Below is a list of 10 young prospects that are either just now making a name for themselves, or are too young to really be recognizable by most fans.
1. Dellin Betances, 21 yrs, RHP, New York Yankees
10-7, 169 ip, 3.50 era, 197 so
Betances is the next uber-prospect for the Yankees. The kid is barely old enough to order a beer at McSorley's yet he has already compiled impressive minor league numbers. He throws a 95 mph running 4-seamer, a hammer-knuckle-curve and a developing change. Basically, he's the player that Yankees fans believed Phil Hughes was--a hard thrower with an unhittable curve. Hughes throws 88-92 and has a very good 12-6, but his control is what defines him. Betances is a more of a young Kelvim Escobar--living off of an electric arsenal.
2. Nick Hagadone, 23 yrs, LHP, Boston Red Sox
1-2, 34 ip, 1.31 era, 45 so
Hagadone has the makings of a Matt Cain. He's a hard throwing lefty, with a fastball that can touch the upper 90's. Brackman got all of the hype as a Yankees' prospect but the Sox have the better pitcher in Hagadone...period. His fastball is a 4-seamer that sits in the 93-96 mph range, but can be dialed up to 98 at times. His 81 mph slider also has serious bite and tilt, and although it isn't Randy Johnson's, it certainly warrants a comparison between their stuff. His change, sitting in the low eights, is developing. However, because its the same speed as his slider, its never going to be an absolutely necessary pitch for him. All and all, Hagadone isn't too far behind Cain or Price. Theres little difference between Prices's arsenal and Hagadones--the only difference being that Price is a little bit more polished, while Hagadone has a better fastball.
3. Matt Tuiasosopo, 22 yrs, 3B, Seattle Mariners
1914 ab, .279 ba, .356 obp, .399 slg, 37 hr, 28 sb
Michael Saunders, the big Canadian outfielder/corner infielder, gets all of the hype as far as corner infielders in the Mariners' system go. However, Matt Tuiasosopo, who has put up only average stats in his minor league career has finally come in to his own this spring and has shown that he's the better prospect--thus far. He leads the Mariners with a sexy .407 batting average in 57 at bats. Through March 26th, Mr. T. has spanked 7 doubles and 2 homers. His line drive swing will keep his average around .280-.300 once he gets it together in the majors. In Safeco especially, it's unlikely that he'll ever hit more than 15-20 homers, but 40-50 doubles is a given in a full season. With Beltre's injury, and Mr. T's Spring performance, Tuiasosopo has a good shot at making the roster out of Spring Training. If not then he'll be there by the summer for another look.
4. Travis Ishikawa, 25 yrs, 1B, San Francisco Giants
2516 ab, .260 ba, .350 obp, .453 slg, 96 hr
Prior to 2007, Ishikawa was a good prospect but wasn't projected to be anything more than an average hitter--good for a .280 average and possibly 15 homers a year in the majors. In single A San Jose in 2007, however, Ishikawa hit 13 homers in just 198 at bats. In 2008 he started mashing even harder, belting 16 homers, 19 doubles, in just 171 at bats with AAA Fresno. Once again Ishikawa is mashing in home runs, this time with the Giants, and has put up a very nice .313 batting average through March 26th this Spring. There was some talk that Jesus Guzman would take 3rd base and Sandoval would be moved to first, but Ishikawa is a very good fielder, much better than Sandoval or Guzman, and with that strong bat will be slotted at first while Sandy makes some picks at third. Hold on to Ishi, he'll be good for 20 homers in 2009 easily (barring a disaster/injury). After that, a .300 batting average and 100 rbis will come at some point. At the very least he'll be Adam LaRoche.
5. Chris Carter, 26 yrs, DH/OF, Boston Red Sox
2352 ab, .308 ba, .383 obp, .518 slg, 110 hr
The Red Sox' Chris Carter is always mixed up with Oakland's Chris (Vernon) Carter--it was even harder not to mix them up when they both played for the Diamondbacks. The trouble is, once people figure out that they're not the same player, they forget about the Sox's guy and only thought of the other Carter as the top prospect. They shouldn't. The smaller one, the guy that came out of Stanford, the guy on the Sox, has a hell of a bat. This spring he's slugging .704 with 5 home runs, 4 doubles and has put up a .352 batting average. It's becoming more and more evident that Tito Francona desperately needs to find this guy's bat a spot in his lineup. Ramirez is gone and Poppi is too fat to last forever so Chris Carter may be the power bat that the Red Sox need to keep their batting order intimidating--top to bottom.
