Prospect Report:
Next Position, Please

David Cameron

Welcome to the return of the Prospect Report. I spent last week doing a ballpark tour, only without the camera crew, the VW Van, and MasterCard to pay for everything. I ended up seeing six games in six parks in seven days. It was certainly an experience seeing Fenway Park, Yankee Stadium, and Wrigley Field in the same week. My one piece of advice: Take a jacket. They don't call Chicago the Windy City for nothing.

Part of the whirlwind tour included a stop in Beloit, Wisconsin for a Midwest League game between the Beloit Snappers (Brewers) and the Peoria Chiefs (Cardinals). These aren't the two best farm systems around, so I knew I wasn't going to see a prospect showcase.

I was hoping to catch Tyler Johnson, whom I wrote about a few weeks ago. He pitched the night before, however, and was removed after two innings with a sore elbow. The Chiefs' pitch-tracker didn't seem to think it was serious and Johnson should be okay, though you never like to see 20-year-olds having arm problems.

One player who stood out was Beloit's first baseman, Brad Nelson. He's a large kid, every bit the 6'2", 220 pounds he's listed at. He looks like a power-hitting first baseman when he steps in the box. He was a fourth-round pick out of high school in Iowa last year as a third baseman, but the Brewers apparently weren't impressed with his defense at the hot corner.

What they should be impressed by is his swing. He's got a quick, powerful stroke that gets through the zone pretty quickly. He makes good contact, and drives the ball well. He steps towards first base a bit, and looked to have a pull tendency, but that can be corrected without too many problems.

Nelson launched a wind-aided opposite-field home run in this game, but it was clear on each cut that there was major-league power here. Nelson is off to a good start for a 19-year-old in full-season ball, having already knocked six doubles and four home runs. Teenagers rarely show power in the minor leagues, but Nelson's .586 slugging percentage is no fluke. This kid can really pound the baseball.

Nelson isn't the only prospect who has undergone a change of positions. It's actually quite common in the lower minors for teams to play kids at positions where they likely don't have the abilities to play at the higher level. I'm not sold on this philosophy. A lot of the positions are widely different, and have very different responsibilities and reactions. Repetition is the best way to improve defensively, and by wasting a few thousand repetitions at a position the player won't likely play, I think you can hamper his development.

The Reds moved David Espinosa from shortstop to second base this season, and then stated this is something they knew they were going to do since the day they drafted him. That may or may not be true, but if we assume they are telling the truth, then what was the point in having him begin his career at shortstop? The middle infield positions are more similar than most, so it's not a huge transition, but I'm not sure I see the benefit of playing Espinosa out of position for a year.

Other conversions are based on organizational need, and these often don't work out very well. Jayson Werth was one of the better catching prospects in the game, but he's not quite the slugger that Josh Phelps is and they were both ticketed for AAA Syracuse this year. Rather than having the two split time behind the plate, the Jays had Werth abandon the tools of ignorance and don a left fielder's glove. This is a big hit to Werth's value, as his bat was solid for a catcher but marginal for a left fielder.

The strange part of this decision is that it doesn't really improve Werth's chances of making the Blue Jays. Toronto already has four major-league outfielders on their roster, along with Gabe Gross and Tyrell Godwin in the farm system. Werth is really blocked at all sides and would be best served by a change in organizations. Hopefully he lands on a team willing to let him go back behind the plate, where he'll have the most value.

The Mariners also began the season by converting "shortstop of the future" Antonio Perez to second base at AA San Antonio. This has to go down as the weirdest conversion of the season. Perez's defense has always been lauded as the strength of his game, and there had never been any talk of moving him.

The Mariners, as an organization, have a glut of second basemen, from Jermaine Clark in Tacoma down to Tim Merritt in San Bernardino. What they don't have is a legitimate shortstop prospect, though Jose Lopez is making a strong push. After locking up Bret Boone to a three-year contract, Perez certainly won't make the majors any quicker as a second baseman, and he has more value playing the left side of the second base bag.

The Mariners appear to be wavering on this one a bit, as Perez has played a few games at shortstop in the last week. Unless Perez's wrist injuries and weight problems have severely restricted his defensive abilities, he's most helpful to the organization as a shortstop, and hopefully that is where he'll land.

about the author

David Cameron blames his lack of ballplaying opportunity on his being moved from shortstop to hot dog vendor in short-A ball. Give him your mustard/no mustard decision at dac@strikethree.com.