A Few Good Sleepers and Three Good Interviews

Photo from fOTOGLIF

My day job (which unfortunately is not writing this blog) has been kicking my ass the last couple of months. I have no time to do anything and I am exhausted by the time stumble into the house. But this isn't that kind of blog. I mention all that because I need another day on the Sleeper Teams to be happy with the article. I know its already a couple of weeks late so I've decided to give you a preview of a few players in the article. You'll notice I provide much more information about the players than I did last few years. I hope you enjoy this preview, the real thing should be published on Thursday at the latest.

But before we get to those sleepers, here are links to a few great interviews you should definitely check out:

Marc Carig of the Star Ledger interviews Former Padres GM, Kevin Towers.

John Sickles interviews Mark Newman, Senior Vice President of Baseball Operations for the New York Yankees.

C. Trent Rosecrans of CNati.com delivers a two-part interview of Bill James. and Part Two

OF – Hunter Pence, Houston Astros – Pence has had small but steady improvements in his walk rates the last three seasons. He cut his strikeout rate in 2009 and improved his plate discipline by swinging at fewer pitches outside of the strike zone. I would love to see him hit more line drives. He is also 27 with experience if you like that old theory. It fits in this case because I think we are about to see a career year from Pence.

3B – Mark Teahen, Chicago White Sox – Back at third base where he started the White Sox are hoping that Teahen can recapture what he seemed to lose being shuffled around the infield and outfield with the Royals. He has the talent to be an above average player. He has a brand new opportunity; he only needs to take advantage. The change in ballparks helps too. Though his new home tends to help more with home run hitting than batting average.

CR – Brandon Wood, Los Angeles Angels – I get annoyed with the Angels all the time. They have these great prospects and they make them wait much longer than seems necessary to earn a major league job. But maybe I should get over it. When they needed Erick Aybar to play regularly, he was ready. Juan Rivera (I know a Yankees prospect) was also ready when needed. Kendry Morales was ready when needed. They traded for Scott Kazmir who was having the worst season of his career and suddenly he was ready as well. Now, they seem to think Brandon Wood is ready to become their full time third baseman. I agree. He has reduced his massive strikeouts totals to a reasonable level. The power is still there to hit 25-35 homeruns a season on a consistent basis. I love him.

UTL/DH – Jesus Montero, New York Yankees – There is little hype around Jesus Montero becoming the 2010 Rookie of the Year. This is primarily due to Jorge Posada filling the catcher position (and Monetero’s need for continued development there) and Nick Johnson’s arrival as the new designated hitter. If Johnson requires a stint on the disabled list (as has often been the case), it would probably herald the arrival of Jesus Montero to the major leagues. It is only a matter of time. Then we will see a Mike Piazza, Carlos Delgado level of talent hit the majors.

2009 Top Midwest League Prospects

The Midwest League rankings feature the up and coming Jaff Decker who will reach San Diego far too late to save Kevin Towers his job. I never had a huge problem with Towers. He was far more handicapped (and successful despite this) by his team's ownership and budget than a frequent complainer like J.P. Ricciardi and his $100 million dollar losing squads.

MLB Fantasy Prospects wrote a great piece on Jaff Decker that I may have mentioned previously, but if you missed it you should certainly check it out. the site is an excellent resource for the prospect crazy or just the committed Advanced Fantasy Baseball Shark in need of an edge.

The big boy was no slouch this year at Low-A hitting .299, with 16 HRs, a .442 OBP, and a .514 SLG. Decker has a phenomenal eye that is indicative of a future fantasy star. He had a 19.2% walk rate and .92 BB/K rate batting third in the Fort Wayne (Padres’ Low-A affiliate) batting order. Notably, Decker has had a fairly high Batting Average on Balls in Play [BABIP] (.364 at Low-A /.432 in the AZL). Usually, such a high BABIP suggests a lucky hitter. In this case, there’s no luck involved, as Decker’s BABIP is sky high because he hits the ball freakishly hard.

MLB Fantasy Prospects has recently reported on prospects like Derek Norris of the Washington Nationals, Hector Rondon of the Cleveland Indians, and Brian Matusz of the Baltimore Orioles.

