Furtures Game: U.S. Team Capsules

John Buck, C Astros, 7th round pick in 1998

Signed by the Houston organization when he was just 17 years old, Buck always has been highly regarded for his defensive skills, offensive prowess and major league makeup. With his offensive production on the rise over the past two seasons, Buck has become one of baseball's elite catching prospects.

A year ago, while playing for Lexington in the low Class A South Atlantic League, Buck hit .275 with 22 home runs -- more than double his previous career high -- and 73 RBI. In his three prior seasons, he had just 16 homers and 115 RBI combined. Buck did a better job of driving the balls by extending his arms more frequently and turning on pitches, which led to the increased power production.

His play behind the plate has continued to flourish. Last season, Buck threw out 37 percent of would-be base stealers, 10th-best among league catchers. He has a strong arm and a quick release. Buck also takes charge of his pitching staff and is a student of the game. At 6-3 and 210 pounds, Buck has the ideal build for a catcher.

In his first season at Class AA Round Rock, Buck is hitting .286 with six home runs and 58 RBI and has cut down 40 perfect of base runners.

Josh Phelps, C, Blue Jays -- 10th round pick in 1996

Coming off a season in which he was named the Class AA Southern League's MVP, Phelps had to be wondering if he was ever going to get a shot in the big leagues. Last season, he hit .292 with a career-high 31 homers and 97 RBI. So far, in his first season at the Class AAA level, he was batting .292 with 24 homers and 64 RBI. Phelps led the minors in home runs with 24 before getting promoted to Toronto on July 2.

Regarded as one of the best offensive-minded catching prospects in the minor leagues, Phelps has had his problems throwing out runners. When his footwork is proper, runners are very rarely successful at stealing bases. However, for the most part, Phelps deviates from what works, his arm motion becomes erratic and his accuracy is less than impressive. He has thrown out only 11 percent of all runners who have attempted to steal against him this season.

Bill Hall, SS, Brewers -- 6th round pick in 1998

The Milwaukee Brewers have not had a sterling reputation for developing positional players of late, but Hall may be an exception. The 6-foot, 175-pounder exploded onto the scene a year ago and earned the Brewers' Minor League Player of the Year award.

He opened the 2001 campaign in Class A High Desert of the California League and hit a career-high .303 with 15 homers and 51 RBI in 89 games. After being promoted to Class AA Huntsville in mid-July, Hall finished the year batting a combined .289 with 18 homers and 65 RBI.

Hall is an exciting player in one of baseball's worst farm systems. He has good speed and plays with terrific energy on the field.

Hall, however, must improve in two areas to reach Milwaukee. He had just a .287 on-base percentage in 2000 and upped that number to .327 last season. Still, those are not numbers befitting a layer who has the skills to hit at the top of the order. Hall also made 45 errors a year ago, tied for fourth most in the minor leagues.

Through Tuesday, he was hitting .233 with three homers and 23 RBI for Class AAA Indianapolis this season.

Corey Hart, 1B, Brewers -- 11th round pick in 2000

Hart spent his first two pro summers in the rookie-level Pioneer League. The Brewers skipped the 6-foot, 180-pounder over low Class A Beloit and started him at high Class A High Desert, where Hart has excelled in 2002 to the tune of a .296 average through Tuesday. He also has 20 homers -- more than he had in his previous two years combined.

He captured the league's Player of the Month award in May, hitting 10 home runs and collecting 35 RBI in 29 games. Hart's homer and RBI totals ranked second in all of the minor leagues for May.

Drew Henson, 3B, Yankees -- 3rd round pick in 1998

The most heralded hitting prospect in New York's farm system since Derek Jeter, Henson was drafted by the Yankees out of high school in 1998. A terrific quarterback prospect, he went to the University of Michigan and spent his falls competing for time on the gridiron after playing minor league baseball in the summer.

Henson was shipped off to the Reds in a deadline deal for Denny Neagle in 2000 but re-acquired by New York in the spring of 2001 after he gave up on a promising football career and agreed to devote himself full-time to baseball.

However, since rejoining the Yankees' organization, Henson has struggled at the plate for Class AAA Columbus. He was hitting just .244 with 22 home runs and 78 RBI in 147 games for Columbus of the International League through Tuesday.

Scouts drool over Henson's ability, if not his results. He has awesome power and the superb arm befitting a player whom many thought couldhave been a top-flight quarterback in the NFL. In the field, Henson also has excellent footwork and quick lateral movement. The 22-year-old Henson must work on his discipline at the plate. He has just 17 walks and a team-high 90 strikeouts this season, among the most in Class AAA.

