Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, April 2, 1995 TAG: 9504040025
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B12 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: COMPILED BY RAY COX
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
NICKNAME: Avalanche.
1994 RECORD AND FINISH: Not a league member.
FIRST YEAR IN LEAGUE: Salem a member since 1968.
PARENT ORGANIZATION: Colorado Rockies.
MANAGER: Bill Hayes.
PROMINENT PLAYERS: RHP Mike Saipe (3-7, 4.16 ERA at Bend); RHP Mike Zolecki (0-1, 2.78 at Asheville); LHP Keith Barnes (8-9, 5.35 at Asheville); 1B Nate Holdren (.238, 28 home runs, 74 runs batted in at Asheville).
OUTLOOK: The Avalanche will be a reflection of its organization, in that it will be rich in pitching. Conceivably, left-hander Doug Million and right-hander Jamey Wright, Colorado's past two No.1 draft choices, also could join the staff here. The team probably won't have an abundance of speed, although Hayes has vowed it will be as aggressive as possible on the basepaths.
DURHAM
NICKNAME: Bulls.
1994 RECORD AND FINISH: 66-70 (fifth).
FIRST YEAR IN LEAGUE: 1945.
PARENT ORGANIZATION: Atlanta Braves.
MANAGER: Matt West.
PROMINENT PLAYERS: OF Andre King (.248, four HR, 38 RBI at Macon); OF Wonderful Monds (.290, 10 HR, 41 RBI at Macon); RHP Maurice Christmas (9-4, 2.80 at Macon); LHP Micah Bowie (3-1, 3.58, 38 strikeouts in 33 innings at Danville)
OUTLOOK: The Braves' organization is loaded with prospects on the mound and at the everyday positions. King and Monds were two-thirds of an outfield (Jermaine Dye, now with Class AA Greenville, was the other) considered to be the best in the South Atlantic League. In the pipeline at Macon this year are shortstop Glenn Williams and left-hander Damian Moss, a pair of Australian teen-agers whose talent belies their age. Williams was considered one of the best amateurs available anywhere in the world last year. Moss is a converted outfielder who has been a quick study as a pitcher. They could be with Durham before the end of the season.
LYNCHBURG
NICKNAME: Hillcats.
1994 RECORD AND FINISH: 64-75 at Salem (sixth).
FIRST YEAR IN LEAGUE: 1966.
PARENT ORGANIZATION: Pittsburgh Pirates.
MANAGER: Marc Hill.
PROMINENT PLAYERS: SS Lou Collier (.266 at Salem); 1B Mitch House (.283, seven HR, 24 RBI at Salem); LHP Sean Lawrence (4-2, 2.63 at Salem); RHP Dave Doorneweerd (6-9, 3.65 at Salem); OF Charles Peterson (.255, four HR, 40 RBI at Augusta)
OUTLOOK: The Pirates will have some prospects in Lynchburg, the most promising being Collier (rated No.2 in the organization by Baseball America) and Peterson (No.5). House and Peterson have the potential to hit a lot of home runs at City Stadium. Lawrence and Doorneweerd will be solid pitchers to build a staff around, although neither is expected to be there long. Lawrence is rehabilitating a surgically repaired knee, and Doorneweerd is in his third season in Class A.
WINSTON-SALEM
NICKNAME: Warthogs.
1994 RECORD AND FINISH: 67-70 (fourth).
FIRST YEAR IN LEAGUE: 1945.
PARENT ORGANIZATION: Cincinnati Reds.
MANAGER: Mark Berry.
PROMINENT PLAYERS: 3B Dan Kopriva (.310, 11 HR, 36 RBI at Winston-Salem); 2B Dee Jenkins (.243, seven HR, 33 RBI, 19 steals at Winston-Salem); OF Decomba Conner (.335, seven HR, 19 RBI, 30 steals at Princeton); C Paul Bako (.204, three HR. 26 RBI)
OUTLOOK: This could be another terrific offensive club in the mold of Winston-Salem teams of recent vintage. Bako was hurt and played only 90 games last year, which is one of the reasons his stock seems to have fallen. He's a terrific defensive catcher who needs work offensively. Conner has evoked comparisons to Kirby Puckett with his build (5-foot-10, 184 pounds), bat and speed. Kopriva and Jenkins were solid players last year and probably won't be here long. It would be difficult to imagine this team hitting a league-record 202 home runs, as it did in 1994.
PRINCE!WILLIAM
NICKNAME: Cannons.
1994 RECORD AND FINISH: 71-65 (third).
FIRST YEAR IN LEAGUE: 1978.
