Devils in MLB: Top 5 Devils in the Minors
The minor league baseball season ended last week, so we’re recapping the summer by ranking the top five performances by Arizona State’s minor leaguers. Hint, the guy below made the list.
More Sun Devil News, Less HassleDon’t fool around with bookmarks or the refresh button. We’ve made it easier to subscribe, so you can have Sun Devil news delivered FREE straight to your inbox.
It’s almost the end of the baseball season, which means it’s almost the end of our weekly Devils in MLB. We fend off the urge to insert a sad-face emoticon as we remember that a new season is always only a few months away. In the meantime, we choke back the tears long enough to bring you the first of two postseason top five lists.
Next week, we’ll recap the big league’s top five Sun Devils—including two MVP candidates. But for now, let’s try to figure out who is next. Here are your top five Sun Devils on the farm.
1) Brett Wallace, Springfield (Cardinals, High-A)
.337, 13 doubles, 8 home runs
Wallace was almost certainly the most questionable high first-round pick (well, other than the Washington Nationals picking Missouri’s Aaron Crow, who was nowhere close to signing). But the questions were never talent, but simply that Wallace’s body and defensive abilities tend to project him as a first baseman, which is fine, because his bat will play at first base. But so does Albert Pujols’ bat, and he’s signed through 2010 with a club option for 2011, and the people of St. Louis will probably riot if the Cardinals ever let him leave. So keep an eye on Wallace’s status. He’s going to force his way onto the big-league roster VERY soon. Note: Wallace’s numbers are for the whole season, which includes 41 games at Class-A Quad Cities.
2) Ike Davis, Brooklyn (Mets, Low-A)
.256, 15 doubles, 0 home runs
Davis is probably more of a projectable pure power bat than Wallace, though he may never hit for Wallace’s average. No problem there. If Davis winds up being a .275 hitter with 40-homer power, then he’s basically Carlos Delgado (with an awesome arm) and Delgado’s an MVP candidate. I don’t think anyone is too concerned with the fact that he hasn’t homered as a pro yet. The New York-Penn League — or, “the nipple,” if you’re into the whole brevity thing — is a tough place to play for a first-time pro. If he isn’t the Mets’ top prospect (that’s probably Fernando Martinez), then Davis may be No. 2.
3) Eric Sogard, Lake Elsinore (Padres, High-A)
.308, 42 doubles, 10 home runs
There’s a sizeable drop-off from No. 2 to 3, but in fairness, that’s a compliment to Davis, not an indictment of Sogard. His numbers are fantastic for a middle infielder. Along with 65 extra-base hits, he also scored 97 runs and drove in 87. He’s in an organization — San Diego — that is more starved for offense than Amy Winehouse is for narcotics, so it’s fair to suggest if he keeps putting up numbers in the minors, Sogard will be seeing Reggie Bush’s favorite area code pop up on his cell phone soon.
4) Matt Spencer, Stockton (Athletics, High-A)
.280, 24 doubles, 14 home runs
Spencer spent the second half of the season in the California league with Sogard and, after struggling in the Philadelphia system for the first part of the year, put up even better numbers (.936 OPS) than Sogard (.847 OPS). Why are we higher, then, on Sogard when these two have such similar numbers? Simple. Sogard’s production is fantastic from a second baseman, while Spencer’s is so-so from a first baseman/outfielder.
5) Jeff Larish, Toledo (Tigers, Triple-A)
.250, 20 doubles, 21 home runs
Larish will be celebrating his 26th birthday (Oct. 11) around when he reports to Arizona Fall League, which is good and bad. It’s good because he’ll be back in Arizona with some friends for his birthday. It’s bad because a guy turning 26 is a guy starting to lose prospect status. Hey, it’s a tough business. But even if he isn’t a star or anything, he did get a call-up this year, and he should spend time on the Tigers’ roster next year, which is more than we can say for anyone else on this list (except Wallace).
Also worth keeping an eye on:
Kiel Roling, Casper (Rockies, Rookie) … .344, 7 doubles, 4 home runs
Tony Barnette, Mobile (Diamondbacks, Double-A) … 11-7, 3.87 ERA, 133 strikeouts, 153.2 innings
Enjoy this article? Buy us a beer for just $4. (Credit Card / Paypal)New to Echo from the Buttes? Don’t miss:
Our lively debate on Tempe’s top five bars.
Our salute to the underrated, overlooked Keegan Herring.
Our introduction to Gerald Munns, one bad motha … shut yo mouth.
Our assessment of the divisive Rudy Carpenter’s legacy.
.256 with zero homeruns? If Ike Davis’s baseball career were a stock then I would short him.