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July 28, 2008

Future Shock

Monday Ten Pack

by Kevin Goldstein

J.P. Arencibia, C, Double-A New Hampshire (Blue Jays)
When one talks about hitters in the Blue Jays system at the advanced levels, the conversation usually begins and ends with Travis Snider. However, don't forget about Arencibia, the former Tennessee catcher and one of two first-round picks from 2007 for the organization. After hitting .315 with 13 home runs in 59 Florida State League games, Arencibia has moved up to Double-A, where he has shown even more power, blasting his ninth home run of the year on Saturday for New Hampshire in just 136 at-bats. Yet he's done this in relative anonymity; how many people know that on the season, Arencibia has two more home runs than Matt Wieters? To be fair, he's not on the same prospect level as Wieters, and he's drawn just two walks in 34 Eastern League games for a somewhat strange .287/.300/.522 line, but real catching prospects of any kind are a rare commodity; ones with power even more so.

Emilio Bonifacio, 2B, Triple-A Columbus (Nationals)
Many in the industry were surprised that Bonifacio was all that the Nationals received in return for reliever Jon Rauch. He was hitting .302/.348/.387 at Triple-A Tuscon at the time of the swap, and his skill set had seen little evolution over the past three years. He is what he is—an absolute burner with little or no power (nor the projection for any), who lacks the plate discipline to hit at the top of the order or the arm to play on the left side of the infield. Nonetheless, he's making a good first impression with his new team, going 10-for-16 with seven runs scored and three walks in his first four games. He's not great, but he's better than Felipe Lopez.

Erik Cordier, RHP, Low-A Rome (Braves)
Speaking of first impressions, Cordier took more than a year to make one with Atlanta. Acquired from the Royals last year for shortstop Tony Pena Jr., Cordier missed all of last season recovering from Tommy John surgery, and despite previously showing loads of promise, he was entering the season with just 87 1/3 professional innings under his belt. Sent to Rome after a trio of warm-up outings in the Gulf Coast League, Cordier is once again showing promise, allowing just three hits and one run over 5 2/3 innings on Friday night, which actually raised his ERA to 1.56 in four starts. His velocity is already clicking in the low 90s and touching 96, and his above-average changeup has hard, late fade. He's struggling to command his curveball, a common problem for those coming back from TJ surgery, but it projects as an average offering at least. If he can stay healthy, he's a very solid pitching prospect.

Anthony Hewitt, 3B, Rookie-level GCL Phillies
Hewitt's entry into the game was well-publicized; he was the best athlete in this year's draft, a player that some scouts scored as a perfect 80 on raw power, speed, and arm. The only problem was that nobody really thought he was a very good baseball player yet. Nevertheless, the Phillies love athletes, so they took him with their first-round selection, and so far he's exceeded expectations. After a two-hit game on Friday, Hewett went 4-for-7 with two doubles and his first professional home run in a Saturday doubleheader, raising his debut-season averages to .333/.385/.583. He also drew his first walk of the year (it took him ten games) and made a couple of errorless starts at third base, a 'read and react' position that might work better for him than those requiring game instincts.

Chin-Lung Hu, SS, Triple-A Las Vegas (Dodgers)
Dodgers injury problems gave Hu his first extended big-league look, and he crashed and burned by hitting just .159/.224/.206. It takes quite a bit to recover one's prospect status after that kind of disaster, but Hu is doing his best back in the Pacific Coast League, going 4-for-5 with a double and two triples on Saturday, and following that up with a perfect 3-for-3 night on Sunday, bringing his averages with the 51s up to .400/.429/.575 in 11 error-free games. Don't write him off yet.