Met's Minors Notes

[Padres]

Ben Revere - Outfielder

Age: 20
Height: 5'9"
Weight: 166
Bats: Left
Position: Centerfield

Relevent Statistics: .379/.433/.497 in 83 games for the Beloit Snappers in the Single-A Midwest League in 2008. 44 stolen bases and 13 CS. 31 strikeouts, 27 walks.

Scouting Report: He's fast. Revere doesn't grade out as an 80 foot speed prospect on the 20-80 scouting scale, but he's close. He is not a slap hitter - Revere hit a solid 15% of his balls in play for line drives, and managed to hit 28 extra base hits in his half-season. Revere's hitting ability compares favorably to Jacoby Ellsbury on a good day. He was stopped by a minor knee injury in the late summer, which shortened his season, but is considered healthy. He has superb control of the strike zone, with a career K/BB ratio of 1.275.His defense is comparable to Juan Pierre's - with a lot of speed but a poor arm.

Resume: The Twins surprised the heck out of everyone when they drafted Revere with their first round draft pick in 2007, 28th overall ... He signed immediately and hit the ground running in the short-season Gulf Coast League, batting .325/.388/.461 with 21 stolen bases and 9 caught stealing, plus 10 triples, in 50 games. Pushed to the Midwest League in 2008, Revere put up the stellar line pictured above, and was named the league's MVP.

Outlook: Revere's age number is a year higher than you would expect for a high school player a year and a half removed from the draft, but that is just an illusion created by his late finish to high school. Revere will enter the 2009 season as one of the more inexperienced prospects in the Florida State League, even though he will turn 21 in May ... I think that Revere will see some Double-A action next season. He could see major league time as soon as very late 2010 if everything goes right, but its more likely that he'll get more serious consideration in spring training 2011.

Ranking: ... He's proven that he has the ability to be more than a Luis Castillo-style slap hitter by hitting 20 triples in 133 games. His important tools all grade out reliably average or above average across the board. He has the speed to be one of the few MLB base stealers for whom that skill is a significant weapon. And really, he was pretty darn good in 2008. While Revere is small, Dustin Pedroia has proven that we shouldn't immediately write off small prospect any more. I love his control of the strike zone, and his overall projection. He [may not] be a star, but Revere is a very good bet to be pretty good, especially for a player so soon removed from high school ...

Bottom Line: A reliable prospect whose career could resemble that of Jose Reyes if everything goes right.

From the "MLBOutsider"

[Padres]

Gordon Beckham - Shortshop

AFL Stats: .394/.468/.692, 66 AB, 26 H, 6 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 13 RBI, 8 BB, 14 K, 0/1 SB

Beckham was unquestionably the White Sox's star in AFL play, finishing his season with hits in nine of his last 10 games, including a 5-for-5, two-homer, one-triple, seven-RBI performance Nov. 6.

He finished with the sixth-highest OPS+ when his numbers were adjusted for scoring environments.

I can't find anything that says much about his defense, so the least we can say is that he isn't an error machine.

Cole Armstrong - Catcher

AFL Stats: .320/.381/.588, 97 AB, 31 H, 5 2B, 7 HR, 23 RBI, 11 BB, 24 K

Perhaps the poster boy for the offense-friendly environment in Arizona. Compare these two numbers from his minor-league season and his AFL season:

Minors: 356 AB, 8 HR, 15 BB
AFL: 97 AB, 7 HR, 11 BB

Working with new hitting coaches, supposedly his power increase comes from "staying back on the ball," but this could very well be the equivalent of Nick Masset mythical 98 m.p.h. fastball. He did showcase a strong arm, though, which is legit.

from the "Sox Machine"