Top picks work on games in Arizona Fall League
- Reds' Billy Hamilton set the minor league record for stolen bases
- Mike Zunino is the highest-profile draft pick from 2012
- Darin Ruf nearly won the Triple Crown in the Class AA Eastern League
Here are five players/themes to watch:
1. Billy Hamilton in center field: The Cincinnati Reds say speedy Hamilton, a finalist for the USA TODAY Minor League Player of the Year award, will be manning center field next season and that he'll be developed as such from here on out. His ability to handle the move to center field will go a long way toward determining when he gets to Cincinnati and how long Drew Stubbs is with the Reds.
2. Anthony Rendon: We don't know much more about Rendon today than we did when he was drafted sixth overall by the Washington Nationals in 2011. We know he still has a plus-hit tool and injury issues. We still don't know how that hit tool will translate to professional baseball or where on the field he will play. If Rendon can manage to make it through the fall season, it will be his longest healthy stretch and biggest sample size for evaluation purposes as a professional. Rendon struggled in Class AA after returning from an ankle injury that cost him most of his season, though he still maintained strong plate discipline.
3. Mike Zunino: The highest-profile draft pick from 2012 in this year's fall league is Zunino, the Seattle Mariners catching prospect. The Mariners sent Zunino, who was selected third overall, to the short-season Northwest League, which was about as much a challenge to the former Florida Gator as was the Southeastern Conference. But Zunino also got playoff experience in Class AA at the end of the season. He didn't blow up the Southern League playoffs the way he did the Northwest League, but he handled the jump from college to short-season to Class AA well. If he continues to play well, it will be a testament to his durability as much as his talent, but Zunino could be among the first from this year's fall league class to make a major league All-Star team.
4. Don't sleep on the unknowns: Teams get a limited number of spots to fill, so every prospect heading to Arizona has the attention of his organization. Whether he is working on something in particular, learning a new position or needs to make up at-bats after an injury this year, there's a reason he is there. A prime example from 2011 is first baseman Darin Ruf, 26. Ruf's story is well known now after his near-Triple Crown season in the Class AA Eastern League and success in a brief major league call-up with the Philadelphia Phillies, but did you know Ruf was in the fall league last season? Ruf wasn't a legitimate prospect this time in 2011 — and many would argue that he still isn't — and he didn't necessarily tear it up, hitting .239 with a .363 on-base-percentage and .388 slugging percentage in 80 plate appearances. There's going to be a player in the league this year who breaks out next season like Ruf. The fun part is trying to figure out who it will be.
5. Nick Tropeano: In a league full of hitters and raw, hard-throwing pitchers, Tropeano is neither. A fifth-round pick in 2011 by the Houston Astros out of Stony Brook, Tropeano has learned how to make up for a lack of velocity with a strong changeup. It worked in the America East Conference, it worked last season in the short-season New York-Penn League and it worked this season in the Class A South Atlantic and California leagues. He has gained velocity as a professional, but his fastball still sits in the low-90s as a right-hander. But his ability to change speeds allowed him to strike out 8.79 batters per nine innings in the hitter-friendly California League. The changeup is the great equalizer in baseball, and Tropeano's is as good as any in the minors. It will allow him to handle righties and lefties alike and make his velocity play up.
Moore writes for The Hardball Times, a partner of USA TODAY Sports Digital Properties