2012 Fish Watch: AL West – May Edition

The first thing you need to know about The Fish Watch is that it’s not a list of sleepers. It is instead a list of players at various points in their respective minor league journeys that for one reason or another have piqued my interest enough that I am watching their development more closely than the bulk of prospects out there. To read more about this project, check out the introduction and master list.

Today we cover the players representing the AL West for the first time.

Los Angeles Angels (S2S 2012 Angels Team Prospect List)

2B – Taylor Lindsey (20) – Angels 2010 Supplemental Round Pick

Reasoning – Lindsey earned his spot on my 2011 S2S Pioneer League All-Star Team with a fantastic season and he just missed joining the illustrious 0.300/.400/.500 club in the process. As a result he’s one of the few Top-10 prospects to be a part of this project.

2011 – Orem (Rk): 0.362/.394/.593, 28 2B, 6 3B, 9 HR, 10 SB, 13 BB and 46 SO in 307 PA
2012 – Inland Empire (A+): 0.280/.335/.390, 6 2B, 3 3B, 2 HR, 1 SB, 11 BB and 27 SO in 179 PA

Notes – Lindsey hit 0.301/.372/.401 with 8 XBH in April but has found the sledding a little tougher in May with a line of 0.259/.294/.309 and just 3 XBH. There is little doubt in my mind that he will finish the year with his average above 0.300 but I’d like to see him boost his walk rate as he continues to develop.

RHP – Cameron Bedrosian (20) – Angels 2010 1st Round Pick

Reasoning – Given his big league bloodlines I planned to follow Cam before the Angels made him their first round pick. Unfortunately he barely got his pro career up and running before he was shut down due to elbow soreness and eventually had Tommy John surgery in May of last year

2011 – Missed the season due to surgery and subsequent rehab
2012 – Cedar Rapids (A): 6.35 ERA, 1.77 WHIP, 18 H, 12 BB and 8 SO in 17.0 IP

Notes – In just under 12 months Cam worked his way back and made his full season debut on May 1st. It was a debut to remember and he threw 4.1 innings of no-hit baseball with 2 walks and 3 strikeouts. His season has been up and down since Bedrosian is clearly still working to find his control and no doubt will be knocking off the rust for much of the season, but the important thing is that he’s back on the mound.

C – Abel Baker (21) – Angels 2011 7th Round Pick

Reasoning – He’s a catcher, he fared extremely well in the Pioneer League after signing and his name sounds like something pulled right from a Richard Scarry book.

2011 – Orem: 0.306/.406/.471, 10 2B, 2 3B, 4 HR, 27 BB and 43 SO in 188 PA
2012 – Cedar Rapids (A): 0.210/.310/.320, 6 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 14 BB and 19 SO in 117 PA

Notes – It took Baker awhile to adjust but it appears he’s getting the hang of Midwest League pitching. After hitting 0.173/.267/.269 in April, he has hit 0.250/.357/.375 in May with as many walks as strikeouts.

Oakland Athletics (S2S 2012 Athletics Team Prospect List)

OF – Rashun Dixon (21) – Athletics 2008 10th Round Pick

Reasoning – According to Baseball America, Dixon was #28 in the A’s Top-30 heading into 2011 and it wasn’t unreasonable to expect a big year out of him since he was ticketed for the Cal League. Instead of taking advantage of the environment, his OPS actually dropped 58 points from the year before. But he was young for the level and is still raw as a prospect given his two-sport background. Can he bounce back and can he get his strikeout issues under control?

2011 – Stockton (A+): 0.243/.317/.379, 19 2B, 5 3B, 11 HR, 3 SB, 47 BB and 135 SO in 508 PA
2012 – Stockton: 0.206/.278/.343, 6 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 1 SB, 10 BB and 41 SO in 115 PA

Notes – So far the answers to both my questions are a resounding no. In fact he’s actually striking out 35.7% of the time at the plate this year as opposed to 26.6% of the time last year. He’s repeating the level so the fact that he’s going backward in pretty much every measurable area is especially troubling. He scuffled in April and has been even worse in May.

2B/SS – Chris Bostick (19) – Athletics 2011 44th Round Pick

Reasoning – It’s hard to ignore what Bostick did to Arizona Summer League pitching after he signed and he definitely bears watching. Being selected in the 44th round only amplifies the intrigue surrounding him.

2011 – AZL Athletics (Rk): 0.442/.482/.654, 8 XBH, 4 SB, 3 BB and 12 SO in 57 PA
2012 – Not Yet Assigned

Notes – Waiting for the start of the rookie ball leagues is simply no fun.

LHP – Ian Krol (21) – Athletics 2009 7th Round Pick

Reasoning – Krol led the Midwest League in ERA (2.65) back in 2010 but missed the bulk of 2011 due to elbow soreness and later in the season was suspended for making derogatory comments on Twitter. Assuming his elbow is sound it will be interesting to see how he makes up for lost time while also dealing with the surroundings of the California League.

2011 – AZL Athletics: 0.00 ERA,  0.00 WHIP, o H, 0 BB and 6 BB in 5.0 IP
2012 – Stockton: 6.04 ERA, 1.54 WHIP, 29 H, 10 BB and 24 SO in 25.1 IP

Notes – So far Cal League hitters have the upper hand, but that shouldn’t reflect too poorly on Krol since the offense-inflating environment has ruined the statistical resumes of more than a few pitching prospects over the years. His walk and strike out rates per 9 – 3.6 and 8.5 respectively – suggest he’s pitching far better than the bloated ERA would indicate. FIP (4.27) and SIERA (3.96) agree. Considering he basically lost an entire season he’s actually faring better thus far than I expected.

