We have finished up our team by team previews over at Bullpen Banter with the AL and NL West teams.  JD previously posted the Prospects to Watch for the Padres, A's, and Giants here, so I'll leave them out and cover the rest of the teams now:

Los Angeles Angels

Michael Herrick: I'm going to pick two guys that were rotation mates in the Midwest League last year, Tyler Chatwood and Ryan Chaffee.  They had similar results last year, but they're not that similar really.  Chaffee throws a low 90's sinker, two different curveballs(a slow, loopy one and harder biting one), a solid changeup and a slider.  He generates a ton of grounders with the sinker and hard curve and he racks up the K's as well.  His walk rate is high, but as opposed to Chatwood it's not because he's wild when it comes to his control, it's because his pitches get a massive amount of movement that he hasn't harnessed command of them yet.  Just a bit of improvement there and we're looking at a potential star.

Chatwood throws a bit harder, having touched the mid to high 90's in high school a couple of years ago.  He has an above average curve to go with his sinker, but his changeup is much like most young pitchers less two years removed from high school-below average and in need of work.  His control is suspect as well, but he gets a solid number of groundballs and a solid number of K's(but not as many of either as Chaffee does).  He needs to improve the change and refine his control a bit, but he could be a solid complement to Chaffee as they move up the ladder together.

Al Skorupa: I like Chatwood and could see a breakout from him. I still believe in LHP Will Smith. He's one of the better command and pitchability guys around. He's more high profile than the guys I've been choosing for this spot, but RHPFabio Martinez could end up a top 50 guy next year if things break right.

Arizona Diamondbacks

Michael Herrick: I've been a fan of Cole Gillespie for awhile now.  He's not a flashy prospect and none of his tools grade out as more than a bit above average but he's the kind of guy who is better than his individual skills show.  He is in the mold of David DeJesus I think, plus defender in a corner, solid contact skill with gap power, but I think Gillespie could have a bit higher walk rate and better success on the basepaths.  I'd feel comfortable projecting him as a 3 to 3.5 win player in his prime.  Whether he gets that chance in Arizona probably depends on if Chris Young bounces back or not.

Al Skorupa: Although this system is pretty thin, I too would say OF Cole Gillespie is underrated. He's a well rounded player who could end up an above average corner OF. I'm also still huge on Jarrod Parker.

 

Texas Rangers

Michael Herrick: So many names to choose from here.  There are three pitchers on my Top 100 list that I don't think get enough attention: Michael Main, Wilmer Font, and Robbie Ross.  I'm trying to stay away from those type of guys though because once we've released our Top 100 list as a group we're going to put out our individual lists with commentary and I will cover those guys then.  I considered Neil Ramirez too, but I own him in a fantasy league so I'll skip him too.  That leaves me with two guys I want to talk about, Danny Gutierrez and Carlos Pimentel.

Gutierrez was a top prospect with the Royals, posting a very strong 2008 campaign in the Midwest League.  His power curve and low 90's heater generate good groundball rates while getting a high percentage of strikeouts.  So why aren't people higher on him?  He's had some injury issues and he's a major headcase.  He's had run-ins with the law and lacks maturity.  If he can grow up a little he could be a quality pitcher for the Rangers.  Maybe a headlock and pummeling from Nolan Ryan could set him straight ala Robin Ventura.

Pimentel is a slightly lesser known arm, with solid secondary pitches and a fastball that could add a couple of ticks as he matures and fills out his frame a bit more.  He's just 20 and looks capable of a breakout after a strong 2009 in the Sally League.  It will be curious to see if the Rangers send him to Bakersfield or if they skip over that level and move him to AA Frisco in the Texas League, as they seem adverse to letting their pitchers get knocked around in the hitters paradise that is the Cal League.

Al Skorupa: OF Miguel Velazquez has some amazing tools and could breakout. I still believe in OF Engel Beltre. I also fully expect RHP Michael Main to be a top 75 prospect by this time next year. Great stuff and great athleticism.

I also fully expect SS Jurickson Profar to be a top 50 guy. C Jorge Alfaro has gotten some really good reviews recently and is a guy to keep an eye on.

JD Sussman: Remember last off season when this team had so much catching depth? Yeah, that quickly dissipated. This system is so deep that sleepers are wayyyy down their ranks. In addition to Profar, I'd keep an eye on another SS born in 1993, switch hitter Luis Sardinas. He signed for $1.2 million out of Venezuela.

Los Angeles Dodgers

Michael Herrick: In a system with Chris Withrow, Ethan Martin, Scott Elbert, Josh Lindblom, and Aaron Miller it's easy for a guy like Garrett Gould to get a bit overshadowed.  Gould was the Dodgers 2nd round pick in 2009, getting very little work in after signing.  He has an above average curve that projects to be at least plus if not plus-plus.  His fastball sits in the low 90's but he has room to fill out his frame and add 2-3 mph to it.  He's a prep arm, so say it with me now, his changeup needs work.  He looks like another solid pick by Logan White and his scouting department and could end up better than some of the names ahead of him on the depth chart now.

