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Old 06-13-2018, 10:44 AM   #128
gehrig38
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2006 tarpons minor league system

Here is a look at our top prospects and our minor league system as we head into the winter

SP Kinnon Mendelson (18) 6' 175 ABA 8th ranked prospect (#3 pitcher) #1 Tarpon Prospect
Spent most of the year at the rookie complex but made 2 starts for Rio Rancho in the seasons final weeks. A top of the rotation power arm who shows no signs of sliding. All year his stuff, control and other tools got better. He'll open at Rio Rancho.
EXPECTED ARRIVAL 2010

SP Juan Portio (19) 6'4” 190 ABA 29th ranked prospect (#13 pitcher) #2 Tarpon Prospect
Big bodied righty who has yet to fill out. Has the ability to be a 1 with 230+ inning potential. Upper 90's with 5+ pitches. Showed improvement all year long across the board. Hoping he's ready to kick off 2007 as a starter in rookie ball
EXPECTED ARRIVAL 2010

SP Kody Pollock (23) 5'11” 190 ABA 38th ranked prospect (#18 pitcher) # 3 Tarpon Prospect
Rounds out our top 3 and hopefully, they are the top 3 guys in a rotation as well. A 4 pitch lefty with low to mid 90's fastball and an exceptional forkball/slider mix with a changeup that's still behind in development. He spent the year in AA compiling a 14-7 4.30 record over 28 starts and 180 innings. Yielded 200 hits, punched out just 93 to 62 walks. Appears ready in every way to kick off 2007 at AAA Alamogordo. Need to see more swing and miss this year. Shuts down the running game as well as anyone.
EXPECTED ARRIVAL SEPTEMBER 2007

SP Chad Willoughby (25) 6'3” 200 ABA 40th ranked prospect (#19 pitcher) #5 Tarpons Prospect
Made his debut this past September and tossed 18.2 innings over 3 starts with a 1-1 4.34 record. 14 hits, 20 K's to 7 walks. A 4 pitch righty with what many already think is one of the premier curveballs in the game. Barring something horrible I expect Chad to break with the big club as a starter next year.
EXPECTED ARRIVAL OPENING DAY 2007

3B Luis Salinas (21) 5'11” 175 #6 Tarpons Prospect
Started the year at short season Hobbs where he hit .411/.458/.594 in 39 games with 3 HR 33 RBI and 15 SB. Already an above average 3B on defense and his speed is 70 steal plus. Our scouts have his arm at ++. Still has issues with defense but figures to have that as a ++ skill in a few years. Just 21. Hit .290/.338/.496 in 31 games after his call-up with 5 3B 5 HR and 12 SB. His bat projects as a .300 40 2B 10+ 3B with the only issue being his inability to take a pitch. He won't walk, but he also rarely swings and misses. A potentially viable replacement for Figueroa depending on how quickly the bat comes.
EXPECTED ARRIVAL 2009

OF Juan Guerra (18) 6'2” 180 #7 Tarpons Prospect
A 2006 international sign out of Venezuela with a 5-star bat. Right now our scouts project him as a .320/.450/.600 ceiling hitter with 50 HR potential and possible triple crown numbers. He's a corner outfielder, runs well and has a good arm. He was promoted to Rio Rancho as a 17-year-old in June and spent the year there before a final week call-up. He his .341/.408/.500 in 55 games with 6 HR 38 RBI in 240 plate appearances. He hit .317/.341/.439 in 9 games with Hobbs at the end of the year. That's where we expect him to start the 2007 season.
EXPECTED ARRIVAL 2010

SS Satoshi Kumagai (17) 6'1” 175 #8 Tarpons Prospect
Blew our 2005 international bonus money on this kid. Projects to be a ++ defender at short possessing every tool to be a gold glover. His bat is potentially off the charts. Right now he looks like a potential 3 hole guy from the right side (only because he doesn't run well enough to hit higher) who will hit for average, power and contact. His awareness of the zone is coming, but even now he does not swing and miss much. When we look down the road this is the kid all our scouts put in the shortstop role.
EXPECTED ARRIVAL 2010

