Indians at Padres, March 14

I unfortunately missed out on Buster Posey and the Giants during my trip to Arizona, but this Sunday afternoon Indians/Padres matchup (here is the box score) gave me a chance to still see a top-10 prospect in baseball last weekend. That player would be Indians catcher Carlos Santana, who hit .290/.413/.530 with a .418 wOBA last year in Double-A. The squat 24-year-old should offer patience and pop from both sides of the plate, and, if all goes well, will help Tribe fans forget about Victor Martinez. He's close to big-league ready, and it was a treat to watch him play. Triple-A C Wyatt Toregas, a fringe prospect, started over Santana, but the latter got some playing time in the second half of the game. Santana singled and grounded out in two trips to the plate.

Another promising Cleveland prospect, OF/DH Nick Weglarz, displayed his talents in AZ. The 6-3, 240-pound Weglarz offers little to no defensive value, but he'll be a useful, three-true-outcomes-type hitter. The Canadian hulk draws walks at a dizzying rate, and possesses plus power as well.

Cleveland's top pitching prospect, righty Hector Rondon, threw 1.2 IP in this game. Rondon's slider and changeup need fine-tuning, but his fastball command makes him a nice mid-rotation starter prospect. The Venezuela native posted a ~3.00 FIP and a superb 4.8 BB% at the top two rungs of the minors last season. Rondon fared well and lived up to his scouting reports in this game, repeatedly pounding the zone with his low-90s fastball.

Lastly for the Indians, their 2009 1st-round pick (RHP Alex White) closed out the 5th inning. White, a College World Series veteran in his North Carolina days, will start the season in the High A Kinston rotation.

There wasn't much to report from the San Diego side. James Darnell and Drew Cumberland were inserted late in the contest, and I didn't get many looks at them.

James Darnell at third with Lance Zawadzki to his left

Auburn at Arizona State, March 12-13

I am extremely late in posting this, but there's this thing called school... Anyway, I went to Packard Stadium a few weekends ago for two Arizona State/Auburn games. The Sun Devils, one of two remaining unbeaten teams in the country, displayed their deep, dangerous lineup. The Devils took Friday night's game, 9-8, on the strength of a six-run 5th inning.

The Sun Devils then routed Auburn on Saturday night, 16-7. They could certainly use injured ace Josh Spence, but the Devs are undoubtedly for real. ASU doesn't have any true boppers, but their lineup is full of patient, line-drive hitters. Packard Stadium is also a legit venue, so this pair of games was spectacular. It doesn't get any better than college baseball.

Barry Bonds, Reggie Jackson, Dustin Pedroia, Andre Ethier, Brett Wallace, Mike Leake...the list of former ASU stars goes on and on.

John Hancocks from ASU ace Josh Spence and stud freshman Andrew Aplin

I also have videos galore from the series, which I will share in an upcoming post.

Reds at Cubs, March 13

I went to see the Reds/Cubs game last Saturday at HoHoKam Park in Mesa. (Here is the box score from the game, which the Cubs won handily.) This NL Central contest was a real delight to take in, due in no small part to the numerous prospects and young big leaguers who played.

I was pumped to see Starlin Castro and Yonder Alonso in the starting lineups

I arrived nearly 3 hours before game time and had ample time to kick back and watch batting and infield practice

Cubs shortstop Starlin Castro was my primary focus. The Dominican Republic native has been anointed as the team's top prospect, and some want the 19-year-old to begin the season in the majors. (I would give Castro at least a few more months of minor league seasoning. He only has 120 plate appearances above Single A and can only offer the Cubs an empty batting average at this point. Castro makes contact with ease and his wOBA last season hovered around .340, but he has yet to post a .400 SLG or a walk rate above 6.0% in full-season ball. Chicago should keep the talented youngster in the minors rather than unnecessarily rushing him, but I digress.) Castro has a knack for contact, and while he hasn't developed much power yet, he had a solid showing in BP.

Castro grounded out thrice in actual game action:

Castro's defense is generally praised, but the 6-0, 190-pounder is not an above-average runner and whether he possesses the range necessary for shortstop remains to be seen. Here he is taking grounders before the game:

Starlin Castro

Starlin Castro (alongside Aramis Ramirez)

Hak-Ju Lee, Chicago's other premier middle infield prospect, also received a couple at-bats in the game. Lee hit .330/.399/.420 with 25 SB in the Short-Season Northwest League in 2009.

I snapped lots of photos of Cincinnati players, but unfortunately didn't see Aroldis Chapman.

OF Drew Stubbs

OF Chris Heisey

3B Juan Francisco and OF Wladimir Balentien

Jim Adduci, an unheralded 24-year-old outfielder with limited power but who put up a .362 wOBA in Double-A last season, started in right field for the Cubs. Spring results are meaningless, but Adduci put good swings on a few pitches.

Juan Francisco provided the fireworks for the Reds. I still doubt a player with a career MiLB 3.8 BB% and .311 OBP will be an above-average big league bat, but Francisco's power is simply prodigious and he put it on display with a pair of homers against the Cubs:

Contrary to what the pre-game lineup stated, Logan Watkins did not get the start for the Cubs. Instead, Darwin Barney got the nod at second base. Barney looked good with a diving stop and a couple of line drives, but I was hoping to get the chance to see Watkins. Both are promising middle infield prospects with steady defensive skills, but ultimately I wonder if their bats will be loud enough for them to surface as big league regulars. Watkins (.065) and Barney (.076) had meager showings in the IsoP department in 2009. The former entered Saturday's game for one AB and went down looking:

Logan Watkins at second base

Hard-hitting 1B Yonder Alonso, Cincinnati's #1 prospect:

Here are a couple more vids and pics from the game.

