Scouting The Sally Live Chat: January 26th @ 8:30 PM EST.

Join me and Eno Sarris of FanGraphs and RotoExperts as we talk fantasy baseball including dynasty and keeper leagues.

Game Report: Dayan Viciedo, 3B, Chicago White Sox

Dayan Viciedo's 2009 season disappointed many as his .280/.317/.391 line in AA as a 20-year old was not quite up to par for an international signing who received an 8-figure signing bonus. In fairness to Viciedo, his season was solid if one peels away the prospect hype and considers age vs. level. With many solid prospects being in full-season A at Viciedo's age, I ran the equivalency calculator to project what Viciedo would have done at the appropriate level. The results? A .352/.402/.493 line which would completely change the current prospect conversation about him.

Physique & Athleticism: In uniform, Viciedo looked a bit bloated as his thick upper body gave way to thinner limbs. He is quite strong and will always have a wide body, but his weight is likely to be an issue his entire career; or at least until he is able to redistribute it proportionally through a good weight program.

When not on offense, his baseball movements were slow as if his extra weight was getting in the way. At the plate, it did not seem as if his girth impeded his swing.

Offense: With truly elite bat speed, Viciedo simply does not need all of the extra muscle and movement currently incorporated into his swing mechanics. Like so many international prospects, the extra movement negatively effects timing and the ability to repeat his swing. Early in the count, he flailed wildly at any pitch near the strike zone pulling off badly. Conversely, he had a fantastic two-strike approach in which he shortened his swing to make hard contact and hammered two lasers for singles back up the middle. His approach was enough to drive most hitting coaches crazy, but his offensive ability is still tantalizing. He is the type of hitter whose power could really take off if he just trusted his hands and worked on being short and compact through the strike zone on every swing.

Defense: Viciedo was able to handle balls hit directly at him, but he stabbed at balls with his glove showing hard hands. His lateral movement was non-existent, and his arm action looked labored. Since the 2009 season ended, news about Viciedo having some minor arm problems have surfaced. At the big league level, he is likely to settle in as a 1B/DH.

Speed: Stolen bases will never be a part of Viciedo's game. He is likely to become a liability on the base paths.

As with many big money international prospects, Viciedo just was not able to live up to the hype surrounding his signing. It was unfair to expect so much from him, but Viciedo certainly did not do himself any favors by playing the season out of shape. In 2010, he may once again find himself in Birmingham as he works on the finer parts of his game. The offensive ceiling is still there, but he is going to have to adopt a more professional approach to reach it.

Scouting The Sally Links

It has been a busy week at S.T.S. as more people learn about the blog. Enjoy the links and a big thanks to everyone who reads and contributes through the blog, message board, and on Twitter.

Jonathan Mayo posted a piece on my top 30 prospects as a primer for his upcoming top 50 for MLBN and MLB.com. It's always a fun read as he collects input from big names in and around baseball.

Camden Depot ran a piece on the blog and asked about a couple of Delmarva prospects who passed through the South Atlantic League during the 2009 season.

Toby Hyde took a moment to fire a couple of mortar rounds at my chat comments about my concerns about Jenrry Mejia's durability. I would put Mejia's 2010 over/under for innings pitched at 110 or so.

Metsblog pulled a few quotes on Jenrry Mejia from my recent chat with Adam Foster of Project Prospect.

Speaking of Project Prospect, check out their top 10 prospects and let them know S.T.S. sent you! I may be helping out with a number of prospect reports for the Digital Prospect Guide so be on the lookout for that.

Game Report: Corban Joseph, 2B, New York Yankees

A former 4th round pick in the 2008 draft, Corban Joseph has received Chase Utley comparisons as an offense-minded second baseman. In 2009, Joseph rebounded from a slow start to post a .300/.381/.418 line showing the ability to both take a walk and limit strikeouts at an early age.

Physique and Athleticism: Listed at 6'0", 168 lbs., Joseph had a lean frame with physical definition, but little in terms of size. While his baseball movements were fluid, he will need to add significant size and strength which may be difficult considering his frame.

