Baseball's top major league prospects for 2002: some of the most highly rated rookies for the upcoming season include Cleveland outfielder Alex Escobar and Florida pitcher Josh Beckett - Amercian Baseball League recruiting

Baseball Digest, March, 2002 by George Vass

IT'S UNLIKELY THE NEW YORK METS will find Number 7 as lucky in the 2002 major league rookie sweepstakes as the Seattle Mariners did in last year's competition, but you've got to credit them for "rolling the dice."

The Mariners, of course, hit the jackpot in 2001 when they took a chance on Ichiro Suzuki, a Japanese baseball veteran with seven consecutive batting titles in his homeland. All Suzuki did was extend his string of hitting championships to eight in succession by leading the American League with an average of .350 as he captured both the Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player awards.

Now it's the Mets' turn to cash in on a "numbers game." Among their highly-regarded rookie hopefuls is pitcher Satoru Komiyama, a seven-time all-star in Japan who was 12-9 with a 3.03 ERA at Yokohama last season. He has a chance to duplicate Suzuki's additional feat of becoming an all-star in his first U.S. major league season and run his own string in that category to eight. That might not rank with a batting title as an achievement but it would be impressive enough.

At 36, Komiyama may be a bit long in the tooth for a rookie--if he does happen to top N.L. newcomers in 2002, he'll become by far the oldest player to capture the award--but there's no doubt of his eligibility, potential and versatility.

Mets general manager Steve Phillips is exceptionally high on Komiyama who has the dual advantage of being able to succeed in either the starting rotation or the bullpen. He has been effective in both roles during a long career.

"Over there, he's known as the Japanese Greg Maddux," Phillips said. "He has tremendous control and works both sides of the plate. He rarely falls behind in the count."

Yet, even if Komiyama makes good in a big way with the Mets this season, he's sure to have stiff competition for rookie of the year honors. There are many other potential gems among the couple of hundred hopefuls who're displaying their talents--or shortcomings--in spring training in each major league. That becomes clearly evident on studying the team-by-team section of this 2002 edition of Baseball Digest's annual scouting report on top prospects.

Among the most touted novices on rosters are the following:

Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Jack Cust; Atlanta Braves shortstop Wilson Betemit; Chicago Cubs second baseman Bobby Hill; Cincinnati Reds pitcher Ricardo Aramboles and outfielders Austin Kearns and Wily Mo Pena; Colorado Rockies pitcher Taso Chin-Hui; Florida Marlins pitcher Josh Beckett; Houston Astros outfielder Jason Lane; Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Ching-Feng Chen; Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Mike Penney; Montreal Expos outfielders Ron Calloway and Matt Cepicky; Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Marion Byrd; Mets pitcher Mike Bacsik; and San Diego Padres pitcher Dennis Tankersley.

A.L. clubs also are testing a plentiful supply of fine prospects, including the following:

Chicago White Sox third baseman Joe Crede; Cleveland Indians outfielder Alex Escobar; Detroit Tigers first baseman Eric Munson; Kansas City Royals shortstop Angel Berroa, outfielder Brandon Berger and pitcher Chris George; Minnesota Twins pitcher Brad Thomas; New York Yankees first baseman Nick Johnson; Seattle Mariners pitcher Rafael Soriano Texas Rangers third baseman Hank Blalock; and Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Eric Hinske and second baseman Orlando Hudson.

All of these prospects may be solid rookie of the year candidates, if given the chance to play regularly at the major league level, but several rate special attention even in such a promising group. They're Marlins pitcher Beckett and Reds outfielder Kearns in the N.L. and Royals outfielder Berger and Rangers third baseman Blalock in the A.L.

The Marlins got an encouraging glimpse of Beckett's abilities late last season after calling him up from the Class AA Portland, where he had gone 8-1 with a 1.82 ERA after starting 2001 at Class A Brevard County with a 6-0 record. His overall mark for his second year in the minor leagues was 14-1 with a 1.54 ERA and 203 strikeouts in 140 innings. The strikeout total was second among all minor league pitchers.

Right-hander Beckett, 21, made his major league debut on September 4 with six shutout innings against the Cubs, allowing one hit, striking out five and walking three. By season's end, Beckett had made four starts for Florida for a 2-2 record, yielding just 14 hits in 24 innings, with 24 strikeouts, 11 walks and a 1.50 ERA.

The second player taken overall in the 1999 draft, Beckett had tendinitis problems in 2000, appearing in only 13 games at Class A Kane County for a 2-3 mark. But he stayed healthy in 2001 and came up with an spectacular showing that bodes well for his big league future.

"With the work ethic he has, and his approach and demeanor, we anticipate very good things if he stays healthy," said Marlins farm director Rick Williams.

Kearns, 22, the Reds' Minor League Player of the Year in 2000, was limited by a thumb injury to 59 games at AA Chattanooga last season, but has an open route to earn the right field job at Cincinnati this spring. Fully recovered late last year, Kearns was second in the Arizona Fall League with a .371 average, driving in 31 runs in 33 games.