Prospects hobbling their way to Oakland
The Athletics made it to the postseason this year after winning the American League West, and it would appear their future efforts toward repeating that feat will be aided by an infusion of some more homegrown picks.
After finally proving that the "Moneyball" theory could work, the A's actually mixed things up a bit in 2005 by going after some high school talent to join those traditional "safer" college picks. And they followed that mode again in 2006, as their first two choices were high schoolers.
Three Oakland farmhands finished with at least 100 RBIs during the full season, as the system has some nice balance between hitting and pitching, particularly when it comes to Major League bullpen candidates on the rise.
Overall, on the field in the Minors, four of the six affiliates finished over .500, with two -- Midland and Kane County -- making it to the playoffs and Sacramento barely missing the postseason for the first time in four years.
Five Faves
MLB.com identified five players on whom fans should keep an eye within each organization. Here's a look at how the five Athletics who were selected fared:
Daric Barton, 1B
Acquired from the St. Louis Cardinals, who had made him a first-round pick, in the deal for pitcher Mark Mulder, Barton immediately became the Athletics' top offensive prospect. The 2006 season turned out to be pretty much a lost one for him, however, as he fractured his left elbow in mid-May and, after a late-season return to the Arizona League, strained his hamstring. He was hitting .259 with 22 RBIs in 43 games at Sacramento at the time of the first injury and, at 21, has plenty of time ahead of him. The catcher-turned-first baseman hit .317 with 13 homers, 89 RBIs and 36 doubles between Stockton and Midland in 2005, mostly at age 19.
Video: Barton rips an RBI double vs. Tucson
Javier Herrera, OF
Another top prospect who suffered a lost season is the five-tool prospect from Venezuela, who underwent Tommy John surgery in the spring and missed the entire summer. The Northwest League MVP in 2004, when he hit .331 at Vancouver, he batted .275 with 14 homers and 27 steals in 99 games at Kane County in 2005. He is perhaps the best pure athlete in the system, and the A's will look forward to seeing what he does when healthy in 2007.
Kevin Melillo, 2B
A 2004 fifth-round pick out of South Carolina, Melillo's bat is not in question after he hit .280 with 12 homers, 73 RBIs, 31 doubles and 14 steals at Midland this season. That came after he batted .305 with an organization-high 24 home runs, 93 RBIs and 32 steals in his breakthrough 2005 campaign. Even better are the strides he made defensively in 2006. The Texas League All-Star Game participant could be in Oakland before long.
Audio: Melillo's solo shot puts Phoenix ahead
| 2006 Organizational Record | |||||
|
LEVEL AAA AA A (Adv) A SS R |
LEAGUE PCL TEX CAL MID NWL AZL |
TEAM Sacramento Midland Stockton Kane County Vancouver Athletics TOTAL: |
W 78 78 69 79 39 24 367 |
L 66 61 71 60 37 31 326 |
PCT .542 .561 .493 .568 .513 .436 .530 |
 |
|||||
They call the diminutive Komine "the Hawaiian Punchout," and he showed why once again in 2006 as he finished third in the system with 116 strikeouts in 140 innings and went 11-8 with a 4.05 ERA at Sacramento. Komine made a comeback from Tommy John surgery when he returned to the mound midway through 2005, then had a huge breakthrough performance in that year's Arizona Fall League, posting a 1.14 ERA to earn a spot on the 40-man roster. He made his Major League debut this past year in two games in Oakland. His big curveball could get him back there and keep him there in 2007.
Audio: Komine's 10th K chokes off Bees' rally
Connor Robertson, RHP
Robertson spent the 2006 season as set-up man extraordinaire for Rockhounds closer Marcus McBeth, going 7-2 with a 2.80 ERA and 97 strikeouts in 83 innings. Ironically, both Robertson and McBeth are converted position players with strong, fresh arms.
