8) Orangel Arenas, 3/31/89 - RHSP, Single A, High A
11 wins, 8 losses. 150 IP, 134 hits, 3.64 ERA, 107 K/60 BB +10 runs saved, 3.19 WAR
Who would have guessed at the beginning of the season that the younger, less-heralded Orangel Arenas would edge out Garrett Richards in overall contributions? The caveat here is that Richard's peripherals were better, but Arenas pitched more games against better competition. At any rate, the difference between the two was minimal, coming down to a couple of unearned runs, but I still marvel that they're so close, since Arenas is more of a two-pitch, fastball/slider guy, and has less velocity. He likely has a change-up too, but it's never been mentioned as a plus pitch. Where he does have the edge over Richards, however, is in the sink and movement of his heater, which induces a lot of groundballs and weak contact. That fastball might be Scot-Shields-in-his-prime type good. The plus pitch makes him a very good candidate to shift to the bullpen in a year or two, where he might even make it as an MLB setup man if his slider continues to improve.
7) Andrew Romine, 12/24/85 - SS, AA
.282/.370/.366 with 3 HR and 21 SB. +1 bat, +13 glove, 3.31 WAR
His younger brother Austin gets far more attention as a catching prospect with the Yankees, but ASU alum and Southland product Andrew did more to boost his prospect status in 2010. His defense was very good, and while he continued his three year trend of posting a higher OBP than slugging percentage, he worked counts well and hit for enough average to contribute at the top of the Travs' order. So far in the AFL, he's putting up a typical .288/.373/.308 line. Romine's glove, speed, and lefty contact bat make him a candidate for a utility bench job some day, and he could serve admirably as a stop gap at short for a few years. If and when the Halos' thin their current glut of middle infield types, Romine's status as second best defensive shortstop in the system should make him a critical part of the Halos' depth chart (Aybar is still first, though he's going to have to pick it up next year to retain that title).