Al Skorupa: Let me start off by saying I think Dee Gordon is probably underrated. For me, he's the best SS prospect in the game right now.

I really like RHP Allen Webster. Talented high ceiling arm. OF Trayvon Robinson is someone I'm very interested to follow this season. Not sure how much of his breakthrough was the Cal League. I like the tools.

JD Sussman: Mike, I don't think Miller gets mentioned much, does he? I think he is a guy to watch. He struck out 32% of the batters he faced last year and 23% of those were swinging. Impressive.

Seattle Mariners

Michael Herrick: I'm a big fan of Michael Pineda.  He just missed my Top 100 list due to injury issues, but I think he gets overlooked a bit because he doesn't have a blazing fastball.  He works in the high 80's to low 90's range with his heater, but it has excellent sink to it and plays up better because of his impeccable command.  He throws a very good changeup too, the downward movement and solid arm action make it hard for hitters to differentiate it from the sinker.  His curve needs some work, but he generates good groundball numbers while keeping his walk rate low and his K rate in an above average range.  He may not be more than a #3 starter when it's all said and done, but he should be a very valuable arm especially pitching half his games in Safeco Field.

Al Skorupa: C Adam Moore seems to get too little attention. He's old for a prospect, but he looks like a typical late bloomer that could sneak up on people as an above average bat and glove for a catcher. Johermyn Chavez, Julio Morban and Greg Halman all are very toolsy OFs but none of them have a passable command of the strike zone presently.

I'm reluctant to give up on RHP Dan Cortes. First off, his stuff was still very good this year... he just lost the strike zone. I know this sounds crazy, bu when someone has a major meltdown it sometimes concerns me less long term than when I see a guy's components/peripherals slipping. A major meltdown is occasionally something that broke and can be fixed (injury, bad mechanics). Secondly, when Dayton Moore gives a player away its a pretty good bet that player will end up productive.

I probably should mention RHP Maikel Cleto, as well. Live arm that Seattle fan are excited about. I'm not as excited... high ceiling, but he's got a ways to go.

Colorado Rockies

Michael Herrick: Michael McKenry would be the top catching prospect in probably two-thirds of the farm systems in baseball.  Unfortunately for him he has a superior prospect behind him level wise in Wilin Rosario.  He also has Chris Iannetta blocking him on the major league level.  McKenry doesn't project to hit for more than a .275 average at the big league level, but he draws a good number of walks and has enough power to hit 10-15 homers a year with good doubles totals.  He's solid defensively, throwing out 33% of runners last year, is mobile behind the dish and pitchers like throwing to him.  He'll likely have to get his shot elsewhere, and he could find himself as part of a trade this year if the Rockies go shopping at the deadline.

Al Skorupa: I love live arms and Dominican RHP Juan Nicasio sure fits thats description. He's a little old, but he's surprisingly polished in some ways.

Chaz Roe has an interesting name and is one of the big pitchers (6'5") with talent that's never found consistency.

I've got a Blocked Prospects piece up on Hank Conger.  Here is an excerpt: 

Hank looks likely to start 2010 in AAA, where he will be just 22 years old.  He has time to work on his defense, which is very important for him as it's not clear if his bat is good enough to play at either 1B or DH.  Even if it is though, he's pretty well blocked at every position already.  Kendry Morales had a tremendous first year as as starter at 1B in 2009 and looks to be a fixture there for years to come, leaving that option pretty well out for Conger.  If he does improve his defense behind the dish, he still has Mike Napoli, and for some reason only known to Angels manager Mike Scioscia, Jeff Mathis sharing the catching duties at the MLB level.  Napoli isn't any great shakes defensively himself, but he is a very good hitter who has enough bat that he could DH full time and be valuable.  Obviously that isn't likely to happen in 2010 with the import Hideki Matsui, and I wouldn't be surprised to see another hitter brought in next offseason to DH as well.  Optimistically though, if Conger improves his defense and Napoli was moved to DH then the catching job should be his right?  In most other cases, probably so but with Scioscia's love of Mathis I'm not sure Conger would be more than a platoon partner there.  The other thing working against him is the constant yanking around of Angels hitting prospects the last few years.  In general Scioscia seems to prefer veterans and only gives his young players small chances here and there to prove themselves or they call up a prospect just to let him ride the bench.

The one thing Conger has on his side is his age, at just 22 he could spend two years in AAA then a year as a backup or platoon partner in the majors and still be ready to become a full time starter at an age where many catching prospects are still trying to get a shot in the majors.  The best case scenario for Conger is to go out and kill the ball in 2010 while working hard to improve his footwork to try and force the Angels hand heading into 2011.  If he can show them he's capable of taking the reins in part at least for 2011, they could allow Napoli to DH full time and let Mathis caddy for the rookie Conger.  I'll be watching closely to see if Conger does enough to press the issue or if he stays blocked for another year or two.

Check out the full articles and let us know what you think!