Seattle Mariners (S2S 2012 Mariners Team Prospect List)

RHP – Brandon Maurer (21) – Mariners 2008 23rd Round Pick

Reasoning – Maurer got rocked during his time in High Desert (6.38 ERA in 42.1 IP) but no rational individual can hold that against him. He’s dealt with elbow and shoulder issues in the last two seasons and as a result we still haven’t seen what he’s truly capable of. My desire to see how he bounces back both from injury and the Cal League “experience” earned him this spot.

2011 – Clinton/High Desert: 4.99 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, 75 H, 25 BB and 81 SO in 79.1 IP
2012 – Jackson (AA): 4.27 ERA, 1.51 WHIP, 53 H, 17 BB and 30 SO in 46.1 IP

Notes – While he hasn’t been dominating in any start thus far, he’s been a relatively steady and consistent presence in the Generals rotation. In five of his nine starts this season Maurer has allowed 2 or fewer runs and he’s only had one truly bad outing – a 7 hit, 5 run start on May 15th in which he only lasted 2.0 innings. His strike out rate is down – from 9.2 K/9 in 2011 to 5.8 K/9 this season – but he’s picked it up of late with 15 SO in his last 15.1 IP.

SS – Martin Peguero (18) – Signed out of the Dominican Republic as a NDFA on December 7th, 2010

Reasoning – Baseball America tabbed Peguero as the 20th best prospect in the Arizona League after the 2011 season. He hit fairly well as a 17-year old in his first professional season and I look forward to seeing whether or not he can build upon that this year.

2011 – AZL Mariners (Rk): 0.279/.309/.382, 12 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 17 SB, 6 BB and 22 SO in 176 PA
2012 – Not Yet Assigned

Notes – We need to wait for the start of the rookie ball seasons to start tracking Peguero’s performance on the field.

OF – James Zamarripa (18) – Mariners 2011 6th Round Pick

Reasoning – He doesn’t have a standout tool, but he doesn’t have a glaring weakness either. Like Peguero he held his own in his first professional action and he has plenty of time to develop and outperform the 4th OF projections some have laid out for him.

2011 – AZL Mariners (Rk): 0.266/.329/.331, 5 2B, 2 3B, 6 SB, 13 BB and 38 SO in 156 PA
2012 – Not Yet Assigned

Notes – As with Peguero, we need to wait for the start of the rookie ball to keep tabs on Zamarripa.

Texas Rangers (S2S 2012 Rangers Team Prospect List)

RHP – Nicholas Tepesch (23) – Rangers 2010 14th Round Pick

Reasoning – Born and raised in Blue Springs, Missouri (a Kansas City suburb) Tepesch also pitched for the University of Missouri as an amateur.  Either one of those two facts would likely have earned him a spot but with both in play he was an automatic choice for my watch list.

2011 – Hickory (A): 4.03 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 147 H, 33 BB and 118 SO in 138.1 IP
2012 – Myrtle Beach (A+): 3.88 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 52 H, 14 BB and 41 SO in 51.0 IP

Notes – On May 12th, Tepesch gave up 13 hits and 7 ER in 4.2 innings of work. He followed that start – by far his worst this season – with 7.1 no-hit innings against Wilmington exactly seven days later. Last night he again faced the Blue Rocks and got the best of them with a 6.2 inning, 5 hit, 2 run effort.

C – Jorge Alfaro (18) – Signed out of Colombia as a NDFA on January 19th, 2010

Reasoning – By this point you know how I feel about catchers. Alfaro is well represented on prospect lists usually ranking around 7th in a Rangers system brimming with talent and depth. That says a lot about his talent and upside considering he has a 110-11 SO-to-BB ratio in 101 minor league games. Alfaro turns 19-years old in about 2 weeks and was the 6th youngest player to open the year in the South Atlantic League.

2011 – Spokane (A-): 0.300/.345/.481, 16 XBH, 4 BB and 54 SO in 171 PA
2012 – Hickory: 0.290/.313/.419, 2 2B, 1 3B, 1 BB and 9 SO in 32 PA

Notes – Alfaro is currently on the 7-Day DL for the second time this season with an injured hamstring. He’s working his way back in extended spring training and should return to Hickory in 1-2 weeks barring any setbacks.

LHP – Will Lamb (21) – Rangers 2011 2nd Round Pick

Reasoning – Nathaniel tabbed Lamb as a sleeper in his TPL write-up and stated, “Lamb is a towering lefthander who throws in the 90-95 range and has plenty of room to fill out his frame and get stronger. He’ll need to better coordinate his delivery, like most tall young pitchers, but there’s significant upside here. He’s also somewhat young for a college draftee, so he doesn’t need to be on as accelerated of a timetable as most.”

2011 – Spokane/Hickory: 2.75 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, 45 H, 31 BB and 62 SO in 55.2 IP
2012 – Hickory: 6.03 ERA, 1.60 WHIP, 32 H, 18 BB and 16 SO in 31.1 IP

Notes – In his first start on April 9th, Lamb threw 4.0 shutout innings, didn’t walk a batter and gave up just three hits. In his other eight outings, he’s given up at least a run and in seven of those eight he’s given up multiple runs and walked multiple batters. He’s not just missing the strike zone and getting hit, he’s getting hit hard. Lamb has served up 7 gopher balls in his 31.1 innings this season which works out to a 2.0 HR/9. Yikes.