Where Are They Now: Top Prospects of ‘98, #51-60

Geoff Young — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 07:43:10 +0000

Previously…

America was listening to Fuel, Everclear, Creed (noooooo!!!!), Barenaked Ladies, and the dulcet tones of Rammstein. Lethal Weapon 4 was playing in theaters, because if ever a movie franchise screamed out for a fourth movie, it was Lethal Weapon. Or maybe Police Academy.

Meanwhile, baseball’s best and brightest young prospects were working their way up the ranks. Our latest installment includes a couple of All-Star outfielders as well as the usual assortment of characters who saw their dreams dashed somewhere along the way…

Michael Coleman, OF, Boston Red Sox. The Red Sox selected Coleman out of a Tennessee high school in the 18th round of the 1994 draft. After a couple lackluster seasons in the low minors, Coleman broke through at Double-A Trenton and Triple-A Pawtucket in ‘97, batting a combined .305/.372/.524, before making a brief cameo with the big club. Coleman was unable to build on his success and struggled at Pawtucket the following season before rebounding in ‘99 (.268/.340/.531) and earning another cup of coffee. After missing most of the 2000 season, Coleman was traded along with Donnie Sadler to the Cincinnati Reds for Chris Stynes. Four months later, Cincy flipped him and Drew Henson to the New York Yankees for Wily Mo Pena. Coleman appeared in 12 games for the Yankees in 2001. On April 10 of that year he hit his only big-league homer, a solo blast with one out in the top of the ninth against Royals closer Roberto Hernandez that tied the game. If you’re only going to hit one home run, it might as well be dramatic. Coleman hasn’t returned to the Show since 2001 and last was seen playing for the Devil Rays’ Double-A affiliate in 2006. In 70 big-league plate appearances, Coleman hit .194/.203/.254. Over parts of 12 seasons in the minors, he hit .260/.331/.444, with 129 homers and 131 stolen bases. Like many prospects, he had an abundance of tools, but a paucity of usable baseball skills. Some guys (Preston Wilson) are able to overcome this, others (Derrick Gibson) not so much.
Vernon Wells, OF, Toronto Blue Jays. Toronto tabbed Wells with the fifth pick overall in 1997, between Jason Grilli (#54 on this list) and Geoff Goetz (#96). The Jays actually had a great draft that year — Wells, Michael Young, Orlando Hudson, and one guy they didn’t sign, Brad Hawpe. Anyway, Wells rocketed through the system and made his big-league debut in 1999, at age 20. After additional refinement at Triple-A over the next two years, Wells arrived for good in 2002. In nearly 4200 plate appearances, Wells has posted a tidy .281/.331/.478 batting line and won three Gold Gloves in center field. His best season came in 2003, when he hit .317/.359/.550 and received a smattering of MVP votes.
Ben Petrick, C, Colorado Rockies.. The Rockies picked Petrick out of an Oregon high school in the second round of the 1995 draft. Two years later, he established himself as a top prospect with a .248/.346/.427 performance as a 20-year-old in the High-A Carolina League. Unfortunately, Petrick’s minor-league success never translated into much of a big-league career, as he hit just .257/.337/.448 over parts of five seasons. Unlike some promising young players who fizzle, Petrick had a damn good reason: he’d been fighting Parkinson’s disease. The ailment forced him out of baseball in 2004, at age 27.
Jason Grilli, RHP, San Francisco Giants. Son of former big-league pitcher Steve Grilli, Jason Grilli came out of Seton Hall, which brought with it the inevitable comparisons to Matt Morris. Originally drafted by the Giants, Grilli never posted eye-popping numbers in the minors and was sent to Florida as part of the July 1999 deal that brought Livan Hernandez to the Bay Area. Grilli had several false starts, and spent all of 2002 and 2003 in the minors, before re-surfacing as a serviceable reliever for the Detroit Tigers. He owns a 5.19 ERA (87 ERA+) over 236 innings. Those aren’t great numbers, but he has a big-league career, which is more than anyone had a right to expect just a few short years ago.
Luis Rivas, SS, Minnesota Twins. Rivas’ claim to top prospect status relied heavily on his extreme youth. At age 18, he hit .281/.302/.374 in the Florida State League. People were willing to overlook his atrocious strike-zone judgment (14 BB, 75 K in 478 PA) because most guys his age don’t play full-season ball, let alone hold their own in a pitching-friendly High-A league. Unfortunately his offensive game never developed. Further complicating matters, his defensive shortcomings forced a move to second base. Although Rivas was playing every day for the Twins at age 21, his limitations soon chased him to the bench. He’s still only 28 years old, but his best years appear to be well behind him. Over parts of seven seasons, Rivas has batted .262/.307/.385 in 2067 plate appearances.
