Season 5 Power Rankings - Regular Season #6

Chuckles McGee - Cobbfather Post Gazette

It's time for another edition of the Power Rankings! 10-5, 9-6, 11-4, and 11-4. Those were the records of 4 teams ranked consecutively in the last edition of the power rankings during this rankings period. What were the rankings of those four teams? 1-4? 3-6? OK, let's stretch a bit, 10-13? Wrong! Believe it or not, those are the records of the teams ranked 29-32 in the last power rankings for this period. Congrats to #29 Syracuse (10-5), #30 Kansas City (9-6), #31 Wichita (11-4) and #32 Ottawa (11-4) on fantastic records for this rankings period. Needless to say, they all moved up in the rankings.

So, what's going on at the top? There's a new #1! Even though they only were able to match the records of the #31 and #32 teams this period, an 11-4 record was enough to propel Rochester to #1. Tampa Bay fell one spot to #2, Jackson is #3, Sacramento #4, and Vancouver #5.

Other teams who did well this rankings period include a trio of teams from the AL East - #6 Atlanta (10-5), #8 Boston (11-4) and #11 Burlington (11-4). #7 Dover also went 11-4.

It was a rough period for #10 Austin (5-10), and #14 Memphis (4-11), but not as rough as it was for Los Angeles, who went 1-14, and that 1 win was the first game, so they are currently on a 14 game losing streak.

Here's this edition's teams on the rise and teams on the decline section.

Teams on the rise: Syracuse, Wichita, Kansas City, Ottawa, Rochester, Dover and the entire AL East

Teams on the decline: Los Angeles, Austin, Memphis, New York (NL)

And now the unveiling of the latest edition of the Regular Season Power Rankings!!

Rank	Team	Record	Prev
1	Rochester	61-29	3
2	Tampa Bay	60-30	1
3	Jackson	57-33	4
4	Sacramento	55-35	2
5	Vancouver	56-34	6
6	Atlanta	56-34	7
7	Dover	56-34	8
8	Boston	52-38	11
9	San Francisco	51-39	10
10	Austin	53-37	5
11	Burlington	49-41	14
12	Florida	46-44	12
13	New York (AL)	45-45	15
14	Memphis	45-45	9
15	Honolulu	44-46	18
16	New York (NL)	44-46	13
17	San Juan	44-46	16
18	Hartford	43-47	17
19	Buffalo	42-48	22
20	Charleston	42-48	20
21	Durham	40-50	25
22	Cleveland	41-49	19
23	Wichita	38-52	31
24	Detroit	39-51	21
25	Syracuse	36-54	29
26	Kansas City	36-54	30
27	Little Rock	37-53	23
28	Oakland	37-53	24
29	St. Louis	36-54	26
30	Cheyenne	35-55	27
31	Ottawa	33-57	32
32	Los Angeles	31-59	28

Check back after game 105 for the next installment of the power rankings!

Down on the Farm Closing

In closing this was a report to show you guys who is doing a good job in the minors. Sometimes the best rated guys are not on the list, as they may not be doing good. If you drop me a chat or just tell me about player/players you think should have been added, just let me know. I am human, and I do overlook players. I also want to make this fun and enjoyable for those who read our blog. The upcoming report about the "Where are they now" draft picks should be alot better. I actually was learning more and more as these reports were being written.

Studs Mc Grew Cobbfather Post Gazette

Sacramento Fighting Cornish Hens "down on the farm"

Well our final journey took us to the lovely area of Sacramento ,California. I have to admit, it was not as bad as I thought it would be. We did have a major sports star arrested while we were there in Sacramento. It seems Michael Vick was arrested for running a "cock fighting" event. Go Figure. It seems that the hens that lost the fights wound up as dinner for the ball players. Well let us wander down to the field to see who is making noise in the Sacramento farm system.

1.Kris Darwin..... Kris is a guy I feel for in AAA. He is on a team that is not doing great (28-62) but he continues to put his best effort forward. He is 1-5 with a 2.97 ERA. In 36 innings , he has given up 36 hits, 5 homers, 11 walks, while fanning 37. He is a sure ML pitcher in the future. He has 5 very good pitches, very good splits, good stamina, average control, and the heart of a crowing rooster.

2. Lenny Howington..... He is a pitcher with 5 pitches, he has good splits, decent control, good stamina , and the will to succeed. He is 6-2 with a 2.42 ERA in AA thus far this season.. In 78 innings he has given up 62 hits, 9 homers, 21 walks, while fanning 60. He is a sure double digit winner as well .

3. Donne Forbes.....Forbes is a guy that FW got from us. He will be a very good closer, and thus far has shown the poise to excel in the Major Leagues. He has a slider that is slicker than the hair of a professional wrestler. His second pitch is a 4 seamer. He has very good control, very good splits, and good stamina. He has pitched 30 innings, w=given up 35 hits, 0 homers, 13 walks, while fanning 33 players..

4. Sherman Duncan.... Duncan is a guy you look at, and say "What the hell is he doing pitching this way" He has low control, but also good splits, and 3 very nice pitches. He is 2-1 with 16 saves, in 19 chances so far in High A. He has a 2.45 ERA, and only walked 15 in 40 innings. He also has allowed only 1 homer, 34 hits, while striking out 40.

5.Manny Bierbrodt..... Manny is 9-1 with a dazzling 1.15 ERA so far in High A ball this season. In 63 innings, he has given up a mere 37 hits, 4 homers, 14 walks,while punching out 64 batters. He has 4 good pitches, good stamina, good splits, and very good control. He will be a very nice ML pitcher in a few seasons.

6. Ivan Coronado... I van is spending his 3rd season in Low A, and making the best of it. He already has 40 doubles, to go along with 3 triples, 11 homers, and 56 RBI'S. He has walked 49 times, while fanning 67 times. He is hitting .324 with a very nice .417 OBP. He has a good batting eye, and decent power. After that, it all goes downhill form there.

7.Esmaylin Veras..... Vera may never make the big leagues in his career. He is certainly going to make the most of his minor league experience. He has hit .344 so far in High A this seaosn. He also has 29 doubles, 3 triples, 24 homers, while driving in 64 runs. He has walked 34 times while fanning 54 times. He has good power and a good batting eye. He is also a switch hitter, which will make him more valuable in future seasons.

8.Peaches Hernandez.....Peaches is going to be a very nice ball player in the upcoming seasons. He has great power, average contact, great splits, great batting eye, and the health of Rosie O'donnell running on a treadmill for 45 minutes....His health is low, but we all know about ratings. He has 27 doubles, 1 triple , 28 homers, while driving in 94 runs. He has an impressive 48 strikeouts in just over 330 at bats. That is great for a power hitter. He also has walked 30 times, and hit for an .325 average.

9.Stephen Hiatt......Hiatt is a left hander who is doing a great job in AA this season. He has 22 doubles, 2 triples, 23 homers, while driving in 78 runs. His 46 walks help give him an OBP of .421. Hiatt will be a very fine ML hitter when he is given the chance. He was demoted to AA, after spending 4 season in AAA. He could have been upset, but he has used that to be more determined to get the call in the near future.

10. Louis Sullivan.....I almost over looked Louis doing this report. He is 2-0 with 2 saves and a 2.93 ERA. He has the potential to be a very fine Major League pitcher. He has average control,,but his great splits and 2 fablous pitchers will make him a top reliever for seasons to come.

Honolulu Haloe's "down on the report"

Honolulu is the next to last team on the down on the farm report. It took some time to get the stats together, as our scouts had to travel to Hawaii to watch these guys play. Some of the scouts loved the "free lei" as they got off the plane, and the other thought it was a different kind they were going to get .Here is what we found in Hawaii.

1. Miguel Chavez.....Miguel is currently in AAA and doing a nice job down there. He is hitting .298 with 16 doubles, 2 triples, 4 homers, while driving in 34 runs. He has walked 29 times, while striking out 72. Miguel's splits are average across the board. I do believe he will find a major league team in the future to give him his shot.

2. Marty Sweeney.......Marty is in High A this season and doing very well. He has a .342 average, to go along with his .414 OBP. He has 26 doubles, 1 triples, 14 homers, 56 RBI'S, while walking 43 times so far this season. Marty actually has good enough splits and ratings to make the major league at some point in his career.

3. Timothy Cannon..... Timothy has excellent power, a superb batting eye, low contact, and low splits....He is your typical Jim Thome , walk , strikeout ,or homer....Do not expect him to steal bases or have alot of triples. He has a .319 average, 27 doubles,1 triple, 28 homers, while driving in 75. He has 53 walks, while fanning 85 times.

4.Pedro Beltran.... Pedro is in Low A this season and doing a fine job there. He is 6-4 with a 2.91 ERA. In 77 innings, he has given up 73 hits, 5 homers, 29 walks, while fanning 83. He has 4 pitches, decent control, good stamina, decent splits, and the heart of a future transplant patient.

5. Vance Cook.... Vance is one of those pitchers you have to keep your eye on. He has very good control, very good splits, 3 pitches that will keep him in the major leagues for a long time. He is 4-2 with 1 save, and a 1.69 ERA. In 42 innings, he has given up 33 hits, 4 homers, 10 walks , and striking out 45.

6. Shin -Soo Brea... Brea is one of the elite closer prospects that we have seen in a long time....He has great control, good splits, and 3 pitches.He is 23 for 24 in save chances, and a sparkling 0.86 ERA. In 31 innings, he has given up 17 hirs,0 homers, 8 walks,while striking out 30. Being left handed, he has been tagged the next Billy Wagner.

7.Royce Shouse......Royce has good stamina, great control, good splits, and 4 pitches that could make him a very dangerous pitcher. He could be used as a starter, or reliever. In 84 innings, he has given up 78 hits, 5 homers, 24 walks, while striking out 72. He is alsO 6-7, with a 2.87 ERA in AAA.

Cheyenne Chiefs "down on the farm"

Next up are the Cheyenne Chiefs. Now the Chiefs are a franchise that will certainly make noise in the near future. With a superstar that will make Manny Ramirez look like Felipe Lopez. Let's see where the noise is coming from this time around.

