Quote:
Originally Posted by Edd Roush
I love the axiom of challenge thy hitters and coddle thy pitchers. Vidal will most likely rake in any stint at A+ because of how skewed to hitters the league is. Due to this and my belief that positional prospects should be advanced at a more rapid pace than pitching prospects, I would have no problem moving Vidal to AA after the All-Star break if he has a .850+ OPS in A+. I just don't think we are going to learn too much from typical statistics in the California league as we struggled with this in the Florida State League.
If Vidal mashes in A+ for a half year and AA for a half year, while still sporting a good glove, I would have no problem allowing him to compete with Francisco/Frazier for the full-time spot in 2013. Most likely, I will still want a veteran to compete for that spot as well since 2013 will still be in "our window" but if he tears up AA, I could see him as a big time prospect.
Vidal hasn't been around too long and has really flown under the radar since he was an 8th rounder. I personally have him at the tail end of my top-20, but I could see him skyrocketing up my personal board if he mashes in AA next year like I think he could.
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Basically how I see it. A stint in the Arizona Fall League at the end of the year might be a bit of a test for him. 80 to 100 PAs against "All Stars" from his competition level may provide an indication of something (or it could just be a small sample size). The pitching in the AFL isn't always the best since they try to limit innings on some guys, but comparing him to the others in the league would seem somewhat instructive as to how far along he is.