2011 Sleeper Alert! List Review, Part Four

2011 SLEEPER ALERT! LIST REVIEW, Part Four

Every year in the Baseball Prospect Book, I point out players who I think are particularly good sleepers who could break through unexpectedly. Sometimes then pan out (Dan Hudson for example), sometimes they don't, but I try very hard to get ahead of the curve on players like that, especially pitchers.

Let's review the Sleeper Alert! list from the 2011 book (which you can still order by the way!). Here is the last part of the list.

I'm including a brief mention for each player of the reasons they were on the list, if it was stats, scouting reports, intuition, or some combination thereof.

Armando Rodriguez, RHP, New York Mets: 3.14 ERA with 50/20 K/BB in 43 innings, 30 hits for High-A St. Lucie. Late start to season but pitching pretty well, would like to see lower walk rate. Age 23. Rating based mostly on stats with some scouting input.

Henry Rodriguez, INF, Cincinnati Reds: Hit .340/.378/.513 in 58 games for High-A Bakersfield, then .273/.313/.374 in 33 games for Double-A Carolina. Has stolen 17 bases, hit 10 homers. Age 21. Rating based mostly on stats with some scouting input.

Julio Rodriguez, RHP, Philadelphia Phillies: 3.30 ERA, 96/45 K/BB in 104 innings for High-A Clearwater, 70 hits. Solid season, performing well. Age 20. Rating based on stats and scouting.

Cody Rogers, OF, Tampa Bay Rays: Hitting .245/.314/.414 with 10 homers, 22 steals for Low-A Bowling Green. Good tools, power/speed combo, but poor plate discipline an issue. Age 22. Rating based mostly on scouting.

Eddie Rosario, OF, Minnesota Twins: Hitting .305/.375/.590 with six homers, seven steals in 26 games for rookie-level Elizabethton. Solid tools, solid performance, just 19 years old. Rating based on scoutiing, stats, and intuition.

Danny Rosenbaum, LHP, Washington Nationals: 2.64 ERA in 109 innings for High-A Potomac, 84/37 K/BB, 101 hits, 1.61 GO/AO, three homers. Very fine performance. Age 23. Rating was based mostly on stats.

Trevor Rosenthal, RHP, St. Louis Cardinals: 3.64 ERA, 94/26 K/BB in 82 innings for Low-A Quad Cities, 71 hits, 1.69 GO/AO. Another very fine performance, no weakness in the numbers. Age 21. Rating was based mostly on stats.

Tyler Saladino, SS, Chicago White Sox: Hitting .237/.332/.482 with 12 homers for High-A Winston-Salem. Good power, offense has been otherwise disappointing, defense OK. Turns 22 today. Rating  was based on stats and scouting.

Rob Scahill, RHP, Colorado Rockies: 4.51 ERA with 69/44 K/BB in 102 innings for Double-A Tulsa, 108 hits allowed. Blah season, don't like the low strikeout rate. Age 24. Rating was based mainly on stats with some scouting input.

Crawford Simmons, LHP, Kansas City Royals: Limited to just 10 innings this year by a sore elbow, was recently activated and pitched an inning in the Arizona Rookie League on July 9^th. Age 20. Rating was based on stats and scouting.

Felix Sterling, RHP, Cleveland Indians: Just 21 innings in Arizona Rookie League so far, 4.64 ERA, 22/5 K/BB, 23 hits. Good components in a small sample. Age 18. Rating was based on stats and scouting, still very intriguing.

Nate Tenbrink, OF-3B, Seattle Mariners: Hit .218/.337/.403 with 11 steals, 34 walks in 211 at-bats for Double-A Jackson before going on DL in late June. Low batting average but was showing some pop with speed. Age 24. Rating was based on stats and scouting.

Matthew Thomson, RHP, Oakland Athletics: Has pitched just four innings this year for Low-A Burlington, currently on DL. Age 23. Rating was based on stats and scouting.

Joe Wieland, RHP, Texas Rangers: 2.09 ERA with 113/11 K/BB in 108 innings between High-A Myrtle Beach and Double-A Frisco, 103 hits. Outstanding breakthrough season at age 21. Rating was based on stats and scouting.

Greg Wilborn, LHP, Los Angeles Dodgers: Got killed in California League (6.85 ERA, 38/28 K/BB in 43 innings), still showing command issues after demotion to Low-A Midwest League (2.65 ERA, 24/10 K/BB in 17 innings). Interesting live-armed lefty but serious command issues. Age 24. Rating based on stats and scouting.

Josh Zeid, RHP, Philadelphia Phillies: 5.98 ERA with 48/27 K/BB in 59 innings for Double-A Reading, 60 hits. Got killed as a starter but much better in bullpen, 2.45 ERA with 16/2 K/BB in 11 innings, 7 hits. I think relief will be his role. Age 24. Rating was based on stats and scouting.


This final group of 15 is better. There's a huge breakout with Wieland and several others have performed well. Watch Eddie Rosario closely, I really like him a lot.