March 5, 2000

Rating the Farm

When the BDBL farm draft began, George W. Bush was the runaway front-runner in the Republican primary race, little Elian Gonzalez was living on American soil, Darva Conger was just another anonymous bleach-blond bimbo and Ken Griffey, Jr. was a Seattle Mariner. A lot has changed since then. At times, it seemed as though the farm draft would never end. But now that it finally has, it is time to step back and take a look to see where we all stand.

In order to help determine who has the best farm system, and which team did the best job at the farm draft, I have taken a list of my own personal top-100 prospects and merged that with John Sickels' (author of the STATS Minor League Scouting Notebook) top-50 list, Baseball America's top-100 list and Baseball Prospectus' top-40 list. I awarded 100 points if a player was ranked #1 on any list, 99 points for #2, and so on. I then tallied up all the points and formed a combined top-100 list.

In the team summaries below, you'll see the player's overall rank in parentheses. I'm only counting the top-100 in overall ranking, so anyone not included on that list will receive an N/R next to his name. I've listed players who were either ranked on any one of the four lists or is currently a member of his team's farm roster (or both.) Amateur players have not been ranked (so clearly, teams like the Salem Cowtippers were unduly hurt by this exclusion.)

Below that, I've shared with you my humble opinion of each team's farm system (because I know how you all enjoy that.) And below that, I've displayed the rankings and point totals for each team. I realize the inclusion of my own top-100 list slants the overall ranking a bit in my favor (note: if I didn't think a player were worthy of top-100 status, I wouldn't have drafted him in the first place), so I've also included "Non-Mike" (or NM) point totals and rankings as well.

The overall winner in this year's farm draft appears to be the Madison Fighting Mimes, which should come as no surprise. The Mimes drafted nine players (why does it seem like more?) who totaled a whopping 648 points. That point total nearly doubled the next-highest team, the Hudson Hammerheads (with 361 points.) The beloved Salem Cowtippers were next at 343 farm draft points (a total that does not include #1 pick Xavier Nady or #2 pick Bobby Hill.) Minneapolis (337) and South Carolina (312) round out the top five.

According to our "panel of experts" (plus me), Milton Bradley was the top-ranked professional player available in this year's farm draft. Bradley, who went to the Hudson Hammerheads with the 5th pick overall, ranked #23 overall and was named among the top-40 on every one of the lists. Wilfredo Rodriguez (#32), Abraham Nunez (#35), Drew Henson (#39) and Adam Dunn (#40) completed the top-five in that category.

Below all of this valuable team-by-team information, I have posted a table outlining all of the numbers. And below that, I've posted a link to an Excel spreadsheet that contains all this information in excruciating detail. Any questions? Good, then let's begin.

AKRON RYCHE

Farm Team: Chin-Feng Chen (14), Adam Dunn (40), Mark Mulder (44), Ramon Hernandez (69), Pat Strange (82), Ben Broussard (82), Jason Marquis (N/R), Hong-Chih Kuo (N/R), Tony McKnight (N/R) and Jung Bong (N/R).

Comments: Continuing a trend they started during the Inaugural Draft, the R˙che have focused primarily on pitching. Mulder was named the top Oakland prospect by BBA and is one of the best lefty pitching prospects in the minors. Strange came out of nowhere last year and is now considered "untouchable" by the Mets (probably since he's their only legitimate pitching prospect now.) Of the unranked players, Marquis, Kuo, McKnight and Bong all have very high ceilings. As for the hitters, Dunn and Chen are both "five-tool" prospects with proven baseball skills at the lower levels. Broussard had an unbelievable debut, but cooled down considerably after being promoted to Double-A.

Rankings: #9 overall (849 points), #9 Non-Mike (597 pts), #6 farm draft (299 pts)

BOWLING GREEN SPOILERS

Farm Team: Eric Gagne (27), John Garland (48), Jason Jennings (N/R), Jeff Austin (N/R), Mike Bynum (N/R), Scott Downs (N/R), Alex Ramirez (N/R), Clayton Andrews (N/R), Jason LaRue (N/R) and Ryan Mills (N/R).

Comments: Not surprisingly given their big league staff, of the ten prospects on the Spoilers farm, eight of them are pitchers. Five of them (Austin, Jennings, Garland, Mills and Bynum) were first-round draft choices by their big league clubs. Austin was BBA's college pitcher of the year in '98 while Jennings was last year's Golden Spikes Award winner. It's pretty clear that the Spoilers' philosophy is to build heavily around pitching. If they're looking for help on offense, though, they're not likely to get it from their farm. Neither Ramirez nor LaRue ranked on any of the four lists.

