clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Arizona Top 20 In Review

New, 10 comments


Conor Jackson

Top 20 Arizona Diamondbacks Prospects in Review

1) Carlos Quentin, OF
.301/.422/.542 with 14 homers, 41 walks, 32 strikeouts in 78 games at Triple-A Tucson. Continuing to show power and excellent plate discipline, still an outstanding prospect.
2) Conor Jackson, OF
.370/.463/.563 at Tucson, 30 doubles, 6 homers, 50 walks, 21 strikeouts in 75 games. Home run production less than expected, but doubles are a good sign, and BB/K/AB ratio is awesome. Still an outstanding prospect.
3) Jon Zeringue, OF
.257/.289/.361 in 69 games for Double-A Tennessee, with 9/46/249 BB/K/AB mark. Production hampered by very poor strike zone judgment. A disappointing season thus far.
4) Sergio Santos, SS
Not adjusting well to Triple-A, hitting .238/.298/.425 with 11 homers for Tucson. Plate discipline has been mediocre, numbers overall are considerably less than anticipated.
5) Josh Kroeger, OF
Hitting .263/.322/.422 for Tucson, more mediocre numbers in a good hitting environment. Will get buried by Quentin and Jackson if he doesn't improve.
6) Chris Snyder, C
Not doing that well in the Majors, hitting just .2298/.315/.312 in 61 games for Arizona. Quite disappointing.
7) Tony Ramon Pena (Adriano Rosario), RHP
2-7, 4.79 at Double-A Tennessee, with 42/26 K/BB in 68 innings, 73 hits allowed. At this point he is little more than a Grade C prospect in my mind, given all his baggage and inconsistency.
8) Jamie D'Antona, 3B
.250/.326/.393, 27 walks, 44 strikeouts in 244 at-bats for Tennessee. Another disappointing hitter, less power than expected with only an adequate walk rate.
9) Garrett Mock, RHP
6-4, 4.18 in 15 starts for Class A Lancaster, 84/17 K/BB in 95 innings, 109 hits allowed. These are credible numbers for the difficult pitching environment in this park/league. I especially like the low walk rate. A fantasy sleeper.
10) Ross Ohlendorf, RHP
5-5, 4.71 in 14 starts for Class A South Bend, 85/26 K/BB in 80 innings. K/IP is very good, but he's given up 99 hits, too many for a guy who can hit the mid 90s with his sinker and who came from a Division I college.
11) Bill Murphy, LHP
Status slipping. 2-4, 4.40 in 11 starts for Tucson. That's OK, but I'm concerned about his poor 38/38 K/BB in 61 innings. Too many walks, not enough strikeouts.
12) Enrique Gonzalez, RHP
8-4, 3.78 in 16 starts for Tennessee, with 86/31 K/BB in 95 innings, 92 hits. Decent numbers, he should be moved up the charts with guys like Murphy and D'Antona moving down.
13) Chris Carter, 1B-OF
A solid power hitter, at .295/.367/.519 in 77 games for Lancaster, with 34 walks and 51 strikeouts in 308 at-bats. I really like his offensive potential, but he's a born DH and it is hard to see how Arizona will fit him on the roster.
14) Justin Wechsler, RHP
8.16 ERA in 21 games for Tennessee, with 23/18 K/BB in 29 innings, allowing 37 hits. Horrible numbers all-around.
15) Adam Bass, RHP
2-7, 3.80 in 15 starts for Tennessee, with 59/21 K/BB in 85 innings. Mediocre numbers. Not a lot get excited about although he has shown decent control.
16) Carlos Gonzales, OF
Hitting .318/.366/.455 in 73 games for Class A South Bend. Has good tools, good numbers this year. Plate discipline remains mediocre but it has not hurt him much, and his strikeout rate is reasonable. Only 19 years old, moving up the prospect lists.
17) A.J. Shappi, RHP
Having a great year, 11-1, 2.86 in 15 starts for Class A South Bend. However, there are warning signs: 59/15 K/BB in 104 innings. Excellent walk rate, but his K/IP is well below average and a caution flag for higher levels.
18) Dustin Nippert, RHP
3-1, 2.63 in his first 6 starts for Tennessee, coming back from surgery. 26/13 K/BB in 41 innings. He was a solid prospect before getting hurt, so the early results are encouraging.
19) Matt Chico, LHP
Struggled at Tennessee, going 1-7, 5.98 in 10 starts. Sent back to Lancaster, where he is 1-2, 5.14 in 6 starts. Not an impressive season. He throws hard, but his command within the strike zone is very poor.
20) Jason Bulger, RHP
2-3, 4.14 in 36 games for Tucson, 36/22 K/BB in 37 innings. Not bad for the Pacific Coast League, though he needs to lower his walk rate to have a chance in middle relief or as an emergency closer. He does throw hard.

Special Mention: Stephen Drew would have ranked second on the list if he had signed early enough. He is hitting .375/.459/.781 at Lancaster in 8 games since signing. I expect him to move quickly.

A mixed bag. Some guys are doing extremely well, while others have been quite disappointing.