Instructional League Roster Notes – Position Players
Continuing where we left off yesterday, here’s the rundown of the position players that will participate in the Florida Instructional League, a.k.a. “Instrux.”
| Player | Pos. | Age | 2012 Team(s) | 2011 Invite | Notes |
| Spencer Kieboom | C | 21 | AUB | N | 5th Rd. Pick in ’12 out of Clemson, Kieboom was touted as a glove-first, bat-second backstop but surprised on both counts with 9PBs and .362OBP, plus a knack for hitting with RISP. |
| Craig Manuel | C | 22 | AUB | N | 10th Rd. Pick in ’12 out of Rice, where he was a three-year starter, Manuel split time with Kieboom and produced very similar numbers. Not a lot of power, but bats lefthanded and makes contact. |
| Adrian Nieto | C | 22 | GCL, HAG | Y | Power and patience both dipped from ’11 to ’12 in his third season with the Suns, but a career-high 78 games played. |
| Raudy Read | C | 18 | DSL | Y | Made strong improvements in offense in his second DSL season (.493 OPS to .765). |
| Pedro Severino | C | 19 | GCL | Y | Repeated the GCL with slight improvement to offensive production and moderately better defensive numbers. |
| Wilmer Difo | SS | 20 | GCL | Y | Two-time watchlister but first-time at instrux, Difo repeated the GCL without much statistical improvement. |
| Cutter Dykstra | 2B-SS | 23 | HAG | N | Rebounded from poor showing at High-A in ’11 but returned to Low-A to do it, though he showed much better judgment on the basepaths. |
| Ricky Hague | SS-2B | 23 | HAG | N | Offensively very streaky, but proved the doubters wrong about his ability to handle 2B, adding to his versatility. |
| Jeff Kobernus | 2B | 24 | HBG | Y | Was on pace to match or beat his ’11 production in nearly every category before a pitch to the ribcage ended his season. |
| Mike McQuillan | UT | 22 | GCL, AUB | N | 33rd Rd. Pick in ’12 out Univ. of Iowa, McQuillan hit his way out of the GCL and was Auburn’s leadoff man at season’s end. |
| Stephen Perez | SS | 21 | GCL, AUB | N | Injuries limited the 8th Rd. Pick in ’12 out Univ. of Miami to just 28 games and could force a repeat at Auburn. |
| Shawn Pleffner | 1B | 23 | AUB | N | Injuries delayed the debut of the Nats 26th-Rd. Pick in ’11 until this year, when he became an NYPL All-Star for Auburn. |
| Tony Renda | 2B | 21 | AUB | N | 2nd Rd. Pick in ’12 out of Univ. of California, the knee-jerk comp is to Dustin Pedroia though he’s yet to show that kind of power. |
| Adrian Sanchez | 2B | 22 | POT | Y | Gave up switch-hitting and finished the season strong, but needs to work on his defense and baserunning |
| Matt Skole | 3B | 23 | HAG, POT | Y | Like Aaron Barrett, Skole is in Viera for some fine-tuning before heading out to Arizona for the AFL. |
| Zach Walters | SS | 23 | POT, HBG, SYR | Y | Walters hit well at A+ and AA and struggled some at AAA, but the next challenge is cutting down the E’s (29). |
| Billy Burns | OF | 23 | HAG | Y | Learned to switch-hit last fall, and improved his production across the board in ’12. |
| Destin Hood | OF | 22 | AUB, HBG | Y | Injuries curtailed his 2012 after a breakout 2011 season, nearly a sure bet to repeat AA. |
| Hayden Jennings | OF | 19 | GCL | Y | 6th Rd. Pick in ’12 out of Evangel Christian Academy HS in L.A., Jennings is generally praised for his speed and defense, but is a project with the bat. |
| Kevin Keyes | OF | 23 | POT | Y | Tremendous power, serviceable defense, but whether he can learn to hit for average and cut down the K’s are the big questions for ’13. |
| Estarlin Martinez | 1B-OF | 20 | AUB | Y | Martinez appears to be settling into LF but still plays 1B, which is progress because most folks are worried about the D, not the O. |
| Narciso Mesa | OF | 20 | AUB | Y | Made a quantum leap on offense, albeit in a small sample of 31 games going from .559OPS to .791OPS. |
| Brandon Miller | OF | 22 | AUB | N | A catcher in college, but strictly played OF for Auburn, where injuries limited the 4th Rd. pick in ’12 out of Samford to just 29 games. |
| Justin Miller | OF | 23 | HAG | N | Miller earned a watchlist spot with a strong ’11 in Auburn, but the production fell off in his first full season. |
| Randolph Oduber | OF | 23 | POT | Y | Oduber has the tools in the outfield, but has struggled to stay healthy enough to play there consistently the past two seasons after terrific debut in 2010. |
| Caleb Ramsey | OF | 23 | HAG | Y | A ‘tweener that continues to pleasantly surprise, developing some pop while slicing his K rate nearly in half. |
| Steven Souza | OF | 23 | HAG, POT | Y | Despite another position change (1B to OF), the longtime farmhand broke out in ’12 with career highs in nearly every offensive category, finishing 3rd in the organization with 23HRs. |
| Michael Taylor | OF | 21 | POT | Y | Taylor faded in August, but showed flashes of brilliance on both offense and defense in his second full season in the outfield. |
There’s some real talent here. I’d be lying if I knew which ones were going to be breakout stars, but that’s really the best part of this, isn’t it?
I hadn’t paid much attention to the 2012 draft class until these two write-ups. Considering that some folks wrote it off as a complete waste (outside of Giolito), I come away impressed that there are some interesting talents working their way into the system. Thanks much!