So I’m looking at minor league systems again, to day focusing on outfields. This starts to get really hard, really fast because there are so many ways to decide how to rate and rank things. There’s raw volume, and there’s potential rating, and position value. Then there’s readiness. Do you rank a team with one superstar center fielder in Short A over a team with three pretty nice-looking players who are scattered between AAA and AA?
It’s tough.
To make it worse, the differences across the league can be pretty minuscule as best as I can say.
So, to highlight differences a little better, I took a different take, and ranked minor league outfields by division (using 2040 alignment) rather than as a whole. Shoot me. Seriously, shoot me now. Why am I doing this? I dunno. I should probably also say that I included all players who are rated 50 and above in potential.
To complete this, report, I’ll likely write up four separate posts—one for each division.
Starting with:
THE HEARTLAND DIVISION
All right, in the 2040 Heartland division we run smack dab into one of the foibles of rating these things. Even within this division we have three buckets of teams, and how you decide to view things depends on how you balance the idea of stars, solid players, and the time value of performance. Let’s see how I looked at it.
#1: Yellow Springs
POS | Name | Lev | Age | B | POT | CON | GAP | POW | EYE | K | RNG | ARM | ERR | SPE | STE |
LF | Rex Foster | R | 19 | L | 75 | 9 | 11 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 5 |
LF | Ricardo Mendoza | AAA | 18 | L | 65 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 3 | 9 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 10 | 10 |
RF | Javier Rodríguez | AA | 21 | L | 60 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 7 | 3 | 6 |
LF | José Camacho | AA | 22 | R | 55 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 3 |
RF | Raúl Valdés | AAA | 19 | R | 50 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
Rex Foster should be fantastic when he gets to Yellow Springs, but that could be awhile. In the meantime, the value comes from Ricardo Mendoza (who looks ready to play now) and Jose Comacho. Raul Valdez will provide some value, and can even play 3B a bit (though that doesn’t matter for these assessments. Javier Rodriguez has pop, but struggles defensively—as does Camacho, really. There’s an argument that OOTP rates Camacho too highly for that reason.
#2 Huntsville
POS | Name | Lev | Age | B | POT | CON | GAP | POW | EYE | K | RNG | ARM | ERR | SPE | STE |
LF | Hao Hang | R | 19 | L | 70 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
RF | André Ly | AAA | 19 | L | 60 | 7 | 9 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 11 | 7 | 9 | 8 |
LF | Paul Kemp | R | 18 | R | 60 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 4 | 8 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 4 |
RF | Jaime Geerdinkck | AAA | 20 | L | 55 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 1 |
RF | Ricardo Torres | S A | 19 | L | 50 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 5 |
RF | Danny Bennett | R | 18 | L | 50 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 3 |
LF | Arturo Mendoza | R | 18 | L | 50 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 |
My grandfather might have call this a helluva mess of fish. Huntsville is bludgeoning the outfield ranks with seven bonafide prospects. LHB Andre Ly could probably make it in the bigs right now, though he’s benefitting from more time down in Carolina. Geerdinkck is probably ready, too, though he’s probably better considered a left fielder. Bottom line, there could be reason to rank Huntsville over Yellow Springs—but I liked Mendoza as the best player in the list, and the Phantoms/Sox don’t have anyone of Foster’s quality in the lower ranks. That said, the team has a phalanx of guys down there to pay attention to.
It’s an interesting system.
#3 Louisville
POS | Name | Lev | Age | B | POT | CON | GAP | POW | EYE | K | RNG | ARM | ERR | SPE | STE |
CF | Théo Bourges | AA | 18 | L | 80 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 5 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 9 |
RF | Donald Miller | R | 18 | L | 70 | 7 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 11 | 6 | 4 | 3 |
Here we come to the second group. If you like thin ultra-quality over thick, but good, you’ll rank Louisville #1 in the Heartland and probably the next two as #2 and #3. In Bourges and Miller, the Sluggers have a pair of prime beef players, including one of the better CF prospects in the league. The issues here, though, are: (1) other than these two, there’s not much here, and (2) Both players are probably two years out, and in Miller’s case, maybe three. Bourges, at 18, has just made AA, though…but his numbers say he’ll be there a while.
Still, it’s an eye-grabbing set of outfielders, and if they both yield to team with Kwakou and Hubbard, Louisville’s outfield will be among the best in the league for some time.