Top 25 Midwest League Batters (minimum 50 at-bats)

Name	Team	BB%	K%	AVG	OBP	SLG	ISO	Spd	BABIP	wOBA
James Darnell	Padres	20.40%	23.00%	0.329	0.468	0.518	0.189	4	0.402	0.449
Brett Jackson	Cubs	8.90%	28.60%	0.295	0.383	0.545	0.25	8.2	0.356	0.436
Jaff Decker	Padres	19.20%	25.70%	0.299	0.442	0.514	0.215	4.8	0.364	0.434
Chris Dennis	Brewers	12.60%	29.50%	0.318	0.409	0.538	0.22	4.2	0.427	0.432
Xavier Scruggs	Cardinals	15.10%	33.30%	0.295	0.409	0.527	0.233	3.4	0.392	0.427
Jermaine Curtis	Cardinals	14.50%	18.80%	0.304	0.426	0.438	0.134	5.3	0.367	0.417
Kyler Burke	Cubs	14.40%	21.30%	0.303	0.405	0.505	0.202	5.8	0.359	0.417
Kyle Russell	Dodgers	13.00%	37.40%	0.272	0.371	0.545	0.272	7.6	0.382	0.416
Joseph Becker	Dodgers	10.60%	20.30%	0.339	0.403	0.492	0.153	3.9	0.413	0.407
Sawyer Carroll	Padres	13.80%	22.80%	0.316	0.41	0.464	0.148	5.1	0.394	0.406
Josh Vitters	Cubs	2.50%	15.60%	0.316	0.351	0.535	0.219	4.4	0.33	0.402
Conner Crumbliss	Athletics	18.00%	18.00%	0.28	0.438	0.4	0.12	6.5	0.341	0.401
Kris Sanchez	Mariners	13.60%	27.20%	0.291	0.391	0.496	0.205	1.7	0.366	0.401
Billy Nowlin	Tigers	8.10%	16.00%	0.311	0.39	0.483	0.172	3.9	0.346	0.399
Chris Swauger	Cardinals	7.30%	20.00%	0.296	0.357	0.522	0.226	6.7	0.341	0.397
Jerry Sands	Dodgers	12.60%	30.80%	0.26	0.361	0.51	0.25	5.9	0.328	0.395
Grant Desme	Athletics	7.50%	31.30%	0.274	0.334	0.49	0.216	8.4	0.359	0.394
Charles Cutler	Cardinals	9.00%	10.30%	0.351	0.41	0.455	0.103	2.8	0.38	0.393
Byron Wiley	Reds	16.60%	29.80%	0.275	0.395	0.461	0.186	5.4	0.363	0.392
Brian Van Kirk	Blue Jays	14.00%	25.70%	0.278	0.389	0.451	0.173	4.1	0.344	0.392
Alexia Amarista	Angels	9.50%	12.80%	0.319	0.39	0.468	0.149	7.8	0.359	0.391
Nick Van Stratten	Royals	9.90%	12.50%	0.318	0.393	0.447	0.129	7.7	0.36	0.39
Blake Ochoa	Mariners	7.50%	20.20%	0.318	0.379	0.48	0.162	3.6	0.376	0.387
Josh Harrison	Cubs	5.00%	8.30%	0.337	0.377	0.479	0.142	7.3	0.358	0.386
Marc Krauss	Diamondbacks	10.90%	18.30%	0.304	0.377	0.478	0.174	3.1	0.359	0.386
Luis Flores	Cubs	20.00%	22.90%	0.208	0.387	0.458	0.25	1.9	0.229	0.385
Brendan Duffy	Diamondbacks	11.10%	20.90%	0.308	0.414	0.393	0.085	7.7	0.39	0.384
Anthony Delmonico	Dodgers	11.20%	23.60%	0.285	0.383	0.43	0.145	4.4	0.352	0.382
Andrew Cumberland	Padres	12.10%	12.40%	0.293	0.386	0.41	0.117	7.9	0.329	0.382
Matt Carpenter	Cardinals	13.90%	12.40%	0.295	0.405	0.39	0.095	4.6	0.337	0.381
Matt Clark	Padres	11.60%	28.60%	0.266	0.352	0.484	0.218	1.6	0.331	0.381
Ramon Santana	Twins	11.90%	25.30%	0.296	0.384	0.453	0.156	4	0.377	0.379
Anthony Hatch	Dodgers	9.60%	14.60%	0.294	0.363	0.463	0.169	5.4	0.327	0.379
Jarrod Dyson	Royals	6.90%	20.90%	0.343	0.397	0.403	0.06	8	0.434	0.377
Scott Savastano	Mariners	11.90%	17.90%	0.3	0.39	0.404	0.104	6.1	0.354	0.377

