Minor-League Free Agents, Redux
BA has released the official list of six-year MLFAs
As mentioned last week, the official list has been released by Baseball America and here’s the rundown:
Catchers
Devin Ivany
Nolan Brannon
Infielders
Chase Lambin
Ofilio Castro
Pete Orr
Wilberto Ortiz
Pedro Lopez
Outfielders
Jason Botts
Leonard Davis
Chris Duncan
Marvin Lowrance
Edgardo Baez
Brad Coon
Jerry Owens
Jamar Walton
Starting Pitchers
Andrew Kown
Jason Jones
Jimmy Barthmaier
Relievers
Zach Dials
Luis Garcia
Dan Leatherman
Carlos Martinez
Jesse English
Victor Garate
Glenn Gibson
Chuck James
Yunior Novoa
So Where Did You Screw Up?
Actually, all things considered, BinM caught most of my mistakes, of which most were guys in the lower levels (Nolan Brannon?!). Rafael Martin appears to be still with the organization, as is Brian Peacock. Considering that the most up-to-date transactions on BA are through October 31, it’s more than possible that there are some more guys that resigned in the interim.
Perhaps more interesting is the trend of fewer and fewer guys testing the waters. In ’07, there were 602. In ’08, there were 561. In ’09, there were 536. This year, it’s 533. The only obvious theory? The poor economy has convinced some guys that maybe another year of a known quantity is better than taking their chances with hooking on elsewhere.
Ivany, Lowrence, Kown, Garate, Gibson and James are worth keeping.
FWIW, Brannon was a guy the picked up off waivers from the Angels’ Orginization; Had previously played at AA level (Arkansas). Clearly, he was either fighting an injury, or had completely lost it, as the Nationals released him from the GCL (R) level.
Glad I was wrong about Rafael Martin’s status – He might be a ‘player of interest’ in either HAR or SYR in 2011. On a side-note, wasn’t Peacock one of the last ‘Draft & watch’ players? That could explain him still being off the MLFA list for this year.
I think part of my problem was that I focused my search on the upper levels, figuring (incorrectly), that there wouldn’t be any six-year types in the lower minors — never mind the GCL?!