1. Buzz Melhuse.......Buzz has good power, decent batting eye, low contact and splits. He will more than likely be a minor league player for life. He has been in AA for 5 seasons. He hits for power, drives in runs, and has a low average. To the person who likes homers, and RBI'S, here is your guy. I in this season at AA he has 27 doubles, 2 triples, 26 homers, while driving in 70. He has also walked 34 times, while fanning 92. He strikeouts out almost 30% of the time.

2.Mike Dorsey..... Mike is a player that is excelling way beyond his ratings. Now this could be either the 0% pitchers, or just plain luck, but this guy flat out kills the ball.He is currently hitting .343 with 33 doubles, 3 triples, 12 homers, 88 runs batted in, while supporting a .437 OBP. He has decnt power, good contact, average splits,and a very good eye. He has walked 58 times and struck out 50.

3. Jesus Valentin...... Jesus is 2-0 with 2 saves so far in Low A this season. He has good splits, good control, 4 very good pitches, and relief set-up stamina. He has pitched 39 innings, giving up 31 hits, 3 homers, 9 walks, while fanning 40.

4. Matt Baker.....Matt is currently in Low A this season. He is 10-4 with a 3.47 ERA. In 114 innings , he has given up 95 hits, 14 homers, 30 walks, while striking out 97. He has good stamina, very good control, so so splits, and 3 pitches to work with. I do admit his 3rd pitch(palmball) sometimes floats like a feather in the wind.

5. Dennis Coffie.....Dennis is in AAA this season and doing quite well. He is 6 for 6 in save chances.He has pitched 47 innings, given up 32 hits , 1 homer, 13 walks, 35 strikeouts, while having a 1-0 record. He is very very good, and should continue to excel as time goes along. He has avergae control, very good splits, and 3 pitches.

6. Yorvit Rodriguez......Yorvit is going to be a great closer in the major leagues in the future. He has grat control, very good splits, and 3 very good pitches to keep players guessing. He is 2-3 with 13 saves in 16 chances this season in AAA. He has pitched 32 innings, giving up 22 hits, 3 homers, 5 walks, while fanning 33.

7. Vic Costilla......Vic is going to be a superstar in the near future. He has been labeled the next Albert Pujols by some scouts. He has good contact, excellent power, good splits, and a very good batting eye. He has put up some great numbers in Low A this season so far. He has 48 doubles, 11 triples, 32 homers, 12 stolen bases, while driving in 133 runs so far . He is hitting .352 with a .419 OBP. He also has 41 walks, while fanning 58 times. No doubt he will be an impact player, and we will see in about 2-3 seasons .

8. Alfredo Lindsey......The newly acquired Lindsey will be a very good left handed slugger for Cheyenne. He has great power, a very good eye, and good splits. So far this season he has not played, but I believe that will change when he gets to Cheyenne.

9.Cesar Ozuna.....Cesar is in Low A this year and doing very well so far. He is 5-0 with a very decent ERA of 3.18 . In 79 innings, he has given up 70 hits, 11 homers , 17 walks , while fanning 77. He has great control, good stamina, good split, and 4 pitches to use to his advantage.

10.Jacob Tebeau... Jacob is in Low A and is currently 2-0. In 29 innings, he has given up 25 hits, 5 homers, 3 walks, while striking out 36. He has great control, decent splits, great stamina, and 5 pitches to make him a very very good Major League pitcher.

11. Sandy Jones.....Sandy is going to be a very good Major league closer for years to come. He has 3 very good pitches, great control, decent splits, and the poise to be as good as Papelbon. He is 2-3 with 4 saves, and an ERA of 3.80 . He has pitched 46 innings, while giving up 50 hits, 8 homers, 17 walks, while fanning 43.

12.Carlos Hernandez..... Carlos is going to be a great major league pitcher. He has excellent control, good splits, good stamina, and 4 good pitches. I will go out on a limb and say he will win a CY Young award in his career. He has pitched 118 innings, while giving up 111 hits, 13 homers, 28 walks, while striking out 111.

Los Angeles Marlowes "down on the farm "

Next up is the Los Angeles Marlowes. The franchise is doing well this season, especially the lower levels. It may be because a lot of former ML players and AAA players are down there, but no matter what they are winning. Here is what we found.

1. Billy Sexton..... Billy has spent brief time in the ML in his career. But this season, like most of the rest, he is in AAA. He currently has 17 saves in 21 chances, while sporting a 3.38 ERA. In 26 innings, he gave up 30 hits, 3 homers, 6 walks, while striking out 30. He is 4-2 with decent splits, control, pitches, and bullpen stamina.

2. Albert Bonilla...... Albert "don't call me Bobby" Bonilla is doing a lights out job in AAA this season. He made the jump from Low A to triple A, and he has even gotten better. He is currently 2-1 with 2 saves in 2 chances, and a remarkable 1.21 ERA. In 22 innings, he has given up 17 hits, 1 homers, 5 walks, while fanning 21. He has 4 decent pitches, good control, decent splits, and the act for thriving under pressure.

3.Leonardo Salazar.... Salazar is doing a nice job in AA this season. He is 3-1 with 7 saves in 7 chances. He has a 2.19 ERA to go along with so so control, decent splits, 5 semi decent pitches, and good stamina. In 49 innings he has given up 35 hits, 7 homers, 21 walks , while fanning 49.

4.Russell Bolton..... Russell is doing a great job in AA this season. He is 1-2 wih 15 saves in 16 chances. He has pitched 27 innings, giving up 30 hits, 1 homer, 3 walks, while fanning 25. He also has a very nice ERA of 2.67. Bolton has great control, good stamina, 2 very good pitches, and so so splits.

5.Vladimir Silva.......Vladimir is doing a nice job in High A ball this season. He is 7-4 with a 2.99 ERA. In 105 innings, he has given up 98 hits, 7 homers, 33 walks, while striking out 87. Silva has 4 pitches, decent control , good stamina, low splits, and the drive to prove scouts wrong.

6. Del Buckley.... Del has great power, good batting eye, and a very good left handed hitter against righties. This adds up to a "normal" power hitter. He probably will never start in the ML, but he will put up power numbers in the minors. He currently is batting .312 with 23 doubles, 1 triple, 23 homers, while driving in 83. He has walked 50 times while striking out 59.

7. Morgan Nen... Nen is another player who was up in AA, than got demoted down the ladder. He has good power. low contaxct, low splits, low batting eye, and a very slim chance to sniff the grass at Dodger Stadium. He has 28 doubles, 1 triple, 28 homers, while driving in 87. He has 37 walks and 62 strike outs, while hitting .325.

8.Fritz Belcher........ Fritz is doing a great job in AAA so far this season. He is hitting .310 with 15 doubles, 1 triple, 14 homers, while driving in 46. He has walked 24, while fanning 56 times. His numbers are decent all around, nothing fancy. He should makes the Major Leagues as a decent player.

Charleston Chew "down on the farm"

We are arriving in Charleston to see what is cooking in the minor league system. We found some players spending multiple years in the same level. Players that could be promoted, and should be given a chance in higher levels. Now let's see who is making a name for themselves.

1. Tom Osborne......Tom 'don't call me Ozzie" Osborne is doing a nice job so far in AAA. A left handed hitter, with decent power, control, splits, batting eye, and very good speed. He has 25 doubles,3 triples, 12 homers, while driving in 56. He also has 34 walks, 12 stolen bases, and a OBP of.388 He has the chance to improve the OBP, but it is still decent for any player not named Pujols.

2.Quinton Allen...... In a few years he will be compared to a guy named Albert. He has lights out power, great contact, great splits, great batting eye, and no to mention he went to a school I did in Virginia. He has spent time in AA and AAA this season. Combining to hit 22 doubles, 2 triples, 17 homers, driving in 91, while walking 46 times, and only fanning 50. He has had over 350 at bats, so that alone is something to see in the future. A definite MVP in the future, to say the least.

3. Tony Rivera.... Tony is spending this season in AA. Tony is hitting .354 so far, and supporting an OBP of .402. He has 10 doubles, 5 triples, 3 homers, 37 runs batted in, while stealing 32 bases in 39 attempts. He has only 23 walks while fanning 64 times, that is something to improve on for sure.He probably will not amount to much in the ML, if he gets there. He has low contact, low splits, low batting eye, to go along with no power.....But on the bright side, he is fast, and a switch hitter.

4. Kevin Suzuki......Kevin is going to be a very nice Major league player in the near future. He has hit for power, average and has a very good act for hitting the gaps. This season he has 25 homers, 100 runs batted in, 32 doubles, 27 walks, while hitting .339. He has very good power, decent splits, very good batting eye, and decent contact. He will be a Raul Ibanez type hitter.

5. Magglio Gutierrez..... Magglio is spending his 3rd season in Low A. He has lights out numbers thus far, and should be promoted in the distant future. This season he has hit .331 with a .412 OBP. In 87 games, he has 35 doubles, 7 triples, 21 homers, while driving in 109 already. He also has 47 walks, 8 steals, while fanning 66 times.

6.Jake Castellanos...... Jake has average ratings, but above average production. He may never make an impact on the big leagues, but it won't be from a lack of not trying. He is 8-1 with 1 save, and a 2.43 ERA. In 74 innings, he has given up 71 hits, 4 homers, 19 walks, while fanning 69.

7.William Shin..... Shin should be a very good closer in the major leagues. He has great control, very very good splits, 2 excellent pitches, and not to mention a screwball that would make Black and Decker proud. He is 2-3 with 12 saves in 13 chances this season in AAA with a remarkable 0.64 ERA. In 63 innings, he has given up 62 hits, 4 homers, walking 11, while fanning 67. He could be a Dennis Eckersley Jr.. if he keeps its up.

8.Ozzie Iwazaki......Ozzie is going to be a nice pitcher in the future seasons. He has 4 pitches, decent splits, good control, good stamina, and a heart of a lion. He is 10-2 this season in AA so far. In 95 innings, he has given up only 74 hits, 4 homers, 30 walks, while fanning 86. His 2.82 ERA is a nice addition to his stats. He should be a fine pitcher in the near future.