SP/3B Arturo Mendoza (23) 6'3” 195 #9 Tarpons Prospect
Drafted in 2005 as a true two-way talent. Our 2nd round pick (30th overall) out of Kansas U. Had a very up and down 2006 as he was switched to a starting pitchers role exclusively. After this year, and many meetings with him, we have decided to reverse ourselves and let him try the two-way approach. This decision was based on two things. The first being our overall organizational depth in the minors on the mound as well as our potential need for a 3B solution moving forward. He's already a better defender at 3B than anyone not named Klatt or Harris here. His arm is pure fantasy. An upper 90's fastball with 4 other pitches he has yet to really develop. He will open 2007 at AA Clovis.
EXPECTED ARRIVAL 2008

1B Ajanie Foggie (26) 6'2” 210 #10 Tarpons Prospect
Right-handed power bat who had a horrible start to 2006, went to Alamogordo and appears to have fixed it. Hit just .193 over 61 games in Florida but his demotion to AAA saw him hit .298/.375/.549 over 85 games with 18 HR and 64 RBI. A good defender who can fill in on the corners in the OF in an emergency. Runs well above average. Was Barranco's defensive replacement in September. His lack of defensive options makes him 'available' as far as trades are concerned but he's a far better hitter than he has shown, I think. Right now he projects as an opening day roster guy who could be a late inning defense guy as well as RH DH option.

RP Jake Grab (25) 6'3” 205 #11 Tarpons Prospect
Took him in last years rule 5 and he had a rough season. Punched out 80 in 75.1 innings but the 78 hits, 35 walks and 21 homers all contributed to the 6.21 ERA. An upper 90's right-hander with a devastating sinker the hope is this winter he gets right and arrives next spring and takes a relief job in the middle of the pen.

1B/LF Ismael Saldana (23) 6' 185
He hasn't gotten enough time to hit anyone's prospect charts but when he does it's likely to be a top 10 spot in the ABA. The 1st overall selection in the 2006 draft out of Texas Tech and he did nothing but rake from day 1. Hit .321/.422/.641 in 72 AA games with 21 HR and 65 RBI and then hit .579-2-4 in 4 AAA games to end the year. There is a legitimate chance this kid is in left field for the Tarpons on opening day next year. At the very least he's hitting 3rd and playing left in Alamogordo.

OTHER PROSPECTS
OF Cletus Owry L/L (26) Hit .303/.375/.526 with 23 HR 95 RBI and 25 SB in Alamogordo. Non rostered right now and likely a guy we may lose in the upcoming expansion draft or subsequent Rule 5. Olympic speed and outstanding defender across the outfield.

OF/1B Jim Shelley L/L (24) Acquired in the winter meeting deal with Memphis last year he sort of took us by surprise. Hit .284/.365/.560 with 32 HR and 105 RBI's in 137 AAA games. A September call-up he his .297-3-5 in 11 games. He's a legitimate corner outfielder and a ++ defender at both spots as well as being a very good center fielder. Also has 1B as an option where he is a good defender as well. As of today, he's likely our 4th outfielder coming into camp.

OF Tim Rohloff L/L (26) Acquired from St Louis last December. He hit .306/.434/.406 with 18 2B 6 3B 2 HR and 29 stolen bases. Struck out 59 times to 79 walks. A corner outfield with blazing speed. Our guys think he's a 4A player but we will certainly find out what other teams think this winter.

IF/OF Eric Hartley L/R (26) Hit .273-24-95 with 85 K 75 BB at AA. Acquired from Detroit last December. Another guy who might fall into the 4A category but his bat is much more of a weapon than Rohloff to our scouts. Has hit 45 homers the past 2 seasons at AA. Unique in that he can play 2B, SS LF, and RF. None at an ABA level right now. 2007 will see him at AAA to begin the year.

OF Teagan Ivany R/L (27) Acquired from LA in December last year. Had a huge season at the plate. Hit .366/.446/.553 om 64 AA games with 11 HR 63 RBI. Called up to Alamogordo he hit .366/.432/.535 with 3 HR 9 RBI in 23 games. He's a + defender on the corners and likely a 4A guy given he's already 27

C Jonathan Roller R/R (24) Acquired in a December '05 deal with LA. Hit .278/.383/.517 in 68 games at Clovis with 12 HR 47 RBI. He's got a gun, can already handle big league pitching and an eye that projects to be a potential .375+ OBP guy. Not sure how much the bat has left but right now he can't handle big league velocity. He's slated to start in AA again next year.

