Reviewing Our 2012 Top-100: #21-30 (Delgado to A.J. Cole)
By Wally Fish
Today we’re back with a look at the next group of ten from Nathaniel’s 2012 S2S Top-100 list. If you’d like to check out the review/recap of prospects from previous installments of this review here are the links to each piece:
Gose reached Toronto in 2012, he needs to make his presence felt in 2013 (Photo Credit: Debby Wong-US PRESSWIRE)
Half of this group of ten played in the majors this season and three of them (Delgado, Gose and Pomeranz) exhausted their prospect eligibility as a result. All told five of the below saw their stock go up, three had their stock go down and two essentially stayed the same.
#21: Randall Delgado – RHP – Atlanta Braves
Profile Published – 12/17/2011
2012 – Gwinnett (AAA): 4.06 ERA, 1.53 WHIP, 47 H, 21 BB and 51 SO in 44.1 IP
2012 – Atlanta (MLB): 4.37 ERA, 1.41 WHIP, 89 H, 42 BB and 76 SO in 92.2 IP
Best Month – June: 24.2 IP, 24 H, 12 ER, 10 BB and 22 SO with Atlanta
Worst Month – April: 20.0 IP, 23 H, 14 ER, 12 BB and 21 SO with Atlanta
Stock Up/Down – Down. He failed to build off how he pitched with Gwinnett, and more notably Atlanta, last season.
#22: Anthony Gose – OF – Toronto Blue Jays
Profile Published – 12/16/2011
2012 – Las Vegas (AAA): 0.286/.366/.419, 21 2B, 10 3B, 5 HR, 34 SB, 49 BB and 101 SO in 482 PA
2012 – Toronto (MLB): 0.223/.303/.319, 7 2B, 3 3B, 1 HR, 15 SB, 17 BB and 59 SO in 189 PA
Best Month – May: 0.364/.431/.554 in 134 PA with Las Vegas
Worst Month – April: 0.216/.298/.284 in 113 PA with Las Vegas
Stock Up/Down – Up. He improved his slash stats across the board while moving from New Hampshire to Las Vegas, held his BB% just above 10% and dropped his K% by 5%. Struggled in the majors but the gains in the minors offset that.
#23: Taijuan Walker – RHP – Seattle Mariners
Profile Published – 12/15/2011
2012 – Jackson (AA): 4.69 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, 124 H, 50 BB and 118 SO in 126.2 IP
Best Month – April: 22.0 IP, 16 H, 4 ER, 6 BB and 26 SO
Worst Month – June: 20.2 IP, 25 H, 21 ER, 16 BB and 23 SO
Stock Up/Down – Up given the context. He spent the season pitching in Double-A and didn’t turn 20 until mid-August.
#24: Joe Wieland – RHP – San Diego Padres
Profile Published – 12/14/2011
2012 – Tuscon (AAA): 3.52 ERA, 1.57 WHIP, 10 H, 2 BB and 11 SO in 7.2 IP
2012 – San Diego (MLB): 4.55 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 26 H, 9 BB and 24 SO in 27.2 IP
Best Month – May: 5.2 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 BB and 4 SO with San Diego
Worst Month – April: 29.2 IP, 31 H, 15 ER, 10 BB and 31 SO with San Diego and Tuscon
Stock Up/Down – Up, slightly. He showed some flashes with the Padres but was shut down in early May with an elbow strain that necessitated Tommy John surgery in July. Unlike Banuelos (see below) he should return to the mound toward the end of the 2013 season and has shown he’s capable of pitching in the majors
#25: Martin Perez – LHP – Texas Rangers
Profile Published – 12/13/2011
2012 – Round Rock (AAA): 4.25 ERA, 1.40 WHIP, 122 H, 56 BB and 69 SO in 127.0 IP
2012 – Texas (MLB): 5.45 ERA, 1.63 WHIP, 47 H, 15 BB and 25 SO in 38.0 IP
Best Month – July: 16.0 IP, 16 H, 4 ER, 7 BB and 5 SO with Texas and Round Rock
Worst Month – Sept/Oct: 18.0 IP, 25 H, 14 ER, 7 BB and 15 SO with Texas
Stock Up/Down – Down. The strikeout rate continues to tumble and his numbers have never matched the hype. He has a career 3.8 BB/9 in the minors and has shown little improvement in that area since his professional debut with Spokane back in 2008.
