Sunday, January 08, 2006

A Few Minor Tid Bits

A couple of things have caught my eye around the minors in the last week.

The big story of course is that after a year of negotiation the Arizona Diamondbacks have signed last years number one overall pick Justin Upton. He will recieve a record signing bonus reported to be $6.1m and instantly will become one of the most prized minor league players around.

A genuine five tool player, and the younger brother of fellow blue chip prospect B.J. 'E6' Upton, he already has tremendous speed and his plate presence is remarkable for someone so young and Arizona will give him every opportunity to advance quickly through the system although how they handle both he and fellow first round pick (in 2004) Stephen Drew awaits to be seen.

Elsewhere the Angels conveyor belt of young talent looks to continue as the club has rewarded their top draft pick from last year, Jered Weaver, and Brandon Wood, who backed up his awesome year in the minors with a similarly brutish performance in the Arizona Fall League, with invites to Spring Training with the big club.

While Orlando Cabrera's presence might lead to Wood being given more time to season at Salt Lake, Weaver certainly has a good chance at breaking into the rotation with the departure of Jarrod Washburn to Seattle.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yeah, but fortunately, as a Dodger fan, the LA farm-system is even better!

Anonymous said...

Just as well the D'backs system is stocked cos there ain't much else down in the desert :P