The best hope for equipment guys is that Vito Chiaravalloti plays for the Yankees, where they don't put the names on the uniforms.

The 23-year-old Chiaravalloti shined playing for Auburn. He was first in the league with .351 AVG, tops in home runs (12),  RBIs (67), slugging percentage (.605), on-base percentage (.469), second in extra-base hits (33), and fourth in hits (80)

Jesse Floyd of Salem Keizer was one of the few pitchers in this year's awards who impressed us. He cruised through Short-A with a top ERA of 1.73 in 83 IP. He chalked up a 6-4 record. He was fourth in innings pitched.  He was also fourth in strikeouts.

Season ERAs under 2.00 are still on the Endangered Species list. Pitchers in the Giants system with ERAs under 2.00 definitely deserve to be on the fast track.

Still, the NWL only gives a snapshot of potential. Floyd should make Class-A full-season next year. He might go as far as the AAA in 2004 if he can maintain the poise and maturity that he displayed this year. Double-AA is a more realistic possibility.

Steve Doetsch of the Gulf Coast League Braves had a .320 average in 60 games and 228 at-bats, sixth overall.  He tied for first in the league in home runs (8), second in extra base hits (56), third in RBIs (37), hits (149), runs (39), on-base percentage (.374), and .500 Slugging percentage.

We don't see him packing his bags for Atlanta any time soon. We appreciate his consistency, and his solid slugging percentage. They're enough to pull him up into Class-A ball for a look-see. Not that the Braves take much of our advice, but it would be nice to see what he can do in full-season A ball.