Following up on the starting pitcher register, I started looking at hitters. And, yeah, that gets big fast. Still, it’s fun. So I’ll do what I can to knock out a few lists by position.
Starting with catchers.
In this case, I went to the registers and took every catcher rated “50” and above. This game me some material to work with, but also meant I had a few guys in the mix who (in my opinion) OOTP thinks a little too highly about. Such is life.
Regardless, here’s the listing I came up with:
#1 Charm City
| Name | Lev | Age | B | OVR | POT | CON | GAP | POW | EYE | K | C ARM | C ABI |
|---|
| Pat Madison | A | 21 | R | 25 | 50 | 4 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 6 |
| Quinton Lara | AA | 21 | L | 40 | 60 | 7 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 9 |
| Kelile Komen | AAA | 23 | L | 40 | 50 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 5 |
| Ron Shiplack | R | 18 | R | 20 | 75 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 9 | 9 | 6 |
| Salvatore Tessio | S A | 18 | R | 25 | 50 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 7 | 10 |
The Jimmies are chock-full of guys who squat behind the plate, and a couple of them—Lara and Shiplack—are quite likely to be among the best in the league at some point. Lara, hitting from the left side, holds the most intrigue, but youthful Ron Shiplack has a great name and is probably the best bet to be a prenial all-star if he makes it though the minors unscathed. Both are good glovemen.
Kelile Komen is the guy most developed, and he’s got enough power from the left side to draw interest, but his glove is sub-par, making some thing he’s best suited as a DH for a team going nowhere.
Regardless, Charm City’s depth in the position is deep enough to be mined for trade value, too.
#2 New Orleans
| Name | Lev | Age | B | OVR | POT | CON | GAP | POW | EYE | K | C ARM | C ABI |
|---|
| Roelof Klooster | AA | 20 | R | 40 | 75 | 8 | 11 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 8 |
| Pedro Gómez | AAA | 20 | R | 40 | 75 | 9 | 10 | 6 | 3 | 9 | 8 | 7 |
Poor Crawdad fans: they only have two guys on the list. Of course, those two guys are a pair of 20-year-olds in Pedro Gomez (who came in a deal with Mexico City), and Roelof Kloester, who came by way of Phoenix. They should both hit, and should both play plus defense. This is what, in the business, we call serious depth.
Arguably #1.
#3 Las Vegas
| Name | Lev | Age | B | OVR | POT | CON | GAP | POW | EYE | K | C ARM | C ABI |
|---|
| Randy Bader | A | 19 | S | 30 | 60 | 5 | 11 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 9 |
| António Ruíz | A | 19 | R | 25 | 50 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 9 | 6 | 9 |
| Alberto Rodríguez | AAA | 19 | L | 35 | 65 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 7 |
| Geoff Combs | R | 18 | R | 20 | 50 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
Is it just me, or is it like Vegas is the BBA version of Catcher U? At 19 and in AAA, Alberto Rodriguez looks like a fairly worthy heir to the throne. He hits from the left side well enough he could probably be playing in the bigs today if pressed, and his defense is respectable. Bader is a guy with big thump and is expected to frame pitches well, so he’s probably the second most interesting on the Hustler list. Combs looks like he’ll hit a bit. Ruiz would be more attractive if he learned how to take a walk.
We slot the Hustlers at number three for the fact that Rodriguez looks to be an upper-third kid of player, and the depth is so strong that you figure it’ll yield at least one more solid BBA’er.
#4 San Antonio
| Name | Lev | Age | B | OVR | POT | CON | GAP | POW | EYE | K | C ARM | C ABI |
|---|
| Octávio Moreno | AAA | 18 | R | 35 | 75 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 8 |
The Outlaw pool is shallow, but very tasty and also nearly ready to go. Moreno, a fast-rising IFA signing from a couple years ago. He’s still got some developing to do, but his numbers in AAA suggest he could almost hold his own right now if Mike Calvaruso needed to press him into service. He’s got time to wait, though, so I’d say we’ll see Moreno in the bigs sometime in late 2040, maybe 2041.
#5 Wichita
| Name | Lev | Age | B | OVR | POT | CON | GAP | POW | EYE | K | C ARM | C ABI |
|---|
| Jason Bowen | AAA | 21 | R | 40 | 65 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 5 |
| John Todd | AAA | 21 | R | 40 | 55 | 5 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 6 |
Jason Bowen is a 2038 draft pick who has run through the Wichita organization fast then a gerbil up a, uh … well, fast. We’d say he’s unlikely to make the Hall of Fame, but poking his nose into an All-Star game or two isn’t out of the question. Given Wichita’s need, I’d guess we’ll see him in September. If not then, 2040 is probably a lock. Todd (3rd rounder in 2037) is maybe a shade back of Bowen, but he could be in the supporting cast right now, and I wouldn’t be shocked to see him in the bigs with Bowen next year.
I originally scored the Aviator’s tailhooks a little lower, but their readiness picked them up a couple spots.
#6 Nashville
| Name | Lev | Age | B | OVR | POT | CON | GAP | POW | EYE | K | C ARM | C ABI |
|---|
| Kyle Baker | A | 19 | R | 25 | 65 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 7 |
| Lorenzo Torres | A | 20 | R | 30 | 50 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 7 | 7 |
| Ramón Camacho | S A | 19 | S | 25 | 50 | 5 | 10 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 8 |
One of the issues with using “50” as the cutoff is that you get guys like Torres in here, which I think is a miss. Still, Kyle Baker looks like a solid kid with a good enough glove. Kind of Eric Fabre-like in my book, and that’s pretty solid. Camacho is a more interesting “50,” a switchie with gap power and plus defense. It would really only take a small adjustment or two to turn him into a serious full-timer.
