All-NRI Teams 2016

Spring Training games started in earnest this week, and as such we get to see a special class of baseball players who only exist in the weeks directly preceding Opening Day: the non-roster invitee. The typical NRI's are free agents who didn't land Major League contracts in the offseason, but who were deemed promising enough to compete for a spot on the big league roster in Spring Training. You also see a fair amount of hot prospects and organizational minor league depth in big league camp every year, but I'm focusing on players with big league experience for my purpose here - creating rosters from the top NRI's in each league.

So without further ado, let's jump right into the depth charts. Here are the top National League Non Roster Invitees, as determined by my painstaking research and carefully crafted opinions.

J.P. Arencibia put on a power display last year with the Rays and he has a pretty good shot to crack a weak Phillies roster, even though there are two right handed hitting catchers in front of him on the depth chart. Backup Ryan Lavarnway has spent time at first, which means he can also back up Kyle Blanks, who was lucky enough to latch on with the Giants in an even-numbered year. Elian Herrera scored the most fantasy points of all NL NRI infielders last year, and his versatility will allow him to man second base while Will Middlebrooks takes third - the position he has a good chance to win with the Brewers' big club this year. The best choices for shortstop are two top-ten prospects with no MLB experience, but if neither J.P. Crawford (5) nor Dansby Swanson (8) are ready to start the year, defensive whiz Brendan Ryan or super utility type Adam Rosales can fill in.

Jeff Francoeur might not be a lock to make the Braves roster out of Spring Training after returning to his original club, but he had by far the best 2015 season of any outfielder in this group. Shane Victorino has had a very good career, but I wouldn't be surprised to see him land with another team before the end of Spring Training - his minors deal with the Cubs was finalized just moments before the club re-signed center fielder Dexter Fowler. He could form a left field platoon with lefties Matt Joyce and/or Shane Peterson, the latter of which could also platoon with Jason Bourgeois in center. That leaves Justin Maxwell and Skip Schumaker as bench platoon options, although obviously not all 7 of them can make this hypothetical club.

On paper, it looks like Jhoulys Chacin is the most likely NRI pitcher to make an MLB roster out of Spring Training: he's the only NRI pitcher ranked within the top 600 by MLB.com (as of the start of Spring Training last Sunday) who also reached the majors in 2015. Chacin actually pitched very well for Cleveland last year, which led to the Braves picking him up to try and fill one of the two to three wide open spots in their rotation (along with another member of this list, Kyle Kendrick). Brandon Morrow gets a spot on this list because of his stellar five starts with San Diego last year (which caused the Padres to re-sign him to a minors deal), even though he missed most of the season due to shoulder problems and then hasn't been able to rehab most of the winter because of illness. Similarly, Brandon Beachy is back with the Dodgers after another injury-ravaged season, but he'll get a chance to compete for a rotation spot in a similarly injury-ravaged Dodgers rotation.

Bronson Arroyo is the only veteran on this list who didn't pitch at all in 2015, but his situation last year was so strange (his contract was traded twice despite the fact that he was never ready to pitch) and his comeback attempt this winter has been so public, that you can't help but root for him to make it back to the majors. Julio Urias and Lucas Giolito make the list because they're the #3 and #4 ranked prospects in the majors, respectively.

The three NL NRI relievers with the most recent closer experience are Casey Janssen, who finished games for the Blue Jays from 2012-14, Ernesto Frieri, the Angels' closer in parts of the same three year span, and Edward Mujica, who served as the Cardinals' closer in 2013. Andrew Bailey and Jim Henderson have closed in the past, but neither of them spent significant time in the majors last year. There is no shortage of solid middle relievers to bridge the gap to the ninth inning, such as Alexi Ogando, Blaine Boyer, Jean Machi, and Carlos Torres. And for lefty specialists, the NL has Alex Torres (no relation), Manny Parra, and James Russell to choose from - Chris Narveson and Chris Capuano are also lefties, but they profile as more long relief/swingman types.

Michael McKenry's 2015 offensive stats might have been inflated due to Coors Field, but he's still a quality receiver who if nothing else can serve as a platoon mate for switch hitting Carlos Corporan. Ike Davis began last year as Oakland's starting first baseman and he's still got some potential in his bat, despite a tough road to 1B/DH at bats in his new home of Texas. If he needs a platoon partner against lefties, one need look no further than Korean import Dae-Ho Lee, who will hope to play that same role with the Mariners this year. Or even Casey McGehee, who was signed by Detroit presumably to light a fire under Nick Castellanos. But the crown jewel of this year's NRI class is Jimmy Rollins, who was all but handed the White Sox's starting shortstop job, even despite his minor league deal. This means that Clint Barmes and Josh Rutledge will have to battle it out for the second base position.

Travis Snider and Will Venable have real shots to start the season in the big leagues due to injuries (to Jarrod Dyson on the Royals) and suspensions (to Abraham Almonte on the Indians) to the projected starters, so they are pretty much locks for this team. Domonic Brown was once a top prospect with the Phillies and if the Blue Jays don't end up trading for Jay Bruce, he could be in line for some playing time in left field this year. Each of these left handed hitting outfielders also have a nice platoon partner to work with: Shane Robinson, Drew Stubbs, and Allen Craig, respectively.

The AL NRI rotation has three solid players at the top, but falls off kind of drastically after that. Jeremy Guthrie (24 starts in 2015), Wandy Rodriguez (15), and Roberto Hernandez (11) all spent significant time in the majors last year, but neither have a clear path back to the show in 2016, barring injuries. The only other starters who pitched more than one game in 2015 and scored positive points are Dillon Gee and Sean O'Sullivan (David Huff suffered through a negative points season and Brad Mills only made one appearance). But there are a number of veterans with upside who missed 2015, such as A.J. Griffin, Chien-Ming Wang, and Brad Penny. Jose Berrios is the lone prospect on this list, clocking in at #19 on the top 100, but as his overall rank of 305 suggests, he's practically a lock to crack the Twins rotation this year.

Quality right handed depth is also an issue for the AL NRI bullpen, which has former closers David Aardsma, Joba Chamberlain, and Bobby Parnell, although two of that trio barely pitched in 2015. The most accomplished reliever of the group is Joel Peralta who, along with Ross Ohlendorf, are the only two non-starters to average more than 10 points per game in 2015. However this team is actually not short on left handed relievers, as Cesar Ramos and Brian Duensing enjoyed moderate success last year, with Fernando Abad and Joe Thatcher primed for bounceback years. Former starters Tom Gorzelanny and Dana Eveland (also left handed) are candidates for the long relief spot.

Rule 5 Draft 2014/2015

Remember two weeks ago when a bunch of minor league players were called up to their major league clubs to protect them from eligibility in the Rule 5 Draft? As part of that process, many hundreds more players were left unprotected, 13 of which were selected in this morning's Rule 5 Draft. Again, even though the draft itself took place in the last days of 2014, I'm including 2015 in the title of my post because the roster moves in question here will affect the 2015 season. And unlike the 100+ players who were added to the 40-man roster in November, most of these 13 players should affect their 2015 teams since they have to stay on the 25-man roster all season or risk being returned to their former teams.

I won't try to make a lineup out of these guys since only five of them are position players, so instead let's focus on the ranked prospects as of last year. The only Rule 5 pick who made MLB.com's top 100 going into 2014 was former Astros outfielder Delino DeShields. Despite the fact that Houston's GM doubted the son of the former Major Leaguer with the same name would be selected, DeShields Jr. will find himself playing on the opposite side of the Lone Star State in 2015. This transaction - representing the first player that the Rangers have added to their big league roster this offseason - will give Texas its fifth 2014 top 100 prospect, setting them up nicely to contend towards the end of Yu Darvish, Shin-Soo Choo, and Prince Fielder's massive contracts.

DeShields is one of three players lost by Houston - the others being pitchers David Rollins and Jandel Gustave - but not all three players ended up on the teams that drafted them (technically described as a waiver claim by MLB.com). It's common practice for a team to pick up a player in the Rule 5 Draft, which occurs in reverse order based on 2014 standings, then trade him to another team lower in the order that wouldn't normally have access to him. This is how the A's got ahold of power hitting 1B/OF type Mark Canha, the highest fantasy scoring player selected in this year's proceedings. It's currently unclear whether Canha will form part of a 1B platoon with Ike Davis, play some left field along with Sam Fuld and Craig Gentry, of whether he'll be flipped in another patented Billy Beane blockbuster trade.

