2021 Minor League Talk

[Pat]

For a lot of is, the BLB season will soon be irrelevant as we look up to most teams in the standings. However, the minor leagues are fun to talk about too!

In Seattle...

Vancouver Thunderbirds (AAA) - In four seasons this group has a career winning percentage of .648, four playoff appearances and a league title in 2017. This years team boasts four Top 100 SPs. Besides RP Shane Burrows who will probably get the call to the BLB after getting his off-season rust off, the roster has no players older than 29, which is rare for my Triple-A clubs.

Washington Oaks (AA) - In four seasons this group has a career winning percentage of .585 and is going for a three-peat as league champions! I doubt this team contends in 2021 as (mentioned above) most of our SP talent is in Triple-A and our best hitters in Double-A, super utilities Geoff Meckfessel and CJ McNichol, are likely to be in Triple-A by the time rookies get entered.

Cienfuegos Palmettos (A) - In four seasons this group has a career winning percentage of .502 but has never made the post-season. I think this will be our first year in the dance. Of my ORG's top 20 prospects, 6 are hitters in Single-A. A lot of attention will go to 1.16 2020 2B Colin Neibauer and international signee ($2M bonus) 2B Javier Salasar. This group should also receive a boost post-draft as Seattle owns two 1sts, 2nds and 3rds in this draft. Just hope we are .500 by the time rookies come in.

[liquidcrash]

The minor league season has begun.

Some things I'm looking for in Washington

AAA Richmond Rams - It was a down year for this team last season, so I'm hoping things will be better this year and I think they can be. My top 4 pitching prospects are here - Ivan Sepulveda, Tom Mackey, Dave Smith and Lupe Aguilar. All are very close to BLB ready, if they aren't already. I'll be watching Sepulveda carefully. I signed him this offseason with the hope he can develop into a star, so I'm hoping he'll be a quick learner in AAA. My highest rated hitting prospect, CF Al Mott, is also here. I don't know what to think about him. This game loves CF's, and Mott hadn't done much of anything before last season when the former 6th round pick came alive in AA. Pat Yahn also pitches here, so that's fun. He faces an uphill battle to make it back to the BLB, so perhaps he deserves better than this.

AA Auburn Venom - I think this was my most successful minor league team last season, but there's not a lot of star power in Auburn. I have some optimism about 2B Jayden Miles, a 4th round pick from 2019. Alec Mohon became the first member of last season's draft to move up a level for me, so I'll be watching him. I'm not sure what to make of the pitching here - it might be a struggle as none of these guys can be called prospects of much note.

A Eugene Sting - I think I'm always optimistic about my newest draftees, so I'll keep a close eye on these guys. He may not rate highly on my prospect list, but I think Jimmy Harris could be my best hitting prospect. 2019's 1st round pick showed well for an 18 year old last season, so I'm hoping to see him build on that. CF Milt Dearborn and SP Diego Moore, our 1st and 2nd rounders from last year, headline this team as well.

[Carlos]

Love minor league talk. Still put a lot of effort into it. Setting up lineups. Setting up my staff. Defense. Rest. It's all very much a big part of my enjoyment in this league.

AAA - This is where Ed Zahn resides...for now. It's literally the Ed Zahn watch in Tucson and it's just about the only thing I really care about when I check the stats (not entirely true). Zahn started off red-hot and Banuelos might need to look out for his job because the Great Zahn is coming.

Tucson also started 5-2. A playoff team for 5 of the last 6 seasons. I am also fascinated by Tom Wells. Had a late bump. Might end up being another big lefty (he's 6'7) for us, if needed.

AA - OKC started 5-2 as well. This was once the level where playoff appearances were automatic. From 1990 - 2016 (26 years), OKC made the playoffs 23 times. Though no ring to show for it.

Intrigued by Messick who went undrafted and hit his way through A ball last season. Also Alex Castro floated in the Seattle organization and I think Pat gave up on him too soon.

A - A very ugly 0-7 start. This is very unlike Little Rock. We haven't been under .500 in A ball since 2005. I think it was an unlucky start. The offense was abysmal, the pitching even worse.

Jarrod Kennedy is the new kid on the block, coming from Maine in the Adamo deal. Gil Banda is our #1 prospect and we think he might be in AAA by end of the year.

[Pat]

AAA Just 9-11 but I think this team will put up a better month of May. The players to follow are the SP trio of Tom King, Enrique Bernardi and CJ McVicker who all appear near BLB ready. I'm on the fence for when to bring them up to the BLB level. The rotation is our biggest weakness but I think they could use a bit more cooking in Triple-A. Also, if we are going to be a sub .500 team, I might leave them down until the 2nd half. Wait and see. If we put up a good May, they could all be up shortly.

