pittbaster

OK guys, here is finally what I promised on Monday.  The third in my series of minor league reports, this one focusing on the A Frederick Keys.  In this team is our greatest expression of the youth movement and bright future of our ballclub.  Frederick is home to our single most anticipated young player (for now) surrounded by the most exciting group of prospects.  I think I will seriously consider doing a minor league tour...they're all pretty close and figure to be exciting teams to watch.  I'm not going to do the "categories' of player from this level on down, because realistically everyone this low in the organization is here with the idea of building for the future.  Some will pan out and some will not.

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Catchers:

Justin Johnson   He got bumped up to Frederick because Hernandez was hurt and everyone slotted up 1, last year.  nothing to write home about, IMO, but he was pretty successful while playing with Aberdeen.
Mike Pierce   This guy went in the 28th round, and with the next guy on this team here I don't count on him getting much playing time.
Matt Weiters   I can't say enough about him, so I won't try.  He is to the minors what Markakis is to the majors for this rebuild.

Infielders:

Miguel Abreu    He's a late rounder who should be watched closely.  He scorched for Aberdeen, and then scorched for Delmarva.  that's telling, because there seems to be a HUGE dropoff in general when making that jump.  If he continues for Frederick I'd say he's the real deal.
Todd Davison  He surprised at lower levels, but struggled in the transition to Frederick.  Probably a career minor-leaguer.
Bill Rowell    This kid has a lot of people talking.  Tremendous power potential; I'd like to see him in the majors in 2010.
Brandon Snyder   Former C prospect moved to 1B because of injury.  He's been improving since, and I think he's probably the best 1B prospect in the organization.
Chris Vinyard     this kid has scorched through every level below Frederick.  Let's see how he does here.
Jason White     I can't make up my mind about this kid.  He's another who had success in rookie ball, but I don't have any confidence about whether he can make the jump.

Outfielders:

Chris Amador   Has some pop and drives in runs.  Will that translate to success higher up?
Bobby Andrews   I don't see much from him, but the beauty of this level is just how wrong I could be.
Danny Figueroa   Another victim of injury.  He could have real success if he stays healthy.
Brandon Tripp   2007's minor league player of the year.  Odd thing is, he sucked for the ironbirds but succeeded immensely with the Shorebirds.  Kind of backwards.  I hope the upswing continues.  If it doesn't, promote him and maybe he'll go backwards again!

Pitchers:

Jake Arrieta   big name from tCU and Team USA, had an 0.0 ERA in the Arizona Fall League.  Predicted by many to be the Organizational pitcher for the year.
Pedro Beato   Another TJ victim for the O's.  I expect little from him given our track record with that surgery.
Brad Bergesen   Showed huge improvement from 2006 to 2007.  That's what the farm is all about.
Jason Burch   He has been all over the place, but was successful as the Key's closer last year.
Brandon Erbe   A young pitcher who has caught the eyes of many.  In my mind he's only moderately impressive, though.
JP Martinez   Nothing seems special about this one to me.
Ryan Oullette   He used to be a SP prospect, but I think he has a bright future in the bullpen.  I wish he was Russian so I could make a pun on his last name.
Wilfrido Perez   I wouldn't be too excited about this, but he did pitch 25 consecutive scoreless innings at Delmarva.
Jake Renshaw  He is a complete mystery to me.  Anyone got anything?
Ryan Rodriguez   Minor league Rule 5 guy.  Didn't know those existed.  Who knows?  Will we here R-Rod in the future?  Maybe rolled, ~Rrrod!
Kyle Schmidt    Struck out approximately 46,752,300 batters.  Don't know how much upside he has beyond that.
Chad Thall   Very good SO/BB ratio.  that's a stat I like to see (perhaps too much.

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Well, add to the above, from the DL, infielder Ryan McCarthy, Outfielder Paul winterling, and Pitcher Tim Bascom.  Sorry I got a little goofy toward the end, was both getting bored with it and in a bit of a hurry.  Like all of our system now, Frederick is loaded with pitching talent.  Unlike the rest, though, I think this squad has more infield potential than outfield.  I love Rowell, Snyder, and Vinyard and I think Abreu could be something too.  And of course, Weiters will be our catcher soon, very soon.