Rankings: #14 overall (442 points), #13 Non-Mike (366 pts), #12 farm draft (162 pts)

BOISE BASTARDS

Farm Team: Buddy Yen (N/R), Carlos Mendez (N/R), Carlos Paredes (N/R), Corey Thurman (N/R), Derrick Turnbow (N/R) and Joseph Delgado (N/R).

Comments: When in doubt, stick with what you know. Boise GM Chris Kamler is a devout Kansas City Royals fan, so he has stockpiled his farm with Royals prospects. The only problem is they don't appear to be the best prospects in the KC franchise. None of the five KC prospects on the Boise farm appear on BBA's Top-15 list of KC prospects. And Boise is the only team in the BDBL without a single ranked player on any one of the four lists. Mendez had a .291 OBP in Triple-A last year with an ugly 6:32 BB:K ratio. Paredes walked 48 batters in 55 innings in A-ball. Thurman compiled a 4.88 ERA and allowed 160 hits in 149 innings at the A level. Delgado averaged 10.6 hits and 4.2 walks per nine at low-A. Yen served out most of the '99 season as a reliever in the rookie Gulf Coast League. Turnbow is a 22-year-old Rule Five draftee from the Sally League. If Kamler doesn't watch out, Boise fans might start hurling potatoes at him in a few years.

Rankings: #24 overall (0 points), #24 Non-Mike (0 pts), #22 (tied) farm draft (0 pts)

BOARDWALK VULGARIANS

Farm Team: Ben Petrick (18), Ryan Christianson (N/R), Wily Mo Pena (N/R), Ben Diggins (N/R), Nick Neugebauer (N/R), Scott Kirby (N/R), Alan Webb (N/R), Mike Darr (N/R) and Ted Lilly (N/R).

Comments: With the exception of Ben Petrick, the Vulgarians have cornered the market on players who have drawn rave reviews from scouts but have yet to put up the numbers to back up the hype. The Yankees outbid several teams and paid $1.4 million for Pena, yet he hit just .247 in the rookie Gulf Coast League last summer, with 12 walks and 55 strikeouts in 166 at-bats. Webb draws raves for his plus fastball and overall stuff, yet he posted a 4.95 ERA in Double-A last year and averaged just 5.6 K's per nine. Darr has been called a five-tool prospect and the heir apparent to Tony Gwynn, yet he hit just .298 in the hitter-happy PCL with 10 HR's, 10 SB's and 103 whiffs. Neugebauer was named the #1 prospect in the Brewers farm system by BBA, yet he walked 80 batters in 80 innings in A-ball. Diggins is projected to be the #2 prospect in this year's amateur draft, yet he compiled a modest 8-5 record and a 6.86 ERA in college ball last year. Of course, scouting is an inexact art, and sometimes it takes a while before the numbers begin to reflect the talent. But I'm reserving judgment on this farm squad until I see some numbers that justify the scouting reports.

Rankings: #18 overall (338 points), #15 Non-Mike (281 pts), #19 farm draft (30 pts)

CHICAGO BLACK SOX

Farm Team: Josh Hamilton (31), Josh Beckett (51), Aubrey Huff (66), Jackson Melian (67), Corey Smith (N/R), Jason Repko (N/R), Josh Karp (N/R), Ty Howington (N/R), Francisco Rodriguez (N/R) and David Kelton (N/R).

Comments: The Black Sox farm team once held the best prospect in all of baseball, Rick Ankiel, as well as #40 prospect Eric Munson. But both players were sacrificed this past chapter in order to acquire more hitting for this team that already seemed to be a lock to score 1,000 runs this season. They have more hitting on the way with Hamilton and Melian in the wings, although at 18/19 years old, both players are probably at least two years away from contributing full-time. Beckett appeared among the top-20 on BBA's list and was #48 on Sickels' list, but I have a hard time listing him that high before he even throws a professional pitch. Fortunately for the Black Sox, John Gill has had some pretty good success with drafting sight-unseen players such as Munson and Hamilton, so I trust Beckett will be as good as advertised. Smith is rated the #2 or #3 high school prospect in the country, but unless he gets J.D. Drew money, I think he could accept his free ride to Miami and take his chances with the 2003 draft.

Rankings: #12 overall (535 points), #12 Non-Mike (399 pts), #15 farm draft (153 pts)

CLEVELAND ROCKS

Farm Team: Ramon Ortiz (20), Joe Crede (N/R), Jim Morris (N/R), Mario Valdez (N/R), Morgan Burkhart (N/R), Pat Flury (N/R) and Matt White (N/R).

