Lake County Captains @ Bowling Green Hot Rods: July 27

I got the chance to visit another minor league stadium this Monday, as the Bowling Green Hot Rods (Rays) met the Lake County Captains (Indians) in a South Atlantic League game. The game was fairly devoid of prospects, so that was too bad. The Hot Rods have a pair of outstanding pitching prospects (LHP Matt Moore and RHP Nick Barnese), but neither of them started. Ditto Lake County's prized lefty T.J. House. The Hot Rods won 3-2 on a walk-off suicide squeeze, adding some drama to an otherwise bland game.

The one big-name prospect that did play was Bowling Green SS Tim Beckham, the #1 overall pick in the 2008 draft. At the time I wondered what separated Beckham from others (I would have taken Buster Posey, Brian Matusz, Pedro Alvarez, Gordon Beckham, Yonder Alonso, and others over him); Beckham had the tools and potential to merit a first-round pick, but what made him so special? Beckham hasn't answered those questions in his short time in the pros. This year he's gone .275/.332/.404 with a 27-82 BB-K ratio, 33 errors, and more caught stealings (8) than steals (7). He is still very young and has the talent and time to turn it around, but Beckham doesn't look like a good top choice. Hitting and fielding were his only plus tools to begin with, and he hasn't shown them, and he hasn't made progress in other areas either.

Each team had a pair of college teammates playing together. Bowling Green's Jason Tweedy and Jason Corder both went to Long Beach State, while Lake County's Adam Abraham and Nate Recknagel are former Michigan Wolverines. Being the college baseball addict that I am, that's the type of stuff that I notice and think is cool. Some of the other players who at least have a fighting chance to make it to the majors include LHP Josh Satow, RHP Shane Dyer, 3B Isaias Velasquez, OF Kyeong Kang (Hot Rods); and OF Delvi Cid, LHP T.J. McFarland, 3B Jeremie Tice, and SS Karexon Sanchez (Captains). And keep in mind that none of those players are even remotely close to top prospect status. Beckham was basically the only notable prospect in the game.

Here a couple of pics from the game.

Tim Beckham

Bowling Green Ballpark