08.14: Barnstormer May Farm Report

[agrudez]

The month of May has offered little reprieve from the sub-mediocrity of the Omaha farm teams (with the best record belonging to AAA – currently sporting a .417 winning percentage); however, certain players did separate themselves from the rest of the chaff throughout the month, while others, like arguable top prospect, C Ricardo Rios followed up solid Aprils (.964 OPS) with inept Mays (.491 OPS) to bring their season back to mediocrity. For now; however, we will attempt to focus on the positives (all of which came from AA) rather than the negatives.

Despite a slightly down May vs. April (.768 OPS vs. .943) 2B prospect Enrico Torres continues to impress Omaha brass as he has followed up last year’s .822 OPS in a short A season after being selected in the 2nd round with a .841 OPS thus far in AA. He has not hit below a .320 average going all the way back to his senior year in HS just before the draft through 3 levels now (college, A, AA) and looks to be poised to make the jump to AAA sooner rather than later as he is on the fast track to the majors.

Star pitching prospect Jake Barnett was nothing short of dominant in the month of May (17K and 1BB in 11 IP) as he continues his transition to the closer role. Through 20 game appearances this season, The Inseminator is a perfect 13 for 13 in save opportunities with a 2.45 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 4K:BB ratio. It would surprise very few if this right-handed hurler possibly saw a cup of coffee in the majors in September and a look in ST for the major league closers’ role in ’09 if his transition continues at a similarly smooth pace – particularly with the hopeless state of the Barnstormer bullpen.

Starting pitching prospect Charles Brannigan put in a very strong May in A (3 ERA, 1.25 WHIP in 4 starts) and got the promotion to AA late in the month where he has, thus far, started 2 games and held his own – posting a respectable 3.86 ERA despite an unlucky .371 BABIP. The secret to his success, scouts say, has undoubtedly been his ability to keep the ball in the park – as he has yet to surrender a single HR through 10 starts across both A and AA.

One of the more surprising moves the organization has made since Stever came to office occurred when much maligned OF prospect Christopher Lee, whom has languished in sub-mediocrity for over a year and a half in A ball (and more than 1 disappointing year in R ball before that) was bumped to AA after finally breaking the Mendoza line with a .703 OPS in A ball in the month of May. The results, I’m sure, were ones that even the most optimistic couldn’t have predicted, as the highly touted prospect showed his first glimmer of what his potential looks like – posting a 1.267 OPS through his first 10 games in AA. It is difficult to accurately capture the point in a prospect’s career where the switch is “flipped on”, but mark May 21st, 2008 down on your calendar as the day it did for this kid.

Meanwhile, newcomers to the organization (whom came over in the Lance Pere deal), OF Thomas Katongo and SP Harry Martin picked up exactly where they had left off from Carolina’s farm system, posting solid numbers in their limited time thus far on the Barnstormer’s AAA team (.729 OPS for Katongo and 2.7 ERA for Martin). With the continued struggles of the Barnstormer pitching staff as a whole, many speculate that Martin could get the call sooner than later for his first taste of the majors.

[agrudez]

Looks like my fluff piece hasn't increased trade interest in Lee or Brannigan.

Total waste of time.

[recte44]

You know, Brannigan looks a lot like Luis Luna.

[felipe]

Sorry man, its hard to keep up with your output! (Especially when I'm trying to turn out stuff too!)

And I'm not looking to deal yet - but then again - we're after the same things...