San Juan Chinchilla's "down on the farm"

Next up is the soft, fuzzy tail, spring legged Chinchilla's from San Juan. The farm system reminds me of the Chinchilla's I used to sell in a pet store, always running and jumping all over the place. Let us see who is making noise in the system now.

1. Freddy Nakano....Freddy is in High A and he is doing a very good job. In 87 innings, he has given up 80 hits, 9 homers, 24 walks and has fanned 68. He has low splits, good control, good stamina, and 4 average pitches. Right now he is 7-0 with 3 saves in 3 chances, and a 3.09 ERA.

2.Miguel Rosario.......Miguel is in AA after spending the most of the last 3 seasons in AAA. So far he has 14 saves in 16 chances, while supporting a 1.58 ERA. In 46 innings, he has given up 53 hits, 1 homer, 14 walks, while fanning 33 batters. He has average splits, control, pitches, but seems to find a way to excel when he is given the chance this season.

3.Nerio Maduro.......Nerio is in Low A this season and so far he has done a good job there. In 54 innings, he has given up 51 hits, 2 homers, 15 walks, while punching out 53. He is alos 7-0 with 2 saves and a 2.79 ERA. He is another pitcher with so -so splits and ratings. He is a carbon copy of many pitchers in the minors, proving ratings mean nothing.

4. Achillies Walter....... Walter has spent some time in Low A and High A thus far this season. He has great numbers in both, and shows he was worthy of the promotion. Combined has has a lofty .370 average while impressing managers with a .452 OBP. In 82 games, he has 24 doubles, 2 triples, 8 homers, 16 stolen bases, 48 RBI'S, while walking 49 times. He has only 53 strikouts in just over 350 at bats. He has very good contact, decent power, average splits, and a little above average batting eye. Being a switch hitter does not hurt either.

5. Adrian Jones...... Adrian is hitting .322 this season so far in High A. He has 9 doubles, 5 triples, 10 homers, while driving in 51 runs. He has also walked 31 times and struck out 61 in just over 360 at bats. He has decent contact, low splits, a low batting eye, and decent power. He may never make an impact on the Major Leagues, but he will put up decent numbers along the way.

6.Harold Fraser...... Harold is going to be a very good player for seasons to come. He should make the big dance, with energy to spare. He is a switch hitter, with very good power, decent splits, good contact, and a decent batting eye. He has 16 doubles, 5 triples, 21 homers, 74 runs batted in, and adding 11 stolen bases to his stats. He has been caught 10 times, but time could make those numbers better. He has also walked 40 times, while striking out 53. He is hitting .314 with a .401 OBP splitting times between 2 teams this year in AA.

7. Frank Collins..... Frank spent part of the season in AA where he put up great numbers. He was since promoted to AA, where he has struggled at times. He has great power, good contact, good splits, and a great batting eye. He hit 10 homers in just 70 at bats in AA. In AAA he has hit 18 in 290 at bats so far this season. Combined he has hit 28 homers, drove in 98 runs, hit 17 doubles, 1 triple, while supporting a .290 average.

Season 5 Power Rankings - Regular Season #5

Chuckles McGee - Cobbfather Post Gazette

It's time for another edition of the Power Rankings! And there is a new #1 for the second straight rankings period, and this time it's the Tampa Bay Tankers! The Tankers went an astounding 15-1 in the last 16 games to jump from #4 to #1. Sacramento, Rochester and Jackson all drop one spot and fill the 2-4 positions, while Austin holds steady at #5.

No one did as well as the Tankers, but some other teams have done well since the last rankings including #6 Vancouver (12-3), #9 Memphis (11-4), #11 Boston (11-4), #5 Austin (11-5) and #7 Atlanta (10-5). Also an honorable mention to Syracuse going 8-7 this period, after being 0-15 the prior rankings period!

On the flip side, Wichita had a bad run going 2-13, while San Juan and Los Angeles only managed 3 wins each.

Here's this edition's teams on the rise and teams on the decline section.

Teams on the rise: Tampa Bay, Vancouver, Memphis, Boston, Syracuse, Oakland

Teams on the decline: Wichita, San Juan, Los Angeles, New York (AL), Charleston

And now the Unveiling of the latest edition of the Regular Season Power Rankings!!

Rank	Team	Record	Prev
1	Tampa Bay	52-23	4
2	Sacramento	48-27	1
3	Rochester	50-25	2
4	Jackson	50-25	3
5	Austin	48-27	5
6	Vancouver	47-28	8
7	Atlanta	46-29	7
8	Dover	45-30	6
9	Memphis	41-34	12
10	San Francisco	42-33	10
11	Boston	41-34	17
12	Florida	38-37	13
13	New York (NL)	38-37	15
14	Burlington	38-37	18
15	New York (AL)	38-37	11
16	San Juan	38-37	9
17	Hartford	37-38	14
18	Honolulu	36-39	20
19	Cleveland	36-39	21
20	Charleston	35-40	16
21	Detroit	34-41	22
22	Buffalo	33-42	27
23	Little Rock	32-43	26
24	Oakland	32-43	29
25	Durham	32-43	28
26	St. Louis	31-44	23
27	Cheyenne	30-45	25
28	Los Angeles	30-45	19
29	Syracuse	26-49	31
30	Kansas City	27-48	30
31	Wichita	27-48	24
32	Ottawa	22-53	32

Check back after game 90 for the next installment of the power rankings!

Memphis Mayhem "down on the farm"

Next up is the Memphis Mayhem. We searched high and low, and we finally found some players that were actually causing "Mayhem" in the system.

1.Matt Javier.... Matt is in AAA and so far he is doing well. He has good stamina, very good control, below average splits, to go along with 4 pitches. He is 5-2 with 5 saves in 6 chances. So far in 33 innings, he has given up 34 hits, 3 homers, 10 walks, while fanning 26. His era is right at 3.00.

2.Sherry Simpson.....Simpson got promoted to ML recently, and is currently supporting a monthly bus pass between AAA and the ML. Simpson has had a few chances in the ML, but being inconsistent, has propelled him to get occasional bus rides between levels. He was 0-1 and 8 for 9 in saves before this promotion. His ERA was 1.32, and in 14 innings, he gave up 15 hits, 0 homers, 4 walks, while fanning 16. He has good control, good splits, and 2 decent pitches.

3. Harry Foster..... Harry is in High A, and despite his 4-7 record he is doing well down there. In 89 innings, he has given up 98 hits. 9 homers, 23 walks, while striking out 69. He may never reach the big leagues, but he is really poised to be a fine pitcher in the minor leagues. His 2.83 ERA, decent control, low splits, and sub par 4 pitches will keep him at bay in the minors.

4.Deivi Armas...... Armas has started his minor league career with a bang. He has pitched 38 innings, giving up 35 hits, 0 homers, walking 5, while striking out 38. He is 9 for 11 in saves with a 1.66 ERA. He has good control, 4 decent pitches, good splits, and could be a sleeper in the future seasons.

5. Sadie Pride.... Sadie "don't call me Charley" Pride is currently enrolled in Low A this season. He has hit .338 with 17 doubles, 4 triples, 4 homers, while driving in 68. He also has 33 walks, and a .406 OBP.

6.Rich Russell.... Rich is in AA and doing a wonderful job down there. He has hit .353, with a very good .420 OBP. He has 26 doubles, 18 homers, 75 RBI'S while walking 36 times. He has only fanned 48, in just over 330 at bats. He has good power, very good contact, decent splits and a very good batting eye.

7. Alex Encarnacion.... Alex is hitting .321 in AAA so far this season. He has 22 doubles, 3 triples, 8 homers, while driving in 61. He has walked 17 times, while fanning 61. The strike out are a little alarming, but he is young and should improve. He has decent power, control, batting eye, and above average splits. He could make the major leagues pretty soon.

Jackson Rockets "down on the farm"

Next up is the Jackson Rockets " down on the farm " report. By their 52-25 record, one would see alot of the young talent is in the majors. But let's see who is making noise elsewhere in the system.

1. Vladimir Baerga..... Vladimir is in AAA this season and doing very well. Baerga has good power, very good splits, contact and an above average batting eye. In AA he has hit.303 with a .379 OBP. In 70 games, he has 32 doubles, 5 triples, 8 homers, while driving in 50. He also has 30 walks, and 23 stolen bases.

2. Louis Benjamin..... Louis "it's all in the " Benjamin is in High A this year. He has below average power, and contact, but makes up for it with his batting eye and so so splits. His speed will cause problems as he develops. He has 15 doubles, 5 homers, 36 RBI'S , while walking 45 times, and fanning 57. He also has 25 stolen bases, a .332 average and a lofty OBP of .324.

3.Alberto Jacquez...... Jacquez is in Low A this season , and he is doing quite well. He has 30 doubles, 3 triples, 15 homers, while driving in 69. He also has 26 walks, to go along with 55 strikeouts. He is a mere 7 for 18 in stolen base attempts, which should get better as he gets more experience. His splits are average, as well as his batting eye and contact. He may never make an impact on a major league team, but it won't be from a lack of not trying.

4.Trot Shelley......Trot was doing a very good job in High A before his recent injury. He had pitched 54 innings, gave up 41 hits, 1 homers, 19 walks, while fanning 46. He has low control, but he has a few decent pitches to keep hitters guessing.

5.Chien -Ming Martin.....Martin is in High A this season. So far he is 8-7 with a 3.27 ERA. In 101 innings, he has given up 121 hits, 10 homers, 20 walks, while striking out 82.He has very good control,very good stamina, below average splits, to go along with 3 pitches. Martin may end up being an "innings eater" in the upcoming seasons.

6.Jaret Rose.....Jaret is going to be a very decent pitcher. He has 4 pitches, good control, good stamina, and average splits. He is currently in AAA ball this season, and doing a very nice job down there. He is 7-2 with a 2.39ERA . In 90 innings, he has given up 72 hits, 7 homers, 24 walks, while punching out 76. Someday , somewhere, you will hear that familiar saying when he takes the mound. Some major league scouting coach will say "We should have gone to Jaret's " :)

7.Vic Mieses... Vic should enjoy his success in the minors, because that's all it will be. Very poor control, low stamina, and above average splits are his make-up. He has 4 good pitches, but his low control make him a future Mitch Williams.....Walk the bases loaded, and than possibly strike out the side. I don't think any major league coach would deal with that, but who knows? He is 12 for 16 in save chances in AAA, with a 3.70 ERA. In 24 innings, he has given up 21 hits, 3 homers, 14 walks, while fanning 22.

