Top Prospect Alert Archive
11-16-06 / 11-25-06
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Cleveland Indians prospect Chuck Lofgren has a breakout 2006 season in the Carolina League. Originally a fourth round pick of the Tribe in 2004, Lofgren has gotten better each year as a pro. After a rough start in his professional debut, Lofgren performed well in 2005 at Low-A Lake City as a 19 year old going 5-5 with a 2.81 ERA. This past season however, Lofgren took his game to the next level. At High-A Kinston, the 6'3" southpaw posted a minor league high 17-5 record with a 2.32 ERA and 125 strikeouts in 139.2 innings of work. Opposing hitters combined to bat just .217 against him and he gave up just 5 homeruns on the year. For his effort Lofgren was named Pitcher of the Year by the Carolina League. Expect Lofgren to get tested at Double-A Akron in 2007, with an outside chance of debuting in Cleveland late in the year with another strong showing in the minors next year. However 2008 is the most likely the year the 21 year old Lofgren will debut in the major leagues.

The Milwaukee Brewers are getting some returns from the 526th player selected in the 2004 draft. New Jersey native, Darren Ford, a speedy centerfielder with developing power had a breakout season is his first full season as a pro. Ford, who just turned 21, batted .286 with 7 homeruns 54 rbi's, 93 runs scored, and added 69 stolen bases in 125 games playing for West Virginia in the Low-A South Atlantic League. He did strikeout a fair amount for a leadoff hitter, going down swinging 133 times in 491 at-bats while drawing just 65 walks. Ford struggled a bit in Hawaii this fall batting just .208 in 28 games, but did manage to add another 14 stolen bases. Look for Ford to begin and spend most of 2007 at High-A Brevard County.

Selected by the Kansas City Royals as the fifth overall pick in the 2003 draft out of Pennsylvania high school, Chris Lubanski came into baseball with a lot of hype. While it has taken him a while to mature, Lubanski is beginning to put himself in position to be a future major league player. The Royals outfield prospect put up a solid season at Double-A Wichita in 2006 following a career year at Single-A High Desert in 2005 where he batted .301 with 28 home runs and 116 rbi's. Lubanski's Double-A debut was not quite as good, but still not too bad for a player who will not turn 22 until next March. In 137 games, the left handed hitting Lubanski batted .282 with 15 homeruns, 70 rbi's and 93 runs scored. He also walked a career high 72 times which was nearly double his total of just 38 walks in 2005. Expect Lubanski, who did hit under .200 in limited Arizona Fall League action, to begin 2007 at Triple-A Omaha and have a shot to make his big league debut as some point in the season.

The son of an inaugural member of the Colorado Rockies, Eric Young Jr. is looking to make a name for himself in the organization that made his father an All-Star. Young Jr. was a 30th round draft & follow selection of the Rockies. He made his pro debut in 2004 and has been running his way through the system since. Young Jr. has a career year in 2006 batting .295 with 5 homeruns and 45 rbi's in 128 games at Low-A Asheville. He led all of the minor leagues with 87 stolen bases and was third in the South Atlantic League with 92 runs scored. While the raw stolen base numbers were very impressive, Young Jr. was thrown out 31 times. Young Jr. has continued to impress in the Hawaii Winter League batting .309 in 26 games thus far. One of the things that separates Young Jr. from many other stolen base phenoms the minors have seen over the last few years is that he walks nearly as much as he strikes out, and has continued to develop power at each level. Look for the second baseman to begin, and likely spend much of 2007 at High-A Modesto.

Trevor Crowe accomplished a lot during his three years of college baseball. He was an All American, led Arizona to the College World Series, played on the U.S. National Team, and was the Pac 10 Player of the Year hitting over .400 his junior year. Crowe was rewarded for his hard work by being selected as the 14th overall pick in the 2005 draft by the Cleveland Indians. In 2006, his first full season as a professional, Crowe combined to bat .286 with 5 homeruns, 44 rbi's, 71 runs scored, and 45 stolen bases in 101 games split between High-A Kinston and Double-A Akron. With Grady Sizemore holding down centerfield, Crowe's natural position, the Indians briefly experimented with Crowe at second base, however quickly backed off those plans and moved the 23 year old back to the outfield. In the Arizona Fall League, Crowe continued to excel, batting .329 in 21 games. Look for Crowe to spend the first month or two of the 2007 season back at Akron before finishing the minor league year at Triple-A Buffalo, and likely earning a September call-up to Cleveland.

