IBC Marlins Notes - June/July 2008
Posted: Thu Jun 26, 2008 11:17 pm
FreshFish
The IBC Marlins Prospect Report (6/26/2008)
Triple-A
... OF Joe Mather, drafted by StL out of HS in 2001, received his long-overdue big-league call-up, making a few spot starts and pinch hit appearances for the Cardinals during the first two weeks of June. While he didn't display the power stroke that produced 31 longballs in 2007, he did manage to walk 6 times against 8 K's in his 35 ABs before returning to AAA, where his .317/.394/.659 line has placed him among the PCL leaders in offensive production.
... 22 y/o LH SP Gio Gonzalez earned PCL Pitcher of the Week honors for June 16-22 by following a solid 6.2 IP, 3 R, 8 K relief effort earlier in the week with a one-hit gem - his best start since arriving in Oakland: 8 IP, 0 R, 12 K. 2007's Minors K-king has posted a 2.90 ERA at home and ranks among the league's K leaders with 83 in 81.2 IP.
... RH RP Bob McCrory, who dominated batters in the AFL this offseason, began May with the big club but had his "first taste" last a mere 0.2 IP before the O's decided 13 arms were too many and shuttled him back to the AAA. Through 21.1 IP in the IL, McCrory has used a blistering heater to fan 19 batters and notch 4 saves while posting an impressive 2.2/1 G/F ratio.
Double-A
... 2B Chris Coghlan was the Southern League's Player of the Week for the week of June 16th, and has posted impressive offensive numbers across the board so far this season: .298/.360/.439, 74 G, 289 AB, 44 R, 22 2B, 5 HR, 45 RBI, 15 SB. The 2006 1st round supplemental pick from Ole Miss has begun to establish himself as one of the top 2B prospects in the minors.
... C Welington Castillo was among those named by MLB to represent the World Team in the Futures Game at All-Star Weekend in NY. The young backstop hit the ground running after an early-June promotion to AA: 16 G, 53 AB, .340/.397/.585, 3 HR, 13 RBI, 5 BB, 9K.
... C J.P. Arencibia was named a FSL All-Star after twice being dubbed that league's Player of the Week during the first half. His .318/.344/.560 averages with 13 HR and 62 RBI in 59 games prompted a June 17 promotion to the AA Eastern League, where the 2007 IBC Marlins 3rd rd. pick and MLB Toronto first-rounder has not slowed down a bit, batting .344/.344/.625 with 2 HR, 9 RBI and 20 TB in his first 8 G.
High Class A
... RH SP Cesar Valdez leads the California League with 10 wins, showing exceptional control with 80 Ks against only 16 BB in 98.0 IP, with a 2.53 ERA that places him among the league's leaders. The Dominican righty has continued to improve as the season goes on, posting some of his best outings of the season in June: 4 GS, 3-0, 1.50 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, 24 IP, 18 H, 3 BB, 22 K, including 1 CG SHO (June 4).
... While 2B Scott Sizemore might not have the rare combination of athletic tools posessed by his older sibling in Cleveland, he continues to give scouts reason to believe he'll someday join big bro Grady as an MLB regular. Sizemore batted an impressive .356 w/ 20 RBI in his 18-game AFL stint this offseason, and has continued to display above-average offensive skill for a middle infielder after moving up to the High Class A FSL in 2008. His stat line through 53 games (before being sidelined by a minor wrist injury for 3 weeks): 203 AB, .286/.361/.409, 4 HR, 14 SB, 3 CS.
Class A
... with a blistering 10-1 start to the season, young Venezuelan RH SP Jhoulys Chacin has dominated the SAL, leading the league in W, IP, K and CG. His impressive midseason stat line earned the 20 year-old righty a spot on the SAL All-Star team and is sure to have him creeping up the midseason prospect rankings. Chacin's numbers through 16 GS in 2008: 10-1, 1.86 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, 2 CG, 111.1 IP, 82 H, 30 BB, 98 K, .205 BAA, 2.83/1 G/F.
