Overall: Nice pitching, with a good mix of guys who could reinforce the major league team now and others who will likely spend a full year at the level. It will be interesting to see Eldred in a hitter's park for once, but the hitting aside from Eldred and Fields won't be much.
Columbus Clippers
Pitching: Mike Bacsik pitched decently in the bigs last year and is a classic big league 5th starter. Collin Balester has reached AAA before his 22nd birthday, a good sign but, in his case, not one of future stardom. Tyler Clippard could be the next Joe Blanton. John Lannan nearly made the rotation in spring training, so he could be up quickly. Garrett Mock is similar to Clippard, except his stuff is slightly better and his command is a lot worse. Mike O'Connor is a finesse guy with MLB experience coming off an injury. He had a good spring, so he may yet turn into something. Formerly a big time prospect, Dennis Tankersley is still just 29, but if he's going to have a career it needs to happen now.
Batting: Tony Batista is going to play third base. Bret Boone is going to play second base. Yes, those are not misprints. Larry Broadway and Kory Casto are classic Quad-A bats. Jason Dubois is another Quad-A bat, but he's a good one who really should be given another shot at the big leagues. If Alex Escobar could stay healthy longer than Rich Harden, he could be a bigtime CF. Ryan Langerhans is a decent 4th OF.
Overall: Nice pitching, with several real prospects mixed with big-league quality veteran arms. Dubois, Casto, and Broadway will hit, and so will Escobar when healthy, but Batista and Boone--I can't really believe it either. Nothing at catcher here (a.k.a Wil Nieves).
Durham Bulls
Pitching: Ben Hendrickson is a classic Quad-A pitcher with a good curve who gets killed when he gets called up. Chris Mason gets lost in the shuffle of good Rays prospects, but he might get a shot. Scott Munter throws a great sinker but never K's anyone, so at 28 he pretty much is what he is. 6'9", 290-pound Jeff Niemann could be the first callup.
Batting: Hey, an actual catching prospect! Hector Gimenez is only 25, he switch-hits, and is a great defender. Reid Brignac is a good bet to be the next Bobby Crosby--or rather, what Bobby Crosby would have been had he not gotten hurt. Joel Guzman is huge, can play most of the positions, and has power, so that has some value, just not as much as he was once thought to have. We all know Evan Longoria is a monster prospect; it's only a matter of time. Fernando Perez is one of the fastest players in baseball. Chris Richard, Jon Weber, Justin Ruggiano, and John Rodriguez give the Rays some nice Quad-A bats who can help at first or the outfield if needed.
Overall: Aside from Niemann, there isn't much to see in the pitching department, but there will be very soon as the AA arms advance. Longoria and Brignac have great potential, and the outfielders are good insurance.
Indianapolis Indians
Pitching: Former No. 1 pick Bryan Bullington still could wind up being a good starter. Sean Burnett has been completely derailed by injuries but is still only 25. John Van Benschoten has been a bust as a former top 10 pick, but still will get chances at the No. 5 spot in the majors if he pitches well.
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