Offense: Joseph did little to stand out beyond wearing no batting gloves which I personally enjoy seeing. His stance was athletic, load was relatively quiet, and swing was loose and fluid through the strike zone. However, he had little wrist snap and power behind his swing. Joseph did not look to pull the ball. Instead, he seemed more comfortable guiding pitches back through the box.

Defense: Much of Joseph's prospect value is tied into whether or not he will be able to stay at second base. In the game I attended, he made the start at third base and showed enough stiffness through the lower body for me to wonder if he can maintain the lateral range to remain at second base over the long term. He did not have an opportunity to showcase his arm.

Speed: Joseph is a "heady" base runner, but does not have the speed to project any real stolen base ability.

Corban Joseph's prospect status has been buoyed by the New York Yankees system being as weak as it has been in a number of years. Instead of Chase Utley comparisons, I would feel much more comfortable throwing out Bill Mueller as Joseph's upside. Over a decade-long career, Mueller posted a .291/.373/.425 triple slash line playing the majority of his career at third base with a smattering of second base play.

Scouting the "Sally" Relievers

Yeliar Castro, Atlanta Braves: While Castro offers little in terms of projection, he can already dial the fastball up to 94 MPH. The pitch lacks movement and his command is borderline, but the velocity is hard to find at this level. Castro also flashed a 78 MPH curveball with big break 12-6 break. However, he struggled to throw the pitch for strikes and may have to sacrifice some of that break to better harness control of the pitch.

Rhiner Cruz, New York Mets: With a 3/4 short arm delivery, Cruz relies on deception and a fastball he can work up to 92 MPH. His slider is fringe average and he uses the pitch to keep hitters off-balanced. Control is a major concern with Cruz as I have seen him perform as a shutdown closer one evening and be pulled after twelve consecutive balls in another. A 1.92 ERA is quite impressive even for a 23-year old, but a closer look shows a 3.74 FIP and poor peripherals.

Daniel Kapala, New York Yankees: Another reliever with the ability to work the fastball up to 94 MPH, he spent his entire appearance in the 91-94 MPH range. While his 2.64 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, and 3.53 FIP are all impressive, he is awfully old for the level and only managed a 4.73 K/9 which brings his secondary offerings into question. He had a tendency to tip his 81-84 MPH slider as he slowed up his arm action. Kapala also may have mixed in a curveball as well.

Henry Villar, Houston Astros: The best relief pitcher I had the opportunity to see this season, Villar's 89-91 MPH fastball had significant run away from right-handed hitters. In mixing locations, he also showed the ability to run the fastball in on the hands of righties to keep them honest. He also flashed a 2-seam fastball in the 85-86 range as a chance of pace. Villar's slider was also a weapon as the 81-83 MPH offering looked to have a foot or more of run away from right-handed hitters. At 22, Villar is no spring chicken, but his 6.06 K/BB ratio and 10.90 K/9 were both extremely impressive.

Game Report: Brett DeVall, SP, Atlanta Braves

Brett DeVall (6 IP, 2 ER, 7 H, 5 K, 1 BB) - As a former supplemental 1^st round pick in the 2008 draft, Brett DeVall's 2009 season ended prematurely due to an elbow injury which required relatively minor surgery. I was able to catch his third to last start in June and his injury issues are likely to blame for his pedestrian performance.

Physique & Athleticism: The one word I can come up with to describe Brett DeVall's body is soft. With little size through the calves, forearms, and shoulders, his size through the mid-section did not appear to be “good” weight. Improved strength and conditioning may help with his mechanics and help lower his risk for future injury. Few will mistake DeVall for a plus athlete, but his mechanics are repeatable and fluid. The only red flag was he had quite a bit of arm effort for a pitcher throwing in the mid-80's. Again, this could have been due to the injury which ended his season.

Fastball: At 84-86 MPH, DeVall showed the ability to spot in and out well. Out of his hand however, it looked as if he was throwing a shot put. Movement on the pitch was lacking, but this may also be attributed to injury as his delivery included much more effort than a mid-80's thrower should which tends to flatten pitches out.

