PERFECT GAME CROSSCHECKER'S TOP TEN LIST
WEEK 35: 9/15/08 - 9/21/08
Pro Ball Inspires Stutes
Friday September 19, 2008
Righthander Mike Stutes was a major contributing factor as Oregon State won back-to-back College World Series titles in 2006 and 2007, and a big reason why the Beavers failed to even make the regional field of 64 this year.

The 6-foot-1, 180-pound Stutes went a combined 20-6, 3.70 with 206 strikeouts in 214 innings as a key member of the Oregon State pitching staff in his sophomore and junior years, but slipped to 4-7, 5.32 as a senior while 134 allowing base runners (92 hits, 42 walks) in 88 innings. An unsigned ninth-round pick of the Cardinals in the 2007 draft, his stock took a marginal hit this year as he slipped to the 11th round, where he was selected by the Phillies.

If there was any sense that Stutes’ career might not be heading in the right direction, however, he quickly dispelled that notion as he may have had the best debut of any pitcher in the 2008 draft. Stutes made two stops in the Phillies system and went a combined 7-2, 1.42, with 29 walks and 84 strikeouts while allowing only 36 hits in 70 innings. He was particularly effective at Lakewood of the low Class A South Atlantic League, going 5-1, 1.48 to finish the year.

Stutes wasn’t the only pitcher from the Phillies’ 2008 draft to give Lakewood a shot in the arm in the second half as righthander Mike Cisco, a 36th-rounder from South Carolina, went 2-1, 0.51 and didn’t walk a single batter in 35 innings while allowing just 22 hits and striking out 30. Righthander Vance Worley, the Phillies’s third-round pick from Long Beach State, also excelled in the South Atlantic League, going 3-2, 2.66 while walking only seven and striking out 53 in 61 innings. All three pitchers began the minor league season at Williamsport of the short-season A New York-Penn League before being promoted.

Several other pitchers who worked in the New York-Penn League also had highly-successful debuts, notably Staten Island’s ambidextrous Pat Venditte, who led the league with 23 saves, and Brooklyn righthander Brad Holt, a supplemental first-round selection of the Mets who led the league with 96 strikeouts.

The accompanying list identifies the 10 pitchers from the 2008 draft class who had the best pro debuts this summer from a performance standpoint. Though every pitcher on the list was from either the four-year college or junior college level, there were several noteworthy debuts by high school pitchers, particularly by Marlins supplemental first-round lefthander Brad Hand (3-2, 2.64 combined in the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League and NY-P), Braves second-round righthander Zeke Spruill (7-0, 2.93 in the GCL) and Rangers fourth-round righthander Joe Wieland (5-1, 1.44 in the Rookie-level Arizona League.

  PLAYER POS. SCHOOL '08 Draft (Round) ’08 Club (League/Level)*
1. Mike Stutes RHP Oregon State Phillies (11) Lakewood (Sally/Lo A)
Most scouts believed he made a big mistake by not signing a year ago, but his ’08 summer stats say otherwise
2. Pate Venditte RHP/LHP Creighton Yankees (20) Staten Island (NY-P/SS A)
He may be a novelty act with his two-handed approach, but there’s no denying his record (1-0, 0.83, 33 IP/13 H/42 SO)
3. Craig Kimbrel RHP Wallace-Hanceville JC Braves (3) Myrtle Beach (Carolina/Hi A)
Two-time Braves draft pick went a combined 3-2, 0.51 with 10 SV, 56 K’s, 16 hits in 35 innings for three teams
4. Brad Holt RHP UNC Wilmington Mets (1-S) Brooklyn (NY-P/SS A)
Topped New York-Penn League with 96 strikeouts in 72 innings, also allowed just 43 hits while going 5-3, 1.87
5. Dexter Carter RHP Old Dominion White Sox (13) Great Falls (Pioneer/Rookie)
After poor 3-4, 8.76 college season, 6-6 righty went 6-1 with 89 K’s in 69 innings, Pioneer League-leading 2.23 ERA
6. Will Smith LHP Gulf Coast CC Angels (7) Orem (Pioneer/Rookie)
Showed impressive control for 6-foot-5, 19-year-old lefthander with six walks in 76 innings, while going 8-2, 3.08
7. Dan Osterbrock LHP Cincinnati Twins (7) Elizabethton (Appy/Rookie)
Lefty went 7-2, 3.00, topped all ’08 draft picks with 104 K’s in Appy League-high 75 innings, while walking only eight
8. Kyle Weiland RHP Notre Dame Red Sox (4) Lowell (NY-P/SS A)
Three-year college reliever moved into starting role, led NY-P with 1.50 ERA while striking out 68, walking 10
9. Jayson Miller LHP Washington State Angels (30) Orem (Pioneer/Rookie)
Formed effective lefty tandem with Will Smith (No. 6), went identical 8-2, also had 2.33 ERA, seven walks in 81 IP
10. Scott Barnes LHP St. John’s Giants (8) Augusta (Sally/Lo A)
In stops from Rookie ball to short-season A to Low A, produced 3-3, 2.06 record with 24 hits, 12 BB/63 SO in 44 IP

*Highest-level reached for players who played with more than one team
--ALLAN SIMPSON
25th-Rounder Top First-Year Player
Monday September 15, 2008
Roberto Lopez claims he can’t read music, but he’s an accomplished pianist and played a pretty good tune this summer in the Rookie-level Pioneer League.

