Beasley is a non-prospect. He's a utility infielder
who the Bucs have bounced between AAA and AA whenever
they needed an extra middle IF. He's had his best years
the last two seasons, but I dont see him ever getting a
chance at the majors. If the '97 Pirates weren't
contending, it may have been a nice gesture to call him
up for a little while when the injuries hit. He may be back in
'98 in the utility role or he may retire. If he isn't playing,
I'd expect to see him coaching somewhere in the low minors.
AB H 2B 3B HR BB SO BA/OBP/SLG
'89-'91 in A-, A+, and A+ with BAL
92 A+ 237 62 10 2 7 16 44 262/315/409
AA 158 41 5 3 1 8 33 259/293/348
93 AAA 95 18 3 0 0 4 17 189/235/221
AA 252 51 7 3 4 23 52 202/268/302
95 AA 335 94 16 4 2 31 44 281/343/370
96 AA 269 84 17 5 4 30 33 312/380/457
97 AAA 220 60 7 5 1 25 23 273/349/364
AA 117 32 5 0 0 7 16 274/317/316
Kary Bridges: 26-10/27/71; #10 '93 (HOU); U. of Mississipi
2B, L-R, 5-10 165
Acquired from Houston in a 3-way swap of minor leaguers
(the Bucs sent Keith Shepherd to the Mets), he could
potentially be a decent backup at the major league level.
He was considered a prospect in the Astros organization
as late as '96. He didn't hit well at New Orleans (AAA) to
start the year and was gone. He hits for a high BA, with
an average BB rate while having a very low K rate.
In short, he's a line drive hitter who puts the ball in play.
An excellent guy to have at AAA for insurance. I'm
guessing he'll take over Beasley's role as a utility
IF, probably at AAA, though a 4th year at AA is not out
of the question.
AB H 2B 3B HR BB SO BA/OBP/SLG
93 A 263 74 9 0 3 31 18 281/358/350
94 A 447 135 20 4 1 38 29 302/358/371
95 AA 418 126 22 4 3 48 18 301/370/395
96 AA 338 110 12 2 4 32 14 325/382/408
AAA 140 44 9 1 1 9 8 314/355/414
97 AAA* 64 11 1 2 0 5 9 172/239/250
AA 283 95 17 1 3 9 10 336/354/435
AAA* 95 25 4 0 0 7 6 263/314/305
*-the top AAA line is New Orleans and the bottom is Calgary
Carolina AA
Chad Hermansen: 20-9/10/77; #1 '95, Green Valley,NV(HS)
2B (SS/OF), R-R, 6-2 185
Even with Hermansen now moved to 2B, I still rank him as
our top position player in the minors. He'll be an excellent
offensive player wherever he plays defensively. He'd be above average
offensively right now in the majors. He moved from SS because
of a high number of errors; primarily, his errors were in throwing
the ball.
He had similar problems when he moved to CF, though thus far he seems
to have handled the late season move to 2B. His hands and range
appear to be fine. I'll be curious to see if his Error totals
dramatically drop when he leaves Carolina. I don't know how much
of a help or hindrance it's been having Tracy Sanders, Ricky Jordan,
and Steve Thobe as his 1Bman in Carolina. His defense is
the only thing keeping him out of the Pirates starting lineup right
now. He's likely to start the year at AAA playing 2B, though it's not
out of the realm of possibility that he'll be in Pittsburgh opening
day. Regardless, I expect he'll play at least part of '98 in PIT.
In the '97 AFL, he put up MVP type offensive numbers. He led the league
in hits and set an AFL record for runs scored.
Baseball America picked Chad as their #1 prospect in the AFL in 1997.
That is quite an honor for a young player among such a talented peer
group.
AB H 2B 3B HR BB SO BA/OBP/SLG
95 R 92 28 10 1 3 9 19 304/363/533
A- 165 45 8 3 6 18 39 273/354/467
96 A 226 57 11 3 14 38 65 252/377/513
A+ 251 69 11 3 10 29 56 275/352/467
HAW 161 41 4 3 2 23 35 255/358/354
97 AA 487 134 31 4 20 69 136 275/373/478
AFL 179 61 10 4 8 24 52 341/419/575
1997 Scouting Report
Lynchburg A+ (full season, high)
Tony Robinson: 22-6/11/76; #14 '94; Diamond Bar HS (CA)
2B/SS, R-R, 6-0 185
After the '95 season, Baseball America rated Robinson as
the best infield glove in the Pirates system. He can be patient at
the plate and take a walk, but before this year, he was a poor
hitter with virtually no power. Injured in '96 after a month
of being overmatched at the plate, he hit much better this past
season than anyone would have expected. He began the year at SS in
Augusta, then was quickly promoted to Lynchburg when Derek
Swafford went on the DL. He remained at 2B when Nunez was promoted
to Carolina and has remained the starter even when Swafford came
off the DL. He's put himself on the prospect map and
likely will be the 2B at AA next year.
AB H 2B 3B HR BB SO BA/OBP/SLG
94 GCL 145 29 6 1 0 19 22 200/304/255
95 A 297 68 9 0 2 38 60 229/337/279
96 A+ 93 16 3 0 0 17 17 172/313/204
97 A 62 13 4 1 0 5 6 210/286/306
A+ 254 75 16 3 2 28 37 295/377/406
Luis Figueroa: 24-2/16/74; NDFA '97; Berkshire HS (FL)
SS/2B, S-R, 5-9 158
'97 was his first season in organized ball;
At Lynchburg he showed the ability to hit for a decent BA, so
he's worth keeping an eye on.