Curveball: A solid third pitch, the 72-73 MPH offering was more of a big breaker which DeVall was able to consistently throw for strikes. It is not sharp enough to be an out pitch at this point, but a healthy elbow may allow for better arm snap which should tighten the downward movement on the pitch.

Changeup: His best offering, the pitch ranged from 71-74 MPH. With excellent feel on the pitch, he was able to pound his outside spot to right-handers consistently. In the future, the pitch could move from solid average to plus status, but I am not sure a 12-15 MPH velocity difference from the fastball is ideal when his curveball is of identical velocity.

In retrospect, I saw a number of the red flags which should have led me to the conclusion DeVall may be damaged goods. As it turns out, I was in attendance for his final quality start of the 2009 season. In 2010, DeVall should once again open in the "Sally" and I hope to see him again early on in the season.

Scouting The Sally Live Chat January 12th @ 8:30 PM EST.

Join me and special guest Adam Foster from Project Prospect as we focus on prospects as spring training inches closer.

Scouting Report: Josh Satin, 2B, New York Mets

Every off season inevitably brings the time and opportunity to dig deeper into a number of lesser known prospects using statistical analysis to find those diamonds in the rough who can be pegged as sleepers for the 2010 season. Mets prospect Josh Satin, who spent his 2009 season with the Savannah Sand Gnats is becoming one of these players. With a mention by John Sickels on his Mets top 20 list, as well as a top 20 ranking by Mack's Mets, Satin is receiving some definite post-season prospect hype.

Physique & Athleticism: At 6'2", 200 lbs., Satin is lean and in excellent shape. At 25, he has no physical projection left and is unlikely to add much in terms of size or strength. Athletically, Satin is a bit choppy in his baseball movements and can become a bit rigid both at the plate and in the field.

Offense: With a .288/.389/.426 line accumulated mostly in the "Sally", Satin's numbers look better on paper than he did in person as he consistently faced pitching sometimes five to six years his junior. His strengths include quick wrists, some natural pop, and the ability to drive plus-velocity fastballs middle-in. However, with his advanced age, how many of his 40 doubles can really be expected to become home runs in the future?

His load and swing mechanics work for him at this point, but I'm not sure how his pronounced hitch and extended bottom arm (see picture) will play against more advanced pitching. He already struggles some against decent breaking pitches and I question his ability to hit the ball with authority up-the-middle or to the opposite field. Throughout the season, he proved to be a master at hitting flairs just beyond the reach of the second baseman or shortstop.

Defense: His versatility to play a number of positions left him as the Sand Gnats most valuable player in my mind, but this information alone is misleading. He was the teams primary second baseman, but also spent time at the infield corners. At second, his lateral range and hands were a bit below average and his arm was not good enough to consistently turn the double play or make plays to his backhand side behind second base. He rarely booted balls, but when he did, he came out of his defensive position too early allowing tough hops to eat him up.

Speed: Quite simply, speed is in no way a part of his skill set. Throughout the season, I did not see him make mistakes on the base paths, but his base running instincts did not lead to extra bases either. His speed, along with current defensive shortcomings make it very difficult for me to project him at second base over the long haul.

Josh Satin is "tweener" on both offense and defense. A player with his offensive skill set normally has more speed and up-the-middle defensive ability which leaves me questioning where would fit in should he defy the odds and reach the big league level. Add to this his advanced age and I have trouble buying into Satin as a legit prospect. However, he is a smart player and works hard on the field leaving somebody close to the team suggesting he might stick with the organization for quite awhile as a coach after his playing days are over.

Scouting Report: Mike Stanton, OF, Florida Marlins

As the 2009 "Sally" season came to a close, baseball was still being played in Jacksonville as the AA Marlins affiliate made the Southern League playoffs. After seeing Mike Stanton not put a ball in play (3 walks, 1 strikeout) a month earlier, I felt compelled to take a second look. While I can not say Stanton's power was on full display, what I did see was enough for me to firmly cement him as the best power hitting prospect I have ever seen.