8.Miguel Gomez..... Miguel is in AAA as well this season, and he is doing a good job. He splits are average, along with 3 pitches that are sub par. He has average control to go along with a 0 gb/fb rating. This may be interesting to see as he is going through the season. So far, he has only given up 4 homers in 67 innings, but the ML hitter may change that stat. He is 4-3, 3 for 4 in save chances , while supporting a 3.36 ERA.

Buffalo Bisons "down on the farm"

Buffalo is next up on our report. Stuck in Northern New York, Buffalo has found a way to keep Dunn Tire Park full and happy. Let's see who is making noise in the farm systems.

1. Earl Cook. Earl in in Low A and doing a very good job. He is a Catcher with decent power, splits, and a very good batting eye. He has a very good arm, thus the reason he is throwing out 50% of would be base stealer's ( 22 of 45). Earl has 16 doubles, 15 homers, 59 RBI'S, while walking 35 and fanning 38.

2.Nick Hardy..... Nick is a switch hitter with the ability to place the ball in the gap very often. He has so so splits, but he gets the job done. He has 35 doubles, 1 triple, 5 homers, 46 RBI'S in just 69 games. He has walked 24 times, while fanning 49, and supports a .428 OBP. With time and patience he could even make that better in his minor league career.

3.Hamlet Knight. Hamlet is in Low A this season, and he is not acting. That was bad, sorry. He has average splits, and he does manage to hit the ball around the field. He is hitting .341, with 30 , 3 triples, 15 homers, while driving in 73. He has walked 37 times, while striking out 45. He is also 9 for 10 in stolen base attempts.

4.Otis Barry ..... Otis will probably not make it far in the minors, due to his splits, etc. When a pitcher is 7-0 in Low A he deserves to be mentioned. He has an ERA of 3.34. In 56 innings, he has given up 52 hits, 1 homers, 21 walks, while fanning 35. He has 5 pitches, only 1 above 50, low splits, good stamina, and decent control.

5. Thurmond Sanford......Thurmond is in High A and he is doing a great job. He has very good control, good splits, 2 very good pitches, and he is using them well. In 20 innings, he has given up 11 hits, 2 homers, 8 walks, while fanning 14. He is 0-1 with 10 saves in 13 chances, and his ERA is 3.15

6.Harry Silva.....Harry was in AA in the Bison farm system. He was 6-3 with a 2.63 ERA. He had pitched 68 innings, gave up 63 hits, 7 homers, 20 walks, while striking out 65. He was just re3cently traded to Detriot. He has great stamina, good control, very good splits, and 4 pitches to employ.

7.Sidney Miles......Sidney was doing such a great job in AA, he got promoted to the Big league level recently. In AA he was 13 for 14 in save chances, sported a 1.89 ERA, had given up 13 hits, 1 homer, 8 walks, while fanning 21 in 20 innings.He has decent control, very good splits, and 2 pitches to have fun with.

8. Wiki Salinas........Wiki is going to be a good Major leaguer in the upcoming seasons. He has decent power, good splits, very decent contact, and a respectable batting eye. He is currently in AA and teaaring it up down there. He is hitting .378, with a lofty .430 OBP. He has 25 doubles, 2 triples, 14 homers, while driving in 54. He also has 24 walk, while fanning 39 times in 270 at bats.

Hartford Snakes 2 "down on the farm"

Next up is the Hartford Snakes 2. Oddly enough the owner has been vacant for a week, and the team is on auto-pilot and doing good.

1. Richard Hartzell..... Hartzell is in AAA this season and doing very well. He has good control, very good splits, he also has 2 very very good pitches. He actually has 3 total pitches to keep hitters off balance. He has pitched 22 innings, gave up 21 hits ,0 homers, 7 walks, while fanning 17. He has 15 saves in 17 chances and a 2.45 ERA. Hartzell should be very good in the majors this season, or next season.

2.Preston Johnson.... Preston is in high A this season. He has decent control, good splits, 2 very solid pitches, and a spotty change-up to keep hitters off balance. In 24 innings, he has given up 24 hits, 2 homers 12 walks, while fanning 16.

3. Graham Sodowsky... Graham is a player that might never smell the grass on a major league field. He has 5 pitches, only 2 above par. He has low control, low splits, but he manages to survive the High A level so far this season. He has pitched 43 innings, while giving up 31 hits, 1 homer, 18 walks, while striking out 26. He is also 1-0 with 3 saves, and a dazzling 1.26 ERA.

4. Al Lugo...... Al is doing a good job in Low A this season. He is probably going to make the majors, before his career is over. He has great power, good contact, so so splits, and a average batting eye. Right now he has 17 doubles, 1 triple, 14 homers, while driving in 57. He has walked 27 times while fanning 48. His OBP is .390 while he is hitting .331.

5. Harold Miner.....Harold is a left handed hitter who will be a very good ML player for years to come. He has decent power, good contact, decent splits, and a average batting eye. He has great speed. He is hitting .343 in Low A ,while supporting a lofty .422 OBP. He has 23 doubles ,7 triples, 5 homers, while driving in 31. He also has 38 walks , while striking out 43 times, and he also has 20 stolen bases.

6. Dustin Schmidt.... Dustin " don't call me Mike " Schmidt is doing a great job down in High A ball. He is hitting a lofty .356, and has a good OBF .412. He has hit 23 doubles, 1 triple, 11 homers, while driving in 60 thus far this season. He has great power, good contact, good splits, and a decent batting eye. He also walked 27 times this season, while fanning 44.

7.Jesse Murphy...Jesse is in AAA this year, after spending 4 season in High A. He has 28 doubles, 1 triple, 12 homers, 49 RBI'S, 31 walks, while striking out 34 times. He has a .323 average, while sporting a .401 OBP. He also very good power, good contact, good batting eye, and he is good against left handed pitchers, while below average against right handed ones.

New York Primetimers "down on the farm"

Next up is the New York Primetimers. New York has done a good job keeping up with the minors like alot of the other previous owners mentioned. The Primetimers are waiting their chance to excel past Dove in the division. Let's see who is trying to make that happen.

1. Alex Rhodes..... Alex is currently in AA and doing very well. He has been hitting .307 with a .359 OBP. He has 15 doubles, 2 triples, 11 homers and 43 runs batted in. He also has 13 stolen bases to go along with 13 walk, and 38 strikeouts. Alex is a left handed hitter with decent contact, good power, decent splits, and a so so batting eye. He shold make the Majors, and do an adequate job up there.

2. Jose Ibanez... Jose is in his 5th season in AAA. He has spent time in there every season since the beginning of the league. He is still only 24, and has the potential to make a very good impact at the Major League level. He has 14 doubles, 1 triple, 14 homers, while driving in 44. He has a .300 average , while supporting a decent .357 ERA. He has great power, contact, very good splits, and a very good batting eye. He also has 23 walks, while fanning 45 times... The most disturbing stat, he is 3 for 12 in stolen base attempts.

3. Yannick Cooke.. Cooke may never make the majors, but he sure is going to try and put up very good number in the minor leagues. He is in High A with a 1-0 record, and 1 save. He has a 2.25 ERA in just over 16 innings. He also has given up 11 hits, 0 homers, 2 walks, while fanning 13 in those 16 innings. He has good control, below average splits, and a couple decent pitches.

4. Hiram Matsui..... Hiram : don't call me Hideki " Matsui is in AA this season. Hiram is entring his 3rd season down there, and he is still putting up good numbers. In 23 innings, he has given up 17 hits, 3 homers, 6 walks, while fanning 20. He has 5 pitches, 3 decent, good control, good stamina, while having low splits. He has a 2.35 ERA to show for all of his ratings, not too shabby if you ask me.

5.Geraldo Bautista..... Geraldo has been promoted to the big leagues recently. In AAA he was 3-1 with a 1.45 ERA. In 31 innings, he gave up 25 hits, 1 homer, 7 walks, while striking out 23. Geraldo has 4 pitches, good control, good splits, good stamina, which should make him a very decent ML pitcher.

6. Henry Richard.... Henry is doing a fine job down in AAA. He has pitched 24 innings, while giving up 24 hits, 2 homers, 10 walks, and fanning 10. He has very good control, so so splits, and a few so so pitches.

7. Rich Locke.....Rich is in AA this season, and doing quite well. He has a decent average of .289 average, while holding a .355 OBP. He has 12 doubles, 1 triple, 18 homers, while driving in 60 runs. He has walked 23 times while fanning 65. If he cut down on the strikeouts, he would be a very decnt OBP guy. He is a left handed player with great power, decent splits, contact, and batting eye. He is also 1 for 7 in stolen bases.

8. Randy Dimaggio..... Randy " don't even compare me to Joe" Dimaggio is currently in AA this season. He is 3-2 with 6 saves in 8 chances. His ERA is a 3.81. In 54 innings, he has given up 64 hits, 5 homers, 17 walks, while fanning 35. He has 4 good pitches, good control, and very good stamina.

Season 5 Power Rankings - Regular Season #4

Chuckles McGee - Cobbfather Post Gazette

It's time for yet another edition of the Power Rankings! And there is a new #1 this edition, as Sacramento has reclaimed the top spot in the rankings going 12-2 this period. Equally impressive was the #2 Rochester going 12-3. #3 Jackson has come down to earth a bit after an incredible start, falling from #1. Tampa Bay and Austin round out the top 5.

Austin, who broke the top 5, had 10 wins, as did #6 Dover, who went 10-4. #24 Wichita had a very nice stretch this rankings period going 10-5.

And on the downside, #31 Syracuse went 0-15 this period. Ouch. We definitely feel for ya hatton98, that had to be frustrating.

Here's this edition's teams on the rise and teams on the decline section.

