Last week we mentioned that the Brewers organization was snubbed in Baseball America's list of the top 20 prospects in the Midwest League. Today the Timber Rattlers have some unfortunate company, as the Brevard County Manatees were also shut out in the Florida State League list.
The list is headlined by Twins outfielder Byron Buxton, who BA also rated as the top prospect in the Midwest League. That hardly seems fair. There are 12 teams in the Florida State League and Brevard County was one of just two without a representative on this list. The other was the Charlotte Stone Crabs, a Rays affiliate that lost the league's championship series. The Twins (who also had #1 and 2 overall), Cubs, Pirates and Marlins each had three players on this list.
Here are some notable players that could have been considered:
- First baseman Nick Ramirez finished tied for second in the league with 19 home runs despite playing his home games in one of minor league baseball's least homer-friendly ballparks. He hit .258/.326/.438 this season.
- Center fielder Mitch Haniger hit .250/.323/.396 in 88 games after being moved up from Wisconsin. He hit .297/.399/.510 in 41 games with the Timber Rattlers.
- Nicky Delmonico is still only 20 and hit 13 home runs across two teams at the high-A level this season, playing 61 games for Frederick in the Orioles organization before coming over in the K-Rod trade.
- Yadiel Rivera is still only 21 years old but appeared in 129 games at shortstop.
- Tommy Toledo posted a 2.11 ERA with 7.2 strikeouts per nine innings in 43 relief appearances, finishing second in the FSL with 20 saves.
- David Goforth posted a 3.10 ERA over 14 starts for the Manatees before moving up to Huntsville, where he added a 3.28 ERA over 20 more appearances. On the season he held opponents to just 7.1 hits per nine innings.
Brevard County finished at 66-68 on the season, good for third best overall in the FSL's North Division. They finished eleventh in the 12-team league with 3.8 runs scored per game and did not qualify for the playoffs.