Orlando Hudson, 2B, Blue Jays -- 43rd round pick in 1997

Just two years ago, Hudson was a relatively unknown commodity. Not anymore.

A draft-and-follow from the 1997 draft, the 24-year-old Hudson was just a .274 hitter entering last season. All he did in 2001 was hit .306 with eight homers and post career-highs in RBI 79), triples (11) and stolen bases (19). Equally as important to the on-base conscious Blue Jays, Hudson has the ability to draw walks. He walked 60 times last season and fanned just 76 times. The switch-hitting Hudson ripped apart the prospect-laden Arizona Fall League, batting .426 average with a .524 on-base percentage, Both numbers would both have led the league had Hudson not left early to lead Team USA in November's World Cup.

Hudson has developed plate discipline and a good eye over the ast couple of seasons, traits which will carry him far in general nanager J.P. Ricciardi's new regime in Toronto, which rewards players who can get on base consistently. After striking out 121 times and drawing just 64 walks in his first two years, Hudson was hitting .315 with 10 home runs and 35 RBI through Tuesday.

Hudson hits the ball hard to all fields and approaches the game with a passion that scouts rarely see.

Lyle Overbay, 1B, Diamondbacks -- 18th round pick in 1999

No matter at what level he has played, Overbay has proven that he can hit and drive in runs.

In 426 career games in the minor leagues, the 25-year-old Overbay has driven in 363 runs and has a .343 average.

The lefthanded-hitting Overbay was drafted in the 18th round of the 1999 draft following his senior season at the University of Nevada-Reno and made an immediate impact as a professional by knocking in a short-season Pioneer League-record 101 runs in just 75 games.

Last season, he hit .352 -- tied for second-best in the minors -- with 13 homers and 100 RBI with Class AA El Paso. He led the minors with 187 hits and 49 doubles.

After 80 games in his first season at the Class AAA level with the Tucson Sidewinders of the Pacific Coast League, he is batting .329 with 11 home runs and 66 RBI.

Brandon Phillips, SS, Indians -- 2nd round pick (of Montreal Expos) in 1999

After being named the 2001 Expos' Organizational Player of the Year last season, Phillips thought he was ready for a trip to the big leagues. Now, that trip figures to end in Cleveland, not in Montreal.

Indians fans were none too happy to see their ace, Bartolo Colon, shipped out of town late last month. But they will be pretty happy in due time that they got Phillips, one of the game's best prospects, back in return.

A year ago, Phillips opened the season with Class A Jupiter of the Florida State League before being promoted to Harrisburg of the Class AA Eastern League in mid-June.

This season, the 21-year-old once again opened the season with the Class AA Harrisburg club as the league's fifth youngest player and was promoted to Class AAA Ottawa on June 14 after hitting .327 with nine homers and 35 RBI in 60 games for Harrisburg. His 21-game hitting streak is the league's second-longest this season.

Phillips truly can do it all. He gets on base, runs and has gap power. Phillips is also a highlight reel at shortstop, where he makes all the plays and has terrific range.

Since making his debut in Class AAA, Phillips has gone 11-for-48 with one home run and six RBI. He is hitting .154 in four games since the trade.

Jason Stokes, 1B, Marlins -- 2nd round pick in 2000

Stokes was named the 2000 Gatorade National Player of the Year after he hit .536 with 25 home runs and 63 RBI for Coppell High School in Texas.

Stokes held out for all of that 2000 summer and was limited to just 35 games last year because of a back injury. The 20-year-old Texan has certainly made up for lost time with his performance this season as the 6-4, 225-pound Stokes has torn apart low Class A Midwest League pitching to the tune of a .360 average, 17 home runs and 48 RBI. He was named to the league's mid-season All-Star team.

Besides his terrific power, Stokes needs to develop awareness of the strike zone as is evident by his 63 strikeouts and 23 walks through Tuesday

Stokes was thought to have the best power of any hitter in his draft, but many teams were leery of drafting him because Stokes' representatives made it clear that Stokes wanted $2.5 million or he would honor his commitment to the University of Texas. The Marlins eventually signed Stokes, but Florida's selection of the big first baseman was puzzling after the organization had used the top pick in the draft on California high school first baseman Adrian Gonzalez. The winner of SportsTicker's Teenager of the Year award in 2001 after he tore up the Midwest League, Gonzalez is struggling a bit with Class AA Portland so far and was not selected for this game.