Teams on the rise: Sacramento, Rochester, Austin, Dover, Wichita, Cleveland, Honolulu

Teams on the decline: Syracuse, New York (NL), Detroit, Boston

And now the Unveiling of the fourth edition of the Regular Season Power Rankings!!

Rank	Team	Record	Prev
1	Sacramento	40-19	2
2	Rochester	41-19	3
3	Jackson	41-19	1
4	Tampa Bay	37-22	5
5	Austin	37-22	6
6	Dover	37-22	7
7	Atlanta	36-24	4
8	Vancouver	35-25	10
9	San Juan	35-25	12
10	San Francisco	35-25	9
11	New York (AL)	32-27	11
12	Memphis	30-30	13
13	Florida	30-29	14
14	Hartford	30-29	15
15	New York (NL)	30-29	8
16	Charleston	30-30	18
17	Boston	30-30	17
18	Burlington	29-31	16
19	Los Angeles	27-32	22
20	Honolulu	27-32	24
21	Cleveland	28-31	26
22	Detroit	27-32	19
23	St. Louis	25-34	20
24	Wichita	25-35	30
25	Cheyenne	24-35	21
26	Little Rock	25-34	25
27	Buffalo	25-34	27
28	Durham	25-35	28
29	Oakland	23-37	29
30	Kansas City	22-38	31
31	Syracuse	18-42	23
32	Ottawa	16-44	32

Check back after game 75 for the next installment of the power rankings!

Dover Diamond Dogs " down on the farm"

Next up in the report, is the Dover Diamond Dogs. The owner has improved this franchise in all 3 seasons he has been at the helm. This season is no different. Let's see who is behind all of it.

1. Trevor Rocker...... Trevor "don't call me John" Rocker is a pitcher who will be heard of in the big leagues. He has very good control, decent splits, and of course 5 pitches. Trevor is in AAA this season, and here is what he has done so far. In 75 innings, 79 hits, 8 homers, 18 walks, and 81 strikeouts. His best pitch is his screwball. He will be a very solid player for seasons to come.He is 7-4 with a 3.57 ERA

2.Eric Summers..... Eric is a multi task pitcher. He can start, long relief, or close. He has very good stamina, good control,decent splits, and 5 pitches. His best pitch is his palm ball. In 36 innings,he has given up 41 hits,4 homers, 12 walks, while fanning 32. He is 3-1 6 for 7 in saves, and a 2.95 ERA.

3.Kelly Bowie......Kelly "Don't call me David" Bowie is another one of Dover's 4 or 5 pitch pitchers. In High A he has pitched 79 innings, while given up 68 hits, 6 homers,25 walks, while fanning 70. Great stamina, good control, very good splits, and 4 pitches. He is 6-3 with a 2.60 ERA.

4.Benji Logan..... Benji has just been recently promoted to AA ball. So far combined in High A and AA he has done a very good job. In 16 innings, he has given up 16 hits, 0 homers,6 walks, while punching out 19. he is 9 for 11 in saves with a 2.59 ERA.

5.Houston James.....Houston may develop into a low key major league pitcher. He has great control, decent splits, and 3 very good pitches. In Low A he is 10 for 11 in saves, with a 1.88 ERA. In 15 innings he has given up 16 hits, 1 homer, 6 walks, and 13 strikeouts.

6.Billy Ray Heiserman...... Billy is going to be a very good impact player in the major leagues. In AA he has hit .3111 with 30 doubles, 2 triples, 11 homers, while driving in 45. He has 32 walks, 39 strike outs, while stealing 15 bases. He has an OBP of .389. He is a switch hitter, with good contact, good power, and decent splits.

7.Chad Payton..... Chad will be a very good DH/1B in the majors. He has good power,decent splits, very good batting eye, to go along with a good make-up. In AAA he hit .342 with 13 doubles, 7 homers, 37 runs batted in, while walking 23 times.

8.Kirt Martin..... Kirt will be another impact ML player in future seasons. He has good power, great batting eye, very good splits, good contact, and most of all a make-up that would make a model proud. In AAA he has 13 doubles, 1 triple, 8 homers, 44 runs batted in, while holding a lofty .413 OBP. He also has a .325 average with 33 walks, and only 33 strike outs.

9.Mark Randall.....Rumor has it, Mark was at the "gentleman's club" when our scouts were there watching Dover. He is a top pitching prospect to say the least. He is 4-7 with a 3.64 ERA. We could have missed him earlier due to the stats :) He has 5 pitches, which alone will make him dangerous and very tough to hit. He has great control, very good splits, and we have no doubt he will win 20 in the near future. In 113 innings he has given up 132 hits, 8 homers, 36 walks, while fanning 99.

Ottawa Renegades " down on the farm"

Ottawa is next up on the "down on the farm" report. Ottawa is performing well in the minors, and it seems that is where their talent is. That being said, they should continue to develpo and solidify the major league roster.

1. Otis Murray..... Otis is in AA, and he seems to be starting to develop down there. He has 18 doubles, 2 triples, 5 homers, while driving in 36. He has walked 16 times, struck out 19, while swiping 14 bases. He has a very good eye, thus the reason for his .436 OBP.

2.Kris Sherman..... Kris is also in AA as well. He has done a very good job down there.He has good power, decent splits, and a good batting eye. He 20 doubles, 15 homers, 63 RBI'S, while walking 26 times. He has fanned 43, in just over 230 at bats, which may become alarming. His OBP is .4o7 despite the strikeouts, and he has a very good average of .345.

3.Ross Gagne. Ross will never make the major leagues, but he sure will enjoy his time in the minors. He has low splits around, except for power. He has 16 doubles, 1 triple and 20 homers. He has also driven in 52 runs, walked 21, and fanned 54 times. The 54 strike outs in 220 at bats are high, which is a cause for his OBP to be a limited .421.

4.Francisco Zapata.... Francisco is in Low A, and he is doing very well. He has decent power, good contact, decent splits, and a good batting eye to go along with the rest. He has 15 doubles, 4 triples, 9 homers, and 43 runs batted in. He also has walked 24 times, while fanning 37 times. His average is .309, and his OBP is .390.

5.Kelvin Barfield.... Kelvin "don't call me Jesse" Barfield is currently on the DL. He was down in Low A doing very well, before developing a sore shoulder. In 59 innings, he gave up 50 hits,4 homers, 15 walks, while punching out 59. He is only 25, but has had experience in the higher levels already, including the majors.

6.Edwin Holder... Edwin is a pitcher with good control, and 3 pitches to keep hitter off balance. His splits are not something to fall over, but like other pitcher, he proves that ratings mean nothing. He is sporting a very fine 0.44 ERA in High A this season. In 20 innings, he has given up 18 hits, 3 walks, 18 strike outs, while owning a 0-1 record with 2 saves.

7.Harry Chantres.......Harry will be another guy that will not get the call to the major leagues anytime soon. In AA he has pitches 61 innings, he has given up 59 hits, 8 homers, 15 walks, while fanning 51. He has a 3-3 record with a 2.97 ERA. Harry has good stamina, good control, and 5 pitches to try and fool pitchers with.

8.Daryl Williams..... Daryl "Don't call me Larry" Williams is doing a lights out job in AAA so far this season. He is 10 for 11 in save chances, with a very impressive 0.81 ERA. He has pitches 22 innings, while giving up 16 hits, 1 homers, 6 walks, while striking out 16. Daryl has 3 good pitches, good control, and decent splits.

9.Leo Abbey..... Leo has been recently promote to the big league level. He has 5 pitches, good control,good stamina and decent splits. He should be a nice fit in the major leagues. In AAA he pitched 52 innings, gave up 42 hits, 4 homers, while walking 11 and fanning 42.

10. Davey Fernandez..... Davey has been promoted to the big leagues, after dominating AAA this season. He was 6-2 with a 1.76 ERA before getting the call. In 66 innings, he gave up only 43 hits, 4 homers, 21 walks , while striking out 50. So far in the Major League he is 2-0 with 1 complete game, and a sparkling 0.81 ERA. In 22 innings he has given up 13 hits, 1 homer, 7 walks, while fanning 17. He proved he was worth the promotion.

Syracuse Sycophants "down on the farm"

The next report takes us to big orange country. We got to Syracuse hoping to find some players making noise, and we were not disappointed. Now for the report on the Sycophants.

1. Midre Berroa ..... Midre is a 5 pitch pitcher with so-so control, decent stamina, nice splits, and the will to produce. He is currently in AAA, after 3 season in the majors. He is 6-2 with a 3.00 ERA. In 60 innings, he has given up 53 hits, 4 homers, 23 walks, while fanning 54.

2. Rodney Wolcott ..... Rodney may never make the major leagues, but he sure will enjoy his time in the minors. In 16 innings, he has given up 15 hits, 2 homers, 9 walks, and 13 strike outs. Rodney has so so control, splits, splits, but he gets the job done. He is 5-1 with a 1.13 ERA.

3. Larry Sturtze..... Larry is tearing it up in AAA again. He is hitting .376, with 10 doubles , 2 triples, 4 homers, and 23 runs batted in. He should be a very good major league producer really soon. He had good power, decent contact, great batting eye, and very good splits.

4. Skip Jeffcoat.... Skip is a very exciting player. He has good contact, streaky power, decent splits, and a decent batter's eye. In AAA he has 9 doubles, 4 triples, 22 RBI's , and he has a .396 OBP. He has walked 23 times, fanned 25, and has 6 stolen bases.

5.Jamie Jang.... Jamie is going to be a fine ML player in the future seasons. He hits for average, adequate power, and loves to hit the ball in the gaps. He has 19 doubles, 2 triples, 16 homers, and 65 RBI'S in just 56 games. He has a .408 OBP while walking 26 times and fanning 30.

6.Brian Lieber..... Brian is doing a great job in AA so far this season. He has 16 doubles, 3 triples, 7 homers, 44 RBI'S and a .341 average. In the midst of a 14 game hitting streak, Lieber continues to get on base any way he can. His OBP is.426. He has 8 stolen base, 26 walks, and only fanned 35 in just over 230 at bats. He is a good contact hitter, good against right handed pitchers, and a good base runner.

