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See Minor League Player of the Year Josh Barfield
 |
Zack
Greinke, the 2003 Carolina League Player of the Year, started
out the season in class-A Wilmington throwing flames. He went 4-0 with a 0.67 ERA in five starts with three walks and 27 strikeouts in April, clearly dominating the hitters in the league. The 6 foot 2 inch right-hander was able to reel off nine consecutive victorious decisions before his lone Carolina League defeat at Frederick on June 10. |
Greinke finished his single-A jaunt sporting an 11-1 record with a 1.14 ERA in 14 starts before earning himself a promotion to Wichita in July.
He was named to the mid-season
Carolina League All-Star Team, and pitched for the U.S. Team in the Major
League Baseball Futures Game in Chicago on July 13.
Only 19 years old, Zack has already shown the ability to pitch deep into games,
as he finished with six starts of seven innings or more, including three complete
games. He already has great command of four pitches, all of which he can throw
for strikes consistently.
Greinke was the fourth overall pick, selected by the Kansas City Royals in
the first round of the 2002 Draft.
The Royals do not seem to be in a big hurry with Greinke. He won't be in Kansas
City anytime soon. He will be in a Royals uniform... the O-Royals in AAA Omaha
before he settles in on the mound at Kaufman.
 |
Beloit's
Prince Fielder was a Triple Crown threat in the Midwest
League, batting .313 (3rd) with 27 homers (2nd) and 112 RBI (1st). Fielder also ranked second in the league with a .526 slugging percentage and his .409 on base percentage, while his 157 hits ranked third. His offensive pop continued into the playoffs where he hit .394 with 2 HR and 7 RBI in 8 postseason games, and led the Snappers to the Midwest League Championship Series. |
The 6-foot, 260-pounder has a mature body and the same bulky build of his
father, former big league slugger Cecil Fielder.
The Brewer’s first round pick in the 2002 Draft (7th overall), Prince
finished ‘02 with a .326 batting average, 13 HR and 51 RBI in 73 combined
games between Ogden and Beloit.
Prince knows how to make a good impression. He hit a game-winning grand slam
in his first professional game on June 19, 2002 with the Ogden Raptors and
also homered in his Beloit debut against Wisconsin on August 2.
Only 19-years old, his upside is tremendous, although Richie Sexton is holding
first base for the Brewers. Sexton is no slouch. He played every inning of
every game this season, while belting 45 home runs.
If Fielder continues his rapid development, Milwaukee will have another potential
all-star first baseman. Though a trade of one of the two players could become
inevitable, the Brewers, who often trade great talent to raise revenue, would
not mind being in that predicament.
Of one thing we are certain: The Prince is destined to be baseball royalty with any club.
 |
Ashville's Jeff Salazar is an up-and-coming big bat that needs a lot more seasoning. He hit .284, well below league leader Chaz Lytle's commanding .335. Unlike Lytle, who dumped a goose-egg in the HR column, Salazar leading banged out 29 round-trips, first in the SAL. He was also first in the league with 98 RBI, and tops in the SAL in 109 runs. Salazar's .527 slugging percentage ranks 2nd and .387 on-base percentage was 4th. He also had 28 stolen bases. |
In a game ruled by the home run since Babe Ruth stepped up to the plate, power hitters who drive in the contact guys are always in demand. A .286 in the SAL still tells you that Salazar has work to do on contact hitting and hitting for average. Still, that hasn't stopped a lot of farm systems from putting players like Jeff on the fast track and hoping that he'll pick it up along the way. Our top picks are usually fast-trackers. That's not an opinion, just an estimate of how we think they will move. In Salazar's case we see a lot of promise. It would be nice if he can keep it. We'd like to see Jeff take a more deliberate course through the farm system until he's rounded his game a bit more.
 |
Ryan
Howard of the Clearwater Phillies takes our Florida State League
Player of the Year award for 2003. He cleaned up in the FSL in most
categories. He was first in the league in home runs (23) and slugging percentage (.514). He was second in RBIs (82), fourth in doubles (32) |
Jim Thome holds down the Phils first bag and a big dollar deal. Howard, 24, doesn't have a lot of upward movement in the organization.
Age may have some bearing in his ability to get traded. He's earned a hall-pass to the AA next season at the very least. A good fall and spring might land him in the AAA.
Moving to the fast track would be Howard's best bet to move into line with peers of his age and talent. Short of a safe falling out of the clear blue sky on a meeting of Thome and the AAA and AA first basemen in the Phillies organization, Howard had best hope that he's one of the "minor leaguers to be named later" during this winter's horse-trading.
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