AA 11-9 and 1 GB. Our best hitting prospect 2B Colin Neubauer made his debut last week and has hit .280 while playing plus defense. He still has a way to go on development but I bet he finishes the season in Triple-A if he keeps performing.

A 12-8! Very happy to see this team playing good ball. My single-A club has never made the post-season in our four year history. They are being lead by a bunch of 2020 mid-round picks in hitters Tate Hanson, Jonathan Ellison and Toma Hall. They are all probably over performing right now but they are a big reason why we are 3rd in runs.

[Hank]

LHR Khalil Corey (2015 3rd Rd pick) has yet to give up a run this season in AAA.
16 IP, 6 HA, 4 BB and 14 K's, 0.62 WHIP.
It took him a loooong time to figure things out in the minor's, but the last two seasons he seems to be finding his game.

RP Malik Clark is also putting up great numbers in Quebec:
12.1 IP, 9HA, 1 ER, 4 BB's, 8 K's, 0.73 ERA.
He's always had great numbers in the minors and my scout feels he may be ready for BLB. I'm going to fight the urge and keep him in Quebec for the entire 2021 season.

1B Marco Contreras is killing it in AAA as well.
He's hitting .390 in Quebec so far this season. His power numbers aren't great yet (despite hitting his first two dingers this week), but he's only 22, 6'4" and 215lbs so he has time to fill out.

Right fielding dumpster fire, Ze-min Huang, is hitting very well in Moncton (.307).
When first drafted, Montreal scout and compulsive liar/alcoholic, Joe Bagur claimed he was going to be a once in a decade bat.
Since being released from Betty Ford, his evaluation has changed to "Could be an offensive force with some refinement".

RP, Pat Markus was recently called up to Moncton and has gone two games without giving up a run and earned his first save in AA.

1B Kaneie Kuwata continues to swing a hot bat with a .333 average in Moncton.
Originally drafted as a 3B, management quickly discovered a pillow with Aspergers could play the hot corner better than Double-K.
He's since been moved to 1B.

[Sharkn20]

Excited to see what 3B Ron Madere can do in AA, after a poor star in Wilmington´s system, we claimed him and had a decent year with 0.0 WAR and -0.4 ZR in 2019 while playing for Los Cayos. In 2020 he started much better batting .299 / .333 / .463 / .796 / 0.6 WAR and +1.5 ZR. While his walk to K ratio still not great Ron has improved making contact with the ball and sending it over the yard. Still not holding my breath in the Former 2nd Round pick, but there stills hope in him.

[liquidcrash]

I think we're a little more than 1/3 of the way through the minor league seasons, so some thoughts so far:

AAA Richmond (25-21) - I thought this team would be good this season, but so far it's been inconsistent. A hot April gave way to a terrible May, though they had a nice week this sim. So far SP Ivan Sepulveda looks ready for the BLB. My big free agent signing was a little slow out of the gate, but he's been hot for the past month. Through 8 starts, Sepulveda is 4-0 with a 2.04 ERA, checking in as the #1 ranked pitcher in AAA and the 8th best prospect in the BLB. He will be getting the call to Washington very soon, most likely in a bullpen role. SP Tom Mackey - #28 on the Top 100 - looks to have found his form again this season - 5-0, 2.03 ERA. Our top ranked hitter, OSA #19 Al Mott, is also having a nice start with an .847 OPS and 7 HR. He's got some pop, gets on base and plays pretty good defense, though hitting for average isn't his thing.

This team struggles with morale, with "too many disruptive influences" or something like that. I've gotten rid of a couple of guys to hopefully resolve that problem.

AA Auburn (24-22) - As mentioned prior to the season, this team doesn't feature many top prospects- none of my top guys are here. But, we've gotten some decent performances and the team has managed to not embarrass themselves thus far. The pitching staff is being held together by some older guys who are just filling spots in the absence of viable prospects, but they're doing better than I expected. The highest ranked prospect here, 2B Jayden Miles (#67) is hitting .285, .795 OPS and good defense at 2B. He might factor into the lineup in Washington sometime next season if he progresses.

A Eugene (28-18) - So far, this has been the best team in my system. The Sting have been hot in May, looking to make the playoffs after missing last season. For reasons unknown to me, OSA doesn't rate 1B Jimmy Harris, but I think he's got the most hitting potential of anyone in my system. The 19 year old has taken another step forward so far, hitting .320 and beginning to make a case for a promotion. Last year's top picks, Milt Dearborn and Diego Moore, haven't found as much success though my scout still sees them both having the potential to be solid BLB players,

So far, I'm pretty satisfied with my minor league teams. I though Richmond would be better than this, but for the most part my best prospects are performing as I'd hoped. It's certainly not a perfect ranking, but currently we've got the 4th best system in the league according to the System Rankings. That will likely drop soon if I call up Sepulveda, and I almost certainly didn't add anyone in the draft who will sniff the top 100 list, but we're in ok shape.