Chad Tracy, 3B, Diamondbacks -- 7th round pick in 2001

Consider that just a year ago, Tracy was playing third base for East Carolina University. A seventh-round selection by Arizona in the 2001 draft, Tracy had his average over .400 for most of the first half of this season and has a lifetime average of .352 in 140 career minor league games.

The 22-year-old native of Charlotte, North Carolina appeared in 10 games for Yakima of the short-season Class A Northwest League last season before finishing the year at low Class A South Bend, where he hit .340 in 54 games.

Tracy has spent all of this season with the El Paso Diablos of the Class AA Texas League and his .370 batting average Through Tuesday is among the leaders in all of minor league baseball.

The lefthanded-hitting third baseman uses the whole field and has tremendous patience at the plate.

Joe Borchard, OF, White Sox -- 1st round pick in 2000 (12th overall)

Borchard will be making his second consecutive appearance in the Futures Game after he had a single in two trips at Safeco Field a season ago.

The 23-year-old Borchard was selected out of high school by the Baltimore Orioles but chose instead to play both football and baseball at Stanford University. He re-entered the draft in 2000 and was plucked by the White Sox and handed a club-record $5.3 million as the 12th overall selection. Like Henson, Borchard was a highly-visible college quarterback who may have had a shot at the NFL.

Borchard missed the first three weeks of this season with a hairline fracture after he fouled a ball off his foot in spring training. Through 63 games, Borchard was hitting .270 with 12 homers and 33 RBI for the Charlotte Knights of the Class AAA International League. A year ago, the California native had a career-high 27 home runs in 133 games with Class AA Birmingham. The 6-5 switch-hitter, whose power has been compared to Mark McGwire's, was honored by Topps as a Class AA All-Star.

With Kenny Lofton signed only through this season, the White Sox anticipate Borchard being in the thick of their plans by next spring.

Marlon Byrd, OF, Phillies -- 10th round pick in 1999

Byrd's domination of the low Class A South Atlantic League in 2000 was dismissed because he was considered too old for the league. There was nothing to dismiss about his performance last season, when Byrd skipped the high Class A level and dominated the Class AA Eastern League. The former Georgia Tech football star batted .316 with a career-high 28 home runs, 89 RBI and 32 stolen bases, winning the Eastern League's MVP.

This season, his first in Class AAA, Byrd is hitting .293 with 10 homers and 43 RBI through Tuesday.

Byrd is milti-skilled player, hitting for average and power with exceptional speed. The 6-foot, 225-pounder sprays the ball around the ballpark and legged out a team-high 28 infield hits last season. But it is his work ethic that has led Byrd to his elite status. According to at least one Phillies' executive, Byrd simply "will not accept" not making it to the big leagues.

Carl Crawford, OF, Devil Rays -- 2nd round pick in 1999

If one could have looked at the 2001 Futures Game rosters back in 1999, surely it would have been Josh Hamilton and not Crawford who would have been representing Tampa Bay's budding young outfield corps.

But, while Hamilton has been hurt and is back in Class A ball, Crawford has risen a level each year and has arguably been the Class AAA International League's most complete player so far this season. Through Tuesday, he was hitting .313 for the Durham club and should be in Tampa by season's end.

A former University of Nebraska quarterback recruit, Crawford has terrific speed and was once clocked down the line in 3.9 seconds.

Michael Restovich, OF, Twins -- 2nd round pick in 1997

If he were with any other organization but his hometown Minnesota Twins, Restovich may be in the big leagues by now. For now, he is having a terrific year for Minnesota's top farm club in Class AAA Edmonton, hitting .298 with 17 home runs and 62 RBI through Tuesday.

Restovich burst onto the scene in his first season of professional baseball by capturing the rookie-level Appalachian League's MVP award in 1998. Last season with Class AA New Britain, Restovich belted a career-high 23 home runs. Originally from Minnesota, Restovich owns his high school basketball team's record for all-time career points. The 6-4, 230-pounder has excellent speed for a player his size and has developed into a solid defender in right field. Typical of the current crop of young and talented Twin farmhands and young big leaguers, Restovich has terrific intensity and plays the game at full speed at all times.

Sean Burnett, LHP, Pirates -- 1st round pick in 2000 (19th overall)

When Burnett joined former Wellington Community High School teammate Bobby Bradley in the Pittsburgh farm system two years ago, it marked the first time ever than an organization drafted players from the same school with its first-round picks in back-to-back years.

