Prospect Report:
Left to Bloom

David Cameron

Another slow news week, though there are a few prospect-related notes. Cubs pitcher Ben Christensen settled his lawsuit with a college player who was in the on-deck circle when Christensen hit him in the face with a 95 MPH fastball. Christensen's defense is that the guy was timing his pitches. In a similar story, 73 pitchers have filed a class-action suit against Barry Bonds for swinging at pitches that they didn't mean to throw.

Bud Selig officially waived the white flag yesterday, admitting what we all knew for months: The union wins again. Under his brilliant offseason plan, we'll enter 2002 without a collective bargaining agreement, an owner for the Montreal Expos, or any amount of good publicity involving the game. We can only hope Commissioner Evil attends Ben Christensen's debut and another one "slips."

This week, we wrap up the positional top ten's with the list of pitchers who use the wrong hand. Even if these guys don't live up to expectations, they have Jesse Orosco's personal guarantee that as long as they have a pulse, they'll get a spring training invite.

I'm sure you've heard of Ryan Anderson. He's been making news since he walked into Spring Training three years ago as a 19-year-old and claimed he could compete with Ken Griffey and Jay Buhner. A few minor league seasons and an arm surgery later, he still hasn't made his major league debut. However, if he can make a full recovery, he's got the potential to be a dominating force.

Anderson's fastball gets into the high 90s, and his curveball is probably a better strikeout pitch. He needs a little work on his slider and changeup, as neither is much of a pitch right now, but Randy Johnson's made a pretty good living on two pitches. The Mariners will be cautious with Anderson, but I think there's a real chance he could end up in the Mariners' playoff rotation in October.

The Yankees stocked up on David Wells and Sterling Hitchcock to solidify (or at least enlarge) the end of their rotation. Brandon Claussen should make that decision look a little shortsighted, as he's not that far from Yankee Stadium. The move does buy him some more time, and he'll probably spend the year in AAA Columbus refining his control, but he's going to be knocking on the door pretty soon.

Claussen throws hard for a lefty, hitting 94 at times, and has a solid curveball and a good changeup. He needs to work on hitting the corners and relying less on his fastball, but he's a very smart kid and the Yankees are very high on him. Expect to hear his name in trade rumors for most of the next eight months. New York would be wise to hang onto this one.

The Astros' pipeline of young pitchers continued in 2001, but buried behind Roy Oswalt and Wade Miller was a youngster named Carlos Hernandez. He more than held his own in AA as a 21-year-old, and made the trip to Houston when the Astros needed a starter after the All-Star break. He was tremendous in his four starts before injuring his shoulder sliding into second base.

Hernandez never did have surgery, which could prove to be a mistake, but the Astros claim that it will heal naturally. As long as he doesn't show any ill effects, he could bring his 95 MPH fastball to the NL Central very soon.

A year ago, Corwin Malone wasn't even being mentioned when people discussed White Sox pitchers. He was a reliever who couldn't throw strikes in the low minors and didn't have much of a future. What a difference a year makes. Malone moved to the rotation, harnessed his fastball, worked on a changeup, and turned into the best young arm the White Sox have.

Malone still has work to do and his control isn't major-league-ready yet, but the talent is there. With the Sox rotation solid, they should let Malone spend the year in AA before giving him a crack at the big leagues in 2003.

The Rangers swapped star prospect Carlos Pena for Mario Ramos because their offense is one of the best in the league and their pitching, well, isn't. Ramos was an astute pick out of college by the A's and has pitched exceedingly well since turning pro. He doesn't throw very hard, but has a decent curveball, a good changeup, and excellent control. He doesn't put himself in jeopardy and can be very good when he's on.

The Rangers invited 243 pitchers to camp this year, so Ramos will probably begin the year in AAA, though Texas won't hesitate to give him a shot if he proves he's mastered the minors.

The Reds have to be happy with the progress Ty Howington made in 2001. He was awful in his debut after being drafted in 2000, and some were ready to write him off early. He made big strides with his curveball and his mechanics and really pitched well in A-ball.

However, Howington's mechanics still need work, and he's a pretty big injury risk as he puts a lot of strain on his elbow when throwing the curve. Howington's getting a lot of press because the Reds need pitching help, but he's several years away from Cincinnati. Patience will be the best approach for him.

The Padres' depth of arms continues from the south side with high-ceiling lefty Mark Phillips. The ninth pick in the 2000 draft, Phillips was very raw and needed some repetition. After some early injury struggles, he really came on strong and ended the year in high-A Lake Elsinore, where the Padres hosted a venerable all-prospect rotation.

Phillips has two plus pitches with his fastball/curve combination, but he's going to have to develop a changeup or a slider to get by. His command's not that good yet, and he could probably use two full years in the minors. San Diego will be patient with him, and if he can stay healthy, he could be a front-of-the-rotation starter.

The Orioles' farm system isn't very good, but I do like Erik Bedard as the best of their southpaws. He doesn't throw real hard, but keeps the ball down well and throws strikes. He gets strikeouts with a curve that dives in on right-handers and a Jamie Moyer-type changeup that handcuffs lefties. Bedard hasn't gotten a lot of recognition because he's not a fireballer, but I think he could have a nice Scott Erickson-type career.

Another hurler who doesn't get as much press as he should is Kansas City's Jimmy Gobble. He put up very impressive numbers at a young age in 2001, and has passed more highly touted prospects to become the best of a rather thin Royals crop. Gobble's control is solid, though he needs to be more consistent. He doesn't have one plus pitch, but works a combination of four pitches well. He's not going to be an ace, but could slide in as a very solid number-three.

There are some types of things that get overlooked too easily when someone is a good athlete, and I think Eric Cyr has gotten off far too easy for his exploits with a fifteen-year-old girl on an airplane last year. Sure, he gets people out and had a tremendous year in high-A ball. But that's just not that important to me.

Cyr is here based on talent, but he's one guy I just won't be rooting for. If the Padres traded him to the Atlantic League for a mascot to be named later, I'd applaud the deal. Some things are just more important than baseball.

about the author

David Cameron tried to energize his stalled minor-league career by attempting to throw with both hands at the same time, but all he got was half the speed and twice the wildness. Suggest he might do better as the team Ben-Gay applicator at dac@strikethree.com.