I’m about the only person I know who still thinks Mark Phillips will have a better big-league career than Oliver Perez. Don’t bother trying to talk me out of it. Can’t be done. I worry about Perez’ multiple arm angles, his body type, his high pitch counts last year, his winter ball work. I keep having visions of Jose Rosado. I hope I’m wrong about Perez, of course. And I hope I’m right about Phillips. Nothing would make me happier than to see those two, along with Adam Eaton, Brian Lawrence, and Jake Peavy, anchor the Padre rotation for the next several years.

There ya go.

Sickels 1996 and Win Shares

By Position, Catchers and Infielders

catcher
                Grd  WS
Jason Kendall    A- 106
Jorge Posada     C   83
Mike Sweeney     A-  77
Mike Lieberthal  C   63
Paul Konerko     B-  48

Quick and dirty: Sweeney and Konerko had to move out from behind the dish to become productive big-leaguers. Posada and Lieberthal took a while to establish themselves. Kendall appears to have peaked early. Catching prospects are a tricky lot.

first base
                Grd  WS
Tony Clark       C+  88
Richie Sexson    B   50
Derrek Lee       B+  45
Kevin Millar     C+  42
Brant Brown      C-  24

Quick and dirty: None of these guys is a superstar. Only Sexson qualifies as a minor star. Except for Brown, whose career is something of an enigma, these players can hit. The fact that they aren’t stars is a reminder of just how much a first baseman needs to contribute at the plate.

second base
                Grd  WS
Jose Vidro       C+  59
Luis Castillo    C   55
Todd Walker      A-  48
Ron Belliard     B-  45
Chris Stynes     B-  39

Quick and dirty: The guys with the lowest grades are at the top. Nobody’s really made a huge contribution. Some people claim there is no such thing as a pitching prospect. I say there’s no such thing as a second base prospect. If a guy is there in the minors, it’s most likely because he couldn’t handle a more demanding position. By definition, he’s not a great prospect. The relative lack of success of minor-league second baseman found here is consistent with other research I’ve done in this area.

third base
                Grd  WS
Scott Rolen      A  123
Phil Nevin       C   85
Joe Randa        C-  80
Bill Mueller     B-  71
Corey Koskie     B-  54

Quick and dirty: Rolen is a perennial All-Star. Nevin and Randa have overcome attitude problems and lack of overwhelming tools, respectively, to put together solid careers. Mueller and Koskie are two of the more underrated players of their era. Mueller is the new Dave Magadan. Terrific hitter, gets no respect.

shortstop
                Grd  WS
Derek Jeter      A  150
N. Garciaparra   A- 119
Rich Aurilia     B-  94
Edgar Renteria   B+  82
Tony Batista     B+  72

Quick and dirty: Shortstop is an important position. The next two guys on this list, Mark Loretta (65) and Neifi Perez (61), have more win shares than the top earner at second base.

Have a great weekend. Catch ya Monday…