Comments: The Rocks have shied away from long-term projects in favor of immediate return. With the exception of White (a holdover from last season), every player on the farm has a good shot at making the major league roster out of spring training this year. Crede could win the third base job in Chicago if the Konerko experiment doesn't work out. Valdez has put together several solid seasons in the minors, but hasn't been given a chance with Thomas blocking his way in Chicago. Now that he's in Minnesota, Tom Kelly might give him that chance (especially since Kelly apparently hates David Ortiz.) Burkhart is supposed to be this year's version of Erubiel Durazo and Flury is supposed to be this year's version of Scott Williamson. We shall see. Morris is the 36-year-old "feel-good story" of 1999. I don't know how many chapters are left in that story, but I'm pulling for him.

Rankings: #20 overall (306 points), #20 Non-Mike (222 pts), #20 farm draft (5 pts)

GILLETTE SWAMP RATS

Farm Team: Rafael Furcal (9), Ben Norris (N/R), Brandon Kolb (N/R), Jake Westbrook (N/R), Steve Rain (N/R), Tom Wilson (N/R), Chad Meyers (N/R), Brian Reith (N/R), Luke Prokopec (N/R) and Nate Bump (N/R).

Comments: With the exception of Furcal, I could best describe the Gillette farm system as "nondescript." Furcal is a tremendous prospect and an impact player once he reaches the majors (which could be as early as this season) and Westbrook and Bump are both "C-grade" pitchers (according to Sickels, Bump is a C+.) But the rest of these guys don't inspire much more than a yawn. Of the ten players on the Gillette farm, Furcal is the only player who appeared on any of the four lists. Norris averaged 10 hits and 4 walks per nine at double-A. Kolb is a Triple-A reliever coming off a decent season. Reith compiled a 4.70 ERA in the FSL. Prokopec went from the bullpen to the rotation and struggled (5.42 ERA) in Double-A. Rain was very impressive at Double-A, compiling a 1.59 ERA through 45 1/3 innings of relief at the slightly advanced age of 23. Overall, the players on this farm squad (with the exception of Furcal) are pretty unexciting. But a lot of times, unexciting players become valuable role players. Time will tell.

Rankings: #16 overall (365 points), #17 Non-Mike (274 pts), #22 farm draft (0 pts)

HUDSON HAMMERHEADS

Farm Team: Tony Armas (19), Milton Bradley (23), Julio Ramirez (67), Adam Eaton (88), Carlos Guillen (95), Bobby Bradley (N/R), Orber Moreno (N/R), Jeff Goldbach (N/R), Kenny Kelly (N/R), Pat Manning (N/R), Valentino Pascucci (N/R) and Jason Grilli (N/R).

Comments: Poor Ken Kaminski returned to his team to find Ruben Mateo (#7 overall), Dee Brown (also #7) and Matt LeCroy (#24) all gone from the farm system. But thanks to an impressive farm draft, the Hammerheads have a top-ten farm system once again. Milton Bradley was a steal as the #5 pick overall. How four other teams passed him by is a mystery. How the Cleveland Rocks let him go on Cutdown Day this year is an even bigger mystery. Like most Hammerheads prospects, Bradley is a toolsy player, and may take a year or two to adjust to big league pitching (as well as adjust his attitude.) Ramirez and Kelly are both toolsy players as well, and both need to learn to convert their skills to the baseball diamond (much like the departed Brown has done.) Armas is a potential ace who should be ready to step in for Mussina once his contract expires. Eaton and Grilli are "B-grade" pitching prospects (Grilli is actually a B- according to Sickels) who have both been traded by their big league clubs within the past six months. Guillen and Moreno can both contribute to the 2001 Hudson club if they progress as expected. Manning and Bobby Bradley (no relation to Milton) are both very young and very good. And the next time I visit my favorite Italian restaurant, I'm asking for a side order of valentino pascucci, served al dente of course.

Rankings: #10 overall (787 points), #10 Non-Mike (574 pts), #2 farm draft (361 pts)

KANSAS LAW DOGS

Farm Team: Rick Ankiel (1), Chad Hermanson (25), John Patterson (30), Eric Munson (40), Mike Lamb (57), Rob Bell (71), Alex Escobar (74), Junior Guerrero (80), Kyle Snyder (94) and Ramon Santiago (N/R).

