Update: An astute reader pointed out to me that I didn’t include Dillon Gee. Why? Well that’s because I simply because his named managed to escape my mind while thinking of a 100 others. Although, it’s worth nothing that Gee had a year almost as dominating as Dylan Owen after compiling a 22.4% K rate and 3.6% BB Rate.

Given how dominating he was and the fact he was a collegiate pitcher, I have him heading to St. Lucie to start the year in place of Waechter. Waechter, did however, have a very successful year at Brooklyn, which makes it highly unlikely he repeats the level. Therefore, I have the 23 year old following a similar path of Tobi Stoner’s in 2008; staeting out at Savannah, and moving up to st. Lucie within a month or two. Vineyard, meanwhile, is the likely candidate to start in extended spring training and possible begin 2008 in Brooklyn.

Sorry for the huge gap between today’s post and my last one. i’ve been in school for about  a week now, and I’ve barely had any time to catch a ballgame, let alone keep the blog updated.

Since I happened to have some free time, I tried my best to conjecture what the 2008 opening day minor league rosters will look like. Here’s my first of many, many attemps I’ll probably make at this:

New Orleans

1B: Carp

2B: Hernandez

3B: Kiger

SS: Rivera

OF: Coles

OF: Hill

OF: Gomez

C: Arroyo

DH: Stewart

Rotation:

Humber

Mulvey

Bostick

Parnell

Vargas

Binghamton

1B: Evans

2B: Malo

3B. Murphy

SS: Coronado

OF: Martinez

OF: Wabick

OF: Holden

C: Nickeas

DH: Clark

Rotation:

Ruckle

Devaney

Niese

Stoner

Brown

St. Lucie:

1B: Thole

2B: Pellot

3B: Jimenez

SS: Garcia

OF: Maldanado

OF: R. Pena

OF: Kawal

C: McCraw

DH: Jacobs

Rotation:

Guerra

Owen

Durkin

Stinson

Gee

Savannah:

1B: Duda

2B: Veloz

3B: Lucas

SS: Lagares

OF: Carrera

OF: Reyes

OF: Zavala

C: F. Pena

DH: Zapata

Rotation:

Carr

Moviel

Dlouhy

Waechter

Polanco

A lot to digest. I didn’t bother taking a shot at the bullpen and bench of course, (although as you may’ve guessed, I strongly considered doing so) A lot of it is subjective, and of course, it’s my personal opinion.

 I’m prepared to handle any questions at: matthimelfarb@gmail.com

I’ve been slacking as of late, and since I try and stay away from forcing otherwise boring content on the site, that’s just one reason. the ohter is that KRB hasn’t broadcasted a Cyclones game in awhile, for whatever reason. Therefore, that’s the reason for the lack of game updates. I hope to get back to them tonight.

The first thing I wanted to touch on was Tuesday’s starter, with Oliver Perez saying he’s isn’t sure he’ll go, which is the reason why Jason Vargas was scratched from last night’s start. Frankly, there’s no reason to rush Perez at this point. The real travesty here, however, is why Vargas got the nod over Humber. Now I understand since it’s likely a one time thing, they’ll want to lean to Vargas, who has more big league expierence, but you do get the sense the Mets may not be so high on Humber. After all, they shouldn’t deal Pelfrey, which would be selling low, and the organization is absolutely in love with Kevin Mulvey, even if it’s more about the fact he grew up a Mets fan in New Jersey than his overall potential. Vargas has pitched very well as of late, for sure. Food for thought.

And of course, the new trade winds involve Ronny Paulino,  for no other reason that given all the publicity surrounding Paul Lo Duca- he flat out refused to speak to any reporters today- is making the Wilpon’s look at Lastings Milledge like a scout boy. This makes me happy, as I’ve always said Lo Duca is one of the most overrated players in the game, and he’s pretty much running himself out of here. The Mets don’t have any better options within the organization or on the FA market next year, so if Paulino can get back to his form last year with more playing time, this is a deal that could work out well.

And, last but not least, a few days ago, John Mackin Ade, who’s a beat reporter for the Savannah Sand Gnats, released his updated prospect rankings for the month of July.

Two things in particular stood out for me. One being how high Hector Pellot was, (#7) and the other being why Nick Evans was left off. Now, i was a bit shocked to say the least with his rankings, since Evans is clearly a better player than Pellot, but I can somewhat understand why Evans was left off the list. For those that don’t know, Evans missed about 90 percent of May coming off a torn ligament in his ankle, and clearly hasn’t been the same in June. (.266/.320/.404.)

Really, plate discipline has always been a concern for Evans, and after looking very patient in April, it’s easy to see the reason for the drop-off:

April: BB Rate: 15.2% K Rate:11.4%

June:  BB Rate: 5.2% KK Rate: 16.4%

And of course, the residue of all this is that his OBP. is significantly down since the commencement of the season. (.338) Now, I’m the first to say I’m no doctor, but doesn’t a torn ligament sound a bit too serious to come back after just a month?

I think this kid can be an impact player, because the plate discipline was there in April, and he’s yet to really add some muscle. Where he ends up playing is anonther story; some have proposed he move to the outfield, but he’s in the wrong organization than.