by Ben Davey
So I am not sure why the Fort Wayne logo is an apple with a tin cap on its head, but whatever (I liked Wizards better). Anyway, with the season set to start I will (finally) finish off the tour of the minors with the lowest full season club, the Fort Wayne Tin Caps. Fort Wayne is a place where young Dominican kids first get to experience what we in the states call “weather.” The icy conditions in the early months of the season make the MidWest league one of the toughest places to play, especially considering most of these kids are between the ages of 18-21 and experiencing their first full year in the majors.
So anyway my projected starting lineup will be as follows:
Leading off DAN ROBERTSON (CF)- What didn’t Robertson do last year? He was the NWL MVP, and in doing so set a new record for hits in a year. In 73 games he hit .377/.443/.497/.940 34/34 BB/K, and 20 SB. The kid (although he is older then me, haha) is only 5’8″. If you want a comparison to him, look no further than Eric Owens. This kid goes all out, all the time. Great player to coach, loves to get dirty, and with his attitude and speed plays an above average defense.
2) Cole Figureoa (SS)- Drafted in the 6th round out of U. of Florida, Cole is another above average athlete, who fits in the mold of the Sandy Alderson philosophy. Last year in 32 games he hit .289/.410/.474/.894 with 24 BB to 16 K, 7 SB, and 5 HR. He plays good defense, and can both steal a bag and hit a HR.
*There are some rumors that Cumberland will be back in Fort Wayne, but unless they move Cole to L.E. I don’t see Cumberland anywhere other than up the 15.
3) Jaff Decker (RF)- Supplemental 1st rd pick. Won the AZL MVP, named Baseball America’s Rookie all star. He “only” hit .352/.523/.541/1.064. Yes, that’s right, he had an OBP over .500. 55 BB to 36 K with 9 SB in 49 Games. He was unstoppable. Just turned 19 a month ago, was probably the most advanced HS prospect in last years draft. He could probably be starting in Lake Elsinore except for people like Tekotte, Carroll, Chalk , etc… plus he is only 19 and there is no need to rush him. Fuson and co. are in love with him and is a top 5 prospect. The Padres are putting him on a strict diet because they feel the only reason why the rest of baseball doesn’t love him is he looks like PMac. Anyway, look for him to put up big numbers in FtWayne.
4) Logan Forsythe (3B)- Forsythe was actually drafted ahead of Darnell (who I think will start in LE) as he was in the supplemental portion of the 1st rd, right behind Jaff Decker. As many of you know Forsythe was injured just 3 games into the Eugene season. He is viewed as a guy who will hit for a high average, has great control of the strike zone (another Sandy guy) and can steal a few bases. He has hit a lot of 2B in college but not many HR. However, management thinks that as he gets older this will translate to HR. On Depo’s blog he captured a minor league video from March 24th. In the video it shows Forsythe teeing off of #1 pick (2007) for the Rangers Blake Beaven. (nice video).
5) Matthew Clark (1B)- Clark led the college ranks last year in HR. Guy has tremendous power (top 5 in the Padres system). In Ft. Wayne he hit .286/.384/.443/.827 5 HR. After an offseason of rest this 12th season draft pick will face a tough challenge in Fort Wayne.
*LProbable that he will split time with last years MWL HR derby champ Felix Carrasco, who will more than likely repeat Fort Wayne.
6) Yefri Carvajal (LF)- From my sources, Carvajal will be repeating Fort Wayne. Former top 5 prospect, Carvajal still has all the tools to be an MLB all star. Just turned 20 in January, drastically needs to improve on his 25 BB to 100 K last year. Also only a .357 SLG and 4 SB, he looked more like a flop…but the potential is still there. So good luck my friend.
7) Adam Zornes/Robert Lara (C)- Lara tore up the AZL last year to a tune .344/.490/.484/.974 more BB than K, and showed tremendous hitting abilities. Zornes was a 7th rd draft pick out of Rice. In limited action he only hit .261/.320/.304/.624. However, Zornes has tremendous power and is above average defensively. They will probably split time so it will be fun to see Power vs average.
8 – Andrew Parrino/Beemer Weems/Kevin Acosta/Kelsey Marte….(2B/SS)- I will be honest, I really have no idea on 2B. The first Padre draft pick whose “position” was 2B was not till rd 21 (Joeseph Railey). Parrino is the incumbent, but many others will challenge him for the position, and of course can play short and Figueroa can move over the 2nd.
*Of course there is a DH in Fort Wayne, but my guess is it will mainly be either Clark/Carrasco (whoever is not starting) or someone like Aaron Murphee who led the AZL in HR last year.
