Hot Prospects - AL South Report

Chuck Biscuits - Cobb Times Herald

The AL South features two very deep minor league systems, and two that aren't.  As you would guess, the depth of the farm system is inversely proportional to the success of the major league squad. 

Florida Almendares
Blue Ribbon - None
Red Ribbon - None
Yellow Ribbon - RF Julio Baez
White Ribbon - 1B Vic Melian, 2B Patrick McGowan, 3B Jose Flores, SS Ivan Ohman, C/DH Mark Lee, RP Omar Ibarra
Overall Farm System Grade: D

Kansas City Tweakers

Blue Ribbon - 1B Don Ross, SP Juan Romano
Red Ribbon - SP Doug Dreifort,
Yellow Ribbon - SP Wiki Ordaz, SP Russell Hood
White Ribbon -2B Milt Romero, 2B Jerry Walters, SS Chris Paquette
Overall Farm System Grade: B

Nashville Rebel Riders
Blue Ribbon - SP Alex Dodson
Red Ribbon - None
Yellow Ribbon -None
White Ribbon -SS Eric Dreifort, RF Ernie Brow, RP Ricardo Pinzon, 
Overall Farm System Grade: C-

Santa Fe Greyhounds

Blue Ribbon - SP Bennie Duvall
Red Ribbon - SP Wade Stowers,SP Albert Kimbrell
Yellow Ribbon -C Vic Santana, 1B Seth Feldman, DH Curt Allen, RP Javier Sierra
White Ribbon -C/DH Tom Lambert, C Tris Flair, SS Edwin Potvin, SS Bernie Javier, SS Edwin Ward, LF John Torrealba, CF Fred Benoit, RP Herbert Christian, RP Ricardo Espinosa, RP Jake Guerrero,
RP Sammy Blasco
Overall Farm System Grade: A-

Hot Prospects - AL West Report

Chuck Biscuits - Cobb Times Herald

The AL West is home to some very well stocked farm systems, and well cared for too.  The Times Herald gives some big props to what is probably the most well balanced division in terms of their minor leagues. 

Anaheim Sharks
Blue Ribbon - None
Red Ribbon - RF Morris Coomer, SP Torey McFarland
Yellow Ribbon - 2B Kevin Vickers, SP Derrin Washburn
White Ribbon - 2B Orval Edmonds, 2B Bubba Pisciotta, RF Darryl Spehr, SP Ryan Post, SP Manny Hollingsworth, SP Frank McMasters
Overall Farm System Grade: B

St. Louis Tweakers
Blue Ribbon - CF Al Ramos, SP Kirk Barnes
Red Ribbon - 2B Pablo Rosa
Yellow Ribbon - RP Yeico Oliva,
White Ribbon - 1B Eliezer Hernandez, SS Steve Harris, CF Wiki Molina, RF Stubby Grabowski, SP Craig Webster, RP Peter Zheng
Overall Farm System Grade: B+

Vancouver Grizzlies
Blue Ribbon - None
Red Ribbon - 2B Lonny Ramirez, SS Edwin Kaye, LF Braden Nitkowski,
Yellow Ribbon - 2B Joey Parkers,
White Ribbon - 1B Rafael Beltran, SS Ryan Hall, LF Junior Chang, CF Mac Price
Overall Farm System Grade: B

Tacoma Jerry Gang
Blue Ribbon - SS Gorkys Carrara, SP Al Gomez
Red Ribbon - CF Stuart Fischer,
Yellow Ribbon - 3B Aramis Estrada, RP Brant Ford
White Ribbon - C Brian Hasagawa, SS Gail Spahn, CF Albert Bravo, SP Matthew Padgett, RP Nigel Rivers, RP Chris Withers
Overall Farm System Grade: B+

Hot Prospects - NL West Report

Chuck Biscuits - Cobb Times Herald

Today we head out to the wild west, where there are some nice looking players on the farm, and the minors are generally well stocked with players.

