I love Minor League Baseball

My love affair with Minor League Baseball and this is my hat collection. 

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.

Prospects Plus: Lewis Brinson

NAME: Lewis Brinson
POSITION: Outfielder
TEAM: Hickory Crawdads
PROSPECT STATUS: 12th ranked prospect in Rangers system.
FRIDAY VS. LAKEWOOD: 0-3

POSITIVES: The Rangers picked Brinson in the first round of 2012 MLB Draft and talked him out of a scholarship to the University of Florida by giving him a $1.625 million bonus. A scouting report from ESPN.com Keith Law on the improvements that Brinson made during the Arizona Fall League: "I was blown away by the changes Lewis Brinson made to his swing over the summer, setting up his hands a little lower and further back while shortening his stride, significantly improving his bat speed through the zone without any loss of power." These comments show that Brinson is able to make changes to make himself a better player." 

Brinson is a long, lean player with excellent range and a strong arm in the outfield. At this point, defense is undoubtedly his strength, and he could reasonably project to play all three outfield positions at an above-average level down the road. Offensively, Brinson has solid power that could develop into a plus tool as he gets stronger. During the game on Friday night, he made an outstanding diving catch showing his ability to cover large amounts of ground. He also showed off a good arm on a couple of throws.

NEGATIVES: The big question is and always has been his ability to make consistent contact. Improving his contact rates and strike zone judgment are going to be the keys to getting him to the major leagues. On Friday he strike out a couple of times and showed why he is still considered a long term prospect. There’s no doubt that Brinson’s a boom-or-bust prospect. He’s got an ultra-high ceiling, but there’s also a very real possibility that he fizzles in double-A if he can’t corral his strikeouts.

Prospects Plus: Severnio Gonzalez

NAME: Severino Gonzalez
POSITION: right-handed pitcher
TEAM: Lakewood BlueClaws
PROSPECT STATUS: not ranked by Baseball America in the Phillies top 30 prospect list
STATS VS. HICKORY FRIDAY NIGHT: six innings pitched, three hits allowed, two walks, 11 strikeouts and zero runs allowed.

POSITIVES:  Totally overpowered hitters during his six innings of works. The prospect rich Crawdads could do nothing with him. Gonzalez sat between 87-90 miles per hour on his fast ball, while showing a variety of off speed pitches. Gonzalez has shown a great ability to pound the strike zone. Some have said that he is a right hand version of Phillies top prospect Jesse Biddle. In four starts for the Blueclaws Gonzalez has strike out 31 hitters in 21 innings. During that time he has allowed 10 hits and four earned runs.

NEGATIVES: While having good stuff, Gonzalez does not have that overpowering fastball that you would like to see. In his three four starts in Lakewood, Gonzalez has little to show the need for a plus fastball.

Professinal Tailgating: I go to too many games

It's one thing to be a Level 1 badge on Foursquare, its another to be a Level 6. Being a Level 6 basically means that you are nut job. So last week during the travels, I became a Level 6 ESPN Foam Finger. Over the years, I've been to numerous Eagles, Rutgers, Phillies, Nationals, and BlueClaws games and my Foursquare check ins show that.

The badge is given for badge given for people who follow ESPN and then check in at sporting venues around the country. To break this down, it means that I may go to too many games. Maybe I should slow down.

Professional Tailgating: All Rain Game

Last night, I headed to the South Atlantic League All Star Game and boy was I disappointed. Got there at 7 and left at 830 because the game was delayed by rain. So here are some rain photos of a fun night in Lakewood.