Prospect Report:
Greensboro Dreamin'

David Cameron

Well, that didn't take long. After nearly making the Giants out of spring training, Jesse Foppert was summoned after one start in AAA. The Prospect Ten loses its best pitching prospect, but the Giants gain another electric arm to add to their already impressive roster. Foppert is likely in the big leagues to stay, and his quick ascension from obscurity to premium prospect was a joy to watch.

Hank Blalock is hitting .400 with five homers, reminding everyone that he really can swing the bat, but people are jumping off the Mark Teixeira bandwagon after a few slow weeks? There's a big adjustment to make at the big-league level. Don't worry about T-Rex. He'll make it sooner or later. Blalock obviously has.

Also, is anybody off to a better start with less notice than Mets' third base prospect David Wright? At the age of 20, he's torching the pitcher-friendly Florida State League to the tune of .345/.406/.586. Eight of his twenty hits have gone for extra bases, and he's drawn six walks against six strikeouts in 58 at-bats. Wright showed flashes of his talent last year, but he's off to a great start in establishing himself as one of the best pure hitters in the game.

I made the trek to Greensboro on Tuesday evening to watch the White Sox and Marlins' low-A affiliates square off. Neither of these teams are loaded with talent, but there were a few interesting players. The guy I wanted to see the most was Jeremy Hermida, but he decided not to cooperate.

He's an imposing figure at the plate. A legitimate 6'3" and well sculpted, he doesn't look like he's fresh out of high school. There's no question he's the best athlete on the team. He stands open from the left side and is an intimidating presence in the batter's box.

Unfortunately, I really can't say a whole heck of a lot about his swing, because he failed to use it. In five plate appearances, he took one hack, an eighth-inning fly out on a high fastball. The rest of his at-bats consisted of staring at pitches in a variety of spots, then taking a leisurely stroll to first base.

It's rare to see a kid Hermida's age who's willing to take four walks in a game, which is a testament to his patience. However, Kannapolis was throwing their version of the Wild Thing on Tuesday night, so I'll withhold judgment on his plate discipline until he faces some slightly better pitching.

Wild Thing's name happens to be Sean Tracey, the White Sox' eighth-round pick last summer. You don't expect college pitchers to have such mechanical issues, but Tracey's pitching coach has a lot of work to do. He was completely unable to repeat his delivery and his release points varied on every pitch.

Tracey was throwing 92 MPH fastballs, but the majority of them were ending up at the backstop. He ended the night with six wild pitches, bringing his season total to ten in just 8-2/3 innings. He's also walked 11 men and added four hit batters for good measure.

His counterpart, Scott Olsen, fared a bit better. He was also an eighth-round pick last summer, but the Marlins dipped into the high-school ranks for this 6'3" lefty. Olsen begins his delivery at an angle, giving him a bit more deception in his windup, but it may cost him command down the line. He sat between 88-92 for most of the game and showed the makings of a curveball, but didn't have the necessary spin each time he threw it. He got away with a few hanging breaking balls and went back to his fastball for most of the game.

There are some intriguing things about Olsen, mainly his size and left-handedness, but he's a project. He'll likely spend the year in Greensboro, and I'll make a point to see him again this summer to see how he's progressing. He'll need to improve his secondary pitches and smooth out his delivery to be successful, but he's got a shot to turn into a solid prospect.

A few other players caught my eye, though no one jumped out as an obvious major-league player. Greensboro shortstop Robert Andino is a solid glove at shortstop, showing a strong arm and good hands around the bag. His performance with the bat has left something to be desired, but he shows some real skills at the plate.

Andino's got a nice line-drive swing, but he hurts himself by stepping toward third base. He'll have to learn to stride toward the pitcher or they'll simply keep the ball on the outer half of the plate. He's not a strong kid, but I think there's more power in him than he's shown. Just 19 years old, he's one to keep an eye on.

Also, in the speed-and-defense mold, the Marlins have to like the progress Anthony Brewer is making. He's a small 5'10" but maximizes his speed to his advantage. He's not going to hit for much power, but he is capable of turning on a fastball occasionally. He can be worked down and in, but he's got the understanding to lay off good breaking balls at the moment. His patience has paid off so far, giving him 7 walks in just 21 at-bats.

When on base, Brewer can absolutely fly, and he's got easy 50-steal potential. Brewer is similar to current Marlins center fielder Juan Pierre, and he could find himself a career as a fourth outfielder/pinch runner in a few years.

I'm heading back to Seattle next week for my brother's wedding (Congratulations Jer), so I may be a bit slow to respond in e-mail for the next week or two. If you send me a line, I will get around to it, but try exercise some patience until May. If you really need to read more of my opinions to hold you over, check out ussmariner.blogspot.com, the newest incarnation of a few friends talking baseball.

about the author

David Cameron is currently mulling the straight-tie-with-tux-as-fashion-faux-pas issue. Debate the multiple-hyphens-as-writing-faux-pas issue at dac@strikethree.com.