Matt Wieters C - Honolulu Sharks (Baltimore) Batting thru 21 games: .304/.402/.464
Wieters turned in arguably the best offensive performance of the year on Friday, October 26th.
The switch-hitting catcher went 4-5 with 2 doubles, 1 home run, 3 runs
scored, and 3 RBI. As of October 29th, Wieters was top 10 in the league
in batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage.
Brandon Snyder 1B - Honolulu Sharks (Baltimore) 19 games: .365/.391/.556
The 13th
overall pick in the 2005 draft, Snyder teamed up with Wieters for an
offensive explosion last Friday. As part of the Sharks' 16-6 drubbing
of the North Shore Honu - which easily boast the league's best record -
Snyder turned in a 4-5 performance that included a double and a triple
while playing third base. Snyder has played both corner infield
positions this winter and is yet to make an error at third.
Blake Wood P - West Oahu CaneFires (Kansas City) 24.0 innings pitched: 3.38 ERA, 38 K, 13 BB
Wood
is turning into one of the surprise performers of this HWB season.
After striking out nearly a batter per inning across three levels in
the Royals system this year, the right handed Georgia Tech alumnus is
whiffing HWB batters at an astounding rate of 32.4%. Unfortunately,
his walk rate has also drastically risen to 11.7%. Wood leads all
American-born pitchers in both strikeouts and walks.
Brett Sinkbeil P - North Shore Honu (Florida) 20.0 innings: 0.90 ERA, 15K, 9BB
Sinkbeil
is another former first rounder who is displaying his talent in Hawaii.
After being nabbed by the Marlins with the 19th overall pick in 2006,
Sinkbeil only logged 79.0 regular-season innings in 2007 - due mostly
to oblique injuries. Sinkbeil made is first appearance out of the
bullpen on Thursday, October 25th, notching the rare
four-inning save. He appears healthy and has been quite productive for
the Honu. He allowed four free passes in his relief work, but for most
of the season his command has been outstanding.
Mat Gamel 3B - North Shore Honu (Milwaukee) 23 games: .338/.441/.649
Gamel
is tied for the league lead in home runs and is third in both slugging
and on-base percentage. However, defense remains his sticky wicket.
He went yard twice and committed two errors last week.
Antoan Richardson CF - Waikiki Beach Boys (San Francisco) 23 games: .250/.396/.329
A
late-round pick out of Vanderbilt in 2005, Richardson works the count
as well as anyone in baseball and possesses remarkable speed. He's also
in the best .250 hitter in the league thanks to league-leading tallies
of 18 walks and 13 steals - he's only been caught stealing once.
Despite his obvious gifts, Richardson's future may be somewhat limited.
He has virtually zero power and is listed at just 5-foot-8 and 165
pounds.
Austin Jackson CF - Honolulu Sharks (New York Yankees) 27 games: .311/.411/.589
Jackson
is really heating up. He racked up seven hits in a weekend series
against North Shore and continues to show a great combination of
patience, power, and speed. He was top 10 in the league in on-base and
slugging percentage and third in steals with seven successful swipes as
of October 29th - has yet to be gunned down in the process.
Kris Medlen P - Honolulu Sharks (Atlanta) 14.1 innings: 1.88 ERA, 27 K, 4 BB
Medlen
has been amazingly consistent. He has not struck out fewer than two
batters in any outing and not more than four. He has not worked more
two innings or less than one. Only three runs have scored off him and
only 10 batters have gotten hits. A 5-foot-10, 175-pounder, Medlen
will have to battle thru Undersized-Righthander Syndrome, which plagues
hundreds of talented hurlers. But he has the stuff, control, and track
record to play a meaningful role in the big leagues.
Tyler Chambliss P - West Oahu CaneFires (Kansas City) 18.0 innings: 7.50 ERA, 18 K, 10 BB
Another
URHS survivor, Chambliss doesn't have the same stuff as Medlen and
instead gets buy on changing speeds and deceiving hitters. His
curveball has sharp, late 12/6 break, and is his best pitch. But his
control leaves something to be desired. Chambliss looks like he could
carve out a decent career for himself in middle relief but will always
be a legend at Florida State, where he went from an All-American closer
to Friday-night starter.
Jamie Romak OF - North Shore Honu (Pittsburgh) 21 games: .209/.361/.373
Romak
was just named No. 4 on our Pirates Top 5 list, and despite hitting
.209 has not done much to negatively affect his stock. The reason for
this is because Romak keeps doing what Romak does best: take walks. As
of October 29th, he was tied for third in the league with 15 bases on
balls. Despite his average and power being somewhat disappointing, he
remains a valuable offensive performer due to his ability to
consistently avoid making outs.
Shane Lindsay P - Waikiki Beach Boys (Colorado) 11.0 innings: 8.18 ERA, 12 K, 10BB
I
wrote glowingly about Lindsay in the first installment of these
articles and it appears that I happened to catch Lindsay not just on
his best day, but on his only good day. On the season, Lindsay now has
put up not-so-perfect ERA along with poor walk, strikeout, and hits
allowed totals.
Michael Wilson OF - Waikiki Beach Boys (Seattle) 24 games: .354/.455/.655
Wilson
wins the first half "came-out-of-no-where" award, fresh off of
wrapping up a regular season in which he went just .206/.291/.422 over
two levels. He's always had good power but right now it appears
supplemented by very good average and great plate discipline. The
Mariners have good depth with their outfield prospects and if Wilson
can continue the progress the way he has in Hawaii, the M's could have
a nice problem on their hands.
Lincoln can be reached at lhamilton@dentonoutlaws.com.