6. Jesus Guzman, 24 yrs, 3B/OF, San Francisco Giants
2236 ab, .295 ba, .365 obp, .463 slg, 66 hr
Guzman is an absolutely awful defender and has absolutely no place on the ballfield defensively. His fielding percentage falls below .900 with regularity, and was completely exiled from the Oakland Athletics' 40 man roster after failing to put up decent defensive numbers at 3rd, 2nd or short, in 2008. The Giants are giving him his last chance at third, but it looks more and more obvious that they'll move him to a corner outfield spot regardless. Either way, the Athletics made a big mistake letting Guzman go to the G's in the Rule 5. The guy hit .364 with 14 homers in half of a season last year in AA. The year before he had a .909 OPS in the California League. In 47 at bats this spring Guzman is hitting a PHAT .404 with 4 homers, 8 doubles and an .872 slugging percentage in 47 at bats. The Giants have really made an offense out of a bunch of nobodies and a few stars. Ishikawa, Sandoval, Guzman, Velez and Fred Lewis aren't exactly household names, but they will be in 2009, once they start helping that electric pitching staff win games.
7. Ryan Flaherty, 22 yrs, SS, Chicago Cubs
219 ab, .297 ba, .369 obp, .511 slg, 8 hr
Flaherty is a less well-known Gordon Beckham. The other third of the "Big 3" from Vanderbilt (Flaherty, Price and Alvarez), Flaherty is already used to being overshadowed by super-star-talents. So, with Vitters in the system, it's no new situation for Flaherty to be considered to be less than what he is because of flashier (but not better) teammates. Gordon Beckham is a nice comparison for the kid. While Triunfel, Andrus, Cardenas and Escobar get all of the press, Flaherty, Frazier and Gordon Beckham are the three best shortstops currently within reach of the Majors. His line drive stroke and solid plate discipline will suit him well in the MLB, especially in the NL. Someday the kid could win a gold glove, maybe not at short, but certainly at third or second base. He needs to sure up his hands, but his fluid movement, mastery of the figure-4 slide and his strong arm make him a complete package. A batting average between .280 and .300, 15 homers, 10 stolen bases, 40 doubles and an OBP around .380 sounds like the numbers Flaherty can probably put up in the MLB if all goes as planned.
8. Kellen Kulbacki, 23 yrs, OF, San Diego Padres
591 ab, .303 ba, .393 obp, .521 slg, 30 hr
Looking at those career MiLB stats should tell you enough about Ke-Kul. The kid is barely 5'11" and isn't exactly a hulk, but has some serious power. He slugs, he makes great contact and he gets on base--all without striking out at the rate that most 30 homerun hitters do. Somehow, both Keith Law and BA completely missed this kid and he doesn't even make their top 100s. With a wide open roster, and the commitment to rebuild Kulbacki will probably see some time in San Diego this year. But in 2010 looks for him to win a job. He may not impress right away, but when he gets it all there then .300 with 20 homers yearly is pretty reasonable.
9. Shairon Martis, 22, RHP, Washington Nationals
21-15, 416 ip, 3.80 era, 345 so
For the Netherlands, Martis threw a no hitter, without recording any strikeouts in the 2006 WBC. In 2008 for Columbus AAA, Martis thew 41 innings, striking out 31 and posting a 3.02 era before being promoted to the Nationals. He didn't dominate, but he did strike out 23 in 20 innings in the bigs. He probably won't be in the rotation in 2009, but he has good enough breaking stuff and a decent 4-seamer, so he'll likely become a valuable part of their bullpen--like a Ramiro Mendoza or Aaron Heilman type.
10. Chris Gimenez, 26, C, Cleveland Indians
1727 ab, .270 ab, .378 obp, .466 slg, 69 hr
If you average out Gimenez's career stats you'd find that he'd have a .270 batting average, about 23 homers, 100 runs, 39 doubles and about 85 rbi yearly. The guys a catcher! For some reason he's never fallen anywhere near a top 10 MiLB catcher list, and even now, during Spring Training 2009, Gimenez is hitting .357, slugging .879 and posting a .471 obp yet the guy still hasn't attracted any sort of notable press. With their surplus of catchers, the Indians won't even give the guy a roster spot out of Spring Training. Carlos Santana, Kelly Shoppach and Victor Martinez are the only catchers that will get a listen for the 25 man out of Spring Training, but once Santana is moved to third and Martinez is converted to first to save his body, Gimenez will finally get a look for the MLB team.
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