Roughs on the Diamond – Michael Stanton

Some of you might be wondering, who the heck is Michael Stanton?  Well, if you live anywhere near a South Atlantic League team, you have probably heard of him.  I grew up in NJ and we really didn’t have any minor league teams for a long time.  Then came along the Lake wood Blue Claws and I was hooked.  I got to see the likes of Ryan Howard, Gavin Floyd and Cole Hamels.  Well, they all came up through the SAL.  Michael is in Greensboro right now and is cranking out home runs like a any 21 year old prospect should.  Through yesterday he is hitting 0.280/20/57 through 77 games (300 at bats).  The amazing thing is that Michael is only 18 years old.

Michael was drafted in 2007 by the Florida Marlins in the 2nd round.  He signed late and only had 56 at bats in GCL rookie league and Jamestown in the NY-Penn League.  He went 0.161/1/3 in those 56 at bats.  He was so young the Marlins didn’t want to move him up so fast, but from the looks of things, I would expect to see him in AA by the end of the season.

I know that the Marlins are dying to infuse some power and talent into their lineup now, but Michael does have his faults as well.  In 300 at bats he has struck out 101 times, while only walking 22 times.  We know he has the power but he has to learn how to read pitches better.  If he fails to do this he is going to run into trouble in the higher leagues.  If he can get his hitter’s eye down, the sky is the limit for this power hitting prospect.

Don’t worry Marlins fans there was another power hitter who swat homers like crazy in the minors and had trouble with the strike zone, his name was Ryan Howard.  I think that Michael will get his eye straight and become a great hitter.  Can he become the next Pujols or Howard?  I don’t know but it should be fun to see and he is well on his way at such a young age.

Here are a few of his cards: