Jamey Carroll has stepped up since becoming a starter - can he keep it up?

In the American League, the time is now for a top catching prospect. Well, not exactly, as he is only going to be the backup, but it is going to be a chance for him to shine. Who is this top prospect? Well, read on to find out!

Since we have focused on the Senior Circuit over the last two weeks, we stick with the American League for our second spotlighted player, a journeyman that is finding his way into the lineup again on a regular basis, and is doing quite a good job at it. The fact that he played ball in Vermont and married a girl from Rutland, Vermont has nothing to do with him being spotlighted here. Okay, it has everything to do with him being spotlighted here, but he is performing as well.

Jamey Carroll, Second Base, Cleveland Indians

Never a top prospect, Carroll’s moment of glory in the minors was the team championship he picked up with the Vermont Expos. Since making the majors, there has not been a lot of glory, and a whole lot of shuffling around. Some time at second base, some time at short, some time at third – heck, he has even made six appearances in the outfield over the course of his career.

Despite being a favorite of manager Frank Robinson, the Washington Nationals thought it would be more useful to sell Carroll off to the Rockies for a shiny nickel instead of actually keep him around since he was a useful player. That’s what makes the Nationals winners. Oh, and the shiny nickel is not an exaggeration either, as that is what they got in baseball terms.

The Rockies would be quite happy to pay that nickel too, as injuries would force Carroll to become an everyday player for the first time, and he flourished in the role. The 2006 season would see Carroll pick up 463 at-bats, 160 more at-bats than he has ever picked up in a season, and over 200 more at-bats than he has averaged in the six seasons coming in to this year. In that time, he hit .300, the most he has ever hit in a season with at least 100 at-bats, with five home runs, 36 RBI, 10 stolen bases, and 84 runs scored.

It would not last, however, as he would go right back to be a utility infielder, picking up just 227 at-bats while playing a little bit of everywhere, never regular, and his numbers took a nosedive. That would be the end of Carroll in Colorado too, as he would be moved to the Indians in the offseason.

The Indians were going down the utility role with Carroll too. The only problem was, every second baseman they tried out ahead of him has been an abject failure to one degree or another. As a result, Carroll has been thrust in to a regular role, and he has been one of the hottest hitters in the league. Funny how that works – give him playing time, and he produces.

Over the last 14 days, Carroll has hit .400, seventh-best in the American League during that time, with a .467 on base percentage (sixth-best), four RBI, five runs, and two stolen bases.

Now, we are not going to say that Carroll is a star or that he will even keep up what he is doing right now, but he will produce, as he has shown in the past when he was trusted to be an everyday player.

Max Ramirez, Catcher, Texas Rangers

There is next to no way that Ramirez receives regular playing time in the bigs after just receiving the call up to the majors, but that is no reason to ignore him.

One of the top catching prospects in the game, the Rangers acquired Ramirez last year in a trade with the Indians last year for Kenny Lofton. Between the two systems, Ramirez hit .304 with 16 home runs, 82 RBI, 62 runs scored, and 30 doubles in 391 at-bats in High-A, and he was assigned to Double-A to open the 2008 season.

So far this season, Ramirez has ripped up Double-A, hitting .363 with 17 home runs, 50 RBI, 49 runs, and 16 doubles in 237 at-bats before this promotion. He had been extremely hot of late, hitting .424 over his last ten games. However, his promotion now is not due to his hot bat, but because the Rangers need some insurance due to the injuries to Gerald Laird in the bigs and Taylor Teagarden in Triple-A. Ramirez will likely sit around, maybe get someone some coffee, and otherwise stand around and due nothing before going back to Double-A. However, those in fantasy leagues will ignore him at their own peril, as he is a legit candidate to break camp with the club in 2009, and has the potential to be an Ivan Rodriguez-like catcher. In keeper leagues, if he is not gone already, he should be now.

Last Week Revisited

Last week, I heaped praise on the potential of the Cubs’ Eric Patterson while completely hating on Edgar Gonzalez. How did I do?

Well, Gonzalez had a quality week actually, as he hit .320 with two RBI, two runs, and one walk. I still hold little hope for him keeping up this hitting, but I have been wrong before.

As for Eric, he had the week off, but he did play while this feature was being finished up, going 3-for-5 at the plate with two runs and an RBI. The potential is great here.

That wraps up this week’s hunting – see you in seven!