BaseballAmerica.com: Prospects: Prospect Hot Sheet: Prospect Hot Sheet: June 5

Double-A San Antonio (Texas)
Age: 21
Why He's Here: 2-0, 0.00, 13 2/3 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 15 SO
The Scoop: The last Padres farmhand to have Latos' kind of raw stuff—not to mention this kind of minor leauge success—was Jake Peavy, back when he tore up the Double-A Southern League in 2002. The comparison should be considered a superficial one, though, because Latos and Peavy are different types of pitchers, and very different personalities.

Latos twice tweaked his ankle this spring in big league camp, forcing him to wait until May 2 to make his '09 debut with low Class A Fort Wayne. Just as he did last year, Latos dominated Midwest League competition, and he owns a composite 1.81 ERA and 50 strikeouts in 49 2/3 career innings at that level. This pleased the Padres so much that they jumped the prized righthander up to Double-A at the end of May, where he hasn't missed a beat.

Latos transitioned to Double-A with a four-inning stint versus Frisco on May 23. He struck out four and walked three, but allowed only one run on one hit. Turns out, Latos was merely setting the stage. In the past week, he twice faced first-place Springfield (a club that has scored the second-most runs in the TL), and the results are what you see above. What you don't see is that with the dominating performance, Latos has assumed the minor league ERA lead at 0.42.

No. 1 MAT LATOS, RHP	PADRES
Team: Double-A San Antonio (Texas) Age: 21 Why He's Here: 2-0, 0.00, 13 2/3 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 15 SO The Scoop: The last Padres farmhand to have Latos' kind of raw stuff—not to mention this kind of minor leauge success—was Jake Peavy, back when he tore up the Double-A Southern League in 2002. The comparison should be considered a superficial one, though, because Latos and Peavy are different types of pitchers, and very different personalities. Latos twice tweaked his ankle this spring in big league camp, forcing him to wait until May 2 to make his '09 debut with low Class A Fort Wayne. Just as he did last year, Latos dominated Midwest League competition, and he owns a composite 1.81 ERA and 50 strikeouts in 49 2/3 career innings at that level. This pleased the Padres so much that they jumped the prized righthander up to Double-A at the end of May, where he hasn't missed a beat. Latos transitioned to Double-A with a four-inning stint versus Frisco on May 23. He struck out four and walked three, but allowed only one run on one hit. Turns out, Latos was merely setting the stage. In the past week, he twice faced first-place Springfield (a club that has scored the second-most runs in the TL), and the results are what you see above. What you don't see is that with the dominating performance, Latos has assumed the minor league ERA lead at 0.42.
2009 Stats

No. 2 CHRIS HEISEY, CF	REDS
Team: Double-A Carolina (Southern) Age: 24 Why He's Here: .531/.571/1.000 (17-for-32), 3 2B, 4 HR, 12 RBIs, 3 BB, 6 SO, 2-for-2 SB The Scoop: If not for the fact that Drew Stubbs is established as the center fielder for Triple-A Louisville, it would be time to start wondering what's keeping Heisey in Double-A. It's worth noting, though, that Heisey and Stubbs both played for high Class A Sarasota last year. Heisey now leads the SL in batting (.384), slugging (.640), runs (43) and hits (78)—and he ranks second in on-base percentage (.462) and doubles (18). His 10 home runs rank fourth. He's walked (27) more than he's struck out (19), and he's stolen 11 bases in 12 tries. He's simply been nearly flawless this year, which is a pretty amazing rise for a 17th-round pick from Division III Messiah (Pa.). The one knock he had coming into the year was his ability to hit righthanders, but he's more than handled them this year.
2009 Stats

No. 3 JESUS MONTERO, C	YANKEES
Team: Double-A Trenton (Eastern) Age: 19 Why He's Here: .444/.500/.593 (12-for-27), 1 HR, 1 2B, 4 RBIs, 7 R, 2 BB, 2 SO The Scoop: Not even a promotion to Double-A at age 19 can slow Montero, who now owns a career .326/.382/.501 batting line. And did we mention that he catches four or five times per week? This is the type of talent worthy of more hype than even we've provided—and in our Prospect Handbook we wrote that Montero has the system's best bat since Derek Jeter. A fond farewell to Montero's time in the Florida State League: He batted .356/.406/.583 with eight home runs and 37 RBIs in 48 games for Tampa, leaving the FSL as its leader in average and a top qualifier in just about every other offensive category.
2009 Stats