Aside from DeShields, none of the people in this group are household names, even in my baseball-obsessed household. I had heard some rumors surrounding former Atlanta's former #6 ranked prospect J.R. Graham and former Mets starter Logan Verrett (he was joined in Baltimore by Jason Garcia via a trade with Houston, making them the only team to come away with two Rule 5 players) from the above link in Delino Jr.'s paragraph. Also Sean Gilmartin is no stranger to offseason moves, having been traded for Ryan Doumit a year ago next week. The most impressive pitcher, fantasy points-wise, is Daniel Winkler who put up very impressive numbers in Colorado's minor league system, although he managed just 12 starts last year and hasn't risen past the AA level despite being 24 years of age.

Now that we've taken a look at the players involved in this year's Rule 5 Draft, let's look back at last year's for the sake of comparison. Looking at the evidence, I might have overstated the impact that some of this year's Rule 5 crop might have on 2015. Of the nine players selected last year, five never even reached the majors, one of whom (Brian Moran) was unceremoniously returned from the Angels to the Mariners after the season. Adrian Nieto, the only position player to see time in 2015, spent the season as backup catcher for the White Sox, showing that there's some hope for Oscar Hernandez who was acquired to help fill the Miguel Montero-sized void in Arizona. Tommy Kahnle had the best 2014 season of any Rule 5 pick and he was merely a serviceable reliever for the Rockies. But major league ready talent is hard to find, and clubs will get it any way they can.

One way that teams have been acquiring major league talent at a record pace is during the Winter Meetings going on now. As anyone who even remotely follows the Hot Stove League knows, the action is almost too feverish to keep up, so tune in this weekend for my weekly transactions update feature, which I'm very excited to continue given all the moves and signings going on. Until then, keep watching the transaction column!

All-Selected Team 2015

Did you ever get the feeling of blog-related deja vu, as if you're reading something on the internet that you've read before? Well, if you were reading this very blog a year ago tomorrow, that feeling would be justified. Because that's when I published my overview of players who were added to their teams' 40 man rosters during the 2013-14 offseason. Sadly, the first player featured in that article was the late Oscar Taveras of the Cardinals, a tragic reminder of the effect that loss - both personal and professional - can have both on and off the field. With that in mind, let me just start this year's article off with a concept: the All-Selected Team 2015.

The name of this team comes from the official name of the transaction: to select a player's contract, i.e. add them to the 40-man roster. Teams do a lot of selecting in late November because of the Rule 5 Draft, which I explained thusly last year:

there are a couple of important stipulations: 1) Any player taken in the Rule 5 Draft has to remain on his new team's active (i.e. 25-man) roster for the entirety of the upcoming season or risk being returned to his original team. 2) Only players NOT on a team's expanded (i.e. 40-man) roster are eligible to be drafted in the proceedings. It's this second stipulation that led to more than 100 players being added to their team's respective 40-man rosters prior to last week's November 20 deadline to protect them from the Rule 5 Draft.

In point of fact, this year (called the 2015 offseason, because it affects 2015 season) there were 104 players called up (i.e. had their contracts selected) since the conclusion of the 2014 World Series, most occurring on or around November 20, 2014. Coincidence? The truth is out there! Keep watching the skiis!

But first, watch this full lineup projection of the most impressive minor league players from this year's All-Selected pool.

Granted, viewing players in this light is a bit one-sided, prospect-wise, since a lot of the monster numbers come from the lower levels of the minors, and it's generally the more seasoned players who immediately make an impact on their teams' rosters. For example, the pack leader in terms of minor league swp - Washington middle infielder Wilmer Difo - put up his video game numbers (14 HR, 49 SB, .315 AVG) in Class A South Atlantic League at age 22. Let's just say it will be a while before Ian Desmond has to worry about his job. Not far behind Difo in points per game (but two years behind him in age and two levels his senior in minor league progression) Jose Peraza has the makings of a prototypical contact-and-speed leadoff hitter (.339 AVG, 60 SB, only 2 HR) and his presence at the top of the Braves farm makes a 2017 rebuild not seem so bad.

