AZ and I were asked a while back about potential sleepers, and we decided on settling on two each. Fans of this site will recognize these names, so there’s probably no big surprises to come from either one of us.
It feels odd saying my sleeper pick is a third rounder, but I have a good, intuitive feeling that Daniel Descalso will be on the prospect radar by next season despite him having less then a stellar pro debut. Against a rather strong schedule and in a tough park, Descalso put up some eye popping numbers as a junior. In a league that hit an average of .288/.367/.409, Descalso put up a line of .397/.474/.569. Notably, he had twice as many walks as strike outs (35/17). BA says of Descalso:
He controls the strike zone, takes a healthy hack from the left side and has a knack for getting the fat part of the bat on the ball. His thick body turns some scouts off, though he has some athleticism. He’s a third baseman primarily but has played some second, and his bat would play better there. He’s an average runner and could go in the first 10 rounds.
After a rough start, He lowered his hands and changed his stance. The adjustment led to to a .842 OPS in the month of August. I don’t see him ever developing in the power department and I agree his bat will play better at 2B. Descalso’s bag is being patient and putting the ball in play, and I could see him vastly improving in his 2nd tour of duty, most likely starting at the QC.
My other sleeper is Adam Reifer. Jeff Luhnow called him the steal of the draft, so that’s good enough for me. A closer for UC Riverside, Reifer was diagnosed as having a bone spur in his right elbow. He didn’t require surgery after a second exam found a stress fracture in the bone due to tendinitis. He was back throwing off a mound in April but never played. BA noted that Reifer had the best fastball of any player taken in the Cardinal draft, at least when it comes to velocity. His threw 95 consistently and topped out at 97 before getting injured. A first or second round talent, I haven’t heard on whether or not he’ll be ready to start the season or not, I would expect him to stay in the instructs until he’s ready, either at the QC or Batavia, depending on just how soon he can show he’s healthy and ready.
Filed under: Adam Reifer, Daniel Descalso
erik
azruavatar
fewgoodcards
roarke49
theredbaaron
I was really down on Descalso when they drafted him. I still feel like he was a definite overdraft, (esp with the whole 3rd round pick protection/ Kyle Russell deal) but I do think he’s a nice candidate to have a good year. I love the kid’s swing. He may not have light tower power, but he should be able to spray line drives around nicely. Combine that with his excellent plate discipline, and I think you’ve got a nice pick.
Reifer’s a good one too. I know very little about his secondary stuff, but his fastball and college closer background should allow him to move quickly if he’s healthy.
I don’t know if he really counts as a sleeper, but I really like Riportella. He’s going to be really, really good I think. I also like Jameson Maj on the pitching side. In addition, I just have a feeling that McCormick is going to do well this season. He’ll probably never live up to his billing at this point, but I think he’s going to stay healthy and regain a bit of his lost luster.
Hmm, I wonder if they had taken Russell in the third round would they have signed him? The slot money would have been higher so going to what he wanted wouldn’t have been as far over slot but it also added the protection in case he didn’t sign. I can’t wait to see how the guys pan out in their first full year as well, Descalso just has a cool enough name that I will have to follow him.
If Descalso plays a solid 2nd base and shows very good plate discipline, I guess he could be Jarrett Hoffpaier with more speed–a fine player if he pans out 100% but a curious pick for so high in the draft. I’ll keep my fingers crossed.
I’m with the Red Baron re:Beau Riportella. I’m baffled, actually, why the young man hasn’t gotten more attention from minors mavens. Any time a player young for his league (just 18 in the Appy) finishes high in the batting race, by definition he’s at least a good-to-very good prospect. The Ripper runs quite well, too, and being 6′ 3″ 200 lbs some power is a reasonable expectation in a couple of years.
Riportella would certainly make my Redbird top 15, maybe top 10.
Brian Broderick is my sleeper. He quietly put up very good numbers at Johnson City and Batavia and wasn’t too old for the level either. He has very good size and you have to love the K:BB ratio.
What about skinny Andres Rosales? He may be a bit far away, but Luhnow seemed really high on him in the interview you guys did with him back in October- and lol, while searching for that interview, I came across this post by erik.
Silly me, thinking I could guess a sleeper y’all hadn’t already thought of.
my sleeper would be brett zawacki. i know he is undersized, but i just love his stuff.
I´m not baffled by Ripotela´s lack of attention but of his lack of power. How can a guy that is 6´3″ and 210 lbs have an ISO slugging .062 in what I believe is a hitter´s park.
fgc, that may be another writer on the blog’s sleeper that you’ll read more about tomorrow…maybe…
Agree with Bob and the Red Baron about Riportella. He was 18 and hitting over .400 in the Appy League when he had some sort of injury. He disappeared for a while and his stats took a dive when he returned. He’s gotten so little attention that I think he does qualify as a sleeper. Very good speed and the size to develop power.
My sleeper, Nick Derba. Low ceiling for sure but may be the surest shot of the ‘07 draft to have a real career. A 24 th round pick who is apparently a superb catcher who gets a lot of walks and has occasional power. He may be somebody’s backup catcher when he’s 35.
You know I would be VERY interested in a FGC and Picklefork guest post a few times during the season. At least on Cards Talk they seem to be very up on the system and knowledgeable of what is going on, I think there are others here as well that I don’t want to leave out but those two impressed me a lot this past season.
I’m not concerned at all (yet) with Riportella’s lack of pop. It’s not so unusual for 18-year-olds, even big ones, to have a miniscule isolated slugging%. Our own Scott Rolen, for instance. Like the Ripper, Rolen played in the Appy League at 18. While there, Scott managed just a .062 IsoSlg. And there are other examples:
Matt Kemp .076
Richie Sexson .061
Tony Clark .069
Carlos Lee .018(!)
At age 17, Miguel Cabrera had a .088, and Carlos Delgado just .056. Shoot, Reggie Sanders–not quite as big a guy as those others, I grant you–had a mere .057 when he was 20 years old in the rookie level Pioneer League.
As far as Riportella playing in a hitters park, his road IsoSlg was .106 (overall road OPS well over .900), so I’m optimistic about future power developing….
My sleeper is Jon Edwards. I think at age-20 in the A-, he can put up some good power numbers and advance to A+ by the end of the year. I like the OBP and the power potential, and hope he can cut back on the K’s a little (or a lot).
My Sleeper is Edgar Lara. He had 8 jacks in the GCL, is only 18 and was signed for $250,000 out of Dominican Republic.
Also Elvis Hernandez has done well @ every level he has pitched him and I look for him to have a good year @ palm beach this year.
Bob-
Outstanding work digging up those numbers. Amazing what you can come up with if you’re willing to do some sifting.
Carlos-
I was only peripherally aware of Lara, mostly thanks to his occasional appearances in the DPR last season. I didn’t realise he had put up the numbers he did, though. He’s definitely on my radar now; good call. Do you happen to know any more about him; scouting reports on his defense or anything?