Prospect Plus: Orioles Chance Sisco

Name: Chance Sisco 
Organization: Orioles 
Team: Delmarva Shorebirds
Position: Catcher
Organizational Rank: 10th ranked prospect in the Orioles system, according to Baseball America.
Stats vs. Lakewood Blueclaws: 1-5 with a double during a double header on Friday night. 

Positives:  Sisco has a good arm and soft hands, as should be expected, and his body does indeed look more like a catcher than infielder. At the plate, he should be able to bring his solid contact skills and quick bat to bear in the minors, while power may take a few years to really show up. Smooth lefthanded swing, according to Baseball America. He has bat speed with the ability to make solid contact and while you have to dream, there is future above-average power in the bat. 

Negative: Still learning how to catch, only started catching two years ago. He, like most catching prospect, will be a long term prospect. 

Prospects Plus: Baltimore Adrian Marin

 
Name: Adrian Marin

Position: shortstop

Team: Delmarva Shorebirds

Prospect Status: 10th ranked prospect in Orioles organization by Baseball America

Friday vs. Lakewood: 1-4 with an RBI

Positives:  Marin has a great feel for the game and you could likely plug his glove anywhere on the field and he would perform well.  He has a highly athletic body, and is very quick in game and very agile.  He is either a shortstop or center fielder down the road. Marin is a plus runner with some quick-twitch actions that suggest he’s got more pop in his bat than his 170-pound frame would otherwise suggest. He’s drawn comparisons to former first-round pick and Florida product Nick Franklin along the way. Marin has a good shot to stick at shortstop and if a club believes he will mature physically and hit enough.

During the game Friday night against Lakewood, Marin showed great bat control in bunting for a hit in his first at bat, also made some good defensive plays but nothing that stands out.

Negatives: Probably won’t hit for much power going forward. Marin is a small-framed, wiry kid. He’ll get a little bit stronger, but doesn’t project as a real physical kid.

Prospects Plus: Phillies JP Crawford

Name: JP Crawford

Position: Shortstop 

Team: Lakewood Blueclaws

Prospect Status: 1st round draft pick in 2013

Friday vs. Delmarva: 1-4 with a double, a run scored, and a run batted in.

Positives: JP Crawford was the 2013 draft’s best shortstop prospect. He is the only player in the entire draft scouts confidently project to stay at the position. He has the athleticism, reactions, and range, to play in the middle of the diamond and arm strength and throwing accuracy to play on the left side of the infield. He has all the raw athleticism, including plus speed and superior fast-twitch muscles, to succeed almost anywhere on the diamond.

During the game on Friday night Crawford showed all of the tools to be a solid player. Crawford made a couple of really good defensive plays including a great diving catch on a line drive in the eighth inning. On his second at bat of the game, Crawford pulled a fastball into the right center field for a double. Despite being a player that just drafted three months ago, Crawford looks like he belongs at this level. He has the swagger of an older player. Through eight games with the Claws, Crawford is hitting .321.

Negatives: His bat is not projected to be any sort of earth-shattering, middle of the order weapon but there are things to like about it. His hands are zippy and quick and the same natural athleticism and coordination that makes him a good shortstop should help him take to mechanical instruction and make necessary adjustments. That instruction is almost inevitable, as Crawford’s swing is a bit of a mess. His hands drift too far (both up and away) from his body, his lower half is quite noisy and his weight transfer can get out of whack, leaving too much weight on his front foot too early in his swing.

Professional Tailgating: A boring preseason friendly

On Saturday, the OTWT Tailgating Crew traveled to Baltimore to take in the preseason friendly between Spurs and Liverpool. The game was terrible but the stadium is amazing.

Alan Shearer has more Premier League titles than Steven Gerrard

A life size picture of former Rutgers star Ray Rice. Loved watching him college as a Rutgers season ticket holder.

Unitas Plaza 

Love seeing fans honor clubs heroes and at Spurs there is no one bigger than Jimmy Greaves