Todd Frazier

Drew Stubbs

Yonder Alonso

Arizona High School Powerhouses

Arizona's hotbed of baseball talent is not limited to college and professional ball; the high school ranks are stocked as well. Schools like Scottsdale's Horizon High (Angels 3B Brandon Wood, Pirates RHP prospect Tim Alderson, Giants C prospect Tommy Joseph) and Tucson area's Canyon del Oro (Rangers 2B Ian Kinsler, Astros OF prospect T.J. Steele, Padres OF Scott Hairston, Royals OF Brian Anderson, Yankees 1B Shelley Duncan) churn out quality players year after year. I visited two such high schools on my trip: Brophy Prep in Phoenix and Chaparral High in Scottsdale.

Brophy is a private, all-male Jesuit school with an outstanding baseball program. Along with big leaguers Paul LoDuca and Justin Speier, many Arizona State players attended the school. Current ASU stars from Brophy include Drew Maggi, Matt Newman, Riccio Torrez, and Raoul Torrez. University of San Diego stalwarts Sean Nicol and Tony Strazzara, and Pirates 2009 7th-round pick Trent Stevenson, are all former Broncos.

Drew Maggi is one of many Brophy alumni who went on to play at Arizona State

The diamond at Brophy Prep

ASU's top freshman, RHP Jake Barrett, is a Desert Ridge grad

Jake Barrett

One of several courtyards on Brophy's idyllic campus

This is a high school?

I also dropped by Chaparral High, a public school in Scottsdale. While its campus isn't as gorgeous as that of Brophy, the baseball aspect is equal. Chaparral alumni include White Sox 1B Paul Konerko, Mets prospect and ASU alum Ike Davis, and Royals RHP Brian Bannister. Avid college fans might know former Firebirds Rob Brantly (UC Riverside), Jake Schlander (Stanford), Charles Brewer (UCLA), Jason Jarvis (ASU), Casey Lytle (Kansas), and Adam Bailey (Nebraska).

Chaparral's scoreboard lists the school's state and regional championships. It's a lengthy list.

Nice backdrop of mountains

It was fun to check out powerhouse high schools like Brophy and Chaparral. Next time I'm in Miami (Monsignor Pace), Las Vegas (Bishop Gorman), Texas (The Woodlands and Bellaire, among others), Knoxville (Farragut), or Oklahoma (Owasso), I'll have some more cool places to visit!

*Special thanks to my sister Sarah for the great photography!

White Sox at Angels, March 12

The first game I saw in Arizona (here is the box score) was Friday afternoon at Tempe Diablo Stadium. It was a high-scoring game, with the White Sox downing the Angels, 10-7. Many big-name stars, including Jake Peavy, Torii Hunter, Kendry Morales, and Alex Rios, shined, but I focused on the young players of course. The biggest news involved White Sox outfielder Jared Mitchell. A 1st-round pick last year, Mitchell injured his ankle making a catch in left field and figures to be out for the season. It is a shame, as Mitchell is arguably Chicago's top prospect and will miss a full season of reps. An ankle injury is also particularly concerning for a player whose best tool is his blazing speed. As a side note, Mitchell's grab was the most spectacular piece of defensive work I've ever seen in person. The fleet-footed LSU product sprinted back and robbed Juan Rivera of extra bases while crashing into the wall and holding onto the ball. I regret not getting that on video. Here's hoping Mitchell has a speedy recovery and comes back at full strength next year.

This game wasn't teeming with prospects, but a few got some PT. Diminutive Angels 2B Alexi Amarista, a sleeper who hit .319/.390/.468 with 38 SB at Low A Cedar Rapids last season, got one at-bat. The 20-year-old Venezuelan has solid control of the strike zone, and posted a 50-61 BB-K ratio in 2009.

Angels C Hank Conger, a former 1st-round pick and arguably the team's top prospect, also entered for a late-game AB.

White Sox #5 prospect Brent Morel, who hit .281/.335/.453 with 16 HR in his first full season at High A Winston-Salem in 2009, started at third base. Morel (6-2, 220) isn't overly athletic or flashy, but he is a solid, well-rounded player.

I got several more videos from this game (though I wasn't in the front few rows so they are not as good as from other games). Here is White Sox OF Jordan Danks (Chicago's #4 prospect):

Here are 3B/1B Dayan Viciedo and OF Stefan Gartrell, a couple of big, power-hitting righties on whom I am not very high:

Last but not least, here is budding White Sox star Gordon Beckham. He posted a stout .351 wOBA as a 22/23-year-old rookie last season.

Arizona Trip

I just returned from Arizona, where I spent five days and took in some great baseball and sunshine. I was able to see two games at Arizona State and three MLB Spring Training games (White Sox/Angels, Cubs/Reds, and Indians/Padres). I have dozens of pictures and almost 40 videos, which I will post and share once I have the time to sift through them all. Until then, here are a few preview pics to hold you over:

Cubs #1 prospect Starlin Castro taking infield

Yonder Alonso

Jay Bruce