Hernan Iribarren, 2B (MIL)
A 22-year-old signed out of Venezuela at the age of 17, Iribarren
turned heads during Spring Training. In 34 at-bats, he hit .441 while
slugging .647 , racking up 12 RBI along the way. Playing A+ ball in the
Florida State League last season, Iribarren hit.319/.376/.384 in 396
at-bats, slugging as many homers during the entire season as he did
during Spring Training. His main concerns are his low slugging
percentage and the presence of Rickie Weeks at second base in
Milwaulkee.
Oneli Perez, RP (CWS)
You may not know his name yet, but the 23-year-old Perez dominated A,
A+, and AA ball last season. Perez posted an ERA of 0.99, 0.72, and
0.55 each league respectively, blowing away AA hitters by a tune of a
.73 WHIP. Perez also averaged a double-digit K/9 in each minor league
level. Kenny Williams should keep an eye on (and a hold onto) Perez, or
he could experience another Chad Bradford debacle.
Jose Mijares, LHP (MIN)
Mijares,
23, was signed as an undrafted free agent in 2002 out of Caracas,
Venezuela. Mijares, who has both started and come out of the pen in the
minors, has settled down into the middle reliever role. In 63 innings
in the Florida State League last season, he struck out 77 batters and
finished with a 1.25 WHIP and a 3.57 ERA. Mijares threw one scoreless
Spring Training inning, striking out a batter. Unfortunately, tragedy
struck Mijares and his family less than a month ago, when his brother
was shot and killed in Venezuela.
Donald Veal, LHP (CHC)
Donald Veal, 22, is a tall, slender left-handed starter who was drafted
in the second round of the 2005 draft by the Cubs. Veal had no problem
in A or A+ ball, combing for 158.1 innings and a 2.11 ERA. He had a
respective WHIP of 1.15 and 1.09 and K/9 of 10.51 and 9.82 at each
level. At AA, Veal has to work on cutting down his walk total, where he
averaged over 4.65 per game while playing for Peoria and Daytona.
Robinzon Diaz, C (TOR)
Diaz,
23, is hoping to make his mark on the Florida State League this season,
a league in which he has played in for the past two seasons. Over those
two years, Diaz has hit for a good average and a decent OBP, but his
slugging totals have marred his OPS. He has totaled a .300 batting
average, but posted a .701 and .724 OPS each season. Signed out of the
Dominican Republic, Robinzon colleted one single in eight Spring
Training at-bats this year.
Jose Arredondo, RP (LAA)
Arredondo,
who turned 23 on March 30, has recently made the conversion from
starter to reliever. Originally a shortstop, he began pitching out of
the bullpen in 2004 and was effective in Rookie League. Arredondo
excelled as a starter in A+ ball in 2006, but struggled at AA,
accumulating a 1.68 WHIP and a 6.53 ERA in 11 starts. The latter
performance prompted his switch back to the pen, hoping to see him
return to his A+ form where he struck out 11.5 per 9 innings pitched.
Ricky Romero, LHP (TOR)
Romero, the 6th
overall pick in the 2005 draft out of Cal State Fullerton, was
impressive up until his AA stint last season. The 23-year-old started
10 games for Dunedin of the Florida State League, striking out 61
batters in 58 innings while maintaining a solid 1.06 WHIP. When he was
called up to AA, however, Romero was striking out much fewer batters
(only 5.48 per game) and walked 26 batters in a little over 57 innings.
Although this highly touted prospect has been slated into the Blue Jays
2008 rotation, he'll need some fine-tuning back in New Hampshire before
he's ready to move up.
Kevin Mulvey, RHP (NYM)
Mulvey,
a 21-year-old who was the Mets first pick of the 2006 draft, will
return to AA Binghamton and look to add on to a great stint last
season. After pitching just two scoreless innings for the GCL Mets,
Mulvey was sent straight to AA, whereupon he gave up just two runs in
13.1 innings. However, Mulvey still walked five batters in that short
time. A fascinating prospect, Mulvey has to prove himself to the Mets'
brass by having a strong outing in Binghamton in 2007.
Cody Haerther, LF (STL)
Haerther,
a 23-year-old drafted right out of high school in 2002, has always been
solid, but slightly inconsistent at the plate. In 2005, Haerther had an
OPS of .964 playing A+ ball in the Florida State League. That same
year, he posted a line of .298/.333/.833 for AA Springfield. However,
he struggled in 2006 in that same league, increasing his OBP by 3
points, but seeing a 60-point decrease in his slugging. Last month, Scout.com rated Haerther as the 12th best prospect in the Cardinals system.
Trevor Crowe, OF (CLE)
Crowe,
an athletic righthanded hitter, will be starting at AA after finishing
their last season. The 23-year-old outfielder had a .919 OPS while
playing for Kinston at A+, but dropped down to a .643 OPS in 154
at-bats in AA. Crowe has a good eye and draws a lot of walks, but
struggles hitting for power, posting just one homer and seven doubles
in AA. He was 7-27 in Spring Training this year.
Neil Walker, 3B (PIT)
Walker,
21, is one of the most promising young switch-hitters hitters in the
game today. Drafted straight out of high school as the 11th
pick of the 2004 draft, Walker has recently began working at third
base, rather than where his usual catcher's spot. At 20 years old,
Walker posted a .754 OPS in A+ ball and was promoted to AA Altoona at
the end of the season. He struggled mightily, posting a line of just
.161/.188/.355 in 31 at-bats, but was playing with a viral infection.
Bryce Cox, RP (BOS)
A
22-year-old out of Rice University, Cox has dominated both high and
low A ball, prompting a chance this season to prove himself in AA.
Playing for Wilmington of the Carolina League (A+), Cox had a .95 WHIP
and struck out 25 batters in 24.1 innings. At 6-foot-4 and 205 lbs, Cox
had been pegged as the future closer of the Red Sox, but thanks to
Jonathan Papelbon shifting back to that spot, he'll have to work as a
set-up man when he reaches the big leagues.
Brent Lillibridge, SS (ATL)
A
23-year-old shortstop traded to the Braves in the Mike Gonzalez-Adam
LaRoche deal, Lillibridge put up fantastic numbers for Lynchburg (A+)
last season. He hit .313 with a .426 OBP, but struggled with his power,
slugging just .423 in his 201 at-bats. However, Lillibridge did hit 11
homers in 274 at-bats in A-ball earlier in the season. Defensive
struggles have been a problem for Lillibridge, who made 34 errors at
shortstop last year. This could prompt a move to either second base or
the outfield.