No. 4 JAMES DARNELL, 3B	PADRES
Team: low Class A Fort Wayne (Midwest) Age: 22 Why He's Here: .556/.680/1.167 (10-for-18), 2 HR, 3 2B, 1 3B, 4 R, 7 RBIs, 7 BB, 3 SO, 1-for-1 SB The Scoop: Darnell has epitomized the mature, disciplined hitting style the Padres preach. He leads the minors in walks with 50 in 51 games. But he's been doing plenty of damage when he does swing the bat as well. Darnell's two home runs this week give him seven for the season and included a solo shot off Royals prospect Tim Melville last Saturday. He recorded three consecutive three-hit games against Burlington and has upped his line for the season to .293/.457/.503 in 167 at-bats.
2009 Stats

No. 5 SCOTT ELBERT, LHP	DODGERS
Team: Double-A Chattanooga (Southern) Age: 24 Why He's Here: 1-0, 1.46, 12 1/3 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 7 BB, 19 SO The Scoop: Shoulder issues have slowed Elbert's once rocket-like climb to the big leagues. As evidence: he's in the SL for the fourth consecutive season. But Elbert's return to the rotation has paid off for the Dodgers—he's struck out 59 batters in in 45 innings, which included a solid start Thursday night on a rain-soaked diamond. Elbert may still end up as a hard-throwing lefty reliever—he's held lefties to a .407 OPS, compared to a .791 mark versus righthanders.
2009 Stats

No. 6 MICHAEL TAYLOR, RF	PHILLIES
Team: Double-A Reading (Eastern) Age: 23 Why He's Here: .500/.500/.750 (14-for-24), 1 2B, 2 HR, 7 RBIs, 10 R, 6 BB, 5 SO, 1 HBP, 1-for-3 SB The Scoop: You could make a darn good argument that Taylor and high Class A right fielder Dominic Brown form the best duo of outfield prospects in any organization. While Brown got the acclaim as Philadelphia's top prospect entering the season, Taylor continues to force his way up the rankings by barreling through the EL. He's now up to .351/.412/.615 in 49 games with 10 home runs, 17 walks and 23 strikeouts. In other words, that's one heck of a fifth-round pick.
2009 Stats

No. 7 TODD FRAZIER, LF	REDS
Team: Double-A Carolina (Southern) Age: 24 Why He's Here: .500/.576/.821 (14-for-28), 6 2B, 1 HR, 8 RBIs, 5 BB, 1 SO The Scoop: Is it any surprise that the Carolina Mudcats are on an eight-game winning streak with two of their top prospects both making the Hot Sheet? Frazier has proven to be a doubles machine, as he leads the minors with 24 after his week-long binge. With Joey Votto out indefinitely, it's worth noting that Frazier still has his first baseman's mitt—he's played 11 games there this year, even if his first base at-bats will be very limited in Carolina now that Yonder Alonso has joined the club.
2009 Stats

No. 8 DEREK NORRIS, C	NATIONALS
Team: low Class A Hagerstown (South Atlantic) Age: 20 Why He's Here: .391/.462/.739 (9-for-23), 2 2B, 2 HR, 7 RBIs, 6 R, 3 BB, 5 SO, 1-for 1 SB The Scoop: Norris is one of Washington's most promising prospects, though no matter how well he plays, his odds of being the organization's top prospect at the end of the year are zilch if the Nationals sign Stephen Strasburg. But Norris has been outstanding, batting .329/.417/.613 with 26 walks and 49 strikeouts. Ranking second in the South Atlantic League in slugging and tied for first with 12 home runs, Norris is pushing for a promotion to the Carolina League.
2009 Stats

