• Greg Burns: 3/4 r 3b k cs
• Chris Hatcher: 0/4 2k

Mesa Solar Sox

• John Raynor: 0/3 bb
• Logan Morrison: 0/4 2k
• Tim Wood: 2ip 1h 0r 0bb 2k
• Todd Doolittle: 2ip 1h 0r bb k
• Aaron Thompson: 1ip 0h 0r bb k

• Greg Burns: 9/31, 2triples, 4rbi, 3bb, 7k           (.290/.353/.419)

• Chris Hatcher: 2/12,  2b, 2rbi, 0bb, 0k             (.167/.154/.250)

Mesa Solar Sox

• Logan Morrison: 4/8 2b 1hr  3rbi 0bb 2k
• John Raynor: 2/5 rbi sb
• Scott Cousins: 0/4 r bb 3k
• Todd Doolittle, Aaron Thompson, Tim Wood and Sean West have all yet to pitch

The Marlins drafted Greg with the 98th overal pick (3rd round) of the 2004 amateur draft. He was signed for $395,000 and was quickly compared to a young Kenny Lofton but with more gap power. His speed was graded an 80 on the 20/80 scale by all scouts as he can get from home to first in a lighting fast 3.9 seconds. He showed much improvement in his base-running in 2007 as he was caught stealing just 6 times. This pales in comparison to his 31 caught stealings (44 safe) of years passed. He worked on his jumps and reading pitchers motion and the results were great.

At the plate, Burns has a real clean swing. He has very strong hands which tends to make some scouts believe he could develop into a 10-15 homerun guy down the line. Just out of his teens, he still has a projectable body and should gain some more strength to all fields as he matures. He is a very coachable player that just wants to keep getting better. It was suggested by Assistant GM Jim Fleming, for Greg to bring a 4×4 piece of wood with him into the batting cages to properly align his feet. He did that no questions asked. Not coincidentally, his numbers began to improve late in the year. In August of 2006, he hit .299/.379/.468 which helped him end his 2006 season on a high note. Definitely a positive in his career so far is his willingness to take a walk. Plate discipline is so hard to teach, and while he strikes out alot, him being able to take a walk certainly improves his prospect stock.

2008 was another mixed bag for Greg. He hit .244/.351/.326 with 20 extra base hits (3hr). The average is bad, the slugging was pathetic but he showed an impressive walk rate which is something you can’t teach. He also managed to strike out 143 times. On the basepaths, he stole 34 bags while being caught 12 times.

In the field, Burns is a plus defender out in centerfield. We all know about his tremendous speed, and because of that he has great range as well. Add in his good instincts, and he can get to any ball that stays in the park. He has a strong and accurate arm, even though he has a bit of a funky delivery. Greg is a very coachable player with a ton of confidence to go with his quiet demeanor. 2007 was a very big year in the development of Burns and it looks as if 2008 was a step in the wrong direction. He will face some solid talent in the Hawaii Winter League and perhaps things will get jump started for him. He should spend 2009 in AA with the Mudcats.

Gulf Coast League
2. Kyle Skipworth, C
16. Isaac Galloway, OF

No Marlins player made the top 20 New York-Penn League prospects

SALLY
3. Michael Stanton, OF
5. Matt Dominguez, 3B

• John Raynor: 1/4 r hr(1) rbi
• Manuel Mayorson: 0/3 bb cs
• Chris Coghlan: 1/3 2b bb k
• Gaby Sanchez: 1/4 k
• Cam Maybin: 1/4 r 2k sb(2)
• Scott Cousins: 0/2 r 2bb 2k
• Lee Mitchell: 2/4 r 2b k
• Brad Davis: 2/5 r 2b hr(2) 5rbi k
• Aaron Thompson: (W, 2-0) 5ip 6h 3r(3er) bb 3k 2hr
• Tim Wood: 2ip 0h 0r 0bb 3k
• Jeff Gogal: 1ip 0h 0r bb 0k
• Chris Mobley: (S,2) 1ip 1h 0r 0bb 0k

