It is a very small sample size but Ben McLoughlin hit .588 in 17 atbats. Alley Pie played full time and is contributing to a Madison squad that should be in the thick of the playoff hunt.
22 year old CF Emilio “Sunshine” Rodriguez – Louisville Sluggers
Sunshine is currently the #1 overall prospect as rated by MBWBA writers and front office personnel. Drafted 7th overall by Louisville in 2014 Rodriguez has been on the fast track to the big leagues. He started in rookie league Slippery Rock but then was promoted to AA Alabama for 2015. He spent the last 2 years in AAA and WL working on his contact and OBP. He’ll never be a true on base machine but his ultimate power and speed combo will strike fear into average and less than average pitchers. With current Louisville outfielders being shopped look for Rodriguez to get his shot opening day.
G AB H 2B 3B HR RBI BB K AVG OBP SLG SB
7 27 7 2 0 0 4 1 7 .259 .286 .333 4
21 year old CF Pedro Vega – Las Vegas Hustlers
Vega may translate better than Rodriguez in the big leagues in 2018 as he has been an absolute monster in AAA Milwaukee, hitting .327 with 19 homers and 83 ribbies. He got a cup of coffee late in the 2017 season and should be on the roster come opening day. Vega is a free swinging power hitter with great contact, speed and defense. A lethal combination for the rest of the Frick League.
Started season in AAA Milwaukee
G AB H 2B 3B HR RBI BB K AVG OBP SLG SB
10 39 16 2 0 2 8 0 1 .410 .439 .615 3
23 year old RF Carlos “The Knife” Ortega – Brooklyn Robins
Ortega was drafted by Louisville in round 2 of the 2013 draft and was traded to Carolina before being acquired by Brooklyn in the Dutch Oven deal. He is an on base machine and had a great season in AAA San Francisco (.961 OPS). Ortega saw some action late in 2016 but was not brought up last season after he had arguably a better year in AAA than in 2016. That causes critics to wonder what will happen heading into the 2018 season but Ortega deserves to be on the team when they break camp.
G AB H 2B 3B HR RBI BB K AVG OBP SLG SB
4 13 2 1 0 0 0 2 4 .154 .267 .231 1
22 year old 3B Antonio Sanchez – New Orleans Crawdads
Sanchez is a bit further away from action than the previous players on the list but could receive some attention late in the season. He did receive some atbats late last season and could be asked to play sooner rather than later for no other reason than to find out if he has what it takes. He has played in AAA Havana the last 3 seasons and has shown improvement each season. His power isn’t quite there yet but he has a decent eye and defense. He projects as a shortstop at the big league level.
Started the season in AAA Havana
G AB H 2B 3B HR RBI BB K AVG OBP SLG SB
6 9 4 2 0 0 0 1 2 .444 .500 .667 0
20 year old 1B Antonio Sanchez – Atlantic City Gamblers
“The Other” Sanchez is going to be a project for the Gamblers. He absolutely ripped apart WL Bogota and AAA Brooklyn as a 19 year old this past year (combines 31 HRs and 130 RBIs in 197 games). However, while he has great power and on base skills, the young 1B is not up to par in the field. After 24 errors in 153 games at 1B in AAA Brooklyn it will be interesting to see where the Gamblers hide the young kid in the field. Originally a catcher coming up through the system he doesn’t seem to project well there either. We’ll see what management has in store. Look for a late season callup to the big league club for the Venezuelan Sanchez.
G AB H 2B 3B HR RBI BB K AVG OBP SLG SB
7 25 2 1 0 0 1 4 5 .080 .207 .120 0
19 year old RF Pedro ‘Bud’ Reyes – Montreal Blazers
“Bud” may be a season away from appearing in the Monty but if he plays like he did in AAA Fort Wayne for a full year it will be hard to keep the kid off the big league squad. He signed a minor league deal with the Gamblers as a 16 year old out of the Dominican Republic and played in rookie league Albany that season. He has had a long and winding road, playing for 3 different franchises in 7 cities from Albany and Long Island to Compton and Hollywood. He has great speed and contact ability but limited skills in the field. Another player that could fill a utility role late in 2018 but will need to be hidden while on the field.
Started the season in AAA Fort Wayne
G AB H 2B 3B HR RBI BB K AVG OBP SLG SB
7 19 8 1 0 0 1 3 2 .421 .500 .474 1
23 year old 3B Ben McLoughlin – Montreal Blazers
Mcloughlin and Reyes could be called the Montreal version of the odd couple. While Reyes started playing minor league ball at 16, McLoughlin attended 4 years of college and was drafted by Montreal 28th overall in 2016. McLoughlin finished 2016 in AA Mobile and absolutely dominated AA in early 2017 when he was brought up to AAA Fort Wayne. He fared ok batting .267 with 12 hr’s and 67 RBI’s. Look for another full season in AAA and a possible callup late in the season.
G AB H 2B 3B HR RBI BB K AVG OBP SLG SB
4 17 10 1 0 0 1 0 5 .588 .588 .647 0
23 year old SS Alley “Gator” Pie – Madison Wolves
The Wolves recently traded a few prospects for the ML ready Pie who will play 3B for them opening day. Pie projects as a 7-9 hitter who should be able to hit for decent average and power. More of a defensive minded player, Pie will be asked to hold his own at the hot corner for the Wolves.
G AB H 2B 3B HR RBI BB K AVG OBP SLG SB
9 35 8 1 0 3 8 2 12 .229 .270 .514 1
Pitchers
Tucson Pitcher Juan Cruz started out lights out even though he earned a loss when he gave up only 1 run against New Orleans. Jay Lee Jr. will drop off of this list as he is out for 7-8 months with an elbow injury.
