Our A ball affilliate in South Bend doesn't have much in terms of big name prospects, but there are some interesting players from the last two drafts who couldn't be placed in Visalia and some of our top young Latin prospects. As you'll see below, offense is really not the strong point with this team, and it leaves them 4th in their division with a 7-9 record. The pitching side, however, is very intriguing.

Batters:

The Good:

• Brendan Duffy is a lefty OF who followed his good work in Missoula last year (.274/.423/.372) with a hot start this season (.367/.436/.388 in 50 PA). His BABIP is astronomic at .486 and he's going to have to bring some more patience and power to the plate when it comes down.
• SS Reynaldo Navarro was a 3rd round pick in 2007, and he will play the entire 2009 season (his third) at the age of 19. He hit .258/.323/.385 at rookie ball in 2008 with rates of 7.9 BB% and 26.5 K%. He also stole 17 bases in 26 attempts and has good athleticism. Navarro, like most young players, has struggled with errors at shortstop. He started this season hot, batting .289/.373/.422 in 50 PA, with a BABIP that's high at .360 but not way ahead of his career BABIP. If he can impress in full season ball at a very young age, we're looking at a hot prospect.

The Bad:

• Isaias Asencio is a 21 outfield prospect who had a solid showing in Rookie league last year. However, his line of .293/.325/.512 masked a horrible BB:K ratio (2.7% BB, 24,7% K). He started this year with the same hacking habit, and it's no surprise the results have changed dramatically. His line through 58 PA stands at .212/.259/.346, and that's with a solid BABIP of .314. He has some power, evidenced by the fact that 5 of his 11 hits were for extra bases, but his BB:K ratio is 3:17 and he won't go far if that doesn't change.
• Alberto Diaz might just be an Asencio clone. 20 years old, plays the outfield, has some power and absolutely zero plate discipline. He also had an acceptable showing in Rookie league in '08 (.275/.327/.440) but came down hard this year to the tune of .224/.250/.379. He has hit 2 HR in 60 PA, but again, 10 Ks for every walk does not befit a baseball player.
• Ryan Babineau is rated by Baseball America as our best defensive catcher. In addition to those skills, he submitted a decent season in Missoula last year, batting .231/.369/.320 in 180 PA. He seems to have a good eye for the plate, but not the required bat speed, as further evidenced by his start this year (.125/.282/.250). A 17% BB rate is magnificent, but you have to be able to make contact when you do swing the ball, and Babineau has not done that yet in his pro career.

Pitchers:

The Good:

• Ryan Cook is an unheralded 27th round pick from last year's draft. After throwing 33 innings in Missoula last year (4.64 ERA) he started this year in fine form, and his line after three starts is 2-0, 19 IP, 9 K, 2 BB, 1.42 ERA. If he wants to sustain his hot start, he'll really need to miss more bats at this level.
• Unlike Cook, a lot is expected from lefty Wade Miley, our sandwich pick in '08. He is a hard-throwing left-hander who can touch 95 mph, and also features a plus slider, curveball and change-up. If he can improve his command/control, Miley, 22, could stick as a starter. After a cup of coffee in Missoula last summer, he was sent to South Bend and while his ERA after 4 starts is unimpressive at 4.11, his controllable stats are shiny (13 K, 2 BB, 1 HR in 15.1 IP). He might be a candidate for a quick promotion, maybe even to fill in for Parker at Visalia.
• Trevor Harden was a nice find in the 14th round of the 2008 draft. He features an 89-93 mph fastball, slider and change-up. Harden had a solid debut in rookie ball by posting a 1.91 ERA (1.78 FIP) with 34 hits allowed in 42.1 innings against younger competition. He posted rates of 2.34 BB/9 and 13.61 K/9. As he entered full-season ball in 2009, he is 2-1 in his first 3 starts, with an ERA of 3.18, and 16 K, 2 BB, 2 HR in 17 IP.
• After two bad years in Short A ball, lefty reliever Sean Morgan started the season in fine form, with an ERA of 0.96 in 9.1 IP, with 9 K and 4 BB. He has been plagued by walks so far in his career (43 in 70 IP) and he'll need to work on his control in order to stick around.
• RHP Terry Hose started 15 games for Missoula last year with mixed results (4.48 ERA in 78.1 IP, but a K/BB of 2.85 and only 5 HR). He was shifted to the bullpen this year, and has started brightly, with an ERA of 2.35 in 7.2 IP.
• Lefty Bayron Zepeda has a tidy 1.59 ERA in 5.2 IP this year. However, he has not struck out a batter yet, after posting 37 K in 41.2 IP in Rookie league in '08.

The Bad:

• RHP Daniel Vasquez had two good years in Short A (3.95 ERA in 89 IP total). He's struggling this season with a 7.04 ERA in 7.2 IP, but if he catches up to his career K/9 rate of 8.7, he'll be alright.
• RHP Jordan Meaker was great in Missoula in '08, posting an ERA of  1.47 in 36.2 IP. However, that was not the whole story, because a high walk rate (5.15 BB/9) meant that his FIP stood at 3.80. With a BABIP that's almost twice as high as last year (.429 vs .243) he posted a 9.53 ERA through 5.2 IP this year. The BABIP will regress heavily, but he'll need to cut down on the walks to be effective.
• Righty Rafael Quezada might just be the answer to the age old question "What would it be like if Jon Rauch was a starter?" After getting lit up in the Rookie league of all places last year, to the tune of an 8.17 ERA in 68.1 IP, with 11 HR and 36 BB, he is serving BP in South Bend, and the result are remarkably similar: 10.1 IP, 14 H, 5 BB, 2 HR, 8.71 ERA. Even his K rate isn't special.

Well, this concludes my look at our minor league affiliates through the first couple of weeks of the season. Hope you enjoyed it. I might do a quick weekly report every Monday to see who's hot and who's not, if you're interested, of course.