Florida is the defending champs. After coming close for seasons, they finally broke through. This season they have been hit hard by injuries.Since the farm systems in Low A and High A are very much running themselves, it will be hard to judge talent down there. With 4-48 records, it is safe to say that the low minors are not even on the owner's mind.
1.Omar Ortiz....... Omar is a very good pitcher. After 2 seasons in AAA Omar is doing very well in AAA. He is currently 4-3 with a 3.24 ERA. In 58 innings, he has given up only 43 hits, 17 walks, 6 homers, while striking out 57. I would be surprised if he is not a 12-15 game winner consistently in the major leagues. He has 4 pitches, and all are projected between 65-85. He will be successful if he continues to mix his pitches up. He has decent control, good splits, and he looks like a workhorse.
2. Lorenzo Gonzalez.......Lorenzo is a guy I was trying to get for 3 seasons. The owner will not budge on trading him, and rightfully so. This guy will be a major part of Florida's dreams of another title. He is in AAA this year, and supporting a 3-1 record. He has an ERA of 2.17, a nice opponents average of .189, and most of all he has pin point control. He has 14 walks, while fanning 48, allowing only 4 homers, and 31 hits. All of this in 45 innings. He could be used as a long relief, set-up, or possibly a 4th or 5th starter. No matter where he is, he will produce like rabbits.
3.Kevin Kingland....... Kevin is another guy that will produce in the major leagues in the next season or so. He has great splits, great control, and a devastating 4 seam fast ball. He is 5 for 5 in save chances this season in AAA so far. In 14 innings, he has given up 6 hits, 0 homers, 3 walks, while fanning 13. With Florida's offense 30-40 saves could be a breeze if he is given the chance.
4.Les Gibson. Les has just been promoted from AA to AAA. In AA he pitched 26 innings, while giving up 19 hits, 4 homers, 12 walks, while fanning 20..He was 1-1 with 1 save and a 3.08 ERA. Control could be an issue if he makes the major leagues.
5.Gus Wood......Gus could be a decent pitcher in the major leagues some day. He is currently in AA, and is performing well .He has 4 pitches, decent splits, good control, and will continue to improve in the upcoming seasons. In just 7 innings, he has given up 6 hits, 2 walks, while striking out 7.
6. Ramon Martin......After spending a few seasons in AA, Ramon is back down in High A ball. He performed well in AA, but only the owner knows why he got demoted. He is hitting .351 with 13 doubles, 2 triples, 12 homers, and 51RBI'S. He has walked 25 times, while striking out 30. In over 200 at bats he has an OBP of .425 and an overall OPS of 1.035.
7.Harold Frasier......Harold is in AA level ball this season. Despite his base running skills, 4 steals in 11 chances, he has done a good job so far. He is batting .308, supports a ,305 OBP, while clubbing 11 doubles, 1 triple and 13 homers. He has driven in 54 runs to go along with 25 walks, and only 33 strikeouts.
8.Jim Lee......Jim will be a huge producer in the major leagues. He has put up some very fine numbers in the lower levels of the minor leagues so far. He is now in AA, and it is no different there. He has 12 doubles, 14 homers, 42 RBI'S, while walking 29 and only fanning 23. He has done this in 209 at bats. He is hitting .325 with a OBP of .416 and a total OPS of 1.016. He will be a nice 40-50 doubles hitter, and possibly 30 homers in the major leagues.
9.Del Lorenzo........Del is a legit home run hitter, and will continue to produce that way. He is in his 3rd season in AAA, and each season he is getting better. He does not hit for a high average, only .256 this season. He has 10 doubles, 23 homers, while driving in 62. He has walked 23 times while fanning 62. His high strikeouts are alarming, and hopefully he will improve on them . He is a switch hitter, with excellent power, a decent batting eye, low contact, and so -so splits. He is in the line of being a "Pete Incavaglia" type player.
10.Sammy Torres......Sammy is another player I tried to get the last few season, but again the owner would not budge on a deal. Sammy is going to be a great player in the major leagues. In every level, he has put up outstanding numbers. Now in AAA, he is hitting .297 with an OBP of .366. These are actually low for Sammy. He will improve on them as time goes by.He is only 20 years old, so it is hard to be tough on him just yet. He has 17 doubles, 1 triple, 5 homers, while driving in 23. He also walked 22 times and stole 9 bases. With his great splits, decent batting eye, decent power, good contact, he kind of reminds me of a Kirby Puckett type hitter.