Written by Greg Fertel
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18 February 2008
There are always some really interesting players in a farm system who have the possibility of making a splash in the big leagues, but are often overlooked due to some major flaw. Remember some of these names?
The Next Colter Bean? - Josh Schmidt
Josh Schmidt burst on to the scene with one of the best short season performances in relief history. After 33 innings with an ERA of 0.27 and 47 strikeouts, Schmidt was sent to Tampa. He held is own, but his K/BB ratio worsened significantly (66/31 in 68 innings) and his ERA rose accordingly (4.37). He bounced back in 2007 - striking out 92 in 67 2/3 (12.24 per 9) innings, with an acceptable 28 walks (3.72 per 9).
The catch? Why is this guy not at the top of prospect lists? Well, he's a 24 years old righty and throws side arm. Lefties didn't hit him particularly hard last season, but the assumption is that they will at higher levels. Side arming is generally an advantage for pitchers at lower levels but a burden at higher ones. Still, a guy with 13.29 K/9 against right handed batters is pretty intriguing. He could be the next Colter Bean (which, I'd argue isn't that bad, because Bean was grossly underutilized until after he started to decline from his prime), or he could be a late-breaking Joe Smith. It should be noted that Schmidt has better stuff than Colter Bean ever had.
Who Led the Milb Yankees in Home Runs? Who?! - Seth Fortenberry
Seth Fortenberry has an interesting set of tools. He was one of only four Yankee position players drafted on Day 1 in 2006. After 3 years of struggling at Baylor, the athletic center fielder broke out and hit .326/.416/.577 his senior year. The Yankees picked him up in the 11th round.
The man hit .255/.358/.424 at Charleston, with 18 home runs, 73 walks, and 137 strikeouts. Most of his struggles came against left-handed pitching, whom he hit .233/.365/.302 against, but he profiles as an interesting 4th outfielder option in the far future. He can play all three outfield positions, has a great arm, stole 25 bases this year, and there is reason to believe that he may still be able to improve with the bat. Fortenberry didn't break out until his senior year in college, and probably had a little too much pressure on him as one of only two good hitters all year in Charleston.
The Other Brett Gardner - Justin Christian
Justin Christian used to be what Edwar Ramirez and Scott Paterson are now - the independent league experiment who probably could occupy a niche somewhere in the majors. Despite hitting .235/.283/.325 with 18 stolen bases in 65 games for Trenton (no one, absolutely no one, was hitting at Trenton during the first half of the season), the Yankees promoted him to Scranton, where he exploded for .325/.370/.438 with 17 stolen bases and just 2 caught stealing. Justin Christian, soon to be 28 years old, now owns a .296/.362/.434 minor league line with a 212/36 SB/CS ratio (83%) while playing excellent defense in the outfield.
If the Yankees didn't have Brett Gardner, Shelley Duncan, and the Melky/Matsui/Damon trio all competing for the MLB bench spots, Christian would have to be mentioned as a possible 4th outfielder candidate. I feel like he's going to end up on the Pirates some day, and do pretty well. He's basically the same player that Chris Duffy is. But the Yankees also could suffer a rash of injuries and Christian could offer a steady on base, modest power, stolen base stop gap solution. Or they could be nice and trade him to an NL team to act as their 5th outfielder.
