Major League Baseball’s winter meetings take place in Dallas this week, and that’s the time that the major league clubs really get serious about proposing and making free agent acquisitions and trades of players. Inasmuch as the Stros are definitely in the market for some hitting, it’s timely that venerable minor league baseball prospect evaluator Baseball America has published its annual top ten list ($) of the Stros’ minor league prospects.
The Stros organization has traditionally emphasized player development and current Stros GM Tim Purpura is a development guy, so expect that tradition to continue. The Stros farm system is best known for developing pitchers (think Larry Dierker, Don Wilson, J.R. Richard, Ken Forsch, Joe Sambito, Dave Smith, Shane Reynolds, Billy Wagner, Wade Miller, Roy Oswalt, Brad Lidge, etc.), but the club during the Biggio-Bagwell era has also generated a number of productive hitters, including Bidg, Lance Berkman, Richard Hidalgo, Bobby Abreu, Morgan Ensberg, and Jason Lane. Similarly, the core of the key performers on the Stros’ 2005 World Series team were developed within the club’s farm system (Berkman, Bidg, Ensberg, Lane, Roy O, Lidge, Chris Burke and Chad Qualls), and six rookies were on the Stros’ World Series roster.

Despite such production, the Stros’ farm system has slipped somewhat in recent years for several reasons, including the failure of the Stros to field a high-A farm club for a number of years, unproductive drafts and increased competition from other major league clubs for talent in Venezuela, where the Stros once dominated. As a result, the system probably will not generate much in the near future beyond righthanded pitchers Jason Hirsh and Fernando Nieve, and it will probably be at least another two seasons before a homegrown position player can challenge for a spot in the lineup.
As a result of the talent decline in farm system, former Stros GM Gerry Hunsicker reassigned former Stros scouting director David Lakey after the 2004 draft and promoted coordinator of pro scouting Paul Ricciarini to be the new director of scouting. Ricciarini used the Stros 2005 first-round pick on lefthanded pitcher Brian Bogusevic then focused on good athletes who could turn into productive position players. Of those, outfielders Eli Iorg (supplemental first round) and Josh Flores (fourth round) join Bogusevic on Baseball America top ten list. Given this rebuilding phase in their farm system, the Stros will probably have to deal some of their numerous pitching prospects in trades if they are going to add the additional hitting that the major league club needs to remain a playoff contender over the next several seasons.
The following are Baseball America’s ($) top ten Stros prospects, with my comments:

1. Jason Hirsh rhp; Age: 24 Ht: 6-8 Wt: 245. The best pitcher last season at AA Corpus Christi, Hirsh throws in the mid-90’s mph and will probably start the 2006 season at AAA Round Rock. However, it would not be shocking if he were to make the 2006 Stros roster out of spring training either as a back-end rotation starter or as a setup relief man. Could you imagine a more physically intimidating trio of relievers on one team than Hirsh, Qualls and Lidge?
2. Troy Patton lhp;Age: 20; Ht: 6-1 Wt: 185 (earlier post here). In his first full season of minor league ball, the lefthanded pitcher from Tomball set a low Class A Lexington record with 32 straight scoreless innings, pitched in the All-Star Futures Game and reached high Class A. He throws in the low 90’s mph, and will probably start the 2006 season as a 20 year old starter in AA ball. That means he is a stud.
3. Fernando Nieve, rhp; Age: 23; Ht: 6-0 Wt.: 200. Although only 23, Nieve is a Venezuelan who has already been in the Stros farm system for six years. He split the season last year at AA Corpus and AAA Round Rock, and — but for an appendectomy — probably would have been called up in September by the Stros. Another fireballer, he lacks Hirsh’s polish, but could make the 2006 Stros roster if the Rocket decides not to play.
4. Jimmy Barthmaier, rhp; Age: 22; Ht: 6-4, Wt.: 210. Did I mention that the Stros have some strong pitching prospects? Another big fireballer, this 13th rounder really made strides last season in his third season of minor league ball and is projected to pitch at least part of the 2006 season at AA Corpus Christi. All of the Stros top four pitching prospects could be pitching for the parent club by the end of the 2006 season.
5. Eli Iorg, of; Age: 23 B-T: R-R; Ht: 6-3 Wt.: 200. Iorg is a good athlete/outfielder who the Stros drafted out of college after he had taken a year off to complete a Mormon mission obligation. As with most of the Stros’ position player prospects, Iorg is a bit old for his level in the minors, so look for the Stros to push him toward high-A Salem and maybe even AA Corpus Christi during the 2006 season.
6. Hunter Pence, of; Age: 22 B-T: R-R Ht: 6-5 Wt.: 210. The Stros top pick in the 2004 draft, Pence is a good athlete who was the Stros best minor league hitter last season despite missing time with a pulled leg muscle. He will start the 2006 season at AA Corpus Christi and, if he continues to pound the ball the way he did in A ball, I would not be surprised to see him playing at AAA Round Rock during the 2006 season.
7. Felipe Paulino Del Guidice, rhp; Age: 22; Ht: 6-2 Wt.: 180. Another one of the Stros’ seeming inexhaustible supply of flamethrowing prospects, Paulino Del Guidice is a Venezuelan has been timed throwing over 100 mph. Although he will begin the 2006 season as a starter at high-A Salem, some in the Stros organization are projecting him as a closer.
8. Juan Gutierrez, rhp; Age: 22; Ht: 6-3 Wt.: 200. Another one of the Stros’ hard-throwing Venezuelan pitching prospects, Gutierrez had his best season in the minors last season. He will begin the 2006 season at high-A Salem, but expect him to reach AA Corpus Christi during the season.
9. Brian Bogusevic, lhp; Age: 22; Ht: 6-3 Wt.: 211. With the injury to Carlos Hernandez and the slow development of Wandy Rodriguez, the Stros are a bit deficient in left-handed pitching, so the club supplemented its 2004 drafting of Troy Patton by using its first pick (24th overall) in the 2005 draft on the lefty Bogusevic, who had a very good college career at Tulane. Inasmuch as Bogusevic endured a long college season before being drafted last season, the Stros didn’t let him pitch much in rookie ball last season. So, the 2006 season will really be Bogusevic’s first true season in minor league ball and he should move up to at least high-A Salem during the season.
10. Josh Flores, of, Age: 20 B-T: R-R Ht: 6-0 Wt.: 195. Flores is an interesting prospect, a former national junior college batting champ who tore up rookie ball last season after being drafted. He is as fast as Willy Taveras, but has hitting ability and power that Taveras can only dream about. Flores will begin the 2006 season at low-A Lexington and is several years away, but this is one of those prospects who could turn out to be something special. Keep an eye on him.