Minor League Previews: PCL Pacific Northern

Mar 9, 2014; Glendale, AZ, USA; San Francisco Giants pitcher

(82) pitches the first inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Camelback Ranch. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Fresno Grizzlies

Parent Club: San Francisco Giants

Ever since Barry Bonds “retired” the Giants have been a team that has thrived on pitching, and their system appears to be following that model still. The team in Fresno features some of that excellent pitching, but it also features some decent position prospects as well, making the Grizzlies a rare well-rounded team in the PCL.

Pitching

Before diving into the prospects, the Fresno Grizzlies just might have the most interesting pitcher in the PCL. They have a lefty pitcher that once won 22 games but hasn’t pitched in the big leagues since 2011. This pitcher is none other than Dontrelle Willis, who looks to resurrect his career in the pitcher friendly park by the bay.

The staff includes three youngsters that could have long big league futures in Edwin Escobar, Heath Hembree, and Mike Kickham. Escobar may be the only one of the three that doesn’t have an upper 90s fastball, but he probably has the brightest future. His fastball does work 92-93 MPH with pinpoint control to go along with a sweeping slider and solid change.

Hembree and Kickham both made their big league debuts in 2013 with very different results. Hembree is a pure reliever and likely closer of the future, he pitched eight innings in nine outings while allowing no runs and striking out 12. Kickham’s debut was not one to write home about. He started three games and appeared in nine more, while putting up an ERA of 10.16 and a WHIP of almost 2.

Later in the season the Grizzlies should also roll out Kyle Crick and Aldalberto Mejia, making Fresno a destination to watch good pitching.

Batting

Gary Brown is back in Triple-A and has become a real question mark after seeming to be the center fielder of the future after an incredible High-A season in 2011. His offense has declined significantly in the two seasons since, and his struggles against right-handed pitchers leave his most likely future the center fielder on the short side of a platoon.

After showing an excellent approach at the plate in the Arizona Fall League that allowed him to lead the league in OBP, Andrew Susac heads to Triple-A where he hopes his strong arm and raw power can land him the back-up gig to Buster Posey, and maybe even allow Posey to spend more time at first base with Susac behind the dish. He may have the upside of a very good big league regular, but Giants will be happy if he turns into a guy that can produce enough to keep the face of the franchise fresh.

Joe Panik will never be an All-Star, nor will he wow anyone with any of his natural tools, but he is a scrappy baseball player. He has improved defensively after being moved from short to second, and he has flashes of the ability to hit for a decent average with gap power. Panik could serve as a productive bench player as early as this season so long as he can prove he can stop the trend of back-to-back declines in his offensive numbers.

Feb 19, 2014; Scottsdale, AZ, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher

poses for a portrait during photo day at Salt River Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Reno Aces

Parent Club: Arizona Diamondbacks

The Diamondbacks have sent two players to Reno that should see a good amount of time in the big leagues this season, even if it is for a different club (Didi Gregorius). Beyond Gregorius and Archie Bradley, the Reno squad is less than impressive.

Pitching

He is not yet listed on the roster but the future ace of the Diamondbacks, Archie Bradley, will start the season with, well, the Aces. After Patrick Corbin was lost to Tommy John Surgery, D-Backs fans were hoping Bradley would be able to take the open spot in the rotation and run with it. Instead he got hit around by Team Australia down in Sydney and sent to Reno.

Batting

Didi Gregorius will look to put up impressive numbers in Reno and earn himself a call back up to the big league team. Chris Owings beat him out for the job on Opening day, and is off to a hot start in Arizona, so Gregorius may end up being on the trade block to a team in need of help at short (Detroit Tigers/New York Mets). Once Gregorius is either called up or traded, Nick Ahmed will take over at short for the Aces. Ahmed might never hit enough to be a big league regular, but he is a plus defender and can steal some bags. He could carve himself a solid role as the utility infielder of the future for the Diamondbacks.

