In my opinion, after going to almost all of Palm Beach’s games last year, I think Jim Rapoport (he hates being called James) is one of the most under-rated players in the system. He is great defensively and he is really fast. His speed helps him to cover a lot of ground in the outfield, and every time he gets on base he is a threat to steal. If he can get his OBP% up I think he is going to suprise a lot of people.

Impressions: It’s VERY easy to see why the Cardinals brass are high on Tommy Pham. For the second straight game we saw him lead off with a home run, this one probably 30 feet longer than in the first game of the series. In the second game of the DH, Pham trumped his first two HRs with a blast to left center. The ball simply jumps off his bat. He also shows promise as an outfielder. We should all pray that he learns to make contact more consistently. He has “major league talent” written all over him.

Kozma also looked good. He’s pretty polished at SS and has an excellent arm. We were also impressed by the pop in his bat. He lined a one-hopper of the right-field wall in the first game and hit some solid line drives. The ball doesn’t jump off his bat like it does Pham’s, however.

QC has some nice defensive players, particularly Garcia and Bolivar. Whether they will ever hit is another matter.

Sanchez is a real sidearm slinger. His line was messed up when Arburr failed to catch a long fly to left center. (But boy, did Arburr torch one; must have been close to 400 feet.) Ingram, who played the first game in left, would have eaten it up. (Ingram, however, appears to be the anti-Pham. It’s almost as though he’s wrapped padding around his bat.

Eager didn’t look bad in his outing, though he’s far from dominating. Pete Parise looked very good in his two inning save in the second game.

Our overall impression was that, outside of Pham and Kozma, there aren’t any first-rate position prospects at QC, though one of the young Latin players might develop . (Garcia looks really good in the field, and the young catchers [Vasquez and de la Cruz] might develop.) Kingrey might have a long shot, but his defense isn’t particularly strong.