The Process: Wilmington Rotation Reminiscent of 2010

A few weeks ago I took a look at a possible team the Lexington Legends could put together and oh boy was it loaded.  What does that mean for the team up a level from them?  Will they have a down squad?  Lets take a look at another possible roster.

Could bump to AA instead (Photo Jacob Rose Photography)

Lineup

1. Justin Trapp 2b – Took off in 2nd half of ’12 can he build on that?
2. Orlando Calixte SS – Possibly gets a AA bump.
3. Jorge Bonifacio RF – Big power potential and an approach that may not hurt him at Frawley
4. Lane Adams CF
5. Cheslor Cuthbert 3b – Needs to rebound from the last year and month of disappointment.
6. Murray Watts 1b
7. Daniel Mateo DH
8. Roman Hernandez LF
9. Kenny Swab C

Bench – Geulin Beltre, Tim Ferguson, Parker Morin, Luis Piterson

Definitely not the star studded lineup that Lexington may put together but some solid bats still remain for Vance Wilson. The up the middle talent if Orlando Calixte draws a return at the start of the year is extremely solid and athletic with a Trapp-Calixte combo while the outfield in CF and RF has some big upside.  The player to watch is Cuthbert who will be likely repeating the level to see if he can rebound his prospect status after a down year and one month.

Sleeper – Lane Adams – Not a lot is written about Adams other than he’s good friends with Bubba and Jason Adam but this  kid has athleticism and some pop in the bat.  He’s going to be 23 which is the age David Lough took off at and while the two have different style in their games they both were multi-sport athletes who didn’t concentrate fully on baseball until going pro.

Smith could be part of a loaded Wilmington rotation

Starting Rotation

Kyle Zimmer SP - Hopefully he doesn’t last here long
Sam Selman SP – Was 2012 the real deal or just a mirage?
Kyle Smith SP
Angel Baez SP
Andy Ferguson SP
Aaron Brooks SP
Santiago Garrido SP
Leondy Perez RP
Rudy Brown RP
Andrew Triggs RP
John Walter RP
Antonio Cruz RP

Here is where the talent lies on this roster the most.  The starting staff could be tremendous to watch especially in those top three spots of Zimmer, Selman and Smith, all of whom could dominate the league thanks to the help that Frawley field could give them.  That combo of three starting pitchers with tremendous talent reminds me of the 2010 squad that started Mike Montgomery, Aaron Crow and Chris Dwyer until the group graduated to AA.  Hopefully they can match what Monty and Dwyer did in High A with better success afterwards.  Its always hard to forecast who gets a bump to Double A and who doesn’t but I’ll guess Pounder and Ridings with Ferguson repeating even though he was more dominant than those two just based on less game action in High A.  There is talent in the pen with this squad as I like the 2012 draftees Triggs and Walter as I’ve already written about this offseason and Antonio Cruz is a talented young lefty who could develop into a LOOGY at the major league level.

Sleeper – Santiago Garrido – The young Dominican pitcher was enjoying an outstanding season until running into arm problems while in Wilmington last season.  When I saw him in Kane County he was working 91-93, low in the zone with a solid change up and a breaking ball that could use some refinement.  Still that type of stuff he displayed is good enough to enjoy success at the High A level which he was doing when he got the bump up.  Expect more of the same with plenty of groundballs from Garrido and enough deception to miss bats.

Overall this team isn’t as flashy and exciting as the Lexington squad that could be assembled but it has plenty of potential, some possible major league talent down the road and from top to bottom the best pitching squad the Royals could assemble at any level.  Mix that pitching with Frawley park and the bats at the top of the order and Wilmington fans should enjoy quite a few wins this season.