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woodfeld · 08-19-2006, 04:12 PM

Ohio League
East Division

Akron Red Irons
Predicted Finish – 4th
Minor League System – 7th
The Red Irons are another team that do not look too good on paper and are the clear cut favorite to finish in last. The difference between them and the Cherries though is the hope for a quick improvement. Led by two excellent young pitchers, Brooklyn-raised RHP Kevin Hanlon and Queens-raised RHP Felix Pisa, the pitching staff looks to be in good hands with these two New Yorkers. The rest of the staff isn’t too bad, although the closer role could certainly be improved as I can see RHP Juan Santos blowing a number of games this season. The batting lineup could use a little bit of a makeover. There is no clear “superstar” hitter in the lineup, nor is there a clear power hitter. The closest thing to a power guy is RF Bernard Darrington, who won’t hit for average at any point during his season. The best overall hitter comes from the shortstop position, as SS Alfonso ‘Million Dollar’ Palacios seems to have the ability to do a lot of things well.
Best Hitter – SS Alfonso ‘Million Dollar’ Palacios (14 Contact, 19 Gap, 10 Power, 14 Eye, 11 Avoiding K’s)
Best Pitcher – RHP Ronte O’Murphy (13 Stuff, 12 Movement, 11 Control)
Best Prospect not in the majors – AAA LHP Randal Rowand, 23 years old. Potential – (10 Stuff, 11 Movement, 20 Control). Randal looks to be the next Jamie Moyer, with excellent talent in the Control attribute. He will certainly look to complement Hanlon and Pisa in the Akron rotation for years to come, although it probably won’t happen until next season. Rowand needs to time develop that control in AAA for a little bit before he is ready for the big show. SISA ranks him at #40 on the top prospects list.

Canton Terriers
Predicted Finish – 1st
Minor League System – 15th
This Terriers ballclub looks absolutely stacked and built to win a Cup right now. A simply amazing pitching staff that features pitchers with amazing stuff, some with amazing movement, some with amazing control, and some with an amazing combination of two of those attributes. Having to face this staff in a playoff series would be difficult with the ability to throw such different pitchers at you each day. Led by potential MOP RHP Josh MacCord and LHP Ray Campbell, the staff will win Canton a lot of games on its own. While the lineup can’t boast quite the same talent as the staff, it’s not filled with slouches. It features one of the best overall talents in the league, in LF Peter Northcutt, who simply does everything very well and does not have a weakness in his game (maybe speed, but he’s still decent there). RF Syman Shores will get on base and get on base often and should hit a lot of doubles and triples, although he won’t hit too many homers. The Terriers have to figure out where to put young stud, RF Owen Yeley, or trade him for help as he simply has too much talent to be riding the pine.
Best Hitter – LF Peter Northcutt (15 Contact, 16 Gap, 15 Power, 15 Eye, 13 Avoiding K’s)
Best Pitcher – RHP Josh MacCord (17 Stuff, 16 Movement, 10 Control)
Best Prospect not in the majors – AAA LF Barden Arbuthnott, 24 years old. Potential – (11 Contact, 13 Gap, 10 Power, 12 Eye, 14 Avoiding K’s). The scouts seem to differ on opinions when it comes to this young left fielder. Canton’s lead scout doesn’t think he’ll be a star in the league, but some other scouts think he will be. He will most likely get his shot with another team with a 25-year old Northcutt patrolling LF for the Terriers. SISA ranks him #34 on their prospects list.

Youngstown Black Irons
Predicted Finish – 3rd
Minor League System – 3rd
The Black Irons have got a real solid team that can compete this season. But this franchise is just biding their time as a lot of their current star players are young and they have a bevy of good prospects in the wings. This should be a team that consistently contends for the Gehringer-Sisler Cup for the next 5-10 years. The pitching staff is real good with top of the rotation pitchers in RHP Amor ‘Taco’ Rainez and RHP Myron ‘Soldier’ Gleave. To close it out, they have a very good and young stopper in RHP Bo ‘Digger’ Schumaker. The lineup is led by the potential .400 batter with a good eye who doesn’t strike out and has already become a fan favorite in the blue collar town of Youngstown at only 21-years old, SS Bart Kenedy. He may never hit more than 5-10 home runs a year, but this is probably the best leadoff guy in the league. It’s just too bad they won’t have too many guys with the ability to knock him in consistently. This club has a serious power deficiency, as 1B Martin Cook is clearly their hope for an RBI guy.
Best Hitter – SS Bart Kenedy (19 Contact, 10 Gap, 3 Power, 13 Eye, 17 Avoiding K’s)
Best Pitcher – RHP Amor ‘Taco’ Rainez (12 Stuff, 14 Movement, 15 Control)
Best Prospect not in the majors – AAA RHP Enrico Sanatillan, 23 years old. Potential – (16 Stuff, 9 Movement, 11 Control). An extremely good looking power righty, Sanatillan already has some solid current attributes as he continues to improve. A natural-born leader with a strong work ethic, Black Iron fans can expect to see Enrico in the rotation in 1941 most likely. He sits at #22 on the top 100 prospects list.