IF Diory Hernandez R/R (22) Singed as a minor league FA in July. Hit .331/.382/.544 in 43 games with 9 HR and 34 RBI. Stole 14 bases in 18 tries. The guys a gold glove defender at 2B, SS, and 3B today. 50 steal speed. All that hampered by what our guys think is a well below average bat. He's just 22 and if by some chance could develop into a .275/.350 guy he's a 4th infielder tomorrow. I wouldn't hesitate to call him up today as a defensive guy he's that good.

RF Dave Weller L/L (23) One of the organizations biggest surprises. Drafted in the 7th round (163rd overall) in 2005 he had a great '05 (.311/.403/.521 12 HR 41 RBI) rookie campaign. This year he hit .273/.356/.541 with 29 HR's and 106 RBI 24 stolen bases and 56 walks to just 53 K's in 118 games at Farmington. He will open the year at AA but he's firmly entrenched on our prospect radar.

1B/LF Nate Bosse R/R (21) Our 5th round pick this year out of UCLA he hit .361/.457/.617 in 71 games with Hobbs hitting 19 HR and driving in 66. He's a big boy (6'4” 215) who will start 2007 at Class A Farmington.

1B/3B Jeff Duncan R/R (22) Nate Bosse's teammate at UCLA and our 8th rounder this year. He hit .290/.446/.543 with 10 HR 28 RBI in 63 games. He's a ++ defender at 3B with a great awareness of the strike zone. Will start 2007 with Bosse at Farmington.

SP Roku Higuchi RHP (20) A minor league free agent signed in the winter of 2004. He went 6-0 2 SV in 15 games and 5 starts with Rio Rancho. In 50.1 IP he punched out 59 while giving up 37 hits. He throws in the upper 90's and sort of exploded onto the scene after an unremarkable 2005. He will open the season starting with Hobbs.

SP Mike Carpenter RHP (23) Our 3rd rounder in 2005 (56th overall). Mike is a 6'7”230-pound horse. He struggled mightily last year and didn't burn the house down this year either. Going 5-1 4.71 in 15 starts covering 93.2 innings. He punched out 85 and gave up 97 hits but also walked 53. That's the issue, his control. He'll open the year again at Hobbs.

SP Robbie Givens RHP (24) Our 18th round pick in 2005 out of Kansas State. A pure knuckleballer. Had another rough year. Had some really good outings but they were few and far between. His 145 walks in 182 innings are clearly the hurdle he has to jump to get to the next level. He's punched out 179 hitters. He'll start next year at Hobbs, and that's likely the make or break point for him with this organization.

SP Tristan Ellison LHP (22) Drafted in the 3rd round this year (79th overall) out of Stanford. He went 5-5 5.06 in 15 starts over 90.2 innings. Gave up 100 hits and 32 walks while punching out 83. Hasn't done anything to dissuade the scouts from thinking he's a future ABA starter but all signs point to him starting 2007 at SS Hobbs once again.

OF Zach Astor R/R (21) Acquired from Oklahoma in a deal that saw us send 3 players and our 5th round pick to the Drillers. Our scouts are beyond high on this kid. In 60 combined games of rookie ball, he hit .351/.475/.659 with 17 HR and 66 RBI's. He was Oklahoma's 3rd rounder out of Texas Tech. Right now he's slated to open 2007 at Hobbs. His defense lags far behind his bat and the hope is he makes a significant improvement there. Absolutely a cleanup sized bat if he continues to mature.

SS Jeremy Jones L/R (22) Drafted with our 9th round selection out of Baylor this year he's a ++ defender. Runs well above average. Hit .311/.407/.484 in 66 games at Rio Rancho with 16 2B 2 3B 9 HR and 56 RBI.

1B/2B Billy Howard R/R (21) Picked in the 19th round out of Clemson Billy hit .326/.471/.528 in 65 games for Rio Rancho. He hit 14 2B 10 HR and drove in 42. Struck out just 38 times while walking 58.

CF Jamie Okereke (22) S/R Scouts across the game say Jamie is already the best defensive center fielder in baseball. Taken with our 2nd pick (33rd overall) he hit .232/.377/.430 with 9 2B 4 3B 10 HR and 53 RBI in 61 games of rookie ball. Struck out 51 times to 55 walks.
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