... after an impressive yet largely unnoticed 2007 performance in the Rookie-level Appalachian League, LH SP Jose Ortegano entered 2008 under-the-radar, joining a SAL staff in Rome loaded with talented and highly-touted young southpaws. Thus far his season numbers impress (3.74 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 13 GS, 74.2 IP, 75 H, 0 HR, 20 BB, 74 K, 1.56/1 G/F, .335 BABIP, 2.10 FIP) but it's Ortegano's work in his 3 June starts that has begun to turn some of the eyes focused on fellow lefty teammates (Locke and Rohrbaugh) towards the young Venezuelan hurler: 3 GS, 2.18 ERA, 20.2 IP, 17 H, 7 BB, 25 K.
... OF Chris Parmelee had yet to show much of the power potential and natural hitting ability that made him a 2006 first round pick out of HS and led BA to dub him one of the best pure hitters in that year's draft. In 2007 he managed only 15 HR in the Class A Midwest League, and displayed a troubling lack of patience - walking only 9.3%. Parmelee appears to have made significant strides based on his first half performance in 2008, already only one HR short (14) of his total from last season. Perhaps even more encouraging to the Fish, who hope he'll eventually man a CIF or COF spot in Florida, Parmelee has more than doubled his BB rate to 18.7%, already eclipsing his 2007 BB total. The young OF currently ranks 2nd in RBI and 3rd in HR in the MWL, with an impressive .257 ISO.
Rookie Level
... 16 year-old SS Wilmer Flores has made quite a splash in his stateside debut. The IBC Marlins nabbed the young Venezuelan in the 6th round of this year's draft, and the late-round flier looks like a keeper in the early going. Flores has at least one hit in 8 of his first 9 games in the Rookie level Appalachian League, posting a .350/.372/.500 line with 8 R, 14 H, 1 HR, 9 RBI, and 1 SB in his first 40 AB while batting .412 w/ RISP.
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The IBC Marlins Prospect Report (6/26/2008)
Triple-A
... OF Joe Mather, drafted by StL out of HS in 2001, received his long-overdue big-league call-up, making a few spot starts and pinch hit appearances for the Cardinals during the first two weeks of June. While he didn't display the power stroke that produced 31 longballs in 2007, he did manage to walk 6 times against 8 K's in his 35 ABs before returning to AAA, where his .317/.394/.659 line has placed him among the PCL leaders in offensive production.
... 22 y/o LH SP Gio Gonzalez earned PCL Pitcher of the Week honors for June 16-22 by following a solid 6.2 IP, 3 R, 8 K relief effort earlier in the week with a one-hit gem - his best start since arriving in Oakland: 8 IP, 0 R, 12 K. 2007's Minors K-king has posted a 2.90 ERA at home and ranks among the league's K leaders with 83 in 81.2 IP.
... RH RP Bob McCrory, who dominated batters in the AFL this offseason, began May with the big club but had his "first taste" last a mere 0.2 IP before the O's decided 13 arms were too many and shuttled him back to the AAA. Through 21.1 IP in the IL, McCrory has used a blistering heater to fan 19 batters and notch 4 saves while posting an impressive 2.2/1 G/F ratio.
Double-A
... 2B Chris Coghlan was the Southern League's Player of the Week for the week of June 16th, and has posted impressive offensive numbers across the board so far this season: .298/.360/.439, 74 G, 289 AB, 44 R, 22 2B, 5 HR, 45 RBI, 15 SB. The 2006 1st round supplemental pick from Ole Miss has begun to establish himself as one of the top 2B prospects in the minors.
... C Welington Castillo was among those named by MLB to represent the World Team in the Futures Game at All-Star Weekend in NY. The young backstop hit the ground running after an early-June promotion to AA: 16 G, 53 AB, .340/.397/.585, 3 HR, 13 RBI, 5 BB, 9K.