Mark Reynolds has always hit for power. He blasted 35 long balls in his three year college career at Virginia. Entering 2006, he had hit 31 more home runs since turning pro in 2004. Despite his power, the knock on Reynolds was his inability to hit for average and his high strikeout numbers. Reynolds may have shed that image in 2006 as he put up one of the best offensive seasons in the minors and continued his momentum in the Arizona Fall League. Combined between High-A Lancaster and Double-A Knoxville, the 23 year old batted .318 with 31 homeruns, 98 rbi's in only 106 games this past season. In the Arizona Fall League, Reynolds batted .327 with 5 homeruns and 26 rbi's. His strikeouts have remained, 109 in 387 regular season at-bats, and Lancaster, where he spent most of 2006, is a hitters park, but Reynolds appears to have turned a corner. If he is able to continue to hit for both power and average, look for Reynolds name to soar up the Diamondbacks already impressive list of prospects. Expect the third baseman to begin 2007 in Double-A and have the ability to earn a quick promotion to Triple-A and a possible big league callup in September.

Kyle Yates is another of many former Texas Longhorns players who are out to make their mark on the prospect radar. Yates, a 13th round pick of the Blue Jays in 2004, has had his coming out party in the Arizona Fall League. In the hitter friendly league, Yates has tossed 24 innings, allowing just three earned runs, while posting a 2-0 record with a 1.13 ERA and 25 strikeouts. The great fall numbers came after a solid 2006 minor league season split between a brief stop at High-A Dunedin prior to an early call-up to Double-A New Hampshire. Combined Yates went 8-9 with a 3.44 ERA 115 strikeouts in 141.1 innings of work. His best numbers came at the start of the season when he went 2-0 with a 0.64 ERA during his 14 inning stint at Dunedin. Look for the 24 year old Yates, who stands at just 5'11", to begin 2007 and likely spend most of the season at Triple-A Syracuse.

While he has not yet lived up to the hype of being the 21st overall pick in the 2004 draft, Philadelphia Phillies outfield prospect Greg Golson is beginning to show some signs of life. An All-American at Connally High School in Austin, Golson had a fairly solid pro debut following the draft, batting .295 in 47 Gulf Coast League games. Since then it has been an uphill battle. This past season, combined between a second stop at Low-A Lakewood and High-A Clearwater, Golson combined to hit .233 with 13 homeruns and 48 rbi's while adding 30 stolen bases in 133 games. While the average is still sub-par, Golson made the most of his time on base, scoring 87 times on the year. His power numbers also increased with his 13 homeruns more than tripling his career high. Also of note is that Golson actually hit .46 points higher when challenged with Florida State League pitching. Expect Golson to start 2007 back at Clearwater, and if the 21 year old can begin to hit for average, expect him to land at Double-A Reading by year's end. While still a work in progress, Golson is young enough, and athletic enough to become the player the Phillies envisioned him being when they selected him back in 2004.

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If you're looking for a sleeper in the New York Mets organization, Michael Devaney might be your guy. The 24 year old righthander was a 23rd round pick out of Concordia College in Oregon back in 2004. Since turning pro, Devaney has been fairly impressive. He jump started his career with a 5-0 1.95ERA debut at Short Season Brooklyn in 2004 and followed it up with a 10-4 3.88ERA showing at Hagerstown in 2005. This past season Devaney dominated High-A St. Lucie and earned a late promotion to Double-A Binghamton where he continued to perform well. Combined between the two levels, Devaney went 12-5 with a 2.13ERA adding 123 strikeouts and tossing three shutouts in 147.2 innings of work. Expect Devaney to begin next season at Triple-A New Orleans and have a chance to make it to the majors in September if he continues to pitch well in 2007.