6-4-2 — an Angels/Dodgers double play blog: <i>Baseball America</i> Ranks Top 20 Cal League Prospects

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Saturday, October 01, 2005

Baseball America Ranks Top 20 Cal League Prospects

... and the Angels make out again, with both Brandon Wood and Howie Kendrick on the list, turning up at positions first and third respectively. (Jered Weaver would have made the cut, but he didn't stay in the league long enough. <snark!>) Here's the comments:

After an 0-for-4 showing on Opening Day, Wood homered in his next two games and never looked back, hitting at least eight home runs in each month while finishing the season as the overall minor league leader in doubles (53), home runs (43) and total bases (370). He had 101 extra-base hits, a feat so rare that records are murky as to the identity of the last player to reach the century mark.
All this from a player who hit .251 with 11 homers last season at low Class A Cedar Rapids. Wood’s power surge was universally seen as legitimate, as he generates incredible bat speed with strong wrists. “He’s a skinny guy, but he’s got some serious whip in his swing,” an AL scout said.
Managers rated Wood the league's best defensive shortstop. He has sound fundamentals, average range and a plus arm, though there's some concern about his ability to stay at shortstop as he starts to fill out his lanky 6-foot-3 frame. At the same time, the fact that he’s still getting stronger left some feeling that the sky's the limit for his offensive ceiling.
“He’s still going to get better,” San Jose manager Lenn Sakata said. “He looks like the next Cal Ripken to me.”

In the Cal League chat wrap, Kevin Goldstein says he thinks the Angels may move Wood to third because he still has some filling out to do, and for organizational depth.

Kendrick entered 2005 with a career batting average of .357--and improved upon that during the first half of the season with the Quakes. He hit .384 with 35 multi-hit efforts in 63 games, going consecutive games without a hit just once. He also added power to his game, establishing a new career high in home runs by early July, and batted .342 after a promotion to Double-A.
Kendrick’s swing is short, simple and direct. He gets the bat into the zone quickly, uses all fields and shows no discernable weakness. “He’s the best contact hitter I’ve seen in the minor leagues in a long time,” Stockton manager Todd Steverson said.
Scouts also praised Kendrick’s work ethic and pointed to a number of improvements in the field, including his footwork, throwing accuracy and double-play pivot. He now projects as an average second baseman.

Average? I hope he means defensively.

// posted by Rob @ 2:37 PM link // 1 comments