Five young players to remember
posted: Monday, March 26, 2007
ESPN.com -Jayson Stark
CLEARWATER, Fla. -- Most of those guys with No. 94 on their backs are gone now. This isn't their time anymore.
But as the regulars gear up for the season this week, scouts are still buzzing about some of the young players whose talent exploded off the field at them this spring. We surveyed a half-dozen scouts about their new favorite phenoms. Here are five nominees whose names we heard most:
• HUNTER PENCE, OF, ASTROS -- Here's a prediction for you: Pence will be back in the big leagues by Memorial Day. He hit .571 this spring, with a ridiculous .647 on-base percentage. "You watch this guy take batting practice, and it's like watching a young Frank Thomas," said one scout. "The ball just flies off his bat."
• CAMERON MAYBIN, OF, TIGERS -- A dazzling athlete, Maybin only got 21 big-league at-bats this spring. But he put on quite a show, hitting .429, with a 1.425 OPS, and playing spectacular defense. And he doesn't even turn 20 until next week. "He's got serious talent," gushed one scout. "If he hits, and I bet he will, he's an off-the-board impact player," said another scout.
• EVAN LONGORIA, 3B, DEVIL RAYS -- Longoria, Tampa Bay's No. 1 pick last June, only stuck around big-league camp long enough to get six at-bats. But he caught the eye of one scout who saw him last summer and jumped on the Rays early this spring. And it wasn't just his all-around tools that stuck out. Longoria also flashes a "consistency and professionalism sorely lacking from the younger players in the Rays' camp," the scout said.
• BRANDON MORROW, RHP, MARINERS -- Another No. 1 pick last June, Morrow was only supposed to pass through the big-league portion of spring training -- until he unfurled this eye-popping stat line in five appearances: 7 1/3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 8 K. So he actually screws up the premise of this blog, since he's still hanging around, with a shot to make the team. "You see this guy go out there wearing No. 85, and you say, 'Who's this?'" laughed one scout. "Then the first ball out of his hands is 96 miles an hour." Morrow projects as "a quality end-of-the-game bullpen guy, or a No. 1-3 starter," the scout said. "And that ain't bad."
• JEFF SAMARDZIJA, RHP, CUBS -- There were people who were wondering whether Samardzija was really worth that $10 million the Cubs laid out to keep him away from the NFL. Well, after watching him this spring (where he had a 1.80 ERA in three appearances), one scout raved: "Best arm I've seen. Ran his fastball up there in the upper 90s, with an excellent slider. He could pitch up here quick. In fact, they had to get him back to the minor leagues to keep Lou (Piniella) from taking him north."
• OTHER PLAYERS WHO GOT NOMINATED -- Billy Butler (OF-DH, Royals), Ryan Braun (3B, Brewers), Brandon Wood (3B, Angels), Nick Adenhart (RHP, Angels), Daric Barton (1B, A's), Tim Lincecum (RHP, Giants), Ross Ohlendorf (RHP, Yankees), Travis Buck (OF, A's), Erick Aybar (SS, Angels), Brent Lillibridge (SS, Braves), Reid Brignac (SS, Devil Rays), Freddie Lewis (OF, Giants), Michael Mitchell (RHP, A's), Andrew McCutchen (CF, Pirates), Adam Miller (RHP, Indians) and Andrew Miller (LHP, Tigers).
GB Jethro.