... C J.P. Arencibia was named a FSL All-Star after twice being dubbed that league's Player of the Week during the first half. His .318/.344/.560 averages with 13 HR and 62 RBI in 59 games prompted a June 17 promotion to the AA Eastern League, where the 2007 IBC Marlins 3rd rd. pick and MLB Toronto first-rounder has not slowed down a bit, batting .344/.344/.625 with 2 HR, 9 RBI and 20 TB in his first 8 G.
High Class A
... RH SP Cesar Valdez leads the California League with 10 wins, showing exceptional control with 80 Ks against only 16 BB in 98.0 IP, with a 2.53 ERA that places him among the league's leaders. The Dominican righty has continued to improve as the season goes on, posting some of his best outings of the season in June: 4 GS, 3-0, 1.50 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, 24 IP, 18 H, 3 BB, 22 K, including 1 CG SHO (June 4).
... While 2B Scott Sizemore might not have the rare combination of athletic tools posessed by his older sibling in Cleveland, he continues to give scouts reason to believe he'll someday join big bro Grady as an MLB regular. Sizemore batted an impressive .356 w/ 20 RBI in his 18-game AFL stint this offseason, and has continued to display above-average offensive skill for a middle infielder after moving up to the High Class A FSL in 2008. His stat line through 53 games (before being sidelined by a minor wrist injury for 3 weeks): 203 AB, .286/.361/.409, 4 HR, 14 SB, 3 CS.
Class A
... with a blistering 10-1 start to the season, young Venezuelan RH SP Jhoulys Chacin has dominated the SAL, leading the league in W, IP, K and CG. His impressive midseason stat line earned the 20 year-old righty a spot on the SAL All-Star team and is sure to have him creeping up the midseason prospect rankings. Chacin's numbers through 16 GS in 2008: 10-1, 1.86 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, 2 CG, 111.1 IP, 82 H, 30 BB, 98 K, .205 BAA, 2.83/1 G/F.
... after an impressive yet largely unnoticed 2007 performance in the Rookie-level Appalachian League, LH SP Jose Ortegano entered 2008 under-the-radar, joining a SAL staff in Rome loaded with talented and highly-touted young southpaws. Thus far his season numbers impress (3.74 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 13 GS, 74.2 IP, 75 H, 0 HR, 20 BB, 74 K, 1.56/1 G/F, .335 BABIP, 2.10 FIP) but it's Ortegano's work in his 3 June starts that has begun to turn some of the eyes focused on fellow lefty teammates (Locke and Rohrbaugh) towards the young Venezuelan hurler: 3 GS, 2.18 ERA, 20.2 IP, 17 H, 7 BB, 25 K.
... OF Chris Parmelee had yet to show much of the power potential and natural hitting ability that made him a 2006 first round pick out of HS and led BA to dub him one of the best pure hitters in that year's draft. In 2007 he managed only 15 HR in the Class A Midwest League, and displayed a troubling lack of patience - walking only 9.3%. Parmelee appears to have made significant strides based on his first half performance in 2008, already only one HR short (14) of his total from last season. Perhaps even more encouraging to the Fish, who hope he'll eventually man a CIF or COF spot in Florida, Parmelee has more than doubled his BB rate to 18.7%, already eclipsing his 2007 BB total. The young OF currently ranks 2nd in RBI and 3rd in HR in the MWL, with an impressive .257 ISO.
Rookie Level
... 16 year-old SS Wilmer Flores has made quite a splash in his stateside debut. The IBC Marlins nabbed the young Venezuelan in the 6th round of this year's draft, and the late-round flier looks like a keeper in the early going. Flores has at least one hit in 8 of his first 9 games in the Rookie level Appalachian League, posting a .350/.372/.500 line with 8 R, 14 H, 1 HR, 9 RBI, and 1 SB in his first 40 AB while batting .412 w/ RISP.
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