Three Bradenton Marauders Named to Postseason All-Star Team
The Florida State League announced their End-of-Season All-Stars on Monday afternoon and three players from the Bradenton Marauders made the squad. Shortstop Cole Tucker, outfielder Logan Hill and pitcher Pedro Vasquez all received recognition for being the best at their position in the league.
Both Tucker and Hill were promoted to Altoona last month, but they were able to compile strong stats in the FSL before they left. Tucker hit .285/.364/.426 in 68 games, while playing solid defense at shortstop and leading the league with 36 stolen bases. He is still four ahead of the player with the second most steals in the league, despite missing three weeks with a thumb injury and being promoted to Altoona on July 20th.
Hill is still tied for the FSL league lead in homers with 16, even though he was promoted on June 30th. He hit .266/.351/.513 in 71 games with the Marauders. His season was cut short by a broken hand on July 27th and he's currently down at Pirate City rehabbing the injury, but not ready for any type of game action.
Vasquez is the only one of the group still with Bradenton. He has one more start left this season. The 21-year-old right-hander put up a 3.37 ERA in 133.2 innings so far, with 105 strikeouts and a 1.15 WHIP. He ranks third in the league in ERA, tenth in strikeouts and first in WHIP.
Cole Tucker, Featured, Logan Hill, Pedro Vasquez
EWS34
I hope Tucker is everything that Alan Hanson was supposed to be.
I'd argue Tucker is the most important prospect in the system right now.
With Meadows' injury problems calling his future into question, Tucker is the only position player left with even a shred of chance he'll turn into a star.
He is important, but I think because the Pirates cant afford defense only position players. With him and Newman i hope they have a SS who can hit. I don't want another Wilson/Mercer type. I think they are doing the right thing by building SP depth. I also think they should deal Cole this off season for position players who can help now or in the next year. OF, C, 3b. they need to build around Bell.
battlingbucs
Interesting take. Any particular reason you don't think Uselton, Mitchell or Martin have that kind of upside. They certainly seem to have some real upside even if they are so far away that their chances of reaching it are small.
Poor job of context on my part…I intended for that to mean Tucker is the only position player in the system with true star upside that could reach the Majors in time to assist any team that could currently be projected. Kids below full-season ball are so far off that it's meaningless to even try and predict what kind of big league club they could potentially be walking onto in four years or so.
Tucker finding that "goldilocks" development path where he adds another 10 lb of muscle to his frame while adjusting his swing for power and maintaining enough quickness to play up the middle would give the 2019-2020 teams a legitimate 4-WAR star to supplement Marte, Polanco, and the pitching staff. Nobody else between Tucker and Lolo Sanchez can claim the potential for plus offense and plus defense at a premium position.
Ok that seems much more reasonable. Though I would quibble a bit with that last statement and present Adrian Valerio. He has shown enough flashes that I would say he has the potential for plus offense and defense. Though he is likely the only one.
I also like the kid they picked up in the Watson trade. He may be a roll the dice player but hey sometimes you can hit on them.
Chris C
No Will Craig…his season has been a Major disappointment. When was his last homerun? 6-7 weeks ago? Perhaps we could trade him to Toronto where they could unlock his power potential and then get him back….
jiaqic
Even if his power is still maturing, he can still be a lead off/2nd hole batter without much speed…
Wow, great catch. These All Star lists are usually meaningless, but for a 1st Round pick not to get the nod in a year with hardly a single legitimate prospect at the position throughout the league is really embarrassing.
Nothing good can be said about Craig at this point.
And they were all age appropriate, right?
I doubt that matters for the award, but Hill was just over a year older than average for the league. Tucker is over two years younger than league average and Vasquez is about two years younger than average. So really none of them were age appropriate for the league. Playing the season at 22-23 is average for the FSL.
Sorry, John, some of you writers harp on that, sometimes.
We are a prospect site, so age appropriate is an important part of ranking a player. Many people don't realize that, so it needs to be said often