Zanesville Engineers
Predicted Finish – 2nd
Minor League System – 13th
The Engineers look like they could possibly have the best pitching staff in the entire Michigan-Ohio League. Led by the absolutely filthy and dominant RHP Jesus ‘The Comet’ Giraldo, the pitching staff alone might get this Engineer club to the Cup. The only negative on Giraldo is his age, he is already 41-years old. On the opposite end of the age spectrum sits the #2 pitcher on the staff, 22-year old RHP Ronald Norfleet. If the Engineers hope to send out Giraldo with at least one championship, they will have to improve their lineup. Zanesville makes the Youngstown team look the 2006 Chicago White Sox. There is absolutely no power in this lineup besides LF Edgar Charney, who has mediocre, at best, ratings everywhere else. In order to win a Cup for ‘The Comet’, they will have to improve the lineup, unless they think they can win it with 1-0, 2-1 games.
Best Hitter – 1B Jesus Badilla (14 Contact, 16 Gap, 12 Power, 13 Eye, 5 Avoiding K’s)
Best Pitcher – RHP Jesus ‘The Comet’ Giraldo (19 Stuff, 15 Movement, 15 Control)
Best Prospect not in the majors – AAA LHP Dick Jackson, 19 years old. Potential – (12 Stuff, 8 Movement, 11 Control). This young lefty looks to be a potential #4 or 5 in a Michigan-Ohio League rotation. Jackson will look to prove the scouts wrong though and has plenty of time and room to grow being only 19. He is at least a year or two away from seeing action in the show. He ranks at #60 in the top 100 prospects list.

Next post-another division, hopefully coming tomorrow....

