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Prospect Report - Middle Infielders
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Middle Infielders are historically the hardest players to find good middle infield value at. When you can find a good one, you should keep him, for a very long time. However this year, there seems to bea rather week upcoming middle infield crop as most of the help at those positions appears to be coming in 2011 or 2012.
The Future Gold Glover
Alicades Escobar, Milwaukee Brewers
The Brewers dumped JJ Hardy's salary in order to clear a starting spot for Escobar.
The Good: Escobar's D is elite, so you don't have to worry about a position change. Also he is a top baserunner, totaling 41 SBs in the minors this year. Escobar showed decent contact ability (13% K) and a solid batting average (.298). With his contact ability and speed he should be an asset in batting average as well.
The Bad: Escobar has very little power (.111 IsoP) and little patience (6.6% BB). He also hits almost half his balls on the ground (48%) which limits his power.
Bottom Line: Escobar can be a useful fantasy player in 2 categories: Batting Average and Stolen Bases, to expect any contribution in the other 3 main offensive categories will leave you quite dissapointed.
The Young Gun
Starlin Castro, Chicago Cubs
Castro is a highly regarded 20 year old who held his own at AA last year.
The Good: Castro is very young and very projectable. Keith Law compared him to Alphonso Soriano. Castro also hit for a high average (.288 and .299 at two minor league stops) and doesn't strike out a lot (about 10%). He also swiped 30 total bases in the minors this year.
The Bad: Castro has no power right now (.100 IsoP; 3 HRs) and walked only 6% of the time. His approach needs some serious work. His OPSs of 722 and 740 make me question his hitting ability right now.
Bottom Line: Castro is definitely ownable in all keeper formats, but for a single year league I can't recommend him. He looks like Escobar except a year behind in his development.
The High Riser
Daniel Descalso, St. Louis Cardinals
Lightly regarded before 2009, Descalso destroyed the Texas League to vault onto the prospect radar.
The Good: Descalso is a line drive machine, posting a 22% LD rate at AA and 18% at AAA. He Shows good contact skills (12-13% K rate at 2 different minor league levels) and fringe average patience (9.5% BB rate). There's no doubt he'll contribute in the average category. He also showed surprising pop with 45 extra base hits this year and a 34% extra base hit rate, which si strong for a middle infielder. I would expect some of his 30 doubles to turn into homers and 10-12 HRs is a real possibility.
The Bad: While Descalso has some pop, he's not a big HR threat or a big SB threat (only 3 SBs in 2009) which limits his fantasy upside.
Bottom Line: Descalso is the quintisential #2 hitter. If he can win the 2B job in St. Louis he just might hit there. And hitting in front of Albert and Holliday might just make him enough of a 3 category player (with runs) to make him ownable. Follow him in spring training and see if he wins the 2B job. He might be a nice late round value pick.
The Grizzled Veteran
Scott Sizemore, Detroit Tigers
Sizemore appears to be the favorite for the Tigers' 2B job in 2010.
The Good: Sizemore is a hitter. period. He crushed 51 extra base hits in 2009 with an elite 38% extra base hit rate. That's elite for anyone, for a second baseman that's unbelievable. Sizemore also swiped 21 bags in 2009.
The Bad: Sizmore is good, but he's not THIS good. He was extremly lucky with .353 and .349 BABIPs at AA and AAA and his best numbers caem at AA when he was older than most of his competition. He also strikes out alot for someone without big time power.
Bottom Line: Sizemore is draftable and startable because 2B is such a weak position. 15 HRs and 15 SBs is NOT out of the realm of possibility, but he probably won't have a great average as he only has average at best plate discipline and only moderate contact ability. I'd probably guess .280 with 10-15 HRs and SBs each. A pretty valuable player for an end game pick.
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