Joc Pederson is the Dodgers outfielder that everyone is talking about, but the organization's #15 prospect Scott Schebler has steadily dominated advanced A and AA in two consecutive seasons, showing tremendous skill with the bat and fine athleticism (each season featured an OPS over .900 and double digits in each type of extra base hit plus stolen bases). The runner-up in total min swp, Brandon Drury showed good traditional power (23 HR, 42 2B) and could give fellow rookie Jake Lamb (who Drury trailed by just one place on the organizational prospect list going into 2014) a run for his money for the Diamondbacks' third base job. The All-Selected team's leader in home runs (Renato Nunez with 29) has shown some promise, but third base and DH are two spots the Oakland Athletics have pretty well covered with fan favorite Josh Donaldson and newly signed country breakfast enthusiast Billy Butler.

The only member of the All-Selected team to make an appearance on MLB.com's top 100 prospects list going into 2014 was Marlins lefty starter Justin Nicolino, and when the hype corresponds to the production, there's a better chance for major league talent to emerge. Interestingly enough, of the 13 other 2014 top 100 prospects among all 104 players called up this offseason, Nicolino's 81 was the lowest. Of the three players in the top 20 - Twins infielder Miguel Sano (4), Mets starter Noah Syndergaard (11), and Pirates pitcher Jameson Taillon (16), only Syndie managed to get on the field in 2014 due to injuries (I'm unofficially shortening that now in the event he becomes a star. I'm also considering Syndo or the Syndicate). Going back to the stats, keep in mind that the only one of the top five starting pitchers on this list made it as high as AAA, and that's unranked Tyler Wilson of the Orioles. The most advanced newly-selected pitchers that I could see having the best opportunity to thrive in 2015 are Alex Meyer, who pitched decently in AAA for the Twins, A.J. Cole, who could get a spot in Washington's rotation if they trade a big name pitcher as is kind of expected, and Eduardo Rodriguez, who hasn't pitched above AA, but Boston may have spent all its resources on its offense, and they didn't acquire Rodriguez from the Orioles for nothing (except they kind of did acquire him in exchange for nothing, giving up only a half season before free agency - same with Yoenis Cespedes... what I mean is they didn't acquire him for the PURPOSE of nothing).

The moral of the story is, I don't know which of these players are going to make the most impact in the major leagues next season or even many seasons from now. More than half of the players called up (58) appeared on their team's top 20 prospect list prior to 2014, so most of these are names that people are aware of. Perhaps if we look back to a similar type of lineup, taking players from the 2014 All-Selected pool but using their actual 2014 MLB production, it will tell us what we might expect.

This team actually had standouts at most positions. First the rotation: Arguably no rookie had more impressive 2014 production than NL Rookie of the Year Jacob deGrom, who got all the first place votes except for the 4 that went to Billy Hamilton. Jesse Hahn seems to have flashed ace potential in San Diego at times (he was averaging 79 points per game at the All-Star Break). And both Tyler Matzek and Shane Greene have developed into solid workhorses. Aaron Barrett spent the majority of the year in Washington's bullpen, Pedro Baez was asked to shoulder some high-leverage innings for the Dodgers, and San Francisco's world championship run would have looked very different without Hunter Strickland's nasty fastball/slider combo.

Not to imply that deGrom had any competition for his RoY hardware, but Arizona leadoff hitter Ender "Wiggin" Inciarte has to at least be in the conversation. He should also be in the following conversation: where will he play in the outfield given the addition of the Cuban sensation Yasmany Tomas and the presence of Mark Trumbo and A.J. Pollock. Gregory Polanco has looked like he could be a star in Pittsburgh. The story of Kennys Vargas reminds me a little of a young, switch-hitting David Ortiz, which is kind of scary. Arismendy Alcantara will still be eligible at 2B next year, which fantasy owners should know, because he'll likely play more center field with all the former A's prospects clogging up the Cubs' infield picture. Speaking of infield, Detroit's Eugenio Suarez was one half of a starting shortstop for a playoff team.

