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TotalZone on Second Base Prospects

Rally and Sackmann (sounds like a detective show) have given us TotalZone stats for minor leaguers, which can be found at position players' pages at Minor League Splits. Sackmann provided the data, Rally created TotalZone, which he has long used with major league players. For a full explanation on how reliable these stats and how they translate to the majors, you can read here. Over the past couple of days we've looked at shortstops and center fielders, this time we'll check out the keystoners.

Charted below are the consensus top second baseman in the minors. Just a quick word about this class: It's quite weak.


Org. Age Level Outs Chances Runs Runs/150
Adrian Cardenas OAK 20 A+ 120 168 0 0
Matt Antonelli SDP 23 AAA 240 345 -6 -8
Chris Coghlan FL 23 AAA 252 338 9 12
Luis Valbuena CLE 22 AA 155 205 7 15
Nick Noonan SFG 19 A 262 382 -3 -4
Shelby Ford PIT 23 AA 155 224 -3 -6
Eric Sogard SDP 22 A+ 286 411 2 2
Eric Young Jr. COL 23 AA 230 305 11 16
Johnny Giavotella KC 20 A 133 186 3 7
Brad Emaus TOR 22 A+ 216 308 -2 -3
Travis Denker SDP 22 AAA 128 166 6 16
Ryan Mount LAA 21 A+ 184 272 -3 -5
Jacob Smolinski WAS 19 A 117 160 3 8
John Tolisano TOR 19 A 234 350 -6 -8
Tony Thomas Jr. CHC 21 A+ 249 317 19 27

  • After the trade to Oakland, Adrian Cardenas played more games at shortstop than at second. In his career he has a -3 at SS and -5 at 2B. He's a middle infielder, but at which position is yet to be determined. 
  • Matt Antonelli went from being "can't miss" to "swing and a miss", as he got all out of sorts with his swing in AAA last year. He still has a patient approach and he believes he pinpointed the problems with his swing, so he may reassert himself into top prospect status. He played third in college but has converted to second, and hasn't really adjusted, posting a -17 over three seasons in the minors.
  • Chris Coghlan may be flying under the radar. He's not a real power threat, but he can hit. In his last two seasons, he has wOBA+'s of 122 and 112. This was his first season where his defense is a plus. 
  • Luis Valbuena came to Cleveland from Seattle in that three team, 12-player swap that included J.J. Putz. He posted a .380 OBP last season between AA and AAA, and is a pretty nifty defender, with +43 runs through '05-'08. Asdrubal Cabrera should start looking over his shoulder.
  • E-Yo 2.0 looks like a carbon copy of E-Yo 1.0 - A speedy, small ball type of player that can reach base at a reasonable clip. His scouting report says that defense is his biggest challenge, but the numbers disagree, he's a +21 defender over '05-'08 and had his best season in '08. The Rockies seem intent to move him to CF, which looks like a mistake, but his future is as a utility player, so having him play some infield and outfield won't hurt him. I look forward to seeing Jr. on Baseball Tonight some time in the 2020's.
  • Tony Thomas Jr. had the best TZ of any 2B last season and is an interesting sleeper. He was an outstanding hitter in college in and short-season ball last year, but struggled to find his stroke last year in the pitcher-friendly Florida State League. If he could just be close to average with that bat, he ought to be a nice asset. CHONE projects he'd be a +1 win defender per 150 games in the big leagues this year.

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Vallejo

+5 in 2005
0 in 2006
+13 in 2007
-6 last year.

So that’s one great year, a couple of average ones and then a not-so-good season last year.

You can find his stats on his splits page here.

by erik on Apr 2, 2009 2:34 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Travis Denker’s defensive shortcomings might be overblown? Fantastic, that makes his inexplicable DFA (I think it was a DFA; regardless, they let the Padres claim him off waivers for nothing) by the Giants even worse.

When I was a kid I used to pray every night for a new bicycle. Then I realized God doesn’t work that way, so I stole one and prayed for forgiveness. - Emo Philips

Neglectful father of David Quinowski

by marcello on Apr 2, 2009 3:57 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Denker

was -10 in 07, -6 in 06

by erik on Apr 2, 2009 5:29 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Well, that’s better news.

When I was a kid I used to pray every night for a new bicycle. Then I realized God doesn’t work that way, so I stole one and prayed for forgiveness. - Emo Philips

Neglectful father of David Quinowski

by marcello on Apr 2, 2009 6:37 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Just wanted to say I like the way this was phrased:
Travis Denker’s defensive shortcomings might be overblown?

Beyond the Boxscore // Calling BJ Upton lazy is lazy.

by Sky Kalkman on Apr 2, 2009 4:26 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

My grammar skills are pretty garbage, so you’re going to have to explain.

When I was a kid I used to pray every night for a new bicycle. Then I realized God doesn’t work that way, so I stole one and prayed for forgiveness. - Emo Philips

Neglectful father of David Quinowski

by marcello on Apr 2, 2009 6:47 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Oh, I realize that. I just had always heard Denker was deficient at 2B, so it was interesting to see him put together a good year defensively.

When I was a kid I used to pray every night for a new bicycle. Then I realized God doesn’t work that way, so I stole one and prayed for forgiveness. - Emo Philips

Neglectful father of David Quinowski

by marcello on Apr 2, 2009 7:31 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

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