• John Raynor: 0/5 r 2k
• Manuel Mayorson: 1/4 r
• Chris Coghlan: 1/4 r 2b bb
• Gaby Sanchez: 4/5 2b 3rbi k sb(1)
• Cam Maybin: 2/4 2b rbi bb
• Scott Cousins: 0/5 2k
• Willie Glen: 5ip 4h 2r(1er) bb 4k
• Jesus Delgado: .2ip 2h 1r(1er) 0bb 0k
• Tim Wood: .1ip 0h 0r 0bb 0k
• Ryan Tucker: (BS,1) 2ip 2h 1r(1er) bb 0k hr
• Todd Doolittle: (L, 0-1) 2ip 2h 1r(1er) bb 2k

Game 2 is tonight: Mississippi (Todd Redmond) vs Carolina (Aaron Thompson)

West came into the 2007 season rated in the top 3 Marlins prospects by many of the prospect pundits and was rated in a few of the top 100 overall prospects. This was short-lived as he tore his labrum in his first big league camp and missed the entire 2007 season. So now his timetable is set back a year, as opposed to his 2005 draftees who are all on their way to AA Carolina. At 6′8 and throwing out of a three-quarters arm slot, West has drawn comparisons to Randy Johnson and Andy Sisco. The big lefty throws a 90-93mph fastball that touches 95 with exceptional late life to it. He gets many of his strikeouts because of the movement on his fastball. As he grows, his velocity should spike up a bit more as well. He has two sliders, one tight and one with a larger break to it. The second one has been confused with a curveball at times. His changeup has plus potential. He has little trouble repeating his delivery and that allows him to have pretty good command, most days (as shown by his 2.77bb/9 for his short career).

While by all accounts (including his own), his velocity is back, he did not get to work on his secondary pitches for an entire season so no one knew just how well he would pitch in 2008. He’s an emotional pitcher and had been labeled immature in the past because of how he acts on the mound. He added more lower body strength during his rehab sessions. One of the main factors with Sean this year was be the mental aspect of getting back on the mound. It’s been a while since he was in game conditions and it could throw him off a bit early on. Also, for the first time since he was drafted, he would not be with his teammates from the 2005 draft class and at some point frustration could set in. West has as much, if not more, talent than any pitcher in the organization.

Sean did not disappoint this past year in Jupiter. The big lefty went 6-5 with a 2.41era in 100.2 innings of work. He allowed just 79 hits, while walking 60 and striking out 92. Opposing Florida State League batters hit just .224 off of him. West clearly got stronger as the year went on. In August he went 3-0 with a 1.16era in 38.2 innings. He put himself back in the mix to be a top 100 prospect in baseball. Come 2009, he’ll start the year in Carolina and that will be his toughest test to date. If he’s up to it, we could see him with the big club by late 2009, or 2010.

• John Raynor: 2/6 r k
• Manuel Mayorson: 1/4 r 2bb k sb(1)
• Chris Coghlan: 0/4 r k sb(1)
• Gaby Sanchez: 3/5 2r 2b hr(1) 3rbi 2k
• Cam Maybin: 0/3 r 2bb k
• Scott Cousins: 1/3 3r 2b 2bb k sb(1)
• Lee Mitchell: 2/3 r 2b 2rbi 2bb k
• Aaron Thompson: (W, 1-0) 5ip 4h 2r(2er) 5bb 4k
• Jarrett Santos: 1.2ip 1h 0r 2bb 0k
• Tim Wood: .1ip 0h 0r 0bb k
• Todd Doolittle: 1ip 0h 0r 0bb 2k
• Chris Mobley: 1ip 0h 0r 0bb k