7. Jesus Guerrero..... Jesus is hitting .324 down in AA. He has 19 doubles,3 triples, 8 homers, 54 RBI'S, and a lofty .406 OBP. He has walked 29 times, while fanning 36 times in just over 215 at bats. Jesus is not flashy by no means. He had so so numbers all around, but he preforms very well.

8.Vin Henson..... Vin is producing extremely well after his demotion. He got demoted from AAA to High A, a very hard slap in the face. Vin is a speedy player, that loves to slap the ball around. He does not hit for power, or for extra bases hits. He will get on base and cause problems though. He has 6 doubles, 1 triple, 2 homers, 35 RBI'S, and 20 stolen bases. He also has a .347 average and a .445 OBP.

9.Hal Benoit.....Hal "don't call me Chris" Benoit is another guy I feel for. Despite spending his 4th season in Low A, he keeps a positive attitude toward the owner. In 20 innings, he has given up 21 hits, 1 homer, 7 walks, and 26 strikeouts. He is 3-0 with 2 saves, and a lofty 0.89 ERA.

10. Marty Carter..... Marty " don't welcome me back" Carter is another player that has been demoted recently. After 3 or 4 seasons in AA, he was dropped to Low A. He is hitting .362 with a heavy .447 OBP. In 221 at bats, he has 20 doubles, 1 triple, 4 homers, 31 RBI'S, while walking 28 times. He has fanned 35, but that is not bad at all. He has average ratings around the board. He proves that you don't have to be a superstar to preform well.

Rochester Rolling Rocks "down on the farm"

We start the NL with the always dangerous Rochester Rolling Rocks. The owner has had multiple championships, and there is no question what may be on the horizon for this franchise.

1. Al Samuel....... Samuel has just recently been promoted to the Major Leagues. It was a very much deserved call up. Samuel has extreme power, great contact, great splits, and a wonderful batting eye. If you wrap all this together, it would make Mike Piazza look like " The where's the beef lady" . He has all the signs and potential to be a multiple MVP winner. Samuel was hitting .303 in AAA. He also had an OBP of .387, 13 doubles ,2 triples, 16 homers, 42 RBI'S in 53 games. He also has 26 walks, while fanning only 20 times in 208 at bats.

2.Franciso Baez.... Francisco is another player who will be an impact player in the major leagues. He also has good power, excellent contact, excellent splits, to go along with a good batting eye. Baez was hitting .383 with a .468 OBP in AA. It was a big jump to ML, but he looks like he is handling it well. He is hitting .377 in his brief ML career. He combined has 12 doubles, 1 triple, 14 homers, 47 RBI'S , 27 walks, and 29 strike outs. This to go along with a .OBP of .452 and a total OPS of . 1.117.

3. Andres Candelaria...... Andres is another huge prospect in Rolling Rock's future. Along with Baez, and Samuel, it will be hard to overcome this franchise in a bout 1 season or 2. I see multiple championships coming up. Candelaria is only in High A, but not for long. He is hitting a cool .327, with a OBP of .405 and a total OPS of 1.078. He has 18 doubles, 2 triples, 18 homers, 48 RBI'S, 29 walks, 11 stolen bases, and only 16 strikeouts. He has great contact, power, speed, good splits, a great eye, and all that adds up to trouble for other teams.

4.Arthur Camilli..... Arthur is going to be a definite closer to be dealt with in the big leagues. He is currently in Low A, but not for long. He is perfect in save chances (10 for 10) and he has a dazzling 1.40 ERA. In 19 innings, he has given up 13 hits, 8 walks , 0 homers, and a remarkable 31 strikeouts. He should make Billy Wagner look like Mitch Williams. He has pin point control, great splits, 2 very good pitches, and the drive to blow everyone away.

5. Thomas Flores..... Thomas is doing a great job in Low A this season. He may make the big leagues, as a #4 or # 5 pitcher. He could also pitch in long relief. He has good control, so so split, and 2-4 pitches in his ability. So far he is 7-1 with a 2.95 ERA this season. In 64 innings, he has given up 65 hits, 4 homers, 11 walks, while fanning 61.

6.Greg Lofton.... Greg is doing a great job in High A so far this season. He may make the major leagues, but time will tell. He is 5-5 with a very good 2.33 ERA in High A ball. In 85 innings, he surrendered 75 hits, 3 homers, 16 walks, while punching out 75 batters. He has great stamina, already 4 complete games in 11 starts. He also has 4 pitches, 2 very good, good control, so so splits, but on a team like Rochester, you don't have to be perfect to win games.

7. Wilton Hujimoto..... Wilton is in AAA and doing a great job down there. He is currently 6-1 with a 4.20 ERA. In 49 innings , he has given up 52 hits, 2 homers, 9 walks, while striking out 36. He has good stamina, good control, decent splits and 4 pitches.

8.J.T Flaherty...... J.T. is nothing fancy, but gets results when he pitches. He has so- so splits, decent control, and 4 so so pitches. In 18 innings he has given up 15 hits, 1 homers ,3 walks, while striking out 16...

Kansas City Tweakers " down on the farm"

Kansas City is the final team for the reports in the AL. Kansas City is doing a good job controlling the low levels of their franchise.

1. Daniel Russell....... Daniel Russell is one of the top stars in this franchise. He will be a great Ml player to say the least. H ehas 14 doubles, 1 triple, 21 homers, and has driven in 63 runs already. He has a great eye, walking 30 times while fanning 33. He has a very good average .296. His numbers are good. Excellent power, decent contact, hits lefties very well, and is decent against right handed pitchers.

2. Dan Waltman... Dan is another fine player in this organization. He has very good power, contact, decent splits, and a decent batting eye. So far this season, in AA he has been very very good. In just 52 games he has 33 doubles, 4 triples, 18 homers, and has driven in76 runs. He also has very good speed, stealing 9 bases as well. With 27 walks, he pounds out a very good OBP of .465. Will be a very fine ML player in a season or 2.

3.Pedro Jimenez..... Pedro is a very fine catcher so far in the minor leagues. In High A he is currently hitting .330 with 19 doubles, 1 triple and 12 homers. His OBP is a mere .400. He has walked 24 times, while fanning 32 in 221 at bats. He is being used as a DH so I really can not comment on his defense. He has good splits, so he should be a decent ML player in the future seasons.

4. Dennis Gulan....... Dennis is proving his owner he was worthy of the second pick in season 4. He is hitting extremely well so far in Low A this season. He has a .338 average to go along with a .414 OBP. He has 31 doubles , 3 triples, and 10 homers in just 53 games. He has driven in 40 runs, walked 27 times, stole 13 bases, and fanned 38 times in just over 220 at bats. Needless to say he will be a stud in the future seasons. Great splits, good power, contact, great batting eye, a potential future MVP.

5. Troy Duran..... Troy is a future ML pitcher. He will be a #4 or #5 starter more than likely. He has good stamina, power, splits, and of course having 4 pitches(2 of which will be great) does not hurt either. Right now in AA he is 2-1 with a 2.91 ERA. This after being promoted from High A, where he was 5-1 with a 1.45 ERA. Combined he is 7-2 with a fine ERA of 1.94. In 65 innings, he has given up 50 hits, 4 homers, 14 walks, while striking out 78.

6. Carlos Garces..... Carlos will be another decent Ml pitcher in the future seasons. He has decent control, good stamina, decent splits, 4 pitches, and a very good make-up. So far he is 7-2 with a 2.62 ERA this season in AAA. In 61 innings, he has given up 50 hits, 3 homers, 22 walks, while fanning 50.

7.Fernando Mendez..... Fernando is going to be a very good closer, despite his splits. He has good control, 4 pitches, and has performed like a pro when called upon. This season he is 9 for 9 in saves in High A ball. In 12 innings he has given up 12 hits, 1 homers, 5 walks, while fanning 10.

Oakland Bruisers " down on the farm"

Oakland is up next in the report. Another team that has the minor leagues in good shape.

1. Keith Hayes...... Keith is hitting the cover off the ball in AA. he has a .354 average, while hitting 16 doubles, 10 homers, driving in 50 runs. He has walked 37 times, while fanning 27. His batting eye is impressive, and if it keeps getting better,he will be a very fine player for years to come. His OBP is.462.

2.Al Leon..... Al is a typical power hitter. He has great power, low splits, and a very good batting eye....Jim Thome reborn. He has 12 doubles, 3 triples, 16 homers, 49RBI'S, while walking 30 times. He has fanned 44 times in 217 at bats. I take it back, he is better than Thome in that way.

3.Mitchell Glaus....... Mitchell "don't call me Troy" Glaus is another player lost in the cracks of the minor league system.He was promoted to AA this season, and has responded by hitting .442 . He has shown decent power, hitting 7 homers in 52 at bats. He also has shown a good eye, walking 8 times and fanning just 10.

4. Kevin Hong......Kevin is going to be a decent major league player. He is still in Low A, but he is doing a fine job there. He is hitting .322,with 15 doubles, 7 triples, 7 homers, and 42 RBI'S. He has 14 stolen bases to go along with his 25 walks. A very fine .395 OBP. The only thing he needs to work on is the strikeouts.

5. Nick Hall.... Nick "don't call me Montey" Hall is going to be a decent bullpen pitcher. He has decent splits, good control, 4 pitches, and a top of the line sinker ball. In Low A he was 1-0 with a remarkable 0.90 ERA. In 20 innings he gave up 15 hits, 0 homers, only 2 walks , and fanned 18.

6. Chad Buchanon...... Chad is doing a lights out job down in High A this season. He has converted 12 of 13 saves, while posting a 1.04 ERA. In just 26 innings, he has given up 24 hits, 0 homers, 7 walks, while fanning 29. He has very good control, and decent splits....

7.Lou Lewis...... Lou is a lifetime AA player....going on 5 seasons now. He has pitched 34 innings, allowing 29 hits, 2 homers, 6 walks, while striking out 32. 2-1 with a 1.59 ERA is not too shabby either. He has decent control, good splits, and the potential to make noise in the minor leagues.

8. Willie Montero ....... Willie is back in AAA again this season. This time he is putting up very good numbers. He has a 2.35 ERA to go along with his 2-1 record. In 23 innings, he has given up 25 hits, and only walked 5.

