2010 Breakthroughs & Disappointments

[mblax10]

This forum is pretty much dead lately. Who's stock has gone up/down the most this year? I'll get this started leaving out some of the obvious ones in hoping to get a discussion going:

Breakthroughs:
Jason Kipnis, 2B, CLE-Going into the season, I was a big fan of both advanced college hitting outfielders trying to move to a more valuable 2B (I'll save the other one for somebody else's disappointment post). Bat has been their all year hitting over .300 & OPS over .850 at both stops. 323/401/514 in over 300 AA PA is very nice and the glove is good enough and improving. May get a call up this week. At worst will compete for the 2B job in the spring.

Nick Franklin, SS, SEA-When taken in the 1st round last June, he was viewed as a MLB defender with a bottom of the order bat. 281/355/488 with 21 HR's & 22 2B's proved his bat is much better than expected. Also stole 24 bases. Scouts are raving about his entire game.

Jake Odorozzi, RHP, MIL-1st round pick in 08 out of an Illinois High School. Stats and scouting reports were dominant in full season debut. 130 K/37 BB in 116 IP. 2 plus pitches right now along with plus command and control.

Gary Sanchez, C, NYY-Yes it's rookie ball, but he's 17 and hit 6 HR in 31 games. 353/419/597 line quickly moved him up to short season A ball. It's not often international signees start mashing the day the take the field on U.S. soil.

Trey McNutt, RHP, CHC-How can you not root for a 32nd round pick who's up to AA a little over a year later? Fastball gets up to 95 and has a nice slider. Command and control come and go. 70 K/24 BB in 54 IP in low A. 49 K/9 BB in 41 IP in A+. He was hit hard in his first 2 AA starts, but 9 K in 9.2 IP. Still a sleeper at this point, but one I'm definitely watching.

Disappointments:
Dee Gordon, SS, LAN-Jump to AA was quite a surprise. His tools are still way ahead of his actual ability as indicated by his 279/332/359 batting line. 50 SB may keep some people from moving him down to far but was also CS 20 times.

Jiovanni Mier, SS, HOU-Similar to Franklin that he was drafted in the 1st round last June for his glove. Had an impressive pro debut last fall including 7 HR and good plate discipline, some started buying into the bat being for real. Still walking, but not doing much else offensively. Seems to be the slick fielding, no bat player many thought he was last June.

Trevor Reckling, RHP, LAA-Some thought a young pitcher with his control problems might struggle in Salt Lake City. They were right. More BB's than K's (46/50) over 69.2 IP & an 8.53 ERA lead him back to AA. Things didn't get much better their, as his K/Rate remained lower than in the past (6.3 K/9) and he's still walking a batter almost every other inning. Still young, Reckling has time to move back up. He will have to greatly improve his control.

Casey Kelly, SP, BOS-HR & BB rates are way up. AA hitters are hitting him hard. Throwing lots of hittable pitches. Command has also dropped some since last year.

Tyler Flowers, C, CHA-Bad K rate is getting worse. Not hitting much. Defense also took a step in the wrong direction. Many more question if he can be a MLB C.

[RedHopeful]

Biggest breakthrough for me is probably Devin Mesoraco. Although many always liked his tools and makeup, most were ready to give up on him until this season. In 3 combined stints, he is batting .311 (.998 OPS) with 26 HRs in 373 AB's.

Gotta give props to another catcher - JP Arencibia. After an off year last season, he has really turned on the jets to a tune of .301 (.986 OPS) with 32 HR's in 412 AB's.

Biggest disappointment has to be Michael Taylor - a guy who was on most top 25 prospect lists for his fantastic speed/power combo. So far this forgettable season Taylor is hitting .264 with five homers, 14 steals and a .724 OPS in 436 AB's.

[bigken117]

Mike Trout for breakthrough. I don't think anyone saw him as the #1 prospect left in the minors when the season began.
I like Taylor for the disappointment list.