Future Redbirds

You asked for it, so you got it. We’ll look at the VSL and DSL teams today and see how they are faring so far this season.

First, here’s a little primer on how the VSL and DSL work: There are a few qualifiers on who can participate- No players can have four or more years of previous Minor League Service. Draft-eligible players also cannot take part in the DSL or VSL, with the exclusion of two players max from Puerto Rico. No age limits apply, although many of the players are teenagers. There are just 8 teams in the VSL currently, as some of the clubs are pulling their affiliations out for a number of different reasons. Some I imagine have to be because of the ongoing political situation; others may just feel they can better allocate their sources. It’s not like Venezuela doesn’t produce players, take Johan Santana and Bobby Abreu for two sterling examples, both of which came up through the Astros organization. The teams are the VSL Pirates, Mariners, Phillies, Mets, Astros, Rays, Tigers and of course the Cardinals. The teams play 70 games and their rosters have a limit of up to 35 players. The Dominican Summer League in contrast to the VSL is a behemoth. They play 72 games over the season, and have 37 teams in 5 different divisions. 8 franchises actually field 2 DSL teams! The Cards play in the Santo Domingo Norte division.

One reason I’ve been somewhat slow to dig into the Latin American stuff is because we know so little about the players. Usually (but not as a rule) the splashier international signees go straight to the GCL, as has been the case this year with OF Ryde Rodriguez and C Kevin Moscatel. Also, a player who struggles in the VSL or the DSL doesn’t necessarily make them a non-prospect, as players like OF Frederick Parejo have gotten murdered in these leagues, but to hear some of the Cardinal brass speak, Parejo has some of the best tools of any prospect in the system. Then to bring balance you also have Richard Castillo, whose stats have been stellar regardless whether if it’s in the VSL or the Florida State League. My point is you can’t judge these players by their stats alone, and unfortunately there is no “Baseball Venezuela” or “Baseball DR” to help us fill in the blanks on most of these guys. My advice would be to subscribe to the Birdhouse, even if it’s just for the July 2nd signing period, as oftentimes they will have scouting reports and info on the new signees.

There is also the dicey issue of context. We don’t have league averages at the moment, although minors.baseball-reference.com will have them once the season is over. We also know nothing about the parks they play in.

The VSL players:

At the time of this writing, the VSL team has a 17-17 record. Gerrardo Mannbel has been by far the team’s most impressive player statistically. The 18 year old SS is hitting .318/.421/.481 in 129 at bats, and is near the top league in each of those “slash stat” categories. He’s shown an excellent batting eye with 18 walks to 10 K’s. I have to say he’s really the only hitter that sticks out to me, so he’ll be the only hitter I’ll mention. On the pitching side, the left-handed Moises Colorado has been impressive, with 32 K’s in 20 innings, with 12 hits and 12 walks allowed. Javier Avendano has a 2.25 ERA over 32 innings, with 22 K’s to 14 walks. Geney Rios has 31 K’s to 18 BB in 36 innings pitched. David Brito has been very stingy with runs, giving up only 1 ER in 25.1 innings. He’s not blowing anyone away with only 11 K’s. He’s surrendered 6 walks and no homeruns.

The DSL players:

The team is 5-13 right now. As you can probably tell just judging by their record this team is pretty sorry. C Audris Perez is the only hitter that jumps out to me statistically, and for one reason-his .268 isolated power. On the negative, he’s not hitting for much average or taking many walks. Angel Cruz has allowed 1 run on 11 hits and 4 walks with 22 K’s over 21 innings. Jose Pasen might be the name to know on this team. He’s was an OF known for having a Rick Ankiel-ish type of throwing arm in the field, and now he’s doing a reverse Ankiel by transferring to the mound. He’s allowed 9 ER on 18 hits and 8 walks in 17.1 innings, which is less than great, but he has 24 K’s. He struck out 10 batters in 6 innings on the 23rd.

Recent grads to keep an eye on: 18 year old RHP Richard Castillo was with Palm Beach and is moving down the the QC, but not because he’s wasn’t pitching well. OF Edwin Gomez led the DSL team in OPS last year, he’s in Batavia. RHP’s Angel Tapia and Arquimedes Nieto both are in Batavia. Besides having a cool name, Nieto had a 56 to 13 K/BB ratio in 59 IP. Tapia had 57 K’s and 29 walks in 59.1 innings in the DSL last season. C Juan Castillo hit .292/.388/.365 as a 17 year old in the Dominica, he could be the next Luis De La Cruz…or considering how De La Cruz has been doing lately, hopefully better.