October 5, 2013; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Athletics catcher

(21) hits the game-winning single to score left fielder

(52, not pictured) during the ninth inning in game two of the American League divisional series playoff baseball game against the Detroit Tigers at O.co Coliseum. The Athletics defeated the Tigers 1-0. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Sacramento River Cats

Parent Club: Oakland Athletics

The River Cats open the season with a team full of players that are sure to contribute at the big league level. They will roll out an entire infield of guys that are expected to play a role at the next level this season, and have some pitchers that could help as well.

Pitching

Before the injury bug hit the Athletics this spring, it appeared the River Cats would feature guys that have had success at O.Co Colosseum. They will still roll out the likes of Joe Blanton, Josh Lindblom, and a guy with a perfect game on his resume, Philip Humber. Tommy Milone was once expected to bounce between the Sacramento and Oakland rotation, but he now seems firmly entrenched in the A’s rotation after the spring injuries.

Batting

ALDS Game 2 hero Stephen Vogt starts the year behind the plate in Sacramento as Derek Norris and John Jaso will hold down the catching duties in Oakland for now, but Vogt will almost certainly spend time between the Triple-A buses and big league jets.

The middle infield is held down by two guys that could see time with the A’s this season. Jake Elmore and Jose Martinez both come to the A’s after spending 2013 in the Houston Astros organization, with Elmore getting 120 at-bats in the big leagues but hitting just .242.

Manning first base will be the massive Nate Freiman. The 6’8″ 250lbs. Freiman showed an inability to hit same-sided pitching, but hit over .300 and showed decent power against left-handers.

The player who was originally expected to start at second base last season, Hiroyuki Nakajima, will start 2014 where he spent all of 2013, Sacramento. Nakajima earned himself a spot back on the 40-man roster which he lost last season, and could be a surprise contributor for the A’s this season. He has moved to third base to make room for Elmore and Martinez.

Michael Taylor is not yet listed on the Sacramento roster, but he will likely be with the team to start the season after it appears he has gone unclaimed after being designated for assignment by the A’s.

May 19, 2013; Cleveland, OH, USA; Seattle Mariners catcher

(63) loses his balance after Cleveland Indians shortstop

(4) scored from second base on a ground out in the fourth inning at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

Tacoma Rainiers

Parent Club: Seattle Mariners

There is plenty of name recognition in Tacoma this season, unfortunately it is because there are players who were once expected to be main pieces in Seattle but have found themselves relegated to Triple-A duty instead.

Pitching

Blake Beavan has split each of the past three seasons between the big leagues and Triple-A, and it looks like 2014 will be no different. Beavan is exactly what you expect from a guy that is a Quad-A starter as he has put up a big league ERA of 4.61 and strikes out about six batters per nine innings.

Brandon Maurer was impressive last spring, but gave up too many long balls once the season began. He will head back to Triple-A to refine his repertoire and work on missing bats.

Batting

Jesus Montero looks to get his career back on track as he heads down to Tacoma. Montero reported to camp 40 pounds overweight, but looks to rediscover his power stroke that made him a top prospect just a couple years ago, and he will try and show he can play competent enough defense at first base after being moved off catcher.

After the Mariners signed Robinson Cano, camp opened with a competition between Nick Franklin and Brad Miller for the shortstop gig. Miller won the job, and so Franklin will begin the year in Triple-A but, much like Didi Gregorius in Reno, could be traded this season to a team with middle infield needs.

Ji-Man Choi had an incredible start to the 2013 season at High-A, and even earned himself a spot on the World roster at the MLB Futures Game, but his production dropped off as he moved to Double-A and Triple-A. Choi has a great eye at the plate putting up a minor league career OBP of over .410. He does not have the power traditionally found in a first baseman, but has shown good gap power and can hit right-handed pitching well. With all the DH/1B types on the Mariners roster, Choi likely will not have much of a role at the big leagues this year, so the fans in Tacoma will get to see plenty of him.