#4 Madison
POS | Name | Lev | Age | B | POT | CON | GAP | POW | EYE | K | RNG | ARM | ERR | SPE | STE |
RF | Manobu Shimizu | AA | 18 | L | 80 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 9 | 6 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 5 |
LF | Juan Martínez | R | 18 | R | 55 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 10 | 4 |
Like Louisville, there’s not much here, but what is here will turn your head right around. Manobu Shimizu was last year’s first round choice for the Wolves and is one of the more anticipated arrivals in the league. He’s 18 and blitzing AA, which to be fair is probably wise, though one thinks he’ll be in AAA before the season is up. Probably the most pressing question here is whether he’ll start his big league career in April of next year, or wait a month or two to “cough, cough,” work on his defense.
At this point, though, as soon as Shimizu graduates, the Madison outfield farm system crashes.
#5 Des Moines
POS | Name | Lev | Age | B | POT | CON | GAP | POW | EYE | K | RNG | ARM | ERR | SPE | STE |
CF | Jorge Aranda | AAA | 20 | R | 60 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 11 | 10 | 5 |
LF | Carlos Ricerdo | S A | 20 | R | 50 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 9 | 6 | 10 | 6 |
The Kernels are the third and last of the second group I mentioned in the opening—thin, but very good. In this case, the “very good” is Jorge Aranda, a centerfielder who looks to be about a year from being ready to yield. He’s in AAA, and his numbers are kind of “meh,” suggesting the 20-year-old might be stronger served by taking reps in AA. Shrug.
I debated listing them ahead of Madison, but in the end I took an 80 RF over a 60 CF. Your mileage may vary. The bottom line, though, is that while Des Moines has been focusing their minor league acquisition on pitching, they still have a pretty interesting guy or two around the outfield.
#6 Omaha
POS | Name | Lev | Age | B | POT | CON | GAP | POW | EYE | K | RNG | ARM | ERR | SPE | STE |
RF | Bret Powers | R | 18 | R | 65 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 11 | 4 | 6 |
CF | Lorenzo Bueno | AA | 20 | R | 50 | 8 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 11 | 7 |
Omaha is the first of the third group—teams that have a little help in their systems, but with most of that coming out considerably into the future. The Hawks may sit on the borderline of this definition, depending on how you view Lorenzo Bueno. If Bueno could take a walk, he’d probably be a top 100+ kind of prospect, unfortunately, he hasn’t show that kind of discipline. He’s in AA right now, though, and struggling a bit, so if he does yield it’s likely to be late 2041.
Brett Powers, this year’s top pick for the club, is a solid looking player, though is probably going to more suited to LF than RF. Regardless, it’s an interesting pair
#7 Nashville
POS | Name | Lev | Age | B | POT | CON | GAP | POW | EYE | K | RNG | ARM | ERR | SPE | STE |
RF | Nacho Méndez | A | 19 | R | 50 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 11 | 7 | 8 | 7 |
RF | Cliff Fallon | R | 18 | R | 50 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 7 | 5 | 9 | 6 | 8 | 6 |
LF | Carlos López | R | 18 | R | 50 | 6 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 8 | 3 | 8 |
CF | Arthur Daniel | R | 19 | L | 50 | 6 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 9 | 9 |
With four players, the soon-to-be Bluebirds have a few numbers, Other than Daniel in center, they all have a little trouble defending, but they also all look like they can hit a little. I’m scoring them #7 now because none of them grab your eyes, and because they are all a long, long way from being ready. But, to be honest, I kind of like this group. They’re my kinds of players—not gaudy individually, but on the whole each capable of making a difference. So, yeah, I’ll say this is a group that’s certainly likely—if it grows up together well—to raise up considerably before it’s all said and done.
#8 Twin Cities
POS | Name | Lev | Age | B | POT | CON | GAP | POW | EYE | K | RNG | ARM | ERR | SPE | STE |
LF | Jorge Gutiérrez | S A | 18 | R | 70 | 8 | 10 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 5 | 9 | 9 |
CF | Henry Curtis | S A | 19 | R | 55 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 5 | 10 | 7 |
CF | Florian Rudhart | S A | 21 | R | 50 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 11 | 10 |
I like that the River Monsters essentially have an entire outfield coming along together (Gutierrez is probably the best of them, and could slide to right field if Mr. Spicolli so desired. Rudhart, however, isn’t overly exciting, and I don’t like that their system is essentially barren at the top rungs, meaning that it’s likely three seasons before you see much of anything out of it when it comes to the outfield.
# # #
So there we have the Heartland. To give you a visual of how that looks to my eyes, here’s a little table. [grin]