PARENT ORGANIZATION: Chicago White Sox.
MANAGER: Dave Huppert.
PROMINENT PLAYERS: LHP Tom Fordham (14-9, 169 strikeouts and 45 walks in 1832/3 innings at Hickory and South Bend); C Nilson Robledo (.445 slugging percentage, nine HR, 69 RBI at South Bend); LHP Rich Pratt (11-6, 2.02 ERA, 153 strikeouts in 165 innings at Hickory); C Julio Vinas (.253, 31 doubles)
OUTLOOK: If nothing else, the Cannons can trot out some strong batteries. Robledo is 26, old by Class A standards, but his bat has kept him around. Fordham was a starting pitcher in the South Atlantic League All-Star Game and was second in the organization in strikeouts. Pratt topped the organization and was fourth in the minor leagues in ERA. Vinas set a franchise record at South Bend with his 31 doubles.
KINSTON
NICKNAME: Indians.
1994 RECORD AND FINISH: 60-78 (seventh).
FIRST YEAR IN LEAGUE: 1956.
PARENT ORGANIZATION: Cleveland Indians.
MANAGER: Gordy MacKenzie.
PROMINENT PLAYERS: SS Enrique Wilson (.279, 10 HR, 12 triples, 72 RBI, 21 steals at Columbus); LHP Steve Kline (18-5, 3.01 ERA, 174 strikeouts and 36 walks in 186 innings); RHP Travis Driskill (2.52 ERA, 35 saves, 88 strikeouts in 64 innings at Columbus); 1B Richie Sexson (.273, 14 HR, 77 RBI at Columbus); 3B Todd Betts (.326, 10 HR, 53 RBI at Watertown)
OUTLOOK: This team should contend for the league title. Wilson was the best infielder in the Sally League and a talent so good the Minnesota Twins tried to hide him by switching his jersey number when Indians scouts came to check out prospects for a player-to-be-named-later deal. The Indians weren't fooled and got their man. Kline, Driskill and Sexson were key members of a Columbus, Ga., team that went 87-51, the Sally League's best record. MacKenzie, 57, has been a minor-league manager since 1966 and has more than 1,000 victories to his credit.
WILMINGTON
NICKNAME: Blue Rocks.
1994 RECORD AND FINISH: 94-44 (first).
FIRST YEAR IN LEAGUE: 1993.
PARENT ORGANIZATION: Kansas City Royals.
MANAGER: John Mizerock.
PROMINENT PLAYERS: OF Bobby Lee Bonds Jr. (combined .263 at Rancho Cucamonga and Springfield); RHP Nevin Brewer (7-1, 0.98, 20 saves at Rockford, 3-0, 0.97 at Eugene); LHP Tim Byrdak (4-5, 3.07 ERA, 77 strikeouts in 73 innings at Eugene); 2B Sergio Nunez (.397, five HR, 24 RBI at Fort Myers)
OUTLOOK: Although last year's 94 victories will be difficult to duplicate, the Blue Rocks are loaded again. The Royals believe in leaving players where they are rather than moving them around a lot during the season, and it has paid off handsomely throughout the organization. At Rockford, where Mizerock managed last year, the Royals won 89 games and finished first among 14 teams during the Midwest League regular season. Fort Myers went 47-12 and was first in the 15-team Gulf Coast League. Those two teams will furnish most of Wilmington's players. Nunez was voted the top prospect in the Gulf Coast League. Bonds is the son of former big-leaguer Bobby Bonds and the brother of San Francisco Giants star Barry Bonds.
FREDERICK
NICKNAME: Keys.
1994 RECORD AND FINISH: 76-61 (second).
FIRST YEAR IN LEAGUE: 1989.
PARENT ORGANIZATION: Baltimore Orioles.
MANAGER: Mike O'Berry.
PROMINENT PLAYERS: RHP Rocky Coppinger (4-3, 2.45 at Bluefield); 3B Tommy Davis (.273, five HR, 35 RBI at Albany); SS Richard Short (.301 at Bluefield); infielder David Lamb (.240 at Albany)
OUTLOOK: Some of the best young prospects in the Baltimore organization are here. Coppinger and Davis are in the top 10, as judged by the Baseball America. Coppinger was the No.7-rated prospect in the Appalachian League in a vote of league managers. Davis, a second-round draft pick in 1994, smacked 43 home runs in three seasons at Southern Mississippi. Lamb was a second-round choice in 1993. Orioles affiliates are of a type - heavy on pitching, defense and power - and this one should be no different.
Keywords:
BASEBALL
by CNB