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February 8, 2002 | |
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Phil Plantier's rating system:
A: MVB/MVP candidate A Look at the 2002 Rookie Class There are 113 rookies this year: 40 batters and 73 pitchers. That's up from last year, when 86 players had rookie status. Pitchers
The minor leagues were dominated by starting pitching last season, and it seems every general manager has his eye
But wait! Some scouts think Joel Pineiro is an even better prospect. Pineiro posted a microscopic 2.03 ERA and a 0.94 WHIP, but he only pitched 75 innings and just barely qualified, with 11 starts. In fact, he ended the season in the bullpen, giving up 12 hits, 7 runs and 4 walks over 7 IP in his last 5 appearances. But if Pineiro's arm holds up, he's likely to be at least as good as Oswalt.
The opposite end of the spectrum is Mark Buehrle, who led all rookies with 221 IP and four complete games. "Hurly Burly" went 16-8 with a 3.29 ERA and gave up 188 hits and 48 walks for a 1.07 WHIP. The team that doesn't get the top two will be very pleased to "settle" for this 23-year-old southpaw.
Jason Marquis is everyone's favorite sleeper pick. Celebrated pitching coach Leo Mazzone has seen a lot of prospects come and go, from Kent Mercker and Terrell Wade to John Smoltz and Jason Schmidt. Marquis posted a 3.48 ERA with a 5-6 record and 98 Ks in 129 IP, but he'll have to sharpen his control to survive in the bigs. Other prospects: Just as there's disagreement over who is #1 or #2, there's disagreement
over who should be in the Top 5. You could make a case for Brandon Duckworth (3-2, 3.52),
Nelson Figueroa (4-5, 3.94), Eric Hiljus (5-0, 3.41), Brian
Lawrence (5-5, 3.45), Brandon Lyon (5-4, 4.29), Mike Matthews (3-4, 3.24),
Ben Sheets (11-10, 4.76), Bud Smith (6-3, 3.83) or Josh Towers
(8-10, 4.49); all rate at least a C. And let's not forget the firemen, though no reliever
stands out as much as Stanhope's Ray King and Vatican City's Kaz Sasaki did
last season. The top prospects out of the 'pen are Danys Baez, who struck out 52 batters in 50 innings,
posting a 2.50 ERA with a 5-3 record; Chad Bradford, who struck out 34 and walked just 6 in 36 IP,
good for a 2.70 ERA; and Bret Prinz, 4-1 with 9 saves and a 2.63 ERA in 46 games. I call all
three at C-. Batters
The buzz around the winter meetings was Albert Pujols (.329, 37 HR, 130 RBI) would be selected by the Philadelphia Endzone Animals as the first pick of the draft. Since the Animals already have three outfielders and two third basemen, Poo is going to have to bring along his first baseman's glove. That's probably the best place to hide a guy with a .938 fielding percentage. But as Tony LaRussa has already said Pujols will be playing third base in 2002, what will Philadelphia do with Scott Rolen and Troy Glaus? Probably try to trade all three for Oswalt.
Juan Pierre is a poor man's Ichiro -- but Phoenix has them both. The two terrorized Triple-A catchers last season, combining for 102 steals. Like Ichiro, Pierre is a punch-and-judy hitter with just 2 HRs in 617 ABs last year -- he just puts wood on the ball and flies to first. On the basepaths, he brings a whole new meaning to the phrase "Juan Gone." But the only time this mary will go deep is on a diving expedition.
Shortstop Juan Uribe -- no, not the guy who played for the San Francisco Giants in the 1980s -- hit .300 with a .524 slugging percentage in 273 ABs last season. Great numbers if you overlook those 55 Ks in 72 games. You can bet opposing pitchers won't. Russell Branyan? Jimmy Rollins? Randall Simon? Give me a break. Everybody else gets an "F". In short, not one of these guys is half the player I was in 1994. And where am I? Writing #&*@! columns. Screw you all to hell! Phil Plantier, one of the top prospects of the last decade, was picked by baseball guru Bill James in 1991 as the player most likely to lead the majors in HRs during the 1990s. In 1994, at age 24, he hit 47 round-trippers with 118 RBIs for the Charleston Chiefs, his first and last DMBL season. He's currently an analyst for Fox Sports Net. Click Here for past articles. | |
on a hot cookie or two to fill out their rotations. But there is no cookie hotter than Roy Oswalt (14-3, 2.73 ERA), who struck out 144 batters in 141 IP and walked just 24 men for a 1.06 WHIP, and he did it all at homer-happy Enron Field.
The youngest rookie starter is 21-year-old C.C. Sabathia, who also led the freshman class in wins (17), starts (33) and strikeouts (171) for Hoboken's Triple-A team last season. Sabathia a three-pitch lefty who can touch the mid-90s on his fastball, and he's still growing. He gives up a lot of walks and his ERA isn't pretty (4.39), but most pitchers his age are still in A-ball. The sky is the limit for this young ace.
Ichiro Suzuki, the hottest Japanese import since the Honda Accord, lit up Triple-A last season with 242 hits, 56 stolen bases and 127 runs scored for the El Paso Komodos. Ichiro will roam the outfield in Phoenix next season with veteran Luis Gonzalez and another highly touted prospect, Juan Pierre. Ichiro is a great defensive outfielder who can run like the wind and slap singles all day -- he had 192 of them last season. He'll likely reach my single-season HR total by the time he retires. To quote Mickey Mantle, "If I had played my career hitting singles like Pete Rose, I'd wear a dress." Ichiro, I think you'd look swell in a little black number.
Free agent Paul Lo Duca (.320, 25 HR, 90 RBI) is projected as a first-round pick for a team needing a catcher with some pop. But GMs should look elsewhere if they're hoping for a long-term fix behind the plate: The Duke is 30 years old after taking eight years to get out of the minors. Lo Duca hit .221 with 2 HR in the month of September as teams called up Triple-A pitchers, the only ones who knew how to get him out. The Italian-American Dodger fans out there will hope he's the next Piazza and not the next Scoscia.