Comments: With the additions of Ankiel and Munson, Kansas now has one of the better young teams in the BDBL. It's amazing that a pitcher with Ankiel's potential has been traded twice within the past year. Once Detroit finds a place for Munson to play, he, too, has the ability to become an impact player at the major league level in a relatively short period of time. Patterson is an outstanding pitcher, and paired with Ankiel will give the Law Dogs a Zoots-like pair of aces in their rotation. (The only difference is, they'll be paid a total of $200,000 a year as opposed to $20 million.) Hermanson is finally getting a chance to play this year after wasting the past year in the minors while the Pirates signed aging has-been veterans to long-term deals (and you wonder why Pittsburgh is a "small-market" club.) If Escobar rebounds after missing two of the last three years to injury, he could be a major sleeper with top-ten potential for the 2001 rookie list. Bell, Guerrero and Snyder are all good, hard-throwing "B-grade" pitchers with a ton of potential. Lamb could play for the Law Dogs as early as next season.

Rankings: #4 overall (1440 points), #4 Non-Mike (1061 pts), #9 farm draft (202 pts)

KENTUCKY FOX

Farm Team: Matt Riley (12), Andy Pratt (N/R), Brian Schneider (N/R), Chris Truby (N/R), Eric Ireland (N/R) and Robert Smith (N/R).

Comments: Like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, I find myself asking as I look at this farm roster: "Who are these guys?" With the exception of Riley, I hadn't heard of any of them before the farm draft. Pratt had impressive numbers in the Sally League with a 6:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio, but injured his elbow last summer. Schneider had a lukewarm (.264/.318/.435) season in Double-A. Truby showed good pop (.522 SLG with 28 HR) in a great hitter's park in Double-A, but at 26 years old he looks like a career minor leaguer. Ireland, who like Pratt is a soft-tossing finesse pitcher, also had impressive numbers (130 K's, 30 BB in 170 IP) in low-A ball. Smith also had a decent season (103 IP, 91 H, 32 BB, 93 K) in low-A, but I can't find any information on him anywhere, so I don't know his age. Aside from Riley, none of these players are ranked, although BBA rated Pratt #13 in the Texas system, Schneider #7 for Montreal and Ireland #11.

Rankings: #19 overall (335 points), #18 Non-Mike (252 pts), #22 farm draft (0 pts)

LOS ALTOS UNDERTAKERS

Farm Team: Mike Cuddyer (11), Jack Cust (16), Aaron Myette (56), Ben Sheets (73), Brad Baisley (79), Brett Myers (91), Ben Johnson (N/R), Carlos Pena (N/R), Richard Stahl (N/R), Winston Abreu (N/R) and Austin Kearns (N/R).

Comments: Cust and Cuddyer could be the 2003 version of Belle and Walker. Well, that might be a slight exaggeration, but they could be almost as good. The Undertakers' 2003 pitching staff looks pretty good as well, with four players ranked in the top 100 overall. Pena, who hails from my former home town of Haverhill, Mass. has great tools but needs to step up this year to retain his status as a top prospect. Johnson may be a steal if he continues his fast progress. Kearns is a toolsy player who has yet to put it all together. In short, the Undertakers have a great mix of long-term potential and short-term impact.

Rankings: #7 overall (952 points), #7 Non-Mike (679 pts), #11 farm draft (186 pts)

LITCHFIELD LIGHTNING

Farm Team: Lance Berkman (21), Adam Piatt (36), Jesus Colome (46), Kurt Ainsworth (62), Wade Miller (93), Brett Evert (N/R), Luke Wilcox (N/R), Saul Rivera (N/R), Doug Davis (N/R), Jay Tessmer (N/R) and T.J. Tucker (N/R).

Comments: With farm team graduates Erubiel Durazo and Preston Wilson already contributing to the big club, Litchfield GM Phil Geisel has had amazing success with his farm team despite the fact he's such a blockhead. Berkman, a future Cowtipper, made my top ten but placed no higher than 20th on the other three lists. Piatt was the first triple crown winner in the Texas League since the Sultan of Swat was setting records with a mere 60 homers (a figure that has now become commonplace), yet he still gets little respect (only the #5 prospect on BBA's list of Oakland prospects.) Ainsworth was rated the #1 prospect in the San Francisco system, which tells you how bad their system is when a pitcher coming off Tommy John surgery is the best they've got on the horizon. Colome has become a Litchfield Lightning legend already and Lightning fans are already flooding the front office with phone calls and e-mails, begging for Colome to get the call up to the big club.

