Prospects 25 - 21
25. Ryan Webb, SP
Comments: As the first early-round high school pitcher drafted in the Moneyball era, Webb quickly became a favorite of mine. This 6'-6" right-hander spent all of 2005 in Kane County, posting some fairly unimpressive numbers. The command he showed in rookie ball seemed to take a hit and considering that he doesn't yet have a plus pitch, he got knocked around pretty good. He is still 19 years old, so I'm hopeful that he'll fill up that huge of frame of his and add some velocity to his fastball (which, currently, doesn't even hit 90 mph).
24. Brian Snyder, 3B
Comments: I thought Brian Snyder would be this year's Mark Teahen, but injuries (and perhaps laziness) limited him to just 2 PAs this season. In 2004, he showed some great plate discipline and a little pop too. But after missing an entire year, his future is clearly uncertain. If he can come back strong in AA and repeat the kind of season he had in 2004, he might get back into my good graces, but as of right now, my only hope for him is that he can put up some good enough numbers that we can trade his first-round ass.
23. Shane Komine, SP
Comments: Komine's a guy that has done nothing but defy the odds. Even though he stands at only 5'-8", Komine has excelled in the lower levels of Minor League Baseball. And although he's almost a foot shorter than most power pitchers, he has (in the past) displayed a fastball that consistently hit 95 mph. He has also displays excellent control and can throw about every pitch in the book (curve, change, cutter, forkball).
Komine came back strong this year following Tommy John surgery, topping out at around 93 mph. "They" say the second year following TJ surgery is when a pitcher can fully expect to be back at 100%, so I'm pretty excited to see what he can show in '06. I'd love for him spend the entire year at AAA. With such a veteran presence at that level, I think that if can show some success, that he'll have a legitimate shot of making the bigs as a starter. But because of the plethora of #5-type pitchers currently in the upper levels of the A's system, I can see Komine being used in an Aaron Harang-type trade in 2007.
22. Ramon Alvarado, OF
Comments: Alvarado really opened my eyes this year after posting some really good numbers as a 20-year-old in rookie ball. Had a quad injury not slowed him, he would have hit over .300 with an OBP over .400 and a Slg% over .500. I'm really intrigued by Alvarado because he seems to have it all. This Venezuelan hit for average AND power, showed some speed, covered a lot of ground in the outfield, and displayed a strong arm. If Alvarado can show these same skills over the course of a full year in A-ball, don't be surprised if he becomes one of the A's top-10 prospects as soon as next year.
21. Jason Ray, RP
Comments: Ray is the first player from the 2005 draft to enter my rankings. A converted outfielder, Ray has been pitching for just two years. Used exclusively as a pitcher last season, Ray displayed a 93-95 mph fastball, that occasionally touched 96 mph, with respectable control. He also threw a curveball and circle-change, but was inconsistent with those pitches. Although he kept his velocity deep into games, Oakland moved him to the bullpen following the draft, where he absolutely dominated the competition in short-season A-ball. Fifty-six of the 89 batters he retired while pitching for Vancouver were by way of the strike out. That means that he K'd just about two hitters per inning . And that's unheard of.
I'm hopeful that his move to the 'pen was in part to save his arm after his first full season as a pitcher and in part to give him extra time to work on his off-speed pitches. Obviously, he'll have much more value as a starting pitcher, so I think it would be a real disservice to move him to the bullpen so early in his career.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Prospects 30-26
30. Jeremy Brown
29. Alexi Ogando
28. Shawn Kohn
27. Gregorio Petit
26. Brad Knox
Comments: As the first early-round high school pitcher drafted in the Moneyball era, Webb quickly became a favorite of mine. This 6'-6" right-hander spent all of 2005 in Kane County, posting some fairly unimpressive numbers. The command he showed in rookie ball seemed to take a hit and considering that he doesn't yet have a plus pitch, he got knocked around pretty good. He is still 19 years old, so I'm hopeful that he'll fill up that huge of frame of his and add some velocity to his fastball (which, currently, doesn't even hit 90 mph).
24. Brian Snyder, 3B
Comments: I thought Brian Snyder would be this year's Mark Teahen, but injuries (and perhaps laziness) limited him to just 2 PAs this season. In 2004, he showed some great plate discipline and a little pop too. But after missing an entire year, his future is clearly uncertain. If he can come back strong in AA and repeat the kind of season he had in 2004, he might get back into my good graces, but as of right now, my only hope for him is that he can put up some good enough numbers that we can trade his first-round ass.
23. Shane Komine, SP
Comments: Komine's a guy that has done nothing but defy the odds. Even though he stands at only 5'-8", Komine has excelled in the lower levels of Minor League Baseball. And although he's almost a foot shorter than most power pitchers, he has (in the past) displayed a fastball that consistently hit 95 mph. He has also displays excellent control and can throw about every pitch in the book (curve, change, cutter, forkball).
Komine came back strong this year following Tommy John surgery, topping out at around 93 mph. "They" say the second year following TJ surgery is when a pitcher can fully expect to be back at 100%, so I'm pretty excited to see what he can show in '06. I'd love for him spend the entire year at AAA. With such a veteran presence at that level, I think that if can show some success, that he'll have a legitimate shot of making the bigs as a starter. But because of the plethora of #5-type pitchers currently in the upper levels of the A's system, I can see Komine being used in an Aaron Harang-type trade in 2007.
22. Ramon Alvarado, OF
Comments: Alvarado really opened my eyes this year after posting some really good numbers as a 20-year-old in rookie ball. Had a quad injury not slowed him, he would have hit over .300 with an OBP over .400 and a Slg% over .500. I'm really intrigued by Alvarado because he seems to have it all. This Venezuelan hit for average AND power, showed some speed, covered a lot of ground in the outfield, and displayed a strong arm. If Alvarado can show these same skills over the course of a full year in A-ball, don't be surprised if he becomes one of the A's top-10 prospects as soon as next year.
21. Jason Ray, RP
Comments: Ray is the first player from the 2005 draft to enter my rankings. A converted outfielder, Ray has been pitching for just two years. Used exclusively as a pitcher last season, Ray displayed a 93-95 mph fastball, that occasionally touched 96 mph, with respectable control. He also threw a curveball and circle-change, but was inconsistent with those pitches. Although he kept his velocity deep into games, Oakland moved him to the bullpen following the draft, where he absolutely dominated the competition in short-season A-ball. Fifty-six of the 89 batters he retired while pitching for Vancouver were by way of the strike out. That means that he K'd just about two hitters per inning . And that's unheard of.
I'm hopeful that his move to the 'pen was in part to save his arm after his first full season as a pitcher and in part to give him extra time to work on his off-speed pitches. Obviously, he'll have much more value as a starting pitcher, so I think it would be a real disservice to move him to the bullpen so early in his career.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Prospects 30-26
30. Jeremy Brown
29. Alexi Ogando
28. Shawn Kohn
27. Gregorio Petit
26. Brad Knox
posted by Roman at 11:49 PM
2 Comments:
Snyder missed about a month last season with a hip flexor problem. He also put on a lot of weight DURING the '04 season. That led to questions about his work ethic.
I'm really not sure whether or not that's the same injury that kept off the field this season. He DID get invited to Spring Training in March and even played some. When the first round of cuts came around, he got the axe, but I never remember hearing what exactly keep him from playing after that.
At the end of the season during instructional league webb was throwing 90-93 with his fastball, looked good.
Post a Comment
<< Home