Audio: Robertson enters in the seventh and K's the side
| 2006 Organizational Leaders | ||||
|
Average Home Runs RBIs Stolen Bases ERA Wins Strikeouts Saves |
.334 28 110 25 3.26 17 158 32 |
Luis Perez Scott McClain Jeff Baisley Doug Clark Joe Piekarz Jason Windsor Jason Windsor Marcus McBeth |
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| Complete MiLB statistics |
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Santiago Casilla, RHP
The player formerly known as Jairo Garcia posted a 3.27 ERA at Sacramento this season, limiting Pacific Coast League opponents to a .207 average in 33 innings before missing the second half of the year with shoulder tendinitis. He did make his Major League debut with 2 1/3 innings of big-league work and his nasty fastball-slider combo should get him back there again in a healthy 2007.
Audio: Casilla faces seven, fans four
Breakout year
Some players were pegged as breakout candidates before the season began. Did they live up to expectations?
John Rheinecker, LHP
The 2001 first-rounder spent more than half of the 2006 season in the Majors, but he did it with the Texas Rangers, to whom he was dealt prior to the season for pitcher Juan Dominguez. He had missed most of 2005 with a finger injury, posting a 1.77 ERA in seven starts for Sacramento.
Brian Snyder, 3B
The club is still waiting for its 2003 first-rounder to put it together. Now 24, he started the year at Midland but hit just .205 in 48 games before being sent back to A-ball, where he batted .279 in 63 games at Stockton. The Stetson product was drafted for his bat and now, after missing nearly all of 2005 with a hip flexor, the pressure will be on in 2007 to finally put up some numbers.
Audio: Snyder's slam caps seven-run fifth
2006 draft recap
1. Trevor Cahill, RHP
Taken in the second round with the 66th overall pick, the converted shortstop had committed to Dartmouth but instead signed with the A's. The club has had good luck with its conversion prospects (see Marcus McBeth and Connor Robertson) and it has high hopes for the youngster with a good fastball and curveball. In four games in the Arizona League, he posted a 3.00 ERA.
2. Matt Sulentic, OF
A third-round pick out of high school, he has plus makeup to go with solid tools, and that combination helped him make it up to Kane County by season's end. He hit .354 with 22 RBIs at Vancouver before joining the Cougars, for whom he batted .235 in limited action.
3. Chad Lee, RHP
A Kansas community college pick in the fourth round, Lee missed all of 2005 with a torn ACL and there were still some concerns about his health. But the 6-foot-4, 200-pounder has a plus fastball and curveball and looked good at Vancouver, where he went 3-2 with a 4.29 ERA in 12 games.
4. Jermaine Mitchell, CF
Mitchell was drafted in the fifth round out of North Carolina-Greensboro and put up good numbers across the board at Vancouver, hitting .362 with three home runs, 23 RBIs and 14 steals in only 37 games.
5. Andrew Bailey, RHP
The Wagner College product taken in the sixth round posted a 2.02 ERA in 13 games at Vancouver, limiting Northwest League foes to a .187 average in 58 innings.
2005 draft recap
1. Cliff Pennington, SS
In our 2006 season preview, we used these terms to sum up Pennington: hard-nosed, gritty, gamer, makeup, energy, instincts, savvy. The Texas A&M product is all that and more, but 2006 was a lost season for him. A slow start was becoming a thing of the past when he pulled his hamstring after 46 games at Stockton and missed most of the year. He was hitting just .203 when injured but batted .464 in nine rehab games in Arizona. Look for him to return to form in 2007.
2. Travis Buck, OF
The Arizona State star, the A's supplemental first-round pick in 2005, also saw his season abbreviated by a shoulder injury, but his numbers in the first half were outstanding. He hit .349 at Stockton and .302 at Midland, combining for seven homers and 48 RBIs in 84 games. He was getting more at-bats in the Arizona Fall League, in the shadow of his old college stomping grounds.
Audio: Buck talks with 'ATM' about the Futures Game
Audio: Buck homers in 3-for-6, four-RBI outing
3. Craig Italiano, RHP
Yet another top pick shut down in 2006, Italiano posted a 3.50 ERA with 23 strikeouts in 19 innings at Kane County before shoulder woes ended his season after four starts. When healthy, he has a plus plus fastball and good command. He topped out at 98 mph in high school before being drafted but will have to tweak some mechanical issues once he is back on the mound on a regular basis.
Audio: Italiano fans sixth before departing after four IP
Lisa Winston is a reporter for MLB.com.