Minor Musings for 5-18-09

May 18, 2009 BY Alex Eisenberg 5 Comments

I was a little surprised Bryan Augenstein didn’t generate a little more support when the top prospect lists came out. He ended up No. 5 on my list after I moved him down a spot and a letter grade after some reflection. His control has been superb as always, but his command has been better and he’s been missing bats at a very good rate, while still maintaining solid ground ball tendencies. His fastball has more movement than I remember. It’s an effective pitch against lefties because it starts out looking like a ball before running over the inside corner of the plate. The issue is having the pitch run back to the center of the plate, where Augenstein gets hit hard.

Augenstein still projects as a back of the rotation starter at best, but I’d like to see a little more of his before declaring if he’s capable of staying at starter or if he’s destined for the bullpen.

Sleeper Prospect to Watch: Alex Avila, a 5th round pick out of Alabama last year by the Detroit Tigers. The left handed hitting catcher has a pretty swing, using a simple set-up and doing a good job of carrying and shifting his weight forward. His quick wrists help him generate good bat speed. He has a tiny bit of length to his swing — you can see this when he slightly moves his hands away from his body as he strides forward. Below you can see Avila trying to get his hands inside on a pitch on the inner portion of the plate, which he successfully does.

alex-avila
*Credit to the MLB Scouting Bureau

Avila generally lets the ball travel deep and he keeps his head still, which helps him track the ball. He also gets pretty good loft on his swing, helping him lift the ball, which can lead to more power production. However, he has to be careful about getting too handsy with his swing, which he’s prone to do at times. His power is considered average at this point, but it’s average to all fields.

Avila seems to know the benefits of working the count and getting on base as he’s been walking at a very high clip as a professional. He had problems making contact in college, but his contact rate has been pretty solid thus far at a higher level of competition.

Defensively, there are questions about whether he can stay at catcher, but he’s been showing improvement. He’s improved his receiving skills and his arm grades out well. Should he stay at the position, Avila has the potential to be a slightly above average offensive player at the position.

Rockies Musings

Christian Friedrich - Despite a somewhat rocky start his last time out, I think it’s abundantly clear that Friedrich is far too advanced for Low-A ball. He’s striking out almost 40% of the batters he’s faced and posted a GB% of 65 thus far. I might have been a bit too conservative in my projection of a No. 3 starter. I see borderline No. 2 starter potential in Friedrich if everything goes right.

Hector Gomez – Gomez, my No. 4 rated prospect in the Rockies organization has been off the prospect map for a while now because of an injury that limited him to just four ABs last year. But he’s started out strong, showing excellent bat speed and hitting for considerable power. He’s still not walking much and his plate discipline needs a lot of work, but his strikeouts are down thus far. He’s raw, but he has a ton of tools to work with. He’s a guy to keep an eye on going forward.

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5 Comments »

Ticket Rut said:

Do you recommend picking any of these guys up in a deeper fantasy league?

# 18 May 2009 at 11:50 AM

Alex Eisenberg (author) said:

How deep are you talking here and is this a keeper league?

If it’s a keeper league, Gomez is too raw at this point. Avila and Augenstein don’t really have the upside to be considered for a keeper league at this point. Friedrich is an interesting guy, but I don’t think he’s somebody that you go and grab instantly because he’s still a year or two off.

# 19 May 2009 at 2:55 AM