23 year old Christian “Dinky” Brown – Montreal Blazers
Dinky Brown has a shot to be a breakout star in the Monty heading into the 2018 season. He had a cup of coffee with the Blazers in 2017 after a full season in AAA Fort Wayne. His 9-13 record didn’t impress but the 3.18 ERA and 185 strikeouts, with only 48 walks, in 186 innings pitched sure did. Look for brown to have a shot at making the opening day staff and having a strong rookie campaign.
G GS Rec SV ERA IP HA HR BB K WHIP
2 2 1-0 0 3.94 16.0 12 3 5 10 1.06
24 year old Michael Leroy – New Orleans Crawdads
Leroy was drafted out of high school in 2012 by California as a starting pitcher but has been used mostly out of the pen in the minors. Acquired by New Orleans in the Al Jones deal, Leroy has a shot at being a middle reliever with the big league team this coming season. He pitched 44 innings in 42 games for AAA Havana, posting a 3-6 record with 13 saves and a 3.48 ERA. He has an above average fastball and sinker and should dominate right handed batters. In 7 games this past September he managed a 1.04 ERA. A solid start to his Monty career.
Started the season in AAA Havana
G GS Rec SV ERA IP HA HR BB K WHIP
2 0 1-0 0 5.40 1.2 1 0 0 2 0.60
23 year old Juan Cruz – Tucson Cactus
Cruz pitched in 5 starts for Tucson at the end of 2017 and had a rough go of things. He was 1-3 with an 8.31 ERA and gave up 41 hits, 5 of them homers, in 26 innings pitched. His solid play at AAA Milwaukee allowed the Cactus to trade for Cruz in the Guzman deal. I expect Cruz to get a long look during spring training but he might be better suited for a mid-season callup. Unlike the previous 2 pitchers, Cruz has some room to grow a bit yet and could use some added sharpness on his pitches. All 6 of them, yikes!
G GS Rec SV ERA IP HA HR BB K WHIP
2 2 1-1 0 1.13 16.0 13 0 2 15 0.94
22 year old Kyle Moore – Seattle Storm
Moore is a bit younger than the others on this list but he has very solid attributes. He has used 3 excellent pitches to work his way up from rookie league Ogden to AAA Kalamazoo after being drafted in the 1st round of the 2013 draft by Seattle. He lacks control, as seen by his 22 walks in 43 innings last season, but should be able to gain some additional points there before he finishes his development. Look for Moore to be a late season callup in 2018.
Started the season in AAA Kalamazoo
G GS Rec SV ERA IP HA HR BB K WHIP
2 2 0-0 0 5.73 11.0 13 1 6 13 1.73
21 year old Cesar “Frango” Martinez – Birmingham Bandits
Martinez his much like his Frick League Midwest counterpart Leroy in that he is a pitcher that was drafted as a starter and may be best suited for middle relief in the Monty. Also like Leroy he got a shot to show his stuff at the end of 2017 and he dominated opposing hitters to the tune of a 245 ERA over 18+ innings, piling up 14 strikeouts and only 4 walks. After starting with rookie league Tuscaloosa in 2014, the youngster has improved each step of the way. It just goes to show what slow mentoring, similar to Kyle Moore above, can do for a pitcher. Looks for Martinez to make the opening day roster and work consistently out of the bandits pen.
G GS Rec SV ERA IP HA HR BB K WHIP
1 0 0-0 0 0.00 0.2 0 0 0 1 0.00
22 year old Jose Marroquin – Atlantic City Gamblers
Jose (and his stache) has a ton of talent and could be a huge addition for the Gamblers. He has shown greta intangibles and could improve slightly on his stuff but can pitch long into the game. His only downside is that while he has a blazing fastball, clocked at around 100 mph, his has a so-so second pitch (curveball) and a barely there third pitch (changeup). His stats weren’t great in AAA Brooklyn last season but if he can work on his 2nd and 3rd pitches he could really be a hidden gem. Look for Jose to get a look during spring training and be in the big leagues before the season ends.
G GS Rec SV ERA IP HA HR BB K WHIP
2 2 0-2 0 7.24 13.2 17 4 7 8 1.76
22 year old Miguel “Slider” Flores – Madison Wolves
Flores may be the most difficult player to place going into the 2018 season in that he has great stuff, control and movement and has shown he can pitch both as a starter (R-Charlottesville, 2015 and A-Boulder, 2016) and a reliever (WL-Saint Johns, 2016 and AAA-South Bend, 2017). He posted 44 saves and a 2.53 ERA in AAA last season. Awesome numbers no doubt. But he also posted a 14-5 record in almost 200 innings in Boulder the year before. His downfall is a less than thrilling 3rd pitch, otherwise he has all the makings of a front of the rotation starter. Look for Flores to make the big league team out of spring training and if he can get a 3rd pitch working, behaving like an Ace. Otherwise a 44 save effort wouldn’t be bad either.
G GS Rec SV ERA IP HA HR BB K WHIP
6 0 1-0 1 4.15 4.1 2 0 1 6 0.69
22 year old Jay “Algae” Lee, Jr. – Madison Wolves
Jay jr, the son of HOFer Jay Lee has some starting to think about how his dad used to pitch. The 2013 1st round pick started slowly by working his way through rookie league, A, WL, AA and then AAA but could be finding his groove. He went 18-12 in South Bend last season and posted a 3.56 ERA. Many scouts believe that the kid of the legend is fully developed and ready for a shot to see what he can do. Look for Algae to get a long look in spring and to likely end up first or 2nd out of the pen.
G GS Rec SV ERA IP HA HR BB K WHIP
0 0 0-0 0 0.00 0.0 0 0 0 0 0.00