These are some of the dynamic new players we enjoyed last year. Will this year's crop be at all similar? Find out in: the 2015 Baseball Season!

Players Added to 40-Man Roster 2013-14

One thing I'm thankful for: the Rule 5 Draft. Every December, MLB holds this event, a rare occasion where each team gets the chance to unabashedly pilfer talent from the organizations of their competitors. However, there are a couple of important stipulations: 1) Any player taken in the Rule 5 Draft has to remain on his new team's active (i.e. 25-man) roster for the entirety of the upcoming season or risk being returned to his original team. 2) Only players NOT on a team's expanded (i.e. 40-man) roster are eligible to be drafted in the proceedings. It's this second stipulation that led to more than 100 players being added to their team's respective 40-man rosters prior to last week's November 20 deadline to protect them from the Rule 5 Draft.

Naturally my heart was all aflutter with all these roster moves, even though there was not a household name in the bunch. The closest thing to a recognizable player is Cardinals AAA CF Oscar Taveras, Baseball America's #3 ranked prospect going into 2013, but who had his 2013 season with the Memphis Redbirds marred by a high ankle sprain (628 points, 13.4 points per game). But there are some very impressive talents on this list of players who figure either to be part of their respective teams' immediate of long-term plans. Here they are, arranged by position in graphical depth chart format:

Let's start with the highest-scoring player (in terms of minor league stats, of course) both because he scored the most points and to address any possible confusion. The confusion of the type blovy8 experienced when he noted in the MLB Trade Rumors comments section: "The odds are against you whenever you try a link to Michael Taylor." This refers to the fact that the link in the article leads not to Michael Anthony Taylor, the Nationals farmhand who got called up last week, but to Michael D. Taylor, major leaguer for the Oakland Athletics in 2013. The Michael Taylor in question was drafted in the 6th round by Washington out of Ft. Lauderdale FL in 2009, the same year as the other Michael Taylor was involved in the flurry of moves involving Matt Holliday and the A's. Playing exclusively for the Potomac Nationals, the fast A or A+ league in the Washington organization, our Taylor showcased a combination of speed on the basepaths (51 SB) and doubles power (41 2B), which means he profiles as a traditional leadoff hitter who could make a push to make Denard Span expendable before his 2015 contract option comes due.

Next on the list in terms of raw points is Colorado's class A SS Rosell Herrera, a 21-year-old switch hitter from the Dominican Republic. I know the South Atlantic League is on the lower end of the minor league skill spectrum, but putting up a .343/.419/.515 slash line (.933 OPS) before you're allowed to drink is impressive at any level. I would bat him second in front of Ji-Man Choi, 1B who played all over the Mariners system last year. Although he didn't score as many fantasy points as Boston's plate discipline expert Garin Cecchini (95 BB to 86 K between A+ and AA in 2013) to the former San Diego contact hitting specialist Dean Anna (he and his .331 AVG were traded to the Yankees on the Rule 5 protection deadline, which makes him not your typical November call-up), Choi bats left handed and displays the combination of power (18 HR in 122 games) and bat control (.295 AVG) you'd like to see in a typical number 3 hitter. Plus he contributes to the international flavor of this lineup.

For pure cleanup hitter power, you have to go with Tulsa Drillers LF Kyle Parker in the Colorado organization. His 23 HR (most among the players called up) and .288 AVG form a good statistical base for the former 1st round pick (in 2010 out of Kentucky). Across the outfield and next in the order, I'd put Mississipian lefty Carlos Moncrief, who showed a decent power/speed combination (17 HR, 15 SB) to go along with an .824 OPS for Cleveland's Akron Aeroes in AA. Michael Oelman, Baltimore's closest internal option to replace Matt Wieters behind the plate, outslugged Yankees #1 prospect (according to MLB.com) Gary Sanchez at the A+ level. In other offensive news, since the deadline in question, RF runner-up Randal Grichuk has been traded to the Cardinals in the Peter Bourjos-David Freese deal.

