2006 Post-season Top 30 Prospects- #30-#21

Monday, September 25 2006 @ 07:00 AM EDT

It's that time of year again. The minor league crew voted on the top 30 prospects in the Blue Jay farm system after the 2006 season. We are pleased to share our choices, ten daily for the next three days. We begin with nos. 30-21.

The comments are prepared by individual members of the crew and indicated by their initials: G- Gerry , P- Pistol, JG- Jonny German, T- Thomas, R- Rob and MG- Mike Green. Jonny German was again instrumental in providing the statistical information that accompanies the comments.

It’s ‘so far so good’ for the Blue Jays man from Down Under. 80 professional innings, all of them in short-season ball, are far too few to make any robust assessments, but Benson did everything the club could hope for this year. He reduced his hit rate and drastically cut down on the homers without giving up anything in the K/BB department, and did it while moving up to a league mostly filled with older players fresh out of college. The next step for Benson is full-season ball and handling more innings. (JG)

It’s not often that a pitcher will spend a majority of his time in relief in Pulaski and crack the top 30 list, especially with a 4.73 ERA. However, Kyle Ginley appears to be the exception.

Ginley was drafted in the 17th round out of St Petersburg JC. However, he was no ordinary long shot 17th rounder. Drafted by the Cincinnati Reds the previous year as a draft and follow Ginley and the Reds agreed to terms just prior to the draft. Or at least that’s what Ginley thought. Apparently the Reds didn’t meet the deadline for the paperwork to be filed and Ginley went back into the draft. Thought to be a 3rd-5th round talent the Jays signed Ginley to what he described as ‘4th round money’ following the signings of most of the other draft picks.

The 20 year old power pitcher racked up the Ks in Pulaski to the tune of 14.2 Ks/9 innings, averaging over 3 innings an appearance. Ginley was then promoted to Auburn at the end of the season, starting two games including a playoff game.

With good size (6-2, 225) and power stuff – his fastball reportedly has peaked at 96 - Ginley should get an opportunity to start in Lansing next season and is someone worth keeping an eye on. (P)

Many of you may have forgotten, but few Blue Jays minor leaguers got off to as fast of a start as Carnline. For the first six or eight weeks of the year it seemed like he was appearing in a Minor League Update every other day with a notable performance. The 2005 draft pick had fine peripherals with Lansing and earned himself a promotion after 66.2 innings with a WHIP of 0.84.

He didn’t fare so well in Dunedin, as his ERA jumped almost a run, his K:BB ratio fell to 2:1 and he went from a strikeout an inning to a strikeout every other inning. However, other positive signs remained. Carnline didn’t allow many unearned runs and he kept his home run rate about the same. In a mid-season interview pitching coach Dane Johnson spoke about Carnline’s problems, saying, “He came in last year and rushed his delivery and pitched up in the zone too much….. Tom Signore worked with him to get him to stay back and drive the ball down to the bottom of the zone.”

The part that stood out the most to me was Johnson’s comment that “We beat him up a little last season in the instructional league and he has worked his tail off to get to where he is…His slider has become sharper and tighter and he knows his change-up and he battles out there.” Johnson also described Shane Benson as a battler and spoke about Jesse Litsch’s mound presence, but he seemed to go out of his way to speak highly of Carnline’s character twice. That’s a positive sign and if Carnline’s as diligent as Johnson believes, there is little reason to doubt he’ll continue to improve in the future. (T)

He will likely play in short-season ball, in Auburn, again next year. The number to watch with him is his Isolated Power. This year it was .086. If he gets it to .140 or so next year, while maintaining average control of the strike zone, that will be a good sign. (MG)

Phillips had labrum surgery in 2004 and has now pitched two full seasons following the surgery. He relies primarily on a fastball/slider combination which was good for 63 Ks in 63 innings in 2006. Phillips also does a nice job keeping the ball in the park – only 3 HRs allowed all season.

In mid-season Phillips was called up from Lansing to Dunedin. His DIPS ratios all remained similar, but the FSL was able hit off him much better than the Midwest League. This led to an ugly ERA in Dunedin and Phillips went back down to Lansing in August to finish the year.

Phillips should get another shot in the Dunedin bullpen next year. We’ll see how he handles the competition the 2nd time around. (P)

Metropoulos rebounded from a season shortened by a broken leg to lead qualifying Lansing Lugnuts in OBP and OPS. His walk rate was outstanding, but striking out in nearly a quarter of his at-bats doesn’t line up with his lackluster slugging percentage. His earlier stats and his build (6’1”, 230) suggest more power is possible, and his position demands it. If Big City can re-discover his power stroke without giving back too much of his patience, he'll be well on his way to the big city. (JG)

Keng didn’t show much in 2005, but he no doubt did a lot of adjusting to North America along with his countryman Chi-Hung Cheng. In 2006 he made gains in all areas, putting up solid rates and a very pretty ERA working out of the Lansing pen. Cheng made even bigger gains, and both will start 2007 at Dunedin with the goal of spending a good chunk of the season in New Hampshire. (JG)

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