Knuckle Curve » john patterson http://www.everyjoe.com/knucklecurve Major League Baseball News from Spring Training to the World Series Sun, 20 Dec 2009 08:47:26 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 en hourly 1 Where Are They Now: Top Prospects of ‘98, #41-50 http://www.everyjoe.com/knucklecurve/where-are-they-now-top-prospects-of-98-41-50/ http://www.everyjoe.com/knucklecurve/where-are-they-now-top-prospects-of-98-41-50/#comments Thu, 13 Mar 2008 07:19:52 +0000 Geoff Young http://www.knucklecurve.com/where-are-they-now-top-prospects-of-98-41-50/ Post from: Knuckle Curve

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California bans smoking in bars and restaurants, 19 countries in Europe forbid human cloning, the Unabomber enters a guilty plea — and that’s just in January! You guessed it, we’re looking back at 1998 again. In this installment, we enter the top half of Baseball America’s Top 100 prospects. Sit back, relax, and try not to think about George Michael getting arrested in a park restroom…

  1. Francisco Cordero, RHP, Detroit Tigers. Cordero always had a great arm — when it was healthy, that is. After bursting onto the scene in ‘97 at Western Michigan (54.1 IP, 0.99 ERA, 4.47 K/BB), Cordero appeared in 18 games the next season before blowing out his elbow. He bounced back strong in 1999 and then was traded to the Rangers that November as part of the package that brought Juan Gonzalez to Detroit. Cordero’s first full big-league season didn’t go so well (77.1 IP, 5.35 ERA, 1.02 K/BB), and then he missed most of the following year due to injury. Cordero came back in 2002 and pitched well in the second half. Since then, he’s been one of the more effective relievers in baseball. Cordero, who turns 33 in May, signed a big contract with Cincinnati this past off-season. Over parts of nine seasons, he is 26-27, with a 3.29 ERA (146 ERA+) and 177 saves.
  2. A.J. Hinch, C, Oakland A’s. The A’s selected Hinch out of Stanford in the third round of the 1996 draft. He appeared to be on the fast track when, in his first pro season, he hit .328/.408/.568 in 520 plate appearances between Single- and Triple-A. Hinch claimed the starting job in Oakland the next year and batted .231/.296/.341 (69 OPS+) in 391 plate appearances. That was really his only shot at a regular gig in the big leagues, as he yielded first to veteran Mike Macfarlane and then to fellow prospect Ramon Hernandez. Hinch kicked around for a few more years before retiring in 2005. Over parts of seven seasons, he hit .219/.280/.356 (65 OPS+) in 1075 plate appearances. Among his career highlights: On August 10, 1999, Hinch launched a homer off Roger Clemens. Since his playing days, Hinch has stayed in the game and currently is working in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization.
  3. Carlos Lee, 3B, Chicago White Sox. It may be difficult to imagine that Lee started out as a third baseman, but he did. He also hit at every level, which made his move off the hot corner more palatable. The questions with Lee were whether he would ever learn to draw a walk and how much power he would develop. His minor-league numbers (.306/.343/.463 in 2338 PA) suggested a good hitter who figured to derive much of his value from batting average. His rookie season with the Sox did nothing to dispel that notion: he hit .293/.312/.463 (with a remarkable 13 BB in 517 PA). After a couple more solid but unspectacular campaigns, Lee broke out in 2002, batting .264/.359/.484 (120 OPS+). Lee more or less has maintained that level ever since. Now with the Houston Astros, Lee owns a career .288/.342/.499 (114 OPS+) line in 5726 plate appearances. His list of comparable players through age 31 includes Hall of Famers Billy Williams and Dave Winfield, as well as contemporaries Paul Konerko, Shawn Green, and Derrek Lee.
  4. Luis Rivera, RHP, Atlanta Braves. Rivera’s minor-league credentials are impressive. For his career, he compiled a 3.47 ERA and fanned 10.51 batters per 9 innings. The trouble is, he worked a total of 280 innings during that time. Rivera made seven big-league appearances for Atlanta and the Baltimore Orioles in 2000, going 1-0 with a 1.23 ERA.
  5. John Patterson, RHP, Arizona Diamondbacks. Taken by Montreal with the fifth pick overall, Patterson became one of the “loophole free agents” when the Expos failed to offer him a contract in the time allotted. The Diamondbacks then signed him for $6 million. Although Patterson showed signs in the minors (most notably in ‘98, when he posted a 2.83 ERA at High Desert, a notorious hitters park), he didn’t dominate with any kind of consistency. He made cameos with the big club in 2002 and 2003 before being shipped back to Montreal for journeyman left-hander Randy Choate. In 2005, his first full big-league season, Patterson went 9-7 with a 3.13 ERA (130 ERA+) in 198 1/3 innings. Since then, he’s mostly been hurt. Over parts of six seasons, Patterson is 18-25 with a 4.32 ERA (100 ERA+).
