Ike Davis, 1B (NYM)

22 Years Old
2008 1st Round Pick (18th Overall) out of the Pac-10 powerhouse Arizona State University

2008 – Played A ball for Brooklyn
2009 – Playing full-time with St. Lucie in high A

REALLY – Came out of the draft and had the most disappointing debut of any 1st Round Draft pick with only 15 doubles in over 230 plate appearances – that’s right, not a singe homerun – REALLY! But even if there was no power, Davis did show first round promise – he has above average understanding and control of the strike zone.    He is also an above average defender at 1B.

SERIOUSLY – In college, Davis struggled in the summer wood-bat Alaskan and Cape Cod leagues.  This was probably because Davis had a long swing coming out of college, and the aluminum bat helped increase his bat speed.  This is possibly  the source of his initial problems as a professional as minor league pitchers can exploit it.  Davis is also struggling against left-handers with a 420 OPS compared to the 950 OPS against right-handers.

C’MON – Ike’s father is former major league pitcher Ron Davis, and at Arizona State, Ike was the closer his junior year throwing in the low 90s.

Lorenzo Cain, OF (MIL)

22 Years Old
2004 17th Round Draft Pick Out of High School – Draft and Follow out of Community College

2005 – Arizona League MVP
2006 – Played full season A ball in West Virginia
2007 – Played high A ball in Brevard County
2008 – First half of the season back in high A Brevard County and promoted to AA Huntsville mid-year

REALLY – Extremely young five tool player.  Great defense, good arm, definite wheels.  Cain needs to develop those tools at the plate a bit more – but tons of power potential, especially since he didn’t step foot onto a baseball field until his sophomore year in high school.

SERIOUSLY – While pitch recognition and plate discipline seems to be improving at each level, Cain still slips into his free swinging tendencies.  His K% is around 20% for the year.  Cain needs to develop his frame a bit more so that he can turn that gap double power into homerun power.

C’MON - Brevard County.  As with most Brewer prospects, Brevard County is an extreme pitcher’s park due to the constant inward breeze.  Cain struggled for a year and a half in high A before getting his promotion to AA in the middle of this season.

Cesar Valdez, SP (ARZ)

23 Years Old
2005 Undrafted Free Agent Signing

2006 – Played at short-season Yakima in Low A
2007 – Played full season A ball in South Bend
2008 – First half of the season at high A Visalia and promoted to AA Mobile mid-year

REALLY – Valdez is a quick riser in an Arizona organization full of interesting starting pitcher prospects.  He is probably the ace of the current Mobile staff.  As he moves up levels, his K% and GB% have gotten better at each step.

SERIOUSLY – Spectacular control pitcher with high ground ball tendencies (sounds like a similar profile to a current D’Back ace).  Valdez walked only 33 in 151 innings pitched, and his ground ball percentage is well above average at every level as 55% of his batted balls are on the ground.

C’MON – If only his fastball had a little bit more oomph that comparison to Webb would be spot on. . . . Valdez tops out around 90 for his fastball, but his fastball has a nice downward action which is the cause of his above average ground ball rates.  Combine that with his superb plus pitch, the change-up, and he has a nice 1-2 combo.  But Valdez may be nothing more than a reliever if he cannot further develop his slurvy breaking ball or add some mph to his fastball.

Eric Sogard, 2B (SD)

22 Years Old
2007 2nd Round Pick (81st Overall) out of the Pac-10 powerhouse Arizona State University

2007 – Played at Low A and A ball with a one game stint in AAA
2008 – Playing full-time with the Lake Elsinore Storm in high A

REALLY – Sogard earned all Pac-10 honors his sophomore (2006) and junior seasons (2007) along with picking up the 2007 Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year. Sogard batted .400 (100-for-250) with 12 doubles, four triples, 11 home runs, 62 RBI and 74 runs scored in 64 games while winning the Pac-10 championship.

SERIOUSLY – Great batting eye – Sogard has lowered his strikeout percentage and increased his walk percentage in 2008. Through the first part of the season, Sogard has 2 walks per strikeout. His OBP is currently .445, and he leads the CAL league in BB/PA%.

C’MON – Sogard’s extra base hits are lacking – his line drive % is down in the month of May, and currently his slugging percentage is lower than his OBP. He needs to find that line drive doubles stroke again. If he can start driving the ball again, he has a shot at being a solid #2 hitter with a high OBP while playing a fine defensive 2B. Only Matt Antonelli is ahead of him in the Padres system.

Lucas May, C (LAD)

23 Years Old
2003 8th Round Pick out of Parkway West High School in Ballwin, Missouri

2003 – played Rookie Ball in the Gulf Coast League
2004 – played Rookie Ball in the Pioneer League
2005 – fielded balls at shortstop and caught balls in the OF while in A ball
2006 – a full season in the OF in A ball
2007 – moved to high A where he learned his new position of C, designated hitter half the games
2008 – playing full time behind the plate in AA

REALLY – Selected by the Dodgers in the same draft as Chad Billingsley, Chuck Tiffany, Xavier Paul, Matt Kemp, Travis Denker, and draft and follow signee Andy LaRoche. The Dodgers also selected two high schoolers who did not end up signing: Matt Antonelli and Mark Melancon.

SERIOUSLY – At 23, Lucas is coming of age in AA – posting an OPS of over 1000, with a 10% BB/PA, while playing full time behind the plate. His K/PA is still about 24%, so he has some work to do with the swings and misses. Defensively, It seems to be a great transition from shortstop with his athleticism and big arm. Lucas threw out 29% of opposing basestealers. Two passed balls so far in 2008 (31 total last season).

C’MON – What do the Dodgers do as May develops further? The Dodgers already have Russell Martin, an All-Star franchise catcher, to play everyday. Does Martin move back to 3B to solve that revolving door, or is Lucas May trade bait with Christian Santana farther out?

P.J. Walters, SP (STL)

23 Years Old
2006 11th Round Pick out of the University of South Alabama

2007 – pitched in A, high A, and AA
2008 – pitched in AA in April, promoted to AAA in May

REALLY – In 2007, Walters was one of a handful minor leaguers who played at three different levels, starting in Quad Cities, moving on to Palm Beach, and quickly proceeding to Springfield.

SERIOUSLY Spectacular change-up and superb control.  However a lack of true power velocity has Walters proving himself at every level.  Combines a unique pitching style with his superb control, Walters has above average ground ball rates, high strikeout rates, and low HR%.  He is a definite sleeper prospect as a middle of the rotation starter – SERIOUSLY!

C’MON - After ending last season in AA, Walters had a great start in 2008 at Springfield, but he has started out a bit rough in AAA.  Keep an eye on him as younger hitters in A and AA have a hard time with off speed stuff, but AAA is a nice proving ground for crafty starters like Walters.  AAA has a lot of players who have been to the show and know how to hit off-speed stuff. C’MON PJ – the Dog is rooting for you.  Keep the ball down, keep changing speeds, and you can dooooooo it!