Roster Wrap: International and Pacific Coast Leagues (AAA)

Batting: George Kottaras is a catcher who hits lefty and isn't a terrible hitter--a rare and valuable skill set. Jeff Bailey is Robby Hammock without the major league experience. Chris Carter is an underrated Quad-A hitter who really makes you wonder why the Red Sox brought in Sean Casey. Carter has the same exact skill set, except his younger, cheaper, and better. If you haven't read my article on the Garbage Player Phenomenon, that's pretty much it in a nutshell. Joe Thurston is a valuable infield reserve who was once considered a prospect five years ago. He's never stopped hitting in AAA but everyone seems to have forgotten about him but me. Bobby Kielty needs to stop hitting lefty, because he has the worst lefty swing I've ever seen, and it doesn't work. Growing the red afro back would be awesome too. Jon Van Every was constantly ignored by the Indians, but he is a great defensive CF with a good line-drive bat. Brandon Moss is a good hitter who is on the border of OK starter and great fourth outfielder; this season likely will dictate which he becomes.

Overall: Nice team, not quite as good as the IronPigs, but a bit younger, so that's a plus. If Coco Crisp gets traded, Van Every could replace him without the team losing anything. Especially pitchingwise, there are no potential stars here.

Richmond Braves

Pitching: Buddy Carlyle is a prototypical 5th starter. Blaine Boyer is a prototypical sixth-inning reliever. Francisley Bueno holds more promise than your average 27-year-old. Damian Moss had a nice spring, and has surprised everyone by getting this far. Jo-Jo Reyes is an average lefty who will pitch a bunch of major league games at some point--whether he is a long-term major leaguer remains to be seen.

Batting: Clint Sammons is talked up as more than he is. He is akin to Toby Hall, not Kelly Shoppach, and thus is better as a Triple-A starter and emergency big leaguer than a MLB backup. Brent Lillibridge is underrated and may be better than Yunel Escobar. Wes Timmons is a low-power 3B who can play SS and 2B as well. He walks a ton and never strikes out--think 90% of Jeff Keppinger, but a bit older. Scott Thorman has a ton of power, but doesn't show it quite enough to be more than a generic Quad-A guy. Josh Anderson is fast and not entirely useless as a hitter; the Braves should have started Gregor Blanco in center, kept Anderson as his backup, and never signed Mark Kotsay. Joe Borchard has tons of power and actually gets looks that most Quad-A guys don't; unfortunately, he's just reinforced the Quad-A stereotype. Brandon Jones is a good left field prospect who may quickly go up to the majors.

Overall: Not much in the way of pitching here, but Lillibridge and Jones are good prospects, and Anderson, Timmons, Thorman, and Borchard all have value. The issue with most of them is that they dont excel at more than one thing. Anderson is fast. Timmons has great plate discipline. Thorman and Borchard have power. The lack of versatility within the individual players is worrisome.

Rochester Red Wings

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