Not only did Lopez become the league’s first .400 hitter in 11 years, finishing at an even .400, but the Orem Owlz first baseman also topped the Pioneer League in runs (68), hits (108), doubles (28), RBIs (72), on-base percentage (.480) and slugging percentage (.667). He hit 14 homers, leaving him just one shy of the league leader—and a Triple Crown. He was selected the league’s MVP.

Lopez’ breakout summer was a major surprise as he hit just .310 with a total of three homers in his entire four-year career at the University of Southern California. He was picked in the 25th-round of this year’s draft by the Los Angeles Angels.

Of all the position players in this year’s draft, no one burst into professional baseball with quite the splash that Lopez did. He upstaged all the players drafted ahead of him, even his higher-profile fellow Pacific-10 Conference players David Cooper (California) and Brett Wallace (Arizona State), who were drafted in the first round and dwarfed Lopez’ performance in Pac-10 play over the last three years.

Cooper and Wallace had the best debuts among this year’s crop of first-round position players, although many didn’t sign early enough to make an impact. Cooper hit .333-5-51 at three different levels in the Blue Jays system, including high Class A Dunedin. Wallace, the Cardinals top selection, batted a combined .337-8-36 at two stops, including Double-A Springfield.

Giants draft pick Cole Gillaspie, a supplemental first-rounder out of Wichita State, became the first 2008 draft pick to reach the big leagues. He was promoted all the way from Salem-Keizer of the short-season Class A Northwest League to San Francisco after just 18 minor league games—and after hitting a modest .268-0-8.

Of course, first-year performance is not always an accurate indicator of future big league success and it remains to be seen how Lopez will hit as he progresses through the Angels system. But no one had as successful a pro debut among position players from this year’s draft as Lopez.

On strictly a performance basis but factoring in the level they played at, here’s our take on the 10 position players from this year’s draft that had the most noteworthy debuts (we’ll look at the top 10 pitchers next):

  PLAYER POS. SCHOOL '08 Draft (Round) ’08 Club (League/Level)*
1. Roberto Lopez 1B Southern California Angels (25) Orem (Pioneer/Rookie)
Hit .310, three homers with aluminum in four years at USC; .400, 14 homers in one summer with wood
2. Dan Robertson OF Oregon State Padres (33) Eugene (Northwest/SS A)
Local college product hit .377-3-45, topped Northwest League in batting, runs (59), hits (114), OBP (.443)
3. Jaff Decker OF HS—Phoenix Padres (1-S) Eugene (Northwest/SS A)
Hit .343-5-34 at two levels, mostly in Rookie ball; had best debut of all high school position players in ’08 draft
4. Brett Wallace 3B Arizona State Cardinals (1) Springfield (Texas/AA)
Scouts said he may have been the best pure hitter in ’08 draft, and he hit (.337-8-36) his way to Double-A in debut
5. David Cooper 1B California Blue Jays (1) Dunedin (Florida State/Hi A)
Blue Jays promoted their first-rounder twice, and he hit (.333-5-51) with authority at every step in his progression
6. Gabe Jacobo 1B Sacramento State Angels (10) Cedar Rapids (Midwest/Lo A)
Shared 1B job at Orem initially with Roberto Lopez, but soon jumped to Low A; hit a combined .324-10-56
7. Curt Smith 1B Maine Cardinals (39) Quad City (Midwest/Lo A)
Won Rookie-level Appy League batting title (.378), led in RBIs to earn late promotion; hit .353-8-59 overall
8. Lonnie Chisenhall SS Pitt (N.C.) CC Indians (1) Mahoning Valley (NY-P/SS A)
Indians top pick had no problem adjusting to wood (.290-5-45), also held his own at premium defensive position
9. Cody Overbeck 3B Mississippi Phillies (9) Williamsport (NY-P/SS A)
After leading Ole Miss in homers (17), RBIs (59) in spring, he hit 12 HRs in debut, topped NY-P with 57 RBIs
10. Collin Cowgill OF Kentucky D’backs (5) South Bend (Midwest/Lo A)
Hit .264-12-45 overall, but his 11 HRs in only 20 Northwest League games amazingly held up as season-best total

*Highest-level reached for players who played with more than one team
--ALLAN SIMPSON