Starting pitching:
1) Mat Latos- Everyone already knows about him, so I don’t think I need to say much more
2) Anthony Bass- 6th rd last year, 2.10 ERA, 41 K in 34 IP, has above average stuff will be fun to watch
3) Chris Wilkes- Passed up a scholarship to be an SEC quarterback to play for the Padres. Did great in AZL last year, and has a heavy sinker that he can use to induce ground balls
4) Stiven Osuna- Above average fastball, a latin american signee, one of the top 30 Padre prospects. 7-3, 2.18 ERA, a WHIP just above 1.
5) Any number of guys: Jose De Paula, Anthony Albers, Tyson Bagley, or many others.
*There was some talk of top prospect Aldys Portillo being in Fort Wayne, however he will stay in America but will be in AZL, if things go well you might see him end up in the NWL and in Fort Wayne in 2010.
It is too much of a crap shoot to name bench and relievers. So hopefully this was semi informative for you guys. Less then 2 weeks till the season begins!!!!
Good stuff, Ben. Can’t wait to see what Decker and Forsythe do over a full season. BTW, Chad has some info on the name change and logo:
http://www.baseballinfortwayne.com/2008/10/04/wizards-to-tincaps-my-take/
Yes, good stuff. I’ve kind of been starting my own list, but you’re probably dialed in more than I am, so I appreciate you doing the work for me
I’m hearing that Latos will start with LE, but who knows? I hope he’s back for another go around. We didn’t get to see him much last year. Looking real forward to seeing Decker and some of the others you list.
TY for linking Geoff. The apple is a reference to folk hero, Johnny Appleseed. I really like what they have done with the new park and the brand. I think others will too, once they get to see the product.
I had originally thought that Latos was ticketed for Elsinore, but John and Dennis instructed me that he would probably be going to Fort Wayne (at least to start).
I dont think even the front office knows what the rotations in San Antonio and Fort Wayne will be. Of the 3 lower (full season) levels, Elsinore might be the easiest one. Elsinore has Pelzer, McBryde, Hefner, Harrington, Kluber, Luebke, and thats not even considering Latos or Schmidt. But I had penciled in that San Antonio would be guarenteed Culp, Carillo, and probably Miller, but with Carillo being optioned to AAA, it makes me wonder what is going on there. Could someone like Schmidt go straight to S.A.? Kluber and Luebke both spent considerable time in Elsinore before being sent down, do they get promoted?
I digress though. At the very least we will see Bass, Wilkes, and Osuna in the rotation in Fort Wayne. Their is also a chance that they go to a 6 or 7 man rotation with some of their pitchers, EXCEPT they would still have Latos/Schmidt (if they are there) pitching every 5th day. Ahhh the lower minors
Ben is right, Fuson did tell us at the end of the year that Latos was probably ticketed for FW and Cumberland for LE.
We had a recent interview with him and they seem to have switched – Latos to LE and Cumberland back to FW. Also I think Figueroa has a chance to be in LE this year at 2b, with Jeudy Valdez at 2b in FW.
I would be a little surprised if Wilkes started the year in FW just because that would be a major jump in innings. You also might want to add Simon Castro to the rotation.
Overall a nice job Ben, finding out who will go where is always tough up until the last day. We should have our minor league previews out the second week of April – and I look forward to reading your next three previews.
Doh! Simon Castro, I knew I was forgetting someone. I knew I was missing a latin american prospect but for some reason the only name that came to mind was Osuna.
Do you guys really think that Wilkes and a few other pitchers will stay in extended ST then Eugene instead of Fort Wayne? Of course, MiLB.com doesnt want to let me see last years game by game log now, but I could have sworn that early in the season a lot of their pitchers (especially Hefner and Harrington) would only go 3-4 IP to ease themselves into starting. Combined that with only pitching once a week and the work load wasnt too much more. I kinda figured it would be the same this year especially with Osuna and Wilkes.
Interesting if they decide to bump Figueroa over Cumberland. While I had heard rumors that they might hold Cumberland back I figured with Cole ready to play full season they would put Drew in Elsinore anyway. Or would it be that since they would be moving Cole to 2B in Elsinore that Zawadski would be the full time SS in Elsinore? Ahh speculation (its what makes these posts so much fun)
And John, I guess you missed it but this was the last of my 4 rankings (although when getting the links for the other 3 I realized I split Elsinore up into 2 parts and never did a part 2 lol)
http://friarforecast.com/?p=663
http://friarforecast.com/?p=596
http://friarforecast.com/?p=544
A lineup that’s 7-deep … and a rotation with a couple of legit prospects … this FW team is going to be fun to follow … GO TIN CAPS!
I don’t have anything substantial to say due to a lack of knowledge. But I would like to say (again) that I like posts like these very much. Interview with Mad Friars was great too. Posts like these allow me to form at least some kind of image about the minor league teams and the future of the Padres. Keep up the good work, I’ll definitely keep reading it.