This is a team-by team review of the AAA rosters. A couple notes before we begin:
This was done over the course of about a week, so some of the rosters have changed slightly. For some of the first teams, rosters had not yet been finalized, so there were more additions.
If you’ve read Baseball Prospectus before, you’ll find this resembles the Lineouts section of every team. Expect a similar format, albeit with slightly less frequent doses of sarcasm. Also, because that’s kind of the format I’m going for, please don’t change the stylistic layout of the article if you edit it.
If you’d like more info on any of these players or a player that I left out, just comment on this article or send me a message. I’d be more than happy to answer.
I apologize in advance for all the bemoaning of Quad-A stuff. I also apologize in advance if I’ve said something bad about someone you like, but you can’t please all the people all the time. I have my honest opinions and I have nothing against any of these players. I just try to evaluate players as objectively as possible. Also, in one or two sentences, it is difficult to provide a particularly balanced view in every single case.
This runs very long, so if all you want to do is check your favorite team’s AAA roster, by all means do so.
As always, thanks for reading my stuff. I appreciate any questions, comments, or feedback.
Buffalo Bisons
Pitching: Aaron Laffey is the only pitcher to not have turned 23, but he may actually be the first to be called to the majors. Adam Miller is a blue-chipper if he could ever stay healthy. Tony Sipp and Edward Mujica make for a nice lefty-righty combo in the late innings. Jeremy Sowers continues to try to right his career. Tom Mastny might put up some nice numbers this year.
Batting: Josh Barfield is good trade bait but could go back up to Cleveland if Asdrubal Cabrera struggles. Danny Sandoval won the IL batting title two years ago; he would be a decent utility guy in the bigs. Ryan Mulhern is a Quad-A bat who probably will never get a look. Jason Cooper has plenty of power but doesn't tap into it; Brad Snyder is the same way. Jason Tyner makes for a good fourth outfielder and passable starting CF. Ben Francisco does everything well and deserves a big league job.
Overall: The pitching is pretty thin here, but they have some nice bats who insulate the major league team everywhere but catcher and third.
Charlotte Knights
Pitching: There's a Matt Anderson sighting! Dewon Day has one of the nastiest sliders you'll ever see and has always put up gigantic minor league K numbers with it. Charlie Haeger throws one hell of a knuckleball; it's just that catchers can't catch it. Adam Russell and Andy Sisco are two big fellas with great stuff; if they can harness it, they could really both be something.
Batting: 300-pound Brad Eldred continues his quest to break out of Quad-A. Josh Fields returns to AAA, at 25, he may wind up being less than you might think if he isn't traded soon. Jeff Liefer is the rare Quad-A bat who has gotten a major league shot but hasn't done too much with it. Mike Rouse is a lefty David Eckstein if you squint hard enough, but why bother?
11 comments Last one added about 1 year ago — Leave a Comment
Michael Taylor about 1 year ago
Wow great stuff...I am glad to see a minor league article. I live in COlumbus and have worked at many Clippers games scoring games for Baseball Info Solutions and have seen them quite a bit. I agree, there is definitely some pitching talent there. I was really impressed with Lohn Lannan last season in his brief time in AAA and Collin Baleter is an up-and-comer. It is hard to believe Bret Boone is getting another chance...Also, Tony Batista needs to call it quits, he has such a slow bat..though most of these Quad-A guys do.
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Nathaniel Stoltz about 1 year ago
It depends who you're talking about as far as Quad-A guys with slow bats. Some are more worthy of the label than others, but in general, applying the Quad-A tag to someone just because their swing is long or slow is stupid. If it works in the minors, it will work in the majors (or at least, it's worth trying to see if it works in the majors). If you know Columbus, you probably remember Michael Restovich; he's a good example of a guy who really could hit, but no one ever gave him much of a chance.
It's dumb to waste roster spots on guys like Boone and Batista. Guys in their late thirties like that do nothing but take spots away from younger players.
I don't see ace potential in Balester or Lannan, but they're sure better than the Simontacchi types the Nats were running out there last year, and both could have nice careers.
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Nino Colla about 1 year ago
You mentioned the Bisons are thin at third.. By the time the year is over I wouldn't be surprised if you could say that their best player was at third with Beau Mills.
Mulhern is pretty much in that Quad A range you talked about.. I hope Michael Aubrey is up sometime during the year cause he's a great bat.
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Nathaniel Stoltz about 1 year ago
Mills sure can slug, but don't be surprised if he follows the Jim Thome path and moves off third, because he isn't an asset there. Aubrey can hit, yes, but his health problems rival Rich Harden's. Aubrey is 25 and running out of time. There are better Quad-A bats that Mulhern, but he and Garko aren't as far apart as you'd think.
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Nino Colla about 1 year ago
Yep, they seem to be playing him where they need him right now though.. If he keeps playing third he will get to Buffalo much quicker, but like you said I wouldn't be surprised to see them switch him, even when he gets there.
Yeah Aubrey needs to stay healthy.. He showed he can hit with the little time in Spring he had. I hope he does stay afloat cause this is his last year. If anything for Trade Bait because we have a first baseman.
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Nathaniel Stoltz about 1 year ago
Of course there's no doubt Aubrey can hit. But when Baseball Prospectus calls you "the most frustrating prospect in the minors," that's never good.
As long as were talking about 1B types in your system, another guy to note is Jordan Brown, who is on the Bisons but wasn't on the roster at the time I wrote the report. Dunno if you've heard of him, but he can play 1B and LF and he won Carolina League MVP in 06 and Eastern League MVP in 07. Brown isn't really a all-or-nothing power hitting type like Mills or Aubrey, but he's got 20-homer pop, he hits for average, and he has a good approach at the plate.
As far as what you said about Mills, well yeah, as a GM you want to be absolutely sure he can't handle third before you move him off, especially in this case since the Indians have a hole there. However, 2008's Baseball America Prospect Handbook says "Many scouts who have evaluated Mills give him no chance to stick at the hot corner." The Indians need a third baseman much more than they need a first baseman, so they're going to give Mills every chance they possibly can to prove he can be acceptable there. Moving a player to a less difficult defensive position automatically decreases his value. On the bright side, some think he can play right, because he has a decent arm, so he might not be condemned to first.
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Nino Colla about 1 year ago
I love Jordan Brown.. I hope there is a spot for him on the roster in the future. Like you said he does a lot of good things.
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Nathaniel Stoltz about 1 year ago
Yeah he does. But no one ever notices really from a major league perspective, and a lot of people think he's just going to be a Quad-A guy. But that's dumb. Brown can be a left-handed Mike Sweeney (hopefully without the injuries).
Of course, he has to hit at AAA first, but I don't see why he wouldn't; he's hit everywhere he's been.
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Jon Bentley about 1 year ago
As a Marlins fan, I think Chase Lambin will be in the Majors this year, at some point. Either that, or he'll be used as trade bait. I saw him play in late Spring Training against the Astros - very exciting player, he is.
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Nathaniel Stoltz about 1 year ago
I hope so. He definitely deserves it.
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Nathaniel Stoltz about 1 year ago
They say an article can't be too long, but it seems this is pretty much the length limit, because if I make the player names bold, it gets too long and the text at the end gets cut off. Just a heads up--don't make it longer than this lol.
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