Burnett does not have a blazing fastball, relying more on a low-90s heater, command, an advanced changeup and an effective curveball. Through 16 starts for high Class A Lynchburg, Burnett has been nothing short of phenomenal.

He opened the season with seven consecutive victories and was 11-1 with a 1.30 ERA through Tuesday. The 19-year-old southpaw has not allowed a run in his last five starts. He has given up as many as three earned runs just twice this season and has surrendered more than four hits just four times.

Aaron Cook, RHP, Rockies -- 2nd round pick in 1997

Coming out of high school six years ago, Cook was the best prospect in the state of Ohio. Now, he is on the verge of a big league career.

Cook opened this season with the Carolina Mudcats in the Class AA Southern League and went 7-2 with a 1.14 ERA in 14 starts before being promoted to Class AAA Colorado Springs. Since making his debut in the Pacific Coast League, Cook was 2-1 with a 3.57 ERA.

The 23-year-old uses a two-seam and a four-seam fastball, in addition to a changeup and a hard slider. He has reached 97 miles pere hour with his fastball, and his two-seamer has terrific sinking action.

Brett Evert, RHP, Braves -- 7th round pick in 1999

For the first time in his professional career, Evert is trying to bounce back after an injury. The 21-year-old had his 2001 season cut short with a dislocated right shoulder in mid-July that required surgery.

Prior to the injury, the native of Salem, Oregon was in the midst of a terrific season, posting a combined 8-2 record with a 1.75 ERA between at low Class A Macon and high-Class A Myrtle Beach.

Evert pitched well in the instructional league last fall and he has spent the entire 2002 season with Class AA Greenville. Evert is 5-8 with a 4.99 ERA in 15 games. The 21-year-old has lost his last five starts and seven of his last eight after opening the season 4-1.

Evert throws a fastball that ranges in the low-to-mid 90s, a curveball, slider and a changeup.

Jimmy Journell, RHP, Cardinals -- 4th round pick in 1999

For someone who never thought he would be playing baseball after high school, Journell certainly is having a memorable career thus far. This season, the 24-year-old righthander compiled a 2.70 ERA in the Class AA Eastern League before being promoted to Class AAA Memphis late last month.

Journell pitched just 20 innings in his junior year of high school but was invited to camp at Wright State University. After throwing just 15 pitches, he began receiving calls from scouts. The University of Illinois offered Journell a full baseball scholarship, despite never having seen him pitch, and groomed Journell into a closer during his college career

Prior to the 1999 draft, it was discovered that Journell would need Tommy John surgery to repair damage in his right elbow. The Cardinals drafted him anyway. The next summer, Journell made 13 appearances for the short-season Class A New York-Penn League in 2000. A year later, he flourished in the high-Class A Carolina League. Journell went on an 11-0 run June 8-August 27, including an astounding 6-0 with a 0.23 ERA in the month of July. From July 6-August 3, he did not allow an earned run and just one run overall. In his first Class AA start last September 2, he pitched a seven-inning no-hitter against Bowie.

The 6-4, 205-pound Journell, who was an easy choice as the organization's Pitcher of the Year, has a fastball which reaches the mid-90s and a developing array of breaking stuff.

Colby Lewis, RHP, Rangers -- 1st round pick in 1999 (38th overall)

At 6-4 and 230 pounds, Lewis is a big, strong pitcher with hard stuff and good promise in the Rangers' organization.

Lewis is a strikeout pitcher with a fastball in the mid-90s, a hard breaking ball, power slider and a changeup that he has been developing for the past two seasons. Last year in the Class AA Texas League, Lewis was fourth with 162 strikeouts in 156 innings.

Lewis opened the 2002 season with the Rangers but was optioned to Class AAA Oklahoma on April 16. In 12 starts with the RedHawks, the native of Bakersfield, California is 2-5 with a 4.30 ERA, striking out 57 and issuing 20 walks. He was recalled to Texas on June 25.

Brett Myers, RHP, Phillies -- 1st round pick in 1999 (12th oOverall)

Myers has moved quickly through the Phillies' system since being drafted in 1999 and is on the cusp of the big leagues.

The 21-year-old righthander has demonstrated decent command throughout his career but is mainly known as a strikeout pitcher. He has fanned 77 batters in 105 2/3 innings through 16 starts and is 7-6 with a solid 3.83 ERA this season as one of the Class AAA International League's youngest pitchers.

Myers is as intense as they come and uses a mid-90s fastball, a sharp curveball and an ever-improving sinking changeup. His four-seam fastball has reachd 97 mph.