08-19-2006, 04:12 PM	#3
woodfeld Minors (Double A) Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Philadelphia, PA Posts: 198	Ohio League East Division Akron Red Irons Predicted Finish – 4th Minor League System – 7th The Red Irons are another team that do not look too good on paper and are the clear cut favorite to finish in last. The difference between them and the Cherries though is the hope for a quick improvement. Led by two excellent young pitchers, Brooklyn-raised RHP Kevin Hanlon and Queens-raised RHP Felix Pisa, the pitching staff looks to be in good hands with these two New Yorkers. The rest of the staff isn’t too bad, although the closer role could certainly be improved as I can see RHP Juan Santos blowing a number of games this season. The batting lineup could use a little bit of a makeover. There is no clear “superstar” hitter in the lineup, nor is there a clear power hitter. The closest thing to a power guy is RF Bernard Darrington, who won’t hit for average at any point during his season. The best overall hitter comes from the shortstop position, as SS Alfonso ‘Million Dollar’ Palacios seems to have the ability to do a lot of things well. Best Hitter – SS Alfonso ‘Million Dollar’ Palacios (14 Contact, 19 Gap, 10 Power, 14 Eye, 11 Avoiding K’s) Best Pitcher – RHP Ronte O’Murphy (13 Stuff, 12 Movement, 11 Control) Best Prospect not in the majors – AAA LHP Randal Rowand, 23 years old. Potential – (10 Stuff, 11 Movement, 20 Control). Randal looks to be the next Jamie Moyer, with excellent talent in the Control attribute. He will certainly look to complement Hanlon and Pisa in the Akron rotation for years to come, although it probably won’t happen until next season. Rowand needs to time develop that control in AAA for a little bit before he is ready for the big show. SISA ranks him at #40 on the top prospects list. Canton Terriers Predicted Finish – 1st Minor League System – 15th This Terriers ballclub looks absolutely stacked and built to win a Cup right now. A simply amazing pitching staff that features pitchers with amazing stuff, some with amazing movement, some with amazing control, and some with an amazing combination of two of those attributes. Having to face this staff in a playoff series would be difficult with the ability to throw such different pitchers at you each day. Led by potential MOP RHP Josh MacCord and LHP Ray Campbell, the staff will win Canton a lot of games on its own. While the lineup can’t boast quite the same talent as the staff, it’s not filled with slouches. It features one of the best overall talents in the league, in LF Peter Northcutt, who simply does everything very well and does not have a weakness in his game (maybe speed, but he’s still decent there). RF Syman Shores will get on base and get on base often and should hit a lot of doubles and triples, although he won’t hit too many homers. The Terriers have to figure out where to put young stud, RF Owen Yeley, or trade him for help as he simply has too much talent to be riding the pine. Best Hitter – LF Peter Northcutt (15 Contact, 16 Gap, 15 Power, 15 Eye, 13 Avoiding K’s) Best Pitcher – RHP Josh MacCord (17 Stuff, 16 Movement, 10 Control) Best Prospect not in the majors – AAA LF Barden Arbuthnott, 24 years old. Potential – (11 Contact, 13 Gap, 10 Power, 12 Eye, 14 Avoiding K’s). The scouts seem to differ on opinions when it comes to this young left fielder. Canton’s lead scout doesn’t think he’ll be a star in the league, but some other scouts think he will be. He will most likely get his shot with another team with a 25-year old Northcutt patrolling LF for the Terriers. SISA ranks him #34 on their prospects list. Youngstown Black Irons Predicted Finish – 3rd Minor League System – 3rd The Black Irons have got a real solid team that can compete this season. But this franchise is just biding their time as a lot of their current star players are young and they have a bevy of good prospects in the wings. This should be a team that consistently contends for the Gehringer-Sisler Cup for the next 5-10 years. The pitching staff is real good with top of the rotation pitchers in RHP Amor ‘Taco’ Rainez and RHP Myron ‘Soldier’ Gleave. To close it out, they have a very good and young stopper in RHP Bo ‘Digger’ Schumaker. The lineup is led by the potential .400 batter with a good eye who doesn’t strike out and has already become a fan favorite in the blue collar town of Youngstown at only 21-years old, SS Bart Kenedy. He may never hit more than 5-10 home runs a year, but this is probably the best leadoff guy in the league. It’s just too bad they won’t have too many guys with the ability to knock him in consistently. This club has a serious power deficiency, as 1B Martin Cook is clearly their hope for an RBI guy. Best Hitter – SS Bart Kenedy (19 Contact, 10 Gap, 3 Power, 13 Eye, 17 Avoiding K’s) Best Pitcher – RHP Amor ‘Taco’ Rainez (12 Stuff, 14 Movement, 15 Control) Best Prospect not in the majors – AAA RHP Enrico Sanatillan, 23 years old. Potential – (16 Stuff, 9 Movement, 11 Control). An extremely good looking power righty, Sanatillan already has some solid current attributes as he continues to improve. A natural-born leader with a strong work ethic, Black Iron fans can expect to see Enrico in the rotation in 1941 most likely. He sits at #22 on the top 100 prospects list. Zanesville Engineers Predicted Finish – 2nd Minor League System – 13th The Engineers look like they could possibly have the best pitching staff in the entire Michigan-Ohio League. Led by the absolutely filthy and dominant RHP Jesus ‘The Comet’ Giraldo, the pitching staff alone might get this Engineer club to the Cup. The only negative on Giraldo is his age, he is already 41-years old. On the opposite end of the age spectrum sits the #2 pitcher on the staff, 22-year old RHP Ronald Norfleet. If the Engineers hope to send out Giraldo with at least one championship, they will have to improve their lineup. Zanesville makes the Youngstown team look the 2006 Chicago White Sox. There is absolutely no power in this lineup besides LF Edgar Charney, who has mediocre, at best, ratings everywhere else. In order to win a Cup for ‘The Comet’, they will have to improve the lineup, unless they think they can win it with 1-0, 2-1 games. Best Hitter – 1B Jesus Badilla (14 Contact, 16 Gap, 12 Power, 13 Eye, 5 Avoiding K’s) Best Pitcher – RHP Jesus ‘The Comet’ Giraldo (19 Stuff, 15 Movement, 15 Control) Best Prospect not in the majors – AAA LHP Dick Jackson, 19 years old. Potential – (12 Stuff, 8 Movement, 11 Control). This young lefty looks to be a potential #4 or 5 in a Michigan-Ohio League rotation. Jackson will look to prove the scouts wrong though and has plenty of time and room to grow being only 19. He is at least a year or two away from seeing action in the show. He ranks at #60 in the top 100 prospects list. Next post-another division, hopefully coming tomorrow....