9.Sadie Grissom......Sadie "don't call me Gil" Grissom is really not a prospect, but I was marveled on his production. He has great splits, great numbers, and poor ratings. Power over 80, contact over 90, would be a very fine pinch hitter to end his career.

Vancouver Blaze "down on the farm"

Now we are up to the Vancouver Blaze's report. Vancouver is keeping the pressure on the top dog in their division, San Francisco.

1.Gerald Cortazar.... Gerald is doing a fine job down in Low A ball. He is 6-2 with a 2.35 ERA. In just over 76 innings, he has given up 63 hits, 4 homers, 18 walks, while fanning 70.

2.John Bailes.....John is nothing fancy, but putting up numbers to snow ball all the scouts. He is 9 for 10 in save chances with a 1.65 ERA. He has walked 1, fanned 10, and served up only 1 homer in just over 16 innings.

3.Ellis Loyd....Loyd is 0-3 with a very good ERA of 1.99. In just over 22 innings, he has give up 17 hits, 3 homers, 8 walks, while fanning 22.

4.Carl Barnes.......Carl has bounced around from ML to AAA, and vice versa. This stint in AAA, has been his best thus far. In 7 innings, he has given up 5 hits, 1 homer, walks, while fanning 5. He is 1-0 and is 5 for 6 in save chances.

5. Ramiro Diaz...... Ramiro is doing a great job in AAA thus far this season. he is hitting .323 with 16 doubles, 4 homers, 23 RBI'S, while walking 17 times, and stealing 8 bases. Diaz has the potential to be a gold glove third baseman in the future seasons.

6. Roy Crummack.....Roy is a left handed hitter that is doing a great job in AA this season. He is hitting .364, has a .437 OBP. He has 22 doubles, 3 triples, 6 homers, 27 RBI'S, while walking 23 times and fanning 26.

7.Walter Evans......A nother player with so so ratings, putting up really good numbers. He may never reach the big leagues, but he should do a fine job in the minors. He has hit .347, with a .397 OBP, while hitting 14 doubles, 1 triple, 9 homers and driving in 49. His 40 strike outs are alarming, in just under 200 at bats.

8. Pepper Sobolewski...... Pepper is hitting .319 with 11 doubles, 5 triples, 7 homers, and has driven in 32 runs so far in High A. He has walked 30 times, and struck out 30 times, giving him a OBP of .422.

SanFrancisco Hammer'd Leprechauns "down on the farm"

San Francisco Hammer'd Leprechauns .. What more can you say after the name. It was hard to really only pick 10 or so from these guys. When you have an AA team going 46-7, you need just to past the whole team on the page. That itself is quite a feet, and the owners deserves all the credit for that. Again, it is great to see owners take charge of the minor leagues, so we have no issues of infatuated stats down there.

1.Wilson Prokopec......Wilson is an over achiever . He has horrible splits, decent control, 2 decent pitches, and lights out stats. This also proves the theory of going by ratings. So far Wilson is 2-0 6 for 7 in saves, and riding a 2.10 ERA. In 34 innings, he has given up 41 hits, only 1 homer, 10 walks, and has fanned 33.

2.Art Priest......Art "don't call me Judas" Priest is 5 for 5 in save chances down in Low A. In 32 innings, he has surrendered 32 hits, 8 walks, 2 homers, while fanning 30. He has a dazzling ERA of 1.67.

3.Bernie Hunter......Bernie has the tools to be a very good reliever in the majors. He has 5 pitches, all of them with very good potential. He has great control, decent splits, and of course having 5 pitches . He is 3-0 2 for 2 in saves, and a very good 2.08 ERA. In 13 innings, he has given up 12 hits, 0 homers,0 walks and fanned 10.

4.Milt Ramsay...... Milt is 5-3 with a 3.48 ERA so far in High A ball. In 62 innings, he has given up 54 hits, 7 homers, 12 walks and has 52 strike outs. Milt will be a very good #4 or #5 starter in the Major leagues. He has great stamina, great control, decent splits, and another pitcher with at least 4 pitches.

5.Kenny Redmond......Kenny is really impressing the scouts in AA. In his 3rd season down there, he is riding a 9-1 record with a 3.41 ERA. In 61 innings, he has given up 58 hits, 8 homers, 20 walks, and fanned 65. He is another one of San Francisco's pitchers that have great stamina, control, decent splits, and 4 pitches. The knuckle ball is keeping hitters off balance down there in AA.

6.Milton Henry......Milton is 7-1 with a 3.51 ERA in AA. He has show the great poise to pitch throw the long ball. He has given up 12 in just over 60 innings. He still is not close to Brett Myers, but if he keeps it up, they could be in the same boat. In 66 innings, he has given up 60 hits, 12 homers, 15 walks, while fanning 50. He is another pitcher in AA with decent splits, good control, good stamina, and 4 or 5 pitches. There seems to be a pattern in San Francisco.

7.Sergei Greene....... Same as above...Good stamina, good control, 4 or 5 pitches, decent splits. 7-2 2.86 ERA. In 50 innings, he has given up 47 hits, 5 homers, 12 walks, and fanned 51.

8.Mike Shelley....Mike "don't call me sea" Shelley was recently promoted to the big leagues. In AAA he hit a mere .370 with 7 doubles, 2 triples, 10 homers 42 RBI'S and only struck out 11 times in over 125 at bats. He walked 12 times and had a .427 OBP.

9.Evan Bragg...... Evan is a rare player. A cathcer with decent power, good splits, good batting eye, great extra base hitter, and he also hits for a high average. In 200 at bats in High A he has dominated once again. Already with 23 doubles, 10 homers, and 51 RBI'S. He has walked 23 times and fanned 32. He also has a nice .365 average, .429 OBP, and a cool .630 SLG %. H eis throwing out about 33 5 of base stealer's against him...With the high average, doubles, and potential, he reminds me of that guy(Mike Piazza) who played for the Mets and Dodgers....Of course without the flashy women by his side.

10. Donald Cordero.... Donald was recently promoted to AA ball, which was deserved. In High A he has 24 doubles, 2 triples, 10 homers, and 62 RBI'S in just 51 games. He hit for a high average (.350) had a good OBP (.406) and also was flashing great leather down there. at just 5-7 he reminds me of a Terry Pendleton type hitter.....great glove, great doubles hitter, could hit the long ball at times, and drove in the runners on base ahead of him.

Wichita Linemen "down on the farm"

Now it is time for the Wichita Linemen's report in the minors. Rumor has it, they got their name from Glen Campbell. I twas either that or Galveston, but the owner choose Wichita. Anyway let's get going with the report.

1. Vinny Newman..... Vinny "don't call me Paul" Newman is a player who will make some noise in the Big leagues. He has good control, stamina, splits, 4-5 pitches, and most of all experience. Vinny has had 1 season in the ML , and did fairly well. Right now in AAA he is 5-1 with a 3.22 ERA. In 73 innings, he surrendered 75 hits, 5 homers, 29 walks, while fanning 57.

2.Freddy Lee.... Freddy is getting settle in AAA, now in his 4th season down there. He is doing very well this season. He has a 1-0 record with a 0.93 ERA. In 29 innings, he has given up 18 hits, 1 homer, 6 walks, while fanning 25. He has good splits, decent stamina, good control, and 4 pitches to challenge the hitters with.

3. Marv Ojeda.... Marv is becoming a very dominant closer in AAA. In his 4th season in AAA, this is the best he has performed. He is 13 for 14 in save chances, with a dazzling 0.83 ERA. In 21 innings, he has issued 13 hits, 1 homer, 7 walks, while striking out 19. He has good control, and 3 decent pitches.

4.Quinn Gload....... Gload is in AA and doing a very nice job thus far this season. He is 1-2 with 1 save combined in High A and AA this season. In 39 innings, he has given up 33 hits, 2 homers, 8 homers, while fanning 37.

5.Benito Rincon ...... Benito is a pitcher who can really make an impact someday in the big leagues. He has good stamina, control, decent splits, 4 pitches, 1 being a very good 4 seam fastball. In Low A he is 6-2 with a 3.00 ERA. In 72 innings, he has given up 66 hits, 7 homers, 22 walks, while fanning 68.

6.Donald Flores...... Donald is in High A, and doing very well this season. He has 19 doubles, 1 triple, 5 homers, 39 RBI'S, while posting a .327 average. His OBP is .394, which is really good.

7.Heinie Olmos..... Have no earthly idea where his name came from, and I don't want to imagine. With 23 doubles, 4 triples, 9 homers, 47 RBI'S , and 8 stolen bases. He is hitting.291, with a OBP of .358. He has walked 21 walks, while fanning 39. He has good power, good contact, decent splits, and a decent batting eye. If he cuts down on his strikeouts, he will be just fine.

8.Haywood Moran...... Haywood is in AAA now after recently being promoted from AA. He hit .354 with 10 doubles, 7 homers, while driving in 37 runs in AA. He walked 23 times while fanning 35, giving him an OBP of.425. Moran may never make a big name for himself in the major leagues, but he sure will give it a go when called upon.

Little Rock Travelers "down on the farm"

Little Rock is another franchise that is performing well in the minors. It is always nice to see owners keep up all levels of the farm systems.With that being said, it's time to get on with the top performers in Little Rock.

1.Henry Powell.......Henry is a forgotten soul in High A ball. He is spending his 3rd year down there, and with him being 26, it might end up in an early retirement for him. This season he has 16 doubles, 1 triple, 3 homers, and 54 runs batted in. A very nice top of the order hitter. He has hit .333 with a very respectable OBP of .428.

2.Hector Meadows......Hector is going to be a very good major league pitcher in the near future. He has a 6-3 record with a 4.09 ERA in AA this year. He has pitched 72 innings, while giving up 76 hits, 7 homers, 25 walks, while fanning 68. He has 4 decent pitches, good stamina, good control, and so so splits. He could be a double digit winner in the major leagues.

3.Domingo Reynoso......Domingo is in AA for the 5th season. Rumor has it he is being accused of carrying the swine flu. A native of Tijuana Mexico. Domingo is 4-3 with a respectable 3.55 ERA. In 63 innings, he has given up 75 hits, 6 homers, 16 walks, while driving in 69. Good stamina, good control, and below average pitches and splits will keep him from the big leagues.