Top 25 Midwest League Pitchers (minimum 50 IP)

Name	Team	K/9	BB/9	HR/9	WHIP	BABIP	LOB%	ERA	FIP
Andrew Taylor	Angels	14.55	3.33	0	0.94	0.32	85.40%	1.23	1.08
Brad Brach	Padres	11.59	1.55	0.14	0.74	0.264	82.70%	1.27	1.54
Cheyne Hann	Mariners	9.75	1.05	0.26	0.82	0.279	83.30%	1.32	1.85
Chris Huseby	Cubs	12.17	1.67	0.5	0.98	0.335	86.90%	1.83	1.94
Vladimir Veras	Angels	9.83	3	0	1.13	0.316	68.30%	3	2.13
Matt Daly	Blue Jays	9.59	3.55	0	1.09	0.283	76.80%	1.95	2.31
Bryan Woodall	Diamondbacks	9.86	2.3	0.27	1.35	0.382	68.00%	3.24	2.34
Blaine Hardy	Royals	9.16	1.66	0.29	0.95	0.29	76.00%	2.05	2.37
Zachary Herr	Padres	12.71	3.18	0.64	1.24	0.366	62.70%	4.13	2.41
Bayron Zepeda	Diamondbacks	7.3	2.04	0	1.43	0.375	62.00%	4.58	2.43
Henderson Alvarez	Blue Jays	6.66	1.38	0.07	1.13	0.317	63.60%	3.47	2.43
Nick Schmidt	Padres	10.28	4.01	0	1.18	0.305	67.70%	2.79	2.48
Nick Schumacher	Padres	8.74	2.22	0.16	1.08	0.305	88.20%	1.11	2.49
Barry Bowden	Royals	11.22	3.86	0.35	1.01	0.257	75.70%	2.28	2.56
Ezequiel Infante	Reds	7.91	1.55	0.34	1.15	0.325	69.30%	3.44	2.57
Robert Boothe	Dodgers	12.46	4.63	0.32	1.49	0.396	62.20%	4.95	2.65
Kenn Kasparek	Mariners	8.51	2.03	0.32	1.12	0.313	73.50%	2.41	2.68
Liam Hendriks	Twins	8.37	2.03	0.41	1.32	0.357	65.30%	3.51	2.69
Ryan Buchter	Cubs	11.66	5.02	0.15	1.15	0.273	77.10%	1.33	2.69
Jamie Richmond	Athletics	7.2	0.9	0.54	1.06	0.308	74.30%	2.7	2.74
Tyler Stohr	Tigers	8.11	2.36	0.3	1.23	0.328	69.20%	3.54	2.76
Casey Crosby	Tigers	10.06	4.13	0.26	1.13	0.273	72.80%	2.41	2.8
Tyler Conn	Tigers	7.97	2.31	0.39	1.19	0.314	72.70%	3.21	2.8
Simon Castro	Padres	10.07	2.37	0.58	1.1	0.313	68.20%	3.33	2.8
Anthony Shawler	Tigers	8.19	2.59	0.33	1.23	0.321	66.50%	3.76	2.89
Daniel Merklinger	Brewers	9	2.89	0.51	1.17	0.303	76.10%	2.55	2.9
Austin Bibens-Dirkx	Cubs	6.37	1.15	0.51	0.91	0.255	77.10%	2.04	2.9
Brayan Villarreal	Tigers	10.28	2.96	0.44	1.15	0.316	73.60%	2.87	2.91
Steven Blevins	Twins	7.87	3.05	0.23	1.37	0.34	66.90%	3.52	2.97
Michael Montgomery	Royals	8.07	3.72	0.16	1.14	0.269	73.60%	2.17	2.98
Geison Aguasviva	Dodgers	6.61	2.87	0.14	1.16	0.285	80.20%	1.58	2.99
Wily Peralta	Brewers	10.24	3.99	0.43	1.32	0.33	71.60%	3.47	3
Christopher Archer	Cubs	9.83	5.45	0	1.32	0.293	72.90%	2.81	3.03
Ramon Delgado	Cardinals	7.46	1.87	0.55	1.06	0.285	74.40%	2.41	3.03
Luke Putkonen	Tigers	6.93	2.83	0.18	1.31	0.321	70.60%	3.13	3.05