Rankings: #11 overall (770 points), #11 Non-Mike (530 pts), #7 farm draft (243 pts)

MADISON FIGHTING MIMES

Farm Team: Vernon Wells (5), A.J. Burnett (34), Abraham Nunez (35), Jayson Werth (42), Danys Baez (54), Jason Romano (58), Adam Everett (98), Katsuhiro Sasaki (100), Russ Branyan (N/R), Ramon Soler (N/R), Rico Washington (N/R), Ryan Bradley (N/R), Jimmy Anderson (N/R) and Wiki Gonzalez (N/R).

Comments: The biggest question of this year's farm draft was without a doubt: HOW MANY MORE PICKS CAN BRIAN HICKS POSSIBLY HAVE IN THIS DRAFT?!? It seemed as though every other pick belonged to the Fighting Mimes. But for a team that went into the draft with only one player (Anderson) on its farm roster, the Mimes finished the draft with one of the best farm systems in the league. For those who said there would be no good players available in this year's draft, think again. Baez was gladly stolen with the second overall pick in the draft after New Milford shocked everyone by picking Luis Rivas. Ten picks later, the baseball establishment was stunned into silence once more when Nunez - a five-tool stud, 20/40 man and second-highest-ranked player in the farm draft pool - was still available. Pick after pick, Hicks discovered hidden gems every other team inexplicably passed. Oh, and as if their draft wasn't spectacular enough, Madison also carried over two of the top 35 prospects in baseball (Wells and Burnett) from last year's team.

Rankings: #5 overall (1276 points), #5 Non-Mike (901 pts), #1 farm draft (648 pts)

MANCHESTER FIGHTING IRISH

Farm Team: Dernell Stenson (49), Hank Blalock (N/R), Chris Bootcheck (N/R), Darnell McDonald (N/R), Ruben Quevedo (N/R), Tyrell Godwin (N/R), Daylan Holt (N/R), Aaron Heilman (N/R), Joe Borchard (N/R) and Elpidio Guzman (N/R).

Comments: The Manchester Fighting Irish went into the farm draft with a clean slate after the previous administration left the system with just Lariel Gonzalez, Masao Kida and Bret Stentz (note: #4 prospect Corey Patterson was dealt last season for Billy Wagner.) The result was one ranked player (Stenson), former #1 pick McDonald, "B-grade" pitcher Quevedo, a raw, slap-hitting speedster named Elpidio and six high-ceiling/high-risk players from the 1999 and 2000 major league amateur drafts. Stenson draws big raves from scouts and big trade interest from big league teams, but after a year in which he struck out 119 times in 440 at-bats and committed 34 errors at first base, he seems to have taken a step back as a prospect. He was playing in Triple-A at only 22 years old, however, so he deserves to be cut some slack. Blalock had an excellent pro debut last summer and appears to be on the Rangers' fast track. Of the college players, all five are listed among the top ten college players in the country by BBA and are expected to be taken high in this June's draft.

Rankings: #22 overall (144 points), #22 Non-Mike (98 pts), #16 farm draft (144 pts)

MASSILLON TIGERSTRIKES

Farm Draft: Wilson Betemit (N/R), Brian Fuentes (N/R), Corey Lee (N/R), Corey Myers (N/R), Dan Wheeler (N/R), Casey Blake (N/R), Jamie Brown (N/R) and Robert Ramsay (N/R).

Comments: Of the eight players on the Massillon farm, the 17-year-old Betemit is the only player who earned a ranking on any list (#99 on BBA.) He could be a very good prospect, but is several years away from contributing. Fuentes compiled a 4.95 ERA and averaged seven walks per nine at Double-A. Blake hit only .245 in Triple-A, but had a respectable .825 OPS. Lee had an unexciting year at Double-A (128 IP, 132 H, 45 BB, 121) before enjoying some success in a four-game Triple-A trial. Myers was a surprise first-round pick by the Diamondbacks who hit .276/.333/.393 in his first pro exposure in the Pioneer League. Wheeler draws raves from scouts, but didn't light up the International League (82 IP, 103 H, 58 K) last year. Brown showed decent control (2.5 BB/9) in Double-A last year, but not much else. Robert Ramsay was awful for the Red Sox Triple-A club (5.35 ERA in 20 games), but thrived after a trade to Seattle (1.08 ERA in 5 games.)

Rankings: #23 overall (2 points), #23 Non-Mike (2 pts), #21 farm draft (2 pts)

MINNEAPOLIS HAYMAKERS

Farm Team: Ruben Mateo (7), Francisco Cordero (37), Drew Henson (39), Felipe Lopez (55), Cesar Izturis (92), Robert Fick (97), Tim Drew (N/R), Josh Phelps (N/R), Rod Barajas (N/R), Armando Almanza (N/R), Kelly Dransfeldt (N/R) and Wilson Delgado (N/R).