  6. Ricky Ledee, OF, New York Yankees. The Yankees tabbed Ledee in the 16th round of the 1990 draft. He didn’t play until ‘92 and didn’t reach Double-A until ‘95. When he finally got there, Ledee hit a ton and quickly advanced to Triple-A. In 1996, he hit .305/.380/.576 at two stops. A groin injury limited Ledee to 50 games the next year, but George Steinbrenner refused to part with him in the Hideki Irabu deal (the Padres settled for Ruben Rivera instead). In his 1998 Minor League Scouting Notebook, John Sickels compared Ledee to Paul O’Neill. Unfortunately reality had other ideas. Ledee has spent parts of 10 seasons in the big leagues and only once amassed as many as 300 plate appearances in any one of them. For his career, he’s hit .243/.325/.412 in 2307 plate appearances. His biggest claim to fame probably lies in once being traded for David Justice.
  7. Derrek Lee, 1B, Florida Marlins. Lee was taken by the San Diego Padres with the 14th pick overall in the 1993 draft — two picks after the Astros picked Billy Wagner and one before the Blue Jays snagged Chris Carpenter. The Padres wasted no time with Lee, sending him to High-A Rancho Cucamonga the following year at age 18. Not surprisingly, the youngster struggled (.267/.331/.373) and repeated the level in ‘95, with much better results (.301/.363/.494). Lee continued to post big numbers as he moved up the ladder, receiving a brief audition in San Diego toward the end of 1997. He even knocked his first big-league homer in the season’s final contest — a game-winning three-run blast off the Giants’ Corey Bailey in the 11th inning. That December, Lee was traded to Florida, where the Marlins were busy dismantling the team that had just won the World Series. Kevin Brown headed to San Diego, and Lee enjoyed a few productive seasons in Miami before moving onto the Cubs. With Chicago, the rangy first basemen became a serious MVP candidate in 2005 thanks to a .335/.418/.662 performance. In parts of 11 seasons, Lee owns a .281/.367/.502 (124 OPS+) batting line. Among members of his draft class, only Alex Rodriguez, Scott Rolen, Jermaine Dye, and Richie Sexson have hit more homers. Wow, that was quite a draft class (and we’re not even counting Corey Dillon, picked by the Padres in the 34th round).
  8. Alex Gonzalez, SS, Florida Marlins. Not to be confused with a slightly older shortstop of the same name, this Alex Gonzalez bears strong resemblance to — well, the other Alex Gonzalez. The Gonzalez who was a prospect in ‘98 showed some power in the minor leagues but little else. Although he hit 19 homers in Double-A at age 20, his overall line was just .254/.296/.434. After a similarly lackluster campaign at Triple-A, Gonzalez took over for the departed Edgar Renteria and hit .277/.308/.430 (91 OPS+) in 591 plate appearances. Gonzalez suffered through a Punto-esque sophomore season before rebounding somewhat in 2001. After several more interchangeable seasons with the Marlins, Gonzalez spent a year in Boston and played for the Reds in 2007. Over parts of 10 seasons, he owns a .248/.295/.399 (80 OPS+) batting line.
  9. Ben Davis, C, San Diego Padres. Davis was taken with the second pick overall in the 1995 draft — after Darin Erstad and before Jose Cruz Jr. Sent to the California League at age 19, Davis was overmatched, batting .201/.266/.286 at Rancho Cucamonga in ‘96. He repeated High-A the next year and his numbers improved. In 1998, Davis moved up to Double-A Mobile and hit .286/.349/.460. Davis split the following season between Triple-A Las Vegas and San Diego; he hit .244/.307/.361 during his stint with the big club. After shuttling between Vegas and San Diego again in 2000, Davis took over as the Padres everyday catcher in 2001, hitting .239/.337/.357 in 526 plate appearances. That December, Davis was shipped to the Mariners, but his career stalled in Seattle. He never could overtake Dan Wilson as the #1 catcher and eventually was traded to the White Sox in June 2004. Davis hasn’t been seen in the big leagues since that season. He owns a career line of .237/.306/.366 (78 OPS+) in 1698 plate appearances. Davis spent 2007 back at Las Vegas (now a Dodgers affiliate), where he hit .218/.281/.282 in 36 games. Now 31 years old, Davis appears to have missed his opportunity at a big-league career.
  10. Willie Martinez, RHP, Cleveland Indians. Martinez never posted eye-popping numbers in the minors. His best season came in 1997, when at age 19, he went 8-2 with a 3.09 ERA in 137 innings. On June 14, 2000, he made his only big-league appearances, working three innings against the White Sox. He allowed one hit (Jeff Abbott) and recorded one strikeout (Frank Thomas). Martinez’ final season came in 2002, when he got into four games for Double-A Chattanooga in the Reds organization. He was out of baseball by age 24.

As always, thanks for joining me in our look back at the top prospects of ‘98. Our next installment includes a Cy Young Award winner and a home-run champ, among many others. Until then…

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