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By Jim Callis
November 15, 2010

John Manuel and I talked about the youth of the Red Sox farm system in our Nov. 10 podcast. That prompted a listener at STATS to run some data to determine the average age (as of Sept. 1, weighted by plate appearances or innings pitched) for hitters and pitchers on each organization's full-season affiliates in 2010. Below are the results:

Age Of Full-Season Minor Leaguers, 2010
Organization	Hitters	Pitchers	Average
Indians	23.351	23.182	23.266
Cardinals	23.344	24.000	23.355
Cubs	24.098	23.266	23.365
Twins	24.092	23.320	24.023
Red Sox	23.244	24.180	24.029
Braves	24.288	23.161	24.042
Rangers	24.243	23.259	24.068
Angels	24.176	23.333	24.072
Diamondbacks	24.075	24.111	24.093
Padres	24.036	24.162	24.099
Tigers	24.139	24.060	24.100
Royals	24.048	24.208	24.128
Mariners	24.014	24.346	24.180
Yankees	24.058	24.317	24.188
Reds	24.107	24.295	24.201
Orioles	24.184	24.300	24.242
Astros	24.269	24.231	24.250
Brewers	24.234	24.269	24.251
White Sox	24.181	24.337	24.259
Pirates	24.204	24.360	24.282
Giants	24.171	25.038	24.287
Athletics	24.175	25.062	24.301
Mets	24.281	24.332	24.306
Blue Jays	24.220	25.032	24.309
Rockies	25.041	24.270	24.338
Rays	25.146	24.166	24.339
Marlins	25.038	24.335	25.004
Nationals	25.097	24.302	25.017
Dodgers	25.092	25.037	25.065
Phillies	25.242	25.028	25.135
Numbers represent Years.Days. Source: STATS.

As John and I discussed, the Red Sox did have one of the youngest farm systems, but a lot of these results surprised me. The Indians and Cardinals have drafted a lot of college players in recent years, yet had the two youngest systems. The Phillies, who like to stock up on raw, projectable high school talent, had the oldest system. Go figure.

With Baseball America in the midst of rating prospects, I'm curious about how much character issues impact your rankings. I'm thinking more of negative circumstances, but positive circumstances could be a consideration as well. The two players I'm wondering specifically about are Mariners righthander Josh Lueke and Cubs righthander Jay Jackson. I don't want to question what Lueke did or how it played out in the legal system, but does that impact where you'll rank him on your Mariners list? As for Jackson, after an incident in 2009, there seem to be questions about his coachability. Will that play into how you rate him on your Cubs list?

James Wu
Frederick, Md.

Character and makeup do play a part in our rankings, though talent still has to be the overriding factor. Work ethic, intelligence and off-field issues can help or hinder a prospect as he tries to reach his ceiling. At the same time, the hardest-working, smartest, cleanest-living player isn't going to make it if he doesn't have the physical ability.

Lueke is a unique case, however. The Mariners created a firestorm in Seattle when they acquired him as part of the Cliff Lee trade in July. It was common knowledge in the industry that Lueke had been charged with rape and sodomy in a May 2008 incident in which he eventually pleaded no contest to a charge of false imprisonment with violence. Seattle general manager Jack Zduriencik contended that he didn't know the extent of Lueke's legal troubles when he made the trade, and the club scapegoated director of pro scouting Carmen Fusco by firing him in September.

With an upper-90s fastball and a hard slider, Lueke has the stuff to pitch in a big league bullpen right now. On pure talent, he'd crack our Mariners Top 10 list, which we'll post online on Dec. 6. But the controversy makes him virtually impossible to promote to Seattle, where the Mariners have prided themselves on working with groups opposing violence toward women. His past also will limit his opportunities elsewhere, so we won't rank him on our Mariners Top 10. He will appear on our Mariners Top 30 in the 2011 Prospect Handbook.

Jackson's situation is entirely different. In July 2009, the Cubs demoted him from Double-A Tennessee to high Class A Daytona after he violated an unspecified team policy. They view the incident as a one-time event and promoted him to Triple-A late that season as a reward for handling the demotion well. He has had no further problems and the violation has no bearing on his current ranking.

The Braves currently have four shortstop prospects in their system who intrigue me: Mycal Jones, Matt Lipka, Tyler Pastornicky and Edward Salcedo. What do you think of them, and who has the best chance of replacing Alex Gonzalez in 2012?

Ryan Spillmann
Indianapolis

My favorite prospect of that group is Lipka, the Braves' top pick (supplemental first round) in June. A star wide receiver in high school, he has plus-plus speed and should hit for average with some pop. Some scouts question whether he'll he has the hands and true actions to stick at shortstop, though his arm and range are fine for the position. The backup plan would be to make him a center fielder.

Pastornicky is the most advanced of those four shortstops and spent the last six weeks of the season in Double-A. He's a fundamentally sound player, no surprise considering that his father Cliff played in the big leagues, with above-average range and speed. The question with Pastornicky is how much he'll hit, because his lack of strength and his contact-oriented approach aren't going to scare big league pitchers.

Jones is more athlete than baseball player, and he doesn't show much offensive or defensive consistency for a 23-year- old. Salcedo has some offensive upside, but he's probably going to outgrow shortstop and he looked overmatched when the Braves sent him to low Class A as an 18-year-old in July.

Don't forget Andrelton Simmons, Atlanta's second-round pick in June. He was one of the best defensive shortstops available in the draft, though what he'll produce at the plate remains in question.

I don't see any of these guys being the answer when Gonzalez's contract expires after the 2011 season. Pastornicky will be the most big league-ready at that point, but he'll also be just 22 and not necessarily prepared to handle major league pitching. The Braves probably will have to look outside the organization to find Gonzalez's immediate successor.

With the Athletics picking 18th in the 2011 draft, will they get a better prospect that Michael Choice, their No. 10 overall selection in 2010? Who are some of the position players who might be available when Oakland picks? Any worthy third basemen?

Dale Carriger
San Francisco

The Athletics very well could get as good or better a prospect than Choice at No. 18 next year, because the 2011 draft is that much deeper than the 2010 draft. Pitchers dominate the top of both our college and high school prospects lists for 2011—they'll both appear in the issue we send to print just before Thankgiving, and online in early December—but there should be plenty of worthwhile position players available when Oakland makes its first-round selection.

Top candidates include college catchers Peter O'Brien (Bethune-Cookman) and Andrew Susac (Oregon State) and high school outfielders Derek Fisher (Cedar Crest HS, Lebanon, Pa.) and Brandon Nimmo (East HS, Cheyenne, Wyo.). The best third-base option figures to be Vanderbilt's Jason Esposito. North Carolina's Levi Michael fits better at second base than at the hot corner, and potential third basemen Nicky Delmonico (Farragut HS, Knoxville) and Javier Baez (Arlington County Day HS, Jacksonville) are going to try to make it as catchers.

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