Fairley: 1 for 5, K (213/284/251, 52 AB)

RF Ryan Mantle: 3 for 5 (300/360/460, 40 AB)
It’s still to early to be excited about Ryan. I’m waiting for a bigger sample size or a higher level of competition.

SS Ehire Adrianza: 2 for 4, 2 BB (267/365/400, 45 AB)

SP Jorge Bucardo: 5 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 6 K, 1 ER (4.05 ERA, 1.20 WHIP)
Wilber’s younger brother had a fine start before the bullpen imploded. He is only 18 years old, someone to keep an eye on.