Comments: The Haymakers acquired a top ten prospect in Mateo at the expense of Sammy Sosa. Lopez arrived at the expense of Alfonso Soriano. It will be interesting to see how these two trades look over the course of time. Lopez draws raves as a five-tool prospect, and in fact was named the top shortstop prospect in all of baseball by the esteemed Peter Gammons. But anyone who whiffs 157 times in low-A ball scares me a little bit. Mateo needs only to prove that he can stay healthy over a full season. He hasn't done so for three years running, but if he can, he'll be a star and will help out the Haymakers as early as next season. Cordero could join Armando Benitez next season as a devastating, flame-throwing left/right combo in the Minneapolis bullpen. They are both very similar pitchers. Henson, the fourth-best player available in the farm draft who wasn't taken until the 16th pick of Round Two, was a supernova in high school and set every record imaginable. If he doesn't kill his career on the gridiron, we might eventually get to see his true potential. The Haymakers are loaded at shortstop with Lopez, Izturis, Dransfeldt and Delgado.

Rankings: #8 overall (930 points), #8 Non-Mike (624 pts), #4 farm draft (337 pts)

NEW MILFORD BLAZERS

Farm Team: Corey Patterson (4), Brad Penny (13), Ed Yarnall (26), Peter Bergeron (28), C.C. Sabathia (61), Esteban German (63), Luis Rivas (N/R), Alex Fernandez (N/R), Peanut Williams (N/R), Ryan Owens (N/R), Gary Thomas (N/R) and Eric Valent (N/R).

Comments: The New Milford Blazers could have taken ANYBODY with the first pick overall in the farm draft. My personal top-five list going into the draft looked something like this: Xavier Nady, Abraham Nunez, Milton Bradley, Dannys Baez and Wilfredo Rodriguez. I had roughly 150 names on my original farm draft list. But when the Blazers announced their pick, I didn't have to cross off any of those names. In fact, of the six picks they made, I didn't have to cross any of them off my list. That's not to say they were bad picks - just far different than the ones I would have made. Of the six players chosen, only Rivas (#86 BBA) and German (a shocking #18 on BBP's list) appear in any of the rankings. Rivas' biggest asset seems to be that he's young. At 20 years old, he compiled a .254 average in Double-A ball with an OBP of .309. He was caught stealing 14 times in 45 attempts and committed 39 errors in the field.   German walks a lot and whiffs a lot.  He has great speed, but is a little shaky in the field. Fortunately for Blazers fans, their team already owned several top prospects before the draft even began. Patterson, acquired last year at the expense of Billy Wagner, is a MAJOR impact player who looks like the next Barry Bonds. Penny and Yarnall are two of the top pitching prospects in the game, and both could be members of the 2001 Blazers rotation. Bergeron will also contribute very soon, and could platoon with Patterson in New Milford's center field next season. Sabathia and Fernandez are both very young and must prove themselves this year at higher levels. Valent could be a sleeper if he performs well at Double-A this year.

Rankings: #3 overall (1443 points), #3 Non-Mike (1077 pts), #17 farm draft (98 pts)

PHOENIX PREDATORS

Farm Team: Marcus Giles (47), Barry Zito (53), Chris George (69), Chad Hutchinson (77), Juan Pena (95), Adam Kennedy (N/R), J.J. Davis (N/R), Chris Wakeland (N/R), Javier Cardona (N/R), Ryan Gripp (N/R) and Ben Christensen (N/R).

Comments: The Predators have some very interesting prospects - especially on the mound. If Zito carries over his success from late last year, if Pena is as healthy and throwing as well as reported, if George can fool Double-A batters with his junk as well as he fooled Single-A batters, if Hutchinson can un-learn his football mechanics and refine his baseball mechanics and if Christensen can overcome being such a jackass...this could be a very good staff for years to come. That's a lot of "if's," but that's also a lot of potential. Giles and Kennedy are both excellent second base prospects, and with Pokey Reese signed through the 2003 season, Phoenix can afford to be patient. Cardona showed unusual pop for the first time in his career last year. His teammate Wakeland is a little old to be considered a true prospect, but he could be a decent #4 outfielder eventually.

