Prospect Report:
Out of Left Field

David Cameron

You have to love the media. If you surf on over to one of those baseball "news" sites, you'll find the following headline: "Rockies trade reliever Myers to Arizona for prospects." People who don't follow the minor leagues saw the Rockies trading one of their best relievers for a couple of minor leaguers in an obvious salary dump. A more accurate headline would read, "Rockies steal great hitter for replaceable reliever," but I doubt you'll see anything resembling that on "your local sports leader."

Which, of course, segues us to the ten best left field prospects in baseball. Rather than sort all outfielders into one general "OF" category which distorts the value of those who can handle center field (a premium defensive position), I've separated the OF's into the three separate positions. I've listed players where I believe their maximum potential defensive abilities will allow them to play.

For the most part, this is where I believe they will end up, but it's nearly impossible to predict defensive position switches because each organization values defense differently. Joe Borchard may end up as a left fielder, but because he has the physical abilities to play center, you'll find him on next week's list.

The "great hitter" that the Diamondbacks gave away was Jack Cust. Arizona was down on him because he is likely to be the worst defensive left fielder in baseball and they have a logjam at first base. However, they overlooked the fact that he's just a pure masher. In AAA this past season, he hit .278/.415/.525. He's done nothing but hit the past three years and I have no reason to believe he'll fail to do so at the major league level.

His defense is awful, but no worse than Glenallen Hill, who's been getting major league contracts for years. If you can hit, you can play, and Jack Cust can really hit. Colorado will probably move him to the AL (Mariners and A's have been rumored), and if he can end up as a 1B/DH, he'll probably have a long, All-Star-filled career.

Chin-Feng Chen has more fans than Cust does because he's a far superior defensive player who can run the bases. I really like Chen, but there are some reservations. He was sent back to A-ball this year after failing miserably in AA last year, and started slowly. He was eventually promoted back to AA and hit like a man possessed, erasing most doubters' questions about his offensive potential.

However, Chen hasn't yet had any experience above AA and is 24-years-old. I think he will be a productive, above-average outfielder, but there's a bit of risk involved.

When trying to describe Michael Cuddyer, the best way I could think of was to suggest Jack Cust as a third baseman. Cuddyer started his pro career as a shortstop and was on his way to setting records for errors in a season, so the Twins moved him to third. He continued to struggle defensively, but his offense blossomed and he turned into one of the best hitting prospects in the league.

With the emergence of Corey Koskie at the major league level, the Twins could afford to hide Cuddyer's glove in the outfield and get his bat in the lineup. Cuddyer is a true slugger in the Troy Glaus mode and has a lot of potential. He could end up as the Twins' everyday left fielder with a good spring.

If you want to laugh, do a Google search for Chris Snelling and read some of his interviews that he's done with different websites over the past year. He's legitimately one of the biggest characters in the game, which, at 5'10"/165, is about the only time he'll be the biggest anything. An Australian who just turned twenty, he's fond of piercings, odd-colored hair, and Value Village.

His style shows on the baseball field as well, where he goes all out on every play, leading to an assortment of injuries over the past few years. He's evoked comparisons to Lenny Dykstra, Rusty Greer, and Darin Erstad. A shorter player with a compact line-drive swing, Snelling will never hit 40 home runs in the major leagues, but he's got good plate discipline and has never hit below .300 in the minors. He's also got terrific range for a left fielder and will be a valuable defensive addition.

The Montreal Expos haven't developed a patient hitter since Larry Walker, but Brad Wilkerson is threatening to change that. He drew a ridiculous 60 walks in just 233 at-bats at AAA Wilkerson is one of the most patient hitters in the major leagues, and his discipline is his best trait. He doesn't have a ton of power, but can drive the ball to the gaps and hit a lot of doubles.

Wilkerson has a very similar skill set to players like Edgar Martinez and John Olerud. We'll see if the Expos allow him to maintain his approach at the plate or if his tendency to draw walks lulls the four fans at Olympic Stadium to sleep.

It appears that the Rangers are going to sign Juan Gonzalez, which will probably lead to the end of Kevin Mench's tenure in the organization. After destroying the Florida State League in 2000, he struggled with plate discipline at AA Tulsa, but had a big second half. Mench has shown good patience throughout the minors so I don't have too many problems envisioning his patience returning. He's got power to burn and should make an attractive trade target for some team who wants to send the Rangers another overrated pitcher.

John-Ford Griffin was one of the best picks of the 2001 draft and had a terrific debut with the wood bat. He's a very similar player to Paul O'Neill, who he'll eventually replace, in that he's a good hitter despite not hitting a lot of home runs. He's got great plate discipline, with a 40/41 BB:K ratio in 238 at-bats. His 5 home runs might scare off some, but he should develop into a 15-20 home run guy, which will be more than sufficient to go with his .400 on-base percentage.

One of the least-heralded prospects in a great system is San Diego's Ben Johnson. Acquired from the Cardinals for Carlos Hernandez, Johnson showed a good deal of promise at high-A ball at age 19. His strikeout rate is alarmingly high and he doesn't have a ton of power, but he's got a good overall package of skills. If he can cut down on his swing and make some strides at the plate, he could be a Bobby Abreu-type player.

Juan Rivera came out of nowhere to tear up AA and AAA, but I have a lot of concerns. His walk rate was horrible, and at 23 he wasn't especially young for either league. He was a top prospect a few years ago and scouts like his raw tools, but he's got some work to do before he's a productive corner outfielder. The Yankees' signing of Rondell White probably sends Rivera back to AAA for another year, and he's probably playing for a chance to get traded to another organization.

Most people like Xavier Nady a lot more than I do. He was drafted as a third baseman, but a lingering elbow injury limited him to a full season of first base in 2001 and will cause him to DH for most of 2002. There was talk that he would move to second base, but the Padres seem to have shelved those plans. He'll likely end up as an LF, and I'm not certain he's going to hit enough to be productive there.

Nady had a good year in the Cal League, but spending the season at high-A at age 23 isn't an accomplishment. The injury is really going to slow his development and may cost him a chance at stardom. He's a good bet to make the majors, but whether he performs there is another question.

about the author

David Cameron isn't too shabby with the wood bat himself. You might suggest better ways of keeping gophers out of his yard at dac@strikethree.com.