{"id":3022,"date":"2011-02-24T00:13:38","date_gmt":"2011-02-24T06:13:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thegoldensombrero.com\/wordpress\/?p=3022"},"modified":"2011-02-24T00:19:50","modified_gmt":"2011-02-24T06:19:50","slug":"prospect-buzz-bryce-harper-carlos-santana-garrett-wittels-and-prospect-lists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/thegoldensombrero.com\/wordpress\/archives\/3022","title":{"rendered":"Prospect Buzz: Bryce Harper, Carlos Santana, Garrett Wittels, and Prospect Lists"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/thegoldensombrero.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/bryce.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-3021\" title=\"Photo courtesy of Jonathan Newton\/The Washington Post \" src=\"http:\/\/thegoldensombrero.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/bryce-300x249.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"315\" height=\"261\" srcset=\"http:\/\/thegoldensombrero.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/bryce-300x249.jpg 300w, http:\/\/thegoldensombrero.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/bryce-1024x852.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 315px) 100vw, 315px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>What\u2019s an installment of <em>Prospect Buzz <\/em>without a little Bryce Harper speculation? After speaking with Nationals\u2019 Manager Jim Riggleman on Friday morning, John Heyman tweeted that Bryce Harper could reach the big leagues in 2011 if he were to dominate \u201cat every level.\u201d Although I still doubt that it will actually happen, the fact that Riggleman, and presumably Mike Rizzo, have entertained the idea is exciting.\u00a0 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sbnation.com\/mlb\/2011\/2\/18\/2001251\/bryce-harper-nationals-2011\">Jeff Sullivan over at SBNation<\/a> contemplates the type of numbers Harper must put up at each stop to make his debut in 2011, and believes they might have to be similar to <strong><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/g\/griffke02.shtml?utm_source=direct&#038;utm_medium=linker&#038;utm_campaign=Linker\">Ken  Griffey<\/a><\/strong>, Jr.\u2019s during his brief, minor league career. At least we know that <a href=\"http:\/\/diamondhoggers.com\/2011\/02\/23\/bryce-harper-is-on-twitter\/\">he\u2019ll be documenting<\/a> his entire ascent to stardom\u2026<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Apparently <strong><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/s\/santaca01.shtml?utm_source=direct&#038;utm_medium=linker&#038;utm_campaign=Linker\">Carlos  Santana<\/a><\/strong> will <a href=\"http:\/\/hardballtalk.nbcsports.com\/2011\/02\/18\/carlos-santana-is-going-to-get-some-reps-at-first-base-for-the-indians\/\">take some reps at first base<\/a> during Spring Training, and undoubtedly increase his fantasy value with each one.\u00a0 After sustaining a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bittenandbound.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/carlos-santana-injury.jpg\">gruesome, season-ending knee injury in 2010<\/a>, Santana is finally healthy\u2026and the Tribe obviously wants to keep it that way.\u00a0 With the possibility of playing first base, he becomes an even more intriguing fantasy option behind the plate; he might be able to avoid further knee or leg injuries and will likely play more games than originally anticipated.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><!--more--><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Amidst the absurdity that is the NBA All-Star Weekend, ESPN actually did a respectable job tracking Garrett Wittels\u2019 at bats during Florida International University\u2019s opening night game.\u00a0 Wittels, who entered the season with a 56-game hit streak, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sbnation.com\/mlb\/2011\/2\/19\/2002437\/garrett-wittels-hitting-streak-56-robin-ventura-fiu-snapped\">came up empty on Friday night<\/a> in four at bats against Southeastern Louisiana.\u00a0 He came close to picking up a knock in his final at bat, ripping a hard grounder that was corralled by a diving SE Louisiana third baseman and taken to the bag for a force out.\u00a0 Of course ESPN had to compare Wittels\u2019 stats with Joe DiMaggio\u2019s during their respective 56-game hit streaks, which makes me already regret complimenting their coverage.\u00a0 I\u2019m happy that his streak ended, primarily because Robin Ventura\u2019s (my favorite all-time player) record of 58-games will stand for a long, long time.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>With <strong><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/h\/hellije01.shtml?utm_source=direct&#038;utm_medium=linker&#038;utm_campaign=Linker\">Jeremy  Hellickson<\/a><\/strong> expected to round out the Tampa Bay Rays starting rotation, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.draysbay.com\/2011\/2\/17\/1999491\/rays-maddon-confirms-lhp-jake-mcgee-will-be-used-in-relief-which\">Joe Maddon recently stated<\/a> that <strong><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/m\/mcgeeja01.shtml?utm_source=direct&#038;utm_medium=linker&#038;utm_campaign=Linker\">Jake  McGee<\/a><\/strong> would vie for a spot in the team\u2019s bullpen.\u00a0 After starting for his entire minor league career, McGee made a late-season transition to the bullpen at Triple-A Durham, and was subsequently called up in September.\u00a0 The 6-foot-3 left-hander posted a 1.80 ERA with six strikeouts in his five appearances with the Rays, and showcased a mid-90s fastball and hard slider.\u00a0 Even though he\u2019s primarily worked as a starter, McGee still averaged more than 10 strikeouts and less than one home run per nine innings, both of which lead me to believe that he may have some success in the back end of Rays\u2019 bullpen.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/thatballsouttahere.com\/2011\/02\/18\/phillies-deem-brian-schlitter-better-than-drew-carpenter\/\">That Ball\u2019s Outta Here<\/a> takes a look at the Phillies\u2019 decision to DFA <strong><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/c\/carpean01.shtml?utm_source=direct&#038;utm_medium=linker&#038;utm_campaign=Linker\">Andrew  Carpenter<\/a><\/strong> and replace him with <strong><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/s\/schlibr01.shtml?utm_source=direct&#038;utm_medium=linker&#038;utm_campaign=Linker\">Brian  Schlitter<\/a><\/strong> on the 40-man roster.