Rankings: #13 overall (457 points), #16 Non-Mike (280 pts), #10 farm draft (200 pts)

PLATTSBURGH CHAMPS

Farm Team: Pat Burrell (2), Alfonso Soriano (15), Luis Rivera (45), George Lombard (58), Lance Niekro (N/R), Chad Harville (N/R), Joe Lawrence (N/R), Mark Tiexiera (N/R) and Wilton Veras (N/R).

Comments: The Champs were the unintentional recipients of good fortune this winter when they sneakily ended up with Soriano through a three-team deal. If Soriano really is as good as his enormous hype, that trade will become a part of Salem Cowtipper infamy much like a sale of a certain slugger to the Yankees back in the early 20's. Like their 35-man roster, the Champs' farm roster is filled with a lot of big-swinging hitters and not much pitching. Burrell is ready to step in today and become an instant star, and might get a shot this season if the Phils can move Ron Gant. Lombard is a toolsy player coming off an injury-filled regular season and an impressive AFL season. Lawrence (no relation to TV heart-throb Joey Lawrence) is a patient young hitter without a lot of pop (sounds a lot like Mark Johnson, no?) Veras is another typically over-hyped Red Sox prospect. But the best hitter of them all might be a guy the Sox let go, Tiexiera. Plattsburgh's evil GM Tim Zigmund stole Tiexiera last season when rumors began to surface that drafting amateur players would no longer be allowed in the BDBL. He is the first player ever to be acquired two years before being eligible for the pros. Niekro is a draft-eligible sophomore and Cape League star who, like Tiexiera, was hyped by Peter Gammons in the Boston Globe last summer (now we know where Tim gets his info.) Rivera was a shocking sleeper pick by the Champs, and could become this year's Kevin McGlinchy (but hopefully not this year's John Rocker.)

Rankings: #6 overall (960 points), #6 Non-Mike (694 pts), #13 farm draft (157 pts)

QUEENSBORO KINGS

Farm Team: Mario Encarnacion (49), Pablo Ozuna (71), Scott Sobkowiak (N/R), Aaron McNeal (N/R), Eric Cammack (N/R), John Sneed (N/R), Mike Tonis (N/R), Andy Beal (N/R), Matt Smith (N/R) and Seth Etherton (N/R).

Comments: Encarnacion hasn't gotten a lot of press, but he's put up some pretty impressive numbers over the past few years playing advanced levels for his age. With the Oakland outfield picture a little cloudy, he could be a regular member of the Kings as early as next season. Ozuna had an off-year last year, but is still a top prospect. His biggest problem is that with two good, young prospects already filling the middle infield positions in Florida, he has nowhere to play. Sobkowiak is yet another great Atlanta pitching prospect. Cammack is an intriguing pitcher. He doesn't throw very hard, and he's a little older than the competition he's faced the past few years, but it's hard to ignore what he did in Double-A last season: in 56 2/3 innings, he allowed just 4.4 hits per nine and whiffed 13.2 per nine. Fellow Eastern Leaguers voted him the toughest pitcher in the league to face with the game on the line. Queensboro was completely dissed by Sickels, who failed to rate any one of their prospects among his top-50.

Rankings: #21 overall (228 points), #21 Non-Mike (111 pts), #14 farm draft (156 pts)

SALEM COWTIPPERS

Farm Team: Sean Burroughs (6), Dee Brown (7), Mike Restovich (22), Matt LeCroy (24), Hee Seop Choi (38), Wes Anderson (43), B.J. Garbe (64), Chris Snelling (77), Tomo Ohka (84), Mark Quinn (86), Dan Reichert (87), Ken Harvey (89), Bobby Hill (N/R) and Xavier Nady (N/R).

Comments: What more can you possibly say about the Salem Cowtippers' farm system that hasn't been said already through the Salem P.R. Department's brilliant and inspired 2000 Salem Cowtippers Yearbook? In short, Salem owns a pretty decent little farm club with a top prospect at every position (#1 3B prospect, #2 catcher, #2 1B and #3 OF in addition to the unranked Febles at second and Hill at short.) They're particularly deep at third, with Burroughs and Nady, and first, with Choi and Harvey. Not all farm players fulfill their vast potential, but if even two or three of these players do, the Cowtippers will be a force to be reckoned with by the middle of this decade. (Side note: if Salem had kept Alfonso Soriano, they would have completely blown away the competition with 2,327 overall points (676 points higher than the next-highest total) and 1,548 "Non-Mike" points (405 points higher than the next.))

