Much like the All GCL Team, this team is also made of players under the age of 23 and younger players are given a boost if they still put up close numbers to a player that is slightly older.
Catcher - Roberto Perez
The Indians selected Roberto Perez out of Puerto Rico in the 33rd round of 2008. A year later he was the best looking catcher in the Arizona League as he hit .351/.438/.511 in 154 plate appearances while posting a 16 to 28 walk to strikeout ratio. Defensively he also threw out 41% of would be base stealers as a 20 year old.
Honorable Mention - Hector Sanchez
First Base - Cody Decker
Decker is one of the oldest guys on the team here, but the 22 year old was absolutely incredible. The Padres prospect hit .350/.413/.711 with 20 doubles and 15 HR in 225 plate appearances.
Honorable Mention - Evan Sharpley
Second Base - Jonathan Galvez
The Padres gave Galvez $750,000 to sign in 2007 and so far Galvez has been worth it. The 18 year old 2B/SS hit .295/.400/.505 with 30 walks and 44 strikeouts over 225 plate appearances. Arguably one of the leagues best prospects spent a little more time at SS than 2B, but I wanted to include another guy who had a great season for SS, so sliding Galvez over to 2B wasn’t much of an issue.
Honorable Mention - Julio Izturis
Shortstop - Rolando Gomez
The Angels 20 year old shortstop hit .304/.403/.464 over 216 plate appearances. Gomez coupled 32 walks with 43 strikeouts and also stole 13 bases on the short season.
Honorable Mention - Jetsy Extrano
Third Base - Jesus Brito
The Indians second player on the team, Brito hit .366/.439/.642 at the hot corner. Brito walked 18 times while striking out 26 times as a 21 year old.
Honorable Mention - Leonardo Ochoa
Outfield - Nick Akins
The Dodgers 21 year old outfielder hit .333/.397/.658 in 136 plate appearances before earning a promotion to the Pioneer League. Akins walked 11 times and struck out 30 times while tossing in 3 steals.
Outfield - Rymer Liriano
The Padres signed Liriano to a $300,000 bonus in the 2007 international signing period. He has proven to be a good sign so far as the 18 year old outfielder hit .354/.402/.528 and also stole 14 bases.
Outfield - Mike Trout
The Angels 1st round pick this season didn’t disappoint as Trout hit .360/.412/.506. The 25th overall pick also stole 13 bases while walking 18 times and striking out just 28 times in 187 plate appearances.
Honorable Mentions - Jonathan Garcia, Randal Grichuk
Starting Pitcher - Fabio Martinez Mesa
Fabio Martinez Mesa may have a long name, but he left opposing batters lines looking a bit small. The 13.4% walk rate is certainly higher than you would like, but when its coupled with a 34.3% strikeout rate it is a lot more acceptable. At just 19 years old there is plenty of time to bring the walk rate down.
Starting Pitcher - Carl Webster
Webster is another 19 year old who made my squad. The 2.08 ERA catches the eye right off the bat, but I was more impressed with the 6.9% walk rate and a 27.6% strikeout rate from someone so young. Not bad for an 18th round pick in 2008.
Starting Pitcher - Joshua Blanco
The Angels bring the third 19 year old to my rotation in Joshua Blanco. Blanco struck out 31.2% of the batters he faced and walked just 6.4% of them. That led to a 3.04 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP for the lefty who was taken in the 6th round in 2008.
Starting Pitcher - Danny Danielson
The Dodgers 20 year old righty posted a 3.08 ERA and struck out 28.6% of the batters he saw this season. With a walk rate of 4.5% he was able to keep his WHIP at 1.25.
Honorable Mentions - Jonathan Berger, Chris Kessinger
Relief Pitcher - Audy Santana
The 22 year old Giants reliever struck out 38.1% of the batters he saw and walked a tiny 3.1% of them all while posting a 1.40 ERA and a 0.74 WHIP.
Relief Pitcher - Christopher Mederos
The A’s reliever, like Santana also is a 22 year old righty. Mederos struck out 34.1% of the batters who stepped in to face him and he would walk just 2.7% of those same hitters. His 2.14 ERA and 0.76 WHIP were also very impressive.
Honorable Mentions - Jon Bachanov, Jose Monegro