\u00a0 Schlitter, who was drafted by Phillies in the 16<sup>th<\/sup> round of the 2007 draft, posted a 12.38 ERA in eight innings of work out of the Cubs\u2019 bullpen in 2010.\u00a0 I actually played in the same high school conference as Schlitter, and even played on his team a few times during some summer showcases.\u00a0 He was a high-80s guy his senior year, but nothing overly impressive.\u00a0 I had completely forgotten about the guy until I saw his name in a Cubs\u2019 box score last year, which naturally provoked sheer disbelief and a \u201cno f\u2019in way!\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>The prospect lists just keep on coming, and really never get old.\u00a0 The latest is <a href=\"http:\/\/www.baseballamerica.com\/today\/prospects\/rankings\/organization-top-10-prospects\/2011\/2611316.html\">Baseball America\u2019s Top 100 Prospects<\/a>, and without spoiling too much, here is their top 10: 1. Bryce Harper 2. <strong><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/minors\/player.cgi?utm_source=direct&#038;utm_medium=linker&#038;utm_campaign=Linker&#038;id=trout-001mik\">Mike  Trout<\/a><\/strong> 3. <strong><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/player_search.cgi?search=Jesus+Montero&#038;utm_source=direct&#038;utm_medium=linker&#038;utm_campaign=Linker\">Jesus  Montero<\/a><\/strong> 4. Dominic Brown 5. <strong><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/minors\/player.cgi?utm_source=direct&#038;utm_medium=linker&#038;utm_campaign=Linker&#038;id=tehera001jul\">Julio  Teheran<\/a><\/strong> 6. <strong><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/h\/hellije01.shtml?utm_source=direct&#038;utm_medium=linker&#038;utm_campaign=Linker\">Jeremy  Hellickson<\/a><\/strong> 7. <strong><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/c\/chapmar01.shtml?utm_source=direct&#038;utm_medium=linker&#038;utm_campaign=Linker\">Aroldis  Chapman<\/a><\/strong> 8. <strong><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/minors\/player.cgi?utm_source=direct&#038;utm_medium=linker&#038;utm_campaign=Linker&#038;id=hosmer001eri\">Eric  Hosmer<\/a><\/strong> 9. <strong><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/minors\/player.cgi?utm_source=direct&#038;utm_medium=linker&#038;utm_campaign=Linker&#038;id=mousta001mik\">Mike  Moustakas<\/a><\/strong> 10. <strong><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/minors\/player.cgi?id=myers-006wil\">Wil  Myers<\/a><\/strong> \u2026 Overall, there are nine \u2013 yes, nine! \u2013 Royals\u2019 prospects in the Top 100, a new record.\u00a0 For those following our <a href=\"http:\/\/thegoldensombrero.com\/wordpress\/the-golden-sombreros-top-50-prospects\" target=\"_blank\">Top 50 countdown<\/a>, we are edging closer to unveiling our Top 10, and after seeing Baseball America\u2019s choices, I think we did well with our first prospect-ranking endeavor.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>While you\u2019re at it, be sure to check out <a href=\"http:\/\/splashingpumpkins.com\/\">Splashing Pumpkins\u2019<\/a> list of the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.splashingpumpkins.com\/2011\/02\/splashing-pumpkins-top-ten-prospects.html\">Top 10 San Francisco Giants\u2019 prospects<\/a>, as well as <a href=\"http:\/\/kingsofkauffman.com\/\">Kings of Kauffman\u2019s<\/a> countdown of the <a href=\"http:\/\/kingsofkauffman.com\/royals-organization\/prospect-rankings\/\">Top 25 prospects within the Royals\u2019 organization<\/a>. If I could find a place willing to take my bet, I would put early money on the Royals\u2019 system housing the Minor League Player (or Pitcher) of the Year.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em>Prospect Buzz is the new, prospect-related link drop of <a href=\"..\/..\/\">The Golden Sombrero<\/a>. As you may already know, we love prospects here at the Sombrero.\u00a0 So if you have an article or link that you would like us consider for this segment, feel free to either <a href=\"mailto:thegoldensombrero.com@gmail.com?subject=Prospect%20Buzz\">email us<\/a> or send it our way on <a href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/GoldenSombrero\">Twitter<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What\u2019s an installment of Prospect Buzz without a little Bryce Harper speculation? After speaking with Nationals\u2019 Manager Jim Riggleman on Friday morning, John Heyman tweeted that Bryce Harper could reach the big leagues in 2011 if he were to dominate \u201cat every level.\u201d Although I still doubt that it will actually happen, the fact that [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7,1300,6,16,11,13,1779,10,14],"tags":[1869,54,1871,1870,26,239,260,654,684,1536,1843,472,1868,1710,1358,1865,827,506,1872,302,505,1342,152,1267,297,473,1867,151,1593,1866],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/thegoldensombrero.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3022"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/thegoldensombrero.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/thegoldensombrero.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thegoldensombrero.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thegoldensombrero.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3022"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"http:\/\/thegoldensombrero.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3022\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3027,"href":"http:\/\/thegoldensombrero.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3022\/revisions\/3027"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/thegoldensombrero.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3022"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thegoldensombrero.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3022"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thegoldensombrero.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3022"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}