His relatively low K rate is also a good sign. If Beasley
is history (as I expect), Figueroa may start the year at AA.
It's more likely, though, that he's the starting 2B at Lynchburg.
AB H 2B 3B HR BB SO BA/OBP/SLG
97 A 248 56 8 0 0 35 29 226/322/258
A+ 89 25 5 0 0 7 6 281/333/337
Derek Swafford: 23-1/21/75; #3 '93; Ventura HS (CA)
2B, L-R, 5-10 175
He was a marginal prospect at the beginning of '97,
when an injury set him back even further. He began the year at Lynchburg
again, hurt himself after a little over a month and then
was back at Augusta to finish the season. At the beginning
of the year, he really looked like he improved his BB rate,
but that didn't hold up at Augusta. His lack of power
or low BA may be too great to overcome even if he were
to draw BB at such a high rate. He'll probably be back in Lynchburg
at 2B but could be out of baseball for '98.
AB H 2B 3B HR BB SO BA/OBP/SLG
93 GCL 121 23 1 2 0 4 15 190/216/231
94 A- 64 24 4 3 0 6 13 375/429/531
A 189 36 9 4 1 11 71 190/252/296
95 A 447 113 15 5 3 33 101 253/314/329
96 A+ 433 112 18 4 2 48 107 259/343/333
97 A+ 112 28 5 0 0 25 28 250/391/295
A 69 15 2 0 1 8 20 217/317/290
Elinton Jasco: 23-5/11/75; NDFA '93, San Pedro de Macoris,DR (HS)
2B, R-R, 5-10 150
Jasco came from the Cubs organization apparently traded in exchange
for Kary Bridges (in early April). He looks to be an interesting prospect. He's put
up a fairly high Batting Average with a somewhat above average BB rate and he steals
a lot of bases. In short, thus far he looks like an improved version
of Tony Womack. I don't know anything about his Defense.
AB H 2B 3B HR BB SO SB CS BA/OBP/SLG
93 DSL ?????
94 R 241 61 9 2 1 29 60 37 20 253/336/320
95 R 124 47 6 3 1 16 18 29 9 379/445/500
A 25 8 2 0 0 0 5 2 0 320/320/400
96 A 464 136 11 7 1 62 97 48 14 293/381/353
97 A+ 281 94 10 4 1 31 61 32 11 335/404/409
Augusta A (full season, low)
Stan Schreiber: 22-9/8/75; #26 '94; Kimberly HS (WI)
2B/SS, R-R, 5-10 175
Schreiber just finished his 2nd straight season at Augusta
without much improvement. He started out the year hitting
decently, but really faded in the 2nd half. Other than being
able to take a walk, he has poor offensive skills. For '98, perhaps
he could be a backup utility IF at Lynchburg, but more likely
he'll be gone from the system.
AB H 2B 3B HR BB SO BA/OBP/SLG
94 GCL 103 28 1 1 0 10 27 272/353/301
95 A- 7 2 0 2 0 1 2 286/375/857
GCL 128 33 1 2 0 21 23 258/368/297
96 A 367 83 10 5 1 52 96 226/334/289
97 A 345 74 10 1 1 65 83 215/341/258
Erie A- (short season)
Terrance Freeman: 23-1/24/75; #31 (D&F) '94 (Oakland); Edison CC (FL)
2B, S-R, 5-9 165
Freeman was picked up after being let go by the A's; at that
point, he hadn't shown an ability to hit for average and was squeezed out
by an excess of prospects in the A's system. This season in Erie he showed an
ability to hit for average, while also increasing his BB rate. He also has been
fairly good on the basepaths; in '96, he stole 21 bases in 28 attempts;
in '97, he stole 46 bases in 57 attempts. He's old to have been playing at
short season A, but his numbers were so good that he put himself
on the prospect map and played in the Hawaii Winter League this
offseason. He is likely to begin the year at Augusta in '98, though I hope
they promote him more aggressively and start him in Lynchburg.
AB H 2B 3B HR BB SO BA/OBP/SLG
95 R 95 23 0 1 0 10 25 242/333/263
96 A- 167 39 5 1 0 23 29 234/344/275
97 A- 217 68 9 2 2 38 38 313/438/401
HAW 80 16 2 0 1 8 11 200/297/263
Gulf Coast (Rookie League)
Oliver Mejias: 21-9/21/76; FA 9/94; Venezuela
2B/SS, S-R, 6-1 180
A switch hitting middle infielder from Venezuela, Mejias
had a pretty good season in Rookie ball. However, he's
a little old for that level, and he was below average at
drawing BB. On the other hand, his 12 doubles suggest that he
may develop some power in the future. He will probably play
in Erie in '98, though Augusta is not out of the question.
AB H 2B 3B HR BB SO BA/OBP/SLG
95 DSL 179 56 9 3 0 18 27 313/376/397
96 DSL 229 53 7 1 1 27 34 231/313/284
97 R 157 46 12 1 0 7 26 293/319/382
Projections:
| Bucs: | Womack
|
| Nashville: | Hermansen | Bridges
|
| Carolina: | Robinson
|
| Lynchburg: | Figueroa | Swafford
|
| Augusta: | Freeman
|
| Erie: | Mejias
|
| Gulf Coast League: | draft pick
|
Robinson was released in early April. Swafford was released in the off season
and headed to the independent Western League.
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