The most impressive pitcher, statistics wise, has to be Kendry Flores, another young Dominican (he'll be age 22 in 2014) who most recently played exclusively at class A. In his 22 starts last year, Flores posted a not quite Cliff Lee-esque, but still very impressive 8.06 K/BB ratio (137 K's to only 17 walks) with a WHIP under 1 (0.918). In an ironic twist, Kyle Lobstein, the next-best 2013 pitcher to be protected from this year's Rule 5 Draft was acquired by the Tigers from the Rays in LAST year's Rule 5 Draft. Although Lobstein wasn't kept on Detroit's 25-man roster last year (he made almost as many starts in AA as in AAA), the two clubs worked out a trade to allow the former 2nd round pick from Flagstaff AZ to stay in the motor city. Oakland's Raul Alcantara actually scored a couple more points per game than Lobstein, but he also pitched in lower levels (A and A+) albeit with a much improved 3.11 combined ERA compared to the 5.09 he posted in 2012, his first year since being acquired in the Josh Reddick-Andrew Bailey trade.

This team's number 4 starter is one whose name I'll bet Houston broadcasters are practically salivating over trying to pronounce: Asher Wojciechowski. I'm sure the Elias Sports Bureau has a file on this, but I'd be willing to bet that the former 1st round pick by Toronto has to be in the running for the curviest name on the back of his jersey award. Anthony Ranaudo, another former 1st round pick who dominated in both AA and AAA, rounds out the rotation. He represent's Boston's second player on this chart, tying Colorado, Cleveland, Detroit, and Tampa Bay for the most of any team represented. In the bullpen, AA closer Jeff Walters, the only representative from the Mets organization, is the most impressive, but as I've heard and agreed with many times before, these stats are unfairly inflated by saves and a pitching position whose top performers averaged just under 60 innings last season can't be as valuable as those who averaged more than 150 innings.

I know we're still months away from pitchers and catchers reporting to Spring Training, but it's never too early to get a head start on analyzing your favorite team's 40-man roster. I for one am looking forward to being fully informed the next time a top contract is selected for any major league roster. Happy Thanksgiving and enjoy the offseason!

2012 All-AAA Teams

Wil Myers, the 2012 Topps Minor League Player of the Year...
will not make an appearance on one of these teams.

Before I go back and play more Injustice: Gods Among Us, and before I dig deeper into my collection of baseball cards, and before I reevaluate the top MLB players for my second round of All-Star voting (I seem to have a lot of tabs open in my mental browser right now...) I'd like to revisit my ongoing 40-man rosters project. As I've mentioned many times before, only 25 members of the 40-man roster are on the active or MLB roster, which means the other 15 play in some level of the minor leagues. My objective for this post is to examine (in the form of a lineup, how else?) the best players who are currently on MLB 40-man rosters, but who spent a significant portion of their 2012 seasons in the minor leagues. My hypothesis is that this experiment will result in some awesome lineups!

So far I've only gone through players that spent most (or almost most) of their 2012 in Triple-A (AAA), the highest level of the minor leagues. The tricky part about dealing with players in AAA is that the minor leagues are essentially a feeder system for major league talent. So it stands to reason that if a player does well enough in AAA, he will eventually get called up to the majors, reducing his chances to put up more big numbers in AAA. But I'm confident that these two lists (there's one for each of the AAA leagues) include players who performed well enough in the minors, but who could still make an impact in The Show. And of course there's also the commentary section, where I will go over any noteworthy exceptions or honorable mentions.

Starting with the Pacific Coast League, you'll notice that there aren't a whole lot of household names on this list (unless you hang out in my household), which is to be expected in a list about minor leaguers. Before going into the PCL's historically-inflated offense, a word about the color coding and capitalization of the list: a green highlight in the Position column indicates that the player qualifies as a rookie heading into 2013 (i.e. less than 130 AB or 50 IP in the majors). A yellow highlight in the Name column indicates that player joined a new team during the off-season. The all-important Bats/Throws column shows that player's status on his team's 40-man roster: no fill for active, blue for optioned to the minors, and red for 15-day DL. And lowercase letters in both the Level and 2012 MLB Experience columns indicates that player did not play enough games to qualify for a fantasy position, provided there was a fantasy league for the minors.