Iowa City Corn Dogs
Blue Ribbon - SP Alfredo Jacquez
Red Ribbon - SP Josh Biddle, RP Dicky Bong
Yellow Ribbon - SP Andre Penny
White Ribbon - 2B Felipe Zorilla, SS Kent Milton, RF Brian Ball, SP Tomas Mijares
Overall Farm System Grade: B+

Los Angeles Leopards
Blue Ribbon - SS Jose Martinez, SS Samuel Baker, RF Napoleon Graves
Red Ribbon - None
Yellow Ribbon - None
White Ribbon - SP Willie James
Overall Farm System Grade: C

Omaha Sluggers
Blue Ribbon - SS Brutus Meyers, LF Vic Sosa
Red Ribbon - SS James Quinn
Yellow Ribbon - 1B Carl Snell, RP Teddy Bigbie
White Ribbon - C Nate Harper, C Erubiel Posada, 2B Wilt Daily, SP Delino Marichal, RP Art Ryan, RP Lloyd Hill
Overall Farm System Grade: B+

San Francisco Earthquakes
Blue Ribbon - None
Red Ribbon - None
Yellow Ribbon - C Hideo Miyakazi, SS Ricardo Flores, SP Nolan Payton
White Ribbon - SS Stevie Anderson, LF Eric Sutton, RF Kane Flores, SP Harry Atacio, RP Dick Singleton, RP Yovani Arias
Overall Farm System Grade:C+

Hot Prospects - NL South Report

Chuck Biscuits - Cobb Times Herald

While the NL East was a talent wasteland in the minors, the NL South is practically the fertile crescent.  There are some major talents making their way through the system that will someday wreak massive havoc upon the major leagues.  Who are they?  Read on and find out.

Charlotte Thunder
Blue Ribbon - SP Harry Mendoza,
Red Ribbon - RP Augie Badilla
Yellow Ribbon - RP Dom Lowell, RP Gabe Kirby
White Ribbon - C Hector Mercado, 2B Jack Holt, 2B Jose Reyes, SS Jim Wyatt, SP Allie Kingman
Overall Farm System Grade: B

Jackson Pollacks
Blue Ribbon - SP Vin Lunar
Red Ribbon - None
Yellow Ribbon - C Torey Corino, LF Randy Brown, SP Darrell Gibbs
White Ribbon - C Sam Lee, 2B Jimmy Ellis, 3B Cesar Sanchez, SS Orlando Julio, SS Roberto Santos, CF Chet Patrick
Overall Farm System Grade: B

Montgomery Burns

Blue Ribbon -SS Oswaldo Prieto, SP Howard Hall, SP Sherman Rodgers,
Red Ribbon - C Terry Bannister, RP John Miller
Yellow Ribbon -RP R.J. Vizquel
White Ribbon -C Michael Campbell, 2B Tony Dellaero, SS Joe Lincoln,
Overall Farm System Grade: A

Richmond Cohibas
Blue Ribbon - SS Julio Espinosa, SS Mandy Reagan
Red Ribbon - None
Yellow Ribbon - 2B Stone Cronin, SP Luther Hoffman
White Ribbon - 2B Sean Breen, RP Garland McMillan
Overall Farm System Grade: B

Hot Prospects - NL East Report

Chuck Biscuits - Cobb Times Herald

There really isn't much to say about the farm systems of the NL East other than that they exist.  If you are looking for trades, you had best look elsewhere.

Atlanta Pitbulls
Blue Ribbon - None
Red Ribbon - None
Yellow Ribbon - SP Felipe Costilla
White Ribbon - C Kareem Cox, SP Trip Jefferies
Overall Farm System Grade: D-

Columbus HoundDogs

Blue Ribbon - None
Red Ribbon - None
Yellow Ribbon - None
White Ribbon - LF Les Cooper, RF Chul Jung
Overall Farm System Grade: F

Tampa Bay Beagles
Blue Ribbon - None
Red Ribbon - None
Yellow Ribbon - SP Ricardo Roque
White Ribbon - 1B Jolbert Guerrero, DH/1B Tony Espinosa, SP Bryce Fife, RP Seth Shipley, SP Shouhei Komatsu
Overall Farm System Grade: D+