#26: Manny Banuelos – LHP – New York Yankees
Profile Published – 12/12/2011
2012 – Scranton/Wilkes-Barre: 4.50 ERA, 1.63 WHIP, 29 H, 10 BB and 22 SO in 24.0 IP
Best Month – May: 18.2 IP, 15 H, 6 ER, 3 BB and 20 SO
Worst Month – April: 5.1 IP, 14 H, 6 ER, 7 BB and 2 SO
Stock Up/Down – Down, slightly. Elbow problems limited him to just 6 starts in 2012 and finally had Tommy John Surgery last week. Lost for the entirety of the 2013 season, we will have to wait until 2014 to see if he can overcome this setback.
#27: Hak-Ju Lee – SS – Tampa Bay Rays
Profile Published – 12/11/2011
2012 – Montgomery (AA): 0.261/.336/.360, 15 2B, 10 3B, 4 HR, 37 SB, 51 BB and 102 SO in 534 PA
Best Month – June: 0.330/.387/.450 in 119 PA
Worst Month – August: 0.118/.211/.265 in 37 PA
Stock Up/Down – Up, even though the offensive numbers don’t jump off the page. Hit much better than he did in a brief stint in Double-A in 2011 and the speed and defense boost his stock.
#28: Oscar Taveras – OF – St. Louis Cardinals
Profile Published – 12/10/2011
2012 – Springfield (AA): 0.321/.380/.572, 37 2B, 7 3B, 23 HR, 10 SB, 42 BB and 56 SO in 531
Best Month – June: 0.347/.398/.643 in 106 PA
Worst Month – May: 0.287/.364/.489 in 106 PA
Stock Up/Down – Up, and in a big way. When your worst month has you hitting 0.287 with a SLG just shy of 0.500, you know you had a great season.
#29: Drew Pomeranz – LHP – Colorado Rockies
Profile Published – 12/9/2011
2012 – Tulsa (AA): 0.00 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 4 H, 1 BB and 4 SO in 4.0 IP
2012 – Colorado Springs (AAA): 2.51 ERA, 1.54 WHIP, 52 H, 20 BB and 46 SO in 46.2 IP
2012 – Colorado (MLB): 4.93 ERA, 1.48 WHIP, 97 H, 46 BB and 83 SO in 96.2 IP
Best Month – June: 29.1 IP, 33 H, 9 ER, 9 BB and 27 SO with Colorado and Colorado Springs
Worst Month – July: 25.2 IP, 24 H, 15 ER, 8 BB and 20 SO with Colorado
Stock Up/Down – Push. You could argue either up or down and have a solid case. For me, the elevated WHIP in both the minors and majors relative to his 2011 numbers gives me pause (and I’ve been a fan of his since his college days). None-the-less he turned in a near league average ERA+ in almost 100 major league innings and that’s a notable accomplishment for a 23 year old starter.
#30: A.J. Cole – RHP – Oakland Athletics
Profile Published – 12/8/2011
2012 – Burlington (A): 2.07 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, 78 H, 19 BB and 102 SO in 95.2 IP
2012 – Stockton (A+): 7.82 ERA, 1.84 WHIP, 60 H, 10 BB and 31 SO in 38.0 IP
Best Month – June: 27.1 IP, 19 H, 5 ER, 3 BB and 30 SO with Burlington
Worst Month – May: 29.1 IP, 51 H, 25 ER, 8 BB and 27 SO with Stockton and Burlington
Stock Up/Down – Push. There’s no question that he crashed and burned with Stockton at the beginning of the season, but I love that he righted the ship after his demotion and went on to dominate the Midwest League.
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For links to plenty more content on prospects check out, Fantasy Rundown and to keep tabs on all the happenings in the majors, check out Call to the Pen.