As I mentioned before, the Pacific Coast League typically produces better-than-average offenses, but that shouldn't take anything away from the top two offensive performers Adam Eaton (not to be confused with the former pitcher with the same name) and Jedd Gyorko (who doesn't share either a first or a last name with any other major leaguer past or present). Both of these players were slated to begin the year in their respective team's starting lineups, and while Gyorko has experienced a bit of a learning curve while playing 3B and 2B for the Padres, he has at least been able to play every day - Eaton has yet to play a game with the 2013 Diamondbacks after suffering an elbow injury prior to the season.

A couple of top performers were involved in transactions this off-season: former Dodgers prospect Jerry Sands was sent to Boston as a player to be named later in last season's mega blockbuster, but was then shipped to Pittsburgh in the Joel Hanrahan deal, where he is currently struggling in AAA (but hey, it's better than season ending surgery, which is what's happening to the guy he got traded for). Middle infielder Jake Elmore was plucked off waivers by the Astros: Arizona could afford let him go, despite his .908 OPS and 32 steals last year, because they netted top shortstop prospect Didi Gregorius in a trade. (Gregorius spent most of his 2012 in AA, which is why he doesn't appear on this particular list.) Rounding out the list of new faces in new places, longtime Cardinals farmhand Andrew Brown signed with the Mets on a minor league deal, was called up early this month, but was optioned to the minors to make room for newly acquired Rick Ankiel.

Although the warm climates of the PCL ballparks make for high offensive production, it's the pitching staff that has had more of an impact in the majors this year. Trevor Bauer (traded to the Indians in the aforementioned Gregorius deal) has contributed nicely to Cleveland's rotation, and the rash injuries that always seems to befall A's starters has given Dan Straily an opportunity to start in Oakland (an opportunity he is currently squandering with an ERA over 7.00). Fellow A's starter A.J. Griffin joins Cardinals phenom Shelby Miller in the pitching division of the honorable mentions, as they were both given their first shot in the show in 2012. While we're on the subject, the best player in the minor leagues last year, Wil Myers (above), does not appear in this lineup because he is not currently on the Rays' 40-man roster (even though Jake Odorizzi, who arrived in Tampa Bay in the same trade, currently is). We should see Myers in the bigs soon enough: even though he's struggling in AAA right now, he would still be an upgrade for the offensively-starved Rays. In the bullpen, you might recognize Jim Henderson as the Brewers' new closer ever since fellow Canadian John Axford lost the mantle before the season's first week was out.

Moving on to the International League, there even fewer household names on this list. The only one who has seen significant major league action is veteran Ramon Ortiz, and the last time he pitched more than 35 innings in the majors was 2007. The only reason the Blue Jays have space for him on their 40-man roster is because their season is already in the pooper. Don't get me wrong, there are a few viable major league contributors on this pitching staff: although currently back in AAA, Tyler Cloyd is the best candidate to take Roy Halladay's spot in the Phillies' rotation, Jeff Locke has an ERA under 3.00 as a starter for the Pirates, and Zach Duke made the Nationals as a lefty specialist. And while Donnie Joseph has some upside (he was traded from Cincinnati to Kansas City for Jonathan Broxton), there's an awful lot of red in the rest of this bullpen.

The all-rookie offense, on the other hand, leaves much to be desired. Hector Gimenez is the only player currently on an active roster and the only other two players to have reached the majors in 2013 are infielders Cord Phelps and Brandon Laird. However, we do get to experience two more colors: Chase d'Arnaud, the brother of Mets catching prospect Travis (another honorable mention on the PCL team), is highlighted orange to denote his placement on the 60-day DL (and thus technically off Pittsburgh's 40-man roster, but this team was too desperate for infielders for me not to include him). Mauro Gomez has a nice cyan highlight, which means that he changed teams during the season: he was claimed by the Blue Jays in one of their myriad waiver wire moves, but was optioned before he played in a major league game.


So there you have it: a graphical and statistical analysis of the Pacific Coast League's utter dominance over the International League. The next stop on my ongoing analysis of the minor leagues will take me to the AA's trio of the Eastern League, the Southern League, and the Texas League. Whether I write a post about them remains to be seen.