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Seven Minor League prospects you'll be rooting for this season
7个值得关注的小联盟潜力股
Tired of only rooting for young players who top the prospect rankings and make
the cover of magazines? Want a sleeper with a wacky swing to snag in your
keeper league, or a former two-sport star to see on that mid-summer road trip?
You're in luck. Here are seven less heralded prospects that you should be
cheering for in 2016. And if you were already high on one of these guys, we're
sorry for blowing up your spot.
对于只能关注潜力榜单中的前几名与杂志封面宠儿感到厌烦？想要占有一个拥有古怪挥棒
姿势的低调新人在你的Fantasy Baseball、或是在今年夏天出游时顺道观看一个前双栖运
动明星吗？你真走运。这边列出七个2016年你该支持但较少受关注的潜力选手。如果你早
就注意到他们。我们只能说抱歉毁了你的私房景点。
Eddy Alvarez, SS
prospect ranking: No. 25 in the White Sox system
Current team: Birming ham Barons, Double-A
Alvarez's immense speed on the basepaths previously helped him excel in
another sport: short track speed skating. Nicknamed "Eddy the Jet", Alvarez
was winning national speed skating competitions by age 11. After playing
shortstop in high school, he chose to forego a college scholarship in favor of
pursuing his dream of competing at the Olympics. Six years later, Alvarez
became the first Cuban-American male speed skater to make the U.S. Olympic
team, and went on to help win the silver medal in the 5,000 meter relay at the
2014 Sochi Olympics. He returned to the diamond after the Olympics and signed
a Minor League deal with the White Sox in June 2014. In 123 games across
Low-A and High-A last season, Alvarez hit .296/.409/.424 with 53 steals.
Alvarez在垒间的速度让他在另一项运动表现出色:短道极速滑冰。绰号"喷射机艾迪"的他
在11岁时就赢得了国内的极速滑冰竞赛。在高中担任游击手之后，他选择放弃大学奖学金
转而追逐他参加奥运的梦想。六年后，Alvarez成为第一个加入美国奥运极速滑冰队的古
巴裔美国人，更在2014索契冬季奥运中赢得了5000公尺项目的银牌。他在奥运结束后回到
了棒球场上的内野，并在2014年6月与白袜队签下了小联盟合约。在123场横跨低阶1A与高
阶1A的比赛中，Alvarez的打击三围是.296/.409/.424附带53次盗垒。
Amir Garrett, LHP
Prospect ranking: No. 4 in Reds system, No. 67 in Top 100
Current team: Pensacola Blue Wahoos, Double-A
It's safe to say Garrett is the only Top 100 prospect with a summer hoops
mixtape full of huge dunks from his high school days. The 6-foot-5 southpaw
spent most of his time in high school dominating on the basketball court,
developing into one of the top small forward recruits in the country.
Garrett's dad convinced him to hold a tryout for Major League scouts despite
not even playing baseball during his senior year, and the southpaw impressed
everyone with a mid-90's fastball. The Reds selected him in the 22nd round of
the 2011 Draft and gave him a $1 million signing bonus and permission to
continue his basketball career in the offseason at St. John's University. After
two seasons of college hoops, Garrett decided to focus on baseball full time,
and hasn't looked back since. After a stellar full-season debut in 2014,
Garrett excelled in 2015 at Class A Advanced Daytona (2.44 ERA with 133
strikeouts in 140.1 IP) and cemented himself as one of the top left-handed
pitching prospects in baseball.
我们能保证Garrett是唯一一个拥有灌篮集锦的前100潜力选手。这位6呎5吋的左投高中时
几乎整天在篮球场内大杀四方，成为了国内前几名的小前锋。Garrett的父亲说服他参加
了MLB球探的试训，尽管在高三时完全没碰棒球，这位左投用90几英哩的速球惊呆了所有
人。红人队在2011年以第22顺位将他选走，给了他1百万美金的签约金，并同意他在休赛
季期间在圣约翰大学继续打他的篮球。在打了两季大学篮球之后，Garrett决定专心在棒
球上，从此不再变心。在2014年投完不错的一季后，Garrett在2015年更上一层楼，在高
阶1A交出了140.1局、2.44防御率、133个三振的好成绩，巩固了他前几名潜力左投的地
位。
Raimel Tapia, OF
Prospect ranking: No. 7 in Rockies system
Current team: Hartford Yard Goats, Double-A
Signed as a 16-year-old out of the Dominican Republic in 2010, Tapia has done
nothing but mash since making his stateside debut in 2013. The outfielder won
Pioneer League MVP as a 19-year-old during his debut campaign and hit .315 and
59 steals over the last two years at Class A. Tapia is perhaps best known for
an unusual batting stance quirk: with two strikes, he descends into a
pronounced crouch that made at least one teammate ponder "what in the world
is that guy doing?" Tapia developed his unorthodox approach at a very young
age, shrinking the strike zone and drastically shortening his swing in an
effort to square up more pitches. A season at Double-A will tell whether his
efforts to shrink the strike zone have true staying power.
在16岁签约后，Tapia这位多明尼加人便在联盟中搅动风云。这位外野手在19岁时赢得了
新秀联盟的MVP，并在两年的1A中缴出了打击率.315与59次盗垒的好成绩。Tapia最为人
所知的可能是他怪异的打击姿势:两好球后，他会蹲得有够低，低到至少有一个队友会嘟
囔:这家伙在冲三小?Tapia在很年轻时就养成了这个怪姿势，使好球带变小，并缩短他的
挥棒半径，试着缠斗更久。升到2A的这季将会告诉我们这姿势是不是真的管用。