Wichita Wankers
Blue Ribbon - None
Red Ribbon - None
Yellow Ribbon -C Brad Guiel
White Ribbon - 1B Isaac Peters, 2B Bruce Montgomery, 2B Richie Hermansen, RF B.C. Johnson, SP Hooks Surtain, SP Pablo Vicente, SP Luis Pinzon, RP Omar Arredondo, SP Al Telgheder
Overall Farm System Grade: C-

Hot Prospects - NL North Report

Chuck Biscuits - Cobb Times Herald

In this upcoming series the Times Herald will be taking a trip out to the farm, to look for the prize goats and blue ribbon hogs that are growing in every franchises minor leagues.  The 4H Fair/Danish Ribbon system will be the criteria used to judge a prospect, blue ribbon for the absolute best, red for very good, yellow for good, and white for acceptable quality.  Due to time constraints some reports may only contain blue and red ribbon prospects.  The first farm systems to be examined are those of the NL North, home to some down home Midwest cooking and East coast class.  But it must be said that not all of these farms are Bob Evans quality, some are more akin to Po' Folks.   

Burlington Champs
Blue Ribbon - None
Red Ribbon - C Bernie Martin
Yellow Ribbon - SS Willie Latham, 2B Merv Curtis, RP J.P. Tatis,
White Ribbon - SP Dingo Douglas, SP Gene Burnett, SP Jose Estrada, 1B Raul Park
Overall Farm System Grade: C

New York Pick Pockets
Blue Ribbon - None
Red Ribbon - None
Yellow Ribbon - None
White Ribbon - SP Don Sherman, RP Bo Henderson, SP Al Bonine, RP Alfredo Castro
Overall Farm System Grade: D-

Sioux Falls Corn Cleats
Blue Ribbon -SP Davey Koch
Red Ribbon - 2B Virgil Snelling, LF Frank Zaun,
Yellow Ribbon - RP Isaac Rose, CF Ralph Starr
White Ribbon - 1B Carlos Gonzalez
Overall Farm System Grade: B

Trenton Lions
Blue Ribbon - 1B Juan Cordero, SS Eduardo Ayala, RP Vic Lopez
Red Ribbon - SS Philip Thomas, RP Cody Brantley
Yellow Ribbon - C Mitch Shafer, 1B Jerome Newsome, RP Oswaldo Wilfredo, SP Bip Lake
White Ribbon - 1B Wade Wilhelm, 2B Milt Slaughter, 2B Felipe Martin, SP Billy Campbell, RP Pedro Baez, SP Javier Estrada
Overall Farm System Grade: A

Lars the Greek's Season 17 Preview - American League

Lars the Greek - Cobb Times Herald

For the first time since season 10, an American League team other than the Cleveland Steamers won the AL Pennant, with the Florida Almendares breaking through and ultimately taking the World Series title in season 16.  It will be tough for them to repeat in season 17, as the Steamers are still a juggernaut, Tacoma is drastically improved after one of the biggest trades in Cobb History, and Toronto is rapidly rising in the AL North.  Who will emerge from these and a host of other talented squads to win the AL this year?  Lars looked deep into his ball for the answers, so read on to find out.

American League

Lars the Greeks Divisional Breakdowns

AL North: There has been a seismic shift in the AL North, where the Toronto Blue Jays unseated the perennial division champs Pawtucket after 14 straight division titles, a record streak that is unlikely to ever be broken in Cobb World in the future.  Furthermore, the G-Maniacs trade hall of famer and face of the franchise SP Dean Hernandez to Tacoma in a retooling move.  The other teams in the AL North are rejoicing not having to face the Dean every four starts, and it looks like Toronto is now the clear favorite for the title with their dominant pitching staff and improving lineup.  Pawtucket will be competitive, while Chicago and Seattle continue to rebuild.  But the future is now wide open in the North, and is officially anyone's game.

AL East: Cleveland finally put together a regular season to match what it was capable of in season 16 en route to the #1 seed in the playoffs, while previous division winner Dover put together a solid season worthy of a wildcard berth.  It is looking like another dogfight between these two teams as Syracuse and New York simply don't have the talent to go toe to toe with the two big dogs in the division.  Lars thinks that Cleveland will again take the division title, but not without a fight.