Rankings: #1 overall (2014 points), #1 Non-Mike (1235 pts), #3 farm draft (343 pts)

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA SLYME

Farm Team: Ryan Anderson (17), Choo Freeman (81), Hiram Bocachica (N/R), Jimmy Rollins (N/R), John Stephens (N/R), Jason Tyner (N/R), Michael Young (N/R) and Cal Pickering (N/R).

Comments: Luckily for Anderson, he doesn't have a face like Randy Johnson, but everything else about him is exactly the same. That includes early struggles with control (5.8 BB/9) and a ton of strikeouts (10.9 K/9.) If Anderson is lucky, Lou Piniella and the Mariners will leave him alone this year and give him a full season in the minors to work out the kinks in his mechanics. Freeman was named the top Colorado prospect by Baseball America, but he fell to the third round of the BDBL farm draft because, despite his tools, he has a lot of holes in his game (most notably that ugly 39:132 walk-to-strikeout ratio in low-A ball last year.) Pickering has put together several solid minor league seasons in a row, but as long as Baltimore is content with signing aging has-been's to be their first baseman (the latest apparently being Cal Ripken), Pickering will have to ride the pine. Stephens, as you may have read recently on the Baseball America web site, had a 6:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio last season, but doesn't get any respect from scouts because he only throws in the low-80's. He obviously knows how to pitch, but will have to prove it every step of the way.

Rankings: #15 overall (397 points), #14 Non-Mike (313 pts), #18 farm draft (88 pts)

SOUTH CAROLINA SEA CATS

Farm Team: Wilfredo Rodriguez (32), Mike Meyers (75), Mitch Meluskey (89), Lorenzo Barcelo (N/R), Andy Tracy (N/R), Brady Clark (N/R), Jared Sandberg (N/R), Josue Espada (N/R), Scott Morgan (N/R), Paul Ah Yat (N/R), Jarrod Patterson (N/R) and Mike Frank (N/R).

Comments: The Sea Cats have several intriguing players. Rodriguez is arguably the top left-handed pitching prospect in the game. Meluskey could provide some pop behind the plate after an injury-plagued year. Clark had an incredible season last year, but is a 26-year-old playing at the Double-A level. He may find himself taking the Roberto Petagine route pretty soon. Patterson and Frank are two more players who performed fairly well against much younger competition. Meyers is a very interesting prospect. He put together an ERA of just 1.73 over 140 innings at two different levels last season. He's a native Canadian who was a 26th round draft pick from a junior college in Illinois, so he's sort of an unknown at this point. But so far, he looks like the real deal.

Rankings: #17 overall (349 points), #19 Non-Mike (225 pts), #5 farm draft (312 pts)

STAMFORD ZOOTS

Farm Team: Nick Johnson (3), Kip Wells (10), Travis Dawkins (28), D'Angelo Jiminez (33), Chip Ambres (52), Wascar Serrano (58), Steve Lomasney (64), Byung-Hyun Kim (75), B.J. Ryan (N/R), Aaron Rowand (N/R), Sun-Wu Kim (N/R), Patrick Boyd (N/R), Vince Faison (N/R), Rick Asadoorian (N/R) and Eugene Kingsale (N/R).

Comments: The Zoots trail only the mighty Salem Cowtippers in terms of ranked players, overall points and the all-important Non-Mike points. Not bad for a guy who claims to have no time to study for these things. Johnson is as close to a sure-thing impact player as you can get. He is a John Olerud clone who has learned how to lean into pitches better than Don Baylor. Wells and Dawkins are two highly controversial "prospects" (note: say this while making peace signs with both hands, then bending your two extended fingers...rolling your eyes into the back of your head also adds to the effect) who draw rave after rave from scouts but have yet to impress this particular writer. Ambres is a classic five-tool player and a tremendous athlete who made some good progress translating those tools to the diamond last summer. Serrano (no relation to the Jobu-loving slugger from the "Major Leagues" movies) was named the #5 prospect in the Southern League, but struggled a bit (5.53 ERA) after a promotion to Double-A. The Kim brothers (who aren't really brothers) both came to this country with high expectations, have done well in the minors, but haven't yet translated their talent to the major league level. Jiminez would have been a shoo-in for the top-25 if not for his accident this winter. Lomasney is the top Red Sox prospect according to BBA (but then again, it's only the Red Sox) and fellow Red Sox Asadoorian appeared in the top-ten as well. Ryan will help the Zoots as early as next season out of the bullpen. Boyd could be a top-five pick in this summer's amateur draft if he can only stay healthy for an entire spring.

Rankings: #2 overall (1651 points), #2 Non-Mike (1143 pts), #8 farm draft (235 pts)

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