No. 9 RYAN STRIEBY, 1B	TIGERS
Team: Double-A Erie (Eastern) Age: 23 Why He's Here: .481/.517/.852 (13-for-27), 2 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 8 RBIs, 2 BB, 4 SO The Scoop: If not for a broken hamate bone that ended his season early, there's a pretty decent chance that Strieby would have cracked the Tigers Top 10 Prospects heading into the season. But what's amazing is that the Kentucky product has shown none of the power lull that usually follows a hamate injury. He leads the EL in home runs (14) and is second in slugging (.609). Like most big power hitters, Strieby is prone to strikeouts, but he does know how to work counts to get himself into hitter's counts.
2009 Stats

No. 10 KYLE DRABEK, RHP	PHILLIES
Team: Double-A Reading (Eastern) Age: 21 Why He's Here: 2-0, 0.00, 16 IP, 9 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 11 SO Drabek pitched his way into Double-A and kept right on rolling in his first start for Reading, tossing seven shutout innings while allowing just three hits. It looks like he's back—and better than ever—after the Phillies tweaked his mechanics following last year's Tommy John surgery. Drabeck always has been tabbed as a guy who would rise quickly, and his success in the Florida State League (4-1, 2.48, 74 strikeouts in 61 2/3 innings) seems to be translating to the next level as well.
2009 Stats

No. 11 ROSS SEATON, RHP	ASTROS
Team: low Class A Lexington (South Atlantic) Age: 19 Why He's Here: 1-0, 0.00, 9 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 SO The Scoop: The supplemental third-round pick from last year's draft is making a name for himself in an Astros organization short on talent. He's riding high after twirling a shutout this week against Augusta, and he's simply punished the Sally league (his ERA dropped to 2.44 after his complete-game effort). Seaton's meager 4.58 strikeouts per nine innings rate is alarming, but he has displayed fine control (1.68 walks per nine).
2009 Stats

No. 12 EVAN ANUNDSEN, RHP	BREWERS
Team: high Class A Brevard County (Florida State) Age: 21 Why He's Here: 1-0, 0.00, 7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 11 SO The Scoop: Anundsen put his name on the map with his no-hitter against Daytona on April 28, but he hasn't tailed off much since. Anundsen has gone 4-1, 2.25 in six starts since the no-no, and turned in his best effort since then last Monday against Fort Myers. His 11 strikeouts were a season-high (he had 10 in the no-hitter), and his sinking fastball has continued producing ground balls at a healthy rate (1.58 groundout-to-flyout ratio for the year). Anundsen is all over the FSL's leaderboards, where he ranks third in ERA (1.87), is tied for first in wins (6) and ranks third in strikeouts (54).
2009 Stats

No. 13 MIKE STANTON, RF	MARLINS
Team: high Class A Jupiter (Florida State) Age: 19 Why He's Here: .292/.414/.625 (7-for-24), 2 HR, 1 3B, 5 R, 8 RBIs, 5 BB, 8 SO The Scoop: Stanton has slugged his way out of the FSL, as he'll vie for the Hot Sheet next week from Double-A Jacksonville. He homered in back-to-back games last Friday and Saturday, giving him 12 for the season to lead the FSL. For added perspective, his Jupiter teammates have combined to hit a grand total of 17 home runs, and none of them have more than three. He's also second in the league in RBIs (39) and third in slugging (.578). Stanton still strikes out a bit much, but he's continued improving his overall plate discipline, having drawn 28 walks through 50 games.
2009 Stats

ALEX PEREZ, RHP	INDIANS
Team: low Class A Lake County Age: 19 Why He's Here: 1-0, 0.00, 6 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 10 SO The Scoop: The Indians have had one of the game's best Latin American programs for years, and their international pipeline continues to fuel their system with players like Hector Rondon and Kelvin de la Cruz, among others. Add Perez to the Indians' collection of promising Latin American arms as well. His fastball sits at 88-90 mph, but his plus breaking ball comes in at 78-80 and can be a knockout pitch, rivaling de la Cruz for the system's best breaking ball. On the season, Perez is averaging nearly a strikeout per inning with a 52-16 K-BB mark in 53 2/3 innings and a 3.02 ERA.
2009 Stats