AL South:  Florida and Nashville have been ruling the roost in the South for several seasons now, but in short order the Kansas City Express will be butting their heads in for a piece of the action.  The Express have been very active in the offseason upgrading their franchise with veterans to go along with their upcoming prospects, most notably trading for stud catcher Ralph Woods and signing 1B Brace Davey to add some pop to the lineup.  But while KC is improved, Florida and Nashville both won 100+ games last season, which means that they are still kings as long as players such as Eric Collins and Pedro Franco are plying their trades for those franchises.  Meanwhile the rebuilding Santa Fe Greyhounds have assembled one of the most talented set of SP's in the minors, and in 3-4 seasons will be a force to be reckoned with.  Lars thinks that Florida will take the division again, but it will be much closer. 

AL West:  Anaheim once again proved Lars wrong and easily dispatched the two teams picked to finish ahead of them in the standings and beat out Lars' win prediction by 13 games to easily take the division.  Tacoma and Vancouver disappointed however and didn't live up to the hype.  Things look to be much different this season though, as Vancouver lost a lot of quality to free agency, and Tacoma brought on board one of the greatest difference makers in Cobb today in SP Dean Hernandez.  St. Louis looks to continue rebuilding while the rest of the division dukes it out.  Vancouver managed to recoup some of their losses with free agent signings, but Lars thinks this is a two horse race, and with the addition of Hernandez Tacoma is the favorite.

Projected Cy Young: Dean Hernandez - Tacoma Jerry Gang
--Other Contenders: Kazuhiro Ong (NAS), Benito Beltre (TOR), Darren Howry (PAW), Eric Collins (FLA), Trevor Seelbach (CLE)
Projected MVP: Pedro Franco (NAS)
--Other Contenders: Lyle Crudale (CLE), Ralph Woods (KC), Richard Nakajima (VAN), Vinny Jang (CLE)
Projected Fireman of the Year: Jared Jacobsen - Anaheim Sharks
--Other Contenders: Raymond Hawkins (FLA), Jared Jacobsen (LAA), Edgardo Romero (DOV)
Projected Rookie of the Year: Ralph Walsh - St. Louis Tweakers
--Other Contenders: Shannon Sosa (DOV), Emilio Mairena (NY), Julius Olmos (SYR)

Top Five Rotations in the American League

1. Tacoma Jerry Gang
2. Toronto Blue Jays
3. Florida Almendares
4. Cleveland Steamers
5. Pawtucket G- Maniacs

Top Five Bullpens in the American League
1. Cleveland Steamers
2. Anaheim Sharks
3. Florida Almendares
4. Dover Dingos
5. Vancouver Grizzlies

Top Five Lineups in the American League
1. Nashville Rebel Riders
2. Tacoma Jerry Gang
3. Cleveland Steamers
4. Florida Almendares
5. Anaheim Sharks

Top Three Offseason Free Agent Signings
1. Bosco Simon - Toronto Blue Jays
2. Talmadge Young - Dover Dingos
3. Tanner Durham  - Vancouver Grizzlies

Three Teams on the Rise:
1. Toronto Blue Jays
2. St. Louis Tweakers
3. Kansas City Express

Two Teams on the Decline
1. Vancouver Grizzlies
2. Santa Fe Greyhounds

Six prospects who could make a difference if called up this season
1. Morris Coomer - Anaheim Sharks
2. Torey McFarland - Anaheim Sharks
3. Malcolm Tucker - Cleveland Steamers
4. Julio Baez - Florida Almendares
5. Juan Romano - Kansas City Express
6. Ugueth Palaez - Toronto Blue Jays

Projected finishes, by division:

AL North
Toronto Blue Jays - 94-68
Pawtucket G-Maniacs - 85-77
Seattle Pilots - 76-84
Chicago Sabercats - 66-96

AL East
Cleveland Steamers - 102-60
Dover Dingoss - 93-69
Syracuse Sympathizers - 74-88
New York Expos - 65-97

AL South
Florida Almendares - 98-64
Nashville Rebel Riders - 91-71
Kansas City Express - 78-84
Santa Fe Greyhounds - 54-108

AL West
Tacoma Jerry Gang - 103-59
Anaheim Sharks - 98-64
Vancouver Grizzlies 85-77
St. Louis Tweakers - 73-89