Comments on: BA International League Top 20

By: VladiHondo

VladiHondo — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 16:26:28 +0000

Gus, Smiley is now Carlos Alvarez - he couldn't get a visa to play in the US (or the Nats gave up trying to get him one) so played all year in the Dominican Summer League - where he was 4-5 years older than alot of the players.

As an "18" yr old in the GCL last year he hit .343/.431/.475 - think he was MVP of the GCL.

As a 23 yr old in the DSL this year, .280/.423/.427

He is probably done in the Nats system, unless he gets a visa and kicks butt in AA next year

By: Andrew Stebbins

Andrew Stebbins — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 13:17:00 +0000

Andrew Stebbins :Brian, I think you got your Latin American guy in Jerry DiPuglia.

John*

By: Andrew Stebbins

Andrew Stebbins — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 13:15:08 +0000

Brian, I think you got your Latin American guy in Jerry DiPuglia.

By: Gus

Gus — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 02:42:35 +0000

A little out of left field, but does anyone know what happened to Esmailyn (Smiley) Gonzalez, or whatever his real name was? Did he keep playing?

By: peric

peric — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 21:19:02 +0000

Nice org chart Brian! Where do you find the time? Next this site will have a better interface than Mint.com?

You'd think that guy Scialaba would get moved up? He seems like an up and comer?

By: Dick

Dick — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 19:40:59 +0000

RS: Regarding your earlier post on SS. I was in Viera on Friday and noted how Spin Williams got on Strasburg just like he did on some of the other guys (in a team-building way regarding some antics off the field by one of the other pitchers). Stras certainly seemed part of the group and both his body language and that of his teammates made it look like he was one of the guys. He hung around with all of them and they freely approached him. I was watching for that and felt there was a good vibe.

By: Rocket Surgeon

Rocket Surgeon — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 18:48:04 +0000

Another area noted by the Desert Dogs players and coaches is the significant improvement in Marrero’s defensive ability at 1b. He’s looking increasingly smoother around the bag.

By: cjrugger

cjrugger — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 18:13:20 +0000

Scouting reports sound pretty fair, more favorable on Desmond than I would have expected

By: estuartj

estuartj — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 17:56:39 +0000

One of the things that jumps out at me about prospect list, and become more pronounced at the higher milb levels, is that event players who fulfil expectation won't match them for the full length of their career.

Thus a player like Detwiler (who is labeled a "4th starter) or Desmond (being a super-sub level player) are likely to have 1-2 years of introductory level hot/cold streak play amd 1 or 2 stand-out years and an eventual decline to replacement level.

This matters significantly for teams that develop the players because they can get the best years from them (under team control) and they'll likely spend the bulk of their careers as 1-2 year FA signing journeymen.

My point being that especially for AAA prospects it's not about "will he be a star" like younger, more "projectable" prospects and more "how likely are they to contribute" (and then how much and for how long).

By: Brian Oliver

Brian Oliver — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 17:02:41 +0000

Seems about right. The names on the list consist of guys who played just enough Triple-A games for inclusion mixed with former prospects who bounced back.

By: Brandon

Brandon — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 16:55:05 +0000

your comments on this?