Hawaii Winter League Report #2

October 21, 2007

This week's HWB report happens to coincide with midterms for me, so I apologize if it is somewhat disjointed and less in depth than others. Without further stalling let's move onto the prospects:

Matt Wieters C - Honolulu Sharks (Baltimore) Batting line thru 11 games: .297/.400/.432

Wieters has done everything asked of him – and more – while leading the Sharks to an early lead in the HWB East division. Even though he did not play organized ball from June until the start of the HWB season, Wieters has shown all the tools that make him special. Currently riding a five game hitting streak, Wieters has walked more times than he has struck out, and is tied for second place in the league with five doubles.

George Kontos P - Honolulu Sharks (NY Yankees) 4 games: 15 IP 3.00 ERA 7B 22K

Kontos turned in arguably the best pitching performance of the year so far his last time out. On Wednesday, Kontos worked five scoreless innings, striking out 11 and walking none. Despite a somewhat disappointing college career, the Yankees drafted the 6 foot-3 righthander out of Northwestern University in the fifth round of 2006 draft for the potential of his power arm. His fastball sits comfortably in the low to mid 90’s and his slider is a much-improved pitch. Kontos is shedding his wrap as a "one-pitch-pitcher" aside as his slide piece is now an out pitch for him; he recorded six swinging strikeouts off it Wednesday. With a good two-pitch arsenal, clean mechanics, and a solid track record of performance, Kontos looks like he could develop into something the Yankees desperately need: a reliable, home grown set up man.

Emmanuel Garcia 2B - Waikiki BeachBoys (NY Mets) 12 games: .391/.462/.587

Garcia probably wins the HWB MVP award at his point in the season. Garcia has had multiple hit games in 6 of his last 7 tries, including a 4-for-4 showing on Wednesday, in which he doubled and tripled. He leads the league in hitting and on-base percentage and is currently fifth in slugging despite hitting zero long balls - and having only hit three in his pro career. His great HWB season is re-establishing his value as a prospect after a down season in St. Lucie. There are a few things Garcia does not do very well – he only has a .265 cumulative minor league batting average and he has virtually no power. Lucky for Garcia, his faults are those that tend to be over valued, and his assets are those that have a more profound effect on winning and loosing games (ability to get on base, defense, etc.). He has excellent range as an up-the-middle defensive player and knows how to work a walk.

Mat Gamel 3B - North Shore Honu (Milwaukee) 15 games: .314/.386/.608

Gamel's season has been both outstanding and disappointing. His bat has been everything people have thought it could be, with his offensive production being among the best in the league. Unfortunately, his glove has been everything people have thought as well, as Gamel has made four errors to date. He's a good athlete with solid range and a strong arm, but footwork and throwing accuracy have made him a liability in the field at this point in this development – very similar to the current Brewers' third baseman, Ryan Braun. Tied for the HWB lead in homers, Gamel's bat is good enough to play somewhere.

Argenis Diaz SS - Honolulu Sharks (Boston) 14 games: .417/.453/.521

Last week, Diaz went on a stretch of four consecutive three-hit games and currently leads the league in batting. The twenty-year-old Diaz is coming off a solid offensive season in the Sally League, and possesses an outstanding defensive reputation. Most of Diaz' value with the bat will come in the form of batting average, as he does not walk too often or have much power. But there is certainly room in this world for great defensive shortstops that hit .280-.290.

Daniel Bard P - Honolulu Sharks (Boston) 8 games: 8.2 IP 6BB 9K 1.04ERA

Unfortunately for Bard, his string of just one walk in his last six innings came to an end Friday night. Bard walked two CaneFires' hitters in the eighth inning, though he struck out two and got out of the frame without giving up a run. The Sharks have used Bard only in short stints out of the bullpen, and if he can get his natural abilities under control, he has the stuff to become a dominant late inning reliever.

Josh Bell 3B - West Oahu CaneFires (LA Dodgers) 12 games: .205/.280/.318

Bell has had one of the more disappointing seasons of in the HWB so far. Highly thought of for his plus power from both sides of the plate, Bell has yet to get going for the CaneFires. Some feel that he relies on his power too much and tries to hit every pitch out of the park, as Bell has struck out in nearly 30% of his at bats in the HWB. There is one disturbing statistical trend that is not likely to last: Bell is currently hitting .067/.118/.067 versus right handed pitchers. Bell is a natural righthanded hitter, so one could think that those numbers would progress to the mean, in turn raising his overall numbers into the land of respectability.

Brad Suttle 3B - Honolulu Sharks (NY Yankees) 13 games: .103/.239/.179

Suttle has been on fire since the last report, upping his average 103 points. He has managed hits in four of the past five games, including three doubles. Though his overall numbers will be suppressed by his lousy start, Suttle still projects for his bat to be an asset at third base in the Majors. Even though he won't play his first game in the big leagues until the new Yankee Stadium is worn in, Suttle is someone worth keeping your eye on. His ability to hit for average and plus eye at the plate mean we could see him creeping his way up top prospect lists over the next few seasons.


Lincoln can be reached at lhamilton@dentonoutlaws.com.