2037-12: Talons Farm Report - Upper Minors

[jiminyhopkins]

With Ripley and Barron in the majors, the Talons farm system is pretty thin at the upper levels. The franchise is ranked 6th overall, but not because of the guys you see here.

AAA Ashland Slowriders

C Vicente Diaz (5/6/8/4/6 Talents) - age 23
As the throw in to the Lacaze trade, Diaz should eventually be able to start at catcher for a second division team. He has a power bat and average defense, along with good intangibles.

3B Jose Roman (6/7/7/6/6 Talents) - age 22
Roman has worked vary hard to become a somewhat viable prospect at third base, despite pedestrian defensive skills. He definitely has the bat to stick in the majors, but with a 4 range his options will likely be limited to rebuilding teams.

DH Ron Mosley (6/7/9/6/5 Talents) - age 28
Yeah, he's not a prospect at all. But his bat can definitely play in the majors. Not a huge market for AAA DH's pushing age 30, though.

RP Brandon Olds (9/6/9 Talents) - age 27
Also not a prospect. But if he can find his slider, he suddenly becomes a major league relief option.

CL Bras Gesteiras (13/5/4 Talents) - age 22
Gesteiras is on this list because the raw kid has a chance to be one of the hardest throwers in the franchise. How would the average batter like to see a 100MPH cutter in on his hands? It's fun to think about, but without any improvement in the control, Bras likely won't make the big leagues.

AA Medicine Hat Flaming Nukes

RP Julio Cuevas (9/7/8 Talents) - age 20
Cuevas was drafted as a starter, but projects to be a valuable reliever, especially after his official conversion takes place in a year or two. He had a partial UCL tear in May 2034, but so far doesn't seem to have suffered any lasting effects, recording 27 saves and a 1.56 ERA last season.

2B Yi-ke Hsiao (8/9/6/5/7 Talents) - age 20
Hsiao was a second round pick in 2036, and has developed very quickly. His raw defensive talent isn't exactly encouraging, but he will presumeably see the big leagues in one way or another, perhaps even next season.

A Toledo Liberty

SP Alejandro Lopez (9/7/6 Talents) - age 20
Lopez keeps plugging along, pitching quite well as a 19 year old in A-ball last year. A few nagging injuries dogged him all last season, so he will start this year one level lower to get some confidence back. Lopez looks to have #3 starter ceiling, even if he is still a few years away.

1B Morgan Hollinger (6/7/9/5/5 Talents) - age 20
Drafted twice by the Talons, in the third round in 2034 and did not sign, then all the way up to the first round of the crap-tastic 2035 draft, where he got $2 million. Guy knows how to get paid, we guess. Anyway, with Deortez now at 1B for the foreseeable future, Hollinger's window to the bigs may have just closed.

RP Keenan Olatunji (10/5/6 Talents) - age 20
Once a high second round pick and closer of the future, Olatunji's star has fallen about as far as it can. The torn UCL he suffered last July may have ended any hopes of him making the big leagues.

[Ted]

I like the reverse split on Ceuvas. Could be a good reliever.