#7 Montreal
| Name | Lev | Age | B | OVR | POT | CON | GAP | POW | EYE | K | C ARM | C ABI |
|---|
| Rainer Scheffer | R | 18 | R | 20 | 70 | 9 | 9 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 8 |
Another one-pony trick, but it’s a very good pony. To be honest, I might be getting too dazzled by the blue bars here, as Scheffer (a second rounder last year) is in his second rodeo in Rookie ball and the numbers just aren’t there yet. At 18, there’s plenty of time, but I admit I get worried. And, of course, if Scheffer fades, this whole ranking gets blown away. Still, the kid’s ceiling is very high.
#8 Yellow Springs
| Name | Lev | Age | B | OVR | POT | CON | GAP | POW | EYE | K | C ARM | C ABI |
|---|
| Bruce McKinley | R | 18 | R | 20 | 60 | 6 | 9 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 9 |
| Jesús Rodríguez | A | 20 | L | 25 | 55 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 8 | 11 |
| Kazuki Saito | AA | 19 | R | 35 | 50 | 8 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 8 | 7 | 7 |
The YS9 system is an interesting scatter of prospects. Saito was the team’s 2037 #1 selection and his bat is arguably ready now (his glove would be worse than Aaron Stone’s though, which is hard to imagine). McKinley is probably the farthest away, and is arguably the strongest overall candidate on the list, but the most interesting of the trio is Jesus Rodriguez, a respectable left-handed bat who came in the supplemental rounds last year, and whose defensive acumen is the best on the board. Though Pablo Alaniz is serving the backup role well enough right now, one might expect Saito to see time soon. Rodriguez fractured a thumb, losing a few weeks, but it wouldn’t be a shock to see him in AA next year, and perhaps nearing readiness by 2041.
#9 Jacksonville
| Name | Lev | Age | B | OVR | POT | CON | GAP | POW | EYE | K | C ARM | C ABI |
|---|
| Ramiro Cherón | R | 18 | R | 20 | 60 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 8 | 8 | 5 |
| Felipe Delgado | R | 18 | R | 20 | 55 | 8 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 10 | 5 | 8 |
| Pepe Prieto | R | 18 | S | 20 | 55 | 4 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 5 |
| José Morán | A | 19 | S | 25 | 50 | 4 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 9 |
By raw numbers and ratings, the Hurricane’s catching crew would probably be notched up at least one run and maybe two, but they are all so young, and we know how that can go. In addition, Moran is another one of those “50”s that I really don’t see. Prieto, with his slugging percentage pop works, though.
One wonders if playing time is going to be an issue here, and if so whether the team might try to make one of those rare minor league deals that adjusts pipelines. Regardless, the main issue I think anyone can have in assessing the Jacksonville catching futures is that even with Moran taking reps at A-ball, they are all so far away it’s hard to see what they’ve got.
#10 Twin Cities
| Name | Lev | Age | B | OVR | POT | CON | GAP | POW | EYE | K | C ARM | C ABI |
|---|
| Joe Bradshaw | R | 18 | S | 20 | 65 | 7 | 10 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 7 |
The next choice is one of quality over quantity. The River Monster’s Bradshaw was the 19th overall pick in this seasons’ draft, and he’s been abusing Rookie Pitching well enough to think he’ll finish in Short-A ball. He’s a solid defender and, assuming he fleshes out, should be a robust guy who can do a bit of everything.
#11 Louisville
| Name | Lev | Age | B | OVR | POT | CON | GAP | POW | EYE | K | C ARM | C ABI |
|---|
| Toshikazu Noguchi | S A | 18 | R | 20 | 55 | 7 | 8 | 4 | 7 | 8 | 5 | 5 |
| Calvin Johnson | R | 18 | S | 20 | 55 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 6 | 9 |
| Ben Scott | R | 18 | R | 20 | 50 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 6 |
The “volume” pick for the #10 slot would have been Louisville, who has three cards in the game, all of them very young. Though some will like Noguchi’s steady offense and patient approach at the plate, I’m more intrigued with Calvin Johnson as a switchie with gap power and a big-boy glove. Scott is a great little “50” to have around, as he doesn’t really have terrible holes, and even a small bump changes the dynamic.
#12-#19
Given that the rest of the candidate teams have only one player each, I’ll just rank them all in one table.
| Team | Name | Lev | Age | B | OVR | POT | CON | GAP | POW | EYE | K | C ARM | C ABI |
|---|
| CLG | Parker Davenport | A | 21 | R | 25 | 60 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 8 |
| VAN | Angelo Deluccio | R | 18 | R | 20 | 60 | 7 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 8 |
| BRK | Mzee Kiango | A | 21 | L | 25 | 50 | 5 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 10 |
| BOI | Pat Alexander | R | 18 | R | 20 | 60 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 5 |
| DM | Patrick Faber | S A | 18 | S | 20 | 55 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| VAL | Mario Rolo | A | 19 | R | 30 | 55 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 6 | 8 |
| HNT | Spencer Hillson | A | 20 | R | 25 | 50 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 7 |
| SEA | Jared Bolen | R | 18 | R | 20 | 50 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 7 |
Davenport gets the nod on account of his development level as well as he overall ratings. I had Kiango down a few spots, but he’s 21 and closer to ready, and his left-handed bat gives him a little boost—same kind of thinking regarding pushing Faber up over Boise’s Alexander, though Faber has a defensive advantage, too.
Bottom line, it’s an interesting set of players, and since the last eleven teams don’t have catchers rated 50+, they all score above bottom third.
