Bowie Baysox vs Trenton Thunder: 6/3/09

On a cloudy Wednesday night, Clyde and I headed over to Waterfront Park to watch the Baltimore's AA affiliate, the Bowie Baysox, take on the Yankees AA affiliate, the Trenton Thunder. Contrary to The Weather Channel's beliefs, the rain held off and we were able to get the entire game in.

For the first time in my 30+ trips to Waterfront Park, the wind was blowing out. If you haven't read our Trenton Thunder write-ups before, you should know that strong winds blowing off the Delaware River usually keep the baseball in the yard. This coupled with rather deep dimensions makes it quite a struggle to hit homeruns.

Bowie:

Mike Costanzo, 3B - The former Phillies prospect had a solid night going 1-4 with a double and a strikeout. He also hit two long fly balls to left field, which may have been homeruns in some stadiums. Unfortunately the 25 year old third baseman will need to make more contact if he wants to see the majors; he struck out 159 times in 483 at-bats last year.

Unfortunately, Costanzo was the only notable player on the Baysox. They only managed 3 hits all night. Aside from Jake Arrieta and Brandon Erbe who pitched on previous days, Bowie had literally no prospects on their team.

Trenton:

WIlkin De la Rosa, P - This was my third time seeing de la Rosa pitch this season, and it was easily his most impressive start. In 6 innings he let up 2 hits, walked two, and punched out 8 batters, while allowing no runs and picking up the win. He generated a lot of groundballs as evidenced by his 5:3 groundout to airout ratio. There were a few times where he dialed his fastball up into the mid-90's and completely overpowered batters. His breaking ball and changeup both looked sharp as well.

Jesus Montero, C - The 19 year old made his first ever appearance in AA, after annihilating A+. He went 1-4 with a walk and an RBI on the night, singling his second time up, absolutely rocketing a ball between the shortstop and third baseman. Montero made a few nice blocks behind the plate, and played a bunt perfectly, but his throws to second were both slow and inaccurate, at 6'5 there are some concerns whether or not he can stay at catcher down the road. He was stuck out by Robert Valido, a shortstop who pitched an inning for whatever reason, with the bases loaded, other than that he had a great debut, especially when you consider most of his competition is 3 or 4 years older.

Colin Curtis, OF - Curtis who is a fringe prospect, hit a long homerun to right-centerfield his first time up. He went 1-3 with the homerun, RBI, and a strikeout before having to leave the game after being hit by a pitch.

Edwar Gonzalez, OF - He went 2-4 with a triple, 3 RBI, and a run. He also hit a long flyball to right field that would be gone in most ball parks.

Kanekoa Texeira, P - Texeira pitched 3 shutout innings, giving up 1 hit, striking out 2, walking none and getting the save. All of his outs (strikeouts aside) came via the groundball.

Trenton won 8-0

Tommy Hanson Called Up

Last night Atlanta Braves fans and fantasy baseball owners around the country got their wish, when top prospect Tommy Hanson was finally called up to the majors. Since the Braves do not feel Tom Glavine get the job done, it's finally Hanson's time to make an impact in the major leagues. Everyone was wondering when he would be called up because he has been so dominant in the minor leagues.

2008 A+: 3 - 1/0.90 ERA/0.65 WHIP/40 innings/49 SO/11 BB/11.03 K/9
2008 AA: 8 - 4/3.03 ERA/1.13 WHIP/98 innings/114 SO/41 BB/10.47 K/9
2009 AAA: 3 - 3/1.49 ERA/0.86 WHIP/66.1 innings/ 90 SO/17 BB/ 12.21 K/9

Hanson pitched extremely well in A+ and AA in 2008, but in 2009 he took it to another level. His K/9 and K/BB went up and, his ERA and WHIP dropped dramatically. Moving up to AAA did not slow him down at all, he actually improved, so the Braves are hoping that his next transition goes as smoothly as the one from AA to AAA.

In his prime, Hanson could have as many as four plus pitches in his mid 90's fastball, 12-6 curve, changeup and slider. He only began using a slider midway through last season, but it improved rapidly over the second half and throughout the Arizona Fall League; now it may be his best pitch. With such a vast and advanced repertoire and control that took a giant step forward in 2008, should have less trouble than most young pitchers do as rookies. He doesn't induce a ton of groundballs, but that will play fine in Atlanta.

Hanson should be up for the rest of the year, and there is little doubt that he can succeed against major league hitters. The 22 year old is Atlanta's the future ace and his career begins on Saturday against the Brewers. He has the talent to be a perennial all-star and possibly even more.

Rising Stars - Brett Wallace

With the 13th overall pick in the 2008 amateur draft, the St Louis Cardinals, feeling the need for an impact bat and heir to Troy Glaus at third base chose 3rd baseman, Brett Wallace out of Arizona State. Going into the draft, Wallace had the reputation of an extremely polished hitter who could move quickly through the system. So far he hasn't disappointed, Posting a line of .282/.376/.426 with 7 home runs and 23 RBI to date, split between AA and AAA.

Wallace has had some problems with strikeouts in the past, but he has strong enough contact skills and plate discipline that his whiffs won't be a problem and may decrease as he becomes more acclimated with pro ball. In his prime he should hit for both excellent power and average; he has an excellent chance to be a .300/.400/.500 hitter with 30-40 home runs and at least 100 RBI.

The 22 year old has struggled mightily with his defense at the hot corner. At some point in his career, he will need to move to first base, which could be tough as it is occupied by arguably the best player in the game in Albert Pujols. He is also a below average runner and may have trouble keeping the agility needed to play third base in the short-term.

None of Wallace's numbers are eye popping, but we have to take into account his success at AAA when most of his peers are still at A+. The Cardinals' current 3rd baseman, Troy Glaus, is still recovering from off season surgery and his replacements have been sub-par to say the least. Wallace may get called up this season if Brian Barden and David Freese, don't shape up. If Brett Wallace produces, Glaus, Freese, and Barden will all be looking for new jobs next winter, and the Arizona State product will have the job locked down for a long time.

Kendry Morales: All-Star?

After defecting from Cuba in 2005, Kendry Morales looks like he's finally becoming the player everyone thought he would be. The 25 year old is currently on pace for 25 homeruns and 100 RBI, with a little luck he could be on his way to his first all-star game. Here is his line to date:

175 AB / .280/.332/.503 / 8 HR / 30 RBI / 7.9% BB% / .303 BABIP

None of Morales' peripheral stats are way out of line; his .45 BB/K rate is a hair below average but nothing to be too worried about. His .306 BABIP is right in line with the major league average and his .503 SLG shows he's been hitting with some power.

While he's been old for every level, Morales' track record is outstanding. He has never hit below .300 at any minor league level. Morales has also shown solid power as he has hit at least 15 homeruns at every level. His walk rate has been inconsitent, but he has never had contact troubles.

Morales' only noteworthy flaw has been his inconsitency, he goes though tremedous slumps and hot streaks, but the Angels have stuck with him through thick and thin. The season is only 1/4 done, and we still don't know how well he will translate his talent to full major league campaign, but either way Kendry Morales should be an above-average contributer with the potential to be even more if he can improve his consistency.