Physique & Athleticism: Stanton's listed height/weight of 6'5", 205 lbs. seemed on the light side as I would have pegged him at 220 or so. An awesome physical specimen, his future physical projection is off the charts as he has the frame to add significant size with extremely long limbs to boot. He towered over his outfield counterparts during the "National Anthem".

Athletically, Stanton is still growing into his body and his movements can be a bit stiff and awkward; especially in the outfield. As he continues to mature, I expect his baseball movements will become more compact which should help in a number of areas including his swing.

Offense: With 68 minor league home runs before his twentieth birthday, Mike Stanton's power in the low minors is of historic proportion. As somebody who saw the quality of "Sally" pitching first hand, along with the number of 18-year old prospects who struggle mightily because of it, Stanton's 39 home run 2008 were truly jaw-dropping. Yes, the strikeouts are a concern, but I am confident the length of his swing can be fixed by a couple of minor tweaks. Stanton's would benefit from keeping his front elbow tighter to his body during his swing. This will help him better stay inside the baseball and make for more repeatable swing mechanics. He also has a slight hitch in his pre-swing load which can lead to other timing issues.

In game action, Stanton worked a number of deep counts as pitchers were careful in working him down and out leading to multiple free passes. He did show some difficulty when pitchers followed up a curveball low and out with a fastball up due to his swing length. With his strikeout total, I expected Stanton to have less of a two-strike approach than what he displayed. Hits with two-strikes included a ground ball single back up the middle and a 410-foot, one hop double off of the center field fence off of his front foot.

Maybe even more impressive were the pitches he missed badly. I have heard people talk about "big league fly balls" as a demonstration of power in their own right. Stanton's swinging under the ball and making contact towards the handle resulted in two rain-makers to the opposite field which the right fielder caught at the base of the right-center field fence. In the playoff game alone, Stanton would have had three home runs with 15-20 pounds of additional muscle. It is one thing for a player to take a ball over the fence when he hits it on the sweet spot. It is quite unique when a player has the ability to badly hit a ball out to any field. His raw power is a true 80 on the 20-80 scale and his in-game power is also an 80 making him a very rare prospect.

Defense: In playoff action, Stanton served as the primary designated hitter. He was in right field the first game I attended and looked a bit stiff moving around the outfield. Between the single game sample and rain-soaked field, it is hard for me to make an assessment of his defense at this time. I hope to see him again in 2010 and should have more information then.

Speed: Stanton showed good base-running ability as he nabbed a couple of extra bases on batted balls I felt he would be held up on. With seven stolen bases in two plus minor league seasons, it is easy to completely dismiss his base-running ability, but he has a good feel for it which should keep him from becoming a true base-clogger for awhile.

In 1998, I was present for Mark McGwire's 57th, 58th, and 59th home runs at "Pro Player Stadium" in Miami, Florida. Never in my life did I think I would see such easy power from a baseball swing. It was truly awe inspiring. While Mike Stanton is not a polished product, he has the potential to be a power hitter in the Mark McGwire mold. However, his strikeout totals will determine whether he becomes a well-rounded hitter with the ability to chip in decent average/on base percentage totals, or just an all-or-nothing power threat.

S.T.S. on NYBD

I appeared on NYBD radio earlier this evening to talk about the hall of fame and big contracts given to both Jason Bay and Matt Holliday. Click here to check it out. I was a little out of my element currently, but loved talking about a number of guys from my childhood.

One thing I forgot to add during the broadcast was that I thought Fred McGriff deserved more Hall of Fame love. Nearly 500 home runs in the steroid era from a player who I am confident played it clean. When other guys went from twenty to fifty home runs, "Steady Freddie" kept plugging away with thirty-five per year like clockwork. I hope his body of work is not tainted by the insanity of the era he played in.

Scouting The Sally Live Chat on January 4th @ 8:30 PM EST!