4.Everett Todd......Everett will never make the big leagues one would think. He has low splits, low control, and not so good pitches for the major leagues. He is 7-0 this year in Low A with a 2,43 ERA.

5.Benito Rincon......Benito is another player who will not reach the major leagues. Low splits, low pitches,decent control, and good stamina will make him a fine minor league pitcher. He is currently 1-2 with 2 saves, and a 1.06 ERA in 17 innings.

6.Jay Ashley......Jay is another guy who has been in the lower minor leagues along time. He has spent about 2 1/2 seasons in Low A, and again in High A. He has put up good numbers this season, 6-2 with a 3.20 ERA. In 70 innings he has given up 63 hits, 7 homers, 23 walks, while fanning 60.

7.Bret Fleming......Bret "don't call me Peggy" Fleming has the potential to be a very nice closer. Despite his splits, he has been very successful in the save chances this season. In High A he has converted 12 of 14 chances, while sporting a 3.38 ERA. He has great control, 2 very good pitches, to go along with his mediocre splits. In 16 innings, he has given up 20 hits, 0 homers, 3 walks, and also fanned 14 batters.

8.Ajax Jones.....Ajax is stuck in AA....Although he has put up mind boggling number, he has not been given the chance to produce in AAA or the ML to this point. He has 13 doubles, 21 homers 55 RBI'S and 9 stolen bases so fa this season. He is hitting .3323 with an OPS OF 1.081.

9.Wade Parker.......see Ajax Jones.....Wade is in his 3rd season in AA, and while he produces, the chance is still not there for him to be promoted. He has a .338 average, 11 doubles, 6 homers, 38 RBI'S, a nice OBP of .396, and every season he seems to get better.

10. Achilles Todd.....Todd is a speed demon waiting to get arrested. With good contact, no power, and a platoon type lh/rh split, he should excel as a part time player. He could also be good off the bench or a pinch runner..He has 4 doubles, 2 triples, 36 stolen bases, in just 52 games. He has walked 27 times while striking out 30. This alone gives him a decent OBP of.390. He has great speed, great bunting skills, great base running, and oh yeah he is a catcher.

Florida Shark Waves "down on the farm"

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.

Tampa Bay Tankers "down on the farm"

Now the Tankers are one franchise I could not wait to get to. The team was taken for spite, and the owner usually does not watch his minors. With that being said, it is a very consistent franchise...ML level, AAA,AA, and High A, are all 31-19. The Low A brings up the rear with a 26-24 record. Speaking of rear, the owner mr. ploppie has an act for making teams excel.

1.Christian O'Connor........ Christian has a great batting eye, decent splits, and super speed. He should be a very nice player in the minors, and eventually the major leagues. He has 16 doubles, 3 triples, 3 homers, and has driven in 26 runs in High A ball. He has walked 32 times, while only fanning 17. Add 12 steals to that, and his potential to improve is greater every day. His OBP is.442, and with a .342 average he reminds me of Tom Herr of the Cardinals.

2.Dennis Harriger......Dennis has spent most of his time in Low A and High A thus far....But patience is a virtue for this guy. He has 20 doubles, 17 homers, 64 runs batted in, while hitting .337. A .413 OBP and a mere .699 SLG...makes him a potential dangerous player. What is impressive is his walks (26) and strike outs (26) in almost 200 at bats.

3.Alfredo Melina......Alfredo is going to be a very good Ml bullpen pitcher. He has shown great control so far in AAA. In 21 innings, he has only walked 5. He has given up 24 hits and 2 homers. He is 0-1 with 11 saves, in 14 chances. his ERA is higher than it should be as a closer (3.77) He had very good splits, great control, and 2 very good pitches. He will get better as time goes along.

4.George Walbeck...... George is going to be a nice sleeper in the major leagues in the near future. He has good control, good splits, and is a 5 pitch pitcher. This should keep hitters guessing at the plate.
In AAA he is 2-2 with 2 saves in 2 chances. He sports a very fine 1.85 ERA. In 24 innings, he has given up 17 hits,2 homers, 3 walks, while fanning 18.

5.Warren Martin......Warren should be in the big leagues really soon. He has had a taste of it, but he wants more. He has good power, decent contact, medium splits, and a decent eye. He is a pudgie guy 5'5 193. My guess is being from the Bronx, he is eating all the stray bullets on the ground. In AAA he is hitting .320, with a .430 OBP. I say he should be a nice 30/100 guy in the future.

6.Jaime Davis....... Jamie should be a future big league player. He has great contact, good power, good splits, and a good eye. If you add that up, that should give you a .300 hitter with 25 homers, 100 RBI'S, 30 doubles, 5 triples, and about 80-90 runs batted in.But as of now, he has yet to reach that potential. In AA he has 11 doubles, 2 triples, 10 homers, and 29 runs batted in. He has a .301 average, with an OBP of .364. He only has 18 walks and 28 strikeouts in just over 200 at bats. They are not bad numbers, but with time he should improve his OBP .

7.Bob Halter...... Halter is going to be a very fine major league pitcher. In high A, he is 6-4 with a 4.43 ERA. In 67 innings, he has given up 75 hits, 9 homers, only 16 walks, and has struck out 67. He has good control, good splits, and a very fine future as a rotation pitcher.

8.Tommy Hernandez.......Tommy will be a very good bullpen pitcher for years to come. His stats are not accurate, due to being used and abused. In 41 innings, he has given up 31 hits, only 1 homer, 8 walks, while fanning 28. He has excellent control, 2 very good pitches, and he also has good stamina for a future closer. With that being said, why he is inactive (hint hint) is beyond me.

9.Von Chatwood..... Von is your typical power hitter.....High power, low contact. He has 10 doubles, 28 homers, and has driven in67 runs . He strikes out twice as much as he walks. He has a .308 average while supporting a .383 OBP. If he controls his strikeouts he will be a very decent minor league player.

10.Harpo Aven.......Harpo is spending time in AA. Rumor has it , he was given 5 to life for a crime involving ploppie's sister. He has shown very good numbers, and the ability to get on base.This season he has 13 doubles, 3 homers, 32 RBI'S and a respectable .379 OBP.Time will tell if he gets paroled from AA or not.

Austin Rock Stars" down on the farm"

Austin Rock Stars are next up on the "Down on the farm" report.

1. Al Camacho...... When we originally got the list for Austin, Camacho was in AA. There he was hitting a cool .425 So his stats are now from AA/AAA combined. He is hitting .387 with 9 doubles, 1 triple, 2 homers and 33 RBI'S. He is by no means a power hitter, but he sure is a nice top of the line-up table setter. His OBP is .462. A switch hitter with decent splits, he should be a nice .300 hitter and have a .400 OBP in the ML.

2. Richard Graham....... Graham is in AA this season. He has 2 decent pitches, with 2 others that are projected in the 40's. Good stamina, great control, and below average splits. So far he is 6-2 with a 3.56 ERA. In 68 innings, he has surrendered 66 hits, 6 homers, 22 walks, while fanning 56. He could make the ML as a long relief, or bottom of the rotation starter.

3.D'Angelo Sanchez.......D' Angelo is in AA as well. In just over 28 innings, he has given up 32 hits, 1 homers, 3 walks, while fanning 22. He is 3-2 with 2 saves in 3 chances, while supporting a 2.54 ERA. Besides he low splits, I believe he could be a decent relief pitcher in the ML.

4.Clint Cedeno........Clint is making the best of his season in AA this year. He is showing tremendous power, while hitting for a high average. He has 16 doubles, 1 triple, and 26 homers, and a modest 79 RBI'S in just 50 games. He is hitting .368, with an OBP of. 416 and a total OPS of 1.214. Clint will probably be a power hitting DH in the ML.

5.Tyler Hooper......Tyler is a pesky hitter that is going to cause nightmares as a base stealer. He has excellent speed, and is a very good gap hitter. He will not hit alot of homers, but he sure will be a wonderful top of the line-up hitter. He will set the table and serve the dessert to the big hitters. He is hitting .319 with an OBP of .403. He also has 18 doubles, 6 triples, and a homer to go with his 42 RBI'S. He has also walked 24 times and has stolen 20 of 22 bases. If he cuts down on his strike outs, he should even be better. And being left handed does not hurt either.

6. Alejandro Martin.......Alejandro is a super power hitter so far this season in High A. In 50 games he has already almost matched his total from last season. In 221 at bats this season, he has hit .348, with 12 doubles, 1 triple and 31 homers, while driving in 84. He also has 17 walks and 44 strike outs. His overall OBP is .394. If he develops a better eye at the plate, he could be a very good hitter in the big leagues.

7.Tiny Simmons.......Tiny "don't call me Gene" Simmons is a player that probably will not make the big leagues. Right now in his 2nd season in High A, Tiny is 7-2 with a respectable ERA of 3.44. In 73 innings, he has given up 83 hits,7 homers, while walking 21 and fanning 50. He could be a nice inning eater as well in the minors.

8.Jerrod Koskie......... Jerrod will probably not be an impact pitcher in the big leagues. He may not ever get the chance to get his feet wet, unless he takes a shower in their locker rooms while they Ml players are in the field. In Low A he is 3-2 with a 2.18 ERA. In 20 innings, he has given up 17 hits, 1 homer, 3 walks, while fanning 20. His sinker may make him a good AAA pitcher, but would be surprising to see him in the ML in the future.

9.Raymond Stone.......Raymond is hitting the cover off the ball in Low A so far this season. He is hitting .433, with a .500 OBP. His total OPS is 1.084. He has 15 doubles, 4 homers, 37 RBI'S, while walking more (24) than he has fanned (23). He has decent splits, a good pitch caller, and super make-up.

10. Ozzie Hyun......Ozzie is doing a fine job in AAA. Although he is not performing like the "Prince of darkness", he is doing a good enough job to be considered a future big league player. In 19 innings, he has given up 10 hits, 5 walks 0 homers, and 22 punch outs. All this with a 0.98 ERA. He should be a nice sleeper.