Magglio Ordonez, OF, Chicago White Sox. Ordonez has had a remarkable career. His minor-league numbers (.269/.325/.419 in 2575 PA) are nothing special, and he never was young for his league. He didn’t get a shot in the big leagues until he was 24, and even then, he didn’t do much (.282/.326/.415) as a rookie in ‘98. Then he just kept improving every year, culminating in his monster ‘02 season (.320/.381/.597). After a brief drop the next year, Ordonez ran into injury problems and appeared to be on the downside. Then in 2007, and without warning, he hit .363/.434/.595 for the Detroit Tigers, finishing second in the AL MVP voting. Over parts of 11 seasons, Ordonez is hitting .312/.370/.522 (129 OPS+). His most comparable contemporary player is Larry Walker, which is mighty impressive for a guy who couldn’t crack a 700 OPS in High-A ball.
Julio Ramirez, OF, Florida Marlins. See Michael Coleman. Like Coleman, Ramirez oozed athletic ability but lacked the refined skills necessary to convert them into anything useful. Ramirez hit .167/.216/.229 in 103 big-league plate appearances from 1999 to 2005. Over parts of 12 seasons in the minors, he hit .261/.305/.407, with 101 homers and 327 stolen bases. Ramirez last played for the Norfolk Tides in 2006, batting .188/.232/.260 in 50 games before being released.
Ryan Brannan, RHP, Philadelphia Phillies. Brannan never reached the big leagues, and his minor-league career was brief and mostly undistinguished. His entire professional career lasted 233 innings, during which he posted a 4.06 ERA and a pedestrian 6.10 K/9, mostly at High-A and Double-A. I’m trying to remember why this guy was considered a prospect. In his 1998 Minor League Scouting Notebook, John Sickels gave Brannan a B-minus, calling him “Ricky Bottalico, Part Two.” Bottalico had an ERA near 3.00 and a K/9 around 8.50 in the minors. Maybe the comparison was based on pitching style or something else. Whatever the case, Brannan never showed the type of results that Bottalico achieved.
Mike Judd, RHP, Los Angeles Dodgers. Man, I loved Beavis and Butt-head. Wait, that’s Mike Judge. Hey, both of ‘em have San Diego ties, so cut me some slack. Judd was a ninth-round pick of the New York Yankees in 1995. Used exclusively as a reliever in the Yankees system, Judd blossomed as a starter after being traded to the Dodgers in June 1996. The following year, he went 10-7 with a 3.14 ERA and 9.16 K/9 in 26 starts at High-A and Double-A. Judd appeared in games for the big club every year from 1997 to 2000 before being dealt to Tampa Bay the next spring. In 2001, Judd worked a career-high 29 innings for the Devil Rays and Rangers. That’s the last time he pitched in the big leagues. His career line: 4-3, 7.20 ERA (60 ERA+) in 75 innings.
Ed Yarnall, LHP, Florida Marlins. Yarnall played on the LSU team that won the College World Series in ‘96 (Warren Morris home run, anyone?). Taken in the third round of that summer’s draft (the Mets, incidentally, had a miserable draft in 1996), Yarnall didn’t pitch professionally until the following season. In 1997, he came out of the gates quickly and even made a start for Triple-A Norfolk. The next year, after jupming out to a 7-0, 0.38 (!) start at Double-A Binghamton, Yarnall was shipped to Florida (with Goetz) in the Mike Piazza deal. The Marlins then flipped Yarnall (along with right-hander Todd Noel) to the Yankees for Mike Lowell (#71 on BA’s list). Yarnall worked a total of 20 innings for the Yankees in 1999 and 2000 before being included (with Henson) in the package that brought Denny Neagle to the Bronx from Cincinnati. Yarnall spent 2001 and 2002 pitching in Japan, then returned to North America, where he kicked around in affiliated ball through 2006. Last season, at age 31, he went 5-5 with a 3.93 ERA working as a swingman for Long Island of the independent Atlantic League.

As always, I hope you’ve enjoyed this little trip down memory lane as much as I have. Next time we’ll look at a hard-throwing closer, a tall first baseman, and a third baseman who outgrew his position. Until then…

Post from: Knuckle Curve

Knuckle Curve » magglio ordonez

Where Are They Now: Top Prospects of ‘98, #51-60