50) Wes Roemer - ARI
- Roemer came out of Cal State Fullerton with three important characteristics in his scouting reports: He never walks batters, he hits lots of them, and his "stuff" was borderline, but he makes up for it by battling and never giving in. After a year and a half of pro ball, Roemer has become a living example of why scouts will never be replaced by computers. The scouting report for Roemer has been dead-on. He worked briefly in a few relief appearances in 2007 after having led the NCAA in innings pitched during his final college season. Back as a starter in 2008, Roemer made 28 starts in the hitter-friendly California League, where his already fringy (big-time scout word) stuff didn't exactly fool hitters. What he did do was not compound his mistake by giving up extra baserunners, walking less than 2 per 9 IP. He also hit a batter in almost every other start, and according to reports, it wasn;t necessarily by accident. He uses HBP's the old-fashoned way...to make up for not having enough "stuff" The scouts were 3 for 3. His 4.59 ERA was just slightly above the California League average of 4.51, so his performance was not as bad as it seems. Given that his high WHIP (1.43) was due primarily to the high amount of hits he surrendered (199 in 162 2/3), he could bounce back with a better performance if the Diamondbacks put in him Double-A for 2009, which is his likely destination.
49) Michael Burgess - WAS
- Burgess' Batting Averages by level: Rookie (Gulf Coast League) - .336; Short-Season (New York-Penn League) - .286; Low-A (South Atlantic League) - .249; High-A (Carolina League) - .225. Burgess' On-Base Percentages along the same path: R - .442; SS-.383; Low-A - .335; High-A - .325. This is an alarming trend if you are a Nationals fan. A right-fielder at best, Burgess value certainly lies no where else but his bat, so he must hit. The good news is that when he does hit, he hits with authority. His most significant portion of playing time came in the Sally League, where he played most of 2008, and managed to slug .469 depsite the above batting and slugging totals. His 26 doubles and 18 homers while with Hagerstown show why the Nationals still have high hopes. His 136 strikeouts in 401 at-bats display why he's still no where close to being ready. Nor should he be, given the fact that he played the whole season at 19 years old. Look for him play at age 20 in the Carolina League, where better pitching will force him to make adjustments. If he makes them, look out.
48) Josh Donaldson - OAK (drafted by the Chicago Cubs)
- Donaldson is considered an offensive minded catcher with enough receiving skills to remain behind the plate where his bat will play better. Originally drafted by the Cubs in 2007, he was a part of the deal to the Oakland A's that brought Rich Harden to the Windy City. Donaldson has hit at every stop since college, with the exception of the first part of 2008 with Peoria in the Midwest league, where he put up a .217/.276/.349 line. If that had anything to do with the Cubs being willing to part ways with him, it looks like it will eventually be their loss. Donaldson's .330/.391/.564 line upon arriving in the California League can be partly attested to the hitter friendly environments that Donaldson got to hit in after the trade, but the 1.075 OPS he put forth in short-season ball in 2007 supports claims that Donaldson can hit anywhere. The A's don't have to rush Donaldson with incumbant Kurt Suzuki doing a nice job at the major league level, but if Donaldson continues to hit this well at Double-A where he is likely to start the season, he could force the A's hand. The A's also gave him a brief look at both 3B (where he played for a year in college) and 1B to see if they can find more ways to get him in the lineup, but his likely future remains behind the plate.
47) Nathan Vineyard - NYM
- There's not much of a track record to go on with Vineyard, as he logged only 27 1/3 innings after signing in 2007, and made only 2 starts in 2008 before having season ending shoulder surgery. He's young (he just turned 20), so he has plenty of time to rehab and get back on track. Unfortunately, the small sampling of his performance was not good either. We can ignore the 2008 starts because he was likely hurt at the time, but his 2007 innings showed the ability to miss some bats (33 K's) but also 30 hits and 4 homeruns given up. Essentially, the Mets have no idea what they have in Vineyard, and now have no idea if he will be healthy. He could return to game action sometime in 2009 as his surgery was in May of 2008, but don't expect the Mets to push him.
46) Andrew Cumberland - SD
- Cumberland logged only 53 games in 2008 due to time on the DL(and has only 81 games under his belt in his professional career), but his performances thus far have been about what was expected. He has hit relatively well, but with no power, not terribly surprising given his 5;10" 175 lb. frame. He has speed that rates as a 70 (on the 20-80 scale), but he needs to get on base more to make use of it. When he did get on base in 2008 (.348 OBP), he successfully stole 16 of 20 bases. He's currently still at shortstop, but his performance will have to become more consistant to avoid a move to 2B or CF. Hopefully healthy for all of 2009, look for Cumberland to return to the Midwest league to get some more seasoning (he'll be 20 in Jaunary), and could seemingly move up to the California League with a strong first half.
