(This post originally appeared on Bus Leagues Baseball.com)
Before the 2011 minor league baseball season began, RaysProspects.com asked several Rays bloggers and Minor League bloggers their thoughts on players in the Rays system. As a writer here and at RaysIndex.com, I was honored to be part of the collective.
After the season, Kevin of RaysProspects reviewed everyone's picks and talked about how they did. Here are my picks and Kevin's responses to how I did:
Upper-Level Breakout:
Mike Lortz (of Bus Leagues Baseball) both hit and missed on Tim Beckham. Hit: "I also think this is year he breaks double digits in homeruns (12-15?)" (A late-season surge got him to 12) Miss: "I think he will be an all-star at Montgomery, and among the leaders in walks and OBP. He’ll also probably hit around .300." (Walk rate took a step back; hit .271).
Lower-Level Breakout:
Mike Lortz also went with Josh Sale, getting things backwards. He thought Sale would struggle with plate discipline but otherwise live up the hype, but Sale drew a decent number of walks.
Wildcard Prediction:
Mike Lortz: This is going to my BusLeaguesBaseball.com leanings, where we celebrate the minor league experience: On Monday, July 4th a young father with take his son or daughter to their first ever baseball game at Riverwalk Stadium in Montgomery. They’ll see Matt Moore strike out 10 Tennessee Smokies; Tim Beckham go 1 for 3, with a double, a walk, and a run scored; and the Biscuits win 5-2. The kid will be given a foul ball caught by a nearby fan, stay for the fireworks, and become a fan for life.
Verdict:
The Biscuits won 10-1 on July 4 thanks to a strong start from Jim Paduch, who fanned 9. Tim Beckham was 0-3 though he did walk and score. No word on foul balls.