Posts belonging to Category Daniel “Dee” Clark

#37 Will Middlebrooks

Boston Red Sox

DOB: 9/9/1988

Previous Rank: NR

ETA: 2012

Middlebrooks collected most of his at-bats for Double-A Portland in 2011.  As a 22-year-old across three levels, including 16 games in the International League, Middlebrooks slashed .285/.328/.506.  Obviously from those numbers, plate discipline is a big issue with Middlebrooks because he does not really have any.  He only walked 26 times in over 450 plate appearances, and that kind of reckless use of his time at the dish makes predicting offensive success in the AL East pretty tough.

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#38 Wil Myers

Kansas City Royals

DOB: 12/10/1990

Previous Rank: 15

ETA: 2013

Myers was ranked considerably higher last year, but a tough season in the Texas League as a 20-year-old has knocked him back a bit.  A triple slash line of .254/.353/.393 wouldn’t look nearly as bad if he was still behind the dish, but those numbers from a corner guy are far less impressive.  Nevertheless, he was a 20-year old in a very advanced league for someone that age, and all of the tools are still present.  Additionally he missed about a month of the first half due to a freak knee injury.

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#39 Taijuan Walker

Seattle Mariners

DOB: 8/13/1992

Previoius Rank: N/R

ETA: 2014

Walker was Seattle’s first pick in the 2010 draft, and the 6-foot-4 right-hander had a terrific first professional season in the Midwest League (A).  He threw up a sub-3.00 ERA with 113 strikeouts against 39 walks.  He only allowed four jacks in nearly 100 innings of work and has a chance to be a very fast mover in hopes of reaching the Bigs in time to join Felix Hernandez, Michael Pineda, and Danny Hultzen at Safeco.

Walker is extremely athletic with loads of projection and a fastball that reaches the high-90s.  With a big downer curve that receives consistent plus to double-plus gradings, Walker already has at least two plus pitches.  His changeup is way behind the other two pitches, but Walker is already making huge strides in terms of command and clearly seems to understand what it means to pitch.  The addition of an average or better changeup could see Walker land in the Show by 2013 so long as he breezes through the high Minors like he has with Class A.

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#40 Hak-Ju Lee

Tampa Bay Rays

DOB: 11/4/1990

Previous Rank: N/R

ETA: 2013

Lee was signed as an 18-year-old out of South Korea and was sent to Tampa from the Cubs in the Matt Garza deal.  He likely will prove to be the most valuable chip that was traded in that deal except for maybe Garza himself.  Lee is an exceptional fielder, arguably the best shortstop in the Minors today in terms of what he is capable of in the field.  He has phenomenal range and a plus arm with outstanding instincts and feel for the position.  His bat is behind and he will never provide the thump to be the consistent all-star that some other shortstop prospects likely will.

Lee is going to approach a .300 average in at least a season or two.  In 2011 across two stops including 100 at-bats in the Southern League with Montgomery, Lee posted a .292/.365/.416 slash line with 33 swipes and 37 XBH’s.  He will probably never approach a 20-bomb Major League season, but he runs well and can stretch for a handful of extra bags each year beyond a replacement level guy.

We expect Lee to begin 2012 as a 21-year-old shortstop in Double-A with a chance to reach the Show later in the season or open the 2013 season as the starter at Tropicana.  If we’ve learned anything, though, it’s that Tampa is more than willing to be aggressive with promotions especially in years in which they are in contention.  We expect Tampa to be very competitive in 2012 too.

#41 Zack Wheeler

New York Mets

DOB: 5/30/1990

Previous Rank: N/R

ETA: 2014

Wheeler was traded straight up for Carlos Beltran in July and was sent immediately to High Class A St. Lucie where he posted a 2.00 ERA with a 31:5 K:BB ratio in 27 innings.  Those numbers were considerably better than those from the 88 innings he threw in the California League before the trade.  Nevertheless, Wheeler immediately became the top prospect in the Mets organization, and at just 21 years of age, he should be in the rotation at Citi by 2014.

Wheeler features a fastball that sits consistently around 94-95 mph with the ability to reach back for 97 mph.  His best secondary pitch is a true 60 curveball with good 12-6 shape and about 15 mph off of the heater.  His third pitch is a changeup that is far behind the other two pitches at this point due primarily to an inability to maintain arm speed or slot.  The pitch has arm side life with sink, though, and has a chance to be a useable pitch with just minor improvement.

His 6-foot-4 frame is lanky and projectable and might still allow him to pick up a tick on the fastball.  Wheeler should begin the year in Double-A and might push that ETA up a bit, but the Mets are the worst team in the East and have no business rushing either Wheeler or Harvey in our opinion.  The good news for fans in Queens is that the Mets appear to finally have real pitching prospects with real top-of-the-rotation upside.