[Pat]

ALL-STARS!

Vancouver Thunderbirds (AAA) - IF C.J. McNichol and SP Enrique "The Artist" Bernardi

Washington Oaks (AA) - C Guan Wu and OF Ron Barnes

Cienfuegos Palmettos (A) - SP Rock Williams and C Tate Hanson

[Pat]

Just had two players make their Top 100 debut in IF/OF Geoff "Smooth" Meckfessel (AAA) and C Tate Hanson (AA), at #94 and #99. Meckfessel best position is 3B, but actually projects to at least average at 1B, 2B, SS and LF as well. Acquired last year in a trade for breakout catcher Billy Herrera (PHI), Meckfessel has really caught fire since his promotion to Triple-A. Hanson was drafted 4.7 in 2020 despite not being a starter on the vaunted Tevas A&M team for two seasons. OSA projects him 5-5-6-7-6 and is currently hitting in Double-A.

2B Colin Niebauer (AAA) has been red hot for the entire season.

A lot of it is luck but 17-year-old RP Pat Reeves has been remarkable in Single-A since he was drafted. So far: 33 IP, .82 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 515 ERA+! I don't think I've ever seen a 17-year-old pitcher dominate like that before. He was drafted high, 2.26, but I didn't think he would perform like this....at least not for a season or two.

[Pat]

Last week of the season...

Vancouver Thunderbirds (AAA) - Can't win the division but are currently +1 in the WC race with a four game lead with five play, it seems safe. This club has made the post-season in every year since Seattle became a franchise. Probably a long shot to win the title though.

Washington Oaks (AA) - Eliminated from wild card contention but are mathematically still eligible in the division. However, we are five back with five to play. Won't happen. The Oaks have won the past two Double-A Championships but won't be in the dance this year.

Cienfuegos Palmettos (A) - Three game lead in the division with five games left feels safe, but this team has never made the post-season so we could stumble down the stretch.

[liquidcrash]

Richmond Rams (AAA) - 69-46 -- First place with a 4 game lead, having already clinched their playoff spot. We had some chemistry issues here midseason, but some roster shuffling sorted that out and they've been good since. It's been a big year at the plate for our top hitting prospect (by OSA) Al Mott. Still not sure what to make of him, but he can certainly hit AAA pitching. Top pitching prospects Dave Smith and Tom Mackey have also done well here, though Smith wast just called up to Washington.

Auburn Venom (AA) - 74-41 -- They've been red hot since June and appear certain to win their division this year. The pitching is made up mostly of ringers just filling roster spots, but I've been encouraged by some of the young guys in the lineup as well. My first round picks from 2019 and 2020, Jimmy Harris and Milt Dearborn, got pushed here after the draft and have adapted well to their new level.

Eugene Sting (A) - 69-46 -- Fighting for the wildcard spot despite having the second best record in the league (tied). I think they were probably hurt by the roster shuffling after the draft since I didn't have a top pick to send here, but they've kept winning. My 2020 second rounder, Diego Moore, seems to have gotten his feet under him the past few months and is pitching well.

As a whole, it's been a really good year for my organization as far as results on the field. Hopefully all these teams can make the playoffs, since only Eugene might miss out. It's been a while since any of these teams won a championship, so maybe we'll get one somewhere this season.

[Pat]

[
As a whole, it's been a really good year for my organization as far as results on the field. Hopefully all these teams can make the playoffs, since only Eugene might miss out. It's been a while since any of these teams won a championship, so maybe we'll get one somewhere this season.

That used to be this groups calling card.

[liquidcrash]

Minor league regular seasons are over. AAA Richmond and AA Auburn are both division champs. A Eugene won a one-game playoff to win the wildcard. Hopefully one of these teams will bring home a trophy.

[Delandis]

Washington for the quadruple?

[Delandis]

One day I'm going focus on making sure my minor league teams are good. Unlike you pros, I rarely keep those AAAA players in my minors. I like to have a lot of younger fringe players to see if anyone sticks.

Anyway, our guy to watch going forward will be Camden (AA) first baseman, Robby Davis. The 19 year old Baltimore native would be a huge fan favorite if he is able to make it to the show. He's shown tremendous growth in power over this past year, hitting .322 and 10 home runs in just 199 AB in Orlando (A) then turning around and hitting another 11 home runs in just 129 AB after being promoted to Camden (AA). For now, we are going to keep him in Camden to start the 2022 minor league season but if he continues on this track, 1B D.J. Gosser might have someone nipping at his heels before he turns 30.