1B/DH Prospects: #20-11

*Reminder: There are no defensive requirements for 1B/DH.

20. Reginald Kelton
Albuquerque Isotopes
Bats: S
24 years old, AAA
Drafted (College SR) in the 2nd round (66th overall, Season 6)

Kelton is your classic "professional hitter." He has good, but unremarkable power, which he makes up for with plus contact skills and an outstanding approach against left-handers. He's quite solid against righties as well, but durability issues will mean that he'll see the bulk of his time against southpaws, as he should be. He could stand to be more selective at the plate. Definitely a DH; you don't want him playing defense anywhere.


19. Mitch Boudreau
Syracuse Fightin' Boeheims
Bats: R
22 years old, High A
Drafted (College SO) in the 2nd round (67th overall, Season 6)

Picked immediately after Kelton, who's probably the better hitter of the two. Boudreau, like Kelton, is great at making contact, and has more raw power, but his doesn't have the same pretty line drive swing that Kelton has. Boudreau is good against lefties, but can struggle at times against top-flight right-handed pitching. He does have a decent batting eye, and plays an adequate 1B. He also has fewer questions surrounding his durability than Kelton.


18. Tony Jordan
San Juan Rincons
Bats: S
18 years old, Low A
Drafted (HS) in the 2nd round (72nd overall, Season 8)

Jordan is your classic take n' rake slugger. Similar to players like Jack Cust or Adam Dunn, Jordan has plus-plus power and draws boatloads of walks, but he'll always have trouble making contact (struck out 46 times in 160 at bats so far at Low A). He struggles against lefties, but he'll be able to take the larger half of a platoon at either 1B, where his glovework is shaky, or DH.


17. Cristian Stevenson
Syracuse Fightin' Boeheims
Bats: R
19 years old, Low A
Drafted (HS) in the 1st round (11th overall, Season 7)

Eerily similar to Mitch Boudreau, Stevenson has more raw power and better contact skills, but worse plate discipline. The rest of the scouting report is almost identical to Boudreau: better against lefties than righties, adequate D at 1B, not the prettiest line-drive swing. On the plus side, Stevenson is much more durable than Boudreau, and has a clean bill of health.


16. Coco Montgomery
New York Yankees
Bats: R
20 years old, High A
Drafted (HS) in the 1st round (43rd overall, Season 6)

Montgomery uppercuts a bit at the plate; as a result, he has very good power, but doesn't hit as many line drives as he'd like, resulting in lower batting averages. He's a fair contact hitter. His greatest asset as a hitter is his discipline; he's walked 168 times in just over 1000 minor league at bats. No platoon split. His defense is questionable, to say the least; he's not very mobile around the bag, and "stabs" at the ball, rather than letting it come to him.


15. Horace Faulkner
Minnesota Fatboys
Bats: L
22 years old, High A
Drafted (College SO) in the 2nd round (62nd overall, Season 6)

Faulkner's a solid, if not boring, hitter. Good contact, good power, good batting eye, but none of these skills really stand out from his peers. He does seem to see right handed pitching significantly better than southpaw pitching. His defense isn't horrible, but he'll never win a Gold Glove. A nice, if unremarkable ballplayer.


14. Slim Gutierrez
St. Louis Greys
Bats: R
23 years old, AAA
Drafted (College SO) in the 1st round (39th overall, Season 5)

Gutierrez projects to have less power than any other player on this list. However, he makes up for that with excellent plate discipline, very good contact skills, and a smooth line drive stroke. The end product is roughly similar to Conor Jackson. He prefers hitting against lefties, although he can hit righties as well. His defense is adequate. Gutierrez is also very durable, able to play almost every day and never getting injured.


13. Bob Crawford
Minnesota Fatboys
Bats: R
24 years old, AAA
Drafted (College FR) in the 2nd round (45th overall, Season 3)

Crawford is an excellent hitter. Great contact skills, outstanding power, and a very good batting eye, Crawford pretty much does it all at the plate. He's excellent against lefties, and doesn't give back too much against righties. However, he'll be hard-pressed to find a defensive position where he doesn't hurt the team. His glovework at 1B is almost passable, but his footwork around the bag is terrible. He does have a decent arm, but his pitch calling isn't good enough to play at the ML level.


12. Trent Atkins
Albuquerque Isotopes
Bats: R
20 years old, Low A
Drafted (College FR) in the 1st round (41st overall, Season 7)

Atkins has excellent power and a pretty good batting eye, as well as above-average contact skills for a power hitter. He's not a particularly good line drive hitter, which he's working on improving with Isotope hitting coaches. Atkins is fairly rangy for a 1B; he might make a fringy LF, but don't count on a change anytime soon.


11. Will Gwynn
New York Yankees
Bats: R
21 years old, High A
Drafted (HS) in the 1st round (41st overall, Season 5)

Gwynn as a hitter is built in the same mold as Cristian Stevenson and Mitch Boudreau, with great contact ability and power, a preference of hitting left-handed pitching, and serviceable plate discipline. However, he does have a better swing than either of the aforementioned players; he should be able to hit for the highest average among them. His defense at 1B is nondescript, although he does have a surprisingly good arm for a 1B. Health is a major concern; Gwynn went down with an injury shortly after the Red Sox agreed to deal him to the Yankees; he'll be moved again after he fully recovers.