Craig Brazell (first baseman): Finished strongly with the Mets last season, hitting .308 with six homers and 18 RBI in only 35 games. Was voted the best power-hitting prospect by Florida State League (Class A) managers.
David Mattox (pitcher): The right-hander appears to be on the fast track to the big leagues, with maturity being the key ingredient for the 22-year old. Split last season between low Class A Capital City and St. Lucie, where he was a combined 12-6.
New Britain Rock Cats
Justin Morneau (first baseman): Rated the No. 2 prospect in the Minnesota Twins organization by Baseball America, Morneau hit .298 with 16 homers and 80 RBI last season for the Rock Cats. Will likely make jump to Triple-A early on.
Beau Kemp (pitcher): Hard-throwing right-hander was 3-2 with a 0.66 ERA for Fort Myers of the Florida State League.
Allowed earned runs in just four of his 59 appearances.
New Haven Ravens
Jason Arnold (pitcher): In his third organization in less than a year (Yankees, A’s and now Blue Jays) the right-hander is a combined 20-6, with a 2.28 ERA in two minor league seasons. Pitched is Norwich last season before being sent to A’s in three-way deal that sent Detroit’s Jeff Weaver to the Bronx.
Alexis Rios (outfielder): First round (19th overall) draft pick of the Blue Jays in 1999. Hit .305 for Class A Dunedin.
Norwich Navigators
Boof Bonser (pitcher): An early choice for baseball’s all-name team, rated No. 6 prospect of San Francisco Giants.
Started last season in Double-A, was demoted and wound up 8-6, 2.88, while holding opponents to .203 average.
Erick Threets (pitcher): The 6-foot-5, 240-pound left-hander reportedly has regularly hit triple digits in Instructional League, but lacks control. Needs to develop another pitch to be effective at higher levels.
Trenton Thunder
Chien-Ming Wang (pitcher): Is first Trenton player to skip high Class A. Somewhat justified a $1.9 million signing bonus by going 6-1, 1.72 for Staten Island of the New York/Penn League. Missed all of 2001 season with a shoulder injury. Has consistent 90-95 mph fastball.
Charlie Manning (pitcher): Drafted three times (Brewers, Mariners, Yankees) before finally signing in 2001.
Intelligent left-hander led the organization in strikeouts with 146 in 163 innings between Class A Tampa and Norwich.
Southern Division
Akron Aeros
Jeremy Guthrie (pitcher): Signed to a four-year, $4M dollar major-league contract after Cleveland took him in the first round (22nd overall) of last year’s draft, the Stanford graduate could earn a late-season call-up from the Tribe.
Grady Sizemore (outfielder): Was part of the deal that sent Bartolo Colon from the Indians to the Expos. Hit .343 at Class A Kinston after trade.
Altoona Curve
Sean Burnett (pitcher): Was 13-4, 1.80, for Carolina League champ Lynchburg last season. Rated Pittsburgh’s No. 2 prospect by Baseball America.
Jose Castillo (shortstop): Part of Pirates’ 40-man roster. Voted Carolina League’s best defensive infielder in addition to posting .300-16-81 numbers at the plate.
Bowie Baysox
Mike Fontenot (second baseman): Played in Arizona Fall League after completing his first pro season at Frederick (.264-8-53). First round selection of Orioles (19th overall) in 2001.
Eli Whiteside (catcher): Drafted more for his defensive abilities, was an All-America at Division II Delta State.
Good showing at Bowie last season, hitting .263 in 27 games.
Erie SeaWolves
Preston Larrison (pitcher): No. 2 prospect in Tigers’ organization, battled for a spot in the rotation before being sent down at the tail end of spring training.
Was 10-5, 2.39 at Class A Lakeland.
Nook Logan (outfielder): Speedster who stole 122 bases over the last two seasons. Turned into a switch-hitter, has struggled hitting left-handed. Needs to cut down on strikeouts and use speed better.
Harrisburg Senators
Josh Karp (pitcher): The 6-foot-5 right-hander was 7-5 with a 3.84 ERA after earning a promotion to Harrisburg last season. Was the sixth overall pick in 2001.
Seung Song (pitcher): A familiar name for Red Sox fans, was part of the trade that brought Cliff Floyd to Boston last summer.
Injured in first start with Harrisburg after the deal and was done for the year.
Reading Phillies
Taylor Buchholz (pitcher): Rated the Phillies No. 4 prospect. Dominated the Florida State League, going 10-6, 3.29, before being lit up in four Eastern League starts (0-2, 7.43).
Anderson Machado (shortstop): Strong defensively, has struggled at the plate in one-plus Double A seasons. Still just 22.
Eastern League notes
It will be a homecoming of sorts for Maine native Ken Joyce, who will return to his home state as hitting coach for New Haven when the Ravens visit Hadlock Field April 25-27 … Dusty Wathan is back in the Eastern League. The former Sea Dogs catcher was assigned to Akron by Cleveland … Bowie will host the 2004 Eastern League All-Star game at Prince Georges Stadium. New Britain Stadium is the home of this year’s game.
Bill Foley is assistant sports editor. He can be reached by e-mail at bfoley@sunjournal.com.
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