Jake Peavy, RHP, Padres -- 15th round pick in 1999

The 21-year-old is one of many young arms in San Diego's farm system, joining Eric Cyr, Dennis Tankersley, Ben Howard and Oliver Perez, and was recently recalled by the Padres.

The Alabama native slipped into the 15th round in the draft only because most organizations were scared off by his strong commitment to Auburn University. When Peavy elected to sign with the Padres, it even shocked members of his immediate family.

After signing, Peavy won the rookie-level Arizona League's Triple Crown with a 7-1 record, a 1.34 ERA and 90 strikeouts. He had a career-high 13 wins with Class A Fort Wayne of the Midwest League a year later and blew through high Class A Lake Elsinore in 2001 before finishing the season with Class AA Mobile.

This season, Peavy went 4-5 with a 2.80 ERA in 80 1/3 innings for Mobile before being promoted to San Diego on June 21. He has reached 98 miles per hour with his fastball, has an above-average slider, an effective changeup and a terrific feel for pitching.

John Lackey, RHP, Angels -- 2nd round pick in 1999

Since arriving on the scene in 1999, Lackey has been a mainstay as he progressed through in the Angels' farm system, finally reaching the major leagues this sason.

Lackey was named Anaheim's Minor League Pitcher of the Year in 2000 after moving through three separate levels and finishing the season in Class AA ball. Pitching mostly with Class AA Arkansas last season, the 6-6 righthander went 12-11 with a 4.48 ERA in 28 starts. He showed durability by working into the seventh inning 15 times and ranked among the minors' Top 10 in both complete games (4) and innings pitched (185).

A converted first baseman who earned All-America status while leading Grayson County Community College to a national title in 1999, Lackey now throws a 94-mph fastball with good movement and has been working on his changeup. This season, he was 8-2 with a 2.57 ERA before he was promoted to Anaheim on June 28.

Billy Traber, LHP, Indians -- 1st round pick (of New York Mets) in 2000 (16th overall)

Traber was originally drafted by the Mets two years ago but was shipped off to the Cleveland Indians over the winter in the deal that sent Roberto Alomar to New York.

Traber was considered by most to be the best college lefthander in his draft. He has good command of an average fastball, a split fingered fastball, curveball and changeup. Traber keeps the ball on the ground and is very composed.

A year ago, Traber went through three different levels, making 18 starts for Class A St. Lucie, eight for Class AA Binghamton and one for Class AAA Norfolk. In his first season in the Indians' organization, the 22-year-old Traber has not disappointed. He was 13-2 with a 2.76 ERA through Tuesday for Class AA Akron.

Adam Wainwright, RHP, Braves -- 1st round pick in 2000 (29th Overall)

Georgia born and bred, the 20-year-old Waiwright has enjoyed success in his first two seasons in Class A ball.

After signing with the Braves organization, Wainwright spent his first summer in rookie ball and last year with low Class A Macon, where he went 10-10 with a 3.77 ERA. His 184 strikeouts led the South Atlantic League and ranked eighth among all minor leaguers. Wainwright, who didn't turn 20 years old until the end of August, fanned at least seven batters in 15 of his league-high 27 starts last season.

The 6-8 righty was 6-2 with a 2.58 ERA through Tuesday for Myrtle Beach in his first full season in the high Class A Carolina League. Wainwright, Atlanta's top young pitching prospect, has fanned 110 batters in 101 1/3 innings in 17 starts. He has a fastball that has been clocked in the low-90s but should add more velocity as his body matures. He has command of a curveball and changeup.

Jason Young, RHP, Rockies -- 2nd round pick in 2000

Two years ago, Young was guiding the Stanford Cardinal to their second College World Series appearance during his tenure at Palo Alto. Now, after just 1 1/2 years as a professional, Young is just one step away from the big leagues.

After being selected in the 2000 draft, Young held out for the entire summer before finally signing in late September. The California native made his professional debut with the Salem Avalanche in the high Class A Carolina League in 2001 and went 6-7 with a 3.44 ERA in 17 starts before his season was ended at the halfway point due to a shoulder injury. In 104 2/3 innings, Young struck out 91 and issued just 28 walks.

When healthy, Young has good arm strength and excellent mechanics. He mixes a changeup and a curveball with a fastball that ranges between 88-92 mph

Young was one of the Class AA Southern League's best pitchers in the first half of this season, going 7-4 with a 2.64 ERA before being promoted to Class AAA Colorado Springs in late June.

 

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