Fisher Cat Prospect Update

Since the Fisher Cats are coming to town, let’s update who on the current roster is a prospect, and how they are faring.

David Purcey (LHP, ranked #2). Purcey was recently recalled from class A Dunedin, where he pitched 21 games (94.1 IP) with a 3.63 ERA, 1.44 WHIP, and 116/56 K/BB ratio. The strikeouts and ERA look good, but he’s allowed a lot of walks and his WHIP is high. The ERA is less impressive when you see that he’s also allowed 13 unearned runs. Scheduled to make his New Hamphshire debut in tonight’s game, so I’ll get a chance to report back on him.

Josh Banks (RHP, #4) started the season off strong, but has cooled somewhat. 20 starts for NH, 113 IP with a 4.38 ERA but with an excellent 1.11 WHIP and a so-good-it's-silly 101/8 K/BB ratio. I believe that he's slated for Saturday's start.

Ismael Ramirez (RHP, #15) has been a workhorse: 21 starts, 119.1 IP, 4.00 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, fine control with a 97/23 K/BB ratio.

Vince Perkins (RHP, #16) has made 16 starts (18 total appearances) with 85 IP, 3.81 ERA, 1.32 WHIP and 70/34 K/BB. Quite similar to Ramirez, though Ismael seems a little more polished with his command.

Curtis Thigpen (C, #18) was recently promoted from the Lansing Lugnuts (one of the best nicknames in baseball), where he it 287/397/413-5-35 in 79 games. Good plate discipline (54 BB vs. just 34 K's), but not a lot of power. Not bad for a catcher, though. Has had a slow start in his first nine games with the Fischer Cats: 206/270/324-1-5 with just two walks vs. 8 K's. Not nearly enough playing time to make a judgment on those numbers, however, especially considering that he skipped a level with the promotion.

Toronto has been fairly aggressive promoting players through the system this year. One player who was on my original evaluation of New Hampshire, Shaun Marcum, was promoted to Syracuse after posting a 2.53 ERA in nine AA starts. Dustin McGowan (RHP, #9) is technically still on the roster, but the word is that he'll be pitching for Toronto this weekend, so he's not coming to Portland. He started the season in Dunedin and has pitched just six games for New Hampshire (35 IP, 3.34 ERA, 1.29 WHIP). Zach Jackson is another guy who has passed through, starting in Dunedin, then 9 games with the Fisher Cats (54 IP, 4.00 ERA, 1.28 WHIP) after Marcum was promoted, and now he's in Syracuse.

While members of the prospect list make up the pitching leaders for New Hampshire, the top hitters are not among the top prospects. Rob Cosby (310/350/520-12-44 in 81 games) and Ryan Roberts (264/369/509-12/34 in 58 games) are the big bats, while Miguel Negron (257/303/369-6-25, 18 steals ) is the low-OBP speed guy in the lineup. Overall, it doesn't appear to be a very potent offensive team.