• Bobby Andino: 1/5 2k
• Jai Miller: 1/4 2bb sb(19)… threw out the winning run at home in the bottom of the 9th
• John Gall: 2/4 2b rbi bb k
• Mike Ryan: 1/5 r 2b bb
• Jason Wood: 1/6 k
• Andrew Beattie: 1/5 rbi bb 2k sb(13)
• Paul Hoover 0/3 bb 3k
• Chase Lambin: 0/5 3k
• Dallas McPherson: 0/1 r bb
• Chris Seddon: 7ip 5h 1r(1er) 2bb 9k
• Carlos Martinez: 2ip 0h 0r bb 2k
• Brandon Villafuerte: (W, 7-3) 2ip 2h 0r 3bb 0k
• Ross Wolf: (S,1) 1ip 0h 0r 0bb k

Carolina beats Tennessee, 21-2

• John Raynor: 1/4 2r rbi 3bb cs po
• Manuel Mayorson: 4/5 3r 3rbi
• Chris Coghlan: 1/6 r rbi
• Gaby Sanchez: 2/6 r 2b 3rbi k
• Cam Maybin: 2/3 5r 2b rbi 3bb k
• Lee Mitchell: 3/3 3r rbi 2bb
• Scott Cousins: 3/4 3r 3rbi bb k
• Jarrett Santos: (W, 5-1) 5ip 5h 2r(2er) 0bb 2k
• Jeff Gogal: 2ip 2h 0r 0bb 3k
• Tim Wood: 2ip 1h 0r 0bb 2k

Jupiter loses 9-2 to Daytona, a completed game from yesterday

• Bryan Petersen: 1/4 k
• Smelin Perez: 2/4 bb
• Logan Morrison: 2/4
• Brett Carroll: 1/4
• Greg Burns: 1/4 rbi 2k
• Jeff Allison: (L, 9-8) 2ip 6h 7r(6er) 3bb 2k… clearly suffering from a tired arm to end the season
• Derell McCall: 1ip 2h 1r(1er) 0bb k
• Andrew Miller: 1ip 1h 0r 0bb 0k
• Jay Buente: 1ip 4h 1r(1er) 0bb 2k
• Sean West: 4ip 1h 0r 2bb k

Jupiter beats Daytona, 3-2

• Greg Burns: 1/3 r 2b 2k
• Smelin Perez: 1/3 rbi k sb(9)
• Brett Carroll: 0/3
• Spike McDougall: 2/3 r 2b
• Matt Yourkin: 3ip 4h 0r 0bb 2k
• Chris Leroux: 2ip 2h 2r(1er) 0bb k
• Corey Madden: 1ip 2h 0r 0bb k
• Adalberto Mendez: (W, 3-7) 1ip 0h 0r 0bb 0k

Greensboro beats Lexington, 10-9

• Ryan Currye: 1/5 r k
• Michael Stanton: 3/4 4r 2hr(37,38) 4rbi bb
• Matt Dominguez: 3/3 2r 2b 2hr(17,18) 5rbi
• Hunter Mense: 0/4 rbi
• Ryan Anetsberger: 0/4 2k
• Justin Jacobs: 0/3 bb k
• Osvaldo Martinez: 1/4 2k
• Sandy Rosario: 2ip 3h 4r(3er) 3bb 4k
• Arquimedes Caminero: 3ip 2h 3r(1er) 0bb 3k hr
• Kris Harvey: 1ip 1h 2r(2er) 3bb k
• Pete Andrelczyk: 1.2ip 2h 0r 0bb 2k
• Andrew Battisto: (W, 8-1) 1.1ip 1h 0r 0bb 2k

Jamestown loses to Batavia, 5-3

• Kevin Mattison: 0/4 2k
• Paul Gran: 0/4 2k
• Miguel Fermin: 1/4 2k
• Ben Lasater: 1/4 r k
• Jeremy Synan: 1/4 r k
• Ernie Banks: 1/4
• Joel Staples: 1/4 3b 2rbi k
• Brandon Turner: 1/4 r
• Justin Bass: 2/3 3b rbi k
• Brad Hand: (L, 0-2) 4.2ip 6h 3r(2er) 3bb 5k
• Geury Ramirez: 2.1ip 3h 0r bb 0k
• Brandon Todd: 1ip 3h 2r(2er) bb k