Prospect Report:
West Treasure Chest

David Cameron

Ladies (I hope) and gentlemen, welcome back to The Prospect Report. Judging by the responses in my email box the past week, I'm not the only one interested in minor-league baseball. As promised, we're diving into the American League West organizations this week. Despite being the smallest division in baseball, it's possibly the most prospect-laden of the six geographical separations. Yes Texas fans, we'll actually attempt to give you some good news about baseball this year. Onward we go:

Anaheim Angels

Over the past decade, the Angels have been one of the most negligent organizations in baseball when it comes to their farm system. The hiring of Bill Stoneman, however, has brought about a fundamental change in the way the team looks at their minor-league system. The Angels have taken leaps and bounds and have begun to lay the foundation with a good talent base for the future.

With Joe Torres, Francisco Rodriguez, and John Lackey, the Halos have three power arms that are young, productive, and projectable. Torres, the baby of the bunch at 19 years of age, has the most talent but has struggled with injuries this year. This may be a lost season for Torres in terms of advancement, but this shouldn't harm his future development.

Rodriguez is only 20 years old and holding his own in AA this season. His 4.58 ERA doesn't tell the story; he's shown tremendous stuff by striking out 78 batters in 59 innings. Lackey, at 22, was very impressive in the hitter-friendly Texas League, posting a 29:94 walk-to-strikeout ratio in 127 IP. He has recently been promoted to AAA and could be in the Angels rotation next year.

The hitters aren't quite as impressive as their pitching counterparts, but Brian Specht, Jared Abruzzo, and Elpidio Guzman have shown flashes of ability. Specht is a 20-year-old shortstop that has shown above average power in the Advanced-A California League. With only 24 walks so far, his patience needs to be improved, but he's young enough where that can still come around.

Abruzzo has shown excellent plate discipline, walking 38 times in 286 at bats this season. He's also displayed warning track power that should translate to double-digit homerun totals in the majors as his body grows. Guzman is an athlete first, baseball player second. Scouts love his speed and defense, but I can't ignore his one walk every 30 at-bats. He needs a great hitting coach to shows tapes of Rickey Henderson if he ever wants to see the majors.

Oakland Athletics

The Athletics have run the best organization in baseball over the past five years, but after stocking the major-league team with a lot of homegrown talent, their farm system is a bit lacking. The A's do have another power arm on the way in southpaw Mario Ramos, who has dominated AAA at age 22 since his promotion, after a successful run in the best hitters park in the batter-friendly Texas League. Ramos' 30 strikeouts in 27 innings while coupled with just 5 walks tells me that he isn't that far away from making an impact in Oakland. Look for him to make a run at the fourth starter spot in the A's rotation next season.

Justin Miller and Luis Vizcaino both have major league stuff that could contribute in the bullpen soon. With just a little work on their control, both Miller and Vizcaino could be above average relievers next year. On the offensive side, Jason Hart was believed to be the reason Jason Giambi could leave after posting a huge year in AA last season at age 22. He has hit the wall in AAA, however, and is posting a very disappointing .233 batting average, .309 on base percentage, and .385 slugging percentage. He's going to need a big second half to convince management that he's a major-league hitter.

Ryan Ludwick, one of the funniest players in the Texas League, needs to work on contact but is showing good power and could be a potential answer to the A's left field need next season. Freddie Bynum, a 21-year-old shortstop, is having a second consecutive disappointing season despite having a large array of tools that makes scouts believe he'll be a superstar. He's not hitting for any power or drawing enough walks in Modesto, but he's young enough to be able to turn it around.

Seattle Mariners

This year the Mariners lost two of their blue-chippers -- Ryan Anderson and Antonio Perez -- to season-ending injuries, but other players have established themselves as legitimate prospects and helped make the Mariners' system one of the deepest around.

Rafael Soriano is a great candidate for breakthrough prospect of the year. After converting from the outfield to the mound in 1999, Soriano has soared up to dominating AA through 3 starts after a recent promotion. He's been nearly unhittable for the past two months and his 96 MPH fastball with find itself in a major league uniform by 2003 at the latest. Jeff Heaverlo, a first-round pick two years ago, has stopped relying on his slider as much and is blowing away the Texas League. His 29:112 walk-to-strikeout ratio is fantastic and he'll be in AAA as soon as the Mariners clear a spot in the Tacoma rotation.

Joel Pineiro has gotten a lot of attention due to his nine shutout innings in Seattle, but he's not a good bet to have a long, successful major league career. His strikeout rate in AAA was about as impressive as Jose Canseco's pitching career. On the offensive side, Chris Snelling is having a fantastic year as the youngest player in the California League. His walk rate is just at the acceptable rate and his power is still developing, but a 19-year-old who can get on base at a .400 clip and hit for power in Advanced A-ball has major league talent.

His teammate, Ryan Christianson, looks to be having a disappointing statistical season, but his control and power ratios tell us that he's emerging as one of the best catching prospects in baseball. He leads the league with 31 doubles and has 41 extra base hits and is walking above the 1:10 baseline. As his body grows, he'll hit for power and should establish himself as an all-star catcher.

Jamal Strong has joined Snelling and Christianson in San Bernadino after destroying the Midwest League. The 22-year-old center fielder has the best on-base percentage in minor-league baseball at .458 this season and is on pace to steal 100 bases. He's a prototypical leadoff hitter. He has absolutely no power, but if he can maintain his great patience, he'll be a very good major-league center fielder.

Texas Rangers

Alex Rodriguez listed the farm system as one of his 252 million reasons he signed with Texas and he's apparently got some knowledge of evaluating hitting talent. The Rangers are loaded with both Carlos Pena and Hank Blalock establishing themselves as Top 10 prospects and future all-stars. Pena has shown John Olerud-like patience in AAA this year and should hit .300 with 30 home runs for many years to come. Blalock has exploded as a line drive hitting machine, hitting .380 in A ball and .360 in AA. At 20 years old, he's got a George Brett style career ahead of himself and will be even more valuable if he can handle the rumored position switch to from the hot corner to second base.

Kevin Mench is having a very disappointing year in Tulsa after establishing himself as a slugging corner-outfielder in the Florida State League last year. His walk rate is way down and has dragged his batting average with it. The Rangers preach patience, so Mench still has a quality career ahead of himself if he can regain the form he showed last year. The Rangers also have guys like Jason Ramano, Mark Texeira, Travis Hafner, and Mike Young who project as above-average major-league hitters. Just what Texas needs -- more offense!

On the pitching side, Joaquin Benoit has reached AAA at the age of 21 and is holding his own with a 4.23 ERA. He needs to work on his control (52 walks in 83 innings) but he has number one starter type stuff. Colby Lewis is another youngster who throws hard but Lewis has harnessed his control and has put up a 3:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio in AA. Jovanny Cedeno, the jewel arm of the Rangers system, recently underwent surgery for a torn labrum and will be out for 12-18 months. If he can recover (and he wouldn't be the first), he has better raw stuff than Benoit.

With the way their farm systems are loaded, the AL West looks to be one of the best divisions in baseball for several years to come. Mariners fans certainly can't rest on their 2001 laurels as the A's and Rangers will be reloading in the offseason and can draw on farm systems that have been two of the most productive in recent years. Next week, we visit the National League West and find out which young pitchers get to race to Coors Field.

about the author

David Cameron is serious about taking on Rockies prospects in a race to Coors Field. Express your fear for the lives of any budding David Wellses at dac@strikethree.com.